Officials warn of measles exposure at Issaquah-area businesses
January 30, 2013
NEW — 5:10 p.m. Jan. 30, 2013
Customers at businesses in Klahanie could have been exposed to measles in recent days, local public health officials said Wednesday.
The case is the second person with confirmed measles in King County since Jan. 25. The infected person is a King County resident and contracted measles from a contagious traveler at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Before receiving the measles diagnosis, the local resident might have exposed others to measles at QFC and Starbucks in Klahanie Center.
Measles is easily spread and highly contagious, although most people are immune to the disease due to vaccinations.
Eastside Baby Corner seeks 2,000 pairs of children’s pants
September 4, 2012
Eastside Baby Corner’s third annual Pants Party collection event is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 8 at its wareouse, 1510 N.W. Maple St.
Last year, the organization, which distributes almost everything needy children need from birth to age 12, collected 1,000 pairs of pants. This year, the goal is 2,000.
The community is encouraged to donate new or gently used pants for children, sizes 5 to14.
Issaquah plastic bag ban could go to voters for decision
June 19, 2012
Issaquah voters could decide on the plastic bag ban enacted by the City Council if a repeal measure launched by a Seattle resident qualifies for the ballot.
The campaign, called Save Our Choice, is modeled on a recent failed effort to repeal the Seattle plastic bag ban. Save Our Choice organizer Craig Keller is in the process of collecting signatures to put a repeal measure for the Issaquah ordinance on the November ballot.
In a 5-2 decision, Issaquah council members passed a plastic bag ban June 4. The decision came after a series of public meetings and a flurry of emails to elected officials.
The local business community offered a tepid response to the proposal, even as statewide environmental groups and regional plastic manufacturers sprung into action to defend and oppose the legislation. Read more
City Council bans plastic bags at Issaquah retailers
June 12, 2012
Ordinance goes into effect for most businesses in March 2013
Issaquah joined a string of cities along Puget Sound to outlaw plastic bags at local retailers June 4, after months of sometimes-acrimonious debate about adverse impacts to the marine environment and the regional economy.
In the end, concerns about the environment led the City Council to decide 5-2 to eliminate most retail uses for plastic bags. The legislation — and a 5-cent fee on paper bags — go into effect in March 2013 for most businesses.
The council listened to advocates from environmental groups and the plastics industry in public meetings throughout April and May, and then again before the decision.
The plastic bag ban sponsor, Issaquah Highlands entrepreneur and City Councilman Mark Mullet, presented the legislation as a way to reduce the estimated 10 million plastic bags the city sends to the King County landfill each year.
Pharmacies offer inexpensive whooping cough vaccine
June 5, 2012
Local pharmacies joined a Public Health – Seattle & King County effort to combat the whooping cough epidemic in Washington by offering inexpensive vaccines to people without health insurance.
Local QFC and Bartell Drugs pharmacies offer inexpensive adult whooping cough booster shots, known as the Tdap vaccine. The vaccination program is made available with assistance from the AmeriCares patient assistance program, a nonprofit humanitarian aid program.
Bartell Drugs, 5700 E. Lake Sammamish Parkway S.E., offers the low-cost vaccine to patients 14 and older. QFC, 1540 N.W. Gilman Blvd. and 4570 Klahanie Drive S.E., offers the low-cost vaccine to patients 11 and older.
Pharmacies and health care providers may charge a fee up to $15.60 to administer the whooping cough, or pertussis, vaccine. In comparison, the normal cost of Tdap without insurance ranges from $60 to $100. People unable to afford the administration fee can ask to have the fee waived.
Pertussis is highly contagious and spreads easily from person to person through coughing and sneezing. The disease is most serious for infants, especially children too young to receive the vaccination. Pertussis causes cold-like systems followed by a long, severe cough.
Issaquah pharmacies offer inexpensive whooping cough vaccine to uninsured patients
May 30, 2012
NEW — 9 a.m. May 30, 2012
Local pharmacies joined a Public Health – Seattle & King County effort to combat the whooping cough epidemic in Washington by offering inexpensive vaccines to people without health insurance or patients unable to afford the vaccine.
