Domestic violence increases

March 10, 2010

New: March 10, 11:28 a.m.
One Sammamish man remembers a time when his ex-wife’s temper would boil over at night, turning to physical abuse.
“There would be slapping and clawing, a little bit of kicking,” he said. It happened six or seven times before he finally called police. “I wouldn’t call because I was never injured. You know, you don’t want to have your wife arrested.”
The man spoke on the condition of anonymity, though he did say that he, his ex-wife and children still live in Sammamish.
His story is not unusual, even in a city known throughout the region for its affluence, high-quality schools and low crime.
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The eagle has taken off

March 9, 2010

New: March 9, 5:29 p.m. A rescued bald eagle is flying free again after being released from the Ek family’s Pine Lake waterfront home March 9. The male eagle spent nearly a week recovering from a range of injuries at an aviary in Arlington, according to its rescuers, Tim Brown, of Snoqualmie, Dennis Brown, of Sammamish and various Pine Lake residents.The eagle flies over Pine Lake just after its release. Photo by Christopher Huber Read more

Aldarra annexation runs into resistance

March 9, 2010

Residents from the Aldarra and Montaine neighborhoods appear to be a house divided. One side wants to join the city of Sammamish. The other says most residents don’t want in and some were even tricked into signing an annexation petition.
The neighborhoods are located outside of the southeast corner of city limits. If annexed, they would increase the city in size by 93.3 acres and in population by 832 people. Read more

City Council elections likely to see campaign contribution cap

March 9, 2010

Lawmakers in Olympia are close to passing a bill that would limit how much money an individual can donate to City Council candidates.
“Elections should be about people getting a voice, not about a few people making large contributions,” said Senator Eric Oemig (D-45). Oemig was one of 39 senators to vote in favor of the bill in February, with nine dissenting votes and one excused. Read more

Great Waves win Sound Off

March 8, 2010

New: March 8, 1:15 p.m.

Great Waves, a Sammamish-based band, is the 2010 Sound Off winner. The band of mostly recent Skyline graduates and one Eastside Catholic graduate, won the underage-band event, put on by Experience Music Project and the Science Fiction Museum, March 6.Will Holmes, left, Ashley Bullock, Elliot Gray and David Bahr perform at the 2010 Sound Off finals March 6 at EMP in Seattle.  Contributed
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Sammamish’s financial picture improves

March 7, 2010

New: March 7, 11:16 a.m.

In its first meeting March 2, the City Council’s finance committee reviewed promising signs that 2010 is shaping up to be better than 2009.

Finance Director Lyman Howard noted that property sale activity was up from last year, as was permit activity. The city issued 15 single-family permits in January, up from 5 in January 2009. In the same January-to-January comparison, remodels and additions were up — three in 2009 and 16 in 2010. Read more

Residents stick up for historic home

March 6, 2010

New: March 6, 3:33 p.m.

“Save the Reard-Freed House,” one sign read. “Strip malls and cul-de-sacs don’t have character,” another one read.
In the past, advocates of the city’s 115-year-old farmstead home have been adults and members of the preservationist group, the Sammamish Heritage Society. This time, many of the building’s would-be rescuers weren’t old enough to drive. Read more

Skyline cheer places 16th at national competition

March 5, 2010

The Skyline High School cheer squad is the 16th best small varsity co-ed team in the country.

The Spartans placed 16th of 38 schools after entering its first-ever national competition Feb. 11-15 in Orlando, Fla. The school’s non-tumbling team did not make the finals. Approximately 485 schools from around the United States participated in 18 categories at the UCA High School National Cheerleading Championships, which is televised on ESPN.The Skyline small co-ed varsity cheer team competes in the finals at the Universal Cheerleading Association National Championships in February in Orlando, Fla.  Contributed
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2 Sammamish students advance to national Reflections

March 4, 2010

New: March 4, 2:29 p.m.

6 others earn awards at state judging

When Sunny Hills Elementary fourth-grader Jasmine Cheng sat down to practice piano one day last summer, she didn’t plan to create an award-winning composition. She had recently hiked to Twin Falls near North Bend with her family and was thinking about the beautiful waterfalls there, wondering how she could express it in music. Read more

Emergency medical response dominates firefighter workload

March 3, 2010

New: March 3, 1:49 p.m.
Sammamish firefighters spend a small fraction of their time fighting fires. That’s one overwhelming trend in a recent report from Eastside Fire & Rescue.
Over the last five years, 5.1 percent of calls to EFR firefighters involved a fire. In 2009, 4.5 percent of calls were fire related.
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