Greg Farrar Press photographer

Why should this writer feel it important to share thoughts about the proposed mosque and community center project 3,000 miles away from Issaquah, in New York City near the site of the World Trade Center terrorist attack? Isn’t that a little bit outside our scope?

I don’t think so, and to name a few reasons, here’s why:

• An Eastlake High School girls’ basketball player wearing a headscarf in 2007.

• Chabad of the Central Cascades, located in the Issaquah Highlands.

• The Vedic Cultural Center on 228th Avenue Southeast in Sammamish.

• Issaquah’s sister city relationship with Chefchaouen, Morocco.

• The local Christian churches of many denominations, including Serbian Orthodox.

• A local Baha’i faith group having meetings in members’ homes.

• The Sammamish Muslims Association proposal for an Islamic Center of Sammamish and Issaquah near Pine Lake.

The point being, we are right in the middle of the debate and its outcome.

Many of us in this area have already reached a conclusion. Just attend an ethnic cultural fair at one of our elementary schools and anyone can see that the whole world is represented in our city. Software engineers living here have come from all over the world with their families. We’ve figured out the importance of accepting and respecting our differences.

If you haven’t reached that conclusion, here’s my opinion.

It’s sad to see the consternation going on in New York, the most multicultural city in the world. There are supporters and detractors even among family survivors of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack.

It’s sad to see politicians and pundits taking stands for or against the plan that are so predictable based on their political party or ideology without a moment of intellectual examination.

It’s sad to see political attacks against the president just for the sake of party momentum going into fall elections, when Obama says during a Ramadan observance at the White House that Muslims have a constitutional right to build without government interference.

By the way, it’s sad to hear that 20 percent of Americans believe Obama is a Muslim.

Since that’s my opinion, here’s where I stand.

Where my wife and I live in Mountlake Terrace, we are two blocks from Masjid Umar Al-Farooq, a local mosque. It’s a pleasure to be their neighbor.

Also, two blocks away from us is a Sukyo Mahikari Center for Spiritual Development. We are not suffering any anxiety by their presence.

For more than 30 years, our neighbors across the street have been a black family. Frank helps me with my home improvement projects and I help him with his. He calls me a brother.

A while back, for about a decade, we had lesbian next-door neighbors. Their proximity did not change my wife’s affection toward me.

Currently, the two families living on either side of us speak Spanish as their first language. Between the three houses, mine is frankly the only eyesore.

I’m not a fancy intellect. If I can figure out that it’s important to live in support of people who are different, everyone else should be able to have figured it out before me.

I’m done talking about where I stand. Understand me, an act of terror is not the practice of a religion. It is a sick, evil act of hate and murder. But I’d like to finish with an inarguable fact.

The very first line of the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights, states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

It’s even more important than freedom of speech. It’s more important than freedom of the press. It’s more important that the right to petition government. It’s more important than the right to bear arms. Choosing to practice or not practice any religion one wants is freedom No. 1.

Editor’s note: This week, we turned Off The Press over to our four interns who have worked all summer and are getting ready to head back to school.

By Paige Collins

Paige Collins Press intern

A community newspaper that feels like a community in itself, The Issaquah Press newsroom is often a combination of smiles, sarcasm and stress. Reporters and editors alike, the support of the staff has been outstanding as everyone seemed eager to teach all they could.

The summer introduced me to new places and new faces in the area where I have spent the majority of my life. There is always something new out there to find out about and get involved in, and little ol’ Issaquah has more to it than one would expect.

This being my first experience on a real newspaper, there was plenty to learn and absorb. I wrote more articles and held more interviews this summer than I had in my entire life. The experience is priceless.

I would like to thank Kathleen Merrill, and the rest of The Issaquah Press staff for providing me this opportunity to learn and expand my horizons in journalism.

By Elizabeth DeVos

Elizabeth DeVos Press intern

Since my junior year of high school, I’ve known I wanted to be a journalist. This past summer, I’ve had the opportunity to write for The Issaquah Press as an intern.

While working at The Press I learned more than any of my classes at Central Washington University could have taught. There is one thing that my classes did teach me though, “get off your butt and knock on doors.” I never thought this saying would come in handy, but there were times when sources didn’t return phone calls and deadline was fast approaching.

