Superintendent Gary Plano has reconsidered his “preliminary indication” that the School District would need to recapture the North Mercer campus, thereby evicting Pixie Hill Preschool and Little Acorn Day School from the premises. As of Jan. 20, the MISD superintendent maintains that “there is a very strong likelihood — over 90 percent — that we will no longer need the North Mercer space.”
Nearly $60,000 of artwork was stolen or damaged from the Mercer Island Sculpture Park last week, leaving the landscape with amputated remnants.
Dozens of Mercer Island High School parents, propelled by an administrative decision to change the school’s off-campus credit policy, gathered to protest the move at last week’s School Board meeting.
The Mercer Island City Council will once again discuss a Puget Sound Energy (PSE) plan to bury electricity distribution lines along S.E. 68th Street, thereby reducing the length of power outages on the South end.
Mercer Island High School graduates Alex Ricciardi and Adam Goodman have brought a piece of their past to the big screen.
The Mercer Island School District is eager to join a new, regional skills center, called the Washington Network for Innovative Careers (WA-NIC), broadening the opportunity for students across northeast King County to earn vocational credit through distance learning.
The Mercer Island School District has sent a notice of lease termination to Pixie Hill Preschool and Little Acorn Day School — both located in the North Mercer Campus — notifying the tenants that the space may be recaptured due to district needs.
City spends $75k on storm work
More than 900 Washington teachers earned National Board Certification in 2008, eight of whom work on Mercer Island. In total, 919 teachers across the state earned this reputable title, doubling the 2007 record of 485.
In October, Nick Afzali took on the city of Mercer Island’s newest position: director of transportation. Three months into the job, Afzali is already knee-deep in transportation issues from I-90 to Island Crest Way. Having previously worked for the cities of Auburn, Maple Valley and Renton, the new manager has plenty of governmental experience. He received his master’s in engineering from Oregon State University. He is an old acquaintance of Development Services director Steve Lancaster, as they worked together in Auburn and on projects for Renton and Tukwila. He also knows the Island well, having spent many Saturday mornings cycling around the “Island loop” and back to his home in Bellevue. As Afzali commented himself, “I’ve been driving across I-90 and Mercer Island for the last 19 years.” The manager feels that although I-90 is the heart of Island transportation issues today, there are a number of community projects demanding equal attention.
The days of bland tater tots and “unidentifiable meat loaf” for school lunches are long gone. Over the past decade, Mercer Island School District lunches have become fancier, tastier and healthier.
When it comes to a night on the town, most Islanders head for Seattle or Bellevue. Yet Mercer Island has its own share of bars and restaurants; many of them neighborhood favorites. Many Islanders will agree; there is nothing like a familiar drink served by a familiar face where — maybe not everyone — but somebody knows your name.
As the snow melted away, the garbage piled up. Allied Waste, which serves Mercer Island, was unable to collect trash between Dec. 18 and Dec. 28 due to icy buildup on residential roads. The company resumed its Mercer Island routes on Monday, after rain washed away most of last week’s snow.
