More than a year ago, we saw a need in Bellevue for news specific to the Eastside's largest city, and the Bellevue blog was born. This blog was an experiment -- the first one on seattletimes.com that revolved around a geographic region -- and it has been a forum for lively debate, particularly around light rail, and a place for news about the Bellevue City Council, the school district and neighborhood issues.

We still believe there is a desire for news specific to the city, and we remain committed to coverage of the Eastside. But we've decided to shift our energies to writing full-length stories about Eastside issues, and as a result, we're dropping the blog-style coverage. Thank you for your input and for reading, and please be sure to let us know when you have a story you think we should cover.

With school set to start Monday, cameras that track traffic in school zones are back in full force.

Traffic cameras set up at school zones at Stevenson and Lake Hills elementary schools will be recording speeding drivers once again after a summer hiatus. On Monday, the cameras -- which track west bound traffic at Northeast Eighth Street and 143rd Avenue Northeast at Stevenson, and at Southeast Eighth Street and 143rd Place Southeast at Lake Hills -- will be back on.

The cameras record drivers who go over the 20 mph speed limit in school zones and Bellevue police then issue tickets via mail for speeders caught on camera. The cameras are synchronized with the flashing school zone lights to take pictures of every vehicle over the speed limit. Cameras operate during school start and release hours.

The program has been in place since last August. The city also has red-light cameras tracking traffic on 148th Avenue Northeast at the intersections of Bel-Red Road and Main Street.

A 43-year-old Renton man was killed Friday afternoon by a falling tree, Bellevue police said.

The man was with a tree-cutting company hired to cut down a tree in the 4400 block of 144th Avenue Southeast in Bellevue. He was standing near the bottom of the tree around 1:55 p.m. when a portion of the tree fell, killing him instantly, police said.

Bellevue Fire Department medics gave him CPR, but the man died at the scene. The state Department of Labor and Industries is investigating the accident, police said.

The long wait for a new Lake Hills library is almost over.

The Bellevue neighborhood's new library will open on Sept. 11, when residents can finally view the results of construction that has torn up the local shopping center for more than a year.

The new $3.2 million library is part of of a bond voters approved in 2004 to fund King County libraries. The 10,000-square-foot library will include a children's area, teen area, meeting room and study areas, and its construction and design included green elements, such as energy-efficient lighting and sustainable materials for the interior.

The new library is part of a major redevelopment of the Lake Hills shopping center and at the center of an effort by the city to revamp old neighborhood shopping centers overdue for an update. The Lake Hills redevelopment also calls for new retail, office space and residences.

The library's opening celebration starts at 10 a.m. at 15590 Lake Hills Blvd.

The bride wore ... jail scrubs?

A 31-year-old Bellevue woman was arrested early Saturday on supicion of DUI just hours before she was to walk down the aisle, according to the State Patrol.

The woman was pulled over just after 6 a.m. after a trooper spotted her weaving in and out of her lane and driving at more than 90 mph on northbound Interstate 405 near Northeast Eighth Street. The woman told the trooper she was heading home from her bachelorette party in Issaquah and was getting married that afternoon in Burien.

The woman admitted she had been arrested once before for DUI and said she was familiar with the routine, the State Patrol says. Her blood-alcohol level was measured at .146, nearly twice the legal limit in Washington.

The woman will face charges in King County District Court, the State Patrol says.

Reports started coming in this week that Crossroads Appliance had suddenly closed its doors, leaving many customers without any information about whether they might get their money back for new dishwashers and stoves they had paid for, but not yet received.

Business reporter Amy Martinez had more details in a story Thursday about the closure. Are you one of those customers? What had you purchased? Let us know in comments below.

Relief from the recent heat wave won't come for Eastsiders at the Bellevue Aquatic Center for the next few weeks. The city's pool closed down this week for its annual round of maintenance and will reopen on Sept. 20.

Once the pool re-opens, its hours will be 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday.

For more updates on the pool, located at 601 143rd Ave. N.E., call 425-452-4444.

A burglar in need of extension cords may have a few to spare. Bellevue police say an unknown suspect lifted 500 from the city some time earlier this month.

Police said a suspect broke into a city storage shed and stole property including 500 cords valued at $7,000, Christmas lights and other Christmas decorations, for a total loss of about $9,000.

The burglar broke into the city storage shed on the 500 block of 118th Avenue Southeast between Aug. 2-9, police said.

For more information about crime in your neighborhood, search our Bellevue crime database.