January

• Sharaka foreign delegates visit Northwest Yeshiva High School: Northwest Yeshiva High School (NYHS) junior Didi Desmond said it was an eye-opening experience when foreign delegates from the Sharaka nongovernmental organization visited the Mercer Island school and spoke with students about their hope for peace in the Middle East on the afternoon of Jan. 26.

The Sharaka members who represent the Muslim and Christian Arab communities deeply connected with the students while sharing their “heartwarming reflections about their experiences from their first trips to Israel,” according to Beth Jacoby, NYHS director of admissions.

After witnessing Sharaka’s potent presentation two nights before at the Bikur Cholim Machzikay Hadath synagogue in Seward Park, Jacoby invited the delegation to visit the campus and made arrangements with StandWithUs — an international, nonpartisan education organization that supports Israel and fights antisemitism — to solidify the visit.

February

• Plenty of heart and ‘sole’ on the Island: “It takes the whole Island.” These were the words of Laura Oberto as she stood at the podium and passionately spoke to the crowd about the importance of supporting the Mercer Island Youth and Family Services (MIYFS) Department and taking care of residents’ mental health.

Oberto served as the executive director of the MIYFS Foundation, which generously supports the critical department year-round through various community initiatives and majorly stepped up again with its biggest event on the morning of Feb. 7. About 600 attendees packed into the community and event center gym for the foundation’s 22nd annual fundraising breakfast. At press time, the foundation had reached $415,000 of its $450,000 fundraising goal.

• Deceased man located in lake off Mercer Island identified through investigative genetic genealogy: After nearly six years of being known as Mercer Island John Doe 2018, a deceased man has been publicly identified as Angel Arroyo Hernandez.

Mercer Island Police Department (MIPD) investigators teamed up with the DNA Doe Project for the last three years and engaged in meticulous forensic research to give a name to the 53-year-old drowning victim, who was wearing only black socks when he was located floating off the shore in Lake Washington on the south end of Mercer Island on May 6, 2018.

The DNA Doe Project confirmed his name on Feb. 16 of this year in a press release. The case was actually solved in May of 2022 when the project’s team members connected with the man’s daughter residing in California and verified the identification, according to project team leader Trish Hurtubise and MIPD public information officer Lindsey Tusing.

March

• Suspects arrested in relation to Engeland homicide: On the evening of March 14, the Mercer Island Police Department (MIPD) released the news that two suspects were arrested earlier that day in southern California in connection with the homicide of Island resident Curtis Engeland.

Authorities located the adult male and adult female suspects and took them into custody for allegedly defrauding and killing Engeland, 74, whose body was recently discovered by an outside agency in the Grays Harbor County city of Cosmopolis.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office has determined Engeland’s death a homicide, noting in its March 11 online decedents list as a “sharp force injury of neck.”

• Suspects accused of first-degree murder, kidnapping, ID theft and theft: More details emerged since the Reporter’s last account in the homicide of Mercer Island resident Curtis Engeland through King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charging papers that were filed on March 14 in Superior Court in Seattle.

On that day in the southern California city of Blythe, Philip Brewer, 32, and Christina Joel Hardy, 47, were arrested in connection with Engeland’s murder, and have since been accused by the prosecuting attorney Leesa Manion of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree identify theft and first-degree theft charges. Prosecutors have ordered that the suspects be held on $5 million bail each and have no contact with each other or Engeland’s family. Authorities will extradite the suspects back to Washington to face homicide charges. At press time, the suspects remained in custody in California.

April

• Some Island residents evacuated from homes due to landslide risk: Some Mercer Island residents received knocks upon their doors at approximately 9 p.m., and evacuations came soon after. After the city of Mercer Island learned of a landslide risk due to a leaking underground water pipe on the late afternoon of April 3, staffers later alerted residents of about 20 nearby homes in the vicinity of 95th Court Southeast about the situation and directed them to depart their properties until further notice.

The leaking 24-inch high-pressure water pipe, which provides water to the Island, created unstable soil conditions, the city explained in a social media post issued late on the night of April 3.