Throughout my internship, I had to break out of my comfort zone and talk to total strangers for my articles. While this was scary, it was also very fun at the same time.

I will never forget all the fun times I had with my co-workers and fellow interns at The Press, from fun outings to stressing over deadlines. Nobody knows where I’ll end up writing next, but I truly hope it is somewhere as fun as The Issaquah Press.

By Kirsten Johnson

Kirsten Johnson Press intern

On day one as an intern, just minutes after arriving in the newsroom, I was sent out by Editor Kathleen Merrill to interview total strangers at Lake Sammamish State Park. Although my first experience of being plugged into the life of a reporter was slightly terrifying, since then, I have had a fun and interesting summer.

Assignments I’ve enjoyed covering have included a skinny-dipping contest, a soap-box race for special-needs children and tagging alongside reporters to city court, a school board meeting and a three-hour City Council meeting. I’ve seen just how much goes on around here in Issaquah.

I’ve learned that journalism is not a 9-5 job. I’ve experienced how stressful deadline days can be and how suddenly news can happen overnight, like the state park shootings. I’ve witnessed how important it is for reporters to be able to interact with people of every walk of life.

I have worked with the nicest group of people and interned alongside three fun girls. I have gained invaluable experience, a fresh perspective on the field of journalism and not to mention, some great new friends.

By Sarah Sexton

Sarah Sexton Press intern

I had the chance to meet an entire staff of amazing people through this internship, and to learn what they each contribute to the paper.

Getting the stories I wrote published was an exciting thrill, as well. When the byline read, “By Sarah Sexton, Issaquah Press intern,” I really felt like I was making a difference! Going to staff parties and picnics was fun, too.

Something that was hard for me was meeting deadlines. Sometimes, procrastinating too much would lead to a lot of pressure on one night and staying up late, etc., especially when the interviewees would not contact me back.

Sitting through the boring parts of meetings could be a challenge, too. I have learned that there is more activity going on around Issaquah that I was never informed about before, and that it takes a lot to make a good newspaper come together as successfully as The Issaquah Press does.

Laura Geggel Press reporter

I have come full circle. Issaquah is where my story begins and is now beginning again, but let me explain before I get ahead of myself.

In 2006, I interned at The Issaquah Press during my junior summer of college. Reporting for a community newspaper was different from reporting for my college newspaper. Instead of interviewing 20-somethings or professors, I drove out into the community, reporting on elementary school history lessons, Locks of Love contributors, the edible forest along Northwest Gilman Boulevard and the obituary of an Issaquah man who had died in a marine accident.

Community journalism inspired me, and hopefully inspired my readers. Issaquah’s students and historians welcomed me. I learned about the allegedly haunted train cars at the depot and about programming for the elderly at Providence Marianwood. I found out every person had a story when I threw a dart at the phone book and interviewed an Issaquah man who swore carrot juice had contributed to his longevity.

Bolstered by my experiences at the Press, I entered what I call my “year of internships” after college, first interning at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and then at a publication at Harvard Medical School.The only problem with internships was the pay. I needed a real job, so I jumped at the chance to report about education at The Issaquah Press’ new sister newspaper, SnoValley Star.

For the next two and a half years, I covered the Snoqualmie Valley School District and the Snoqualmie and North Bend communities. Just like my internship at The Issaquah Press, I learned the power of community journalism. I took our readers into classrooms as students learned how to read, wove cedar baskets or studied the eating habits of snails using the scientific method.

SnoValley Star also covered harder stories — student crowding at Mount Si High School and how budget cuts were affecting the district’s librarians, custodians and secretaries. We covered flooding, controversial off-leash dog parks and how the music from Snoqualmie Casino’s outdoor concerts affects some of its neighbors.

When I learned that my former co-worker Chantelle Lusebrink had decided to leave her position, I gave much thought to applying to The Issaquah Press.

I enjoyed reporting in the Snoqualmie Valley, but I was ready for a new challenge. I wanted to meet new people and visit new places. I wanted to familiarize myself with Issaquah like the back of my hand, introduce myself to PTSA parents, teachers, students and share their projects and ambitions with the community.

Lusebrink took me on a driving tour of the Issaquah School District, showing me its expansive four corners and most of the district’s 25 schools.

