Sens. Litzow, Murray Honored for Bipartisanship

The Municipal League of King County chose the two legislators from Mercer Island and Seattle for the annual Warren G. Magnuson Memorial award, singling out the pair's efforts to legalize gay marriage in the state.

The Municipal League of King County honored Sens. Steve Litzow (R-Mercer Island) and Ed Murray (D-Seattle) Thursday night at the 53rd Annual Civic Awards Celebration Dinner in Seattle. Murray, the State Senate majority leader, and Litzow, a first-term legislator, were presented with the Warren G. Magnuson Memorial award for in recognition of their bipartisan leadership during the 2012 legislative session. The organization specifically honored them for their roles in passing the bill that created Washington’s marriage-equality law in February. “It was an absolute honor to be recognized and stand alongside Senator Murray to receive this commendation,” said Litzow. “I am pleased to have been part of this historic legislation because I believe…

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Live Blog: Patch is at the Washington Republican Caucuses on Saturday

Join Mercer Island Patch as we cover the day's activities, starting at 9 a.m.

On Saturday, Republicans across the state will gather for precinct caucuses, where they'll vote in a straw poll and elect local delegates, starting the process to choose a presidential nominee. Patch editors in 14 towns around Puget Sound will be covering the action live, starting when registration opens at 9 a.m. and continuing through the end of the caucuses at around noon. Join us right here to follow the coverage on our live blog. We'll also provide straw poll results as they become available Saturday night. If you want to go to a caucus, you can find your caucus location here.  There is no presidential primary this year in Washington state. For details on how caucuses work, see this FAQ. See you Saturday.

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Mercer Island Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for State's Largest-Ever Ponzi Scheme

Frederick Berg was responsible for the largest fraud scheme ever prosecuted in Western Washington.

In a Seattle courtroom packed with investors, family members and emotion, convicted Ponzi scheme operator Frederick Darren Berg was sentenced Thursday to 18 years in a federal prison. "I'm not sure how you live with yourself, with the damage you caused," U.S. District Court Judge Richard A. Jones said after the court heard from two victims and 49-year-old Berg himself. Jones sent Berg to federal prison for 18 years, accepting a plea agreement prosecutors arranged last August with the Mercer Island resident admitting guilt on three charges of wire fraud, money laundering and bankruptcy fraud (Click here for extensive coverage of Berg's Ponzi scheme on Mercer Island Patch). According to a Feb. 3 affidavit from IRS agents, investors in the …

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90-year-old Pedestrian in Fatal Mercer Island Collision Identified

The King County Medical Examiner released the name of the man who died after being struck by a passing vehicle this week. He was Larry Lunden, 90, of Mercer Island.

Larry Lunden, 90, of Mercer Island, was the pedestrian who died a day after being struck by a car on Island Crest Way, the King County Medical Examiner reported Saturday. The man died of his injuries at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Friday, a day after a passing car struck him in the 4700 block of Island Crest Way around 5 p.m. Thursday just before he reached the sidewalk at the location of an old crosswalk that has been moved, according to a report by the Mercer Island Reporter. Read the story at the Mercer Island Reporter for more details. The Mercer Island Police Department did not return a phone call left by Patch. A man who answered Lunden's phone said that the family declined to speak at this time.

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Released from Hospital, Bell to Return to Mercer Island

Critically injured in a hit-and-run accident Sunday in New York City, '09 MIHS grad Peyton Bell will return to Mercer Island in the next week, say parents.

POLL: National Transportation Safety Board Calls For Banning All Personal Electronic Devices While Driving

More than 3,000 people lost their lives last year in distraction-related accidents. The NTSB is recommending no texting, no calling or doing anything else on your phone or device while driving. What do you think?

