The first thing that struck me, coming back to the Island, was its familiar sounds. The suburban quiet of a summer’s evening, children racing past on their bikes, the chhh-chhhh-chhh of a garden sprinkler, the distant hum of a plane descending toward Boeing Field. They were the sounds of the Mercer Island I grew up with and remembered. It hadn’t changed in eight years.

Leaving an international newspaper in the Baltic states to report for my hometown weekly was not the transition that one might expect. It was more familiar, slightly slower in pace, yet surprisingly analogous at the core.

News is news, wherever you live on the globe. Stories are stories. I do not distinguish in value the headline “Estonia joins NATO” from “MISD capital levy passes.” Perhaps the scale differs, yet the importance of each headline resonates equally among the people affected. This value is what I strove to capture in all of my stories.

And there are other similarities.

Politics, I realized, whether you are covering Latvian Parliamentary sessions or City Council meetings, is inherently the same. Elected officials try their best — but often fail — to represent the people. Discussion leads to arguments. Stalemate is followed by compromise and, ultimately, consensus.

Yet there is one significant difference that I noticed covering the politics of three newly democratic Baltic nations and one Pacific Northwest city. What it comes down to is this: The men and women running the city of Mercer Island and school district should be commended.

Compared to many of their Baltic counterparts, they excel at maintaining transparency, integrity and open communication. Yes, they have their missteps. Sure, certain topics (a word that rhymes with SNEAK and a particular Island arterial, perhaps?) may have citizens on the street with pitchforks. Of course they make mistakes, most of which the Reporter has the duty of headlining to the public. But when compared to the disheartening lies, systemic corruption and political instability (with commendable exceptions, of course!) that I all-to-often covered at The Baltic Times, I have only respect for the Councilmembers, city staff and School Board representatives on Mercer Island. It is easy when getting caught up in the conflicts and inadequacies of local government to miss the forest for the trees.

And then there are the Islanders themselves; the fabric that makes up this remarkable quilt of a community. I have been honored to meet scores of people — as diverse as ever — who lead, inspire, struggle, give and create. Some names are known. Several are epic, even. Others are mentioned fleetingly in a small Page 7 column. Yet they are all deserving of attention.

It is the people on this Island who I will miss the most. It is the communal story that they create. A fantastic story. A historic story. A story that I will miss covering.

Goodbye, Mercer Island, and thank you for three wonderful years.

Elizabeth Celms will be leaving the Reporter to pursue a master’s degree in international relations at Columbia University in New York City.