“There was a concern, and the reason that we evacuated homes is that if the pipe were to break, that it could cause dangerous flooding or a landslide. I want to reiterate, that did not happen,” said City Manager Jessi Bon during a press conference. “That pipe has been shut off. It has very little water in it right now, so that risk has been alleviated,” she added. During a Reporter visit to the neighborhood on April 4, there were two streets blocked off and some homes had orange “Unsafe” notices taped to their doors emblazoned with information about the situation.

The pipe is owned and maintained by Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), which engaged in a six- to eight-hour process of turning off the supply to the city’s main water line while the Island is receiving water into its reservoir tank and running it through its backup line.

May

• Community shows strength after defacement of Pride event posters: Islander Middle School students feel the community should maximize its focus on celebrating the city’s Pride in the Park event following the recent defacement of three posters publicizing the June 15 gathering at Mercerdale Park.

On the morning of May 13, Jaymee Lundin, one of the event’s planners, spotted a transphobic sticker on one of the posters at the corner of Southeast 68th Street and Island Crest Way. Later, similar stickers were slapped onto two more posters and one on the pergola at Mercerdale Park. Also particularly disturbing, Lundin said, was a swastika image created out of Pride flags — which symbolize love and inclusion — within the sticker.

“I was surprised, I was hurt, I was very saddened and upset for the community. Knowing that a neighbor would do this was really pretty upsetting,” said Lundin, who served as co-vice president of the Mercer Island High School PTSA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. She’s also part of the PRIDE+ community group, which consists of families and allies of LGBTQIA+ kids and people in the community.

• MI city manager declares local emergency due to water supply issues: About a month after the city experienced a Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) water main leak and then certain impairments to the agency’s primary water supply pipeline to Mercer Island, City Manager Jessi Bon declared a local state of emergency regarding the matter.

Bon signed a proclamation on May 1 because the faulty pipeline — which has been taken offline — “has reduced the incoming potable water to Mercer Island,” of which SPU is the sole local supplier. As previously reported, the city said a smaller backup line is currently providing water in the main pipeline’s place, but likely won’t keep up with summer water demand.

“This emergency impacts public health, safety and welfare of those living and working on Mercer Island, as well as continuity of government operations,” the city noted in its weekly newsletter.

Bon’s proclamation stated that repairs to SPU’s primary water supply pipeline are reasonably expected to last throughout the summer.

• MI permanent fireworks ban will begin next year: Beginning next year, the sale and discharge of consumer fireworks will be permanently banned on Mercer Island. Mercer Island City Council adopted the ban with a unanimous vote at its May 7 meeting.

Mayor Salim Nice put the ordinance in fast-track mode by asking council if there was a motion to forgo a second reading and take the proposed ban to a vote on May 7 instead of waiting until its May 21 meeting. The motion passed unanimously to set the stage for the vote. According to a previous Reporter article, Eastside Fire & Rescue Chief Ben Lane and City Manager Jessi Bon signed an order on May 1 prohibiting the discharge of at-home fireworks this July 4 “due to extreme fire danger,” according to the city regarding the major issue with the Seattle Public Utilities primary water supply pipeline to the Island.

June

• Islanders gather at Juneteenth Community Celebration: As the vibrant sounds of Hit Explosion filled the air, people jumped to their feet and danced away the June 19 afternoon at Mercer Island’s third annual Juneteenth Community Celebration at Mercerdale Park.

The sun was shining bright to welcome an abundance of attendees at the crucial educational and unifying four-hour event that was hosted by the Mercer Island High School (MIHS) Black Student Union (BSU) and sponsored by the city of Mercer Island. According to Juneteenth.com and a state of Washington proclamation, Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery. “From its Galveston, Texas origin in 1865, the observance of June 19th as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond,” the Juneteenth.com site reads.

July

• Council adopts proclamation condemning antisemitism: The Mercer Island City Council adopted a proclamation that condemns antisemitism. The motion followed the appearances of 15 speakers voicing their opinions for and against the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism, which was included within a proposed city of Mercer Island proclamation.

All the speakers at the July 16 council meeting noted that they condemn antisemitism. Eleven of them are concerned with the wording within the IHRA definition, and four of them support the definition and encouraged council to approve the proclamation.

Speaker Angela Bahng — one of the 11 — shared her thoughts regarding the definition: “While well intentioned, (it) has been widely criticized for conflating legitimate criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism, thereby stifling free speech and disproportionately impacting human rights advocates.”

