The Seattle Times: Bellevue Blog

Final post for the Bellevue blog

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:38:50 PDT

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.

School starts Monday and traffic cameras are on

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:45:36 PDT

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.

Renton man killed by falling tree

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:29:11 PDT

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.