Opinion - Mercer Island Reporter

Island Forum | Boys & Girls Club PEAK project is celebration of community

On June 29, the Mercer Island community broke ground on the Mercer Island Boys & Girls Club PEAK project being built on the North Mercer High School Campus — not a few individuals or one organization, but the Mercer Island community.

Using pervious concrete long overdue

Island Forum | Youth Theatre Northwest future is secure: a victory for MI

I am writing to share good news. For 25 years, Youth Theatre Northwest has been Mercer Island’s premiere, nonprofit, performing arts center. YTN has served tens of thousands of children and produced hundreds of theatrical productions. Last winter, the economic recession and a resulting decline in revenues threatened to end our legacy as the theater came very close to the brink of closure. In response, the theater launched a “Save YTN” campaign and the immediate support of many emergency donors kept our theater doors open through spring. After a momentous vote in the chambers of Mercer Island City Hall, our legacy has been secured for the future. On Monday, June 15, the City Council approved a historic allocation of $37,000 to the Theatre’s Emergency Appeal. This is not only a cause for celebration among our young students and their families, but a victory for the entire community.

Editorial | Immeasurable impact

What a gift to have had a pair like Mace and Janet Brady teaching in our schools. Both are skilled and highly educated teachers with a good measure of practical experience. They not only brought their passion for education into the classroom, but to their fellow teachers and staff. Each worked in different schools in the district and in many roles. A sample: For a time, Janet Brady worked with special education students, and Mace Brady took part in the extensive planning for the remodeling of Islander Middle School in the early 1980s. As a part of the Mercer Island School District team, they served on a myriad of committees and projects; celebrated the bonds they have with their fellow educators; and always went the extra mile to reach out to students and their parents — whether or not it was at school or an impromptu conference at QFC.

Editorial | No ordinary grads here

Last week, another crop of young people, carefully nurtured and always anguished over, are done with an important phase of their lives.