Off the Press
July 27, 2010
A hair-raising tale that will have you seeing red
The instant I popped out of my mother and into the delivery room, the nurse told my parents they had a redheaded daughter.
“Really?” my father asked, looking at my dark-haired mother and fingering his own dark waves. He said it was hard to tell because I was almost bald, but the nurse insisted it was red.
Now, thankfully, I have more hair, and yes, it has a red hue. So, it was exciting when I received one of my more curious news assignments this month: covering the Redheads and More Redheads Guinness World Record event at Skyline High School in Sammamish.
There were 901 thrilled redheads at Skyline, and though the most excited one of all, local photographer Anne Lindsay, wasn’t a natural ginger, she made up for it with her enthusiasm.
Lindsay called me the week before the occasion, proclaiming, “I’ll only talk to you if you have red hair,” before saying hello. I liked her immediately.
Off The Press
July 20, 2010
David Hayes Press Reporter
Don’t let ghosts get in the way of an opportunityHave you got a business idea but have yet to find the right location to set up shop?
Issaquah is rife with new business parks and other sparkling constructs. But let me tell you about an opportunity to lease a piece of Issaquah’s past.
Situated in downtown, right across from the police department, sits a 4,000 square-foot structure that remains little changed from its original 1946 design. What started out as an auto shop has morphed over the years into businesses including a candy store, an antique gallery and a consignment store.
Oh, and did I mention, it’s haunted?
With so many television shows about ghost investigators visiting some of the world’s hottest spots for the afterlife, this would be the perfect opportunity to capitalize on the craze.
Real estate agent Lauree Naval said she doesn’t have to tell potential clients, but it’s more than likely to come up in conversation.
“You absolutely have to be truthful,” she said. Read more
Off The Press
July 13, 2010
Bob Taylor Press sports editor
I don’t want to scare anyone, but please take a quick look at my column photo. You will notice that I am pictured wearing eyeglasses.
Well, that is no longer the case.
As of two weeks ago, I have 20-20 vision. With the exception of reading and doing computer work, I no longer have to wear glasses all day. Like many of you with perfect vision, I can wear Foster Grants on sunny days instead of dealing with clip-ons or prescription sunglasses. When I wake up in the morning, I no longer have to fumble around on the nightstand for my eyeglasses. When I get up in the morning, I see a beautiful world without the aid of eyeglasses.
What a world I was missing until last month!
Now, this is not an advertisement for lasik surgery. However, I did undergo surgery on both eyes for cataracts.
I’m not exactly sure when the cataracts started forming. I do recall last summer that when I wanted to do some recreational reading, I would move the book up to the tip of my nose. I thought it was just bad bifocals. Turns out, it was probably the start of bad cataracts. Each week, reading became more of a challenge. Again, I blamed the bifocals.
Last fall, when we had sunny days, I noticed my eyes were becoming very sensitive to light. I started wearing sunglasses more frequently, and often pushed the baseball cap down to cut out extra sunlight. Eventually, I began wearing sunglasses even on cloudy days — and you know how often we get those around here. Read more
Off the Press
July 6, 2010
Is that a famous person? Quick, get the camera!
Issaquah is not in Southern California, if all the rain and forests didn’t give it away. But our town on the edge of the greater Seattle area is linked to its fair share of recognizable and famous people. Some have moved here, others used to live here and some just drop in from time to time.
So, just who are these famous folks who graced Issaquah at one time or another, you ask? Modest Mouse front man Isaac Brock; Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki; sportscaster Rick Rizzs; former Mariners Jay Buhner, Ken Griffey Jr., Paul Sorrento, J.J. Putz, Omar Vizquel, Dave Valle and Jeff Nelson; former Seattle Supersonics Detlef Schrempf and Ray Allen; Pulitzer-winning playwright Brian Yorkey; authors Deb Caletti and Serena Rolan; actress Cynthia Geary, who played Shelly Marie Tambo on “Northern Exposure”; Lockergnome founder Chris Pirillo; and Red and Rover comic strip artist Brian Basset.
Also, don’t forget Colin Curtis, who graduated from Issaquah High School and now plays for the New York Yankees. Oh, and Train lead singer Pat Monahan lives somewhere up on Lake Sammamish as well, although that may be just out of city limits.
Others who have been said to live here include The Decemberists’ bassist Nate Query, NBC news correspondent Margaret Larson and filmmaker Phil Lucas, who passed away in 2007.
Many of the city’s notable residents have been featured in The Issaquah Press before, and it may not be unusual to see some of them around town. However, the more famous people in the area aren’t seen around town as often, and their exact whereabouts can be hard to pinpoint.
Off The Press
June 29, 2010
Warren Kagarise Press Reporter
Go bargain hunting with a Costco newbie
Costco Wholesale spends nothing on advertising and lacks a public relations team, but the Issaquah-based retail Goliath generates buzz aplenty.