I can’t wait to learn about the Issaquah School District’s outstanding projects and people. As always, my greatest resource is people like you. If you have story ideas or questions, e-mail me at lgeggel@isspress.com or call me at 392-6434, ext. 241.

Some of you are already calling, and I look forward to meeting you and learning more about you and your family, group or school. The more I know, the more I can share with our approximately 16,000 readers.

As you may have read in my last Off the Press column, I’m easy to recognize; I have red hair. Give me a call or a tap on the shoulder. Together, we can take community journalism to the next level.

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Tim Pfarr Press reporter

‘Getaway car’ has the latest technologies

When many people think of car technology, they think of a stereo, a wireless cell phone headset, a GPS and a car alarm. However, sit those people in Car Toys’ “getaway car,” and they will quickly see an entire world of auto technology they have been missing.

The car — a 2010 Honda CR-V donated by Bob Bridge Toyota* — may look ordinary on the outside, but inside it’s equipped with almost $4,000 worth of the latest gadgets that keep the driver, the car and others on the road safe.

“We’re wanting to promote driver safety,” said Kyle Brehm, Car Toys wholesale and commercial district manager, who visited the Issaquah store with the car July 30.

“There are a lot of distractions out there on the road, and there are tools on any budget to help you be a safer driver,” he said.

Among the handy gadgets inside are a $40 Samsung WEP470 Bluetooth headset, a $90 Blue Ant S4 Bluetooth speakerphone that clips to a visor and a $300 Parrot MKI9200 Bluetooth system that links with the car’s audio system and mutes music when a call is received.

Of course, the Bluetooth mac daddy is the $1,800 Kenwood DNX9960 that has all the previously listed features plus a stereo, GPS and DVD player, although the latter only works when the car is stopped.

The car also contains a $350 Kenwood CMOS-300 backup camera system, a $250 Audiovox LCDM42 rearview mirror that includes a built-in monitor for backup cameras, a $90 Audiovox PSD100 sensor that detects when things are near the car’s bumpers, and a yet-to-hit-the-market Mobileye N270 sensor that detects safe driving distances and alerts you if you begin swerving.

Did I mention the $400 Blackline/Escort GPS tracker that monitors the car’s location at all times — not just after it’s reported stolen like other systems — and can send alerts when the car leaves designated areas or reaches set speeds?

Or what about the Directed DSM100 remote-start system that allows you to start the car from as far as a quarter-mile away with a key ring remote or an iPhone? This system, which starts at $300, allows you to heat or cool the car before getting inside.

But don’t even think about breaking into this car. It’s armed with a Directed MATRIXR57 security system, which starts at $650 and does more than intimidate prowlers with its name.

It has all the standard features of a car alarm, plus impact sensors and a feature that sends an alert to a key ring remote when the alarm sounds. The alarm also kills the engine, making it unable to be hotwired.

Most of these items can be installed in any car, and any of them — alone or added together — will keep you and those around you safer. The more you spend, the more “hands-free” your car will be, Brehm said.

Just be sure these devices don’t distract you while driving, as they are intended to prevent such distraction.

“See them as a tool and not a toy,” he said.

The car will travel through the Pacific Northwest through the end of the month, and then most of the devices will be removed, so the car can be given back to Renton Honda.

Tim Pfarr: 392-6434, ext. 239, or newcas@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Chantelle Lusebrink Press reporter

Since 1863, King County families have traveled from near and far — by horse and vehicle — to reach the county’s annual fair.

Today, the King County Fair combines the best traditions of the past, but reinvents itself each year, so there is more for families to marvel at while spending quality time together.

This year is no exception, with local artists, rides and a world of invention and farming at the Enumclaw Expo Center.

Hear music by Emily Pratt, Phil Hansen, Boys of Greenwood Glen and the Allegro Women’s Ensemble while hunting for custom hand-thrown pottery and intricate quilts.If you’re a child at heart, the new Splashtastic area will let you indulge and cool down on fun waterslides, a Hawaiian Slip ‘n’ Slide and a water gun fighting station.

If you’re looking to do more than view the fair, you can participate by showing your musical prowess in a battle of the bands competition or by cooking up an entry for the red chili cook-off. For you home cooks, there’s a $350 grand prize to the winner.

But perhaps the single most important aspect of the fair is its educational component. Surprised? You shouldn’t be.

