Mercer Island
118 posts · all topics
Mercer Island Social Capital
Local implications of a Harvard sociology study
Home-Cooked Meals with Shef
Testing the Shef meal service
Mercer Island local election results
How to calculate Mercer Island precinct-level 2020 presidential election results using R and King County CSV data.
Mask-Wearing: How to Lie With Statistics
How the same COVID-19 data can prove opposite conclusions about mask mandates, demonstrating chart manipulation and statistical bias.
Who moves to Seattle?
R analysis of Washington driver's license data showing which states send the most people to King County, normalized by population.
Aggregating Mercer Island local election results
Using R to analyze 2016 presidential election results by precinct on Mercer Island from King County data.
Notes from Puget Sound
We went today on a five-hour Pacific Marine Research cruise through Puget Sound operated by MarineScienceAfloat.org and I highly recommend it. The class was very well-structured, with trained…
Summer Hail
It’s the Summer Solstice, longest day of the year, first day of summer and all that…and what do we get? A hailstorm! The kids and I went for…
Moving to China
I’ve been a little quieter than normal online the past few months. There were a bunch of changes happening at work that were keeping me busy and it…
Move over Mercer Island
The weather has finally changed enough that I can close my eyes and imagine it’s springtime, and that’s a good time to think about adjusting a bunch of…
Where are the Spragues?
I often run into people who, upon hearing my last name, ask if I’m related to so-and-so other Sprague they know. Usually the answer is no. Our family…
Mercer Island snow and ice
Our weather is awful: thick ice and snow everywhere, with no prospects for clear roads for at least another week. I’ve been following the details on the Cliff…
Snow and Ice
Island roads have been terrible since the Big Snow hit on Thursday leaving many of us stuck in our homes, afraid to take our cars up and down…
Mercer Island’s most accurate weather forecaster
Surrounded by Water took a walk to see how the island is coping with all this snow today, but some of us are wondering when it will let…
Let it snow
My backyard tonight.
41st district election results by city
The complete official results of the November 4th election have been posted ; I haven’t had time to do the analysis I did for the primary , but…
Maxwell wins
Many of us have been watching the shifting return counts since election night, but now it’s official: Marcie Maxwell won the election for 41st district state representative over…
Purple toes in Zillah
There are no wine lovers in the San Francisco Bay Area (or in Seattle for that matter) who haven’t been to Napa Valley. But comparatively few people know…
Free coffee at Starbucks
I dropped in on West Mercer Elementary school this morning: and then I went downtown and got one of these for free: Incidentally, I disagree with the idea…
Sign Waving to Commuters
If you want to say something to Mercer Islanders, you can’t beat the intersection of Island Crest Way and 40th as a place to publicize your message. A…
Litzow vs. Maxwell at the PTA
The Mercer Island Legislative Team of the PTA sponsored a discussion recently between the Washington State 41st district legislative candidates, Democrat Marcie Maxwell and Republican Steve Litzow .…
Confidence in Fred Jarrett
I think there are at least two kinds of politicians: the "populists" and the "wonks". Too many politicians are populists, who treat government like a popularity contest: a…
Kenmore Airlines to Camp Orkila
As far as I know there’s no law forcing us to do it, but for some reason it seems like all Mercer Island fathers enroll in the Y-Guides…
Seattle Times Endorses Steve Litzow
The Seattle Times endorsed Steve Litzow in the race for 41st State Legislative District . You have to chuckle at their follow-on comment His opponent, Democrat Marcie Maxwell…
Last day this year for Farmers Market
The Mercer Island Farmers Market closes for the winter after today, so my six-year-old and I rode our bikes there one last time to stock up on fresh…
Mercer Island Meetup on Fri Oct 10
It’s time for us to meet face-to-face. Anyone who reads this blog is welcome to meet me at the Tully’s on the north end of Mercer Island on…
Reichert said no to the bail-out
Mercer Island’s congressman, Dave Reichert, voted against the $700B bail-out of the financial industry. A bunch of my friends are getting ready to jump out windows over this…
The Battles of Tim Eyman
Although I first heard about this documentary film back in February, when the director Paul Fraser came to a Global Warming lecture at the Mercer Island library, I…
Comparing teacher experience between Mercer Island and Bellevue
Good teachers deserve to be paid a lot more than they are, and if it were up to me there’d be a huge bonus pool, with big fat…
Salaries for Bellevue and Mercer Island Teachers
Public employee salary information is public record -- as it should be, since you and I pay for it through our taxes. Bellevue public school teachers went on…
Education voters: Litzow or Maxwell?
