Options abound to recycle old Christmas trees
December 31, 2012
NEW — 2 p.m. Dec. 31, 2012
Christmas is history, and residents ready to pitch old Christmas trees can do so in different ways.
Chip trees — minus tinsel and other decorations — into landscaping material or ground finer into a composting soil amendment.
Customers tired of evergreens dropping brown needles can set out trees for yard waste collection on regular yard waste collection days.
Haulers do not collect trees decked in flocking or decorations. Contact garbage haulers for details; CleanScapes and Allied Waste — a local name for national company Republic Services — serve Issaquah.
TalkingRain earns national beverage honor
December 26, 2012
NEW — 6 a.m. Dec. 26, 2012
Preston-based TalkingRain earned a national beverage honor for Sparkling ICE, a zero-calorie beverage.
Sparkling ICE recently earned the title of Best Enhanced Water at the 10th Annual BevNET Live Winter Conference in Santa Monica, Calif.
BevNET is the leading beverage-oriented media company and a respected authority on the beverage industry. The awards serve as a benchmark for the developing beverage landscape.
King County retailers busted for selling tobacco to minors
December 26, 2012
NEW — 6 a.m. Dec. 26, 2012
Throughout 2012, authorities busted King County retailers for selling tobacco to teenagers 92 times.
The illegal sales rate topped 8 percent, a drop from the 12 percent rate last year, but up from the 6 percent average between 2006-10. Statewide, tobacco sales to minors reached a 10-year high at 16 percent.
“Underage access to tobacco fuels addiction and early death for King County’s children,” Dr. David Fleming, director and health officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County, said in a statement.
In Washington, selling tobacco to a minor is prohibited by law, with a $100 fine and tobacco education for the retailer and a $50 fine for the clerk making the sale. Repeat offenders within two years receive fines up to $1,500 and may have tobacco sales licenses revoked.
City OKs buildings up to 125 feet tall in business district
December 25, 2012
Redevelopment plan calls for more than 7,000 residences
City leaders raised the building height limit to 125 feet in the business district and raised the stakes for redevelopment in the decades ahead.
The roadmap to redevelopment — a document called the Central Issaquah Plan — also creates a framework to add more than 7,000 residences on about 1,000 acres stretched along Interstate 90.
In a series of decisions reached Dec. 17 after years spent re-envisioning the business district, a relieved City Council adopted the Central Issaquah Plan, but delayed action on a key piece until at least April.
“It’s the right plan at the right time,” Councilman Fred Butler said. “It will not happen overnight, but when the time is right, we will be ready.”
City Council approves pact to transform gravel quarry to urban village
December 25, 2012
The gravel quarry carved into the hillside below the Issaquah Highlands is poised to transform into businesses and homes in the next 30 years, after the City Council approved a landmark development agreement to reshape the area.
The landowner and quarry operator, Issaquah-based Lakeside Industries Inc., proposed the pact last year for about 120 acres on both sides of Highlands Drive Northeast. The council approved the development agreement Dec. 17, despite concerns about building height, traffic congestion and contamination in the Lower Issaquah Valley Aquifer, a key drinking water source for the city.
“There was a lot of push and pull, a lot of compromise, and I think it’s an agreement that both is good for my family and is also good for the city of Issaquah, and that we will live to see a development on this site that enhances the city,” Lakeside Industries CEO Tim Lee said before the unanimous council decision.
King County garbage disposal fee hike starts Jan. 1
December 21, 2012
NEW — 10 a.m. Dec. 21, 2012
Residents can expect to pay more for garage pick-up, and to dump garbage at transfer stations and drop boxes, after Jan. 1, as King County seeks to modernize the aging solid waste system.
The average residential customer putting out a single container of garbage for curbside collection per week is likely pay about 57 cents per month more as garbage haulers cover the disposal fees.
Haulers, such as CleanScapes and Allied Waste, pass along the rate increase to customers.
The fee for bringing solid waste to a transfer station or drop box is poised to increase from $117.42 to $129.40 per ton, including tax and a moderate risk waste fee. The minimum fee is due to increase from $20 to $22, including tax and the fee.
Macky’s Dim Sum is shut down again for health violations
December 18, 2012
King County health officials shut down Issaquah restaurant Macky’s Dim Sum for health violations again Dec. 10 after a health-related shutdown in October.
Public Health – Seattle & King County cited the restaurant for similar reasons in both instances, including food stored at unsafe temperatures.
State regulators fine Puget Sound Energy $430,000
December 18, 2012
State regulators fined Puget Sound Energy $430,000 for improperly charging residential disconnect-visit fees to electricity and natural gas customers, officials announced Nov. 30.
The state Utilities and Transportation Commission approved a multiparty settlement agreement stemming from 1,639 violations of state consumer protection rules.
In addition to the penalty, Bellevue-based PSE refunded to customers more than 9,000 disconnect-visit fees charged in error dating back to December 2009. The utility provider also agreed to change procedures for handling such visits.
Turn holidays ‘green’ to reduce waste
December 18, 2012
‘Tis the season for consumption — parties, gifts, shopping, decorations, food and more food — leading to more waste, so King County is encouraging revelers to turn the holiday season “green.”
The county launched the Green Holidays campaign, http://KCgreenholidays.com, to educate consumers about how to cut waste, save energy and support the local economy during the holiday season.
The campaign covers holiday décor, entertaining, Christmas tree-cycling and more. The “green” motif also extends to cards, packaging and gift-wrap.
Eastside Audubon offers giftwrapping at REI
December 18, 2012
Eastside Audubon brings its holiday giftwrap service to the REI, 735 N.W. Gilman Blvd.
Volunteers from Eastside Audubon will be on hand from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 21-24 to wrap REI purchases into presents ready to take home and put under the tree. Suggested donations will range from $3 to $9, depending on package size.
Donations raised by the giftwrapping service helps support Eastside Audubon’s programs in wildlife conservation and youth education. Those programs include habitat restoration on the Audubon BirdLoop at Marymoor Park and classroom presentations about birds and bird behavior for school-aged children.