If you’re a fair regular, or even just a happenstance fairgoer, you’ve probably enjoyed walking through the stables full of livestock and gawking at the cuddly cats and rabbits.

Behind those leashes and stables are throngs of children and teens learning fundamental life skills through the 4-H and Future Farmers of America programs.

For instance, by breeding their animals, children learn the basics of genetics and how to avoid breeding genetic mutations in various species. By planting and growing crops, they learn the essentials of how to run and operate a farm and business. Finally, by sharing their projects with the public, they learn how to present their ideas and communicate effectively.

Each year, these children come to the county fair with hopes of earning a blue ribbon that not only tells others of their accomplishments, but earns them a place to show their work at the Puyallup Fair or the Evergreen State Fair. Without the county fair, they can’t earn qualification to the others.

But with the onset of the recession and slashes in government spending the past few years, the King County Fair has been the target of drastic budget cuts and faced with the threat of closure.

When faced with that threat this fall and winter, children and adult volunteers from the Southeast King County chapter of 4-H — which meets in Issaquah — rallied to save the fair and funding for their program, learning valuable lessons about government and advocacy.

Thanks in part to their voices, heard at countless King County Metropolitan Council meetings, in numerous media reports and even on the streets of Seattle as they protested, $50,000 was budgeted to run the fair this year.

So, this year, make a point to head to the King County Fair. You’re not only saving a piece of education for generations to come, but like its slogan says, you’ll really “Celebrate Homegrown” this year.

The fair runs from 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Aug. 12 and from 10 a.m. – 11 p.m. Aug. 13 and 14 at Enumclaw’s Expo Center, 45224 284th Ave. S.E. Admission is $5 for adults and $1 for children 15 and younger. Parking is free. Go to http://enumclawexpocenter.com.

On a side note:

This is a special Off the Press for me, as it’s my last.

After four-and-a-half years of working as the education reporter here, I’m leaving my position to attend graduate school in France.

I would like to thank everyone I’ve worked with for opening your homes and sharing your life’s stories at moments of triumph and tragedy. Thank you for trusting me, and this publication, to retell them fairly and accurately.

I will hold this community and my memories close as I take my next step.

Chantelle Lusebrink: 392-6434, ext. 241, or www.issaquahpress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

The instant I popped out of my mother and into the delivery room, the nurse told my parents they had a redheaded daughter.

“Really?” my father asked, looking at my dark-haired mother and fingering his own dark waves. He said it was hard to tell because I was almost bald, but the nurse insisted it was red.

Now, thankfully, I have more hair, and yes, it has a red hue. So, it was exciting when I received one of my more curious news assignments this month: covering the Redheads and More Redheads Guinness World Record event at Skyline High School in Sammamish.

There were 901 thrilled redheads at Skyline, and though the most excited one of all, local photographer Anne Lindsay, wasn’t a natural ginger, she made up for it with her enthusiasm.

Lindsay called me the week before the occasion, proclaiming, “I’ll only talk to you if you have red hair,” before saying hello. I liked her immediately.

Lindsay said it was a good thing I have red hair, because only redheads would be allowed on Skyline’s field. I asked her how I could find her after the world record photo for an interview, and she said she would wear one black sandal and one white sandal — a reference to the days when she only took pictures in black and white.

Before I hung up, I caught myself from saying something I end most conversations with when I’m about to meet someone who doesn’t know what I look like:

“I’m easy to recognize, I have red hair.”

Being a redhead has its benefits, but it certainly gave my dark-haired brother fodder for teasing me, saying I was adopted. I never took him seriously, and found an ally in my grandfather, whom we all called Grandpa Red because of his red locks, though they had since turned blond.

“Is your hair still red?” he would ask me every time we talked on the phone. I always assured him it was.

Many people I met would compliment me on my hair, and their attention probably helped me grow out of my shy shell. Once, when I was in preschool, a talent scout who liked my hair stopped me and my mother in Bellevue Square, asking if I wanted to be a model. Not much later, a stewardess upgraded my entire family to first class on a plane trip to Hawaii because she thought my red hair was adorable.

Having red hair means I always have a fallback for Halloween costumes. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been Pippi Longstocking, and recently I was Wendy, from the hamburger chain. This year, I plan to be reporter April O’Neil from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; all I need is the yellow jumpsuit and a turtle sidekick.