Continuing my slow, on-going look at the results of the August primary for the Washington State 41st Legislative district, this week I've been trying to answer the question…
District 41 Primary Results for Litzow and Maxwell by city
Washington state's mail-in based election system unfortunately means that in a close race you can't get a good read until several weeks after the election, when every ballot…
Finally, sun at the farmers market
My 6-year-old and I biked this afternoon to the Mercer Island Farmers Market , taking advantage of today's unusual sunny weather to stock up on fresh fruit and…
Bad year for blackberries
The empty lot near my house is always chock full of invasive Himalayan blackberry bushes , and each August my kids and I enjoy picking bucketful after bucketful…
Mercer Island Farmers Market: The Video
It's finally here! I was out of town during last week's opening day, but the first thing I did upon arriving back was to head over to Mercerdale…
Supporting Mercer Island Tent City
We all care about homelessness. Every one of us. But caring is easy; helping is hard. It occurs to me, now that Tent City 4 has moved into…
The appeal of downtown
The latest New Republic repeats an idea I first saw in the Atlantic Monthly in March : the cool people are moving out of the suburbs and back…
Municipal League Rates Maxwell and Litzow
It's dangerous to vote if you don't know what you're doing, and it can be hard to get facts if you're a normal person. You can read the…
Test Driving the Miles Electric Car
Mike Cero, always looking for cost-effective ways to help the environment , invited me to help test drive an electric car now available for sale from MC Electric…
Who is Steve Litzow?
As I keep saying, local elections are more relevant than national ones, and for Mercer Island you need to know about the choices for 41st district state legislature,…
Best place to watch fireworks
Surrounded by Water asks the best place to watch fireworks on Mercer Island and my answer is: your back yard! Here's the view from my house on the…
One good reason to keep your bottled water
Today's Seattle Times describes bottled water and mentions that many of the the nation's mayors are suggesting we use tap water instead. But missing from the discussion is…
Chasing the relative decline in Mercer Island incomes
One of the many ways people get frustrated with me is that I have a very skeptical view of statistics. Numbers are so easy to manipulate -- and…
Who is Marcie Maxwell?
Besides the presidential race, there's another election in November, one that will affect your house, your schools, and your neighborhood more directly than anything that happens in Washington…
Not enough jails in this country
When I arrived home from Vashon late last night, our mailbox was still there, but sometime between then and mid-morning, some jerk pulled it out of the ground…
Why Yong Zhao is wrong
While working at Apple Computer long ago, I became good friends with Andy Van Schaack , who later received his PhD in Instructional Technology and knows way more…
Ranking high schools
I received this email from a person who graduated from Mercer Island High School in the 1970s. (he can identify himself more fully in the comments if he…
Marxist teachers at Mercer Island High School
Oh dear, looks like I've seriously underestimated the challenges facing Mercer Island schools . Not only are we underfunded, but look at what one blogger uncovered about our…
David's Picks for the Weekend
My long-time work friend David Burd has a reputation as the guy around the office who always seems to have something fun planned for the weekend. He's lived…
2 Million Minutes [film]
Watch on YouTube Life's biggest challenges involve knowing which questions to ask. Once you know the right questions, schools in China and India are great at teaching students…
Yong Zhao on how to use technology in the classroom
The Mercer Island education community is talking about Yong Zhao , a professor at Michigan State University with ideas on how to improve schools global competitiveness. He'll be…
Edible Magazine
Image no longer available "I want farmers to be as famous as rock stars", says Jill Lightner, the editor of the new foodie quarterly, Edible Seattle . As…
Of all nights to forget to put the car in the garage
I woke up to see the neighborhood blanketed with snow. It's April 20th, for crying out loud. Puh-lease, will somebody turn up the heat? This is making me…
Leap for Green
it was hard to find a parking place between all those SUVs, minivans, and BMWs parked at the Mercer Island Community Center this morning for the Leap for…
Mike Cero's Carbon Challenge
Mercer Island City Councilman Mike Cero has always been a strong supporter of the environment, especially where it really counts at the local level. On every issue, from…
Compare my school
I'm always interested in school rankings , since competition is the only way to be sure your school is performing as well as it could be. Here's another…
I'm so much better than you
After my eco-tour of Costa Rica , and in honor of our globally warmed weather this weekend, I loaded up my Prius with garbage and dumped it at…
Competition for Public Schools
Why would any parent drive their kid across the bridge through heavy traffic every morning just to go to one public school over another? Seattle Times finds a…
Mercer Island Chess Tournament
For the past several years, Kate Elliot Smith has organized a wonderful Mercer Island-only chess tournament for kids in grades K through 6th grade. I like it because…
1,670 Naysayers
Although it was important to show our support, the last minute work of sign-wavers probably didn't make much difference since the Capital Projects Levy passed by a 68.98%…
Inoffensive fifth grade art
Among the excellent exhibits at last night's 29th Annual Fine Arts Showcase at Mercer Island High School: Apparently, this fifth grade class had prepared an exhibit that included…
What's in the school levy?