August

• MI community unites at Pride in the Park celebration: Just before the Scrunchies ’80s cover band kicked off its set, the guitarist/vocalist eyed the crowd and asked for a chant of “Pride!” It was loud at first, but the bandleader wanted more from the attendees. After giving it a second go, the noise level massively rose, satisfied smiles abounded and the tunes were underway at Mercer Island’s Pride in the Park community celebration on Aug. 24 at Mercerdale Park. With a “We Are Islanders” banner covered with Pride flags situated near the left side of the pergola band stage, the Scrunchies burst into “That’s What I Like About You” and people were elated.

September

• Soccer community gathers for MIFC’s 60th anniversary event: MIFC celebrated its 60th year on the soccer pitch with an anniversary event on Sept. 22 at Islander Middle School (IMS)/South Mercer Playfields. The day featured guest speakers Brad Evans (former professional player), Pete Fewing (former Seattle University head coach) along with words from some vital MIFC board members; the Veterans of Foreign Wars Color Guard; the National Anthem sung by IMS eighth-grader Ava Carlson; the IMS drill team; Mercer Island High School pep band; games and prizes and more.

“I am so thankful to be part of 60 years of MIFC,” said Elliot Fauske, the event emcee who runs the MIFC micro soccer program. He praised the MIFC tradition and mission of being community based with a volunteer-run board.

October

• Islanders attend ‘October 7: One Year Later’ commemoration in Seattle: Amy Lavin, CEO of the Stroum Jewish Community Center (SJCC) on Mercer Island, said that amid these tough times she has reached for “tikvah,” the Hebrew word for hope.

During an “October 7: One Year Later” event at the Temple De Hirsch Sinai in Seattle, Weiner and Lavin joined a host of speakers in front of a packed sanctuary exactly 365 days after Hamas militants launched air strikes on Israel on the final day of the Jewish high holidays. Following the attacks, Israel engaged in a conflict with Hamas, and the war is still raging. The nearly hour-long event was presented by The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, SJCC and Temple De Hirsch Sinai in partnership with several county and regional organizations, including Mercer Island’s Herzl-Ner Tamid and Washington State Jewish Historical Society along with Northwest Yeshiva High School.

November

• ‘Bomb cyclone’ hits MI and the region: Rita McGaughy took a quick break from raking fallen branches and glanced at the tree precariously leaning across the road near her home. It hovered above power lines and appeared to be partially propped up by her own tree situated in the 8000 block of Southeast 72nd Street at the corner of 80th Avenue Southeast. As cars drove up 72nd and were faced with a shuttered section of the road, they turned back to where they came from and McGaughy shook her head.

“We don’t know when it happened, but this morning I looked out and it was like, ‘Oh, oh, not looking good,’” she said of what occurred the night before during the “bomb cyclone” severe wind storm on Nov. 19. Like a majority of Islanders, McGaughy lost power. Puget Sound Energy’s power outage map signified that the estimated restoration time for most of the Island was noon Nov. 23.

December

• Mercer Island natives put Hap’s back on the business menu: Hap’s Burgers & Taps is back and Mercer Islanders are ecstatic. The beloved eatery — which was originally named Old 76 — initially fired up its grill in 2019 and was shuttered by its previous owners, The Homegrown Group, on Sept. 15 of this year due to, in part, rising labor costs and food prices.

Enter the Conscious Hospitality Group (CHG), and less than a month later — on Oct. 10 — Hap’s was back in business and serving up its usual lineup of burgers, fries, shakes and beer made with organic produce, local grass-fed and pasture-raised beef, and organic sourdough sourced from Pacific Northwest vendors. Co-founded by Mercer Island natives Norman Wu and Danny Brawer, CHG purchased Hap’s from Homegrown and the local dining tradition continues. Health, sustainability and community stand at the forefront of the Hap’s culinary mission that is sprinkled with crucial Island connectivity.

Mercer Island High School (MIHS) students Andrew Pollock and Joy Rurangwa are members of the school’s Black Student Union that hosted a successful Juneteenth Community Celebration from noon to 4 p.m. on June 19 at Mercerdale Park. Andy Nystrom/ staff photo

Attendees with and without masks joined in the community celebration at Mercer Island Pride in the Park on Aug. 24 at Mercerdale Park. Andy Nystrom/ staff photo