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New: Feb. 22, 4:17 p.m.
In an effort to set the record straight about Sammamish’s possible takeover of Klahanie Park, Sammamish City Manager Ben Yazici sent a letter to the Klahanie Homeowners Association Feb. 12.
Yazici’s letter explains that the city is trying to prevent the closure of Klahanie Park, nothing more. Read more
New: Feb. 20, 5:32 p.m.
King County property taxes will show a 1.18 percent increase when tax bills start to arrive in mailboxes in the next few weeks, County Assessor Lloyd Hara announced Feb. 16.
State law caps property tax increases at 1 percent per year. However, new construction and voter-approved ballot measures, which allowed for new tax levies, made the total creep over 1 percent. Read more
New: Feb. 19, 4:21 p.m.
Conservationists continue to await a decision by the federal government about the status of the dwindling Lake Sammamish kokanee salmon — years after rules required the federal government to act.
Environmentalists and local government officials estimate the population of adult kokanee at a few hundred. Before a species can receive protection under the Endangered Species Act, the animal or plant must be placed on the federal list of and threatened endangered species. Read more
New: February 18, 3:55 p.m.
A flustered John Galvin fidgeted with his glasses and sports coat as he stood outside in the City Hall parking lot, waiting for residents and public officials to file out of a meeting that ran well past 10 p.m. Feb. 16.
“Here’s something you can publish in your newspaper: the Town Center is dead,” he said. Read more
Although winning a solid majority, the Lake Washington School District’s proposed $234 million bond issue seems headed for failure.
As of Feb. 12, the bond had received 55.6 percent of the vote. As a bond measure, it needs to win 60 percent to pass.
Across King County there were 31 school levy votes and three bond measures proposed. Lake Washington’s bond is the only one that seems poised to fail. Some mail-in ballots are still being counted. Results will not be final and official until Feb. 24.
Read moreMax Patashnik’s default expression is still a smile, she is still warm, still committed to making a difference in strangers’ lives. Before taking a job in politics, she wanted to become a school counselor or maybe a social worker, and those fields still interest her. But she has to admit — working in the state’s capitol has made her a little more cynical.
“It doesn’t necessarily matter how good or bad a bill is,” she said.
Read moreIn a perfect world, the Republicans would be right. The Democratic-controlled Legislature is on the verge of relaxing a voter-approved referendum that requires a two-thirds majority to raise taxes.
The House version of the bill would return the two-thirds majority requirement in July 2011. We like that.
Read moreIn praise of roundabouts
There have been a lot of letters and comments on these pages about roundabouts.
The latest opinion letter, written by Frank Bloom (Roundabouts are Silly, February 3, 2010), was at least entertaining to read and generated a genuine chuckle from me.
I’ll just come out and say it. I’d like to see even more roundabouts in Sammamish.
I applaud the City Council and our traffic engineers for having the vision and yes, courage, to put roundabouts in the city even as unpopular as they are to some.
Read moreBy Tim Larson
After absorbing the
Sammamish Review’s critical analysis of last month’s City Council retreat in Cle Elum, I imagine most readers, like me, felt pretty unsettled. The Feb. 9 editorial, titled “New council team, bad beginnings, “ suggested that the city had damaged its credibility by doing more than “team building” at the two-day retreat.
That’s a head scratcher. Sammamish, like Bellevue and many other cities, has always done more than “team building” at these retreats. City staffers provide background information on a broad range of topics, council members share ideas and inclinations, and the city manager gets a sense of direction that allows for a more efficient use of staff.
Read moreThe City Council supported green policy measures with two votes at its Feb. 2 meeting.
The council voted 6-0 in favor of accepting $87,859 for its recycling program, with Councilwoman Michele Petitti absent. The city received grant money from King County and the state Department of Ecology to promote recycling and the management of local hazardous waste.
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