As more of us now know, the City Council has put the wheels in motion to reduce the four lanes on Island Crest Way between Merrimount and S.E. 53rd into two lanes, plus a center turn lane. This is an expensive, controversial and under-publicized move, and we hope you will consider revisiting your decision before this work is scheduled to start in September.
As I walked up West Mercer Way on Seafair Sunday to watch the Blue Angels, I was shocked at the number of cars parked in the road, blocking traffic. When I crossed 40th, I saw at least a dozen cars of self-absorbed people who thought it perfectly appropriate to park in the southbound lane of West Mercer so that they would not have to walk far to the Blue Angels parties they were attending.
When I hear about a family losing their home to a fire, my heart goes out to them. Even though they all made it out OK, and we know that’s the most important thing, they have lost all their belongings, and that must be hard! It’s not necessarily the expensive stuff or even the practical necessities, but the items of emotional value, mostly irreplaceable, such as family photographs and gifts from loved ones who have long since died. The loss of these belongings would hurt the most. What would you miss most?
Initiative 26 gives voters more choices.
I do not live on Mercer Island and I do not belong to the Mercer Island United Methodist Church. I have, however, been reading the Tent City coverage on your online blog. The lies and misinformation being posted in letters are appalling, and I felt I must comment.
Education is the lifeblood of a free, democratic society. In today’s global economy, we must provide children access to education that prepares them to succeed in a world where technology evolves every day. Quality education is crucial to the development of the individual and is clearly linked to the future security, economic and social health of our democracy. I’ve worked to make education a top priority in Congress, and I was recently honored to receive the endorsements of the National Education Association and the Washington Education Association, which represent our public school teachers.
An oft-used newsroom proverb is that nothing much happens in the summer. Not so this season. It has been a busy couple of months with the controversy over Tent City, increasing road work on neighborhood thoroughfares and freeways, possible tolling ahead and astronomical gas prices. Each of these changes has touched something that Islanders hold dear: their ability to drive wherever and whenever they want to go, their concept of neighborhood and community, their sense of safety and perhaps most importantly — their feeling of control.
Where have all the signs gone?
It has been months since former Assistant City Manager Londi Lindell and former City Attorney Bob Sterbank left the city under less-than-favorable circumstances. Sterbank was asked to leave in January less than a year after he was hired. Lindell was fired in April. After months of internal strife at City Hall, it was not unexpected.
In January, the Senior Foundation notified a city traffic planner of its interest in raising funds to underwrite the $45,000 cost for interactive crosswalk (IC) on 78th Avenue S.E. at 34th Street. When activated by a pedestrian, an IC flashes lights at the street level to alert drivers.
It is easy to say what you want to when no one knows who you are.
Trashing
Besides our sales tax rising to 9 percent on April 1, the deadline on April 15 for federal income tax returns, and our property taxes due April 30 — what’s new?
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