REPORTER
Mercer Island
Serving the Mercer Island Community Serving community Since since 1947 1947
Senn will run for Legislature
Signs of the times
Planning Commission meeting tonight The Mercer Island Planning Commission will discuss zoning for new school facilities at 7 p.m. in in the City Hall Council Chambers.
A campaign website has been set up for 41st District seat race
City-School district joint meeting is Thursday A special joint meeting between the MISD and the city will take place between 5 and 7 p.m. Thursday night. Topics on the agenda for the study session include the Mary Wayte Pool interlocal agreement and a construction projects update and schedule. The meeting will be held in the City Hall Council Chambers.
Ballots due Tuesday on Transit vote Don’t forget to vote in the April 22, Special Election. The single ballot issue, Prop. #1 asks voters if they support additional funding for county-wide transit services and for roads. To find out more, go to www. kingcounty.gov/elections.
Parent Edge to screen ‘Girls Rising’ film Island PTA organization, Parent Edge will show the film ‘Girls Rising’ that has become part of a global campaign ‘to educate and empower girls’ at 7 p.m., April 17 at Mercer Island High School. Tickets between $10 and $15, will be sold at the door.
Leap for Green is Sunday April 26 The City’s annual Earth Day Celebration is between noon and 4 p.m. at the Mercer Island Community and Events Center. There will be children’s activities, food and information and entertainment.
Reporter Staff
Mary L. Grady / Staff Photo
Signs concerning everything from yard sales, to films, to fundraisers, to sporting events to political campaigns line the intersection of S.E. 40th Street and Island Crest Way on Sunday afternoon, April 13.
Transit vote will affect Islanders Island commuters worry that key transit routes may be eliminated By Mary L. Grady
editor@mi-reporter.com
Don Cohen lives on the Southend. He has worked at a law firm in downtown Seattle for 30 years. He said he drove to work the first day — since then, he has taken the bus. Cohen said the hassle of driving and the expense of parking has kept him on the bus, most notably on Metro route 205 each day, leaving at either 6:15 or 6:50 a.m. from the South-end Shopping Center and returning to Mercer Island
between 4 and 6 p.m. It is what he prefers. “I am not a great lover of cars or driving,” he said. By riding the bus, he has come to know many people over the past 30 years. There is generally a core of people who ride, he explained. Over the years, they retire or move. It seems that the riders have gotten younger, he said. But no less caring. “We get visitors on the bus and they ask for help figuring out how to get to the high school or there are disabled riders, or new drivers. The riders are always willing to help,” he said. There have been adventures. One winter night, there was a problem with the transmission and everyone had to get off in the
dark, Cohen remembered. And one winter day, the driver decided to try driving down S.E. 24th Street. The bus skidded down the slippery hill. The community continues off the bus as well. When it snows or disaster strikes they often still ride together. After the I-90 bridge sank in 1990, they banded together and formed a carpool. “We know we are all in this together,” he said. It saddens Cohen to think of the routes being cancelled or eliminated. “The plans to cut service are inconsistent with the values of our county and city,” he said. “And it will encourage more driving.” But he said, the writing is on the wall. Changes are coming. Under the present plan by Metro, the 202 schedule will be combined with the 204. The trip up S.E. 24th street to the on-ramp off West Mercer Way will be eliminated.
Mercer Island City Councilmember Tana Senn has confirmed that she will run for State Representative for the 41st Legislative District. It is the position she held during the 2014 Legislative session this past winter. Senn, a Democrat, was appointed to the seat after incumbent Marcie Maxwell of Renton joined Governor Inslee’s staff as a senior policy advisor for education. Senn kept her seat on the Mercer Island City Council during the 60-day session. Senn has been a Mercer Island City Councilmember since her appointment to the post vacated by former city mayor, Jim Pearman, in 2012.
Transit | Page 3
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