Local QFC and Bartell Drugs pharmacies offer inexpensive adult whooping cough booster shots, known as the Tdap vaccine. The vaccination program is made available with assistance from the AmeriCares patient assistance program, a nonprofit humanitarian aid program.
Bartell Drugs, 5700 E. Lake Sammamish Parkway S.E., offers the low-cost vaccine to patients 14 and older. QFC, 1540 N.W. Gilman Blvd. and 4570 Klahanie Drive S.E., offers the low-cost vaccine to patients 11 and older.
Issaquah liquor store closes before changeover
May 29, 2012
The state-run liquor store in Issaquah closed May 29, as the Washington State Liquor Control Board prepares to shift stores from public to private ownership.
Under a state law approved by voters last year, liquor sales by private entrepreneurs can start June 1.
The board auctioned the rights to entrepreneurs to sell liquor at the state-run store in Town & Country Square along Northwest Gilman Boulevard last month. State records show the right to the Issaquah store sold to Seattle merchant Leon Capelouto for $251,000.
“There is a lot of work involved in transferring these stores to private ownership,” Chris Liu, director of retail services for the liquor authority, said in a statement.
The availability of liquor in Issaquah is poised to expand beyond a single storefront.
Bartell Drugs, Fred Meyer, Front Street Market, Rite Aid, Safeway, Target, QFC, Walgreens and Costco received licenses to sell liquor.
QFC received licenses for the Northwest Gilman Boulevard and Klahanie stores.
Issaquah liquor store to close May 29 before changeover
May 24, 2012
NEW — 2 p.m. May 24, 2012
The state-run liquor store in Issaquah is due to close May 29, as the Washington State Liquor Control Board prepares to shift stores from public to private ownership.
Under a state law approved by voters last year, liquor sales by private entrepreneurs can start June 1.
The board auctioned the rights to entrepreneurs to sell liquor at the state-run store in Town & Country Square along Northwest Gilman Boulevard last month. State records show the right to the Issaquah store sold to Seattle merchant Leon Capelouto for $251,000.
“There is a lot of work involved in transferring these stores to private ownership,” Chris Liu, director of retail services for the liquor authority, said in a statement. “This method will ensure that our customers have the ability to buy liquor right up until June 1, when private retailers take over.”
Liquor sales expand in Issaquah, statewide June 1
May 15, 2012
Jeffrey Roh, of Milton, purchased the right to sell spirits at a liquor store under construction in the Klahanie Shopping Center. By Greg Farrar
The availability of liquor in Issaquah is poised to expand beyond a single storefront next month, as major retailers prepare to add spirits to store shelves and the state completes the process to privatize liquor sales.
Bartell Drugs, Fred Meyer, Front Street Market, Rite Aid, Safeway, Target, QFC, Walgreens and Costco received licenses to sell liquor. (QFC received licenses for the Northwest Gilman Boulevard and Klahanie stores.)
Until the transition to liquor privatization is completed, liquor is available only at a state-run store.
In the meantime, entrepreneurs purchased the rights to apply for a retail spirits license at the state-run liquor store along Northwest Gilman Boulevard and a liquor store under construction in the Klahanie Shopping Center.
State records show the right to the Issaquah store sold to Seattle merchant Leon Capelouto for $251,000. The right to the unfinished Klahanie store sold to Milton entrepreneur Jeffrey Roh for $82,100.
City Council delays decision on plastic bag ban
April 10, 2012
The decision to outlaw plastic bags at Issaquah businesses is on hold, City Council members decided April 2 after listening to appeals from environmentalists concerned about Puget Sound pollution and plastics manufacturers anxious about lost livelihoods.
The proposed plastic bag ban at local retailers is meant to limit garbage headed for the King County landfill and reduce marine pollution.
The measure stalled after speakers questioned the scope, timing and lack of input from the businesses affected by such a change. The council opted in a 6-1 decision to postpone further discussions on the plastic bag ban to a still-unscheduled meeting in May.
“It bothers me that in this last week that we were still turning over stones,” Councilwoman Stacy Goodman said before the meeting.
