Park features new art exhibit
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Locals organize fundraisers for the Make-A-Wish Foundation
Eagles win dramatic double overtime bout against Patriots Sports,
Community,
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THE ISSAQUAH PRESS
Wednesday, September 15, 2010 • Vol. 111, No. 36
Locally owned since 1900 • 75 Cents
Students need hearing checkups
PSE plans minor increases to gas and electric rates
City asks for input about truck routes
City planners could redraw the routes large trucks use to travel through Issaquah. Before the city takes action, officials encourage residents to offer feedback on proposals. The city has received feedback from residents concerned about truck noise, air pollution and the number of trucks along East Sunset Way. The soon-to-be-completed East Sunset Way approach to Interstate 90 has also raised concerns about increased truck GET INVOLVED traffic, after crews finish the City truck upgraded road- route open house way. The truck 6 p.m. route for the Sept. 23 street starts at Eagle Room the I-90 interchange, and at City Hall then progresses 130 E. along Newport Sunset Way. Way Southwest to Front Street South and the southern city line. The route and state Route 900 remain the only approved northsouth routes in Issaquah. In late spring, state Department of Transportation crews completed the yearslong effort to widen state Route 900. The road can better accommodate larger trucks. City planners want to know if the improvements justify closing the East Sunset Way truck route. Send comments to city Transportation Planner Gary Costa at 1775 12th Ave. N.W., Issaquah, WA 98027 or e-mail them to garyc@ci.issaquah.wa.us. Comments sent to Costa and received at the open house will be shared with the Council Transportation Committee on Sept. 30, before officials make any decision. The open house comes as state crews near completion of the $1.3million project to widen the Sunset Way approach to the interstate. Plans call for wider lanes bracketed by concrete barriers bordered by shoulders, curbs and a sidewalk. Workers also built a permanent support to replace a temporary retaining wall fashioned from dirt and high-density fabric. The project adds the final piece to the I-90 interchange. The rest of the project was completed in 2003.
BY GREG FARRAR
Return of the king A salmon tries to make its way over the waterfall created by the weir at the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery last week as the change in weather signals their annual return to spawn in the eternal cycle of life.
Puget Sound Energy intends to make small increases to electric and natural gas rates Oct. 1 in order to adjust for costs of the utility’s lowincome assistance program. The utility made a request late last month to the state Utilities and Transportation Commission to approve the increases. The request filed Aug. 31 aims to increase electric rates by an overall average of 0.004 percent — or 4/1000th of 1 percent — and natural gas rates by 0.03 percent — or 3/100th of 1 percent. The commission is expected to review the proposal Sept. 30. The adjustment reflects the differences between the costs and the revenues collected during the past year to fund the Home Energy Lifeline Program, or HELP, and a small increase in total funding. If the state approves the increases, a typical monthly electricity bill — based on 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity — is projected to increase by 4 cents per month, bringing the total monthly average electric bill to $99.68. For a typical household natural gas bill — based on 68 therms of
natural gas — the increase is projected to be 3 cents per month, bringing the total monthly average bill to $81.35. Established in 2002, HELP is administered by 12 community action agencies and serves residents in the Bellevue-based utility’s 11-county Washington service area, provides bill-payment assistance to more than 25,000 customers and families each year. Depending on income and household size, a qualified lowincome customer can receive bill credits totaling up to $1,000 from HELP. The average grant amounted to about $400 per household during the 2009-10 winter heating season. In addition to HELP, the federal government offers home-heating assistance through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP. From October 2009 through July 2010, more than 59,000 qualified low-income PSE customers throughout the service area received grants totaling almost $25 million — $13.5 million in LIHEAP and $11.3 million in HELP.
