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The Issaquah Press

A4 • Wednesday, July 8, 2009

OPINION

Businesses appreciate work of the chamber PRESS E DITORIAL

C

ongratulations to the Greater Issaquah Chamber of Commerce on its 63 new members last month, about a 14 percent gain, edging the total membership toward the 500 mark.

Yes, it’s a big deal.

As a community, Issaquah needs a chamber that is strong in members and leadership. Strong enough that city, county and state officials listen when chamber officials speak on behalf of businesses. Strong enough to bring lobbies for lower business taxes, road improvements and regulations that enhance an economically sound community. Strong enough to tap the skills of its members to benefit local education and charitable causes. And strong enough to bring its members together to support each other in business, in friendships, in shared resources.

Together, Issaquah businesses have a greater opportunity to survive and thrive. That’s good for all citizens who live, work or play here.

It’s a bit sad that there are still at least 500 or more local businesses that have not joined the chamber. Certainly, there are those who truly can’t squeak out the $200-$400 membership fee, but most just don’t see what’s in it for them.

The chamber has a slew of benefits — including access to health care plans for individuals or small businesses — and a host of networking and marketing opportunities. And it’s the chamber that manages the Visitor Information Center and stages the Salmon Days Festival and last weekend’s Downhome Fourth of July.

But ultimately, a chamber membership is the right thing to do. It says the business owners care about being here, about being part of something greater than themselves.

The membership drive was a huge success, but it won’t stop there. New leadership and new direction, fueled by an economy that can’t wait for action, has reinvigorated the chamber. The timing couldn’t be better.

O FF T HE P RESS

Pizzeria gets Italian seal of approval

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ity leaders, so fond of the sister city relationships Issaquah forged with cities in Morocco and Norway, might want to consider extending the olive branch to a municipality in Italy.

Though city officials might be too late. Ambassadors from Naples, birthplace of pizza, have already forged ties to Issaquah.

How? With pizza, of course.

Issaquah staked claim to specialty pies last month when Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria and Zeeks Pizza opened within a day of each other.

Customers clamored to both outlets, eager for slices from the Seattle chains. But Tutta Bella employees readied the ovens to impress more important guests.

For pizzerias to be labeled authentic, they must be certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana or, loosely translated, the pizza patrol.

When Tutta Bella opened in a space left vacant by the defunct Chili’s Grill & Bar, the clock began ticking for the pizza patrol to descend upon Issaquah. The restaurant welcomed customers June 15; Italian inspectors arrived a few days later.

The team from Naples would evaluate several Puget Sound pizzerias to make sure chefs used the right tomato sauce and allowed the thin crusts to blister just enough. At stake was the coveted Neapolitan certification.

Members of the pizza patrol and other dignitaries were feted at celebrations across the Seattle area. As part of the welcome, the

VIPs were invited to the Space Needle roof — not just the observation deck, mind you — for a brief ceremony. Journalists were warren encouraged to Kagarise document the moment in dinPress Reporter ner table diplomacy.

Despite the association with pizza, the word “Neapolitan” still invoked images of tricolor ice cream. The proceedings at the Space Needle, I reasoned, would be educational. After all, I wanted to learn the difference between authentic pie and the cardboard delivery box variety from countless childhood birthday parties.

When I received my invitation, I wondered just what might be up there, on the roof of the Space Needle. Would the spindly tower sway with the breeze? Would I spot signs of the Wheedle — as in “on the Needle” — title character of the 1974 children’s book and inspiration for the long gone Sonics mascot? Would I be able to see flecks of the original color scheme — Astronaut White, Orbital Olive, Re-entry Red and Galaxy Gold?

First, before I set foot in the elevator, I needed to sign a liability waiver warning of the risk of death. Twice.

See PIZZERIA, Page A5

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T O T HE E DITOR Polystyrene ban

Ban would help clear up Styrofoam containers cluttering up Issaquah Creek I support a citywide ban on polystyrene food containers as described in the June 17 Press.

There have been news stories over the past few years about the island of discarded plastic floating in the mid-Pacific. However, we have one such monstrosity here in Issaquah. One only has to paddle a canoe up Issaquah Creek from Lake Sammamish to find the creek’s surface covered from bank to bank with floating plastic.

As bad as all of the other floating plastic (pop bottles, etc), the worst is the Styrofoam food and drink containers that have been jettisoned somewhere upstream on the streets of Issaquah. The Styrofoam is breaking up into smaller beads that fish and birds eat, and choke on.

A raft of plastic can be found along the creek whenever a log falls across the creek and traps the plastic floating on the surface. The last time I saw such a raft, it was about 100 feet south of the footbridge over Issaquah Creek, near the beaches and picnic area.

Bob Whitbeck Issaquah

Issaquah Highlands

Majority of residents want a gas station closer to where they live and work Contrary to Jerry Burns’ assertions, a gas station in the Issaquah Highlands would be perfectly consistent with the urban village design concept. The goal is to live close to work, stores and, yes, services, such as a gas station.

The whole point is to reduce travel and thus reduce gas consumption, pollution and wasted

G UEST C OLUMN

Healthcare reform plan: The time is now

BY AVA FRISINGER This spring — as the focus on the new influenza virus (H1N1 or the “swine flu”) intensified throughout Issaquah and King County — the messages were clear: Wash your hands and cover your coughs and sneezes.

Thanks to the Department of Public Health – Seattle & King County and our local partners, these messages were spread quickly, as officials prepared for a large-scale response to this

time.

Currently, highlands residents must drive out of their way (consuming more gas and creating more pollution) to Front Street, East Lake Sammamish Parkway, Gilman Boulevard and other locations to get gas. That makes traffic worse on all of those streets, which in turn forces people stuck in that traffic to consume more gas and create more pollution.

Burns’ concerns about gas station leaks, while well-intentioned, are out of date. Experts from the state Department of Ecology have noted that regulations have been much more strict for years. All new gas stations are double-walled. Besides, engineers learned that the geology of the area in question would prevent any seepage from reaching the aquifer.

Finally, according to a recent survey, 70 percent of highlands residents want a gas station.

Those seeking election or re-election should keep that in mind.

Matthew J. Barry Issaquah

Schools

With a declining emphasis on learning, classrooms are just daycare centers Our schools are becoming daycares for adolescents. They are becoming less and less an education facility and more a place for our youth to scrap and make our society a place of stupidity.

Students are graduating with inadequate knowledge about the world and their surroundings. Just when colleges are becoming more competitive, we are cutting education short.

In theory, the No Child Left Behind Act holds everyone accountable — teachers and students — for education.

In reality, schools are funding in the wrong

new virus. As a member of King County’s Board of Health, which oversees that department, I knew our response was critical to the safety of our community.

However, protecting you from new and existing diseases is just one of the things we do. Despite all you’ve heard about “swine flu,” the work of the health department often goes unnoticed.

It’s the same department that ensures that the water from our faucets is safe to drink, the food at the grocery store is safe to eat and that the air in our community is safe to breathe. The department also provides health care through community clinics, which serve as an important “safety net” for many of our community members.

However, there’s also another service we now provide: promoting your health through our board’s new health reform project. Now, more See HEALTH

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LETTERS WELCOME The Issaquah Press welcomes letters to the editor on any subject, although we reserve the right to edit for space, potential libel and/or political relevance. Letters addressing local news will receive priority.

Please limit letters to 350 words and type them, if possible. E-mail is preferred. Letters must be signed and have a daytime phone number to verify authorship.

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CARE, Page A5

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places, making moving on a nightmare for the graduates of years to come.

I was lucky enough to get out of the system just in time and entered a university of higher standards. Still, I am left with skills that lack what is necessary and have to work that much harder to achieve my goals in college. Not every student will go to college; many graduates will immediately join the work force. Many of those who do want to attend college lack the skills needed to succeed.

I wish I could say one school system was the problem, but these skills are acquired from day one of schooling. In my district, it is said that students won’t graduate if they don’t pass the WASL in their sophomore year.

In addition to assessing a student’s progress, now tested in third, fourth, fifth, seventh and 10th grades, it also assesses how well teachers are doing. Many students did not pass, yet they still graduated. Funding was moved from needed programs to make up for the learning the students did not obtain prior to the test.

Where did we go wrong? Placing a harsh consequence on the failure of teachers and direction of funding are where students all too often slip through cracks in the system. From kindergarten, resources and programs need to be in place so that we do not have to take away from the preparation of the students to enter the real world. Teaching middle school-level education in high school should be a thing of the past.

We should prepare our students to head out into the world and to become productive members of society, not scramble to see where we went wrong. Schools are too focused on looking good than the actual education of the student. Let’s refocus on lower education, so we are not sending our students into the world unprepared.

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The Issaquah Press

County executive candidates share top concerns at public forum

BY MICHAEL BAYLESS ROWE About 100 Eastside voters had their first glimpse of King County executive candidates at a forum June 25 at Twin Falls Middle School in North Bend.

Questions ranged from transportation and land-use issues to concerns about a recent state audit of the county’s construction project management.

All six major candidates participated in the event: King County Councilmen Dow Constantine and Larry Phillips, former TV news anchor Susan Hutchison, State Sen. Fred Jarrett, State Rep. Ross Hunter, and engineer and businessman Alan Lobdell.

Constantine and Phillips tried to distance themselves from former King County Executive Ron Sims.

Hunter and Jarrett said that they would bring their combination of business and political experience to county government. Hutchison and Lobdell touted their outsider status, each saying they were running because residents outside Seattle are frustrated with county government.

Hutchison, a Seattle resident, said that many landowners chafe under the county’s land-use regulations and it is time to go back to the drawing board.

Lobdell, who lives in Covington, agreed.

“You deserve the right to make a profit with the property you bought,” Lobdell said.

Phillips, of Seattle, said that the county has an obligation to change the way it handles land-use issues.

He said the state needs to clarify how counties should use the best available science to make land-use decisions. He also pledged that the county would work better with rural landowners.

Constantine, of Seattle, said

Model Ts FROM PAGE A1

History Museums’ new exhibit detailing the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle. It was the final destination for the Model T rally on the University of Washington campus.

The Model T drivers will visit the exhibit at the Train Depot Museum July 11, an event that has Spranger quite excited.

“We get them in town for the whole day,” he said. “For this big a monumental, historical event, that’s just mind-boggling.”

The depot parking lot will be roped off for just the Model Ts. There will be a barbecue, live

that he would streamline some environmental regulations rather than forcing landowners to pay for expensive and time-consuming environmental impact studies.

Hunter, of Medina, also said the county’s inflexibility in the way it regulates land uses should be changed. He said he would look at changing some systems to reduce the expense and time required for getting land-use permits.

On transportation, Jarrett, of Mercer Island, said there needs to be a holistic approach to transportation. He said he would focus on improving the transportation system, not individual modes of transport.

Lobdell said transportation issues are daunting, and can’t be fixed quickly. He said emphasis should be placed on roads, because many commuters have to rely on their own vehicles to get to and from work. He said he would push for a new north-south bypass on the Eastside.

Constantine said he would use transportation to bring new investments to the community.

Hunter said that he would try to make the various transportation agencies in the county coordinate their activities better. He also said he would consider offering more transit to cities as an incentive for them to increase the density of residential developments.

Hutchison said transportation was the No. 1 issue facing the county.

On the issue of government accountability, Jarrett said the current system of measuring performance by the efforts of county employees should be changed to measure the results.

Hunter said the current council and administration “owned” the negative audit that the county recently received from the state.

He criticized the county for giving

4-percent raises during the worst recession in 80 years.

Hutchison said it was time for the county to tighten its belt.

Jarrett faulted the executive’s office for fostering an environment of unaccountability by filtering information the county executive receives.

“We need to hold the council and the executive accountable for what we deliver and what it costs to deliver,” Jarrett said.

Lobdell said that he would reduce salaries from the top down, to have the credibility to approach labor unions and ask for a 2.5-percent cut for union employees.

As a final question, the candidates were asked to respond to the recent state audit of the county’s construction project management.

Almost all of the candidates voiced their frustration with the lack of accountability indicated by the audit. However, Lobdell took a different tack on the issue, saying that overall, the problems weren’t that bad and that fixing construction management would be easy for him, given his own project management experience.

Another candidate for the race, Goodspaceguy came to the forum but was not allowed to answer questions with the other candidates.

“I think that it’s wrong to give unequal treatment to candidates,” Goodspaceguy said.

Another candidate, Stan Lippman, also did not participate in the forum.

Forum organizer Gary Fancher, of North Bend, developed the questions, in cooperation with 5th District Democratic and Republican representatives and the King County Municipal League.

music and a couple of presentations about the AYP Exposition at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The cars and their drivers will then spend an hour at the XXX Rootbeer Drive-In, before moving on to a private party at Evergreen Ford. Spranger said part of the Evergreen lot will be cleared to make room for the Model Ts lined up around the front of the dealership.

“That will create an amazing view for drivers on I-90,” he said.

The truly amazing part of the original journey was the racers who were literally traveling out into the unknown.

The route of the 2009 rally mostly follows the original race, with cars stopping in the same towns along the way that they did a century before. In some places, the old roads have disappeared, and participants in the modern rally will use interstate highways.

For the most part, though, the original route is the same.

Spranger said he is excited to lead the procession down I-90 out of the pass into Issaquah, himself behind the wheel of the 1927 Bugatti, which usually sits idle in the Hailstone Feed Store.

He also gets to escort them to the finish line in Seattle on July 12.

Reach Reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at 392-6434, ext. 248. Comment on this story at www.issaquahpress.com.

Virginia Mason clinic hosts free prostate screenings Virginia Mason’s Issaquah clinic, 100 N.E. Gilman Blvd., is hosting free prostate cancer screenings from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. July 10.

More than 55 million American men are at risk for prostate cancer, but early detection is key to treatment.

to the issue.