Costco instead relies on customers — and the occasional endorsement from the queen of all media — to build business.
Take, for instance, the televised trip talk titan Oprah Winfrey took to Costco in 2004. The company paid nothing for the national exposure afforded to Kirkland Signature chicken potpie and cashmere sweaters.
Such Costco lore — the stealth marketing strategy, the casual corporate culture, the bargains and, of course, the bulk — had long fascinated me, even though I had never set foot inside a Costco.
For a piece in the summertime Issaquah Living magazine inside this newspaper, I set out to chronicle how Costco continued to thrive and expand despite the recession. So, as I reported the piece, I ducked inside the flagship Issaquah warehouse with a card-carrying member.
I received no Oprah-style red carpet treatment — although, to be fair, I had not alerted Costco execs to my arrival — but I left impressed. Not just by the sheer amounts, but also by the niceties scattered throughout the warehouse — decent wines, designer jeans and the like. Read more
Off The Press
June 22, 2010
Working with student journalists is rewarding
Kathleen R. Merrill Press managing editor
There are many rewards in being a journalist that money cannot buy or replace. Pride in a job well done, the people you meet, the things you learn and even the awards. Another, and probably the most important one, is making a difference in the lives of people you meet or who read what you write.
When Tiffany Xu came to me last summer and asked about doing a teen section in this newspaper, I have to admit I was skeptical. Could we find teens who would keep up with their school schedules and social lives, and take this commitment seriously?
People ask me all the time about how they can write for the newspaper. With space being at a premium, we have to be cautious about how we spend it. We keep in mind what readers want first. We ask them all the time and they tell us on a regular basis, too.
When Tiffany said she didn’t think we were reaching that many teens, I felt a bit defensive. I want everyone to read this newspaper, and recognize the hard work that goes into it and the great staff we have who work hard every day to bring you all the news and great stories they can find. I’d like to think that everyone does.
But with the Internet being what it is, fewer people read newspapers. (At least, that’s what I keep hearing.) More than ever before? I don’t know about that. But I do know that I want to reach as many people with our print product as possible.
Tiffany wanted to have a whole section. I explained that the economy likely wouldn’t support that right now, and that trying to get enough teens to commit to that amount of copy and photos over the course of a school year was unrealistic. We settled on a page and began planning. She got teens to apply for reporting and photography positions, we started fundraising and we were off. Read more
Off The Press
June 15, 2010
Reality TV an easier dating experience than reality
So, why do you want to find love on “The Bachelor?”
That question, or some form of it, was asked to each of 200 women sitting before casting directors June 13.
ABC’s well-known franchise rolled into the greater Seattle-area, to find throngs of single women and yes, even a few men, that showed up for their chance to find love on the national television show.
Chantelle Lusebrink Press reporter
The dating scene leaves a lot to be desired, trust me. So, it’s not surprising two locals have landed on the national show.
First, there was Bevin Powers, then 28, who landed on 2007’s “The Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentleman.”
And most recently, Issaquah resident and businessman John Crivello, 32, made an appearance. In case, you aren’t engulfed in reality TV, he’s the guy who had enough gusto to actually propose to this season’s bachelorette, Ali Fedotowsky, 25, during the first show May 24.
I headed to the casting call with several girlfriends to see what exactly was going on. More directly, why would people risk public heartbreak — not to mention a complete invasion of privacy since you’re asked questions like “Have you ever had a restraining order issued against you?” and filmed 24/7 — to make whatever reality of love happen?
So, why do you want to find love on “The Bachelor?”
What followed as an answer from one of the women who attended the event was entirely unexpected. Simply stated in her written application, “Reality hasn’t worked for me.”
With the advent of telephone chat lines, speed dating, blind dating, Internet dating sites, tweeting and social networking, plus all the traditional ways of meeting someone, one would think there are plenty of ways to find love in reality. But judging by the lineup, which began at about 7:30 a.m., those realities hadn’t worked for many people.
As one would imagine, the archetypical stereotypes were represented: The wannabe “child star” who came to the casting armed with professional headshots and a helicopter mom to boss around; the misunderstood artist-type, who chain-smoked in line and wore a choker resembling a dog collar; the divorcee, who hadn’t watched the show enough to know it’s rare that anyone older than 35 is selected; the quiet professional that never made time for love, but has a doctorate of some sort; and then there was the showstopper, gold lamé stilettos, a flashy, fuchsia dress and a coif that would put Dolly Parton’s to shame.
More surprising, however, was how “normal” many of the hopeful bachelors and bachelorettes appeared: young professionals, generally photogenic, well-groomed and from observation, generally intelligent and ambitious.
So, at the end of the day, what does this long-shot chance of getting cast give to these contestants actually looking for love, not fame? Read more
Off The Press
June 8, 2010
Discover the cool benefits of hot yoga
Last fall, in the midst of myriad e-mails sent to me about people rescuing children from burning buildings and underground fight clubs involving senior citizens, I received a news tip from a yoga instructor from Terra Yoga on Front Street, the yoga studio formerly known as Issaquah Hot Yoga.