Golf tournament returns to Salmon Days sporting weekend Mayor moves closer
You can search for hidden treasure or your golf ball. The Salmon Days Sporting Weekend has a little something for everyone. The annual event takes place Sept. 25-26. Geoteaming and orienteering kick off the weekend Sept. 25. In the interactive and high-tech scavenger hunt, participants use GPS units to navigate to hidden treasures in and around Issaquah. Each found cache earns a team valuable points toward its final score. All equipment is provided along with a lunch catered by Rogue’s Issaquah Brewhouse. Location of the geoteaming event is at Issaquah Highlands, on 10th Avenue Northeast between Northeast Park Drive and Northeast High Street. There are three sessions. Session one runs from 9:30-11:30 a.m. with teams signing in at 8:30 a.m. Session two runs from noon - 2 p.m. with
to hiring city administrator sign-ins at 11 a.m. Session three runs from 2:30-4:30 p.m. with sign-ins at 1:30 p.m. All ages are welcome. Walking and weather appropriate clothing and shoes are advised. Space is limited and pre-registration is recommended. Learn more at www.salmondays.org. If maps and compasses are more to one’s liking, then the orienteering event at Lake Sammamish State Park might be the ticket. The event, hosted by the Sammamish Orienteering Cub, runs from 10 a.m. - noon. Orienteering requires navigational
skills using a topographic map and compass to navigate from point to point, as well as running ability. Learn more at the Sammamish Orienteering Club website — www.sammamishorienteering.org — or call 822-6254. The Issaquah Salmon Open Golf Tournament is back in the swing of things this year. The tournament has an 18-hole best ball scramble format and offers two levels of team play — A level for competitive players and B level See SALMON
DAYS, Page A3
By Warren Kagarise Issaquah Press reporter The field in the search for a city administrator has narrowed, though officials plan to remain tight-lipped about the choice until he accepts the offer. City staffers, residents and community leaders met and scrutinized the five finalists last week, then offered recommendations to Mayor Ava Frisinger. The administrator serves as the No. 2 official in municipal government. The finalists included Thurston County Manager Donald Krupp, San Juan County Administrator
Pete Rose, Yakima Assistant City Manager David Zabell, Lake Forest Park City Administrator David Cline and Robert Harrison, the city manager in Wyoming, Ohio. “Any one of these folks have the skills, talents and abilities to do the job,” Bellevue headhunter Greg Prothman said. The city hired Prothman in late spring after longtime City Administrator Leon Kos retired. The recruiter sent letters to between 800 and 900 municipal officials — or, as Prothman said, See SEARCH, Page A3
Dino Rossi strives to be comeback kid in Senate race Longtime food bank Former Issaquah director departs legislator returns after dual losses By Warren Kagarise Issaquah Press reporter The story is classic Dino Rossi: a daunting policy issue framed as a kitchen table discussion. Not long before the Sammamish resident and GOP standard-bearer decided to run for the U.S. Senate, son Jake had a question about the national debt. “My 16-year-old asked me, ‘How much do I owe?’ Sixteen-year-olds shouldn’t be asking questions like that,” Dino Rossi recalled. “They should be asking, ‘Can I have the car keys? And get out the money
while you’re giving me the car keys.’” Rossi — father of four, self-made millionaire, former state senator and erstwhile candidate for governor — drops anecdotes about family life into stump speeches and interviews to remind people he has not been part of partisan squabbles in Olympia or the other Washington for years. Before he entered the U.S. Senate race in late May, he spent the 18 months since the 2008 election on “suburban dad stuff” — shuttling children to school and basketball games. The electorate remembers Rossi from the bruising races for the Governor’s Mansion, the achingly close margin in the 2004 contest — recounts, court challenges and, separated by a mere 133 ballots, the closest gubernatorial election in U.S. history — and the failed
INSIDE THE PRESS A&E . . . . . . . B12
Opinion . . . . . . A4
Classifieds . . . B10
Police & Fire . B11
Community . . . B1
Schools . . . . . . B9
Obituaries . . . . B3
Sports . . . . . . B7-8
2008 rematch against Gov. Chris Gregoire. Republicans hope Rossi, 50, can be a political Lazarus in the latest election battle. Supporters tout his up-by-the-bootstraps biography as a conservative counterpoint to “mom in tennis shoes” Patty Murray, the incumbent Democrat. Polls promised a competitive race, and national Republicans engaged in a high-profile courtship, but Rossi said he had concerns about how the tough election might impact life at home. “My 13-year-old, Joseph, he would have filed me 10 months ago if he could have figured out how to forge my signature,” Rossi said. Wife Terry, no stranger to the frenetic pace required for a See ROSSI, Page A3
By Warren Kagarise Issaquah Press reporter
Dino Rossi
YOU SHOULD KNOW The state Department of Commerce has rebates available on appliances through Cash for Appliances Washington. The rebate program offers residents more opportunities to save energy and money by buying qualified Energy Star appliances. The rebates apply to certain refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers and water heaters. Find a list of requirements, as well as listings of qualified products, at www.cashforapplianceswa.com.
Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank leaders launched a search for a director in early September, after the sudden departure of the longtime manager last month. Executive Director Cherie Meier left the downtown Issaquah food bank at the end of August. Chairman John Williams said he could not discuss the circumstances surrounding the situation. Meier could not be reached for comment. The search — spearheaded by Williams and other members of the food bank board of directors
RAIN GAIN Last Week’s Rainfall: (through Monday) 1.18 inches Total for 2010: 40.75 inches Total last year: (through Sept. 13) 33.90 inches
— started before demand for food bank services increases amid the hectic holiday season. Williams said the board intends to advertise the post and interview applicants as soon as possible. The board intends to appoint the next director in October before the holidays strain the food pantry. In the meantime, clients could notice longer lines at the food bank, as paid staffers and volunteers fill the gap left by the departure. Leaders at the 28-year-old food bank enacted reforms in See FOOD
BANK, Page A3
GAS GAUGE BEST LOCAL PRICES *
$2.85 — Arco 1403 N.W. Sammamish Rd. $2.85 — Costco
2. 8 5 Best local prices Costco
HIGHEST LOCAL PRICE * $3.07 — Shell 15 East Sunset Way
To report gas prices in your area, go to www.seattlegasprices.com.