King County rolls out ballot-counting equipment
October 20, 2010
NEW — 2 p.m. Oct. 20, 2010
King County Elections plans to test ballot counting and processing equipment as the November election nears.
Staffers scheduled logic and accuracy tests on all ballot counting and processing equipment for 1 p.m. Thursday at the elections office, 9010 E. Marginal Way S., Tukwila.
The office performs the standard pre-election procedure to make sure tabulation hardware and software function properly. Then, after the test, the equipment will be locked and sealed until the Nov. 2 election.
People can register in-person at the elections office by Monday. Learn more about the registration process here.
Issaquah Eagles’ swimmers sink Woodinville
October 20, 2010
NEW — 11:45 a.m. Oct. 20, 2010
Although it was senior night Tuesday, a pair of sophomores stole the show for the host Issaquah High School girls swimming team. Kayla Flaten and Stacy Maier each won two events and swam on two victorious relays as the Eagles cruised past Woodinville 120-66 in a 4A KingCo Conference meet.
Flaten won the 200-yard freestyle in a state-qualifying time of 1:59.35 and captured the 100 butterfly in a district-qualifying time of 1:02.22. She just missed a state-qualifying time in the event.
Maier had district-qualifying times in winning the 50 freestyle in 25.24 and the 500 freestyle in 5:26.79.
Flaten and Maier swam on Issaquah’s winning 200 freestyle relay, which had a state-qualifying time of 1:43.88. They also swam on the Eagles’ winning 400 freestyle, which finished first in 3:48.39.
Kellie Langan, another sophomore, finished first in the 100 breaststroke in 1:17.32.
Issaquah ‘green’ remodel attracts limelight
October 20, 2010
NEW — 8 a.m. Oct. 20, 2010
Thanks to a “green” home remodel, a local family is in the limelight.
King County featured Issaquah residents David and Leigh Bangs, plus daughters Kayleigh and Laurel, in the premiere episode of “EcoCribz” — a Web series created to highlight residents for using “green” practices and products in home improvements.
Watch the episode and check out the Eco-Cool Remodel Tool here.
“We know remodeling choices can be overwhelming, and ‘EcoCribz’ is about helping people make smart decisions and showing them the best resources to get the job done,” Patti Southard, project manager for the GreenTools Program and “EcoCribz” host, said in a news release.
County opens detailed budget info to residents
October 20, 2010
NEW — 6 a.m. Oct. 20, 2010
Dig deep into the King County budget.
Residents can uses the same charts and spreadsheets used by the county executive and County Council to study the $5 billion budget. Find the information here.
“I’ve heard over and over from residents that they want a better understanding of how we make county budget decisions, so we put the department-level figures front and center on the budget Web page,” Executive Dow Constantine said in a news release. “We also created an open data site that puts all of the information we work from at residents’ fingertips, so that they can search and work with it in a way that’s more accessible than it’s ever been.”
City restores Issaquah Creek salmon habitat
October 19, 2010
Greenway volunteers plant native trees, shrubs
Environmental restoration crew workers add tree trunks to Issaquah Creek last month at Squak Valley Park North to provide habitat for salmon and other fish to spawn and hide from predators. By Greg Farrar
Squak Valley Park North — a slice of former farmland sidled against Issaquah Creek — started to resemble a bygone era by the time more than 250 planters left the site on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
State considers Squak Mountain State Park shutdown
October 19, 2010
Squak Mountain State Park could be shut down from July until 2013 as the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission struggles to address a state budget shortfall.
The agency has proposed mothballing Squak Mountain — a 1,545-acre preserve south of Issaquah city limits — and a handful of other state parks in order to cut $1.6 million from the budget between 2011 and 2013.
“We’ve done this so many times and so many different ways,” commission spokeswoman Virginia Painter said. “There’s no good way to do it, because no matter how you slice it, it’s somebody’s favorite park that’s up on that list.”
The commission picked the option to close Squak Mountain, Federation Forest, Flaming Geyser, Fort Ward, Peshastin Pinnacles and Tolmie parks instead of a proposal to mothball 13 state parks. In addition to the parks cuts, the agency has proposed some service cuts, increased camping fees, staff reductions and employee layoffs at the Olympia headquarters. Combined, the measures should save the state parks system about $8 million.
Plan for Issaquah’s future to be unveiled
October 19, 2010
Glimpse the future — or at least how Central Issaquah might redevelop — at a city-sponsored open house next week.
Central Issaquah Plan Advisory Task Force members plan to unveil recommendations for future redevelopment Oct. 27.
The open house includes 10-minute overview presentations every 30 minutes on the half-hour, and displays to show recommendations. In addition, task force members plan to attend and answer participants’ questions.
The task force spent almost 1,000 hours during the past year to establish a vision for redevelopment in the area — a 915-acre swath along Interstate 90.
Planners envision the area — now a string of strip malls, self-storage facilities and parking lots laid out along busy thoroughfares — as a town center connected by pedestrian walkways and mass transit.
Students to start calling for school donations
October 19, 2010
Students from Issaquah’s three high schools are banding together, phones in hand, with the goal of bringing home $300,000 for the Issaquah Schools Foundation’s Calling for Kids annual fund campaign.
Students will be dialing numbers from 6-8:30 p.m. Oct. 25 and 28.
In the past, the foundation used Costco’s call center, but “the writing was on the wall that we were not going have the use of Costco anymore,” Calling for Kids co-chairwoman Leigh Stokes said.
Faced with the dilemma of providing phones for 150 students, the foundation coordinated with Issaquah School District administrators and secured the use of the district administration building.
This year, callers will be spread out across the building, while others will use cell phones the foundation purchased for its annual campaign.
The foundation purchased 90 cell phones with reloadable minutes for $1,600, with T-Mobile underwriting $1,000 of the expense.
City hosts Issaquah Creek parks open house
October 19, 2010
Help decide the future of downtown Issaquah parks at a Tibbetts Creek Manor open house Oct. 21.
The meeting to plan the future of Tollë Anderson, Cybil-Madeline and Issaquah Creek parks is scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 21 at the manor, 750 17th Ave. N.W. Residents can also complete a questionnaire about the parks at the city website.
The meeting includes representatives from the city Parks & Recreation Department and The Berger Partnership, the Seattle landscape architecture firm spearheading the design.
The city plans to spend up to $1.6 million to complete the plan and build the initial phase of the 15.5-acre parks complex. Issaquah voters approved money to develop the parks in a 2006 bond.
City Parks & Recreation Department employees kicked off the planning process during a public picnic at the site in late August.
City announces sites for electric vehicle charging stations
October 19, 2010
The city plans to install a pair of charging stations at City Hall Northwest soon, as part of a regional push to create a network of charging stops to juice up electric vehicles.
The stations lay the groundwork for all-electric vehicles to be used in commuter vanpools traveling to and from Issaquah.
City staffers and other commuters plan to use the King County Metro Transit vanpools. The transit agency is due to provide the vehicles by early next year.
The effort is funded through a U.S. Department of Energy petroleum-reduction grant. The agency awarded the grant to the Puget Sound Clean Cities Coalition, of which Issaquah is a member.
The city announced the program Oct. 13, less than a month after King County Executive Dow Constantine outlined a plan to add more than 120 charging stations across the region.
