Reps to hold town hall
Your locally owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
Fifth District state Reps. Jay Rodne and Chad Magendanz will hold a town hall meeting regarding the legislative session and answer questions from 3-4 p.m. March 14 at the Mount Si Senior Center, 411 Main Ave. S., North Bend.
March 12, 2015
Snoqualmie police nab suspects in burglary, robbery Just days after the Snoqualmie Police released a survey showing people felt safer because of their presence in North Bend, the department proved the point. Officers apprehended three suspects in a rooftop burglary of downtown businesses and arrested two suspects in a daytime robbery at the Coach store at the Premium Outlet Mall. A third case, an armed robbery at the 76 Union Gas Station, is still under investigation. The armed robbery occurred at 3:10 a.m. March 7 at 520 E. North Bend Way. A white male carrying
a small caliber rifle with a sling and wood stock entered the station and demanded money. The attendant said the man was wearing blue jeans, a dark blue, full-zipped hoodie and a light blue pillowcase with eye cutouts covering his face. He fled on foot. “The case is under investigation,” Officer Dmitriy Vladis wrote in an email March 10. Anyone with information should contact Vladis at 888-3333 or dvladis@ci.snoqualmie.wa.us. Coach store robbery Two men entered the Coach
store at the Premium Outlet Mall, 461 South Fork Ave. S.W, around midday March 5 and stole more than $3,500 in merchandise. The subjects fled, but a photograph and suspects’ descriptions were posted on the Snoqualmie Police Facebook and Twitter. KOMO Television obtained video footage of the crime from the Snoqualmie Police and carried a story about the robbery on the 6 p.m. news. An anonymous caller identified one of the suspects, an adult Russian male from Mountlake
Terrace. It was noted that the man may have been wearing an immigration-tracking bracelet. The Snoqualmie Police arrested the suspect at his residence. He is being held in the King County Jail on felony theft charges and an immigration detainer while the case is under investigation. Up on the rooftop A citizen called the police shortly at 4:30 am. March 8 to report a man on the roof of a business in the 200 block of South Main Street. The caller said there were thumping noises
coming from the building. Officers apprehended three adult suspects inside the business with a large amount of cash. The individuals had entered the business by breaking through the drywall of a vacant retail space. Investigating officers discovered the trio had also attempted to enter two additional stores in the 400 block of Southwest Mount Si Boulevard but were scared off by a delivery driver. The suspects are being held in the King County Jail on multiple felony charges.
Judge invalidates tax break for tribe properties The city of Snoqualmie won a major decision in King County Superior Court on March 4 that could have potentially cost taxpayers more than $100,000 a year. Judge Mary Roberts invalidated a property tax statute that eliminated tribes’ property tax obligations. The Washington State Legislature passed the statute, known as ESHB 1287, in 2014. The statute would have excused tribes from paying property tax on their noncasino,
off-reservation properties for economic development. The property tax for the Salish Lodge & Spa at Snoqualmie Falls, owned by the Muckleshoot Tribe, amounts to about $109,000 for the city of Snoqualmie. Roberts’ ruling prevented the tax increase, though, by declaring ESHB 1287 “unconstitutional, null and void in its entirety.” Roberts concluded that the statute violated the Washington Constitution’s requirements for See TAX BREAK, Page 2
The Valley tunes up for annual Jazz Walk event By Sherry Grindeland By Greg Farrar
Hospital nears completion The public can see the new Snoqualmie Valley Hospital during a community open house from noon to 4 p.m. April 19, even though the facility will not open for patients until the first week of May. The new hospital is at 9801 Frontier Ave. S.E., Snoqualmie. It will feature expanded facilities with private, single-occupancy patient rooms and an expanded emergency department. Ground was broken for the facility in September 2013. The building is being constructed by the Absher Co. for the Benaroya Co., which will lease it to the hospital. The Snoqualmie Valley Hospital District is issuing bonds to eventually purchase the hospital from Benaroya.
Things are tuning up for the North Bend Jazz Walk on March 14, a music event that encompasses 22 venues and a large selection of musicians playing from 5 p.m. to midnight. In addition to a large lineup of professionals, two Mount Si High School jazz bands plus bands from Bellevue, Mercer Island and Sammamish high schools will be featured. The Jazz Walk replaces the typical spring event, the Blues Walk. The Blues Walk will now
be the fall event. Changing the name — even though both events are organized by the Boxley Music Fund See JAZZ WALK, Page 2 Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER