The Issaquah Press Costco faces gender bias lawsuit
Candidates join chambers’ forum
State imposes burn ban for forests
Issaquah-based Costco faces a gender bias lawsuit from workers, after a federal judge ruled the lawsuit can proceed. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco certified a class, or group, of plaintiffs Sept. 25. The group includes about 700 women challenging the company’s system for promotions to management posts. Costco has denied the plaintiffs’ claims. In 2004, employees sued Costco after plaintiffs claimed the largest warehouse chain in the United States limited promotions to female employees by failing to post job openings. Courts put the case on hold as a gender-discrimination case against WalMart headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2011, justices threw out the case, Dukes v. Wal-Mart. Chen’s 86-page order granted plaintiffs’ attorneys the right to proceed in the case Ellis v. Costco. No court date has yet been set in the case.
Voters can hear from candidates for the state House of Representatives and Senate on Oct. 9 at a forum organized by the Issaquah and Sammamish chambers of commerce. The lineup includes the contenders for a 5th Legislative District House seat — Republican Chad Magendanz and Democrat David Spring — and the Senate seat — Democrat Mark Mullet and Republican Brad Toft. The candidates in the 41st Legislative District, state Rep. Marcie Maxwell, D-Renton, and Issaquah Republican Tim Eaves — plus state Sen. Steve Litzow, R-Mercer Island, and Mercer Island Democrat Maureen Judge — also plan to attend. State Rep. Jay Rodne, RNorth Bend, the uncontested candidate for the other House seat in the district, is also expected to attend. The forum is from 3:30-5 p.m. at Blakely Hall, 2550 N.E. Park Drive. Organizers plan to focus on business and economic issues.
The state Department of Natural Resources has extended a summertime burn ban for Tiger Mountain State Forest and other state lands through Oct. 7. The burn ban applies to all forestlands in Washington, except for federal lands. “The conditions for new fires still exist, even as we head into October,” state Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark said in a statement. “Our firefighting resources are stretched to the limit, and our firefighters are exhausted. We cannot take the risk of new, humancaused fires with the tinder dry conditions out there.” The state moratorium is in addition to a burn ban imposed by Eastside Fire & Rescue through Oct. 20 and by the King County fire marshal until further notice.
Issaquah-based Trans-
NET Inc., a shipping company focused on Far East ports in Russia, is a finalist for a countywide small business honor, King County Executive Dow Constantine announced Sept. 5. The company is nominated in the Exporting Small Business of the Year category alongside Seattle-based Enprecis and Kent-based Pacific Metallurgical. Trans-NET Inc. is the only Issaquah business nominated. In the inaugural awards last year, Triple XXX Rootbeer Drive-in won Minority Small Business of the Year. Trans-NET Inc. received a nomination in the Exporting Small Business of the Year category last year, too. Organizers named 21 finalists in seven categories for the King County Executive’s Small Business Awards. The competition received 130 nominations. Organizers plan to announce the winners Oct. 10 at a ceremony at Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue.
Awards
sections. Lest We Forget, a Memorial Day section dedicated to local veterans, earned first place among Topical/ Non-Tourism Special Sections. The contest recognized Managing Editor Kathleen R. Merrill and David Hayes, a reporter and designer, for the section. “Lots of work was put into this section and it paid
off,” a judge wrote. “Great job!” Welcome, Swedish/Issaquah — a July 2011 section about the opening of Issaquah’s hospital — won first place for Best Advertising Insert. Sammamish Review, a sister publication, earned second place in the General Excellence category among the largest community newspapers in
the state. SnoValley Star, another sister publication, earned second place for General Excellence in a smaller circulation group at the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association’s annual convention in Yakima. New York Press Association journalists served as judges for the 2,229 entries from 73 Washington newspapers.
companies,” Dwyer said. “We’re absolutely looking at this as a momentumbuilder as we go forward trying to identify other companies that might have an interest.” Spacelabs’ building in Snoqualmie once housed a manufacturing plant for Philips Oral Healthcare. The electronics giant manufactured the Sonicare toothbrush in the space,
before Philips relocated the jobs to China in 2009. Spacelabs is the latest tenant to commit to the Snoqualmie Ridge Business Park. Redmond-based Motion Water Sports is building a facility in the Snoqualmie Ridge Business Park and plans to consolidate some operations from throughout the Puget Sound region.