“I think the council’s position will help build a chorus in favor of action for this vulnerable species,” Suttle wrote in an e-mail.

Lake Sammamish kokanee were once a staple for the Snoqualmie Tribe. Kokanee once numbered in the thousands and the species supported a subsistence fishery for the Snoqualmie.

County officials noted the importance of the kokanee to the lake ecosystem.

“With the kokanee population hovering at the brink of extinction, this is a matter for urgent and immediate action,” Councilman Larry Phillips said in a news release. “The kokanee play a his-

toric role in the Lake Sammamish ecosystem, and we must protect the small number that remain and take actions that will allow the species to survive.”

Officials attribute the decline of kokanee in the lake to habitat loss.

The study recommends a hatchery program be implemented as soon as possible in order to protect the remaining fish.

“Proper protection of the Lake Sammamish kokanee salmon needs to begin immediately,” Council Vice Chairwoman Jane Hague said in the release. “It is critical that the federal and state governments recognize their importance to our region and act now to prevent their extinction.”

A free mobile prostate cancerscreening center is part of Virginia Mason’s answer. The mobile screening is free, confidential and doesn’t require an appointment or insurance. Virginia Mason health providers will conduct all screenings.

The screening consists of a simple blood test, known as a prostate-specific antigen blood test, and an optional physical

exam. Patients will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis.

Results from the exam are confidential and are sent to patients in three to four weeks. Patients with a high score on their blood test will receive a follow up call from Virginia Mason officials.

Volunteers will be on location to explain the screening, process and to answer any questions.

THE

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introduced to Lake Sammamish since the 1980s — but the introduced fish did not survive. Taylor said scientists are unsure why, though speculation ranges from specific water conditions to a virus present in the lake to which Lake Sammamish kokanee are immune.

“Only natives will live in the lake as far as we know,” Taylor said.

Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery Executive Director Gestin Suttle said it was important for county leaders to add their voices

Reach Reporter Warren Kagarise at 3926434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com.

Comment on this column at www.issaquahpress.com.

package

July 15

RENT PINE LAKE COMMUNITY CLUB

FROM PAGE 2

Ava Frisinger is mayor of Issaquah and a member of the King County Board of Health. Comment on this article at www.issaquahpress.com.

25

Council Utilities Committee 5-6 p.m., Pickering Room, City Hall Northwest, 1775 12th Ave. N.W.

Parties Meetings Weddings Receptions

Kokanee

Needle employees assured me the risk was minimal. Besides, they pointed out how I had worn sturdy shoes, a safety must.

The group piled into the elevator for the first 520 feet of the ascent. We clambered single file on ladders through interwoven ducts and pipes to reach the roof, almost 600 feet above the grounds of Seattle Center.

At the top, dignitaries heralded the similarities between Naples and Seattle: Cities built in the shadows of volcanoes (Mount Vesuvius, Mount Rainier) with residents who nurse serious coffee habits.

The visit was reminiscent of the efforts Issaquah residents take to foster international cooperation with Chefchaouen, Morocco, and Sunndal, Norway — albeit slicked with olive oil and embellished with buffalo mozzarella.

I snapped some photos and shot a few moments of video before I climbed into the hatch for the descent. The structure held still in the wind, and I saw no signs of the Wheedle or the old World’s Fair color scheme. As for the bowl-shaped roof, it was white — plain, simple white.

Astronaut White? Maybe. Or, in the spirit of international cooperation, Mozzarella White.

$

July 13

Sister Cities Commission 6:30 p.m., Eagle Room, City Hall 130 E. Sunset Way

than ever, we need our community’s help as we embark on this initiative.

To get started, the board first identified certain health principles we believe should be at the foundation of any state or national healthcare reform plan.

Under our principles, a plan should provide: Affordable, conveniently located services, which are not limited by the ability to pay, preexisting conditions, gender or other factors.

A lessening of disparities, so that every person has access to appropriate care in a timely manner.

High-quality care that is safe and doctors who are rewarded for better health outcomes for patients, not for the number of tests they conduct or deny.

An emphasis on preventive care and the promotion of healthy habits.

Sufficient funding to cover health services for everyone over the long term.

Effective cost controls and the incorporation of efficient payment and billing systems.

For more details on these principles, click on “Resolution #08-10” at www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/BOH/resolutions.aspx.

What’s next? We are now conducting outreach with community groups and professional organizations about these princi-

FROM PAGE A4

CLASSIFIEDS

Council Transportation Committee Agenda: Transportation 2040, U.S. Postal Service right-of-way agreement, Intelligent Transportation System funding, Southeast 56th Street and 221st Place Southeast intersection modifications 5-6 p.m., Pickering Room, City Hall Northwest, 1775 12th Ave. N.W.

Council Land Use Committee 5-8 p.m., Baxter Room, City Hall Northwest, 1775 12th Ave. N.W.

FROM PAGE A4

Pizzeria

ISSAQUAH PRESS

July 9

July 14

Health care

A5

ples. Armed with this information, citizens can better determine whether current systems or proposed changes provide them with the care they need.

We are also advocating for reform at the state and federal levels. The Obama Administration wants reform legislation on the president’s desk before the end of the year. Here in Washington state, legislators are considering five different health plans — ranging from a completely unregulated option to a singlepayer plan.

The federal plan will likely allow for some local flexibility. In turn, what happens in Washington state matters, and King County can have a substantial influence on what takes place at the state level.

We have analyzed the Obama Administration’s health reform principles and the state plans.

Based upon our principles, there is room for improvement in both the federal and state options. We will launch a Web site soon with more details.

The time is now: Please become familiar with our board’s principles, and support our health reform project by promoting it with your state and federal legislators. In the long run, we hope that healthcare becomes like the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat — something that is always there when we need it.

IN

P UBLIC M EETINGS

Arts Commission 6:30-8 p.m., Coho Room, City Hall 130 E. Sunset Way

Wednesday, July 8, 2009 •

12504 Issaquah-Hobart Rd. SE, Issaquah

(425) 391-4166 HayesNursery.com

Deadline: Monday, 3pm

T H E G R E AT A M E R I C A N

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The Issaquah Press

A4 • Wednesday, November 11, 2009

OPINION

PRESS E DITORIAL

Living amid natural beauty brings responsibility

I

ssaquah and the surrounding area make for a stunningly beautiful place to live. Leafy hillsides rise around a veritable Garden of Eden. But beauty brings responsibility. Residents must co-exist with nature’s other tenants: wildlife.

Bears are a matter of life in many parts of Issaquah. They come with the real estate, as do bald eagles, salmon, deer and falcons.

Residents can co-exist with these wild creatures and enjoy the lifestyle that comes with living in such a lush area. Commuters can work in Seattle, Bellevue and other more urban settings, but leave the skyscrapers, concrete and congestion behind when they come home to enjoy Issaquah’s natural beauty.

Beauty is a valuable thing, and if they want to preserve it, residents need to be good stewards of that beauty.

