REP RTER
Mercer Island
Happy Thanksgiving
Wednesday, November 21, 2012 | 75¢
Serving the Mercer Island community since 1947
PSE fined again for consumer issues
Red glory
Thanksgiving holiday closures Next week is Thanksgiving, and city offices and the Mercer Island School District will be closed on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 22-23. The Mercer Island Reporter office will be closed on Thursday.
Annual interfaith service is tonight
State finds company failed to comply with earlier order, violated consumer protection rules
Mercer Island’s annual interfaith service will take place at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Nov. 21, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. For over 40 years the Mercer Island Clergy Association has sponsored the service, the evening before Thanksgiving.
By Reporter Staff
10,000 Villages sale The annual Ten Thousand Villages sale will be held Nov. 29 through Dec. 1, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Mercer Island Presbyterian Church. Ten Thousand Villages is a fair trade retailer of artisan-crafted items from around the world. To learn more, visit www.tenthousandvillages.com.
Firehouse Munch and tree lighting is Dec. 7 The annual Firehouse Munch with chili, music, Santa and more is set for Friday, Dec. 7, beginning at 6 p.m. in Mercerdale Park. Radio Disney kicks off the night at 6 p.m., followed by the tree lighting at 6:30 p.m. and the Firehouse Munch at 7 p.m. Unwrapped toys will be collected for Toys for Tots.
[more-online www.MI-Reporter.com
Rebecca Mar/Staff Photo
Bright red English ivy, now at its peak on the Island, cloaks a concrete wall along the edge of the Park on the Lid, next to the Feroglia Fields, the week before Thanksgiving.
Legislators take on education funding Citizen initiatives and politics threaten change By Mary L. Grady
editor@mi-reporter.com
Democrats Rep. Marcie Maxwell, of Renton, and Rep. Judy Clibborn, of Mercer Island, along with Islander Republican Sen. Steve Litzow came to talk with Island school leaders last Thursday about fixing public school funding. The lawmakers were open and sympathetic, but were careful to be honest about their assessment of the chance for real change or meaningful steps in the next legislative session. The three newly re-elected state legislators met with the Mercer Island School District Board of Directors, senior schools staff, the Mercer Island Schools Foundation and PTA leaders. The political parties and legislative committees will hold caucuses in the next few weeks prior to the session to determine
how to proceed on issues such as complying with the state Supreme Court decision on school funding. The Washington Supreme Court’s January ruling in McCleary v. State found that the state has failed to meet its constitutional duty to fully fund basic education. The ruling requires the Legislature to report annually for the next seven years on its progress toward meeting the funding obligations. Of course, the real issue is where will the money come from? Lawmakers say that huge cuts have been made already. Maxwell pointed out that the state has already cut $10 billion in 10 years for key services and education. “Cutting any more is not an option,” she said, adding, “we cannot cut social services for education.”
It is clear to all three that something has to be done in this session about finding new revenue sources as well as continuing the focus on costs. But any moves on taxes will likely bring another referendum by voters. First and foremost, the legislators wanted to emphasize that the newly two-thirds majority law on new taxes will likely mean that any tax increase will automatically go to the voters for final approval. “Before we consider any tax or increase, we’ve got to be able to sell it to voters, even if we are able to pass such a bill in the House and the Senate,” said Litzow. “Education is Sen. Steve Litzow transporMercer Island like tation was 10 years ago,” said Clibborn, who is head of the joint Transportation Committee. Like education now, transportation was in crisis, she remembered, and finally the Legislature came together. McCleary has now made it imperative. The talk turned to revenue sources and tax plans by Rep. Ross Hunter and others. Ideas
“Before we consider any tax or increase, we’ve got to sell it to voters.”
Legislators | Page 3
Fine | Page 3
REPORTER
The Bond family of Mercer Island is holding an art show featuring works by Marianne Bond and her daughter, Anna, including live music by ‘Eddie and Friends,’ between 7 and 10 p.m. on Nov. 24, at Island Crust Cafe, located at 7525 S.E. 24th Street.
Mercer Island
Art and more
State regulators have fined Puget Sound Energy (PSE) $250,000 for violating a 2010 order that required the utility to review and correct specific customer accounts. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission has approved a multi-party settlement of a complaint that alleged 515 violations of the 2010 order. The parties include: commission staff, PSE, the Public Counsel Section of the Attorney General’s Office, and The Energy Project, a nonprofit
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MI | THIS WEEK
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