Mercer Island Patch poses this question on the heels of the National Transportation Safety Board's recommendation that all, that's right, all personal electronic devices be banned while driving. Yes — that includes "hands-free" technology, too. No calling. No texting. No checking e-mail. No Google mapping on the go. Could you do it? It was only a few years ago that drivers weren't even prohibited from yacking it up while driving in this state, but that's changed. Check out our video of how law enforcement is cracking down on drivers who talk on their cell phones behind the wheel. Here's the NTSB's statement: Following today's Board meeting on the 2010 multi-vehicle highway accident in Gray Summit, Missouri, the National Transportation …

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Jerry Gropp Architect AIA

7:23 pm on Tuesday, December 20, 2011

RadioTalking while flying light planes is a form of complicated Multi-tasking- and one of the very first aviation things you have to learn. I've just posted a photo of me and my patient flight instructor on Patch's keen new "Gallery" feature. My 25 years of talking while flying- up in the air- taught me that this is to be entirely avoided- while on the ground in traffic. J- (See Link)- http://…   more ›

This Island Home

Mercer Island Home Sales Up, Prices Down in November

As the year draws to a close, lower prices are spurring home sales to their highest number since 2001.

Home sales are up and prices continue to fall on Mercer Island and the Eastside, according to real estate statistics released by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Home sellers closed sales on 30 Mercer Island homes on Mercer Island in November, maintaining a 20 percent growth in sales over last year, according to NWMLS numbers. The last time Mercer Island property sales (a vast majority of which are home sales) were this strong was in 2001 when 358 homes were sold, according to city tax rolls — far below the market peak of 603 homes sold in 2004. Meanwhile, the median closing price for a home on Mercer Island was $662,250, an 11 percent decrease from the same month last year. According to the NWMLS, the decline mirrored a nine …

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Ken Urman, Real Estate Broker

5:45 pm on Tuesday, December 13, 2011

As a Real Estate broker I can provide that information to you. Please contact me. Ken Urman, Ewing and Clark   more ›

Islanders Rue Missed Opportunities in 20-17 Playoff Loss to Meadowdale

Injury forced Islanders QB Jeff Lindquist from most of the game, but junior back-up Brian Higgins led Mercer Island back to within a field goal.

Mercer Island varsity football players were shedding sweat and tears Saturday night at Edmonds Stadium after falling in the first round of the WIAA 3A Football State Playoffs to Meadowdale, 20-17. Islanders star quarterback Jeff Lindquist was essentially knocked out of the game in the first half with an injury as they trailed, 14-3 in cold, rainy conditions at Edmonds Stadium. But Mercer Island showed plenty of heart in scoring two touchdowns with junior back-up QB Brian Higgins at the helm, falling just short of a comeback against the undefeated Mavericks. "The seniors on this team deserve a lot of credit," said Mercer Island's head coach Brett Ogata. "They got us here and there's a lot of heart and effort that they've put in to this team…

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This Island Home

House Hunt: Nov. 5

The following homes are holding open houses this Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 5-6.

Click through the image gallery found here to see what homes in town are holding open houses this Saturday and Sunday — all on Mercer Island. Location, times and prices are listed below each photograph, including homes this weekend hosted by JodyintheHouse, Coldwell Banker Bain, Ewing & Clark, and Windermere.

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Jerry Gropp Architect AIA

4:31 pm on Monday, November 7, 2011

I'm glad to see energetic PatchEditor Kendall Watson devoting the time it takes in preparing and presenting this HH (House Hunt) feature to the viewers of our Mercer Island Patch. This is becoming more of a community asset every day- especially to those in the process of buying and/or selling- or living in Mercer Island Homes .   more ›

MI Girls Soccer Team Falls to Bellevue Wolverines, 3-1

The Islanders continue to struggle this season, but making the playoffs is still possible.

Hit by injuries and struggling to gel, the Mercer Island Girls Soccer team has been mostly down this season — and that continued Tuesday night at Islander Stadium as the Islanders lost to Bellevue, 3-1. Mercer Island (2-8-1) found themselves in a deep hole early, down 3-0 to the Wolverines (4-4-3) before Mercer Island sophomore Michele Day finally put the ball in the net shortly before half-time. Both teams went scoreless in the second half to end the match. MI Head Coach Nicole Dahl Nelson said her team has had a problem letting other teams get a head start on scoring. While the Islanders have only secured 2 wins so far this season, Nelson noted that her team has "taken some of the league's best teams to overtime. We've lost a lot of …

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