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Home / Archive: 20. April 2010
New: April 20, 2:01 p.m.
Becky Backstrom, a 52-year old woman from Sammamish, finished first among women aged 50-54 in the Boston Marathon April 19. She finished with a time of 3:03:50 and 111th among all women, according to the Boston Athletic Association’s results page. She placed 1,731st overall.
26,735 people entered the 114th annual marathon and 22,540 finished, according to the association’s statistics page.
Another 12 Sammamish residents participated in the Boston Marathon. Here’s how they finished. Read more
Most community members (67 percent) give the Lake Washington School District an A or B grade, according to a recent survey by CFM Research, a company that regularly works with school districts in Washington.
The district commissioned the survey after the failure of the bond measure in the February vote. The bond received about 56 percent of the vote, but needed 60 percent to pass. Of 34 school-related tax measures in King County on the February ballot, it was the only one that failed.
The survey found that most residents throughout the district generally approve of the way it does things, but cited economic concerns as to why they did not vote for the $234 million bond, according to a district press release.
And since receiving the feedback, the district has decided not to put it up for another vote.
While 67 percent like how the school district runs things, about 13 percent give it a C grade and about 3 percent rate it a D or F, the press release said. Eighteen percent don’t know what they think.
In addition, the survey found that approximately 55 percent considered quality of schools to be a major influence in their decision to move to the area.
A total of 70 percent of respondents said schools influenced their decision, in contrast to 47 percent statewide, the release said.
When it came to supporting the bond measure on the February ballot, the survey found that 43 percent cited concerns with the economy and 43 percent cited worries about taxes as reasons for not supporting it.
Nine percent said they thought school buildings are doing fine, and another nine percent said they did not support the measure due to lack of trust or belief in poor school management, the release said.
More than half (53 percent) of people surveyed agreed that now is not the time to be asking for more money for school construction.
Factors that hurt residents’ opinions of the school bond measure were: no information in the voter pamphlet, not enough information about the proposal and the fact that there were three school funding measures on the ballot, the release said.
Three other public-opinion factors addressed in the survey brought back neutral responses: changing the grade configuration to a four-year high school model, expanding Environmental and Adventure School and plans to remodel Juanita High School.
Finally, when community members were asked about dealing with overcrowding, 51 percent preferred the option of changing the grade configuration and 27 percent preferred leaving the system as is.
The survey interviewed 400 people and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.
Survey indicates support for LWSD, economic worryMost community members (67 percent) give the Lake Washington School District an A or B grade, according to a recent survey by CFM Research, a company that regularly works with school districts in Washington. The district commissioned the survey after the failure of the bond measure in the February vote. The bond received about 56 percent of the vote, but needed 60 percent to pass. Of 34 school-related tax measures in King County on the February ballot, it was the only one that failed.The survey found that most residents throughout the district generally approve of the way it does things, but cited economic concerns as to why they did not vote for the $234 million bond, according to a district press release. And since receiving the feedback, the district has decided not to put it up for another vote.While 67 percent like how the school district runs things, about 13 percent give it a C grade and about 3 percent rate it a D or F, the press release said. Eighteen percent don’t know what they think.In addition, the survey found that approximately 55 percent considered quality of schools to be a major influence in their decision to move to the area. A total of 70 percent of respondents said schools influenced their decision, in contrast to 47 percent statewide, the release said.When it came to supporting the bond measure on the February ballot, the survey found that 43 percent cited concerns with the economy and 43 percent cited worries about taxes as reasons for not supporting it. Nine percent said they thought school buildings are doing fine, and another nine percent said they did not support the measure due to lack of trust or belief in poor school management, the release said.More than half (53 percent) of people surveyed agreed that now is not the time to be asking for more money for school construction.Factors that hurt residents’ opinions of the school bond measure were: no information in the voter pamphlet, not enough information about the proposal and the fact that there were three school funding measures on the ballot, the release said.Three other public-opinion factors addressed in the survey brought back neutral responses: changing the grade configuration to a four-year high school model, expanding Environmental and Adventure School and plans to remodel Juanita High School. Finally, when community members were asked about dealing with overcrowding, 51 percent preferred the option of changing the grade configuration and 27 percent preferred leaving the system as is.The survey interviewed 400 people and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.
If your employee didn’t do his job 14.5 percent of the time, how long would it be before you had a serious conversation?
Well, guess what. Your employee, State Sen. Cheryl Pflug, R-5th District, missed 78 of 538 Senate votes this year — while collecting a salary of $42,106 per year and $90 per day to help defray rent and meal expenses during the session.
Read moreSchool officials from both districts were relieved last week when the final state budget allowed them to maintain programs and class sizes at existing levels and not have to lay off teachers this year.
But that relief was tempered with caution about the future.
Read moreIn July 2009 a consultant unveiled some worrisome news to city officials: one of the chief goals of the Town Center, to have a compact, urban development in the heart of Sammamish, was at risk of being derailed.
About 11 percent of the land the city intended to use for a mix of office, retail and residential space would become man-made ponds.
Officials in the city’s Finance Department reported a sharp increase in unpaid storm water management fees in 2009.
The city billed residents $2.4 million in stormwater management fees, but $95,307 of that money never came in. That’s 3.97 percent of the total amount billed, up from 0.27 percent in 2008 and 0.08 percent in 2007.
Read moreMost community members (67 percent) give the Lake Washington School District an A or B grade, according to a recent survey by CFM Research, a company that regularly works with school districts in Washington.
Read moreWhile on the campaign trail last fall, some City Council candidates swore up and down that the proposed Town Center development would rescue Sammamish from financial straits.
Experts from the city’s Finance Department say that probably isn’t the case.
Read moreIf you’ve started to notice healthy quantities of bees buzzing around your garden or back patio, don’t be so quick to get out the fly swatter. There’s a chance those bees belong to a neighbor, like Sammamish resident Linda Hines, or Lisa Novich, owner of Knox Cellars Native Bees.
Lisa Novich, Sammamish resident and owner of Knox Cellars Native Bees, shows the set up for raising mason bees. Photo by Christopher Huber
Read more
Sammamish resident Alec Baer and his three best friends, Arend Broekmate, Billy Dimlow and Brooks Meadowcroft, have always been able to attend summer camp on Orcas Island. They love the annual monthlong getaway so much they actually attended both sessions in 2009, Baer said.
But it’s expensive: $4,050 per session.
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