City Council committee supports countywide drug take-back program
November 28, 2012
NEW — 8 a.m. Nov. 28, 2012
City Council members signaled support Monday for a burgeoning effort to create a King County prescription drug take-back program.
Council Safety & Services Committee members unanimously recommended for the council to approve a resolution supporting the program to committee for further discussion.
In a unanimous decision Nov. 19, council members sent the proposed resolution to committee. The council is expected to consider the resolution again next month.
The council sent the legislation to committee less than a week after Mayor Ava Frisinger, a King County Board of Health member, joined a local forum to discuss the proposed county drug take-back program.
Crews gird for snow removal before flakes start to fall
November 27, 2012
The mercury dips a little lower as November turns to December, winter starts in mere weeks, and the agencies responsible for ensuring roads remain passable in ice and snow readied removal plans for the months ahead.
Issaquah, King County and the state prepare detailed ice and snow response plans long before the flakes start to fall. The agencies face challenges in Issaquah and the surrounding area due to steep terrain, narrow roads and limited funding.
Local police target holiday season DUIs
November 27, 2012
Thanksgiving ranks at No. 2 in King County for the holiday with the most arrests for motorists driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Washington State Patrol troopers urged revelers not to turn celebration into stress by driving under the influence throughout the holiday season.
The state patrol, Issaquah Police Department and other law enforcement agencies statewide launched the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over DUI crackdown Nov. 21, the day before Thanksgiving.
Issaquah holiday activities offer fa-la-la fun
November 27, 2012
Bartell Drugs and Salvation Army’s Toy ‘n’ Joy drive through Dec. 14, accepts new, unwrapped gifts for children up to age 14, or shoppers can chose a gift request tag item in the store and put it in the donation barrel in the store. The Issaquah Bartell is at 5700 E. Lake Sammamish Parkway S.E. Learn more at www.bartelldrugs.com.
Toys for Troops seeks donations for Christmas presents for children of service members. Drop off donations through Dec. 15 at the Issaquah Police Station, 130 E. Sunset Way, or make financial donations at www.operationbaldeagle.org.
Small Works Holiday Exhibition, through Dec. 29, artEAST Art Center, 95 Front St. N., 392-3191, www.arteast.org
Downtown Issaquah holiday lights work party, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 1, meet at Hailstone Feed Store, 232 Front St., a lunch break at noon features donated pizza from Flying Pie Pizza, call 391-1112 to volunteer
Issaquah Police Department joins holiday DUI patrols
November 20, 2012
Issaquah police officers plan to join a national push to pull drunken drivers from local roads during the holiday season.
The agency is joining other police departments in King County, Washington and across the United States from Nov. 21 through Jan. 1 in Washington’s initial participation in a national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign.
During the most recent DUI crackdown statewide, officers arrested 1,603 motorists for DUI from Aug. 17 to Sept. 3. The total includes 364 motorists arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in King County.
Report tracks rise in drug-induced deaths, decline in traffic fatalities
November 20, 2012
Investigators from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office probed 22 deaths in and just outside Issaquah last year, including the suspect’s death in a fatal shootout at Clark Elementary School.
Report: Investigators probed 22 Issaquah deaths in 2011
November 15, 2012
NEW — 1 p.m. Nov. 15, 2012
Investigators from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office probed 22 deaths in Issaquah last year, including the suspect’s death in a fatal shootout at Clark Elementary School.
The information comes from the agency’s annual report on suspicious, sudden, unexpected and violent deaths in King County. In 2011, King County experienced the fewest homicides and traffic deaths in more than a decade, even as drug-induced deaths increased.
The medical examiner’s office assumed jurisdiction last year in more than 2,000 deaths — 926 natural deaths, 594 accidental deaths, 265 suicides, 135 traffic accident deaths, 54 homicides and 62 deaths due to undetermined causes.
The tally in Issaquah included 11 accidental deaths, seven suicides, two traffic accident deaths, one homicide and one death due to undetermined causes.
Proposition 1, fingerprint identification services levy, passes overwhelmingly
November 13, 2012
King County voters overwhelmingly approved a $118.9 million property tax levy to continue funding criminal fingerprint identification services for local law enforcement agencies, including the Issaquah Police Department.
Proposition 1 asked voters to keep the Automated Fingerprint Identification System, or AFIS, in operation through 2018.
The renewal levy rate is 5.92 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, or about $20.72 per year for a $350,000 home.
Investigators use the AFIS database to match fingerprints and palmprints to criminal suspects. The system is managed by the King County Sheriff’s Office.
Issaquah officers used information from AFIS 2,100 times last year to determine if a jail inmate was evading a warrant, concealing a criminal record or using a false identity.
Issaquah police plan no immediate changes after Initiative 502 legalizes marijuana
November 13, 2012
In a milestone, Initiative 502 legalized marijuana for recreational use among adults 21 and older in Washington.
In the days after the measure passed, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg dismissed 175 cases involving people 21 and older for possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana.
The law outlined in I-502 is scheduled to take effect Dec. 6. Meanwhile, Washington Liquor Control Board officials must formulate rules to grow, sell, tax and regulate marijuana.
King County voters renew levy for police fingerprint services
November 8, 2012
NEW — 5 p.m. Nov. 8, 2012
King County voters overwhelmingly approved a $118.9 million property tax levy to continue funding criminal fingerprint identification services for local law enforcement agencies, including the Issaquah Police Department.
Proposition 1 asked voters to keep the Automated Fingerprint Identification System, or AFIS, in operation through 2018. The system provides criminal fingerprint identification services to the King County Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement agencies.
The proposed renewal levy rate is 5.92 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, or about $20.72 per year for a $350,000 home.
Issaquah officers used information from AFIS 2,100 times last year to determine if a jail inmate was evading a warrant, concealing a criminal record or using a false identity.
Investigators use the AFIS database to match fingerprints and palmprints to criminal suspects. The system is managed by the sheriff’s office.
