Getting by with a little help from your friends is one thing, but getting a kidney from your childhood friend shows another kind of dedication.
This Friday, the vibrant aroma of Mediterranean spices, South American stews and Chinese stir-fries will fill the Mercer Island High School commons. The murmur of foreign languages will blend with the universal sound of laughter. Students from Norway will chat with students from Azerbaijan. Islanders will share dinner with Chileans, Italians and Japanese. This, according to school counselor Susie Brown, is what the MIHS International Festival is all about.
First came the teardowns and the mega-homes, which many viewed as irrevocable changes in the characteristic and compatibility of the neighborhood. Now, there are some neighbors reeling from talk of building several affordable housing cottages on a vacant city-owned lot in First Hill.
With enrollment shrinking and revenues dropping for the Island’s school district, the city has begun evaluating its options to help the district save a buck or two.
West Mercer fourth-graders have a knack for ingenuity and know how to show it.
An abandoned home located on West Mercer Way has been slated for demolition now that the City Council has approved its abatement.
While neighbors showed up distraught, confused and ready to speak, city leaders assured First Hill residents gathered at last week’s Council meeting that they were listening and following proper procedure.
The city is holding a drop-in meeting tonight, April 16, at the Community Center at Mercer View to review the revisions made on Island Crest Way at the intersection of Merrimount Drive and S.E. 44th Street. Island citizens are encouraged to come anytime between 7 and 9 p.m.
Assistant city manager and former city attorney, Londi Lindell has been let go. She is the second high profile employee to leave the city in the last two months.
Islanders for Common Sense, the group of residents opposing the proposed Boys and Girls Club PEAK project, have appealed the city’s recent approval of a conditional use permit.
Robert Bostwick, a former student at the long defunct Luther Burbank Boys School, will speak at the Mercer Island Historical Society meeting at 1 p.m., April 21, in the Community Center at Mercer View. Call 236-3274 or go to www.mihistory.org for information.
Mercer Island’s state senator, Brian Weinstein, announced last week that he joined the law firm of Bergman & Frockt as senior counsel. Weinstein just finished the fourth year of his first and only term in the state Senate. Weinstein will not seek re-election this fall, and current Island representative Fred Jarrett is running for the open seat.
