Issaquah Highlands retail lineup adds coffee, liquor
February 7, 2013
NEW — 4 p.m. Feb. 7, 2013
The latest announced tenants for the long-planned Issaquah Highlands retail center, Grand Ridge Plaza, offer shoppers a chance to catch a buzz — spirits at BevMo! and coffee at Starbucks.
The recent additions to the $70 million highlands project add recognizable names alongside the Regal Cinemas multiplex, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Marshalls and HomeGoods, and Safeway.
The project developer, Regency Centers, estimated for offerings to open starting in the summer and fall. Expect the movie theater and some restaurants to open initially.
BevMo! — a chain based in Concord, Calif. — intends to expand to Issaquah after opening outposts in Bellevue and elsewhere in the Puget Sound region after the state privatized liquor sales in June 2012.
County seeks proposals for youth sports facilities
February 7, 2013
NEW — 8 a.m. Feb. 7, 2013
Local youth sports organizations can apply for King County grants to build or upgrade recreation facilities.
The county Youth Sports Facilities Grants Program provides matching grant funds from $5,000 to $75,000. Past grant recipients include playgrounds and athletic fields, including the Issaquah Little League’s Dodd Fields near Issaquah Valley Elementary School.
Other local grant recipients in the Issaquah area include city-run Central Park in the Issaquah Highlands and county-run Duthie Hill Park in Sammamish.
Overall, officials awarded $12 million through the program in the past 20 years.
Mayor Ava Frisinger reflects on accomplishments
February 5, 2013
Mayor Ava Frisinger, a steady leader amid more than a decade of transformation, plans to retire after guiding Issaquah through a transition from small town to a boomtown in 16 years at City Hall.
Ava Frisinger
The announcement did not come as a surprise to other elected leaders or residents active in municipal government. Frisinger said in early 2009 she did not intend to run for a fifth term as mayor in 2013.
But the decision to include the announcement in a farewell State of the City address Feb. 4 enabled Frisinger to cast the annual speech as valedictory on accomplishments from the last decade and a half.
The mayor glanced back to 1998 — before officials opened a modern City Hall along East Sunset Way and as initial residents settled into the Issaquah Highlands, a then-novel urban village carved into the hillside above Interstate 90.
Issaquah community hosts Chinese New Year celebration
February 5, 2013
Experience a martial arts demonstration and a traditional lion dance, sample Asian cuisine and play games at the Year of the Snake Celebration from 3-5:30 p.m. Feb. 10.
The family-friendly event is presented by the Issaquah Highlands’ Asian community. The celebration at Grand Ridge Elementary School, 1739 N.E. Park Drive, is free and open to the public.
Other highlights on the schedule include Chinese folk dancing and a children’s parade.
Though the event is set on the Chinese New Year, organizers plan to include New Year and spring traditions from throughout Asia, including Korea, Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The inaugural celebration last year attracted more than 400 people from Issaquah, Sammamish and other Eastside communities.
Mayor Ava Frisinger reflects on accomplishments
February 5, 2013
NEW — 6 a.m. Feb. 5, 2013
Mayor Ava Frisinger, a steady leader amid more than decade of transformation, plans to retire after guiding Issaquah through a transition from small town to a boomtown in 16 years at City Hall.
Ava Frisinger
The announcement did not come as a surprise to other elected leaders or residents active in municipal government. Frisinger said in early 2009 she did not intend to run for a fifth term as mayor in 2013.
But the decision to include the announcement in a farewell State of the City address Monday enabled Frisinger to cast the annual speech as valedictory on accomplishments from the last decade and a half.
The mayor glanced back to 1998 — before officials opened a modern City Hall along East Sunset Way and as initial residents settled into the Issaquah Highlands, a then-novel urban village carved into the hillside above Interstate 90.
Wells Fargo is latest Issaquah Highlands tenant
February 2, 2013
NEW — 2 p.m. Feb. 2, 2013
Wells Fargo is the latest announced tenant for the long-planned Issaquah Highlands retail center, Grand Ridge Plaza.
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo plans to open a 2,600-square-foot branch at Highlands Drive Northeast and Northeast Federal Drive by September.
Customers can expect to see “green” features in the business, such as energy efficient light fixtures, water-saving plumbing fixtures, and sustainably grown and harvested wood materials.
The company also announced plans to open 15 to 20 outposts throughout the Puget Sound region in the next five years.
Issaquah starts 30-day countdown to plastic bag ban
January 31, 2013
NEW — 10 a.m. Jan. 31, 2013
The citywide ban on most retail plastic bags starts March 1, and Issaquah leaders reminded residents to prepare in the 30 days before the legislation goes into effect.
The measure also sets a 5-cent fee for most paper carryout bags. Under the ordinance, retailers keep the fee to offset the cost to phase out plastic bags and shoppers can see the expense itemized on receipts.
Though the ordinance requires most plastic bags to disappear from retailers in March, consumers should not expect to see the bags vanish altogether.
The legislation contains exemptions for plastic bags for bakery items, bulk foods, meat, produce, dry cleaning, newspapers, small hardware items and takeout foods.
City seeks applicants for advisory boards, commissions
January 29, 2013
City leaders need civic-minded citizens to offer advice on important issues as municipal board and commission members.
The city needs applicants for openings on 12 boards and commissions. The groups advise the City Council on issues related to the arts, cable TV, development, parks and, in more specialized realms, city cemetery operations and sister-city relationships.
Meanwhile, officials need regular and alternate members for the 12 existing commissions. The applicants for board and commission posts do not need to reside in Issaquah.
City seeks applicants for boards, commissions
January 23, 2013
NEW — 10 a.m. Jan. 23, 2013
City leaders need civic-minded citizens to offer advice on important issues as municipal board and commission members.
The city needs applicants for openings on 12 boards and commissions. The groups advise the City Council on issues related to the arts, cable TV, development, parks and, in more specialized realms, city cemetery operations and sister-city relationships.
Meanwhile, officials need regular and alternate members for the 12 existing commissions. The applicants for board and commission posts do not need to reside in Issaquah.
Applicants undergo interviews before Mayor Ava Frisinger recommends appointees to the council for confirmation. The council usually confirms appointees in April, and terms for appointees start in May.
Fred Butler enters race for Issaquah mayor
January 22, 2013
Fred Butler, a City Council stalwart for 13 years and a voice in important debates about the future of Issaquah, entered the race for mayor Jan. 17.
Fred Butler
The contest could hinge on the vision for the decades ahead, as city leaders seek to position Issaquah for redevelopment and attract more jobs to the community.
Butler, 72, served on the council at major junctures in recent history, as members debated the defunct Southeast Bypass road link, how to preserve forested Park Pointe on Tiger Mountain and, late last year, a 30-year redevelopment blueprint called the Central Issaquah Plan.
“We are in the process of evolving from a small town to a small city, moving from suburban to urban,” he said in a Jan 17 interview. “Because I’ve been involved in a lot of the planning and the development of the urban villages and the Central Issaquah Plan, I believe I’m in a pretty good position to help implement the direction that we are going in.”