The other addition to the complex is a government permitting center, as King County prepares to relocate the Department of Permitting and Environmental Review — formerly the Department of Development and Environmental Services — from Renton to Snoqualmie Ridge. That move is expected to occur late next month.
ment complex to watch traffic come and go. The officer noticed Martinez-Casillas — who police FROM PAGE A1 knew from earlier contacts — enter the parking lot in burglary uncovered by a Ford Focus. Once he depolice in the Lovers invesparted, the officer looked tigation. inside the vehicle’s winPolice said the suspect dows and noticed a black entered the Issaquah store, hat and some gloves, but used a red T-shirt to obnothing to indicate a conscure his face and removed nection to the robberies. a handgun from his waistPolice then called the band. The man told the Issaquah store employee’s store employee, “Give me phone several times and all your money,” and she heard it vibrating inside placed $971 from the cash the vehicle. register into a black Lovers Officers conducted surbag for him. veillance on the residence The suspect then dragged and the vehicle. the employee by her hair Martinez-Casillas agreed into a back room and told her to remove her pants. She initially refused, but he pointed the gun at her face and she removed her pants. The suspect then forced her to climb under a desk, and then stole her cellphone from atop the desk as he fled the store. Police searched the area, but could not locate the suspect. Investigators then had the employee’s cellphone provider trace the device’s location. The trace led officers to the Park Hill at Issaquah apartment complex, but police could not locate the phone. Meanwhile, the employee’s father used a family tracking app to locate the phone. He called police Sept. 24 to report the information, but police could not pinpoint the device’s location. The next day, a man entered the Redmond store, pulled a piece of red cloth over his mouth and pulled a gun from his waistband. The employee handed him $318 from the cash register before he forced her into a back room to open the safe. Police said he stole about $300 from the safe, and then demanded for the employee to remove her shoes before he fled from the store. In Issaquah, a police officer learned about the Redmond robbery at 1:45 p.m. that day and, using the information from the phone traces, headed to the Park Hill at Issaquah apart-
to let officers search the Focus. Inside, police found the store employee’s phone, cash inside a door compartment and clothes resembling some from the robberies. He initially told police he owned the phone when officers asked about it, and said he found the device on a nearby trail. Officers then arrested him and obtained a warrant to search his residence, vehicle and a backpack he carried at the time of arrest. Inside the vehicle, investigators found a KWA air gun similar to the weapon described in the robber-
ies, plus the clothes, gloves and sunglasses witnesses described. Officers also discovered $342 in cash. In addition to the evidence related to the robberies, police recovered a $10,000 racing bicycle stolen from nearby 24 Hour Fitness in June. Investigators also found laptop computers, a backpack and $300 from the burglary of a downtown Issaquah home Aug. 9. Martinez-Casillas remains in custody at the King County Jail on $200,000 bond and is scheduled for arraignment in King County Superior Court on Oct. 18.
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Personality Profile – Long category for a profile of local Iraq war veteran Rory Dunn and his mother Cynthia Lefever, a tenacious advocate for veterans. Judges also honored the newspaper for special
Spacelabs FROM PAGE A1
benefit other businesses nearby, such as restaurants, and add some international cachet to Snoqualmie. “It puts Snoqualmie on the map in terms of recruiting technology-related
Lovers
Company is finalist for small business honor
Wednesday, October 3, 2012 •
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Initiative 502, marijuana legalization May I suggest voting no on 502 because prices are certain to rise, mainly due to taxation without representation? The cost of a gram will be $20 to $30, hardly affordable to medical marijuana patients. Personally, I would love to see grass legal but I doubt in my lifetime it will ever be — and I live in the territories of the United States of America, where it is still a Class 1 controlled substance with severe reluctance to change. Daniel Zellmer
