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.
State of the County address outlines plans for infrastructure
February 5, 2013
NEW — 4 p.m. Feb. 5, 2013
King County Executive Dow Constantine outlined initiatives to curb gun violence, provide easier access to services for military veterans and family members, and enroll 180,000 uninsured residents into affordable health care.
Dow Constantine
Constantine presented the proposals to the public and the King County Council on Monday in a State of the County address delivered at Seattle’s Museum of History & Industry.
In the address, Constantine said the county emerged strong from the challenges created related to the Great Recession, and said priorities for the year focused on the county’s future by strengthening human infrastructure — such as jobs, health care and veterans services — natural infrastructure — including efforts to address climate change, flood protection and environmental cleanup — and built infrastructure — such as maintaining roads and transit.
King County Metro Transit works to ease bus crowding
January 29, 2013
King County Metro Transit is gathering public input on proposed schedule and route changes to routes along the Interstate 90 corridor, including routes serving Issaquah.
The shift is meant to ease crowding and improve travel times on peak commute routes.
The routes under consideration for changes include routes 210, 211, 214, 215 and 218 — routes serving Issaquah. The list also includes Sammamish-to-Seattle Route 216 and Eastgate-to-Seattle Route 212.
King County Metro Transit aims to improve Issaquah bus service
January 22, 2013
NEW — 8 a.m. Jan. 22, 2013
King County Metro Transit is gathering public input on proposed schedule and route changes to routes along the Interstate 90 corridor, including Issaquah-bound routes.
The shift is meant to ease crowding and improve travel times on peak commute routes.
The routes under consideration for changes include routes 210, 211, 214, 215 and 218 — routes serving Issaquah. The list also includes Sammamish-to-Seattle Route 216 and Eastgate-to-Seattle Route 212.
Metro Transit identified the routes as among the busiest and most productive commuter routes in the transit network. Buses carry 5,000 to 7,000 Eastside commuters daily along the I-90 corridor to downtown Seattle and serve major transit hubs in the Issaquah Highlands, downtown Issaquah and Eastgate.
Coalition promotes human trafficking awareness
January 16, 2013
NEW — 6 a.m. Jan. 16, 2013
In recognition of Human Trafficking Awareness Day, observed nationally on Jan. 11, King County Council members issued a proclamation Monday to bring regional attention to modern-day slavery.
Representatives from the King County Prosecutor’s Office, Bridge Residential Recovery Program for prostituted youth, Washington Anti-Trafficking Response Network, Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking Alliance and the advocacy group Washington Engage joined the council in recognizing the regional partnerships to combat human trafficking.
“In Washington, we can be proud that we were the first state in the union to criminalize human trafficking, and King County successfully prosecuted the state’s first human trafficking case,” Councilwoman Kathy Lambert, Issaquah’s representative and the proclamation sponsor, said in a statement. “Local officials and rescue organizations are working together to send a strong message that forced servitude and prostitution of immigrants and teens will not be tolerated.”
Council bids farewell to Bob Ferguson, incoming state attorney general
January 16, 2013
NEW — 6 a.m. Jan. 16, 2013
King County Council colleagues bid farewell to outgoing Bob Ferguson on Monday, as the longtime councilman prepares to assume office as state attorney general.
Bob Ferguson
Ferguson is scheduled to take the oath of office Wednesday in Olympia. In November, he defeated a council colleague, Issaquah-area representative Reagan Dunn, to succeed outgoing state Attorney General Rob McKenna.
“It has been an honor to work with Bob Ferguson for the last nine years,” council Chairman Larry Gossett said in a statement. “All of the people of the state of Washington will now benefit from the energy and intelligence we have seen during his time on the council.”
Levies could fund Cougar Mountain trailhead, other projects
January 15, 2013
King County voters could decide soon on dollars to complete the East Lake Sammamish Trail, add a Cougar Mountain trailhead in Issaquah, and continue funding parks and trails countywide.
Late last year, King County Parks Levy Task Force members unanimously recommended continuing a pair of six-year levies to support county-run parks, trails and open space. Voters overwhelmingly approved the most recent pair of park levies in 2007.
The voter-approved levies fund the bulk of park operations, but the property tax measures expire in December 2013. In June, King County Executive Dow Constantine convened the task force to explore options for future funding.
Biography celebrates late U.S. Rep. Jennifer Dunn
January 15, 2013
The late Jennifer Dunn, a long-serving representative in Congress for Issaquah and other Eastside communities, is the latest subject in The Legacy Project, a state oral history program.
The book “A Woman First: The Impact of Jennifer Dunn” documents the trailblazing Republican’s career, life and legacy.
The biography is available as a hardcover book for $25 or free at The Legacy Project website, www.sos.wa.gov/heritage. (The hardcover book was printed with private funds.)
Celebration launches book about late U.S. Rep. Jennifer Dunn
January 11, 2013
NEW — 6 a.m. Jan. 11, 2013
Leaders plan to gather in Newcastle on Saturday to honor the late Jennifer Dunn, a long-serving representative in Congress for Issaquah and other Eastside communities.
The occasion is the release of “A Woman First: The Impact of Jennifer Dunn” — a book about the trailblazing Republican’s career, life and legacy.
“Jennifer Dunn was a true trailblazer in Washington politics,” Secretary of State Sam Reed said in a statement. “Whether it was becoming Washington’s first female Republican Party chair or attaining a high leadership position in Congress, she reached impressive heights during her career.”
The book launch event is scheduled for 3-5 p.m. Jan. 13 at The Golf Club at Newcastle, 15500 Six Penny Lane. The scheduled speakers include Reed, former U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton, and radio talk show host and onetime gubernatorial candidate John Carlson.
Martin Luther King Jr. celebration is Jan. 17
January 8, 2013
King County officials and employees plan to honor slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in a community celebration Jan. 17.
Scheduled speakers at the event include King County Executive Dow Constantine and King County Council Chairman Larry Gossett.
