Snoqualmie City Council supports extending Veterans and Human Services Levy
July 31, 2011
Snoqualmie City Council has voted to support King County Proposition No. 1, the Veterans and Human Services Levy on Aug. 16 primary election ballots.
The levy would last until 2017 and would replace an existing tax that expires at the end of the year.
Golfers foil water tanker heist near Snoqualmie
July 30, 2011
State troopers arrested a Bellingham man and a Richland man near Snoqualmie early July 19 after motorists headed to a golf tournament noticed a water tanker from a Kennewick construction company on the wrong side of the Cascades.
The state patrol heard about the wayward tanker after employees from the construction company noticed the vehicle on Interstate 90 near North Bend.
Boeing Classic recognized for its efforts to reduce environmental impact
July 29, 2011
The Boeing Classic has joined the Green Sports Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the environmental impact of professional sports.
The annual Champions Tour event is the only professional golf tournament to be a member of the Green Sports Alliance.
The alliance was started by teams from the Pacific Northwest, including the Seattle Storm, Seattle Mariners, Seattle Seahawks, and Seattle Sounders FC. Other members include teams from Major League Baseball, the National Football League, Major League Soccer, and the Women’s National Basketball Association, among other professional leagues.
Washington State Patrol is No. 1 on continent for DUI enforcement
July 29, 2011
The numbers show the Washington State Patrol is tough on drunken drivers: Troopers arrested almost 20,000 last year.
For the effort, the International Association of Chiefs of Police named the Washington State Patrol as the top DUI enforcement agency in North America.
King County takes laissez-faire approach to medical marijuana
July 29, 2011
King County is adopting a more laissez-faire approach to medical-marijuana operations as North Bend and other cities tighten rules for patient-run collective gardens and other operations.
North Bend City Council members imposed a year long moratorium on medical marijuana production and distribution facilities June 7. Issaquah, Sammamish, Federal Way, Kent and other cities have also clamped down on medical-marijuana operations.
PSE restores power to Snoqualmie Ridge after substations go offline
July 28, 2011
UPDATED — 11:30 a.m. July 28, 2011
Power has been restored to Snoqualmie Ridge after a fallen tree put out the lights for about 4,000 customers for nearly three hours Thursday morning.
The fallen tree caused one substation operated by Puget Sound Energy to go out at about 8:30 a.m., which caused another substation to go offline.
Snoqualmie says no environmental review required for proposed mill annexation
July 27, 2011
Snoqualmie has determined that no environmental review is needed for the proposed annexation of the former Weyerhaeuser mill site. Previously, city officials had said that they didn’t expect the proposed annexation would require a review based on state guidelines. Opponents to the annexation have called for a full environmental review at several public hearings.
The mill site currently sits in unincorporated King County. Snoqualmie and the county began negotiating transferring the site into the city through interlocal agreement in late March. The city signed a pre-annexation agreement with the site’s current owners — Weyerhaeuser and Snoqualmie Mill Ventures — in June.
North Bend considers sales tax hike for roads upkeep
July 27, 2011
With the cost of maintaining roads rising and tax revenue remaining stagnant, North Bend City Council voted July 19 to create a Transportation Benefit District, which has limited ability to collect taxes.
The Council wants the district to ask voters for a 0.2 percent increase to the city’s sales tax for 10 years to pay for transportation infrastructure maintenance. The increase would be on the November election ballot. If approved, it would make the sales tax in the city 8.8 percent.
The increase is expected to bring in about $400,000 each year, Public Works Director Ron Garrow said.
Most of the revenue from the tax increase would come from shoppers at the North Bend Premium Outlets, according to Garrow. If passed, residents would pay $10 more in sales tax on $5,000 of retail purchases, which does not include groceries.
The city’s revenues from taxes, fees and grants haven’t kept pace with the rising cost of maintaining transportation infrastructure, Garrow said.
North Bend eyes changes in medical marijuana ban
July 27, 2011
North Bend’s administration may suggest the City Council make changes to the city’s one-year moratorium on facilities for production or distribution of medical marijuana.
The council heard testimony from Steve Sarich, a medical marijuana activist who lives near North Bend, at its July 19 meeting.
The current ban is overreaching and could prompt a lawsuit, Sarich said. The council should scrap the ban and set up a working group to develop city policy and zoning rules for medical marijuana.
“We need to establish standards for people operating in our community,” he said.
Sarich has filed an injunction against the state law on medical marijuana that goes into effect July 22, arguing that the law is unenforceable because it lacks adequate definitions of terms and intentions.
Letters
July 27, 2011
Speed patrols should focus on side streets
According to the article “Local police agencies crack down on speeders” (Star, July 14), the police chief plans to “dedicate one patrol car to going after speeders, usually in the evening on the city’s busiest streets.”
The community would be much better served if they enforced the speed limit laws on the side streets where people actually live, and where there are children playing and dogs being walked.
Josiah Farrell
North Bend