Initiative 1240, charter schools You should continue to pay taxes to send other kids to public schools because you want a functioning society, with educated police officers, firefighters, engineers, waitresses, bankers and, someday, nursing home attendants. Ninety percent of American kids are educated by public schools. You say you want choice, but there are already many options within the public school system. If none of those work, you have the option of going to a private school
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system outside of state regulations. If that doesn’t work, you can homeschool your kids. Just don’t ask taxpayers to pony up the money for every “choice” you want to make. Initiative 1240 would turn over Washington state schools to nonprofit and for-profit corporations headquartered in other states, and provide virtually no oversight for their performance or standards. You wouldn’t throw money into a pit. Why would you turn over your tax dollars to charter schools that don’t even promise to educate students to the minimum standards now required by the state? Read the initiative. It is an incredible attempt to rip schools away from local control and oversight, and puts nothing in its place. Barbara de Michele
Troopers crack down on aggressive drivers Troopers should be looking at the drivers going north or south from Interstate 90 morning and night. Also, the drivers eastbound I-90 getting off Front Street and the Issaquah Highlands exits. Staying in left lanes until the last possible moment and cutting drivers off, causing rear-end collisions every day in this area. Jeff Wolinski
The Issaquah Press
S COREBOARD Prep football
Garfield 3, Inglemoor 2 Newport 3, Redmond 0 Issaquah 3, Ballard 1 Skyline 3, Roosevelt 0
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Overall WL 50 32 14 32 23 23
Issaquah 3, Ballard 1 Issaquah 24 25 27 25 —3 Ballard 26 18 25 11 —1 Issaquah statistics: Leanne Scott, 21 kills, 15 digs; Rachel Baker, 30 assists Ballard statistics: McKinley Kellogg, 32 assists, 10 digs
KingCo 4A Crest Division Conf WL Team Bothell 20 Woodinville 10 Eastlake 11 Redmond 01 Inglemoor 02
Overall WL 23 41 23 14 05
Skyline 3, Roosevelt 0 Skyline 25 25 25 —3 Roosevelt 23 18 23 —0 Skyline statistics: Meghan Wedeking, 14 assists; Halle Erdhal, 14 kills; Katy Valencia, 15 assists Roosevelt statistics: Frances Woods, 12 kills; Sierra Schomburg, 30 assists
Skyline 67, Garfield 16 Garfield 0 8 0 8—16 Skyline 39 21 7 0—67 KingCo 3A/2A Team Bellevue Mount Si Mercer Island Lake Washington Juanita Liberty Interlake Sammamish
Conf WL 30 30 30 12 12 12 03 03
Overall WL 50 50 41 32 23 23 14 05
Sept. 28 games Lake Washington 38, Liberty 7 Liberty 7 0 0 0— 7 Lake Wa. 14 7 0 17—38 First quarter: Liberty-Kasper Lui Delange 14-run (Josh Johnson kick); LW-Sean Whaley 50 pass from Shawn Gray (Jake Masters kick); LW-Shawn Gray 2-run (Jake Masters kick). Second quarter: LW-Kelly Guy 57 interception return (Jake Masters kick). Third quarter: No scoring. Fourth quarter: LW-Jake Masters 19-yard FG; LW-Daniel Porras 3-run (Jake Masters kick); LW-Korish Namini 36-pass from Shawn Gray (Jake Masters kick).
Prep girls volleyball KingCo 4A Team Newport Garfield Roosevelt Skyline Eastlake Bothell Issaquah Inglemoor Woodinville Ballard Redmond
Conf WL 4 0 3 1 3 1 3 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 3 0 4 0 3
Overall WL 71 44 53 62 33 34 34 34 34 35 17
Sept. 26 games Eastlake 3, Woodinville 1
Eagles FROM PAGE B4
sprinting into the end zone. After a memorable intermission, courtesy of a cameo appearance by the University of Washington Husky marching band, both units got back to gridiron biz in the third quarter and Issaquah ramped up its offense considerably. Before the Roughriders knew what had hit them, Issaquah was knocking on the door again. Issaquah used the
Prep girls soccer KingCo 4A Team Redmond Issaquah Skyline Woodinville Ballard Inglemoor Garfield Bothell Eastlake Roosevelt Newport
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Skyline
KingCo 4A Crown Division Conf WL Team Skyline 20 Newport 20 Ballard 11 Roosevelt 11 Issaquah 02 Garfield 02
Roosevelt 21, Issaquah 17 Issaquah 0 7 7 3 —17 Roosevelt 7 7 0 7 —21 First quarter: Roos—Taku Shiozaki 1-run (John Peterson kick). Second quarter: Issa—Jack Gellatly 6-run (Alex Shane kick) Third quarter: Roos—Mitchell Bouldin 18-run (John Peterson kick); Issa—Reed Peterson 12-pass from Jack Neary (Alex Shane kick). Fourth quarter: Issa—Alex Shane 37-yard FG; Roos—Taku Shiozaki 4-run (John Peterson kick).