Humans can co-exist with wildlife, but they must do so with both eyes open and take simple but necessary steps to keep wildlife and people separate. Don’t leave food outside.

Take pets in at night. Know how to handle an encounter with a wild animal. Adequately safeguard livestock.

Residents can become active with local groups and state agencies involved in managing wildlife. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is seeking public input in a wolf management plan. It isn’t an intellectual exercise, now that wolves have been reported from Enumclaw to North Bend.

Wildlife in its natural habitat can be awe-inspiring to behold — a bald eagle taking flight or a black bear loping down a hillside. These sights can leave a lifelong impression on a person. Local residents can enjoy them without leaving their homes, but only if they consciously decide to live as responsible stewards of the beauty in their backyard.

O FF T HE P RESS

Take in campaign season from a journalist’s eye

E

lection Day ended early, with a slow coast to prime time. Results were delivered in a single, anticlimactic burst at 8:15 p.m. with no nailbiting suspense. The frontrunners opened up big leads early, snuffing the chance to track trends or offer last-minute prognostications. Issaquah voters knew the make-up of the next City Council and school board well before “NCIS” was over.

Despite the quiet coda, campaign season was chockablock with memorable moments, at least for someone outfitted with a notebook and a digital voice recorder. Throughout the campaign, I jotted down observations and asides about the candidates and the race to public office.

What I observed — among the Issaquah candidates, anyway — were amicable, issue-oriented campaigns accessorized with the usual yard signs, candidate fliers and e-mail blasts. But the best — and cheapest — campaign tool I saw was the laminated placard Nathan Perea placed beside him at coffeehouses: “I’m running for Issaquah City Council. Please stop and chat!” the sign read. And it worked: Voters stopped to talk with the firsttime candidate.

As the clock ticked toward Election Day, addenda sprouted atop campaign signs as endorsements rolled in. Endorsements from The Seattle Times, Washington Conservation Voters and other boldfaced backers were touted in simple notes taped to signs — “bling” in the words of Councilman-elect Tola Marts.

The occasional grumble about yet another campaign question-

naire reached me, too. In a decision motivated by space limitations — and maybe a little sadism — The Press limited the candidates to Warren 25-word reKagarise sponses. Marts Press reporter likened the questionnaire process to speed dating.

Candidates also reached out to voters in subtle, sartorial ways.

Perea donned a snappy, color-coordinated sweater-and-tie combo in the same colors as his greenand-orange campaign signs at a televised campaign forum.

The biggest campaign mishap was the result of a technical glitch: Audio problems scuttled a televised school board forum, but the good-natured candidates agreed to endure the forum a second time.

Back when the King County executive race was too close to call, I wrangled interviews with the candidates at Seattle coffee shops — where else? — to talk about how the Seattleite candidates planned to attract Eastside voters.

Dow Constantine, joined by a campaign aide, barreled through a stack of questions about Eastside-centric issues related to growth and transit. He and I met in a Seattle’s Best near Columbia Center, where Constantine had been making fundraising calls.

The interview was wedged against another campaign event; See CAMPAIGN, Page A5

Decision 2009

Don’t stop lending your support to city leaders now that the election’s over The election is over and it is time to get back to the work of governing this great city. I would like to congratulate all of the newly elected officials and wish them well. They all have difficult work ahead of them, and they need our support and ideas.

I have been honored to have been supported by many in this community and also outside the city in my quest for City Council. I would like to thank all of them for the work they did and the tremendous love they showed to me both before and after the election.

All of them, many who appeared at my afterelection party, will always be in my heart. It is hard to express the feeling one experiences when so many show their appreciation of the work you have done and express their confidence in you to make the right decisions.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

For those of you who think I may go away, fear not! I have no intention of changing my desire to make Issaquah all it can be. I am proud of my accomplishments in the city and look forward to working with the administration and the council in the future.

Joan Probala Issaquah

Thanks to voters, Press that helped make this a successful campaign season Thank you to all of the Issaquah citizens who participated in the recent election. Your contribution, whether it was on a campaign or by voting, makes our government successful and responsive.

I want to thank the Press too, with its indepth reporting and grueling 15-question Rapid Response (25 words or less), all of which helped its readers make an informed decision.

Maureen McCarry Issaquah

Thank you

Jimmy Fund Golf extends a heartfelt thank you to the organizers and sponsors of the annual Christopher S. Elliot Memorial Golf Tournament held Oct. 2 at The Golf Club at Newcastle. A special thanks goes to Dellann Elliot, of Redmond, who organized the eighth annual event.

The many participants and sponsors helped raise critical funds in memory of Christopher S. Elliot to support lifesaving cancer research and care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

This year marks the 27th year of Jimmy Fund Golf, one of the largest organized golf

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programs for charity in the country. Tournaments are established and organized by volunteers who create these events to combine their love for golf with their desire to support the fight against cancer.

The annual Christopher S. Elliot Memorial Golf Tournament was one of the many golf tournaments that will be held in 2009 to raise funds for the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber.

Nearly $70 million has been raised by these dedicated volunteers since 1983.

Nancy Rowe Director, Jimmy Fund Golf

Salmon Daze?

Returning fish are destined to be cat food Our family has lived since 1909 on our farm where Carey and Holder creeks form Issaquah Creek.

I recently visited the fish exhibit at the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery. There was a fish and wildlife spokesman telling everyone about the fish. He neglected to mention that all the salmon were to be processed into cat food! Trapped like rats, the fish instead of spawning naturally upstream like God intended, are killed, canned and sold for your cat food.

Upstream eight miles, you may see a few dead fish that make it over their dam at the hatchery, but there are no fry or fish left in these watersheds.

Nature selects the best of each species and natural healthy fry create future runs to come.

Thanks to logging for killing off the entire kokanee 15-inch fish run. They were fined $800 — the kokanee does not run any longer in Issaquah Creek! Stream currents run 18 mph to 20 mph, while before the clear-cutting at the headwaters, the creek ran 3 mph to 5 mph.

No more fishing holes, but tons of gravel in the stream.

The officials are only interested in seeing your license. So, ciao, salmon!

Remember, every time you feed your cat, that the future of the salmon in Issaquah Creek are in your hands and cat’s stomach.

John Bonomi

Organizers, sponsors and participants helped make fundraiser a success

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T O T HE E DITOR

Issaquah

Protestors

Where did the anti-war sentiment go?

Just over a year ago, you would not be able to drive through Issaquah’s “4 corner’s” (the library and Front Street Market) without seeing a number of citizens exercising their First Amendment rights, protesting our country’s presence in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Many of these protesters claimed to support our troops and demanded they be brought home immediately. There were a number of pure anti-war protests also. There was not a

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featured political candidate. Participants were protesting then-current American anti-terrorism policy, American involvement in foreign affairs, etc.

As the wars continue, troop commitments are higher, and another year has gone by; I wonder where all those protesters have gone. Could it be that motivations for these protests were in fact veiled political campaigning?

Maybe it wasn’t about the troops after all.

