Issaquah-based Costco hikes membership fees
October 25, 2011
Issaquah-based Costco increased membership fees 10 percent as the largest warehouse-club chain in the United States offsets rising costs.
The increase, effective Nov. 1, ups annual individual, or Gold Star, and business memberships from $50 to $55. Costco also plans to increase Executive Membership fees from $100 to $110 next month.
Costco said the fee increases impact more than 22 million members, about half of them in the Executive Membership program.
Members in the executive program also receive up to a 2 percent annual reward on purchases. The company increased the maximum reward from $500 to $750 as part of the fee hike.
The company last raised individual and business membership fees in 2006. Company executives announced the latest hike Oct. 5.
Costco’s profit margins narrowed in the most recent fiscal quarter as the company faced higher costs for cotton, gasoline, meat and other goods offered at the chain’s 592 warehouses around the globe.
Costco is the largest employer in Issaquah. The company employs about 2,700 people in Issaquah corporate offices and at the flagship warehouse in Pickering Place.
Stromgren, Dundon
October 25, 2011
Daniel Dundon and Holly Stromgren
Holly Stromgren, of Sammamish, and Daniel Dundon, of Lexington, Ky., were married July 24, 2011, at the base of Mount Si at Bybee Blueberry Farm, North Bend.
The Rev. Tyler Easley officiated.
A reception followed at the same location.
The couple honeymooned in Cancun, Mexico.
The bride is the daughter of KC and Jan Stromgren, of Sammamish. Her maids of honor were sisters Kayleigh and Natalie Stromgren, and the bridesmaids were Michelle Bohner, Abby Dundon, Alison Tinsley and Brittany Stevenson.
Holly, a 2007 graduate of Skyline High School, earned a Bachelor of Arts in health promotion from Morehead State University in 2011. She is on the clinical laboratory technical staff at Kentucky Laboratory Services.
Planners approve AT&T antenna in Forest Rim neighborhood
October 25, 2011
City planners granted AT&T permission late last month to install a panel antenna on a Squak Mountain telecommunications pole.
The telecommunications giant requested approval to install the antenna and ground equipment on the existing wood pole on a city-owned parcel at 2285 Squak Mountain Loop in the Forest Rim neighborhood atop Squak Mountain. The pole stands 95 feet tall and is adjacent to a city-owned and operated water tank.
Planners approved the request Sept. 26.
Nightmare at Beaver Lake relies on dedicated team to create serious scares
October 25, 2011
Marek Kossik, 14, an Eastside Catholic High School student, has zombie face paint applied by Nightmare on Beaver Lake volunteer Kelly Davis before the Oct. 21 haunt. By Greg Farrar
The blood run occurs in a deep forest moments before 8 o’clock on nights leading to Halloween.
Dawn Gonser, lead makeup artist for Nightmare at Beaver Lake, dispenses a crimson liquid to ghouls stationed along a path through Beaver Lake Park.
The distinction between blood types is important. The other type is a goo used to create fresh scabs. The stage blood Gonser races across Beaver Lake Park to squirt into actors’ mouths is a nontoxic liquid similar in taste to mint-flavored mouthwash.
The last-minute touch-up increases the creep factor as actors prepare to scare attendees in horror-film fashion.
Gonser, a longtime Nightmare at Beaver Lake organizer, is part of a close-knit team skilled at scaring.
“It gets into your blood and you keep coming back year after year,” she said.
Nightmare at Beaver Lake is the largest Halloween haunt in the Puget Sound region and, perhaps, in the West.
Teen Talk
October 25, 2011
What are your plans for Halloween?
Eastside Catholic High School
“Costume party.”
Ryan Sullivan, senior
“Watching scary movies!”
Nalani Saito, junior
Halloween Happenings
October 25, 2011
The Issaquah Youth Center and Youth Advisory Board present Fall Fun Fest, for ages 6 and younger, from 6-8 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Issaquah Community Center, 301 Rainier Blvd. S. Wear a costume and enjoy the maze, activity booths, craft projects, Toddler Time toys and prizes. Donations accepted at the door.
Cougar Mountain Zoo’s Halloween Pumpkin Bash is noon to 2 p.m. Oct. 29. Watch 18 carnivores bash and smash treat-filled pumpkins. Lemurs as a helpless scarecrow as a Halloween enrichment tool. Children dressed in costume receive a free return ticket to the zoo.
The Grange Supply hosts a pet costume contest from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 29. The event includes photos of costumed pets.
The Downtown Issaquah Association’s second annual Zombie Walk is Oct. 29. Meet at the Hailstone Feed Store from 2-3 p.m. to get dressed. The Zombie Walk is from 3-4 p.m. up Front Street. The Thriller Dance/Flash Mob is at 4 p.m. at the corner of Sunset Way and Front Street in front of the library. Call 391-1112 or 360-320-2574.
Deal keeps popular One Bus Away transit app moving
October 25, 2011
Local transit agencies and the University of Washington agreed Oct. 12 to keep a popular transit app up and running.
The future of the app, One Bus Away, had been uncertain, because the original developer, a UW graduate student, had moved on to the private sector. The app tells people when a bus is expected to arrive at a stop — in real time.
King County Metro Transit, Sound Transit, Pierce Transit and the university agreed to fund up to $150,000 to further develop and maintain the app for 13 months.
One Bus Away is available on the Internet, for iPhone and Android devices, and as text message alerts.
The app is used by thousands of transit riders to plan trips through the region. The service is used more than 50,000 times per week.
King County offers hazardous waste guide to businesses
October 25, 2011
Entrepreneurs in need of some help manage to hazardous waste can turn to the Hazardous Waste Directory.
The directory is produced and distributed by the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County. Call the Business Waste Line at 206-263-8899 to order a copy, or read the directory at www.lhwmp.org/home/YellowBook/index.aspx.
Business owners rely on the directory to determine how to manage hazardous waste. The directory also describes how to receive help, outlines regulations, explains how to choose a disposal or recycling vendor, and more. The directory lists wastes and includes information about handling, recycling, regulations and chemical hazards.
The program is a partnership of local governments, including King County and suburban cities, to manage hazardous wastes and protect health and the environment.
WildFin American Grill offers surf, turf options to reel in diners
October 25, 2011
The menu at WildFin American Grill roams across the landscape, and borrows from enough culinary traditions and trends to fill a Rand McNally atlas and a Zagat guide.
A kitchen toiling to round out such menus can often lose focus, although WildFin remains consistent — and excels.
WildFin offers surf-and-turf options dolled up in New American flourishes. The concept is not unique on the Issaquah restaurant scene, but WildFin puts a more memorable effort into execution.
The menu taps trends — such as small plates designed for sharing — to laudable effect.
Issaquah’s Sustainability Film Series bags plastics documentary
October 25, 2011
The film “Bag It” and a discussion about plastics anchor the next Sustainability Film Series event.
“Bag It” started as a documentary about plastic bags and evolved into a broader investigation into plastics. The film details plastics’ effects on waterways, oceans and human beings.
Then, after the film, a panel of experts plans to lead a discussion about plastics and how to reduce plastics usage. King County EcoConsumer Tom Watson and People for Puget Sound representative Heather Trimm plan to participate in the discussion.
The free event is from 6-9 p.m. Nov. 2 at the King County Library Service Center, 960 Newport Way N.W. Call the municipal Resource Conservation Office at 837-3400 to learn more.
