Talk:Kent, Washington

Kent Station
Is it really important to mention Kent station and all the restuarants located there. It sounds like a promotion and doesn't seem like something that should be included in an Encyclopedia. FastFoodKnight 23:35, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

Deleted text
Deleted text from this talk page as it appeared someone was using it as their personal scratch pad. That's what the sandbox is for. KuyaBriBri Talk 14:40, 19 October 2009 (UTC)

Kentwood High Note
A note on the comment about Kentwood residents.

Vast majority of Kentwood's existence a "Covington" never existed, that's why the school was placed there in the first place. The area was considered an unincorporated part of Kent. Furthermore majority of the students that attend Kentwood live within the Kent city limits as of the early 90's when far-east hill was annexed. Majority of Covington residents attend Kentlake high along with some Black Diamond and southeast Kent residents. — Preceding unsigned comment added by SouthernResidentOrca (talk • contribs) 04:48, 8 October 2012 (UTC)

Warehouse Area
I edited a sentence that claimed "the warehouse district has started to sprawl to nearby Sumner".

I removed the reference and link to Sumner because it is nonsensical to anyone with an understanding of the local political geography and hence misleading to outsiders seeking accurate information. The warehouse area occupies the western part of Kent's place in the valley and extends north towards Tukwila. Sumner is miles to the south along the King-Pierce county line, and is separated from Kent by the city of Auburn which has a rather impressive industrial area as well.

Would whoever wrote the sentence edit it to mean whatever it is they were trying to convey. I'm not a mind reader and may have butchered your meaning, but the Sumner reference can't stay. Thanks! 47.137.183.192 (talk) 17:42, 23 September 2017 (UTC)


 * Someone edited and then deleted a response to my explanation above, saying that the warehouse area has extended through Auburn and into Sumner. Maybe they get it now since it has been deleted, but I just want to reiterate why that isn't a germane thing to put into this article. The entire West "Valley" is highly industrial and includes Tukwila, Kent, Auburn, Algona, Pacific, and Sumner. I put those in order. There are three cities between Kent and Sumner, and Sumner is in Pierce County. The article is about Kent, which is in King County.


 * I can edit the article to clarify this local warehouse "phenomenon" but to make sense it has to be clear that Kent's warehouse area is part of an economic geographical region that includes Sumner, not hint that it is all part of Kent. 47.137.183.192 (talk) 03:25, 29 September 2017 (UTC)


 * Should I proceed?

More recent information
The link below is a more recent source for the city's largest employers. See page 21. I do not know how to properly edit the main page, however. Someone else can do it if they would like.

https://www.kentwa.gov/home/showdocument?id=2758 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dima110 (talk • contribs) 06:03, 15 September 2019 (UTC)

Cheers. Updated the numbers to include 2014 stats. Is there a more recent version that I can update it to? i.e. more recent than 2014? Kaisertalk (talk) 21:58, 6 July 2020 (UTC)

Woohoo just updated the 2018 numbers. Thanks!Kaisertalk (talk) 01:52, 7 July 2020 (UTC)
 * , please make sure to properly format your citations (e.g. including the full publisher information and access-dates for web links). It's not a good look for B-Class articles to have bare URLs in citations.  Sounder Bruce  01:55, 7 July 2020 (UTC)


 * I use the Refill tool for managing my links. Let me know if that is not preferred. Happy to change :) Kaisertalk (talk) 01:59, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

City Holiday
Why is “Justin aka nothinbutlag Day” considered vandalism? An official proclamation was drafted and signed by Mayor Dana Ralph in the city of Kent, WA deeming August 29th, 2020 to be the day in question. Lythwynn (talk) 08:13, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

Protected edit request on 17 February 2021
+ 2019 Demographic Estimates for City of Kent, compared to State and Nation. ImogenCaroline (talk) 04:11, 17 February 2021 (UTC)
 * That's not really an edit I can implement and per my note below (which conflicted with this edit), some discussion is needed at this point. Barkeep49 (talk) 04:13, 17 February 2021 (UTC)
 * OK, I'll create a section for it here on the talk page. I'll note that siding with not having newer Census data on an article doesn't seem in the best interest of readers who will now have to contend with nearly decade old data. ImogenCaroline (talk) 04:19, 17 February 2021 (UTC)

Full protection
,, and any other editors who might be interested, I have fully protected the article as it seems like some discussion is needed at this point. As you are both experienced editors I will just offer the friendly reminder that discussion is best achieved on talk pages rather than in edit summaries and with a focus on content rather than conduct. I've put this page on my watchlist and will be checking in but I am guessing that you two will be able to find a way forward, perhaps utilizing WP:3PO if discussion between the two of you doesn't reach consensus. Barkeep49 (talk) 04:11, 17 February 2021 (UTC)