Maybe it was just political campaigning for someone who said he would end our involvement in both Iraq and Afghanistan quickly.

Funny, promises are easy to make, but hard to keep. I look forward to a serious war protest on the anniversary of the current administration’s election.

Bill Fowler Issaquah

Trees

Oldest South Cove residents removed by city without any resident input South Cove lost two of its oldest residents Oct. 30. They lived on the corner of 188th Avenue Southeast and 43rd Street for most of a century. The neighborhood changed around them from timber mill to farm and orchards to suburban subdivisions, but they stood firm.

They were fine, upstanding, generous neighbors who freely gave much to our community.

Birds, including hawks and bald eagles, benefited from their hospitality, receiving food and shelter.

This couple also stored thousands of gallons of dirty storm water from the roads and cleansed it of pollutants, protecting Lake SamSee LETTERS, Page A5

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The Issaquah Press

Park Pointe: Issues to be resolved in bankruptcy FROM PAGE A1

Neal Wolf, a Chicago attorney representing Wellington, said he was hopeful the company and the bank could reach a deal on debt reorganization and restructuring, and then proceed with construction. Wolf said the company is “very, very anxious to continue with the development of that property.”

Wellington is a subsidiary of Triple Five Worldwide, a multinational real-estate development outfit with Las Vegas and Edmonton, Alberta, offices.

Chuck Foise, a Regal Financial Bank vice president, said issues related to the Park Pointe loan would be resolved in bankruptcy court.

City officials — by now accustomed to Park Pointe delays — said the bankruptcy filing nonetheless came as a surprise.

Major Development Review Team Manager Keith Niven said city officials remain interested in a development-rights swap to preserve Park Pointe. Despite the bankruptcy filing, Niven continued to work alongside King County planners to accommodate a development-rights swap, because “it’s so easy to get distracted by all of the drama associated with Park Pointe.”

Officials also entered discussions with developers to gauge interest in the Park Pointe land and a transfer of the development rights, known as a TDR. The swap between the Park Pointe owner and Issaquah Highlands developer Port Blakely Communities would leave the Tiger Mountain property undeveloped. Under the deal, additional houses would be built in the highlands instead.

Niven still planned to meet with King County planners to discuss whether the Urban Growth Boundary could be nudged outward to allow more houses to be built in the highlands.

Mayor Ava Frisinger said the effort to transfer development rights between Park Pointe and the highlands is the No. 1 priority for city officials.

“The issue is whether people will be able to buy it and make the TDR process work,” Frisinger said.

With the property mired in bankruptcy court, Frisinger said she hoped the developer or a new owner would consider the swap.

Committed to Outstanding Real Estate Services Connected to the Pulse of Sammamish & Issaquah for over 30 Years

Susan H. Gerend, CRS, GRI,ASP Certified Residential Specialist 206-719-4663

www.susangerend.com sgerend@windermere.com

“We would be very happy if somebody were to buy that property and transfer the development rights,” she said.

Conservation groups also expressed interest in buying Park Pointe or a portion of the site in the past, but the cost was prohibitive.

While the developer and creditors wrangle in bankruptcy court, city officials will build the framework to transfer development rights if a new Park Pointe owner emerges.

“What it does, it definitely buys a lot more time to go through that process,” City Administrator Leon Kos said.

Kos said negotiators mentioned Chapter 11 as a possibility for the Park Pointe developer, but the option was considered so remote “that it dropped off the table.” Kos said predicting the future for the Park Pointe development would be difficult.

Even as the developer spiraled toward bankruptcy, consultants hired by the developer proceeded with the definitive environmental report about Park Pointe. The document was released Oct. 30, a week ahead of the scheduled foreclosure auction.

The environmental impact statement addressed concerns about storm water runoff from Park Pointe, as well as questions about whether vehicles would clog roads near the development.

Plans presented by the developer show Park Pointe with 251 units or 344 units. Under the first option, 251 residential units — 121 singlefamily attached units and 130 multifamily units — would be built on 14 acres of the lower slope. The larger option would include 59 single-family detached, 145 singlefamily attached and 140 multifamily units spread across the lower slope and a higher bench on the mountainside.

The developer had indicated a preference for the smaller option.

But if city officials and the developer were unable to agree to preserve the upper portion of the property, the developer would request the ability to develop the entire site. Conditions attached to development include the preservation of open space and efforts to encourage public transportation for residents.

But the project has been stalled for more than a decade, as citizens assailed the Park Pointe proposal, and city officials placed the land under more restrictive zoning and worked toward a development-rights transfer. A City Council decision last year to cancel the planned Southeast Bypass across Tiger Mountain dealt Park Pointe another blow. The long-planned roadway would have served the development.

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Parties Meetings Weddings Receptions Accommodates 200 • Stage for band or DJ

RENT PINE LAKE COMMUNITY CLUB

392.2313

Commission approves hospital development permit

The planned Issaquah Highlands hospital will move ahead, after a city development commission approved the site development permit for the project last week.

Crews began excavation work at the site of a planned Swedish Medical Center campus in August.

The permit approved last week will allow hospital developers to move forward with the ambitious project. The campus, scheduled to open in phases in 2011 and 2012, will become the first new hospital in King County to open in more than two decades.

The permit application reached the Urban Village Development Commission in late October.

Commissioners held a Nov. 3 public hearing about the project, and then approved the permit after hospital planners addressed a handful of issues from city residents. Commissioners raised questions about the accessibility of the building from Northeast Blakely Drive, as well as the

PUBLIC MEETINGS Nov. 12

design of the public parking lot.

Planners attached 81 conditions to the permit, related to everything from what type of plants should be used for landscaping to how to monitor underground fuel storage tanks beneath the site. Commissioners also asked hospital architects and officials to make the public parking lot easier for pedestrians to navigate, city Major Development Review Team Manager Keith Niven said.

Seattle architecture firm CollinsWoerman designed the hospital with a pair of wings extending south from a medical office building. The office complex will face Northeast Blakely Drive; the wings will contain patient beds. The office building will open in 2011; the patient wings will open the next year and eventually expand to 175 beds. When completed, the hospital will total 582,000 square feet. The buildings will be between 80 and 85 feet tall at the highest points.

Hospital executives said the campus would create more than 1,000 jobs by the time construction wraps in 2012.

7 p.m., Issaquah Valley Elementary 555 N.W. Holly St.

Council Utilities Committee 5-6 p.m.

Pickering Room, City Hall N.W. 1775 12th Ave. N.W.

Nov. 16

Planning Policy Commission Cancelled

Nov. 17

Open House Newport Way Northwest Design Options

City Council regular meeting 7:30 p.m., Council chambers, City Hall South, 130 E. Sunset Way

River and Streams Board 7-9 p.m.

Pickering Room, City Hall N.W. 1775 12th Ave. N.W.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 •

A5

Campaign

Letters

FROM PAGE A4

FROM PAGE A4

Constantine was a man in motion.

