Councilmembers received their first update concerning Tent City last Monday night as dozens of Islanders lauded the community’s efforts to help the homeless, while others asked for verified warrant checks on the “grandfathered-in” camp residents whose names were not reviewed when the camp moved in earlier this month.
As September draws closer, teachers in the Bellevue School District (BSD) are bracing for what could be their first strike in years. More than 1,000 teachers in the Eastside district are prepared to picket if they do not have a tentative contract agreement by Sept. 2, the first day of school. Their current contract ended on Aug. 1.
In its 62-year history, Kemper Development has had a number of milestones: Bellevue Place, Bellevue Square and Lincoln Square, together encompassing four million square feet of real estate on 50 acres of land in Bellevue’s downtown core.
As Hurricane Gustav tore through New Orleans this week, the parishioners of Blessed Seelos Catholic Church and their friends at the Mercer Island Presbyterian Church (MIPC) prayed to get through yet another natural disaster.
For one Eastsider who has challenged the merits of Tent City 4 within several communities since its inception four years ago, the truth behind the roving homeless camp is coming out during its stay on Mercer Island.
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction released the 2008 state WASL results last week, with Mercer Island scores topping the list. The percentage of Island students meeting all three standards -— reading, writing and math — averaged 86 percent, far above the Washington state average of 45 percent.
Talk about budget cuts may be buzzing around local cities, businesses and Island homes, but it is not something that the city will be facing this fall.
As prescribed by Washington State Law, the City Manager must submit a proposed budget for the City Council to review and adopt every two years. Citizens are invited to attend and participate in budget meetings starting next month. The 2009-2010 budget will be discussed at City Council meetings as follows:
Over the next several weeks, WSDOT and Sound Transit will be continuing its work to add HOV lanes to the I-90 outer roadway between Seattle and Bellevue; adding new I-90 HOV on and off-ramps on Mercer Island; and improving I-90 HOV access at Bellevue Way.
The ongoing construction along S.E. 40th Street has caused daily congestion from the intersection of Island Crest Way and S.E. 40th east to S.E. 40th and Gallagher Hill. With school starting this week, the number of buses and cars passing through this area will double. The city and school district, however, are working to ease the problem.
Puget Sound Energy has filed with the Washington state Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) a request to pass through the higher costs the utility pays for purchasing natural gas supplies.
On the water
Youth kayak camp
Wilson Arterberry, 11, of Mercer Island, gets tips from instructor Barb Sherrill during a self-rescue drill at a kids' kayak camp at Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island last Tuesday, Aug. 26.
Teachers from across Bellevue gathered behind picket signs today, striking in solidarity for higher wages and a more flexible curriculum. The districtwide strike, which was announced at a teacher union meeting on Sept. 1, left more than 1,600 students without classes on the first scheduled day of school.
Erica Sussex and Daniel Newton were married on July 5, 2008 in The Casita, the Sussexs’ lake house on Mercer Island. Paul Barrett officiated the ceremony. The reception was held at the Backes’ residence on Mercer Island.
