December calendar
December 4, 2014
Events
Five Chamber Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m. Dec. 5, Holiday Inn, 1801 12th Ave. N.W., $25/members, $30/nonmembers, tickets at www.issaquahchamber.com
Breakfast with Santa, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., The Golf Club at Newcastle, 15500 Six Penny Lane, 793-4646, reservations recommended
Newcastle Chamber of Commerce monthly lunch: 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Dec. 10, Tapatio Mexican Grill, 6920 Coal Creek Parkway S.E., guest speaker David Rose, executive producer, host and news anchor of ‘Washington’s Most Wanted,’ $20/members, $25/nonmembers, register at newcastle-chamber.org
Cornerstone Studio presents ‘The Nutcracker,’ 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. Dec. 20 and 21, Bellevue Performing Arts Center, 10416 Wolverine Way, Bellevue, $18, 401-5291 Read more
Shop smart, shop local in Newcastle
December 4, 2014
The weekend after Thanksgiving is the busiest shopping weekend of the year, and many small businesses rely on the holiday shopping period to ensure a successful year on the books, according to the federal Small Business Administration.
That’s why the day is known as Black Friday, because heavy sales often move a business from out of the red financially into the black.
SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet sent out a press release at the end of November reminding Americans to not only shop small on Small Business Saturday, but to purchase their Thanksgiving dinner items at local grocers, shop small at their local businesses and dine small at their neighborhood restaurants.
American Express founded Small Business Saturday in 2010 to help small businesses get more customers. Its slogan is “When you shop small, it can lead to big things.” Read more
December letters
December 4, 2014
Educate yourself about Energize Eastside Program
As a resident and a physician, I am very concerned about Puget Sound Energy’s Energize Eastside Program.
What started as a far-sighted request to upgrade an aging infrastructure and plan for future growth has been hijacked into an oversized project that benefits a foreign-owned private corporation (PSE) as it prepares to divest in 2017.
Local needs have been expanded into a crisis, and we Eastside residents are being asked to pay for a vastly oversized project that seems more suited to transferring power between Canada and California than meeting our expected growth.
The Coalition of Eastside Neighbors for Sensible Energy has enlisted the talents of Eastside residents, including electrical engineers and people who have worked in the power industry, and have unearthed documents, data and have subsequently proposed an alternative solution. This can all be viewed at its website, cense.org. Read more
Notes from Newcastle: Thank you
December 4, 2014
I’m a big fan of elegant televised award shows.
One of my favorite annual events is the Academy Awards. It’s a family tradition of sorts for my mom and I to order takeout from our favorite Italian restaurant and spend the evening watching everything from the red carpet arrivals to the final scrolling credits.
By the time we roll to the Oscars, there’s usually a pretty firm idea of who is going to win thanks to previous outcomes at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
That’s why it always annoys me a bit when actors seem so surprised, or have come unprepared with an acceptance speech, when he or she wins the ultimate golden statuette.
Well, I’m no Jennifer Lawrence or Meryl Streep, but I had a chance, however incomparable, to step in their shoes as I accepted a Newcastle Chamber of Commerce Diamond Award Nov. 20. Read more
Brilliant Briggs
December 4, 2014
Senior leads Patriots to 2A state swim title
By Greg Farrar
The trophy looks awesome up close for the Liberty High School swim team as they celebrate their school’s first-ever state swim team championship Nov. 15 at the King County Aquatic Center, earned in style with a 2A-record 348 point total.
Just three days before the last state swim final of her career, Liberty High School star Mackenna Briggs was calm and determined. Read more
Hazen’s Dominic Green signs with ASU
December 4, 2014
By Greg Farrar
Dominic Green, Hazen High School senior, holds his signed letters of intent Nov. 12 and poses with his brother, Hazen freshman Jalen, for a photo taken by their dad, Jevon, on the Highlander campus.
With the swift stroke of a pen, Hazen High School senior Dominic Green made a permanent decision about the setting of his life’s next chapter Nov. 12. Read more
Liberty cross-country teams make history
December 4, 2014
Mike Smith’s Liberty High School cross-country team wasn’t taking any chances.
After consecutive state meet appearances where something always went wrong on the day of the race, particularly for the girls, the Patriots’ superstitions were on high alert Nov. 8 at Pasco’s Sun Willows Golf Course.
“We were doing all the jinxy things,” Smith said. “We made sure not to stand on the podium the day before, and made sure that all laces were tied eight times. We were totally superstitious at this meet.”
It seemed to pay off, because, for the most part, everything went right for Liberty on a history-making day at the state cross-country championship. Read more
Liberty places eighth at state volleyball tourney
December 4, 2014
By Greg Farrar
The Liberty High School volleyball team is cheerful about the school’s first state tournament appearance after a well-fought first set in its Nov. 14 match against Burlington-Edison.
In a fall sports season filled with firsts for the Liberty High School athletic department, the Patriots’ volleyball team made sure it got in on the action, too. Read more
Local tennis players headed to state
December 4, 2014
By Greg Farrar
Matthew Cao (left), Liberty High School senior, is set for the return as his teammate, junior Marek Pierepiekarz, serves during their doubles match Oct. 16 against Interlake at Tibbetts Valley Park. Cao and Pierepiekarz won the District 3 2A tournament Nov. 1 in Bremerton and will compete for the state championship in May.
The Hazen High School boys tennis team capped its undefeated season with a Seamount League championship and a solid showing at districts. Read more
Patriots make early exit in state soccer tourney
December 4, 2014
The Liberty High School girls soccer team ended its season short of the state championship game it won a year ago.
The Patriots’ defending 3A state champion girls soccer team made its first foray into the 2A postseason, taking a bit of a different journey to reach the state playoffs.
Liberty earned a state berth after cruising through the District 2/3 2A tournament. The girls defeated Franklin Pierce, 4-0, and then North Kitsap, 2-1, to win the district title.
The team earned an opening-round victory over Sehome, 4-1, on Nov. 12. The Patriots failed to advance past the quarterfinals, though, with a 4-3 home loss to Shorecrest on Nov. 15.
Shorecrest went on to take second in the 2A state tournament. A year ago, Liberty defeated Kamiakin for the 3A state title.
The Hazen soccer squad failed to make it to the 3A state tournament this year, after an opening round loss in the District 3 playoffs.
The Highlanders lost to Prairie, 3-0, putting an end to the season Nov. 4.
“That was our best effort of the season tonight,” Hazen coach Ken Matthews said after the loss. “We were fighting for every ball and didn’t back off their physical play.”
Last year, Hazen made it to the 3A state tournament for the first time in more than a decade.