Susan Hutchison and I met a week later at a Tully’s near the Laurelhurst neighborhood where the former KIRO newscaster lives. She — unaccompanied, chatty and relaxed — offered me part of her croissant as she sipped a gargantuan mug of tea. Turns out we both graduated from the University of Florida journalism school.

When I asked the executive candidates for final remarks directed toward Issaquah voters, Hutchison recounted how Issaquah was a tiny town when she arrived in King County almost three decades ago. Constantine, ever businesslike, produced a lengthy list of the Eastside elected officials backing his campaign.

On Nov. 4, with the Issaquah races settled, I asked Marts to reflect on the campaign. He said the campaign highlight for his preteen children came when I interviewed him and his wife, Tracy, at the joint victory party thrown by Marts and Council President Maureen McCarry.

Lucky for the Marts kids, the election was decided long before bedtime.

mamish. Neighboring yards will be wetter this winter than previously.

They took in carbon dioxide and gave us oxygen and shade in return. Once a year, they would get a little wild, covering the neighborhood in a blizzard of cotton, but chickadees and other small birds would eat the seeds and gather the fluff.

These significant, huge black cottonwood trees were in good health and should have had many more years of service to the neighborhood. Occasionally, in high winds, limbs would fall, but that is the nature of trees — statistically much less dangerous than driving cars around the neighborhood! However, in just a few hours they were whacked, gone.

The city’s Public Works Department deemed them dangerous and took them out. No consultations, hearings or consideration of alternatives. Why not selectively remove any unsound limbs?

It smacks of bureaucratic arrogance just as did the sudden banishment of all dogs from Timberlake Park, rather than enforce the existing leash laws.

It would have been polite to talk first to those affected by these decisions.

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Joanna Buehler Issaquah

Turn your home into a holiday wonderland Decorate like a professional while sticking on budget. Use everyday items already found in your household to add simple and inspired touches that will fit any holiday party. On tables, create visually appealing layers by turning bowls upside down, stacking linens or sturdy boxes to hold platters, centerpieces and candles. Easily accent plates with edible garnishes like flowers, fresh cranberries, olives, herbs or a swish of pesto sauce or swirl of whipped cream. Add vases and candles throughout the home to set a warm ambiance.

For an added decorative flair, use elegant foil wrapping paper as a festive table runner, folding the sides for a nice clean, finished edge. You can also top the runner with a strand of berry garland for a festive touch, or wrap a coffee can in the same elegant wrapping paper and use as a vase to pull through the pattern and theme.

Provide guests with a keepsake Organize keepsakes to help guests remember your party. Before the party, purchase miniature take-home boxes so you can send favorite appetizers or desserts home with each of your guests.

During the party, snap a couple of photos with each of your guests and send the photos with an e-card or note afterward so they can remember the fun they had at the party.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

The Issaquah Press

A4 • Wednesday, March 17, 2010

OPINION

The census count should matter to you PRESS E DITORIAL

Look in your mailbox this week for your household’s census count.

Oh, that’s right, you already know about that, thanks to last week’s letter notifying you that another letter is coming.

That first letter cost $57 million to send, in hopes that fewer in-person census takers will be needed.

The Census Bureau is employing other marketing tools to pump up awareness, including a televised Super Bowl ad last month, printed ads in 28 languages and subtle referrals to www.census.gov printed inside fortune cookies — including some found here in Issaquah.

As one commenter on a Web site posting said, “Leave it to the government to trip over a dollar to pick up a dime.” But those dimes do matter, especially to local governments trying to provide your basic water, sewer, roads and public safety services.

Consider what it means to the city of Issaquah. Every resident who is not counted will be about $1,400 less for the city.

If 25 households of three people each did not respond, that could be more than $100,000 the city would not get from the estimated $400 billion in federal allocations.

Is the census an invasion of privacy? We don’t think so.

This year’s census is one of the shortest in history, only 10 quick questions that should take less than 10 minutes to answer.

It asks households to provide the names of residents and their sex, age, date of birth, race, whether they’re of Hispanic origin, their relationship to the householder, whether the home is owned or rented, and a telephone number. The form does not ask about citizenship or legal status, or your Social Security number. And the information is confidential.

In addition to money for our cities and county, the census is used to determine the number of seats our state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives. States with shrinking populations could lose a seat, whereas Washington could be entitled to an additional seat.

Give up 10 minutes of your time and complete the census form when it arrives this week. Do your part to stop government waste by turning it in without a second request.

O FF T HE P RESS

Help make the sausage: Get involved in government

C

ynics — or, perhaps, realists — equate the political process with sausage making.

Although in Issaquah, the sausage would be the lean, chicken variety — organic, of course, and maybe a touch dry.

Like governments everywhere, Issaquah functions with endless deal making, proposals and counterproposals, revamps and rewrites as officials make policy. I suspect the long gestation process keeps citizens from following issues from bill to ordinance.

Officials seldom solve issues in episodic fashion, through no fault of their own. Municipal government plods, in part to solicit input from residents.

But the deliberate pace can turn, well, boring. So, residents steer clear of the Council Chambers during most months — a shame, too, because the City Council makes decisions every other week with impacts across Issaquah.

If city government had dialogue written by Aaron Sorkin and aired in hourlong blocks on NBC, people would watch for the characters alone.

The cast includes: a pizzaslinging former banking executive, a motorcycle-riding rocket engineer, a retired Army Corps of Engineers colonel, a psychologist-turned-hospital-executiveturned-local-pol and a fresh-

faced, idealistic attorney.

Add dozens of supporting roles in the form of municipal employees and the members of city boards and commissions, WARREN and the KAGARISE process turns Press reporter livelier still.

And yet, nothing. The same handful of residents turns out for City Council meetings. The group at council committee and city board meetings feels even more elite.

Yes, people lead busy lives with little time for civic engagement.

But the political process merits at least a quick check from time to time, at least to see how officials decide to spend hard-earned tax dollars.

Sure, many indicators point to the contrary, but residents tune in when something will carry widespread impact, or, at least, affect them.

Take, for instance, the ongoing effort by the city to overhaul Newport Way Northwest — a traffic nightmare every weekday morning and afternoon for most of the year. When the city

T O T HE E DITOR Stream teams

Central Park

Volunteers help make city’s program of monitoring waterways successful

While installing new lights, city should look to improve parking lot, too

Early Saturday morning several weeks ago, I happened upon three of our citizens collecting samples from the ditch on the eastside of Seventh Avenue Northwest between Northwest Locust Street and Gilman Boulevard.

Bill Nilsson, David Nelson and Gina Yitalo are one of a number of volunteer Stream Monitoring Teams keeping an eye on the health of our streams and ditches in Issaquah. They have been working together since 2001. They are enthusiastic and take pride in their work. They call themselves the Ditch Rats.

Issaquah has six monitoring teams. I recently learned that four of these teams have been sampling for as long or longer than the Ditch Rats. For example, Norb Zeigler has been sampling since 1998.

Issaquah is certainly fortunate to have such dedicated volunteers.

