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CRIME | Hunt on for armed robbers who hit five banks in region, including Newcastle, since January [3]
Business | Tutta Bella coming to Crossroads Shopping Center this fall, will be largest of FRIDAY, JULY 12, 2013 company’s five restaurants [6]
Sports | In-game punch can’t derail career of Bellevue College basketball player, youth coach [14]
Both 520 bridge, I-405 to close this weekend Both directions of State Route 520 across Lake Washington and northbound Interstate 405 through Bellevue will close simultaneously during the weekend of July 13-14 for critical inspections, repairs and construction. “The weekend closure of SR 520 bridge and northbound I-405 will significantly affect traffic across the Puget Sound region,” said WSDOT’s Northwest Regional
Administrator Lorena Eng. “We realize that not everyone can completely change their commute. But for those who have a choice, options such as vanpooling, carpooling or other forms of transportation can help avoid heavy congestion.” Drivers should plan for long delays on I-90 near the detour routes, westbound SR 520 approaching I-405, northbound I-405 where all traffic will exit to Southeast
Eighth Street, and I-5 through downtown Seattle. Surface streets in and around Bellevue are expected to experience extra congestion as well. Friday, July 12, northbound I-405 will close at 10 p.m., and both directions of SR 520 will close at 11 p.m. All lanes of both highways will reopen by 5 a.m. Monday, July 15. The shutdown is needed for maintenance
and preservation of the two corridors, state officials said. By simultaneously closing both SR 520 and northbound I-405, crews will complete the time-consuming work in a short period, reducing the need for nightly closures over a much longer stretch, officials said, adding that there are a limited number of weekends available in the sumSEE TRAFFIC, 8
Chinese investors flock to Bellevue Money spearheads projects downtown; light rail area eyed BY CELINA KAREIVA BELLEVUE REPORTER
Brown. “We enjoy being there. It’s a good thing for the ballet to have a connection with the Eastside. Forty percent of our subscribers live there and over half of our trustees of the ballet live on the Eastside as well.” Brown said that Sound Transit, Pacific Northwest Ballet and the property owner were in talks. One option would shift the center to an adjacent property on the same lot, though
Mei Young, president of Era Young International, a consulting company for foreign investors, recalls one recent client. Having spent $5 million in cash on a home in Vancouver the young Chinese couple decided that they wanted instead to come to Bellevue. “The boyfriend came for one day to look while the [girlfriend] was still in China. She didn’t have to come over. They were looking for a [luxury] house Mei Young to buy, without seeing them,” says Young. “I would personally spend weeks looking, but in this case, this is what they want.” Bellevue’s growing role as a global city is evidenced by the speed at which foreign – in particular Chinese – investors are flocking to the Eastside, purchasing real estate, developing commercial plots and expanding their companies. Though Bellevue has been cultivating relations with Asia for some time, the rate of investment is accelerating, says Young. “Business activity started as a cultural exchange, mostly symbolic,” said Young, who has been in contact with China at a government level for the past 10 years. “It was visiting the Seattle-Bellevue area, for a tour, or the scenery. But the real investment activity started the latter part of last year.” Bellevue’s record sale of a downtown site for $31 million to Chinese investors; stories of real estate being snatched
SEE BALLET, 17
SEE INVESTORS, 8
A student practices at Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Francia Russell Center east of downtown Bellevue. COURTESY PHOTO
PNB Bellevue school in Sound Transit path BY CELINA KAREIVA BELLEVUE REPORTER
Pacific Northwest Ballet’s (PNB) Francia Russell Center in the Bel-Red area faces potential relocation due to Sound Transit’s East Link alignment along 136th Place Northeast and Northeast 16th Street. D. David Brown, Executive Director of Pacific Northwest Ballet said the issue was first brought to his attention about six weeks ago, when Sound Transit announced design adjustments.
The line, which is supposed to round the corner just east of the academy, could be altered to account for a 20 mph curve or a 30 mph curve. Early designs indicate that the latter of the two would demand full demolition of the center, though that’s preferred by PNB over the 20 mph option, which would displace part of the academy’s parking and require a modification to its entrance. “The ballet, we think, is important to the cultural life of Bellevue,” said
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