She wrote that members of the Liberty High School football team were incorporating hot yoga into their workout routine for the second year in a row.
Tim Pfarr Press reporter
Football players doing yoga? To a yoga outsider, it sounded like a fun story to cover, as I typically thought of football players pounding out reps in the weight room rather than striking poses in a yoga studio.
So, I was acquainted with a running back from the team who answered my questions and allowed me to watch as he ran through a few yoga moves in the toasty studio, where the temperature climbed past 100 degrees. He was very graceful in his motions, and he made it all look incredibly easy.
After writing the story, I thought a little bit more about yoga. Increasing my flexibility was something that sounded appealing. In addition, I was tired of just running around the lake by my house and bench-pressing my triumphant 20 pounds at the gym. I needed a new workout.
As spring came around, I decided to give it a try, and I signed up for a four-class introductory series that took place on four successive Saturday mornings. The course taught the basics of power Vinyasa yoga, a style of yoga in which one flows through postures with controlled breaths.
I discovered fairly quickly that I have virtually no flexibility whatsoever, but it was irrelevant; the class was suitable for the pros and even stiff, flabby weaklings like me, who have such little balance they are prone to falling over while just standing upright on two feet. There are more intense and less intense versions of each posture, making it something everyone can enjoy. Read more
Off The Press
June 1, 2010
More than 100 people showed up Memorial Day at Hillside Cemetery to pay their respects to veterans, so it was a shame the annual ceremony had to be cancelled.
Kathleen R. Merrill Press editor
There is little parking at the cemetery. Most of it is along roads through the place. Unfortunately, many graves are close to those roads. It’s a juggling act to find a spot where you can be off the road enough and also away from nearby grave markers.
People were sad to be turned away. But Dave Waggoner, assistant quartermaster of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3436, who heads up the ceremony, said safety for everyone was the main concern.
On May 29, as volunteers were walking the rows, placing flags and crosses on the final resting places of veterans, people were slipping on the already saturated, muddy ground. It was much worse two days later. In fact, cars that had pulled off the road were leaving deep ruts in places, and by Memorial Day one had even driven over a headstone.
Next year, a contingency plan will be made for inclement weather. So, if you turned out for this year’s ceremony only to be turned away, please return. It’s so important these men and women are not forgotten.
I had the pleasure of meeting a man out there in the rain who refuses to forget — Art Converse who lives in the May Valley area. Art served four years in Vietnam. On Memorial Day, he came to the cemetery looking for the grave of Robert Hoskins, one of 19 men and women named on the monument at Veterans Memorial Field as being killed or missing in action during wartime.
Art had seen Hoskins’ picture in our section “Lest we forget” that ran May 26. Art said he noticed Hoskins was a fellow Marine and he didn’t know whether the young man, who was 19 when he died, still had family in the area who would remember him.
His kindness brought tears to my eyes, as it does now to recount the tale. Art brought some flags to the cemetery, and specifically one to put on Hoskins’ grave. I watched him for a moment — without a coat, without an umbrella — at the grave we directed him to. He stood for a while, and knelt at some point, placing the flag in the soft ground. He also put flags on two other veterans’ graves.
Thank you, Art, for your service, and for remembering the service of others. Read more
Off The Press
May 25, 2010
Finding sweet neutrality in sour tax debate
The humble licorice stick might not look like much — some corn syrup and Red 40 shaped into a familiar twist.
The cherry-cough-syrup flavor, tooth-aching sweetness and electric hue put the twist into a particular genus: candy.
Come June 1, however, the state will reorder the entire candy taxonomy. The shift will split Good & Plenty from Good & Fruity, Peanut M&Ms from the just-released Pretzel M&Ms and Milky Way from the bittersweet Milky Way Midnight.
Warren Kagarise Press reporter
Moreover, every nib and rope of licorice — Red Vines, Twizzlers and the like — will no longer be classified as candy. The same applies for Good & Plenty, Pretzel M&Ms and the dark chocolate Milky Way.
Scan the ingredients list and — aha! — the noncandy-candy items include flour. Because the sweets contain grain, the state considers licorice and other treats to be food — and not candy.
Legislators opted to tax candy and gum — as well as soda and bottled water — to help plug a $2.8 billion budget hole. State and local sales taxes do not apply to food — or most food, anyway. (Washington diners pay sales tax for restaurant meals and other prepared foods.)
Unsurprisingly, the response to the looming hikes has been more sour than sweet. But I plan to remain blessedly neutral.
I happen to adore licorice. Other children preferred chocolate; I reached for the Twizzlers Nibs. In the red-or-black licorice debate, I come down on the red side, although black beguiles me, too. Read more
