A British citizen, Island resident and the former CEO of a bankrupt software company pleaded guilty to wire fraud last week after he was accused of swindling about $50 million from investors.
Presentations regarding public comments about funding a new SR-520 floating bridge will be held on the Island at noon tomorrow, Dec. 12, at the Mercer Island City Hall Council Chambers.
The last time when the Mercer Island High School Marching Band had new uniforms was during the Carter administration. Islander musicians pulled on their new duds in the fall days of 1978, just weeks after the film, “Saturday Night Fever,” was released. In the world outside the Island, the Shah of Iran was still in power, eight-track tape players were playing the hits and, ironically, the nation was suffering a major energy crisis.
The only competition that Mercer Island could find on Thursday came from its own bench. The Islanders began defense of the last three state titles with an overpowering 148-36 victory against Snohomish to open the season.
The North-end QFC has been named the 2008 Mercer Island Business of the Year. The Chamber of Commerce announced the news last Thursday at its monthly membership luncheon.
Mercer Island residents will have an opportunity this month to see if their televisions are prepared for the transition to digital broadcasting. On Dec. 17, major television stations will turn off their analog transmitters for 60 seconds, starting at 5:28 p.m., across Western Washington. Any interruption in programming, such as a blank screen, “snow” and white noise, color bars or warning text, will indicate that a viewer’s television is not yet compatible for the transition, which will take place on Feb. 17, 2009. The same test, called “Marketwide Analog Shut-Off,” will also occur on Jan. 13 and Feb. 10, at 5:28 p.m. Television stations participating in the test include KOMO 4, KING 5, KIRO 7, KCTS 9, KONG, KSTW 11, KMYQ22 and Q13 FOX.
The Mercer Island High School Marching Band found out on Friday that it was not selected to march in the Jan. 20, 2009, Presidential Inaugural Parade in Washington, D.C. Band director Parker Bixby received a phone call from a Inaugural Parade committee member with the news. Bixby told parents and supporters in an e-mail that the committee representative told him that the MIHS application, which included a video of the band performing, was one of the best that they had received.
Girl Scouts members Eileen Cho (left) and Natalie Marr (right) were chosen out of more than 40 girls in Western Washington to attend the National Girl Scout Convention in Indianapolis, In., from Oct.29 to Nov. 2. While at the convention, the two MIHS juniors met the Girl Scouts National Board of Directors, Patricia Diaz Dennis (center), along with fellow scouts from across the country. The four-day convention included two days of leadership training and guest speakers such as actress Geena Davis. Both girls are members of Mercer Island troop 1069, led by Doreen Kindred and Charlie Czech. The girls had to pass an intense interview process to attend the national convention.
Islander Maxi Gumprecht, 17, was selected as the 2008 Reserve Youth of the Year at the 2008 Grand National & World Championship Morgan Horse Show, held in early October at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City.
Mercer Island residents Christian Johnson, Sam Lindquist, Grant Sutherland, Ross Barlow, Zach McKiernan, Connor Holden and Connor McCormick all play football for Eastside Catholic. The team finished the regular season with a record of 9-1 and was ranked fifth overall entering the state playoffs.
A site near the new Group Health Hospital in Bellevue is among six potential sites for a new regional municipal jail, a multi-city planning group announced on Nov. 20.
With a lot less fanfare than when they moved to the Island, Tent City 4 folded their tents and left the Island on the first of November.
The Rotary Islander of the Month award for November was given to Mercer Island High School senior Olivia Witter.
Dozens of Civil Rights photographs, some from the 1960s and others from 2008, sat in silent auction at the Community Center at Mercer View on Nov. 16 as viewers browsed over and discussed the images. The exhibit, titled “Images of Change,” raised money for the Multicultural Scholars Program, which educates students from Mercer Island and Franklin High Schools on contemporary and historical civil rights issues.
The adage often used by planners and real estate developers that the Island is built out seems to be a misnomer.
Former Mercer Island City Councilman and four-term 41st District state representative, Fred Oakley May, has died.
The Rotary Islander of the Month award for November was given to Mercer Island High School seniors, Tyler Benster and Jacqueline Dean Witter.
Lakeridge Community Service Club, a PTA-organized after-school program, visited a number of rescued PMU horses at the Mercer Island Saddle Club on Oct. 4 for its latest service project. The PMU horses, which are foals rescued from potential slaughter and foreign sale, are raised by the Phoenix Rising Sanctuary near Duvall. These foals are the by-product of mares impregnated for the collection of their hormone-rich urine, which is used for Premarin, an estrogen replacement medicine. The MI Saddle Club agreed to host the horses in their stable for the charity event.
The McAleese family is anxious to find the owner of a man’s heavy gold wedding ring lost in Lake Washington last August. Young Daniel Peyton had searched methodically for the lost ring for many weeks, but ended up finding it by chance more than a month later.
The Design Commission will get its third look at the Boys & Girls Club’s proposed PEAK project next Wednesday, which will be the first of a typical pair of formal review sessions by the panel of seven Islanders.
