Yo Mercer is now closed

The south-end frozen yogurt shop Yo Mercer closed at the end of October after more than four years on the Island.

Yo Plateau in Sammamish, owned by the same family, remains open.

Roger and Nancy Page to retire on Jan. 1

The longtime owners of Island Books announced that their last day of work will be Dec. 31. They were named the 2014 Citizens of the Year for their commitment to the Mercer Island community.

The Pages sold the book store to Islander Laurie Raisys in July, but continued to work in the shop to make the transition easier.

Next Chamber speaker is M’s president

Kevin Mather, president and minority owner of the Seattle Mariners, will be the featured speaker at the Jan. 7 Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

Mather joined the Mariners organization in 1996, and was in charge of overseeing the building of Safeco Field.

The Chamber office will be closed Dec. 25-Jan. 4.

Six figures in fundraising for Friendship Circle

The Friendship Circle of Washington, located on Mercer Island at 2737 77th Ave S.E., raised $122,136 in 24 hours for Seattle kids with special needs.

The nonprofit organization, which partners teenage volunteers with special needs youth in order to cultivate friendship and inclusion, set up a fundraiser through the website Charidy with a goal of $100,000 and bonus goal of $120,000.

For the 24 hour campaign, each donation was quadrupled by donors and “bonus round matchers.”

“Funds raised through this campaign will allow us to focus our energies on doing what we do best, spreading the importance of inclusion, friendship and responsibility to families and children with special needs,” according to the Charidy page.

The $100,000 will go toward increasing efforts to service the many special needs families currently on the organization’s waiting list and to implement a stronger platform to build more teen leaders.

The Friendship Circle provides the majority of its services for free.