Medina, Washington
Encyclopedia
Medina is a city located in the Eastside
Eastside (King County, Washington)
File:Seattle-lakewashington-lakesammamish.PNG|250px|right|The Eastside is to the right of Seattle.# rough city boundariespoly 137 256 148 256 158 194 172 179 172 237 212 266 133 266Renton...

, a region of King County, Washington
King County, Washington
King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population in the 2010 census was 1,931,249. King is the most populous county in Washington, and the 14th most populous in the United States....

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Surrounded on the north, west, and south by Lake Washington
Lake Washington
Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It is bordered by the cities of Seattle on the west, Bellevue and Kirkland on the east, Renton on the south and...

, opposite Seattle, Medina is bordered by Clyde Hill
Clyde Hill, Washington
Clyde Hill is a city located in the Eastside, a region of King County, Washington, United States, and part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The town of Kirkland lies to the northeast, while the satellite city of Bellevue is located to the east and south. Lake Washington is also nearby, providing...

 and Hunts Point
Hunts Point, Washington
Hunts Point is a town located in the Eastside, a region of King County, Washington, United States, and part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The town is located on a small peninsula surrounded by Lake Washington, and is near the suburbs of Medina , Clyde Hill , Yarrow Point , and Kirkland , as...

, as well as the satellite city of Bellevue
Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...

. The city's population was 2,969 at the 2010 census. The city is mostly residential and includes Bill Gates' house
Bill Gates' house
Bill Gates' house is a large mansion in the side of a hill overlooking Lake Washington in Medina, Washington. The house is noted for its design and the technology it incorporates...

.

Medina has the third highest per-capita income
Washington locations by per capita income
Washington is the twelfth richest state in the United States of America, with a per capita income of $22,973 and a personal per capita income of $33,332 .-Washington counties ranked by 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
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...

 in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

, Medina was platted in 1914 and officially incorporated on August 19, 1955. According to the city:
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. 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
Data mining
Data mining , a relatively young and interdisciplinary field of computer science is the process of discovering new patterns from large data sets involving methods at the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics and database systems...

 if a crime occurs later. One of the city's council members said the system was motivated by the belief that the need for crime prevention
Crime prevention
Crime prevention is the attempt to reduce victimization and to deter crime and criminals. It is applied specifically to efforts made by governments to reduce crime, enforce the law, and maintain criminal justice.-Studies:...

—Medina had 11 burglaries in 2008—"outweighs concern over privacy." The system was inspired by that used in nearby Hunts Point
Hunts Point, Washington
Hunts Point is a town located in the Eastside, a region of King County, Washington, United States, and part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The town is located on a small peninsula surrounded by Lake Washington, and is near the suburbs of Medina , Clyde Hill , Yarrow Point , and Kirkland , as...

, a town of about 500 residents which hasn't had a break-in for more than three years after installing their system.

Geography

Medina is located at 47°37′36"N 122°13′58"W (47.626571, -122.232805).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, 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
Evergreen Point Floating Bridge
The Governor Albert D. Rosellini Bridge—Evergreen Point is the longest floating bridge on Earth at and carries State Route 520 across Lake Washington from Seattle to Medina.The Evergreen Point of the bridge's original name is the westernmost of the three small Eastside...

, the longest floating bridge
Pontoon bridge
A pontoon bridge or floating bridge is a bridge that floats on water and in which barge- or boat-like pontoons support the bridge deck and its dynamic loads. While pontoon bridges are usually temporary structures, some are used for long periods of time...

 in the world.

Politics

On the national level, Medina is a swing area. In 2004, Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 received 53 percent of the vote in the city, defeating Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...

, who received around 45 percent. In 2008, Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 defeated John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....

, 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
Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...

.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 3,011 people, 1,111 households, and 905 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 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
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...

, 4.88% Asian
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...

, 0.27% Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

, 0.17% African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

, 0.07% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander American
Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...

, 0.33% from other races, and 1.66% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos
Hispanic and Latino Americans
Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...

 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
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 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
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 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
    Jeff Bezos
    Jeffrey Preston "Jeff" Bezos is the founder, president, chief executive officer , and chairman of the board of Amazon.com.-Early life and background:...

    , founder and CEO of Amazon.com
    Amazon.com
    Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...

  • Bill Gates
    Bill Gates
    William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...

    , co-founder and former chairman of Microsoft
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

    , philanthropist
  • Melinda Gates
    Melinda Gates
    Melinda Ann French , later known as Melinda French Gates, is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the wife of Bill Gates...

    , wife of the co-founder of Microsoft
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

     and philanthropist
  • Jon Shirley
    Jon Shirley
    Jon A. Shirley was president of Microsoft from 1983 through 1990, and a member of its directors until 2008.Shirley was born in San Diego, California. He attended The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...

    , former Microsoft president and noted art collector
  • Charles Simonyi
    Charles Simonyi
    Charles Simonyi is a Hungarian-American computer software executive who, as head of Microsoft's application software group, oversaw the creation of Microsoft's flagship Office suite of applications. He now heads his own company, Intentional Software, with the aim of developing and marketing his...

    , space tourist and former Microsoft executive
  • Ichiro Suzuki
    Ichiro Suzuki
    , usually known simply as is a Major League Baseball right fielder for the Seattle Mariners. Ichiro has established a number of batting records, including the sport's single-season record for hits with 262...

    , Seattle Mariners
    Seattle Mariners
    The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...

     outfielder

Education

Public education is provided by the Bellevue School District
Bellevue School District
Bellevue School District No. 405 is a public school district in King County, Washington, USA that serves the communities of Bellevue, Clyde Hill, Medina, Hunts Point, Yarrow Point, Beaux Arts Village, and portions of Newcastle, Kirkland and Redmond. As of October 1, 2010, the district has an...

, with schools within Medina and in nearby Bellevue. There are three schools in Medina:
  • Bellevue Christian School - Three Points Elementary (private, K to 6)
  • Medina Elementary School (public, K to 5)
  • Saint Thomas School
    Saint Thomas School
    St. Thomas School is an independent school in Medina, an Eastside suburb of Seattle, Washington, USA.-Description:St. Thomas School provides early childhood, pre-primary, and primary education for students from 2 ½ years of age through to the sixth grade. Plans are underway to include middle...

    (private, pre-K to 8)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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