There is a drawback to having red hair, and I encountered it when I was dating someone who also had a red mop.

“Is that your brother?” people would ask me, not something I wanted to hear when I was introducing my boyfriend to them.

Redheads also have the misfortune of getting sunburned easily. At the world record event, Sammamish city councilman and TV personality John Curley joked that they were also setting the world record for the most sunburned people. I laughed, and doused myself with some more SPF. Once, when reporting on a story, I borrowed a woman’s straw hat to protect myself from the sun. At least I’m not the only pale person around — people living in the Pacific Northwest aren’t exactly known for their tans.

Surrounded by 900 other redheads at the event, I smiled at something Lindsay said before taking the picture: “We’re not carrot tops. If we were, we would all have green hair.”

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

David Hayes Press Reporter

Don’t let ghosts get in the way of an opportunityHave you got a business idea but have yet to find the right location to set up shop?

Issaquah is rife with new business parks and other sparkling constructs. But let me tell you about an opportunity to lease a piece of Issaquah’s past.

Situated in downtown, right across from the police department, sits a 4,000 square-foot structure that remains little changed from its original 1946 design. What started out as an auto shop has morphed over the years into businesses including a candy store, an antique gallery and a consignment store.

Oh, and did I mention, it’s haunted?

With so many television shows about ghost investigators visiting some of the world’s hottest spots for the afterlife, this would be the perfect opportunity to capitalize on the craze.

Real estate agent Lauree Naval said she doesn’t have to tell potential clients, but it’s more than likely to come up in conversation.

“You absolutely have to be truthful,” she said.The building, owned by a local family, has sat empty for about a month, Naval said. She agreed to give me a tour of the building, as I wanted to see what I’d experience without any true believers present. Naval said as a Catholic, she believes in the afterlife and was open to the possibility entities still lingered in the old facility.

“But I’ve never experienced anything myself,” she admitted. “I have seen the light flicker a few times, though.”

I, too, have already been in the building a few times, including at an official paranormal investigation, hosted by its last occupant.

The previous tenant, Ankhasha Amenti, a professional psychic and spiritual advisor, moved out after briefly transforming the space into Ankhasha’s Temple of the Western Gate. She’s told me in the past the building’s history drew her to it, inspiring her to take over operations of the consignment store that was there.

Stories abound about playful ghosts toying with lights, furniture, employees and shoppers. Even the ghost investigators said they experienced varying degrees of activity.

Amenti once told me a smaller investigative team captured some amazing occurrences on tape, including voices and individual balls moving from one of those desktop pendulums.

But nothing ever occurred in my three trips to the building. A local investigator once told me the problem with today’s ghost investigations is that no matter how credible the evidence that’s captured, today’s technology makes it too easy to fake, leaving too much room for doubt. So, unless you experience the phenomenon yourself, if you were ever skeptical of the existence of the afterlife, you’re likely to remain a skeptic.

I wanted to see if anything remained behind after Amenti moved on. The story is the original owners took up permanent residence in the building long after moving on in the natural world.

The space Naval showed me was perfect for a retail store, with its welcoming entry, spacious middle area and back with bay door. An office space would be challenging, she admitted, because there are no windows in the middle or back.

Nothing happened downstairs, so we went upstairs to the 400-square-foot attic, where the most activity was purported to have manifested.

The most interesting thing that did occur was Naval discovered a ring she’d never seen before, just inside the attic door, attached to a string that turned a light bulb on and off.

The first time she tugged it on and then off, nothing happened. The second time, the naked bulb did indeed flicker. Was it the ghosts acknowledging their presence? As a skeptic, but not necessarily a nonbeliever, I wasn’t sold yet. As we were wrapping up our conversation, the bulb flickered again. The ghosts saying goodbye? Come back soon? I just hope that wasn’t the best they could do for my sake.

I plan to revisit the site after new tenants move in to see if the old tenants have remained. And maybe, just maybe, they’ll include me in their shenanigans.

David Hayes: dhayes@isspress.com, 392-6434, ext. 237. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Bob Taylor Press sports editor

I don’t want to scare anyone, but please take a quick look at my column photo. You will notice that I am pictured wearing eyeglasses.

