Issaquah’s only locally owned newspaper
The Issaquah Press
116th Year, No. 50
issaquahpress.com
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Stabilization of Talus landslide continues
City will not let construction resume By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com
FBI
A suspect collects cash during a holdup Dec. 1 at the Bank of America branch on Front Street North.
Suspect in bank robberies sought by authorities
“It’s still creeping along a little bit,” said Keith Niven, city economic development director, before a meeting of the Talus Homeowners Association held in the Issaquah City Hall Eagles Room on Dec. 10. Niven was referring to the landslide that happened on the border of the existing Talus residential development. That slide took place Nov. 13 near the intersection of Northwest Talus Drive and Shangri-La Way Northwest. And while the earth is still moving, that movement is so slight it is considered negligible, said consultants brought in by the city and the developer of the site. Developer ORA Talus 90 still wants to build up to 90 residenc-
Scott Stoddard / sstoddard@isspress.com
Large concrete blocks hold back fill at the intersection of Northwest Talus Drive and Shangri-La Way Northwest on Dec. 4. es on the hillside and wants to discuss when construction might resume, Niven said. But he added that the city simply is not ready to have that conversation. Niven also said discussions eventually need to be had
regarding what caused the landslide. He said questions on the cause of the landslide touch directly on who is responsible and who is liable for the cleanup, which Niven estimated has cost about $1 million so far.
Niven said that from the city’s standpoint, conversations about cause and blame only would detract from the needed mitigation efforts. He did not expect construction on the hillside to resume anytime soon. The city issued a partial ceasework order to the developer immediately following the landslide. The order was only a partial order as crews need to be able to work on mitigation and monitoring efforts, Niven said. One of two geotechnical consultants hired by the city, James Johnson of Golder Associates, said investigators still have no clear idea of what caused the landslide. He did say the city and developer conducted geotechnical studies of the site, just as was done throughout the Talus development. He said the hillside showed no unusual susceptibility to landslides. See LANDSLIDE, Page 2
TALE OF TWO QUARTERBACKS
By Scott Stoddard sstoddard@isspress.com A bundled-up robbery suspect who struck two banks in three days is being sought by Issaquah police and the FBI’s Seattle Safe Streets Task Force. The man walked into the Bank of America branch at 665 Front Street N. on Dec. 1 and left with an undisclosed amount of cash. Authorities said the man did not display a weapon during the robbery. The man was described as a white male, between 5-foot10 and 6-feet tall, with a thin build. Surveillance images show he was wearing a black North Face ski jacket along with sunglasses and a hood. The man was also wearing blue latex gloves. Two days later, again at 5:40 p.m., an identically dressed man entered the U.S. Bank branch at 1295 NW Gilman Blvd. and demanded money, leaving without an undisclosed amount of cash. He did not display a weapon, authorities said. If you spot the suspect, officials ask that you do not approach See SUSPECT, Page 3
By Greg Farrar/ gfarrar@isspress.com
Blake Gregory (10), Skyline High School senior quarterback, and Gonzaga Prep senior quarterback Liam Bell reach out to one another after the Class 4A state football championship was decided by a 34-16 Bullpups victory Dec. 5 at the Tacoma Dome. For more on the championship game, see story Page 10.
Sing Along Messiah benefits Merry Christmas Issaquah By Christina Corrales-Toy newcastle@isspress.com St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church invites the community to an afternoon of music and charity at the 2015 “Sing & Play Along Messiah” Dec. 13. Any instrumentalists, vocalists or spectators can participate in the nonrehearsed event, under the direction of Jason Anderson, associate for liturgical arts at the church. The concert features the Christmas portion of George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah,” Anderson said. Handel composed “Messiah” in 1741 to illustrate scenes from the life of Jesus Christ. “Messiah” ranks among the best-known musical works from the Baroque period, and the piece is especially popular around Christmas. The church’s “Sing & Play Along Messiah” raises funds for the Merry Christmas Issaquah fund benefitting Issaquah Com-
MERRY CHRISTMAS ISSAQUAH Goal — $100,000
To date — $24,420
GET INVOLVED
4Make a tax-deductible donation to Issaquah Community Services. The organization is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Send donations to Issaquah Community Services, P.O. Box 669, Issaquah, WA 98027. 4You can also donate to the cause using PayPal on the ICS website, www.issaquahcommunityservices.org. 4The names of donors — but not amounts — are published in The Press unless anonymity is requested. Call ICS at 837-3125 for more information. munity Services. “The real intent behind ‘Messiah’ was and still is to benefit the needs of the local community,” Anderson said. See FUND, Page 2
Issaquah Press group names new editor By Christina Corrales-Toy newcastle@isspress.com Scott Stoddard is the new editor of The Issaquah Press newspaper group. He started Nov. 30. He replaces former managing editor Kathleen R. Merrill, who left The Press in October. Stoddard comes from The News Tribune in Tacoma, where he was a news designer since 2012. In his 27-year career, Stoddard has worked for papers large and small, doing everything from page design and copy editing to reporting and photography. “I’ve learned a lot, and I want to apply the best of what I’ve learned to this paper,” he said. The industry veteran’s first job took him to Alaska immediately after graduating from Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. He made a December drive from Portland to Kenai, Alaska, to become the sports editor of a small newspaper there.
Stoddard then held positions at several papers with circulations that ranked in the top 100 of U.S. newspapers, including The Scott Stoddard SpokesmanReview in Spokane, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the San Antonio Express-News in Texas. He has strong ties to the Pacific Northwest, spending 19 years at daily newspapers in Washington and Oregon over the course of his career. “Scott’s long history of editing and design made him the perfect candidate to be the new editor of The Issaquah Press group,” said Charles Horton, The Issaquah Press newspaper group general manager. “He’s committed to strong local journalism and understands the changing media landscape, and how we can best use the new tools to tell deeper stories that
MEET THE EDITOR Meet new Issaquah Press Editor Scott Stoddard 48-10 a.m. Dec. 11 4Issaquah Coffee Company 4317 N.W. Gilman Blvd., No. 46
matter to the communities we serve.” The new editor already has plans to improve The Press group, starting with a greater emphasis on the digital side. Expect to see an increase in the papers’ online presence under Stoddard. “We are going to put news out there on a daily basis,” he said. “We are not going to be a oneday-a-week news source.” Stoddard’s call to the newspaper industry came in junior high school after he won a journalism award in eighth grade, he said. He went on to write and shoot photos for his college See EDITOR, Page 2
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