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community | Bellevue to open cooling centers to help people cope with soaring temperatures [16]
Education | Volunteers prepare backpacks, pens and paper to help Bellevue’s needy kids friday, August 17, 2012 get off to a good start in school [6]
Business | Bellevue woman moves from the courthouse to the sales floor in new venture [7]
Library parking garage to open this year By Nat Levy Bellevue Reporter
A long-planned parking garage expansion for the Bellevue Library should open later this year, easing parking woes faced by those who use the downtown facility. The garage will increase the parking capacity from 199 to 362 parking spaces, said KCLS Director of Facilities Management Services Gregory Smith. “Patrons were being turned away
(from the library) due to lack of parking,” he said. The larger garage has been a part of King County Library System plans since 2004, when voters approved a capital program. The final product, a $11.3 million, three-story garage, will fill in the existing parking area, Smith said. As of July, crews were continuing to work on the structure, and concrete for the first floor of the garage is expected to be poured soon. In the mean time, parking has been
scarce for library-goers with the current lot closed to the public, and only 50 spaces for parking in the Ashwood lot near the playfield next door. As construction continues, people are encouraged to use this lot. Smith noted that some people will have to take public transit to the library, park somewhere else in the neighborhood or think about frequenting another library until construction is complete. Nat Levy: 425-453-4290; nlevy@bellevuereporter.com
Rebar still shows at the Bellevue Downtown Library, but the project is on track for completion this year. NAT LEVY, Bellevue Reporter
NE 8th, Bellevue Way road work likely to impact traffic
first bridge pontoon arrives
Work along Northeast Eighth Street beginning today is expected to have significant traffic impacts. Crews will begin sewer repair work at the intersection of Bellevue Way and Northeast Eighth Street at 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17, and continue through the weekend until Sunday night or early Monday morning. On Tuesday evening, Aug. 21, grinding and overlay is planned at the intersection. All businesses will be open during construction. The northbound lane on Bellevue Way at Northeast Eighth Street will be closed at this intersection, as well as the eastbound lane on Northeast Eighth, between 102nd Avenue Northeast and Bellevue Way, with access to Bellevue Square.
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Eastside residents are being asked to help Kittitas County citizens ousted from their homes by the Taylor Bridge wildfire, which has burned nearly 30,000 acres on the opposite side of the Cascades. According to media reports, the fire has
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Crews floated in the first 11,000-pound longitudinal pontoon for the new SR 520 bridge through the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks on August 11. Arriving just after 6 p.m., the entire operation took around 45 minutes and was observed by hundreds of spectators enjoying the sunny Saturday in Seattle. The pontoon was towed 260 miles from Grays Harbor by tugboat and is the first of 77 that will make their way from their casting basins to Lake Washington during the next two years. The pontoon
The second project, which began Monday, Aug. 20 and will continue through Sunday, Aug. 26, will see paving crews working on Northeast Eighth Street between 124th and 140th avenues Northeast from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. During work hours there will be only one travel lane in each direction while the roadway is prepared for repaving. On Saturday, Aug. 18, the westbound lanes will be closed for repaving and on Saturday, Aug. 25, the eastbound lanes will be closed for repaving. Drivers are encouraged to find an alternate east/west route to avoid traffic delays. Traffic flaggers and detour signs will help drivers navigate through the work zone. The work is weather-dependent.
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burned about 70 homes near Cle Elum. A local donation drop-off site to help evaucated families has been set up at the Issaquah Hilton Garden Inn. “We need to get the word out to Westsiders” about the donation opportunity, said Amy McGuffin, a staffer with the Ellensburg Chamber of Commerce. She requested basic necessities including water, clothing and blankets, hygiene products such as soap and shampoo, diapers and infant products, and dried pet food, including bird food and llama chow. McGuffin said that an emergency veterinarian clinic is also being considered to help Kittitas County animal owners. Resources for residents affected by the Kittitas County wildfires can be found at http://www.kittitascountychamber.com/ Chamber-Profile/fire-emergency-resources.html.