Snow Much Fun!
December 22, 2008
Alec Boehlke, 9, starts down the neighborhood sledding hill with excited anticipation Dec. 18 near Southeast 141st Court in the Four Creeks neighborhood, early in the week’s series of snow storms. Photo by Greg Farrar.
Weekend snowstorm leaves city deep in it
December 22, 2008
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A A sanding snowplow on Dec. 18 winds its way up Mountain Park Boulevard Southwest. By Greg Farrar
The first day of winter arrived over the weekend, and it came with a vengeance.
New snowfall blanketed the region, piling up several more inches atop an icy coating that already had wreaked havoc on the roads and prompted a run on stores for emergency supplies and last-minute holiday gifts. But a high wind warning for Dec. 20 and 21 proved unfounded, and with the reduced risk of falling trees came a reduced likelihood of power outages.
Unlike the devastating 2006 storm that knocked out power for days, this one was predicted well in advance. By Dec. 18, city maintenance crews, police and Eastside Fire & Rescue units all had prepared for a big blow. Read more
Issaquah family loses everything in house fire
December 22, 2008
Firefighters battled a house fire at 4721 192nd Place S.E. for hours Dec. 21, but were unable to save it.
The owners of the home, a man and his pregnant wife, and their 1-year-old son, were not home. They were at a relative’s house having dinner. The family’s dog was outside the home, but was unharmed. Read more
Traffic tickets go high tech
December 22, 2008
City implements new program to expedite traffic services
E-tickets? It’s not what you think.
Issaquah police officers won’t be e-mailing you a ticket in the near future, but they will be able to fill out a citation for your traffic violation or accident paperwork a lot quicker with the state Department of Transportation’s program, Statewide Electronic Collision and Ticket Online Records, or SECTOR. Read more
Food bank still needs donations
December 22, 2008
With the economy in free fall and unemployment soaring, food bank donations are needed more than ever this holiday season, according to the director of the Issaquah Food Bank.
The calm before the storm
December 22, 2008
The festive holiday lights at the home of Steuart and Pam Bell in the 3700 block of 246th Avenue Southeast stand out in the Klahanie neighborhood. ‘He really outdoes himself every year,’ Pam Bell said. Additions this year included the fence of rainbow lights, the blue pool of ‘water’ for the deer and a teddy bear on another corner of the home. By Greg Farrar
New tree regulations are adopted
December 22, 2008
The City Council approved new tree-preservation regulations at its Dec. 15 meeting, and it is hoped that they will take the guesswork out of tree removal while also protecting the city’s green canopy.
Council OKs next year’s city budget
December 22, 2008
Issaquah’s city budget is set for 2009.
Formally adopted by the City Council on Dec. 15, the budget details spending of $109.5 million for the year. Read more
Final bypass document is delayed again
December 22, 2008
The long-disputed Southeast Bypass may be dead, but it is not yet buried.
A final document, called a record of decision, issued by the Federal Highway Administration, will officially acknowledge the City Council’s selection of the no-build option for the proposed road. Read more
To The Editor
December 22, 2008
Gilman Village
Demise of historic shopping center has been greatly exaggerated
Any shopping area would be grateful to have customers as emotionally involved and concerned as Sibella Giorello. We really do appreciate that concern and her letter in The Press Dec. 10. But to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of Gilman Village’s (slow) death are greatly exaggerated.
Yes, we do have vacancies. And times are tough for our merchants, just as they are for most independent retailers in Issaquah. But you’ll see vacancies everywhere. It may be more apparent in Gilman Village because of the intimacy of our scale and we have only independent specialty retailers here, but it is no different and no worse than elsewhere.
It’s important to note that we also have several new businesses that have just opened or are opening soon. X Marks The Tot, with a unique line of children’s clothing, and Grimaldi’s, a coffee house in the European tradition, have just opened. The Village Family Clinic & Wellness Center and Belli Cosmetics are opening shortly. A new restaurant with building plans being reviewed by the city is scheduled to open this spring.
It would be great if people shopped close to home this holiday season and throughout the year. Issaquah has a lot of good independent retailers who deserve support. Besides Gilman Village, there’s Front Street and even elsewhere on Gilman Boulevard. I shop at the big guys like everyone else. But it’s the small, independent businesses, not big chains, that define a community and set it apart.
Let me assure you also that we don’t need to be saved by city officials. It would help if those officials got over this notion that the only independent businesses in Issaquah are all on Front Street, or that the city’s entire history is there. The fact is, there’s probably as much, or more, of historic Issaquah standing in Gilman Village as is on Front Street, and as many independent stores and restaurants.
Gilman Village has been a part of Issaquah for more than 35 years. With the loyalty of people like Giorello, we plan on being a part of the community far into the future.
Aaron Barouh
General manager, Gillman Village Read more
