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THURSDAY, February 18, 2016
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Skyline, Eastlake send swimmers to state See Page 7
City, county both winners and losers in trail decision By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@sammamishreview.com The city hearing examiner handed both the City of Sammamish and King County wins and losses in deciding the county’s appeal of the conditional development permit awarded for the southern portion of the Lake Sammamish Trail. A decision was released Feb. 8 by city Hearing Examiner John Galt. Neither county nor city
officials responded to requests for comment shortly after Galt’s decision was released. Following a meeting outside of the hearing asked for by Galt, the two sides came to some agreement on four issues, according to Doug Williams, media relations coordinator for the county. The two sides remained in opposition on four additional issues, Williams said. Galt ruled primarily in favor of See TRAIL, Page 6
5th District legislators push charter schools By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@sammamishreview.com They are unlikely allies. Rep. Chad Magendanz, R-Issaquah, announced in October plans to run against Sen. Mark Mullet, D-Issaquah, this November. Yet both Magendanz and Mullet are backing bills aimed at preserving Washington charter schools. And in another twist, legislative District 5, which includes Issaquah and parts of Sammamish and is the home turf for both Magendanz and Mullet, contains no charter schools. A September state Supreme Court ruling declared charter schools unconstitutional and denied a reconsideration request from the state attorney general’s office. On Jan. 20, the state Senate voted 27-20 to pass a bill that sidesteps the court ruling and takes funding for charter schools from the
state’s Opportunity Pathways Account, which consists of state lottery money not tied to public, non-charter schools. Mullet co-sponsored the bill with Sen. Steve Litzow, R-Mercer Island. During testimony before the Senate, Mullet said he had never visited a charter school before he was invited to Summit Sierra Charter School in Seattle. “For me, that was a powerful visit,” he said later. Mullet told the rest of the Senate he was impressed by the passion the students had for their school. He said he did not like seeing himself as the bad guy in the recent Star Wars movie, preferring to be Han Solo or Luke Skywalker. Mullet added a question asked by his daughter, who had accompanied him to Summit Sierra, really tipped the scales in his mind in favor of charter schools. His daughter wanted to know if See SCHOOLS, Page 2
By Greg Farrar / gfarrar@sammamishreview.com
Kevin Ahearn picks up a discarded computer monitor and its plastic shell at the corner of 245th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 24th Street.
GARBAGE MAN
Kevin Ahearn earns kudos for helping clean up south Sammamish neighborhood By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@sammamishreview.com Sammamish resident Kevin Ahearn said he takes walks through the neighborhood surrounding his Southeast 19th Street home mostly for the exercise. “That’s number one with me,” he said. But there’s no denying Ahearn seems to enjoy the secondary venture that results from those long walks. Since December, Ahearn, currently laid off from Lockheed Martin, has been on a one-man crusade to rid his neighborhood of as much trash as possible. As he walks, he carries plastic grocery store bags
to transport trash he finds around the area. “I focus on recycling,” Ahearn said, adding he doesn’t pick up dog waste. He will pick up just about anything else — and does. On Feb. 10, his most recent “haul,” as he calls the bags of collected litter, included a glass bottle with some sort of electronic item inside. Ahearn searched online for the manufacturer but couldn’t figure out what it might be. Other items he’s picked up have included a couple of balls, a laundry basket, one or two wheel covers, a fire extinguisher and an Apple iMac. While he wishes people wouldn’t just toss things away, the odd nature
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of some of his finds gets his attention, and not entirely in a bad way. “I’m always surprised by some of the stuff I find out there,” Ahearn said. Ahearn’s efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. Erin Kim, 14, is a neighbor who called the Sammamish Review thinking Ahearn, 58, deserved some recognition for his efforts. Erin said she does some community service herself through the Girl Scouts and other organizations. Ahearn always could be counted on for a generous contribution, either of money or goods, she said. “He’s just really compassionate,” Erin said. “She is a real good, community activist type of girl,” Ahearn said. When Erin first told him she had called the Sammamish Review, Ahearn said he wasn’t really sure See GARBAGE, Page 6
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