Mercer Island School District Superintendent Gary Plano earned exemplary marks in his annual review by the School Board. The School Board met privately to review Plano’s performance at its annual retreat last week.
Island senior Peter Tonglao has won the first annual Flash Family Inspirational Award, put on by the Youth and Family Services Department (YFS) and Island citizen Phil Flash. Tonglao, 77, stood out — according to the committee that voted him winner — for his natural inclination toward helping Island residents, whatever their needs.
The 2008 Citizen of the Year Award honors not one, not dozens, but more than 100 Island residents. On Monday, July 6, the Mercer Island City Council announced “the organizers and volunteers of the inaugural 2008 Mercer Island Farmers Market” as the much anticipated Citizen of the Year. A cheer of appreciation and gratitude erupted from the group of Farmers Market committee members present at the meeting.
John Mauro stands along the I-90 bike trail at the Lid Park, encouraging cyclists as they pump over the crest of a winding hill. The cyclists wave back or nod, between breaths, as they continue their way east from the I-90 bridge. Others pull over to greet Mauro, who stands behind a table cluttered with healthy snacks, biking pamphlets, maps and stickers.
The Mercer Island School Board has updated its district mission, values and strategic goals for 2009-2010 — a result of last week’s annual board retreat. The two-day conference, which was held in the Mercer Island High School Library, included Board members, Superintendent Gary Plano, district staff members and Mercer Island Education Association President Mike Radow. Professional facilitator Sue Bennett, an Island resident, led the discussion process. Although the event was open to the public, few residents attended.
Mercer Island High School graduate Janna Cawrse Esarey published her first book this year. Yet when looking at a full picture of the Seattle resident’s life, this accomplishment is swept up in a backdrop of adventure.
As of this week, citizens can look up Mercer Island property lines, city utility sites, neighborhood EMS and crime statistics as well as aerial photographs of the Island dating back to 1946 on the Mercer Island city’s Web site. The new service is called MIMaps and was recently launched by the city’s Geographic Information Services (GIS) department in an effort to share city data with the public.
Mercer Island Councilmembers approved the city’s six-year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) last month, with a priority focus on improving Island streets. The 2010-2015 plan has been months in the development. In total, the plan will cost $23 million to fix up residential, Town Center and arterial streets, with a focus on widening the Mercer Way shoulders and improving the Island’s bicycle and pedestrian layout. This number, however, may change over the coming years.
Over 100 people gathered at the Luther Burbank amphitheater last Saturday for an outdoor “Tea Party and Old-Fashioned Fourth of July Celebration.” The patriotic event, organized by a Bellevue-based group called Conservative Enthusiasts, was one of among more than 1,000 across the country during the holiday weekend.
The Tent City post-mortem process has taken its first step forward. City Council members met with city employees to discuss the proposed process at a mini-planning session on June 20. A draft with Tent City post-mortem goals, objectives and a tentative outline was tweaked and approved during the special meeting. The main change, according to Councilmember Mike Cero, is that the city agreed to consider Island residents’ concerns and comments before moving forward with the process.
Until yesterday, if you dialed 911 in Mercer Island, your call was answered by an operator in Kirkland. As of today, that call will be routed to Bellevue City Hall. The Mercer Island police and fire department dispatch system has merged with 18 other departments under a new operation called Northeast King County Regional Communications Center (NORCOM). The new center, which is located in downtown Bellevue, consolidates dispatch for 19 Eastside fire and police departments under one roof. The move has been years in the making, according to Mercer Island Police Commander Leslie Burns, and has both operational and financial benefits.
City officials, School Board members and representatives of the community gathered around a giant mound of dirt to celebrate the birth of PEAK on Monday morning. The June 29 groundbreaking ceremony was attended by a healthy crowd, including those who spear-headed the six-year project, steering committee members, individual donors and children with the Boys & Girls Club.
An annual tradition, the Mercer Island Kiwanis Club has set up its famous fireworks stand in the Rite Aid parking lot once again. Children and their parents line up outside the painted wooden shed, debating over a clutter of choices: sparklers, spinners and jacks, Roman candles, “Molotov cocktails” and more. All of which, according to state law, are safe enough for domestic use. And as long as they are lit only on July 4, the fireworks that Kiwanis Club sells are entirely legal for Mercer Island.
