Two Mercer Island High School graduates are starting a new Relay for Life event on Mercer Island. Bennett and David…
Island resident Paul Johnston, the former chief executive of the Seattle software startup Entellium, has been sentenced to three years in prison for defrauding investors in 2008. He must also pay more than $2 million in restitution — the amount of his salary and bonuses over the four years when the fraud occurred. U.S. District Judge Robert Jones passed the decision in federal court on March 27.
The city is in the process of amending current zoning restrictions on the establishment of preschools in residential areas. The amendments allow churches, as well as other private or public facilities, to house preschools without the previously required conditional-use permit and open up residential cul-de-sacs as possible preschool locations.
The Mercer Island City Council will put off discussing the Merrimount and Island Crest Way intersection until September due to an unplanned drop in Capital Facilities funds and vociferous community support for a traffic light at the site. According to City Mayor Jim Pearman, the Council has not ruled out installing a traffic light at Merrimount, yet discussion on the topic cannot begin until the financial setting is solid enough to support such a plan. And this, according to the latest 2009 capital facilities funding estimate, will not be for several months.
The Mercer Island City Council approved its 2008 financial status report last month, noting that the city ended the year in a “solid financial position” with nearly $1.32 million in excess resources.
This spring, the classic Jack London novel, “The Call of the Wild,” will pop up on Starbucks coffee tables, in the pockets of children’s backpacks, the briefcases of city employees and the shelves of Mercer Island Library.
A handful of Island residents are shocked and upset that the city has blocked off Proctor Landing as the staging site for the 2009-2010 sewer lakeline project. The popular East Seattle neighborhood beach will be used as the main base for the two-year effort, which is the largest capital construction project in the city’s history.
Island residents and businesses celebrated Earth Hour along with the rest of the world last Saturday. The global event, led by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), asked that cities, businesses and individuals turn their lights out or down from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on March 28 in an effort to reduce the carbon footprint.
The city of Mercer Island has filed a counterclaim denying all the accusations in former Deputy City Manager and City Attorney Londi Lindell’s wrongful termination lawsuit against the city. The suit, which was filed through the United States District Court in Seattle on Dec. 23, states that Lindell was subject to adverse employment actions, that top city officials discriminated against her because of her gender and that her termination lacked due process. She is suing for no less than $1 million in damages.
The Mercer Island Parks and Recreation Department has launched an “Outdoor Play” initiative, aimed at encouraging unstructured outdoor play for children. City arborist Paul West introduced the plan at last week’s City Council meeting.
Nearly a month after launching the “Save YTN” campaign, Youth Theatre Northwest has earned almost $45,000 in donations. In February, the theater — faced with dwindling funds and barely able to make payroll — publicly reached out for financial support. A community meeting was held and YTN executive director Manuel Cawaling set a goal of raising $100,000 within the month. Last week, Cawaling said the $45,000 raised guarantees that the theater will survive its spring quarter.
The Community Center at Mercer View was buzzing from a cumulative “runners’ high” last Sunday as thousands of people celebrated the end of another successful Mercer Island Rotary Run.
Efforts to make East and West Mercer Way more biker-friendly top the 2009 Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities Plan. The draft plan, which was discussed by City Council members on March 2, highlights several ways to improve safety along the “Island loop,” a popular bike route for local cyclists.
