Staff photo/June Collins-McKiernan
The Cottage Lake Pool is a great place to cool off during hot summer days. It will be open daily through Sept. 3.

Cottage Lake Pool, 18831 NE Woodinville-Duvall Rd. in Woodinville, is open daily through Sept. 3.Morning and early evening half-hour group lessons are offered during July and August. Morning lessons, which meet Monday through Friday, cost $68 for 10 sessions and evening lessons, which meet Monday through Thursday, cost $54.40 for eight sessions. Class offerings are grouped by age, learning ability and swimming skill. A placement test is required for registration. There are four groupings: Parent and infant/toddler (6 months – 3); Preschool (3 – 6); Youth (6 – 14); Adult (15 and up). Private and semi private lessons are also available upon request.

In a July 7 decision, a panel of three Court of Appeals’ judges ruled that King County’s land clearing regulations, which are part of the so-called Critical Areas Ordinance that became effective in 2005, amount to an “in kind indirect tax, fee or charge on new development.”

Simply put, the regulations mandated that for individual lots one and one-quarter acre or smaller in the rural zone, clearing shall not exceed 50 percent of the lot area. For lots greater than one and one-quarter acre and up to five acres in the rural zone, clearing shall not exceed 35 percent of the lot area.

Former King County Councilman Steve Hammond, who voted against the regulations in 2004, said, “Basically, the ruling finds that one-size-fits-all clearing regulations come across as a tax or a fee. In other words, requiring unincorporated King County property owners to tie up between 50 and 65 percent of their land in native vegetation amounts to a tax or a fee, an exorbitant tax or fee, I might add. The county can’t impose its own taxes. Those are controlled by the state.”

Staff photo/June Collins-McKiernan
James O’Neal, shown here with “Honey” perched on his shoulder, is hoping to have surgery on his facial tumors.

It’s hard not to stare or do a double take when you first meet James O’Neal. But, the Woodinville man is accustomed to these reactions and they don’t bother him in the least. In fact, most of the time, he doesn’t even notice the looks that people give him.

O’Neal, 46, suffers from a genetic condition called neurofibromatosis, which he has had since birth. The left side of his face swells with large tumors and there are smaller bumps over the rest of his body. He wears a patch to cover the place where his left eye would normally be.

On your marks … get set … GO (for pie that is)!

This year Carnation’s Run for the Pies 5K race had 484 people registered for their chance to win a pie; many were so close they could taste it, others were just out to enjoy a fantastic start to a fun-packed day.

The top three finishers in each age and gender group went home with their choice of one of Carnation’s own Remlinger Farms’ pies.

The weather was perfect! Not too hot, a bit overcast, there was even a fine mist during the race. Not only were many individuals looking forward to pie, a few serious racers were hoping to end off their 2008 Snoqualmie Valley Cup series with a win of a nice $200 cash prize.

This year’s SandBlast Festival will be Saturday and Sunday, July 19th & 20th in Duvall’s McCormick Park. The event will feature award-winning sand sculptor Russ Leno, plus music, art and tasty treats from local food vendors.

Look for the otters to point you in the right direction.

Bring tools and help out: shovels, trowels, pottery tools, cake knives, pancake flippers – whatever’s around the house.

TIBETAN PEACE PROJECT

Experience the community-based effort to create a Tibetan Sand Mandala – a traditionally dynamic art form to offer the river in gratitude and thanksgiving, planting fertile seeds of peace.