Thursday, May 17, 2012
Republican Jim Thatcher is a principal program manager at Microsoft.
Republican Jim Thatcher has announced he will challenge State Rep. Larry Springer (D) of Kirkland for legislative position 2 in District 45. The Union Hill resident is a principal program manager at Microsoft and says he is running to advocate for budget reform and encourage local economic development. “Our legislators have been gridlocked into four special sessions over the last two years, and their budget proposals have been more on gimmicks and wishful thinking than real reforms and long term sustainability," Thatcher said in a campaign news release. "As taxpayers we should demand better!” Thatcher said his campaign priorities are implementing spending controls "that meet our priorities without raising taxes," "putting education first…
The $20 congestion reduction charge is intended to help preserve bus service in King County. The change includes eight Metro Transit bus rides for each household that registers a vehicle in King County.
The temporary $20 vehicle tab hike that was passed last year to preserve King County Metro bus service starts next month, King County is remindeding vehicle owners. So does the offer of eight free bus tickets to each household with a registered vehicle, which was included as part of the fee hike. The charge begins with June renewals sent out by the state Department of Licensing and will be collected through May 2014, according to a press release from King County. The $20 car tab fee increase compromise last year maintained the level of King County Metro Transit bus service. The fee will raise $50 million of a $60 million revenue shortfall that had been projected in the next few years, according to Metro Transit. “This Congestion Reduction …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
James Windle, of Snoqualmie Pass, filed this week for the 8th District congressional race.
Editor's note: James Windle lives in Snoqualmie Pass, not Snoqualmie, as an earlier version of this article stated. Sammamish native James Windle (I-Snoqualmie Pass) has announced his run for Washington’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Several other candidates have also filed for the election, including incumbent Dave Reichert (R-WA8). The filing period ends May 18. Windle said in a press release that he has returned home to Washington State after spending his early career in public service in Washington, D.C. He and his wife currently own a home in Snoqualmie Pass. Windle said in the release that he left his federal civilian job with the Department of Defense to serve his home state more directly and be …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
So far, nearly 350 elections filings have been received by the state, including a number of local competitors for seats that fall in shifting district boundaries.
This week is officially elections filing week in Washington, so for anyone planning to throw their hats into the ring, your time has come. There are open positions in a number of districts, including redrawn state Legislative districts 5, 41, and 45, and US Congressional District 8. As of Tuesday afternoon, 343 candidates had already filed for races across the state. Eighth District incumbent Dave Reichert, who recently moved his offices to Issaquah, filed for his seat, as did three others, including Republican Keith Swank (Puyallup), Democrat Karen Porterfield (Issaquah), and Independent candidate James Windle (Snoqualmie Pass). So far, only Issaquah Republican Chad Magendanz has filed for state Representative Position 2 in the 5th …
Monday, May 14, 2012
The City Council will hold public hearings on the 2012 Parks, Recreation, and Open Space plan as well as on proposed home business regulations.
At its regular council meeting tonight, the city of Sammamish will hold a public hearing on the 2012 Park Recreation & Open Space (Pro) Plan at its meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. You can read the PRO plan ahead of time here. If adopted, the PRO plan would guide the Parks and Recreation Department for the next six years. Though the plan covers goals for planning for Sammamish Parks and Rec facilities for the next six years, residents have attended recent Parks and City Counicil meetings to express concern over the designs for new parkland recently donated to the city. Neighbors of the new Southeast Eighth Park, as well as members of the Sammamish Historical Society, are expected to be in attendance at the meeting to voice their opinions about…
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Northeast College Drive and Northeast Falls Drive, between Central Park and 10th Avenue Northeast, are now open to traffic, along with 13 new parking spaces behind Grand Ridge Elementary.
Starting today, two new roads are now open, providing drivers another east/west route in and out of the Issaquah Highlands. The two connected roads – Northeast College Drive and Northeast Falls Drive – start at Central Park, run behind Grand Ridge Elementary School, and end at 10th Avenue Northeast. In addition, 13 new parking stalls are now available behind Grand Ridge Elementary School to help with student drop-off and pick-up. More road connections will be open soon, including: While the two new roads are now open, crews will still be finishing final work items, such as landscaping and paving. For more information, please call 425-837-3400. --Information from the city of Issaquah
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
The average residential customer will see a monthly increase of $3.30, according to a news release from the state's utilities and transportation commission.
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Wednesday, May 9
Electricity and natural gas rates for Puget Sound Energy customers will increase May 14 following action by state regulators earlier this week, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission has announced. Electricity rates for residential customers will go up by 3.2 percent while natural gas rates will rise by 1.3 percent, according to a news release from the commission. The changes mean the average residential customer's monthly electricity bill will go up by $3.30 to a total average of $102.56. A typical natural gas customer, meanwhile, will pay $1.08 more each month for a total bill of $86.09. The increases amount to a total hike of $76.7 million for PSE's 1.1 million electric customers and 756,765 natural gas customers in …
Washington is among five states and the District of Columbia offer a full gamut of rights to gay people, according to The Guardian.
Earlier today, the Huffington Post reported that President Obama became the first sitting president to announce his support for same-sex marriage, in an interview with ABC News. "At a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married," he said in the interview. Meanwhile, in the wake of North Carolina's decision to amend its Constitution to ban same sex unions, The Guardian website has created a model looking at gay rights in each state. According to the graphic, Washington, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont, along with Iowa and the District of Columbia, have the most rights afforded to gays. Washington allows: Washington …
The year-long closure in Issaquah, expected to begin May 14, will allow King County to replace soft-surface trail with blacktop, soft-surface shoulders, better street crossings, drainage and more.
Upgrades are coming to King County’s East Lake Sammamish Trail (ELST) through Issaquah, including removing the existing gravel trail and constructing a 12-foot-wide asphalt trail with gravel shoulders, installing concrete sidewalk connections, retaining walls, fencing and signage, plus wetland mitigation planting and landscaping. A 2.2-mile-long stretch of the trail from Northwest Gilman Boulevard to Southeast 43rd Way will be closed to all users during construction, which could take up to one year. The closure is expected to begin May 14. The extensive scope of work in the trail’s narrow corridor requires complete closure of the trail. Trail users are advised to find alternate routes around the closed portion. Nearby East Lake Sammamish …
The Eastside Transportation Association will appeal a March ruling by Kittitas County Superior Court that dismissed a lawsuit to block Sound Transit from using I-90 for light rail.
A ruling that dismissed a transportation group's lawsuit to block the use of the Interstate 90 bridge for Sound Transit light rail is headed to the state supreme court, the Eastside Transportation Association announced Tuesday. The association, which includes Bellevue developer Kemper Freeman, former State Senator Jim Horn, five trucking companies, and others, has instructed their attorneys to appeal the Kittitas County Superior Court ruling against them. Sound Transit plans to connect Seattle's Central Link with Bellevue and the Eastside's future East Link, via building the light rail line along I-90 where the carpool lanes currently are. Sound Transit is expected to start construction of East Link in 2015 or 2016 and launch passenger …
Jeanne Gustafson
5:37 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Thanks for your comment, Lucille. My impression is that the idea is to make the 11-mile trail usable by a broader range of folks, including bicyclists, skaters, and even wheelchairs. As it is now, I've only seen walkers and joggers on it myself. more ›