Medina, Washington

Medina, Washington
—  City  —
Location of Medina, Washington.
Lake Washington and the surrounding cities
Coordinates: 47°37′36″N 122°13′58″W / 47.62667°N 122.23278°W / 47.62667; -122.23278Coordinates: 47°37′36″N 122°13′58″W / 47.62667°N 122.23278°W / 47.62667; -122.23278
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	King
Platted	1914
Incorporated	August 19, 1955
Named for	Medina
Government
- Mayor	Bret Jordan[1]
Area
- Total	4.8 sq mi (12.4 km2)
- Land	1.4 sq mi (3.7 km2)
- Water	3.4 sq mi (8.7 km2)
Elevation	69 ft (21 m)
Population (2010)
- Total	2,969
- Density	2,102.3/sq mi (811.7/km2)
Time zone	Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	98039
Area code(s)	425
FIPS code	53-44725[2]
GNIS feature ID	1512453[3]
Website	medina-wa.gov

Medina is a city located in the Eastside, a region of King County, Washington, United States. Surrounded on the north, west, and south by Lake Washington, opposite Seattle, Medina is bordered by Clyde Hill and Hunts Point, as well as the satellite city of Bellevue. The city's population was 2,969 at the 2010 census. The city is mostly residential and includes Bill Gates' house.

Medina has the third highest per-capita income in the state of Washington and the 49th highest in the United States.

History

Named in 1891 after the holy city of Medina in Saudi Arabia, Medina was platted in 1914 and officially incorporated on August 19, 1955. According to the city:^[4]

In 1891, T.L. Dabney built the first landing in Medina on what later became known as Dabney Point. The landing was directly across from the Leschi Park landing and it became the main crossing point for settlers to enter “the Points Country”. As the community around the landing began to grow, local residents wanted to give it a distinct name. A community meeting was held and three women were appointed to select a name for the community. Flora Beloti’s choice was the name selected. She had decided on the name “Medeena”, after the Arabian city. Dabney was offended, he wanted it named “Floridine”. Dabney built a large sign that said “Floridine” and placed it in the water beside his landing. The next evening when he came home from working in Seattle, he found his sign had been replaced by a “Medeena” sign. He promptly took it down and put his sign back up. This feud continued for several days, with Dabney replacing the “Medeena” sign each evening when he would return from work. The ladies prevailed. Dabney eventually tired and left the “Medeena” sign up.

Surveillance

In 2009, Medina installed cameras at intersections along roads entering the city; the cameras are used to capture the license plate number of every car, and a security system automatically notifies local police if the captured number is recorded in a database.^[5] Travelers are notified of the presence of the system with signs that read "You Are Entering a 24 Hour Video Surveillance Area"; according to Medina's police chief, all captured information is stored for 60 days even if nothing negative is found in the database, allowing police to mine data if a crime occurs later.^[5] One of the city's council members said the system was motivated by the belief that the need for crime prevention—Medina had 11 burglaries in 2008—"outweighs concern over privacy."^[5] The system was inspired by that used in nearby Hunts Point, a town of about 500 residents which hasn't had a break-in for more than three years after installing their system.^[5]

Geography

Medina is located at 47°37′36″N 122°13′58″W / 47.62667°N 122.23278°W / 47.62667; -122.23278 (47.626571, -122.232805).^[6]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.8 square miles (12.4 km²), of which, 1.4 square miles (3.7 km²) of it is land and 3.3 square miles (8.7 km²) of it (69.94%) is water.

Medina is connected to Seattle, on the western shore of Lake Washington, by State Route 520 on the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, the longest floating bridge in the world.

Politics

On the national level, Medina is a swing area. In 2004, Republican George W. Bush received 53 percent of the vote in the city, defeating Democrat John Kerry, who received around 45 percent. In 2008, Barack Obama defeated John McCain, 54 percent to 46 percent.

On the state level Medina is represented by Democrats, who hold the State Senate and State Representative positions as of 2007. This district also includes more liberal areas of adjacent Bellevue.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1960	2,285		—
1970	3,455		51.2%
1980	3,220		−6.8%
1990	2,981		−7.4%
2000	3,011		1.0%
2010	2,969		−1.4%

Medina in 1915

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 3,011 people, 1,111 households, and 905 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,102.3 people per square mile (813.0/km²). There were 1,165 housing units at an average density of 813.4 per square mile (314.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.63% White, 4.88% Asian, 0.27% Native American, 0.17% African American, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 1.66% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 1.39% of the population.

There were 1,111 households out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.6% were married couples living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.5% were non-families. 14.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.00.

The age distribution was 30.1% under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 29.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $133,756, and the median income for a family was $149,637. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $50,893 for females. The per capita income for the city was $81,742. About 0.2% of families and 0.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 1.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

• Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com
• Bill Gates, co-founder and former chairman of Microsoft, philanthropist
• Melinda Gates, wife of the co-founder of Microsoft and philanthropist
• Jon Shirley, former Microsoft president and noted art collector
• Charles Simonyi, space tourist and former Microsoft executive
• Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners outfielder

Education

Public education is provided by the Bellevue School District, with schools within Medina and in nearby Bellevue. There are three schools in Medina:

• Bellevue Christian School - Three Points Elementary (private, K to 6)^[7]
• Medina Elementary School (public, K to 5)^[8]
• Saint Thomas School (private, pre-K to 8)

References

1. ^ City website, retrieved online 2011-06-02
2. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
4. ^ History of Medina from the city's official website. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Cameras keep track of all cars entering Medina, a September 16, 2009 article from The Seattle Times
6. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
7. ^ Three Points Elementary website, retrieved online 2011-06-02
8. ^ Medina Elementary School website, retrieved online 2011-06-02

External links

Seattle portal

• Official website