Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery selects leader
May 26, 2011
NEW — 3:30 p.m. May 26, 2011
Jane Kuechle
Jane Kuechle spent many hours as a girl on family road trips to out-of-the-way Oregon places.
“Wherever we went, we would stop whenever we saw a salmon hatchery,” she recalled.
Kuechle, a longtime leader in local nonprofit organizations, is about to spend more time at a salmon hatchery. The expert in fundraising and nonprofit management is the next executive director of Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, the nonprofit group responsible for education and tours at the downtown hatchery.
Mayor Ava Frisinger, FISH board president, said members selected Kuechle from more than 30 applicants.
“The board went through a very long and rigorous process of selecting people,” Frisinger said after announcing the appointment Thursday.
2011 Summer Freetime
May 26, 2011
Issaquah High School boys lacrosse ousted in semifinals
May 26, 2011
NEW — 11:50 a.m. May 26, 2011
The Issaquah High School boys lacrosse team saw its season come to an end Wednesday when the Eagles lost to host Bainbridge 13-9 in the semifinals of the Washington State League’s Division I tournament.
Issaquah, which was knocked out in the semifinals for the second straight year, finished with a 14-6 record.
The Eagles’ offense had trouble clicking early and despite a strong attack in the final quarter could never overcome Bainbridge.
The host Spartans led 2-0 after the first quarter. Issaquah got on the scoreboard at 9:02 of the second period on an unassisted goal by senior Jake Fritz. However, Bainbridge quickly counter when Alex Rabin went coast-to-coast and hit Jacob Knostman on a pass. Knostman scored to give Bainbridge a two-goal lead again. The Spartans led 5-1 at halftime.
Legislators preserve dollars for Issaquah outdoor recreation projects
May 26, 2011
NEW — 10:30 a.m. May 26, 2011
Plans to acquire land for a Cougar Mountain trail and upgrade trail bridges in Tiger Mountain State Forest received a last-minute boost from state lawmakers before a special legislative session ended Wednesday night.
Before sending the $32 billion budget to Gov. Chris Gregoire, legislators allocated $42 million to the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program for more than 50 projects statewide. In addition to the Issaquah Alps projects, lawmakers directed funds to Duthie Hill Park and the East Lake Sammamish Trail.
The proposed budget recommends $500,000 for King County to acquire land for Precipice Trail near Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park and $247,870 to upgrade Tiger Mountain trail bridges. In addition, the proposal recommends $500,000 for the county’s East Lake Sammamish Trail project and $317,477 for county-run Duthie Hill Park.
Washington ranks as state friendliest to bicyclists
May 26, 2011
NEW — 10 a.m. May 26, 2011
Washington is the Most Bicycle Friendly State again.
The ranking from the League of American Bicyclists honors a strong commitment to bicycling through policies and programs. The honor marks the fourth consecutive year the Evergreen State has clinched the No. 1 spot.
“Public support is strong for making biking safer and more convenient for children, commuters and recreational users,” state Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond said in a statement. “WSDOT works closely with regional and local agencies to increase the number of walkers and bikers, while also improving safety to reduce the number of bicycle- and pedestrian- related collisions.”
The league rates states based on bike-friendly legislation, policies and programs, education, places to ride and planning. Washington scored consistently high in all ranking evaluation categories.
Help the Municipal League rate local candidates
May 26, 2011
NEW — 10 a.m. May 26, 2011
Help the Municipal League evaluate candidates as campaign season readies for fall frenzy.
The league is a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization dedicated to accountable, effective and open government. The organization needs volunteers to serve on candidate evaluation committees.
The groups include people of diverse ages, backgrounds and political philosophies to evaluate people running for local offices in King County.
Municipal League ratings attempt to answer a fundamental question for voters: How well could the candidate do the job?
2011 Memorial Day Special Section
May 25, 2011
Remembering Our Veterans
2011 Memorial Day Section
Issaquah School District students win National Merit Scholarships
May 25, 2011
NEW — 8 a.m. May 25, 2011
Two Skyline High School students — Saumya Copparam and Dipanwita Maulik — have won National Merit Scholarships, the National Merit Scholarship Corp. announced Wednesday.
Both students plan to attend the University of Southern California, where Copparam plans to study biology and medicine and Maulik plans to study bioengineering.
Put in perspective, Copparam and Maulik are at the top of their game. Of the 1.5 million high school juniors who took the 2009 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, only 16,000 were named as semifinalists in the 56th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
To compete for a scholarship, semifinalists submitted an application that included their academic records and an endorsement from a school official.
Microsoft employees restore Lake Sammamish State Park habitat
May 24, 2011
Microsoft employees (from left) Jenni Powell, of Kirkland, Bob Scola, of Issaquah, and April Ritscher, of Monroe, cut down an invasive English Hawthorne tree during a habitat restoration project May 20 at Lake Sammamish State Park. By Greg Farrar
Microsoft helped the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust reboot Issaquah Creek habitat May 20.
More than 60 employees from the software giant’s campus along East Lake Sammamish Parkway Southeast in Issaquah gathered at Lake Sammamish State Park.
Issaquah School District considers $228 million bond
May 24, 2011
Though far from complete, the 2012 Issaquah School District bond has something for all of the district’s 24 schools, making the work-in-process price $228.6 million.
The proposal also includes remodeled or expanded schools for Apollo, Clark, Issaquah Valley and Sunny Hills elementary schools, Issaquah Middle School, and Liberty and Tiger Mountain Community high schools.
The bond proposal suggests the district tear down Tiger Mountain and Clark, and move the students to a remodeled building where Issaquah Middle School is now. The two schools would be close, but not connected, Associate Superintendent Ron Thiele said, with the Tiger move costing about $3.9 million and the Clark move costing about $19.5 million.
In the meantime, the district would build a new, two-story Issaquah Middle School where Clark and Tiger are now; that would cost about $62.5 million.
“This is the biggest project on the bond,” Thiele said.
The proposed bond also shows several trends — switches from carpet to rubber flooring, three new artificial-turf fields and two rain shields for outdoor play areas.
