BELLEVUE
REPORTER
NEWSLINE 425-453-4270
FOURTH OF JULY | The Eastside’s largest fireworks show to cap day of fun at Bellevue’s Downtown Park on Thursday [7]
Community | Strawberry Festival combines food, music and fun to kick off FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 2013 summer in Bellevue [12]
Rains soak some stores at Bel-Square
Ex-husband charged in Bellevue murder BY CELINA KAREIVA
BY JOSH SUMAN
BELLEVUE REPORTER
Everyone who knew Nataliya Vabishchevich described her as upbeat and friendly. She was smiley and well-loved, so much so that since learning of her death last Monday, friends and old clients from as far away as North Carolina have been calling Pure Chiropractic of Bellevue and Eastside Life ChiroNataliya practic of Vabishchevich Redmond where she worked nearly daily to express their condolences. Coworkers affectionately referred to her as a “Disney Princess” for her soft voice and comforting demeanor. “She had a smile that radiated every single morning she came into work,” said coworker Ashlee Bullinger. “Even when I would call her to give her her schedule I could hear her smiling through her upbeat voice.” Vabishchevich was found dead in the entryway of her Bellevue condominium in the 12700 block of NE 10th Place just before noon on June 17. She had been stabbed 72 times in her head, neck, chest and arms. On Friday, June 21 a charge of first degree murder was filed by the King County SEE MURDER, 6
BELLEVUE REPORTER
Alyssa and Nick Magnotti, who welcomed a daughter in March, are using the Internet to battle Nick’s cancer expenses. COURTESY PHOTO
Bellevue man battles cancer with help from friends, Internet BY KEEGAN PROSSER
BELLEVUE REPORTER
Bellevue resident Laura Jones doesn’t consider herself a close friend of the Magnotti family. But she did spend much of her adolescence as a classmate to Nick Magnotti - first at Tillicum Middle School, and later, as a student at Sammamish High School. So when Jones heard through mutual friends - that Nick was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer two years ago, she wanted to help. This Saturday, Jones is doing just that - by holding a fundraiser at Impact Strength and Performance in Bellevue. The event, which is part of the gym’s weekly
“Go-Giver Bootcamp” series, is being offered for a suggested donation of $10; all proceeds from the hour-long workout will be donated to the Magnotti family. Jones started following Nick’s battle with cancer after hearing about TeamMagnotti.org, a website updated by Nick’s wife Alyssa, which also serves as a platform for friends and family to donate funds. At press time, $14,630 has been donated there. That’s where Jones learned that Nick’s cancer, Mucinous Adenocarcinoma, originated in his SEE CANCER, 3
Parts of Bellevue Square, including the Apple Store and Tiffany & Co., were flooded Tuesday night after heavy rains hit the area and at least one store remained closed throughout Wednesday as cleanup continued. The Bellevue Fire Department responded to the mall and cleanup crews worked through the night to prepare the mall for its 9:30 a.m. opening. Kemper Development’s Jennifer Leavitt said Tiffany & Co. and the LEGO store remained closed for the day and Hugo Boss worked to re open at some point Wednesday. None of the common areas of the mall were impacted. Leavitt said while flooding in the mall is not unheard of, it is usually due to a construction mishap rather than Mother Nature. “In a building like this, we deal with leaks,” she said. “We haven’t had this much water.” Flooding was also reported at Northeast Eighth Street and 100th Avenue Northeast at the Bellevue Park condos and property manager Teresa May said several units on the south and west sides of the community were affected. It’s not the first time the building have been flooded, she said., “This has been an ongoing issue,” she said. “They were out there with buckets and sandbags trying to keep it from coming in.” The community installed an enlarged catch basin with a sump pump around two years ago, at a cost of $75,000.
Sound Transit gets ready for second round of buyouts BY CELINA KAREIVA BELLEVUE REPORTER
East Link continues the property acquisition process with its second batch of residences along 112th Avenue, to include 18 lots. On June 27 (after The Reporter’s deadline) the Sound Transit Board considered a resolution authorizing the agency to purchase those parcels, which extend just south of Main Street to north of Bellefield Park
Lane. Afterward Sound Transit will assign somebody from the property department to each homeowner, beginning the course of appraisals. The resolution follows an earlier one in May, which obtained the 41 units of Carriage Hills and Carriage Place condos and aims to quicken the acquisition process for homeowners who have voiced to the Bellevue City Council and Sound Transit that they feel put on hold in the years-long process of East
PASSPORT PHOTOS •
Like Us On
Sports | Bellevue gym building community through fitness [13]
facebook.com/OmegaPhoto
Visa • Immigration • All Countries • Infants
210 -105th Ave NE, Bellevue • (425) 455-2126 • www.OMEGAPHOTO.biz
Link construction. Arjun Sirohi, who lives with his wife just off 112th Avenue Southeast and Southeast Eighth Street, said neighbors received a letter from Sound Transit on June 11. “For the majority of us,” said Sirohi, who works downtown and walks daily, “we want to be living in the same neighborhood if possible. The problem is nothing is available. If SEE BUYOUTS, 3
BellevueFatBurn.com LOSE 20 LBS. IN 14 DAYS! No exercise, no shakes, no expensive pre-packaged food with our medically supervised weight loss program. Call today and receive a free medical consultation and 20% off.
425-455-2225 10655 NE 4th St. Suite 101 | Bellevue, WA 98004