I read the front-page article last week in The Issaquah Press titled, “Crews will install lights in Central Park lot.” As a parent with children who are regularly using this park, lot, etc., I think it is great that the City Council has agreed to spend $63,741 to install lights, for safety purposes, in the parking lot of this $2.4 million artificial turf field. It’s a beautiful field!

This amounts to 2.66 percent of the cost of the field and will do a great job of showing all of us drivers and pedestrians where all the potholes and mud puddles are in this disaster of a parking lot that is overcongested at peak times.

I am wondering if the council has looked into the cost of paving, expanding the size of this parking lot and creating a loop or turn-around for pick up and drop off before spending money to install lights. Perhaps they could do both at the same time?

The mud from this parking lot is being spread daily onto this new, $2.4 million turf! Not to mention the mess it’s making of everyone’s cars after they drive and trudge through this mud bog of a parking lot. Some of the potholes are the size of Lake Sammamish! Leaving it this way is a bit like building a brand new mansion and deciding you can’t afford to pave the driveway!

Fred Butler Issaquah city councilman

Speeding tickets

A street with a high density of school children, traffic needs tougher rules In response to the complaint about unfair tickets last week: Within the four-tenths of a mile along Second Avenue Southeast in Issaquah, more than 1,400 high school students, 356 elementary school students and approximately 300 staff people arrive and depart from school each weekday.

The posted speed zone times only begins to cover the vastly differing schedules including Running Start classes, early-release and late-start days, courses at other schools, lunch time trips off-campus, work schedules, sport activities, parent pick-up and drop-off, etc.

Scores of students walk, ride bikes, skip and skateboard along this four-tenths of a mile; 428 student drivers fill 158 carpool spaces and 271 individual spots while transporting well over 619 students to school each day.

From the district bus barn located in the same section of road, school buses arrive and depart throughout the day. It would be a challenge to find a two-lane street in the Issaquah area that has a higher density of children. Imagine if your neighborhood block housed 1,756 people under the age of 18! It makes perfect sense that, for their safety, everyone can take notice of the flashing speed indicator signs at the beginning of the zone and slow down to 20 mph for fourtenths of a mile.

Claudia Cote See GOVERNMENT, Page A5

Issaquah High School career specialist

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There is not one person on the face of this earth that does not have a worldview — how we perceive the world and the purpose of it, our religion. For Barr and Hamilton to attack the Pledge of Allegiance shows great intolerance for Christianity, the religion that brought about the freedom to write letters blasting our Christian heritage.

Lynn M. Stuter Nine Mile Falls

Recent court rulings uphold use of ‘under God’ and ‘In God we trust’

Thursday, a federal appeals court upheld Brian P. Sullivan theLast use of the words “under God” in the Pledge Issaquah

Church and state

Founding Fathers established a Christian nation, honored by Pledge of Allegiance Michael Barr claims he isn’t an atheist and Darryl Hamilton claims that in order not to “offend” people of other religions, we should chuck the Pledge of Allegiance. So, in other words, it’s OK to offend Christians, just don’t offend humanists, New Agers, Islam (fill in the blank with religion of choice).

Our money is printed with “in God we trust,” our Declaration of Independence makes it clear that our “unalienable rights” are bestowed by our creator. Following the flawed logic of Barr and Hamilton, we should remove those, too, along with our unalienable rights for fear we might “offend” another religion.

The First Amendment does not separate church and state. The First Amendment prohibits a state-established religion. Saying the Pledge of Allegiance does not fall under a state established religion any more than “in God we trust” or the mention of God our creator in the Declaration of Independence.

Our founding fathers did not want a state established religion; they did, however, strongly advocate that people should conduct themselves as Christians in the halls of government. John Adams made it very clear that “our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people; it being wholly inadequate for any other.”

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of Allegiance and “in God we trust” on U.S. currency, rejecting arguments that the phrases violate the separation of church and state.

The San Francisco-based Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel rejected two legal challenges by Sacramento atheist Michael Newdow, who said the references to God are unconstitutional and infringe on his religious beliefs.

I hope this will put to bed the endless challenges to the phrase “under God” that so offend Michael Barr, our local “under God” critic.

Bette Filley Issaquah

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Roll

Call

Y = Yes, N = No, E = Excused, X = Not Voting Senate Bill 6381 passed the House 78-19. Reflects an increase in spending from $7.5 billion to $8.5 billion and includes $590 million in new federal funding for high-speed rail infrastructure and $35 million for the North Spokane Corridor. The Senate concurred with House amendments 37-11.

5th Sen. Cheryl Pflug, (R-Maple Valley) — N 5th Rep. Glenn Anderson, (R-Fall City) — Y 5th Rep. Jay Rodne, (R-North Bend) — Y 41st Sen. Randy Gordon, (D-Bellevue) — Y 41st Rep. Judy Clibborn, (D-Mercer Island) — Y 41st Rep. Marcie Maxwell, (D-Renton) — Y 45th Rep. Roger Goodman, (D-Kirkland) — N 45th Rep. Larry Springer, (D-Kirkland) — Y

Senate Bill 6444 passed the Senate 25-19. It proposed closing the state’s $2.8 billion budget gap by reducing spending by more than $800 million, incorporating the use of about $582 million of approved or anticipated additional federal relief to the state and transfers $501 million from other funds to the state general fund. It would assume collections in new revenues of nearly $900 million from increased taxes.

The House amended it to close the budget gap by reducing state spending by about $600 million, using more than $640 million in one-time federal funds and $500 million in cash transfers. The House budget also assumes approximately $800 million in new revenues through tax increases. The House passed by a vote of 55- 43.

House and Senate were unable to agree on a budget compromise and will continue to negotiate during a special session that began March 15.

5th Rep. Glenn Anderson, (R-Fall City) — N 5th Rep. Jay Rodne, (R-North Bend) — N 41st Rep. Judy Clibborn, (D-Mercer Island) — Y 41st Rep. Marcie Maxwell, (D-Renton) — Y Rep. Roger Goodman, (D-Kirkland) — Y 45th Rep. Larry Springer, (D-Kirkland) — Y Senate Bill 6143 passed the Senate

25-23. It imposes an additional .03 percent state sales tax and use tax. It was amended by the House to remove the sales and use tax increase. In addition, the House tax package eliminates additional B&O exemptions and increasing taxes on candy, bottled water, cigarettes and owners of airplanes. The House and Senate were unable to agree on a compromise and will continue to negotiate.

5th Sen. Cheryl Pflug, (R-Maple Valley) — N 5th Rep. Glenn Anderson, (R-Fall City) — N 5th Rep. Jay Rodne, (R-North Bend) — N 41st Sen. Randy Gordon, (D-Bellevue) — Y 41st Rep. Judy Clibborn, (D-Mercer Island) — Y 41st Rep. Marcie Maxwell, (D-Renton) — Y 45th Rep. Roger Goodman, (D-Kirkland) — N 45th Rep. Larry Springer, (D-Kirkland) — Y Senate Bill 6345 passed the House 60- 37. It makes it a primary offense to use a hand-held cell phone while driving. It’s now before the governor for signature.