Well, that is no longer the case.

As of two weeks ago, I have 20-20 vision. With the exception of reading and doing computer work, I no longer have to wear glasses all day. Like many of you with perfect vision, I can wear Foster Grants on sunny days instead of dealing with clip-ons or prescription sunglasses. When I wake up in the morning, I no longer have to fumble around on the nightstand for my eyeglasses. When I get up in the morning, I see a beautiful world without the aid of eyeglasses.

What a world I was missing until last month!

Now, this is not an advertisement for lasik surgery. However, I did undergo surgery on both eyes for cataracts.

I’m not exactly sure when the cataracts started forming. I do recall last summer that when I wanted to do some recreational reading, I would move the book up to the tip of my nose. I thought it was just bad bifocals. Turns out, it was probably the start of bad cataracts. Each week, reading became more of a challenge. Again, I blamed the bifocals.

Last fall, when we had sunny days, I noticed my eyes were becoming very sensitive to light. I started wearing sunglasses more frequently, and often pushed the baseball cap down to cut out extra sunlight. Eventually, I began wearing sunglasses even on cloudy days — and you know how often we get those around here.It was sometime in mid-March when one morning a gray screen kind of appeared as I was driving. I thought it was a dirty windshield. No matter how hard I washed the window, that gray screen didn’t clear up.

Work was becoming more of a challenge, too. I was steadily boosting the type size of my copy so I could read what I was writing. Each week, I was moving closer and closer to the computer in an effort to read e-mail and format the scoreboard page.

When it got to the point where I couldn’t read e-mail or my daily newspaper, I figured it was time to get new glasses. I went to an optometrist thinking that I needed stronger lenses. After examining my eyes, the optometrist suggested I find an ophthalmologist because I had cataracts.

I found a very skilled ophthalmologist. I believe he is the best ophthalmologist in the entire world. After examining my eyes, surgery was recommended on both eyes to remove cataracts and place intraocular lenses in my eyes. I chose lenses for seeing distance, which means I don’t have to wear corrective glasses when driving or covering outdoor sports but have to wear readers for computer work and reading.

Surgery was performed first on my left eye, then after about two weeks, the right eye. The surgeries were painless.

One thing I learned from the recent experience is that a person should have his or her eyes examined frequently. My brother-in-law Chuck has his eyes examined every year. I’m not suggesting that everyone follow his lead. However, until this year, it had been almost five years since I had my eyes examined. The cataracts probably would have formed anyway, but putting off the examination meant I could have had the operation earlier.

So, if any of you have gone several years between eye examinations, I recommend getting to an optometrist. You don’t want to miss out on this beautiful world.

Bob Taylor: 392-6434, ext. 236, or bobtaylor@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Issaquah is not in Southern California, if all the rain and forests didn’t give it away. But our town on the edge of the greater Seattle area is linked to its fair share of recognizable and famous people. Some have moved here, others used to live here and some just drop in from time to time.

So, just who are these famous folks who graced Issaquah at one time or another, you ask? Modest Mouse front man Isaac Brock; Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki; sportscaster Rick Rizzs; former Mariners Jay Buhner, Ken Griffey Jr., Paul Sorrento, J.J. Putz, Omar Vizquel, Dave Valle and Jeff Nelson; former Seattle Supersonics Detlef Schrempf and Ray Allen; Pulitzer-winning playwright Brian Yorkey; authors Deb Caletti and Serena Rolan; actress Cynthia Geary, who played Shelly Marie Tambo on “Northern Exposure”; Lockergnome founder Chris Pirillo; and Red and Rover comic strip artist Brian Basset.

Also, don’t forget Colin Curtis, who graduated from Issaquah High School and now plays for the New York Yankees. Oh, and Train lead singer Pat Monahan lives somewhere up on Lake Sammamish as well, although that may be just out of city limits.

Others who have been said to live here include The Decemberists’ bassist Nate Query, NBC news correspondent Margaret Larson and filmmaker Phil Lucas, who passed away in 2007.

Many of the city’s notable residents have been featured in The Issaquah Press before, and it may not be unusual to see some of them around town. However, the more famous people in the area aren’t seen around town as often, and their exact whereabouts can be hard to pinpoint.

However, one highly publicized celebrity home in Issaquah was Ichiro’s.

