With support from King County's Alan M. Painter grant program and local businesses, the Upper Bear Creek Community Council is offering free outdoor concerts at Cottage Lake Park in July and August.

When: Thursday nights, 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Schedule
• July 6 - The True Romans (rock cover band)
• July 13 - Rouge (French cafe music)
• July 20 - Billy Stapleton and Mark Dufreuse (blues)
• July 27 - 85th Street Swing Band
• Aug. 3 - Stillwater Hill (bluegrass)
• Aug. 10 - Hook Me Up (variety jazz)

Bring a picnic and enjoy the evening!

Learn more about the Alan M. Painter Grants

King County is developing its 2024 Comprehensive Plan, a guide for how the county will support the growing communities that lie outside city limits. The plan offers a wide range of proposals designed to prevent displacement, improve access to parks and green spaces, support climate-resilient neighborhoods, expand housing options, and help people live and prosper in their communities.

Your input is critical as the county works on proposals that will affect your community. You can share your thoughts via a short survey or visit the Comprehensive Plan website to learn more.

Questions? Send email or visit the King County website for more information.

Public comments are still being accepted on the Snoqualmie Valley/Northeast King County subarea plan through July 15. If you haven’t already, please take a moment to review and comment on what's being proposed via the survey.

For more information about the plan, including the proposed vision, guiding principles, policies, and zoning/land use map amendments, visit the project's interactive website or come to one of the following public events:

• Public meeting at Baring Fire Station – July 6, 6 – 8 p.m.
• Public meeting at North Bend Train Depot – July 11, 6 – 8 p.m.

Questions? Send email to Jesse Reynolds.

The finished subarea plan will become part of the King County Comprehensive Plan (see above).

Photo: Local Services' own David Daw, left, King County Councilmember Sarah Perry, and county planner Jesse Reynolds helped spread the word about the subarea plan at the Duvall Days festival in early June.

Comments will be accepted through July 15

King County is reviewing zoning conditions on several Vashon-Maury Island land parcels and would like input from community members.

Amendments to a Groundwater Protection Special District Overlay are also under review. County planners welcome your thoughts on changes you'd like them to consider.

Learn more and share your thoughts on the interactive website.

Questions? Email [email protected] or call 206-477-3800.

Starting Monday July 17, King County Road Services will close NE Woodinville-Duvall Road in both directions at NE 172nd Street (near NE Old Woodinville-Duvall Road) to replace a rusted culvert.

Road crews will dig a large pit across both lanes of NE Woodinville-Duvall Road just east of NE 172nd Street so they can remove and replace the culvert. There's no room for a bypass lane around the work zone and all through traffic will be diverted to the detour route.

During the closure, no traffic will be able to use the closed section of the road—including vehicles, trucks, emergency response, bicycles, and pedestrians. However, local access on NE Woodinville-Duvall Road will be available to the east and west of the construction pit, between Avondale Road NE and Old NE Woodinville-Duvall Road and between NE 172nd Street and W Snoqualmie Valley Road.

Fully closing the road in both directions for 30 days in a row, 24 hours a day, will make it possible for the county to complete the work in the shortest possible time, and during the summer in-water work window.

Learn more on the project website.

Preparing for wildfire smoke

Wildfire smoke is becoming a regular part of our summers in western Washington. Even without fires burning nearby, smoke from far-off fires can travel long distances to settle over the region.

Here are some ways you can educate yourself and prepare.

Know your risk and make plans to protect your health. Some groups are more sensitive to wildfire smoke, including...

• Older adults, young children, and pregnant people
• People with chronic health conditions like heart and lung diseases
• People who work or exercise outdoors
• People who are unsheltered

Be ready for smoky days...
• Monitor air quality at AirNow.gov or map.PSCleanAir.gov
• Plan ways to keep indoor air clean. Consider getting an air purifier, change the filters in your air conditioning unit if you have one, or learn how to make a DIY box filter fan.
• Plan indoor activities.

Learn more at kingcounty.gov/WildfireSmoke and on the Washington Department of Health website.

Thousands of pets go missing nationally each year during July 4th events and their aftermath, and a large part of getting them home is figuring out where "home" is. Protect your pet with a license from Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC). License online today.

Registration is still open for two upcoming programs from WSU (Washington State University) Extension for owners of forested and wooded property in King County.

Cost Share Opportunities for King and Pierce County Forest Owners (Free webinar on July 11) Cost sharing is financial assistance available to landowners to implement best land management practices that benefit both private landowners and public resources. This webinar will introduce property owners to federal, state, and local cost share programs available in King and Pierce counties.

Preston Forest Stewardship Coached Planning course (starts September 5 at the Preston Community Center) Learn everything you need to know about caring for your forest, including how to write your own personalized forest stewardship plan that could help qualifying landowners save money on property taxes through King County's Public Benefit Rating System (PBRS) program. Participants will receive a site visit to their property by a professional forester. Cost: $175; pre-registration is required.