I would also like to request that well sourced and relevant content not just be removed without prior discussion. Removing content that is well received by other users, relevant by the standards of a reasonable person and well document does not serve Wikipedia. That is my request, that before removing such credible and pertinent info would offer the opportunity to even find a consensus by discussing before removing content that many readers might find helpful. ImogenCaroline (talk) 04:16, 17 February 2021 (UTC)


 * For what it's worth: the 2019 Census estimates should not be presented in full, as they are merely estimates and statistics beyond the total population are generally not presented as fact in city articles (per the WP:USCITIES guidelines). Adding a full slate of statistics and state/national columns for comparison does not conform with the third point in WP:NOTSTATS.
 * The "ethnic and socio-economic diversity" citations all point to the same study by WalletHub, which is not a reliable source and is part of the global spam blacklist.
 * Other changes added a list of minor local highways to the lead (which should be trimmed back to what is important and relevant at a glance, per MOS:LEADREL).  Sounder Bruce  04:18, 17 February 2021 (UTC)

ImogenCaroline (talk) 04:22, 17 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Primarily, you deleted an entire section of 2019 census data that is perfectly informative and credible, and far more helpful than nearly decade old census data. You also have repeatedly removed mention of Link light rail, RapidRide, a connection made by numerous city streets with Seattle, etc. or any mention that Kent is part of Seattle's urban area. All relevant facts, probably more so than Kent being the 2nd oldest city in Kind County. It is very important to know that Kent is part of a much bigger urban area than how old it is. Why do you want to deprive readers of this insight?
 * Also there are no full Census counts... ever. No census ever reaches everybody, creating selection bias. So Census estimates are widely used in academic research; often even preferred since they draw on something closer to a random sample. I'll note that many city articles on Wikipedia feature census estimates, for this reason probably. Why do you want to deprive Wikipedia readers of more accurate info. than nearly 10 year old census data?


 * I've explained above why using the 2019 data for anything beyond the population estimate is not in line with project standards. As there was a census conducted last year (which reaches far more people than an estimate that is not required to send out questionnaires and door-knockers like the decennial census), we should be getting fresh data in a few months' time that will make the point moot. The removal of transit from the lead is simply to trim it down to what is relevant (per MOS:LEADREL). There's plenty of room in the body for future light rail and RapidRide, as they are not defining features of the city as of today.  Sounder Bruce  04:25, 17 February 2021 (UTC)


 * Your explanation is not very good; see my response. I studied econometrics in grad school; I've used census data academically more times than I can county and the notion than a census is more reliable than one of the estimates is, frankly, weird. The integration with Seattle exemplified by RapidRide and Link light rail is a defining feature of the city. The lead should make it clear, especially to international readers not familiar with the way we divy up local government in this country, that Kent is really just part of the urban gestalt that is Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue. That IS Kent's defining feature and making it sound like Kent is Enumclaw is misleading. ImogenCaroline (talk) 04:28, 17 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Imogen, did you explore the links Bruce provided? They reflect the consensus of Wikipedia editors across a wide range of articles. Explaining why you think there should be something different than what he suggests, backed up by quoting your own policies/guidelines, is important on Wikipedia. You might be interested in WP:EXPERT and in particular the Essjay controversey which explains why we tend to focus on the edits rather than the credentials of the editor. Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 04:35, 17 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Yes, it says "other reliable estimates may be included as a supplement to Census figures." Seems like that certainly applies here. ImogenCaroline (talk) 04:37, 17 February 2021 (UTC)
 * It also says "If census estimates or other reliable sources of demographic data are included, the additional data should supplement – not replace – the most recent available data from the decennial census" - that's exactly what I did! ImogenCaroline (talk) 04:38, 17 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Also, there's RapidRide in Pacific Highway on the West Hill today, fyi. ImogenCaroline (talk) 04:32, 17 February 2021 (UTC)


 * And thirdly, why did you make this passage less informative? "Adjoining cities whose urban areas are grown together with Kent are (clockwise North-to-South): Renton, Covington, Auburn, Federal Way, Des Moines, SeaTac, and Tukwila - Tukwila being the suburb that lies between Kent and the City of Seattle proper." This describes, in detail, Kent's most defining feature: it's proximity and urban congruence with Seattle. Why deprive readers of this insight? Guess we better hope they use Google maps to supplement Wikipedia. ImogenCaroline (talk) 04:36, 17 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia is not a travel guide, so having simple descriptions and leaving the rest to Google Maps is in line with policy. There was no citation provided for any of this either, so it is appropriately tagged and could be removed later if one cannot be found. As for the transit situation, the A Line barely serves one corner of Kent, while a line serving Kent proper won't be opened for a few more years; it could hardly be a "defining" feature of the city.  Sounder Bruce  04:53, 17 February 2021 (UTC)