County adds safety features near Briarwood, Pacific Cascade campuses
September 2, 2010
NEW — 1:30 p.m. Sept. 2, 2010
King County crews completed pedestrian-safety projects near Briarwood Elementary School and Pacific Cascade Middle School in time for students to return to campus.
The county Road Services Division installed electronic speed limit signs along 168th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 314th Street near Briarwood. The signs use solar power to operate.
Near Pacific Cascade, the Road Services Division added curb, gutter and sidewalk to Southeast Issaquah-Fall City Road, plus electronic speed limit signs.
Classes started Tuesday in the Issaquah School District.
Issaquah sustainability ‘report card’ indicates successes, shortfalls
September 2, 2010
NEW — 10 a.m. Sept. 2, 2010
The inaugural sustainability “report card” from the city touted Costco carpools, the Sustainable Issaquah community garden and affordable-housing construction in the Issaquah Highlands as signs of “green” progress.
The city released the report Wednesday. City staffers collected data to answer the question: How sustainable are we?
“The report shows us many positive signs — including an increase in Issaquah’s natural open spaces,” Mayor Ava Frisinger said. “Commuters are also making fewer drive-alone trips, volunteerism is strong and participation in the arts is increasing.”
Turnout in August election failed to meet expectations
September 2, 2010
NEW — 8 a.m. Sept. 2, 2010
Turnout in the August election reached the highest level for a primary in six years, but participation did not meet pre-election estimates.
The all-mail election attracted 39 percent of King County voters. King County Elections had forecast 45 percent turnout before the election. The office tallied 421,157 ballots.
The county Canvassing Board met Wednesday to certify the results of the Aug. 17 contest.
“We saw a respectable rate of participation considering this was not a presidential election year,” county Elections Director Sherril Huff said in a news release. “We were able to process ballots very efficiently and got some great support from many voters who returned their ballots early.”
Nominate businesses for Secretary of State’s civics honor
September 2, 2010
NEW — 6 a.m. Sept. 2, 2010
Nominate businesses with outstanding community service records for a state Corporations for Communities Award, the highest civics award in the state.
Find the nomination form at the Secretary of State website. Nominate businesses by Oct. 15.
Secretary of State Sam Reed started the program last year to recognize local businesses for making a difference in the Evergreen State.
Officials will announce the winners — a small corporation and a large corporation — in November. Winners receive a National Association of Secretaries of State Medallion.
Reed honored Issaquah developer Rowley Properties through the program last fall.
ArtEAST signs lease to turn old Lewis Hardware store into arts center
September 1, 2010
NEW — 3:20 p.m. Sept. 1, 2010
Issaquah’s artEAST more than tripled its space Wednesday, creating more room to sell and display art and hold art demonstrations, workshops and lectures.
ArtEAST Executive Director Karen Abel signed a five-year lease today for the historic Lewis Hardware building.
“I handed over the big check,” Abel said. “I kind of recall the very first time it occurred to us to think, ‘Wow, maybe we should move forward and try to make this happen.’ It’s pretty amazing to be sitting here four months later.”
Better Business Bureau alerts consumers to phone scams
September 1, 2010
NEW — 10 a.m. Sept. 1, 2010
Beware of scammers attempting to collect credit card information and personal identification numbers.
The warning to Washington residents came from the Better Business Bureau, after Olympia and Lacey residents reported suspicious phone calls from unknown callers attempting to collect the sensitive data under the guise of verification purposes.
The callers identify Evergreen as the business name. The calls appear to originate at 502-568-8884, but the caller has spoofed the number on caller ID to match a phone number that belongs to a legitimate, Kentucky-based business: The Zoppoth Law Firm.
Crews clear truck fire along Interstate 90 near Issaquah
September 1, 2010
UPDATED — 8:10 a.m. Sept. 1, 2010
Interstate 90 traffic slowed to halt east of Sunset Way on Wednesday morning after a tractor-trailer fire.
Crews cleared the accident scene by about 8 a.m.
The westbound lanes shut down at about 7 a.m., but lanes soon reopened within to allow traffic through.
Eastside Fire & Rescue crews brought the fire under control.
Bellevue College eyes Issaquah Highlands for campus
August 31, 2010
Bellevue College is interested in buying 20 acres in the Issaquah Highlands for a potential extension campus, the college president announced last week — days after the City Council opened the land under consideration to denser development.
The announcement kicks off a comprehensive review by Bellevue College leaders. The college — the third-largest educational institution in the state — intends to determine how the site could suit long-term needs.
City invites input as mayor prepares to hire administrator
August 31, 2010
The candidates in the running to become the next Issaquah city administrator — the No. 2 position at City Hall — offer experience as managers in similar-sized cities.
Mayor Ava Frisinger and Greg Prothman, the Bellevue headhunter hired by the city, had narrowed the list to a half-dozen candidates by last week. The number had shrunk to five by Aug. 30, after a finalist accepted a job in another city.
Frisinger has so far remained tight-lipped as she searched for a successor to Leon Kos, the city administrator for 33 years. Kos retired in late April and the search for a replacement started in late spring.
The process has been kept quiet in part because the applicants do not want their current employers to know about their job searches.
New era dawns for Issaquah High School
August 31, 2010
Classrooms, office and gymnasium fill new three-story building
For the first time in five years, Issaquah High School has freshmen, and for the first time since it moved to its current site in 1962, it has an entirely new school building.
School opened Aug. 31 to more than 1,800 Issaquah High School students. Students can see 21st century technology breathing out of every corner, and views of Tiger Mountain and the stadium from most of the school’s windows.
The roof by the library has a garden of red and green plants growing toward the sky. Students will be able to access wireless Internet from anywhere in the school once it is set up, in about three weeks.
Librarian Bill Schadt said the new library is larger than the old one. The new space can fit two classes instead of one and has 40 computers. As for the rooftop garden, “I think it will be a nice view to study near, looking at the mountains and plants,” he said.
Lights are either on timers or motion sensors, saving the school on its electricity bill. Every teaching classroom has ActivSlate and ActiveExpression, smart technology that allows students to interact more with their teachers and classmates during lessons.
“One of the things we wanted in the new science room was more integration,” chemistry teacher Jay Radmer said.
