Locally owned 50 cents
april 22, 2015
eview R sammamish www.sammamishreview.com
‘Mary Poppins’ hits the stage at skyline high school, page 6
Sahalee Way among roads set to receive city’s attention
New gallery open
By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com With any number of projects in various stages of development, Sammamish Public Works Director Laura Philpot spent a bit of time reviewing her department’s current endeavors at an early April City Council meeting. The overview included eight capital improvement projects. • One major undertaking still in the making is the improvement of Sahalee Way Northeast. Philpot said engineers are analyzing expanding the road to between three and five lanes, or a combination of both. She said she expects to conduct a traffic study in May and hopes to have the roughly $16.6 million proj-
ect in the hands of a contractor by November. • Officials awarded $507,737 for an intelligent transportation system on March 17. Construction is to start April 27, with completion slated for June. The plan is to improve traffic flow on 228th Avenue Southeast. “We’re excited about that,” Philpot said. • After listening to feedback from officials and the public, Philpot said the city would add bike lanes on either side of 212th Avenue Southeast at a cost of $650,000. Original plans called for bike lanes on only one side of the roadway. Construction should begin next spring. • City officials have several See PROJECTS, Page 3
Eastlake High School earns achievement award By Greg Farrar
‘Stones Of The Magic Eyes’ is one of the wide variety of art pieces by Amanda Devine on display now through July 10 at the Sammamish City Hall Commons gallery. The local artist will be present during a reception that’s free and open to the public from 6 to 8 p.m. April 23. The samples of her art, spanning 40 years, is titled ‘Moments: Art In Response to Time and Place.’ See a photo gallery of some of her art at www.sammamishreview.com.
Voters face three issues on ballot Sammamish and Klahaniearea voters have two local issues and one countywide question before them in the April 28 special election. Mail-in ballots were sent to registered voters April 8. The two local issues have been well-publicized. Sammamish residents will decide whether they want to give themselves initiative and referendum rights. Klahaniearea voters will decide the question of whether they want to be annexed by the city of Sammamish. Only persons living within the current boundaries of
Sammamish will vote on the initiative and referendum issue, while only those living in the Klahanie area in the potential annexation area will vote on the annexation question. Voters in both areas have a say on the county property tax levy. Largely due to lobbying from the grassroots group Citizens for Sammamish, the Sammamish City Council put the initiative and referendum question on the ballot as a nonbinding advisory measure. Initiatives allow voters to put specific questions
directly on the ballot, effectively bypassing legislators. Referenda questions also are put before voters and are used, within limits, to halt or repeal legislation adopted by local lawmakers. The Klahanie-area annexation has been a major topic of discussion for some time. In general, Sammamish officials say the Klahanie area — now part of unincorporated King County — would be better off as part of the city because of lower property tax rates and improved services, such as See BALLOT, Page 3
Eastlake High School is one of 12 schools in the Lake Washington School District that has earned a Washington Achievement Award for overall excellence from the state’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Lake Washington, the state’s sixth-largest public school district, received more awards than any district statewide. A total of 41 awards will be given at 24 schools in categories such as overall excellence, high progress, and growth in reading and math. All award-winning schools will be honored during an April 28 ceremony April 28 at Spanaway Lake High School in Pierce County. “As a fast-growing school district, we are committed to maintaining our high academic standards,” Lake Washington Superintendent Traci Pierce said in a news release. “While we are adding hundreds of students to our district each year, our teachers are working hard to make sure that
every student who comes to us is learning. These recognitions show that we continue to have strong academic success.” Eastlake was the district’s only comprehensive high school to be recognized for overall excellence. The 11 other schools earning the honor are Discovery Community School, International Community School, Juanita Elementary, Muir Elementary and Northstar Middle School in Kirkland; Explorer Community School, Mann Elementary, Rockwell Elementary, Rosa Parks Elementary and Stella Schola Middle School in Redmond; and Wilder Elementary in Woodinville. Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER
50¢