Bellevue College selects president; Issaquah campus is on horizon
November 6, 2012
NEW — 8 a.m. Nov. 6, 2012
Bellevue College trustees selected a Portland Community College administrator Monday to lead the local institution.
David Rule
The choice of David Rule to lead the largest community college in Washington came as Bellevue College envisions a campus in the Issaquah Highlands. City officials said college administrators intended to select a permanent president before delving deeper into the plan.
Rule, president of Portland Community College’s Rock Creek campus, oversees 26,000 students. The campus boasts innovative curricula in solar-voltaic manufacturing, microelectronics and biosciences.
“I am thrilled to have been chosen as the next president of Bellevue College,” Rule said in a statement. “I look forward to beginning this new adventure and working with the trustees, students, faculty, staff, businesses and the community to build on the strong foundation that already exists at this institution,” Rule said.
Pragmatism defines Issaquah, Eastside voters
October 30, 2012
Local voters could choose a Democrat for the White House, a Republican for the Governor’s Mansion and split legislative seats between the parties.
Experts said voters in Issaquah and the Eastside prefer a brand of politics anchored in pragmatism, rather than party. The effort to appeal to moderate voters is intense as candidates scrounge for votes in the last days before Election Day.
“Democrats and Republicans both get elected there. I think of it as a pragmatic, rather than ideological, sort of politics, which is what Washington state used to be known for,” independent Seattle pollster Stuart Elway said. “I think the state as a whole has gotten more partisan, as the country has, and the party lines seem to have gotten harder.”
Engagement: Schubert, Hall
October 30, 2012
Brandon Hall
and Jessica Schubert
Jessica Rose Schubert, of Issaquah, and Brandon Keith Hall, of Kirkland, recently announced their engagement to be married on May 12, 2013, at Pickering Barn, in Issaquah.
The bride-to-be, the daughter of Gary and Teresa Schubert, is a 2008 graduate of Issaquah High School.
She graduated in 2012 from Western Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in cultural anthropology.
The future groom, the son of Brian and Christine Hall, is a 2007 graduate of Bellevue Christian School.
He graduated from Northwestern University’s Pastoral Ministries. He works as a middle school pastor at Westminster Chapel.
Gubernatorial hopefuls support hatcheries, parks
October 23, 2012
Democrat Jay Inslee and Republican Rob McKenna clashed in a recent series of debates, but the candidates vying to serve as Washington’s next governor share similar positions on local issues, such as support for the state parks system.
Jay Inslee
Rob McKenna
The race at the state level is focused on the candidates’ policies on education and transportation — hot topics on the docket as Inslee and McKenna met in recent weeks.
The Issaquah Press asked the candidates about funding for state parks, salmon restoration and growth management — key concerns in Issaquah and the surrounding area.
Change in geography alters landscape for congressional race
October 23, 2012
Karen Porterfield
Dave Reichert
The showdown in the 8th Congressional District is far different from the most recent contests for the seat.
Incumbent Republican Dave Reichert held on amid spirited challenges from Democrats in 2006, 2008 and 2010. Redistricting last year reshaped the landscape for the district, and the 2012 race is not attracting the same kind of attention — or money — as the earlier battles.
Reichert’s opponent is Issaquah Democrat Karen Porterfield, a nonprofit professional and adjunct instructor at Seattle University.
Porterfield grew up in Seattle, in a family active in Democratic politics, and settled in Issaquah more than a decade ago. She said the expertise she gained in affordable housing development and in leadership roles at nonprofit organizations means she could offer a unique perspective in Congress.
Issaquah High School graduates embark on trip of a lifetime
October 2, 2012
The transition between college graduation and the rest of one’s life can be an uncertain time as students enter the job market and walk down the path to true adulthood.
So, three recent Western Washington University graduates with strong Issaquah roots decided that now was as good a time as any to head off on the trip of a lifetime, before a career gets in the way.
Matt Benson, Justin Kay and Andrew Baer have been friends since elementary school and the three have remained close through their time at Pine Lake Middle School, Issaquah High School and finally, Western Washington University.
The 2008 Issaquah grads will travel to Europe on a monthlong excursion, visiting England, France, Germany, Spain, and possibly the Netherlands and Italy.
Personal stories define Referendum 74 discussion
September 25, 2012
Dana Alixander (left) and partner Sage Alixander stand on the staircase of their Sammamish home with their California-issued marriage license and photographs chronicling their life together. By Greg Farrar
In the moments before the state Senate voted on a landmark same-sex marriage bill Feb. 1, Dana Alixander joined other supporters in the gallery overlooking the chamber.
“I was there, waiting for history to happen — and terrified that it wouldn’t,” she said in a recent interview.
Legislators, after impassioned debate, passed the bill and sent the measure to the state House of Representatives for consideration. In February, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed the legislation as supporters looked on from the packed State Reception Room at the Capitol.
The measure, Referendum 74, goes before voters on the November ballot. Opponents to the same-sex marriage law gathered enough voter signatures to put the measure before the electorate.
R-74 is the centerpiece in a high-dollar, high-profile contest in the national battle between same-sex proponents and foes.
Alixander headed to Olympia to support marriage rights — a long-running fight for the Sammamish resident and partner of 22 years, Sage. (In 2008, Sage and Dana got married in California before Proposition 8 outlawed same-sex marriages there.)
Skyline alumnus wins Bellingham Amateur golf tournament
September 11, 2012
After a weekend on the links at Lake Padden golf course, Jake Webb, a 2008 graduate of Skyline High School, took first place at the Bellingham Amateur golf tournament.
Webb, a redshirt senior for the team at Western Washington University, was the only golfer out of the tournament’s 33 Division I players to play all three rounds under par. The first day out, he shot a 70 and improved that score by one stroke the following day with a 69. Webb finished the final round Sept. 3 at 71 to bring his tournament total to 210.
This was not the first time he shot a 210 at the Bellingham Amateur. Last year, Webb ended with the same total. However, it was still one stroke behind the lead and he went home in second place. But this time around, he secured the victory with a four-stroke lead over fellow Western Washington player and second-place finisher Craig Crawford.
College News
August 21, 2012
Local student makes SLU honor roll
Stephen Connelly, of Issaquah, was recently named to the spring 2012 semester honor roll at Southeastern Louisiana University, in Hammond, La.
To qualify, students must earn a 3 to 3.19 grade point average.
Skyline High School graduate, Olympic cyclist Tela Crane, races for gold
July 24, 2012
Tela Crane, a 2004 Skyline High School graduate now riding for the USA Cycling Team, sets the national record for the 200-meter event during time trials in Colorado Springs, Colo. By Sandra Wright Sutherland
Under the scorching June 22 Colorado sun, Tela Crane zoomed around the velodrome, reaching 45 mph on her bike. After finishing the flying 200-meter sprint, Crane had a smile on her face.
