Off The Press
May 14, 2013
Hearts go out to a dad, daughter and family
It is a privilege to know Barry LeMond, a husband and father whose name most of you have probably never heard before.
He’s a compassionate man who I first met while he was helping a local family through a devastating tragedy. Now, he and his family are going through the same tragedy, and they can use your thoughts and prayers in the death of his daughter Kristy, a 24-year-old Issaquah High School graduate.
Greg Farrar
Press photographer
In January 2002, when Skyline High School student Josh Williams was killed in a snowboarding accident at Snoqualmie Pass, the LeMond family reached out to support their friends the Williams family, Phil and Debra and their two daughters.
Off The Press
May 7, 2013
Tribute to Katie comes in the color purple
Christina Corrales-Toy
Press reporter
Wearing the color purple will never mean the same to me again.
When I throw on a purple sweater or a lavender scarf, I will know from this day forward that this color is special.
Purple is the color of royalty. It is the color of courage. It is the color of a fighter. Purple is Katie Tinnea’s color.
Off The Press
April 30, 2013
A money pit is just one renovation too many
David Hayes
Press reporter
One of the signs of an economic recovery is an upward swing in valuations in the housing market.
For example, the home my wife and I bought less than three years ago has experienced some serious swings in valuation. King County just last year determined the home we bought at $319,000 had devalued down to $289,000. Luckily, we weren’t under water, yet.
But, just last week, my wife checked again after a house in our neighborhood sold at $379,000 (granted it was a two-story versus our one). Seems the county now sees the same house at $328,000.
That got me wondering. That value is only based on the abode on a given plot of land within a determined area. Upgrades are not considered.
Off The Press
April 23, 2013
Turn off the television, become pedestrians
“The Pedestrian,” a sci-fi, short story by Ray Bradbury, depicts a world in which nobody walks.
The main character, Mead, is the only pedestrian in a city of 3 million people. The rest of the people are pedestrians in the second sense of the word: dull, uninteresting, lacking imagination. The main character is considered a dangerous rebel because he walks.
Joe Grove
Press proofreader
Adventures in getting from point A to point B
April 16, 2013
I have seen a number of mixed signals in the past few weeks regarding the transportation situation in Issaquah.
As I affiliate with this beautiful place and meet with as many people as I can to gain context, I have heard repeatedly about the snarled traffic situation and the lack of public options. More than that, I have seen it. Only two months in and I’ve spent my fair share of time on Front Street.
Peter Clark
The first matter arose two weeks ago when Metro Transit released the news that, without additional funding, bus lines in Issaquah face deletion or revision next year. With education the big issue in the Legislature, Sen. Mark Mullet called transportation consideration an “uphill battle.”
Off The Press
April 9, 2013
Help honor veterans with photos, donations
It’s that time of year again, when The Press begins work on Lest We Forget, our annual Memorial Day tribute to veterans.
This year’s section, our fourth annual tribute, will be published in the May 22 paper, the weekend before Memorial Day.
Kathleen R. Merrill
Press managing editor
If you didn’t see last year’s section (which you can view at http://bit.ly/Jrjlk9), you missed the nearly 170 photos of this city’s veterans, those living and those no longer with us. We also wrote a handful of stories about local World War II veterans, whose numbers are (sadly) quickly dwindling.
Off The Press
April 2, 2013
Robbers can take from us, but can’t break us
Dear thieves who broke into our offices and robbed us,
You came in the night and took most of our computers. You rifled through everyone’s personal belongings and took what you wanted.
Kathleen R. Merrill
Press managing editor
Many people here were already uncomfortable about our move from our longtime home on Front Street to this business park. You made all of that worse.
Off The Press
March 26, 2013
More than longevity is needed to be sourdough
Being new to the community, I wonder how to blend in and be thought an old timer or at least a regular. I have discovered that how one does this varies among geographic areas of the country.
In Alaska, you were either a chechako (newcomer) or a sourdough (old timer). How you made the transition depended on who you asked. Most of the explanations are rooted in old Alaska, before the advent of modern roads and air travel. Some say you had to have missed the last boat out at least once, which meant you had been there through at least one winter. Others say you had to have relieved yourself in the Yukon River.
Joe Grove
Press proofreader
Off The Press
March 19, 2013
Memories move with us from Front Street
The boxes are packed, the old files emptied. It’s the last week on Front Street for The Issaquah Press and we’re going to miss it.
Unless you’ve been here for more than a couple decades, you are one of many who think 1) The Issaquah Press Building is very, very old and 2) the building is owned by The Press.
Debbie Berto Press publisher
Neither is true. The building is only 25 years old and the newspaper has never owned it.
Off The Press
March 12, 2013
Want a tax deduction for reading this column?
Are you staring at your 1040 form this month wondering where all your income went?
Just in case you are in the 1 percent of taxpayers that have been slammed by this year’s repeal of your tax cuts, don’t think we here at The Issaquah Press can’t try to help you get a little of it back, with our thoughts about new tax loopholes that should help make ends meet.
Greg Farrar
Press photographer
I polled some of our employees on their ideas. If the American people can get Congress to put these on the books, it would benefit the 1 percent, the 99 percent, the 47 percent and all the other percenters that are out there.
