Friday, May 18, 2012
The $20 congestion reduction charge is intended to help preserve bus service in King County. The change includes eight Metro Transit bus rides for each household that registers a vehicle in King County.
Motorists in King County will soon see a $20 increase in car registration tabs starting June 1 after state and county politicians voted last year to allow the additional charge to preserve King County Metro bus service. The charge begins with June renewals sent out by the state Department of Licensing and will be collected through May 2014, according to a press release from King County. King County Metro will also hand out eight free bus tickets to each household with a registered vehicle, which was included as part of the fee hike. The $20 car tab fee increase compromise last year temporarily maintains the current level of King County Metro Transit bus service. The fee will raise $50 million of a $60 million revenue shortfall that had …
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Cut from the city budget in 2010, generous sponsorship donations by Farmers New World Life, the Mercer Island Community Fund and private individuals saved the show in 2011.
City Hall and the Mercer Island Parks & Recreation Department are once again soliciting community support again this year to put on the traditional free Summer Celebration! Firework show on Saturday, July 14, 2012. The fireworks show is a fantastic display set off from a barge in Lake Washington near Luther Burbank Park. Last year, over 7,000 attendees watched from the park at a festival that includes food vendors, inflatable toys, activities for children, and live musical entertainment. Generous sponsorship donations by Farmers New World Life, the Mercer Island Community Fund and private individuals saved the show in 2011. Unfortunately this year’s event is in jeopardy of being cancelled again due to budgetary cut-backs unless $23,000 …
47.59153
-122.22683
Luther Burbank Park
2040 84th Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA
/articles/city-parks-officials-make-appeal-to-save-summer-celebration-fireworks-show
1716151
/locations/7047213
State health officials are asking the public to be on the alert for reporting dead birds possibly linked to a West Nile Virus outbreak.
Sunny days and warmer temperatures make way for lots of outdoor activities. It’s also mosquito season, which increases the risk for West Nile virus and the need to avoid mosquito bites. The state Department of Health has resumed tracking the rare but potentially deadly virus with an online dead bird reporting system that the public can use to alert authorities to potential health hazards. Two such birds were discovered to have died from the virus and found by the residents in King County in 2009. “It’s important to track West Nile virus so people have the information they need to avoid getting sick,” said Maryanne Guichard, assistant secretary for the state Department of Health’s environmental public health division. “This system helps …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Local officials claim there's little they can do about a small but reportedly growing deer population on Mercer Island.
With sightings and complaints about local deer on the rise, city officials are reminding residents of their protected status and what they can do legally to protect their property from the graceful but occasionally annoying wildlife. Mule deer and black- or white-tailed deer — the two species that are found on Mercer Island — began migrating back onto Mercer Island several years ago — annoying local gardeners and causing a few car accidents annually. City Hall contracts with the Regional Animal Service of King County for managing domestic animals, but all wildlife issues — including those related to deer — are handled by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). Some areas of the state do permit legal hunting of deer …
Bike to Work Day is May 18. Are you a bike commuter? Share your stories or words of encouragement here or by posting to our Facebook page.
As part of Bike Month, King County Metro and Sound Transit are encouraging people to try bike-and-bus trips. During the week of May 14-18, any cyclist loading a bike on a Metro bus or ST Express bus operated by Metro will ride free. Mercer Island's 8 regular Metro routes included are the 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 211, 213 and 216; ST Express routes included are the 540 and 554. Are you a bike commuter? Share your stories here or words of encouragement here in our comments section or by posting to our Facebook page. Each bus has either two or three spaces on its bike rack, which are available on a first come/first served basis. If the bus bike rack is full, cyclists should be prepared to wait for the next bus or consider leaving their bike …
47.588364
-122.23168
Mercer Island Park & Ride
8000 N Mercer Way, Mercer Island, WA
/articles/cyclists-get-free-bus-rides-may-14-18-2ef3d7ec
1488634
/locations/7032927
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Five states and the District of Columbia offer a full gamut of rights to gay people, according to The Guardian.
In the wake of North Carolina's decision to amend its Constitution to ban same-sex unions, The Guardian website has created a model looking atgay rights in each state. According to the graphic, Washington, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont, along with Iowa and the District of Columbia, have the most rights afforded to gay couples. Washington allows: Washington prohibits: Also, Washington's hate crime laws include crimes committed based on gender identity or sexual orientation. In addition to comparing states' level of gay rights, the Guardian graphic allows you to log in through Facebook and see what rights are afforded in the states where all your Facebook friends live.
The average residential customer will see a monthly increase of $3.30, according to a news release from the state's utilities and transportation commission.
Electricity and natural gas rates for Puget Sound Energy customers will increase May 14 following action by state regulators earlier this week, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission has announced. Electricity rates for residential customers will go up by 3.2 percent while natural gas rates will rise by 1.3 percent, according to a news release from the commission. The changes mean the average residential customer's monthly electricity bill will go up by $3.30 to a total average of $102.56. A typical natural gas customer, meanwhile, will pay $1.08 more each month for a total bill of $86.09. The increases amount to a total hike of $76.7 million for PSE's 1.1 million electric customers and 756,765 natural gas customers in …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
The group is appealing a March ruling by Kittitas County Superior Court that dismissed the ETA's suit.
Former State Sen. Jim Horn, spokesman for the Eastside Transportation Association, (ETA) announced today that they have instructed their attorneys to appeal to the State Supreme Court a recent ruling in March by Kittitas County Superior Court that dismissed ETA’s suit to prohibit the State from transferring the two center lanes of the I-90 Bridge to Sound Transit. Sound Transit wants to use the center lanes for light rail use between Seattle and Bellevue to the exclusion of all other vehicular traffic including buses, HOV’s and Mercer Island traffic. The suit was filed by ETA on behalf of all Washington State citizens, based on the strict protection of the State’s 18th Amendment, which disallows gas taxes paid for by road users to be used…
Mercer Island Youth and Family Services offers many support services for children and families.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration childhood exposure to traumatic events is a major public health concern. Such exposure can have negative effects on children and adolescents that last into adulthood. These negative effects range from physical illnesses such as heart disease to mental health problems such as depression. Fifteen years ago the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Kaiser Permanente's Health Appraisal Clinic in San Diego collaborated to conduct the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. The study identified specific "ACEs" that increase the likelihood of children developing mental health issues. These include: household substance abuse, an incarcerated family member, …
Bike to Work Day is May 18.
As part of Bike Month, King County Metro and Sound Transit are encouraging people to try bike-and-bus trips. During the week of May 14-18, any cyclist loading a bike on a Metro bus or ST Express bus operated by Metro will ride free. ST Express routes included are: 540, 542, 545, 550, 554, 555, 556 and 560. Each bus has three spaces on its bike rack, which are available on a first come/first served basis. If the bus bike rack is full, cyclists should be prepared to wait for the next bus or consider leaving their bike parked in a bike rack at a transit facility. Bike lockers are also available at many Metro and Sound Transit facilities. This offer is good only on the buses mentioned above. It does not apply to Link light rail, Sounder, the …
Snoozingdog
12:33 pm on Thursday, May 17, 2012
Well Kendall, the city might want to gather data on natural habitat areas, access/ egress points for game from the mainland, natural and human food sources, human and game trails and pathways, and crossing points where deer and cars intersect. It's less about the roads and more about behavior and possibly altering them, then post warning signs and lower speed limits as needed. It's a great … more ›