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ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH
Friday, December 28, 2012
www.issaquahreporter.com
Year in review Remembering the highs and lows of 2012 in Issaquah and Sammamish BY KEVIN ENDEJAN & LINDA BALL
Chris Cashman sits outside the Issaquah Coffee Company, a place where he spends much of his time producing and editing different projects. KEVIN
ENDEJAN, Issaquah & Sammamish Reporter
NEWS@ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM
Here’s a month-by-month look at 2012 and some of the more memorable moments in Issaquah and Sammamish.
JANUARY
LAUGHING IT UP
Issaquah’s Chris Cashman helps launch Northwest comedy show, ‘The 206’ BY KEVIN ENDEJAN KENDEJAN@ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM
C
hris Cashman’s childhood aspirations always differed a little from friends’, which should come as no surprise given his namesake.
“Some kids have that fantasy making that three-point shot as the buzzer expires, or the touchdown, or whatever,” said the 1996 graduate of Eastlake in Sammamish and long-time Issaquah resident. “My fantasy had always been right before ‘Almost Live’ starts, and I’m standing right behind that door ready to come out.” Chris, son of local actor and comedian Pat Cashman, will finally get to live out a version of his dream in January when he, his dad and comedian John Keister launch “The 206” — a television show described as similar to the former skit show “Almost Live,” but at the same time, very different. “We keep insisting this is a different thing,” Chris Cashman said. “It’s going to be similar humor, but it’s not going to look the same.” The opportunity is a dream come true for
DID YOU KNOW? Chris Cashman starred in an episode of “Almost Live” when he was in the seventh grade called “Sluggy.” The episode parodied the show “Lassie” focusing on the bond between a boy and his slug. Chris was nominated for an Emmy award for his performance, but lost out to his father, Pat. Chris credits that experience for him catching the bug to become a television star. “The 206” premiers Jan. 5 on NBC, follwing Saturday Night Live. Cashman, now 35, married and a father of two girls, 5 and 3. After graduating from high school, he went to Washington State University with the intent of earning a communications degree and following in his father’s footsteps on “Almost Live.” That dream was crushed in 1999, his junior year at WSU, when after 15 years on the air, the hyper-local skit show known for its jokes about regional stereotypes was canceled by KING-TV. Cashman completed his degree and went on to do several successful projects on radio and TV, including serving as the face of KSTW
channel 11 for five years, working on “Evening Magazine” and hosting of 1 vs. 100 on XBox Live — a game that holds the Guinness Record for most contestants in a game show at one time. Even with all his accomplishments in production and acting, the six-time Northwest Emmy winner admitted the absence of “Almost Live” always haunted him. “I was always really devastated that ultimately what I wanted to do wasn’t there,” he said. “I was the kid dreaming of playing in the Big Leagues and to know there was no Big Leagues anymore, was very hard to get over.” It was during a meeting last spring, Cashman’s dream was reborn. While working with his dad and Keister on the nationally syndicated PBS show, “Biz Kids,” someone casually brought up the idea of recreating a Northwestthemed comedy show. That’s all it took to get the ball rolling. Cashman immediately prepared skits with his dad and Keister, all with the intent of unveiling them in a couple of months in front of the most ideal audience he could think of — the Northwest Emmys. “That essentially lit the curtains on fire,” he SEE CASHMAN, 5
The 8th Congressional District completely let go of Bellevue and took on all of Auburn Jan. 9. With 70,000 people, Auburn is now the largest city in the district. The district also includes Issaquah, Sammamish, North Bend, Wenatchee and Ellensburg. Even though Issaquah residents tend to be more liberal, like their Eastside neighbors, the change won’t affect them much, because their congressman, Dave Reichert, a former police officer, remains in office. Reichert was opposed by Issaquah resident Karen Porterfield in the November general election. Garry Anderson shared his love for local Issaquah history with his aunt, who was a direct descendent from the Bush family for whom the city’s street is named. When his aunt was near death, she gave him the fiddle of a man named Tom Cherry, who followed the Bush family from South Carolina, along the Oregon Trail and north to Issaquah. A talented fiddler, Cherry and his violin were likely one of the few sources of live music or entertainment for the rural town, said Erica Maniez, an Issaquah historian. Aside from having the most prominent gravestone in Issaquah, little is known of SEE MEMORIES, 2