For the past year or two, I've been part of the Mercer Island School District's Technology Advisory Committee, which studied and commented on the $6.74 million of items…
Why you should support the school levy
Mercer Island is holding a special election on March 11th for a proposition to authorize the district to levy in the amount of $9,994,000 for the district's Capital…
Mercer Island Survey Results
The City of Mercer Island commissioned a study of 400 registered voters in late January, and the results are now posted on the city web site. Some top…
Lunar Eclipse
Lunar Eclipse Originally uploaded by JHallgren Jason Hallgren posted this great image of last week's lunar eclipse, taken from Mercer Island. Thanks to some unusual clear weather in…
Campaigning for the school levy
Oh boy, finally I get my chance for sign-posting Mercer Island fame. I'm going to be at the corner of Island Crest and 40th on Friday morning starting…
United States Mission canvassing Mercer Island
We just got back from a fun ski trip and around 6pm I got a knock on the door from a stranger who introduced himself as "Jimmie". Very…
Selling Mercer Island
Windemere mailed us their Mercer Island 2007 Year in Review (full color, glossy summary of the local housing market) which notes that median sale prices on Mercer Island…
National trends don't count
Read with a big grain of salt the Washington Post reprint on today's Seattle Times front page: Girlhood Gone Wild: Drinking and Drug Use Grow . It's riddled…
New Mercer Island blogger
Please welcome to your blogroll the new Surrounded By Water: A Mercer Island Blog . I don't know the author, but I can't wait to learn more about…
No I didn't bother
Did you? I heard it was crowded. Huskywonk posted videos of the GOP caucus at Islander Middle School . (Although somewhat edited, at 7minutes it's way too long…
Challenging Global Warming Skeptics
" Facts are stubborn things ", Ronald Reagan reminded knee-jerk ideologues with advice that applies to many of the people gathered at the Mercer Island Library for last…
Healthy ways to school
There's a wonderful debate going on about school transportation at ourmi.wikispaces.com , a community web site organized by new city council member Bruce Bassett . Bruce and school…
Mercer Island Carjacker
Recognize the woman in this photo? The guy who delivers my newspaper each morning was minding his own business outside Covenant Shores last Sunday when her friend pulled…
Organic vs. Conventional food on Mercer Island
Another reason to support a farmer's market : a new study of 19 kids from Mercer Island Elementary schools shows significant levels of pesticide residues in kids who…
How safe is that bridge?
Neal pointed me Bridge Tracker, a site that uses Virtual Earth to let you know the level of safety (or danger) for public bridges near you. Here's what…
Obama and Mercer Island
It's been widely reported locally that Barack Obama's mother, Stanley Dunham, spent two years on Mercer Island during high school. Yesterday's Seattlest blog links to this 2-min Youtube…
520 Bridge falling apart
I live on an island, and I don't own a boat, so I'm completely dependent on the bridges that get me from home to everywhere else. What happens…
Take Flouride out of our water?
The January 2008 Scientific American does a summary of the rethinking about flouridated drinking water, Second Thoughts on Flouride : Researchers are intensifying their scrutiny of fluoride, which…
Mercer Island Farmers Market
A group of citizens are trying to create a farmers market for Mercer Island , an absolutely wonderful idea that is long overdue. I can't make it to…
[book] The Price of Privilege
Why are rich kids often so screwed up? Can you blame it on the parents, whose dog-eat-dog obsession with work and competition makes them "successful" in business at…
Another coffee shop, please
Mercer Island enjoys plenty of nice coffee outlets, but why do I have to drive to Seattle for the really good stuff ? Slate this week makes a…
Fred the Switcher
Several people have asked me what I think about the decision by our state representative, Fred Jarrett to switch to the Democratic Party . The problem is, I…
Darcy Burner's Toys
Darcy Burner , Democratic contender for our district's congressional seat, is running a brilliant campaign gimmick appearance this week. Rather than give speeches or hold boring "meet the…
Chess Tournament
The Seattle area enjoyed a rare sunny day on Saturday, so what better way to spend it than at a chess tournament. Thinking I would have more time…
Mercer Island Schools Don't Make Gold
Unlike several of our neighbors, Mercer Island schools are not in the top 100 nationwide, according to a new ranking by U.S. News and World Report . Mercer…
How to Improve Schools
The (always interesting) Seattle Public Schools blog points to an Economist article from last year about a large McKinsey world-wide study, " How the world's best-performing schools come…
School Board Blogger
Janet Frohnmayer, who recently won election to the Mercer Island School Board, has a blog . " Bookworm - Big Ideas for Busy People" is where she summarizes…
How to win a local election
Congratulations to Mike Cero, who claimed victory in his City Council election, a notable upset considering the huge lead in endorsements and high-power Democratic party backing enjoyed by…
Election Day
Unfortunately I'm on a plane today and will miss much of the fun, but so far it looks like Mercer Island is winning. What do you think? Will…
Meeting Bruce Bassett at Starbucks
Local elections should be about local issues , so why waste your vote on somebody you've never met, or who isn't already a friend of somebody you know…
Schools Foundation
We moved to Mercer Island from Los Altos, California a few years ago because we thought the similar demographics would mean that people have the same high standards…
Kathleen Who?
