Issaquah library district, system receive clean audits
March 12, 2013
Auditors uncovered no problems in finances or procedures at the Issaquah-based King County Library System and the Issaquah Library Capital Facilities Area, a special taxing district, according to recent reports from state Auditor Brian Sonntag’s office.
The thumbs-up from auditors came after routine financial check-ups conducted by the state.
State auditors examined how the library system handles procurement and complies with the state Open Public Meetings Act. The team described the mechanisms in place to protect public assets as adequate, and said the district complied with internal procedures, as well as state laws and regulations.
Auditors examined documents from the library system for 2011. Read more
Local springer spaniel prepares for Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
January 29, 2013
Breeder hopes springer spaniel’s last finish ranks as best
Finn, a 6-year-old springer spaniel, contentedly observes houseguests while lying next to an ottoman at the High Point neighborhood home of owner Bobbie Daniel. By Greg Farrar
Officially, his name is American Canadian Grand Champion Darkover Don’t Dream It’s Over. But Bobbie Daniel knows him simply as Finn.
Daniel, of High Point (just east of Issaquah), has bred nearly 30 champions since the 1980s, mostly springer spaniels. However, she sees Finn as her best chance to have a champ at the Super Bowl of dog shows, the 137th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Feb. 11-12 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
Daniel has bred her current, successful bloodline of springers, and named each after characters from the television show “Grey’s Anatomy.” Finn was a character who briefly appeared in the first couple of seasons. Other than a fine pedigree, she said, Finn has two things going for him — at age 6, this will be his last show.
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.
Lawmakers to discuss dollars for schools at forum
January 15, 2013
The public can hear from top education and budget leaders in the Legislature about the funding challenges facing public schools Jan. 22 at a League of Education Voters forum.
Steve Litzow
Ross Hunter
The organization, a statewide education advocacy group, invited a Democrat, state Rep. Ross Hunter, and a Republican, state Sen. Steve Litzow, to discuss competing visions for education funding in Washington.
Residents can listen to the Eastside lawmakers — Litzow is a Mercer Island resident; Hunter hails from Medina — at the King County Library System Administration Building.
The incoming Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee chairman, Litzow, represents Issaquah and other communities in the 41st Legislative District, a suburban swath between lakes Washington and Sammamish.
Substitute bus driver, a former teacher, arrested for child porn
May 15, 2012
Andrew Rekdahl
Issaquah School District and Eastside Catholic High School officials sought to reassure parents and students May 11 after federal agents arrested a substitute bus driver for the Issaquah district and former Eastside Catholic teacher for possession of child pornography.
Andrew Bernard Rekdahl, 29, faces child pornography charges after federal prosecutors said the Carnation resident shared explicit images and videos of boys online from his home computer.
Department of Homeland Security agents arrested Rekdahl at a school district facility May 10 after a monthslong sting operation.
Federal prosecutors charged him with one count each of possession and distribution of child pornography. If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison.
Rekdahl served as a substitute bus driver for more than a dozen routes throughout the school district between Nov. 14 and May 10 and as a science teacher at Eastside Catholic in Sammamish from 2005 to June 2010.
King County Library System’s Internet policy is unchanged after court ruling
May 8, 2012
The use of software to filter Internet content for library patrons received support in a recent federal court ruling.
Officials at the King County Library System filter Internet content at public computers, although library patrons can have the filter deactivated. The library system uses a tiered system of filters to determine patrons’ access to Internet content.
In April, Eastern Washington Federal District Court Judge Edward F. Shea ruled the Wenatchee-based North Central Regional Library did not violate the First Amendment by installing Internet filtering software on computers for all library patrons.
Under a policy adopted in August 2003, the Issaquah-based library system provides access to the Internet on all public computers and uses Internet filtering software.
Meet Issaquah’s board, commission appointees
May 1, 2012
City leaders appointed a group of civic-minded citizens to boards and commissions April 16.
Grand Ridge Elementary’s Lightning Readers win county library contest
April 17, 2012
The Grand Ridge Elementary School Lightning Readers celebrate winning the King County Library System’s Global Reading Challenge on March 23. By Tom Corriga
They started in October, eight students setting out to read 10 books.
They spent plenty of their own time between the covers of those books, but toward the end of the challenge they gave up their recess and lunch times to stay in the classroom in order to read and answer questions about what they’d read.
“And all that paid off,” declared Grand Ridge Elementary School student Gargi Panatula.
The Issaquah School District has entered the King County Library System’s Global Reading Challenge for 11 years. Teams competitively answer questions about assigned books. Issaquah squads have made the finals previously. But the district has never won the championship. That changed March 23 when Grand Ridge’s Lightning Readers went the distance and beat out three other finalist teams to win the Grand Challenge.
“And I think we got smarter,” team member Emma Huryn said.
Municipal League of King County honors local leaders, libraries
April 10, 2012
Efforts to help people find jobs, learn English and grow small businesses earned the Issaquah-based King County Library System a top honor from the Municipal League of King County.
The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization recognized the library system as Organization of the Year, and also honored King County Executive Dow Constantine and local state Sen. Steve Litzow in the 53rd Annual Civic Awards.
Each year, the Municipal League and the Municipal League Foundation present the honors to highlight people and organizations for significant contributions to the community. Organizers held a ceremony April 5 to honor the recipients.
Constantine received the James R. Ellis Regional Leadership Award for years of public service, efforts to bring a culture of performance to county government, completion of major projects and improved relationships among the county and other jurisdictions.
The award honors individuals and organizations for contributing significant leadership in tackling regional public policy issues.
Litzow, a freshman Republican from Mercer Island, and state Sen. Ed Murray, a veteran Seattle Democrat, shared the Warren G. Magnuson Award for bipartisan leadership to pass same-sex marriage legislation. (Litzow represents Issaquah neighborhoods in the 41st Legislative District.)