5th Rep. Glenn Anderson, (R-Fall City) — N 5th Rep. Jay Rodne, (R-North Bend) — N 41st Rep. Judy Clibborn,

Governor calls special session School district officials wait for outcome before delving into budget Issaquah School District officials are waiting to develop their 201011 school budget, while legislators work to resolve the state’s budget issues.

Gov. Chris Gregoire announced she would call the Legislature back for a special session March 11 when representatives couldn’t reach consensus on new tax initiatives. The special session convened March 15.

With forecasted revenue losses between $2.7 million and $6.4 million, based on supplemental budgets from the Legislature, district officials are bracing for impact and waiting to develop the coming school year budget.

Under the Senate’s proposal, the district would lose about $4.8 million in direct funding and $1.6 mil-

lion in levy authority; under the House’s proposal, the district would lose about $2.7 million in direct funding; and under Gregoire’s most recent proposal in January, the district would lose about $4.8 million in direct funding and $1 million in levy authority, according to a press release from the district.

The majority of cuts in the Legislature’s and Gregoire’s proposed budgets are to resources allocated for class size reduction.

“These are deep cuts, compounding cuts that were just as deep last year,” Superintendent Steve Rasmussen said. “We hope that the governor and Legislature will be able to find some way — through an increase in levy authority or otherwise — to protect edu-

cation. It’s an unfortunate day when the best you can hope for is that the Legislature does the least amount of damage to our public schools.”

Last year, district officials had to present layoff notices to several hundred employees as a means to manage their own budget. Nearly all the teachers given layoff notices were recalled when federal stimulus money and cuts in other areas, like custodial and maintenance, allowed them to hire them back.

In the special session, legislators will look at what tax package, including a three-tenths of a cent increase to the state’s sales tax or additional taxes on bottled water, soda and candy, will be considered as ways to solve the budget gap.

Park Pointe

the highlands and Talus to low-density residential, the latest zoning for the land. The most recent plan presented by the developer called for up to 344 residences on 67 acres.

City and county officials announced a watershed plan in September 2008 to preserve the land through a transfer of develop-

ment rights, also known as a TDR. But the process slowed as Wellington Park entered Chapter 11, after it defaulted on a loan from Regal Financial Bank.

FROM PAGE A 1

Plans for Park Pointe evolved throughout the decade, from a highdensity urban village in the mold of

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Grand Opening of Issaquah / Sammamish

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(D-Mercer Island) — Y 41st Rep. Marcie Maxwell, (D-Renton) — Y Rep. Roger Goodman, (D-Kirkland) — N 45th Rep. Larry Springer, (D-Kirkland) — Y Senate Bill 6604 passed the House by 97-0. It removes requirements that school districts prepare student learning plans for students in grades five, and nine through 12, who are not successful on state assessments or not on track to graduate. Retains the requirement for students in grade eight to receive student-learning plans. Previously passed the Senate, now before the governor for signature.

5th Sen. Cheryl Pflug, (R-Maple Valley) — Y 5th Rep. Glenn Anderson, (R-Fall City) — Y 5th Rep. Jay Rodne, (R-North Bend) — Y 41st Sen. Randy Gordon, (D-Bellevue) — Y 41st Rep. Judy Clibborn, (D-Mercer Island) — Y 41st Rep. Marcie Maxwell, (D-Renton) — Y 45th Rep. Roger Goodman, (D-Kirkland) — Y 45th Rep. Larry Springer, (D-Kirkland) — Y SOURCE: WashingtonVotes.org, a free, nonpartisan Web site to find plainEnglish explanations of bills and a record of each legislator’s votes.

Park: ‘We’d love to have Klahanie FROM PAGE A1

cials cited prohibitive maintenance costs and said Klahanie Park should remain attached to the annexation area.

Members of the Issaquah and Sammamish city councils discussed the county proposal at a March 9 joint meeting.

Officials said the park issue could not be detached from the overarching question about

Wednesday, March 17, 2010 •

Government FROM PAGE A4

announced plans to unplug the clogged arterial street, dozens of residents turned out for open houses. The involvement continued through subsequent council and committee meetings, too.

Controversial issues — like the decision last year to revamp foodpackaging rules for restaurants and groceries — always attract the

Design FROM PAGE A1

improvements, but said the city lacks money to complete the project.

“We know it needs a makeover,” she said.

Should the city move forward with plans to remake the park, McGill said, the effort will proceed with input from the municipal Park Board, downtown businesses and property owners, residents, city officials and other stakeholders.

McGill included a Pedestrian Park proposal in the Capital Improvement Plan last year. The plan outlines city projects related to — among others — city facilities, parks, transportation and utilities. The sweeping document prioritizes projects and determines the order in which city staffers will tackle efforts.

annexation. A vote by Klahanie residents to be annexed into Issaquah faltered in 2005.

“We feel that, in terms of the Klahanie annexation, that it’s really up to Issaquah to let us know what they’re going to do,” Sammamish Deputy Mayor Nancy Whitten said.

Officials noted how neighborhood residents protested last summer after Sammamish officials offered to take on the park.

Klahanie residents worried Sammamish could upgrade the facility, change the character of the park and attract more outsiders and traffic to the quiet neighborhood. Residents also raised concerns about ceding the park to Sammamish, where they lack the ability to vote in local elections.

“I would just like to perhaps acknowledge the fact that the city of Sammamish did step forward in an effort to solve a problem and to keep a park open,” Issaquah

A5

most attention, but officials welcome input on uncontroversial topics, too.

Big decisions await the council on environmental, growth and transportation issues. Attend a council meeting sometime and speak up. Although some meetings can stretch for hours, the council wrapped up a recent meeting in 10 minutes — a rarity, to be sure, but a hopeful sign.

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

The plan called for $100,000 to be spent on design work next year, but McGill said she expects another lean city budget to delay the project.

The document notes how the park “needs improvement for pedestrian movement, space for gathering during events and renovation to improve visibility for safety.” But the Pedestrian Park plan ranked near the bottom on the list of parks and recreation projects.

Johnson, organizer of the annual Music on the Streets performances, uses the space as a venue.

He said he envisions a mixture of public and private dollars used to revamp the space, possibly with a small stage for musical acts.

Webb, president of Darwin Webb Landscape Architects, said he hopes the proposal will initiate a conversation about the high-profile public plaza.

“We want the space to be comfortable with three people in it or 200 people in it,” he said.

Councilman Fred Butler said. “You should be commended for that, but it sort of fell into the category of ‘no good deed goes unpunished.’”

Although officials from both cities expressed support for the county proposal, Sammamish council members questioned whether the city could recoup money spent to upgrade the park if Issaquah annexes Klahanie and receives the facility.

But council members said the annexation issue must be addressed in concert with the Klahanie Park discussion.

“We’d love to have Klahanie if they wanted us,” Whitten said.

“But if they don’t want us, we don’t want to force ourselves on them.

We don’t want to do something that they regard as hostile to the best interests to their community.”

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.