Water District 19 and developer Dan McClary have signed a settlement that puts a final end to a long-standing dispute over water availability for a proposed inn at Vashon Village, the water utility announced on Wednesday.
After years of discussion, debate and decision-making by district officials, the issue is now before the voters: Will the Island endorse Vashon Island School District’s request for $75.5 million to restore and rebuild a high school many say is in desperate need of a makeover? Or will Vashon voters, known for their historically strong support of public education, send the district a different message, asking officials to repackage their proposal and come back with something that costs less?
The Vashon-Maury Island Community Council, with help from County Councilman Dow Constantine’s office, plans to survey Vashon’s registered voters to determine if Islanders would like the library to remain at Ober Park or move to the proposed K2 Commons.
The Vashon school board has selected six candidates with extensive experience in school district administration as semifinalists in its search for a new superintendent for the Island’s 1,500-student district.
Ramos Zamfir, the shady character who allegedly planned to open a pawn shop in the center of Vashon’s commercial district, has apparently abandoned his business scheme and skipped town, leaving an empty shell where Gallery 070 once stood.
In a spirited debate last Wednesday over Vashon Island School District’s bond measure, Bob Hennessey contended that the seven-building high school is crowded, substandard and horribly inefficient while Hilary Emmer countered that the district’s proposal amounts to “run-away spending.”
Nearly 30 administrators in public education — including superintendents, assistant superintendents and principals from around the region — say they’d like to leave their current posts to helm Vashon’s 1,500-student school district.
A payday loan and pawn shop that will also sell luxury tobacco and snuff is slated to open March 1 at the former site of the 070 Gallery, according to a news release issued last month.
The average Vashon property owner will see his or her property taxes increase by nearly 4 percent this year, from an average tax bill of $4,166 to an average bill of $4,328, according to the King County Assessor’s Office.
Talk to Jeff Rauma, a Vashon High School basketball player, and one hears in his voice the desperate need for a second gym.
Because of high demand for gym space in the winter months, early dawn is the only time the junior varsity basketball team can claim an hour or two on the high school’s maple-floor court. So every morning, Rauma arrives at school by 5:45 a.m., determined to play a sport he loves.
Public Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark said Monday he plans to review Glacier Northwest’s state-issued lease to aquatic lands off the shores of Maury Island to see if the 30-year document is consistent with efforts to protect and restore Puget Sound.
State ferry officials — in an updated proposal delivered to the Legislature Saturday night — have recommended that the so-called triangle route that serves Vashon, Fauntleroy and Southworth get replaced by three separate runs serving the three communities.
After an outpouring of opposition to the library’s potential move out of Ober Park, the King County Library System (KCLS) and the Vashon Park District are poised to resume discussions about the location of the Island’s heavily used branch.
