YOUR LOCALLY OWNED NEWSPAPER SERVING SNOQUALMIE AND NORTH BEND
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016
SNO★VALLEY
STAR
TOO MUCH GAME
Brooke Chandler leads Eastlake soccer past Mount Si, 3-0 Page 10
Candidates outline key stances at forum BY STUART MILLER smiller@snovalleystar.com
Four 5th District legislative candidates articulated their political stances, and occasionally butted heads, at a candidate forum Sept. 21. The Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce hosted
Mark Mullet
Chad Magendanz
state Senate candidates Mark
Paul Graves
Darcy Burner
Mullet and Chad Magendanz
and state House candidates Paul Graves and Darcy Burner at TPC Snoqualmie for a forum in which the candidates discussed business, development, taxes, education, transportation and more. All four candidates sat at a table together facing a few dozen audience members while
answering the moderator’s questions in timed responses. Though it was mostly friendly and informative, there were some tense moments when the candidates called out one another and defended themselves from criticism. SEE FORUM, PAGE 5
Helicopters face county budget cuts BY LYNN THOMPSON The Seattle Times
GREG FARRAR | gfarrar@snovalleystar.com
The Heather Jones and the Groove Masters band performs at Chaplin’s North Bend Chevrolet. See more photos from Blues Walk on Page 2.
Record-breaking crowd takes in the blues BY STUART MILLER smiller@snovalleystar.com Jimi Hendrix once said, “The blues is easy to play, but hard to feel.” If that’s true, anyone who witnessed downtown North Bend and the Blues Walk on Saturday night could have
been fooled. Approximately 1,600 blues fans flooded the downtown area from 6 p.m. to midnight to watch 27 different acts play the blues — much of which did not look easy to play. “It was a record-breaking crowd,” said Gregory Malcolm, executive director of JazzClubsNW, which hosted
the event. “We’re really excited about the turnout. We’ve grown every year.” Twenty-one venues around downtown hosted the performers out of the kindness of their hearts, Malcolm said. The venues ranged in size and style, from the North Bend Theatre to Chang Thai to the
Pro Ski and Mountain Service shop. On one block of North Bend Way, if a band and crowd could fit into the building, they probably did. “People realize that they can have a very varied experience,” Malcolm said. “In SEE BLUES, PAGE 2
Despite a strong economy, King County Executive Dow Constantine on Monday said his proposed biennium budget would have to cut $22 million in spending, with the reductions falling hardest on the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the Sheriff’s Office. The executive said the state cap of 1 percent on property-tax revenue growth each year has produced chronic budget shortfalls for counties across the state. The cuts won’t affect the county’s 911 emergency response, he said. But since criminal-justice programs make up 73 percent of the county’s budget, these programs are disproportionately impacted, Constantine said in his annual budget address. The Metropolitan King County Council will take up the budget proposal next month. The 2017-18 general fund budget totals $1.6 billion in SEE BUDGET, PAGE 12 Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER