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Reporter ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH
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FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015
Less time for more results from young drug offenders
READY, SET, HUNT
Opinion
BY DANIEL NASH ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER
A guest editorial from Dow Constantine on the Affordable Care Act Page 4
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Photo courtesy of Albert Franz
The Heritage Hills neighborhood gathered to watch children through 5th grade race around Heritage Hills Park in the morning on March 27. In the evening, there was another egg hunt for older children.
Falcons defeat Wolves in KingCo matchup Page 12
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Fate of 42nd Street gate unclear Dated city study supports barricade removal BY MEGAN CAMPBELL ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER
Next month Sammamish City Council will review historical data to aid their decision in retaining or removing the 42nd Street barricade. And the data, albeit a decade old, supports barricade removal. After numerous packed city council meetings, with sev-
eral dozen residents asking for a decisive stance on the Opticom gate, council members asked city staff to rehash previous studies on the barricade. Yet, the council voted on Feb. 17 not to remove the barricade within the current budgetary biennium, which leaves it in its place for at least another two years. City Manager Ben Yazici has pled staff workload issues in asking the council to postpone the issue. Even still, council asked staff to continue investigating the issue, admittedly at a slower pace than may be desired. The most recent city evaluation, produced in 2003, states
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doing away with the barricade would not negatively impact surrounding neighborhoods, as many residents fear it would. Deputy Mayor Kathleen Huckabay expects this study to carry weight in the council’s decision. “It will have a lot of impact[on the decision],” she said. “It was a serious study.” The city contracted through Gray & Osborne Inc., in 2003 to identify the impacts of barricade removal on vehicle and pedestrians. It shows that removal would have a low impact on pedestrians.
Can cutting down the time to fulfill court requirements result in more of the valley’s young defendants getting them done? The Issaquah Municipal Court is making a bet that it can. The court, which additionally serves North Bend and Snoqualmie, is using a new calendar to improve drug and alcohol evaluation compliance rates among defendants younger than 25. Citing an increase in criminal cases involving young adults and heroin seen in recent years, Judge N. Scott Stewart said the new system holds younger defendants accountable for immediately scheduling a substance abuse evaluation. Otherwise, they might put off their court requirements until it’s too late and have a harder time moving on from an alleged crime. “We want people to become happy, SEE COURT, 14
Paraglider crashes at Poo Poo Point BY MEGAN CAMPBELL ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER
A paraglider seriously injured both his legs after crashing 200 feet below the Poo Poo Point takeoff on Tiger Mountain in Issaquah around 5 p.m. Thursday. The crash occurred shortly after the paraglider took off. Eastside Fire and Rescue were able to reach the crash victim shortly after 6 p.m. and transported him to Harbor-
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Tuesday, April 7 at 10:30 am 22975 SE Black Nugget Rd, Issaquah, WA 98029 RSVP at (425) 200-0331 by April 4.
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