The Seattle Times endorsed somebody named Kathleen for Mercer Island city council. Anybody know who he/she is? I'm sure that these editorial boards have a thorough vetting of…
Amazon Fresh in Bellevue
I saw this truck on 156th street in Bellevue this week: After doing a trial rollout on Mercer Island for the past few months, are they expanding to…
Transcripts of Voters Forum
Thank you to everyone who responded with their comments letting me know about last week's Voter Forum . I can listen to the the whole podcast on the…
Accidents and Campaign Signs
I'll be glad when the election is over and the candidates start to clean up their litter, but sometimes I wish it weren't illegal to remove some of…
Here we go again
Argh, today's big storm caused the power to go out earlier this afternoon and now my neighborhood is in the dark again, just like last December , and…
Voter Forum
Much as I wish I could have attended all of tonight's Mercer Island Voter Forum , my day job has kept me far too busy lately and I…
Mercer Islanders for Mike Cero
I've been critical of how the City Council campaign for Mercer Island newcomer Maureen Judge is financed almost entirely by non-residents and special interest groups. Several people have…
Why does he bother?
El Jahncke, Mercer Island resident since 1978, is running uncontested for reelection to the City Council. He has raised exactly $0 for his campaign. By all accounts, he…
The Inevitable Thaw in Global Warming
As I've said before , it is an indisputable scientific fact that the world is getting warmer, that the trend is likely to continue, and that humans are…
Democratic Candidate Maureen Judge
Okay, here it is in black and white about what Maureen Judge supporters think about the supposedly non-partisan City Council election: The Democrats are building a deep, deep…
Million Dollar Quartet
We endured rain at the Issaquah Salmon Festival again this year (in spite of my previous experiences there) to attend a performance of Million Dollar Quartet at the…
Camera truck on Mercer Island
Look at the cameras on top of this truck, spotted near the middle of Mercer Island yesterday. If you peer closely through the tinted glass, you can see…
City Council Blogger
Randy Corman, Renton City Councilman for 14 years, has a blog that he updates nearly every day . Many people think Mercer Island could use televised city council…
Moles
Lately a new feature has begun to appear in our back yard: Little divots, randomly scattered throughout the lawn, as though a golfer or a kid with a…
Blog your way to city council
Brian Seitz is a Microsoft employee who happens to be running for a seat on the Redmond City Council. I don't know anything about him, but if I…
Bug Jam
Last night we went to the Bug Jam , sponsored by the Scarab Society and hosted at the University of Washington Burke Museum I was surprised at the…
Burke Museum Bug Blast
The Burke Museum sponsored their annual Bug Blast at the University of Washington today. Ciscoe Morris from KIRO 710 radio was there too, giving a talk about his…
City Council Partisanship
Many people have been responding to my observation that much of the campaign money for Maureen Judge comes from off-island special interests -- nearly as much as she…
National Issues, local governments
As I wondered about why non-locals would care about a Mercer Island city council election, one conspiracy theorist pointed me to an article called "They Won't Know What…
Bellevue traffic map
Everybody knows that the Washington Department of Transportation web site has a detailed traffic map , updated in real-time to show how long your commute will be. That's…
More on Maureen Judge Campaign Donations
Many people have emailed about my recents posts about the off-islanders behind Maureen Judge's campaign for city council. I was out of town this weekend and I'm finally…
Road Narrows
This sign greeted us when we returned from last week's vacation: It's on a street not far from our house. The neighbors, especially those with children, have been…
Thank you Maureen
She pulled her signs today, right after I received a response from a friend of her campaign insisting that she has every right to keep them up. Off-island…
$50 Maureen Judge Signs
I laughed so hard that my camera phone shook too much to get a good photo: The sign in the middle is one of the Maureen Judge campaign…
Out-of-Staters for Steve Litzow
If you are impressed with the off-island campaign contributions to Maureen Judge , you will be astounded at the success of Steve Litzow, current Mercer Island City Councilman…
City Council Position # 3 Debate
Too bad City Council is limited to only one person in Position 3 because I liked all the candidates at tonight's debate at the Mercer Island Library. The…