Community
Sunset Beach Bathhouse opens Page 2
Opinion
Reporter ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH
WWW.ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM
FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2015
CONCERTS ON THE GREEN KICKS OFF
Klahanie will annex Jan 1 BY MEGAN CAMPBELL THE ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER
It takes time to grow commuter rail Page 4
Business
Daniel Nash, Issaquah/Sammamish Reporter
Organic sub shop opens in Sammamish Page 7
Sports
Spartans seek gridiron comeback Page 9
Aaron Hiebert of Shaggy Sweet wails on his guitar during the blues rock band’s kickoff performance for the 19th Concerts on the Green series in Issaquah. Shaggy Sweet was one of two highly requested new bands for the series, along with the Heather Sullivan Project, concert organizer David Harris said. The Heather Sullivan Project will perform 7 p.m. this coming Tuesday, July 14.
Public catharsis in wake of 4-year-old’s death; city announces comprehensive review of crosswalks BY DANIEL NASH
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Citizens demand improvements Issaquah councilors receive pay increase to Newport Way Northwest
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Come the new year, Klahanie residents will finally be part of a city — and can expect some much-needed attention from King County in the interim. The Sammamish City Council voted Tuesday 6-1 to annex about 11,000 people into the city Jan. 1, 2016. This comes after the April special election, where Klahanie voters showed their support at the polls with an overwhelming majority, about 86 percent, in favor of annexation. In the meantime, King County officials have agreed to maintain the parks and roads, among other areas, through the end of the year, according to a letter the county sent City Manager Ben Yazici. This work is valued at $340,400. The county has committed to maintaining Klahanie Park, including irrigating, seeding
Malia Greening-Bechtel, a teacher and Olde Town resident, stood at the public comment podium before the Issaquah City Council Monday night. Next to her, looming large on the chamber’s projection screen, were a series of photos of pedestrian crosswalks along Northwest Newport Way, taken around 11:30 a.m. Going through each, she pointed out, one-by-one, where the yellow diamonds of the walkway signs were obscured by shadow and glare alike.
Greening-Bechtel switched over to a dashcam video showing how quickly crosswalk signs appear and pass at the posted speed limit of 40 mph. Then she finished with a video of a friend attempting to cross at Newport and Northwest Oakcrest Drive, the outlet for the Summerhill neighborhood. The woman waited at the corner while three cars passed without slowing. When she pressed the cross button, the visibility lights did not come on, which GreeningBechtel said was the case four times out of five. (Anecdotally, the Reporter visited and crossed the crosswalk for photos on June 29. The lights did not activate from either side of the road.) “As an avid cyclist, I’m usually quick to blame drivers in any situation,” she said. “But I attempted to take a driver’s perspective in this video and in these SEE NEWPORT, 6
BY DANIEL NASH ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER
Issaquah city councilors received their first raises since 2002 on July 1, a change made based on recommendations by an independent salary commission formed in May. From 2002 to June 30, 2015, councilors, the deputy council president and the council president were paid $700, $750 and $800 per month, respectively. They are now paid $1,250, $1,350 and $1,450 per month. Commission Chair Bernadette Anne presented the recommendations to city council Monday night.
She noted that in addition to being the fourthlowest paid city council of 21 the commission studied, Issaquah councilors were not taking advantage of expense reimbursements available to them for costs like mileage. “We did feel increases were in the long-term best interest of the city and its citizens,” Anne said. Councilman Joshua Schaer said he believed the foregoing of expense reimbursement was an “unspoken, unsought” policy that he hoped future councilors would perpetuate.
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