Cheers to Avi Schiffmann, who recently received the city’s prestigious Community Member of the Year award. The sky is the limit for this young dynamo.

Schiffmann, 19, built the nCoV2019.live website, which became one of the most popular information hubs tracking COVID-19 cases around the world.

The Mercer Island High School grad and current Harvard University student also created a website to help Ukrainian refugees find potential hosts in neighboring countries.

Jeers to the wildfire smoke that choked the region’s skies last weekend. Just when we thought the summer had ended without one of these hazy smogfests, we were reminded once again about the “new normal” when it comes to the annual wildfire season.

Also, it’s a little freaky when the sky is raining ash.

Cheers to the Rotary Club of Mercer Island for sponsoring the upcoming International Dance for Peace event Sept. 18 to raise funds to support international grants and humanitarian aid for people in Ukraine and beyond. And cheers to the Rotary Club for once again bringing people together for a good cause.

To learn more and get your ticket, visit www.mirotarydance.org.

Jeers to the headaches from the upcoming Interstate 90 closures in Mercer Island.

The West Mercer Way on-ramp and the right lane of I-90 will be closed Sept. 16-19. Westbound I-90 will be reduced to one lane west of 76th Avenue SE on Sept. 22. And from Sept. 23-26, all lanes of westbound I-90 to the floating bridge will be closed. Good luck, drivers.

Cheers to a proposal that would make school meals available to all Washington students at no cost. Nutrition is crucial to proper learning, and for some students from low-income families, a school meal may be the best meal they get.

State Superintendent Chris Reykdal is calling for the Legislature to allocate $86 million each year to provide meals at no cost to about 330,000 students who don’t qualify for free and reduced-priced meals.

Washington would join states including California, Vermont and Massachusetts in providing universal free meals to students.

Jeers to former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. You know why.

Cheers to the Seattle Mariners for finally fielding a playoff-caliber team. Lookin’ good, boys!

Jeers to the fentanyl crisis in King County and beyond. The drug is exponentially more potent and lethal than heroin — and is the primary culprit behind the spike in overdoses.

Cheers to Gov. Jay Inslee for lifting the state of emergency that was put in place at the start of the coronavirus pandemic nearly two and a half years ago. The original declaration, which was made in February 2020, gave the governor sweeping executive powers to shut down schools, mandate masks and more.

It was justified at first. Now it’s time to return to “normal” governing in the Washington State Legislature.

Jeers to Gov. Jay Inslee for taking two and a half years to lift his pandemic-related emergency powers. The original declaration, which was made in February 2020, gave the governor sweeping executive powers to shut down schools, mandate masks and more.

It was justified at first. Now it’s way past time to return to “normal” governing in the Washington State Legislature.

— By Andy Hobbs, Editor, Mercer Island Reporter