Week in Review (Sammamish Style): A Community Center Meeting, Looming State Budget Cuts, Tea Party Patriots, Recycling and a Councilman Steps Down

There should be a new rule in Sammamish and the Seattle area: If you see the sun and it's spring, go take a picture of it.

Upload said picture to Patch (if you'd like), Facebook, Twitter, your blog or any social media and print platform. Tell others what you've seen.

Translation: This spring has been rainy. In fact, there was hail in some parts this past week. OK, on that note, here's a look at the news of the week.

Monday: Community members gathered at City Hall to learn more about a community center, which might have swimming pools. Sammamish police reported that a teen was stable but unconscious after reportedly going to a house party where alcohol was served.

A student needed help in an online ketchup art contest. We at Sammamish Patch liked the whole concept. There also was the reminder that State Route 520 tolling has been pushed back to June.

Home prices were in the news with word that the median amount for a closed sale in the Sammamish area increased to $509,990, compared to the year-ago period. Sammamish Patch reminded readers about "transfer fees" with new developments - and they were just outlawed by Gov. Chris Gregoire.

Tuesday: Two moms, including one from Sammamish, launch a new healthy kids' meal business, MiniBento.

Wednesday: Sammamish Patch reminded people that Mother's Day is coming up - and offered some great gift ideas. Sammamish Patch posted a profile of Dave Holbrook, custodian at and the recipient of a King County "Earth Hero" award.

Thursday: The Sammamish police blotter had odds and ends, including pricey fishing gear getting stolen.

Friday: Patch conributing writer Robert Baldino wrote about two bright students in the "Whiz Kids" feature. They enjoy studying birds. The and school districts reacted sharply to the state Senate budget cut proposals, which were released Tuesday. Since then, one idea to penalize districts for students' unexecused absences has been dropped. But money is tighter.

Saturday: Tea Party Patriots, including some from Sammamish, held a rally Friday evening in Bellevue. Sammamish Patch posted the story on Saturday.

Edmonds Patch Editor Heidi Dietrich offered some ways to sleep, which if you're active all week is good to know. Rest replenishes.

Late Saturday, Sammamish Patch brought you a photo gallery of household batteries and the story of a man who helps to recycle them. Why? Well, he was part of the city's spring recycling effort at Eastlake High School on Saturday. He also gave some useful advice.

Sunday: There was a general photo gallery of the Saturday recycling event, complete with numbers of items dropped off last year. That gives a good idea about this year.

Also, on Sunday, City Councilman Mark Cross announced that he would not seek a third term, which means the seven-member body will have two vacancies for voters to fill in November.

As always: Thank you very much for reading Sammamish Patch. We're also on Facebook and Twitter. Tell family, friends and strangers about the news site. And if you have a photograph of the sun, please feel free to let us know.

Brad Wong, Sammamish Patch editor, can be reached at brad.wong@patch.com or 425-440-1796, if you have questions, comments or general thoughts.