Wednesday, October 3, 2012 •
Conf Overall WLT WLT 300 531 310 910 200 702 210 331 220540 111 512 121 332 120 440 120 350 120 350 040 062
Sept. 25 games Redmond 2, Woodinville 1 Issaquah 3, Roosevelt 0 Eastlake 2, Newport 0 Bothell 2, Garfield 0 Skyline 3, Ballard 1 Issaquah 3, Roosevelt 0 Issaquah 1 2—3 Roosevelt 0 0—0 Iss - Lyrik Fryer (unassisted) 35:00 Iss - Rachel Wheeler (Audrey Thomas) 56:00 Iss - Audrey Thomas (Annie Hoffman) 71:00 Skyline 3, Ballard 1 Ballard 1 0—1 Skyline 1 2—3 Skyl - Amanda Johnston (Anna Deweirdt) 14:00 Bal - Bailey Travis (unassisted) 15:00 Skyl - Anna Deweirdt (Bianca Saint) 45:00 Skyl - Rachel Shimm (unassisted) 71:00 Sept. 27 games Woodinville 1, Eastlake 0 Garfield 3, Inglemoor 3 Redmond 1, Newport 0 Skyline 3, Roosevelt 0 Issaquah 6, Ballard 0 Issaquah 6, Ballard 0 Iss 0 6—6 Bal 0 0—0 Iss - Sophia Kim (Annie Hoffman) 42:00 Iss - Audrey Thomas (Rachel Wheeler) 53:00 Iss - Sophia Kim (Lyrik Fryer) 56:00 Iss - Annie Hoffman (Rachel Wheeler) 62:00 Iss - Rachel Wheeler (unassisted) 64:00 Iss - Rachel Wheeler (unassisted) 70:00 Sept. 27 games Liberty 2, Bellevue 0 Lib 1 1—2 Bell 0 0—0 Lib - Jacelyn Anderson (unassisted) Lib - Kiana Hafferty (Kali Youngdahl)
overland route (Gellatly’s fearless romps) halfway through the third frame to smash, bash and thrash its way down to RHS’ 12yard line. With Roosevelt’s defenders anticipating more of the same, senior Issaquah wide out Reed Peterson bamboozled a Roosevelt defensive back into thinking that he was running a go route to the corner of the end zone. Peterson caught the defender backpedaling, though, and when he took one step past the goal line and promptly button-hooked the pattern,
getting penalized.” With the clock not being stopped between plays, the second half was sped up. Garfield got on the board again with a touchdown and a 2-point conversion, but never caught up to Skyline. The game ended at 67-16. The 51-point win was not the only thing the Spartans had to celebrate. Five minutes into the second quarter, Browne surpassed the 10,000 mark in his career passing yards. Currently ranked fourth in Washington’s career passing record book, Browne is edging closer to third-place record holder DeSales’ T.J. Conley at 10,147. In first place is Brian Lindgren, also from DeSales, at 12,575. But Browne wasn’t busy making calculations that night. “I had no idea. I knew I was close but when it happened I was totally shocked,” he said afterward. “It’s a
Journal FROM PAGE B4
the new traditions of the tribe would continue. We specialized and thrived. After many generations, the Vashon glacier melted and salt-water salmon started returning to the lake through the Sammamish River. We were not glad to see them because they were bigger, and they attacked us and took over the spawning creeks we had reserved for ourselves. To avoid the returning salmon, we selected a different time of the year to go up the creeks to spawn. Thus, the competition for our redds, or gravel beds where we laid our eggs, was eased and we had more safety in the streams. We adapted and endured. The native humans named our tribe kokanee, meaning red fish. Every year, the Snoqualmie Tribe celebrated our arrival at Ebright Creek to spawn. Things deteriorated when the immigrant humans came and allowed
Peterson left himself wide open for a 12-yard touchdown strike hurled by IHS signal caller Jack Neary. Shane once again legged through a powerful point after touchdown and the tally stood at 14-14. Most of the third quarter was spent between the 20-yard lines as the two KingCo 4A adversaries exchanged several punts. But just as the final seconds were ticking away in quarter number three, rapid Issaquah defensive end Andrew Dieken penetrated the Roosevelt protective wall to block a Roughrider
BY JIM NICHOLSON
Skyline High School’s Brandon Crandall tackles Garfield’s quarterback Hayes Gorecki, causing the visitors to fumble. great accomplishment.” Having come up in the program, Browne had a lot of friends to share the moment with. “I’ve played side by side with him
their farming, mining and logging waste to enter and pollute our spawning streams. They also used us for fertilizer. It got worse later when humans contaminated our streams and lake with dairy and human waste. Humans then denied us some of our spawning grounds by putting in dams and culverts. But we held on, even after many of our remaining redds were scoured away or silted by flash floods as a result of careless land development. The worst came when the federal government built the state fish hatchery, denying our largest kokanee clan access to its spawning beds in Issaquah Creek. Their hatchery is popular, bringing in millions of dollars for tourism and providing some salmon for ocean fishermen. So it persists, but we cannot go upstream from the hatchery to spawn. They celebrate Salmon Days for the foreign salmon and we are being forgotten. We cannot adapt fast enough so we diminish. Someone noticed there were not as many of us freshwater fish in the lake.
punt. After Issaquah recovered the bouncing ball, it was in scoring position once more. The siren sounded to end the third quarter just after the Eagles were called for an offensive holding penalty on a third-and-five from the Roosevelt 15-yard line, and after the men in stripes stepped off the infraction, Issaquah was looking at a third-downand-10 to go. Issaquah was unsuccessful in its quest for the first down, but is one of the few schools in the KingCo 4A blessed with a kicker the
since third grade,” Pelluer said. “It’s an honor to play with him, but at the end of the day we are just best friends and it makes it that much more fun.”
But instead of restoring our stream habitat, people chose a policy of stocking and restocking. That is how we lost so many of our members — as prey for foreign trout, bass and other fish they introduced into the lake. They even brought in foreign kokanee from Lake Kootenay, who competed with us but could not adapt and disappeared. Finally, they made it illegal to fish for us in the lake, hoping we would recover. We haven’t, but we still have hope. The human’s waste changed to include chemical poisons. They are lessening now because of environmental concern. No one has heard from the early-run clan that spawned in Issaquah Creek and they have been declared extinct. Only some of the late-run clans have survived in Lewis, Laughing Jacobs, Pine Lake and Ebright creeks. Our numbers were further diminished last year when rains on land being developed in the Ebright Creek watershed brought down mud, smothering all of our eggs and alevin there. Our hope is waning. Good news has trickled into the lake. Our plight
is being recognized and the Lake Sammamish Kokanee Work Group is trying to conserve our habitat and increase our numbers. It is heartening to know that individual citizens, local businesses, state and local governments, and conservation groups are now working together to restore our spawning grounds and access to them in Ebert and Issaquah creeks. They plan to remove dams and culverts and restore some gravel creek beds. They have even started raising our young in the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery to increase our numbers in Lewis, Ebright and Laughing Jacobs creeks. The few of us remaining in the lake are increasing in hope and wish to once again spawn in the Zaccuse, George Davis, Issaquah, Tibbetts, Vasa, Idylwood and Phantom Lake creeks. When they are restored, we will return.
likes of Shane. Without hesitation the upperclassman split the uprights with an accurate 37-yard field goal that would have been good from 50 yards out, to furnish the purple and gold with a 17-14 lead midway through the fourth quarter. After being on top for the first time in the wild affair, Issaquah seemed to become a bit complacent and even lethargic on defense. Roosevelt seized the opportunity to burn up most of the sand remaining in the hourglass, managing a relentless 80-yard, 12play drive down the turf
culminating in a 4-yard Shiozaki plunge that sealed Issaquah’s fate. The setback sent Issaquah’s conference record plummeting to 0-2, leaving them in the KingCo 4A’s Crown Division cellar along with 0-2, 1-4 overall Garfield High, which was annihilated by Skyline, 6716, Sept. 28. The Eagles will endeavor to improve upon their 2-3 overall mark, when they journey to face a struggling Bulldog squad for a rare engagement at venerable Memorial Stadium in Seattle at 7 p.m. Oct. 6.
Reach Dallas Cross at FishJournal@aol.com or www. fishjournal.org. View previous articles and comment on this column at www.issaquahpress.com.
The Issaquah Press
Officers bust 1,603 motorists for DUI Officers from the Issaquah Police Department and other law enforcement agencies in the state arrested 1,603 motorists for driving under the influence during the Drive Hammered, Get Nailed enforcement campaign from Aug. 17 to Sept. 3. In King County, officers on routine and extra patrols arrested 364 motorists for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In the same period last year, King County officers arrested 452 people for DUI. Statewide, officers arrested 1,824 motorists during the 2011 patrols. Besides the Issaquah Police Department, the campaign included officers from the Bellevue, Newcastle, North Bend, Sammamish, Snoqualmie and Renton police departments, in addition to the Washington State Patrol. The funding for extra patrols originated as a grant from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
Local math program expands to Seattle Abacus West, a local math tutoring program based in Sammamish that integrates the use of the Japanese abacus as a tool to teach fundamental math skills, is now offering classes in Seattle. The program, launched in 2010, addresses a rising trend in using the ancient abacus more prevalently in mathematics education. Students learn to manipulate the beads of an abacus and how to visualize a mental abacus, enabling them to perform mental math. Along the way, students develop their focus, concentration and visualization skills. The after-school math enrichment program is aimed at children ages 5-12. The Seattle classes will be offered at the Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford. With the expansion, Abacus West now offers classes in three cities — Sammamish, Redmond and Seattle. Abacus West offers classes at the Plateau Club in Sammamish and the Old Redmond School House in Redmond.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012 •
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