Ichiro put his multimillion-dollar home, at 4409 164th Lane S.E., up for sale last year and moved closer to Lake Sammamish. I have a hunch the real reason he moved was to put himself in the heart of the Lake Sammamish underground sweater-vest-swapping circle, which I’ve been trying to break into for years with little luck.

Growing up, I always heard about Griffey and Buhner’s neighborhood on the Sammamish Plateau near the Issaquah Highlands. Occasionally, my parents or my friends’ parents would take us to the street on which they lived. We called it Mansion Lane.

We would ogle out the window at the massive houses and try to figure out which one was which, trying to see through their gates as we crept down the street, hoping we’d catch a glimpse of one of our favorite Mariners.

Recently, a friend and I were bored and passing by, and we decided to take a trip back down Mansion Lane for old time’s sake. It looked the same as I remembered, only this time I half-expected to see Griffey buzzing across the street in an electric wheelchair or slumped over on his porch. Then again, it was after 5 p.m., so he may have been asleep in his bed, his joints coated with thick slabs of Bengay.

I still love Griffey, but any of these situations would not have come as a surprise.

I may be missing some other celebrities, so I welcome you to let me know of any I missed. Of course, I want to respect their privacy and not reveal too much information about where they live within the city, or one of their Hummers might “accidentally” run me down in a dark parking lot.

Tim Pfarr: 392-6434, ext. 239, or newcas@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Warren Kagarise Press Reporter

Go bargain hunting with a Costco newbie

Costco Wholesale spends nothing on advertising and lacks a public relations team, but the Issaquah-based retail Goliath generates buzz aplenty.

Costco instead relies on customers — and the occasional endorsement from the queen of all media — to build business.

Take, for instance, the televised trip talk titan Oprah Winfrey took to Costco in 2004. The company paid nothing for the national exposure afforded to Kirkland Signature chicken potpie and cashmere sweaters.

Such Costco lore — the stealth marketing strategy, the casual corporate culture, the bargains and, of course, the bulk — had long fascinated me, even though I had never set foot inside a Costco.

For a piece in the summertime Issaquah Living magazine inside this newspaper, I set out to chronicle how Costco continued to thrive and expand despite the recession. So, as I reported the piece, I ducked inside the flagship Issaquah warehouse with a card-carrying member.

I received no Oprah-style red carpet treatment — although, to be fair, I had not alerted Costco execs to my arrival — but I left impressed. Not just by the sheer amounts, but also by the niceties scattered throughout the warehouse — decent wines, designer jeans and the like.

I had accompanied my parents on untold trips to Costco rival Sam’s Club as a child, but I remember the Wal-Mart spinoff more as a stopping point for frozen chicken breasts and tires than for everyday luxuries.

Reporting the magazine piece also led me inside the nondescript Costco headquarters near Pickering Barn.

The penny-pinching ethos maintained by Costco CEO Jim Sinegal means the headquarters buildings lack posh executive suites.

Sinegal — much too tanned for someone working in gray Issaquah — has earned plaudits galore for his belief in generous compensation for workers and outsized deals for members.

I also learned Sinegal, leader of the third-largest retailer in the United States, enjoys lunch at the Costco food court. So, I too returned to Costco for the same lunch as the CEO, the $1.50 hot-dog-and-soda combo.

Eager to lunch like a millionaire, coworkers and I crammed into the outdoor space to dine at plastic tables and squirt mustard onto hot dogs from stainless-steel dispensers. Customers came by the hundreds for cheap eats consumed beneath Kirkland Signature umbrellas on a recent afternoon.

The huge crowd in line for hot dogs and smoothies provided another example of the Costco anti-marketing strategy: Offer big bargains, and let customers spread the word unprompted.

The ingenious — and, not to mention, cheap — media tactic works for Costco.

Go back, for a moment, to the shopping trip Winfrey made to Costco. The billionaire eyed a high-end handbag — priced for half of the retail cost.

During the hours the show aired in all U.S. time zones, Costco received 5,000 calls about items featured during the 15-minute segment, including hundreds about the bag — a deal fit for a queen and the rest of us.

Editor’s note: Due to a printing error, the Costco piece in the Issaquah Living magazine got cut short and is missing a paragraph and a half at the end. Read the complete version here.

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.