Our monthly “Island Links” blog post is a curated list of the previous month’s most notable Mercer Island-related links from around the web.

Here are the latest links to catch our eye:

Islanders in the News
Mercer Island’s most famous billionaire Paul Allen was spotlighted by The Daily Beast as his Stratolauncher, “the biggest airplane ever,” gets ready to hit the runway.

Local sandwich environmentalists and entrepreneurs, Brad Gillis and Ben Friedman were recently featured by Forbes; the duo co-founded the popular sandwich chain Homegrown Sustainable Sandwiches, which now has 10 locations in the greater Seattle area and has recently expanded into San Francisco with 3 new locations.

Mercer Island High School sophomore Katrina Dumler, along with her horse Flintwood Starlet, won the title of World Champion Jumper at the Grand National and World Championship Morgan Horse Show [Mercer Island Reporter].

In recognition of her advocacy work focused on children’s mental health, State Representative Tana Senn was honored with the 2017 Child Health Advocate Award by the American Academy of Pediatrics. [Mercer Island Reporter]

Forty-six Mercer Island students were selected to participate in 2018 All-State musical ensembles by the Washington Music Educators Association. [Mercer Island Reporter]

City News
With lots of rain expected to fall on Mercer Island through spring, the City has shared information on its website regarding reporting landslides, along with a landslide factsheet, Mercer Island’s landslide hazard map, and more. [Mercer Island Reporter]

Mercer Island’s City Manager Julie Underwood has appointed 24 local citizens to a budget advisory group; the City’s financial challenges are outlined at: www.mercergov.org/FinancialChallenges [Mercer Island Reporter]

The City is creating a master plan for Aubrey Davis Park, also known as Park on the Lid, which is now 25 years old and in need of facilities upgrades. [Mercer Island Reporter]

The Mercer Island City Council recently met, along with state representatives Tana Senn and Judy Clibborn, to discuss 2018 legislative priorities; the improvement of I-90 access and the full funding for education tops a draft of the priorities list. [Mercer Island Reporter]

In other news and humor
In describing their mischievous antics of trolling NextDoor, Mercer Island students also point out how “fake news” on the popular community forum may be “dangerous” to the community. [The Islander – Mercer Island High School]

The Mercer Island School District has announced a remedial education program for the voters of Mercer Island after the November General Election when 37% of voters voted for a school board candidate who had months earlier dropped out of her race and endorsed her opponent. [The Mercer Island Distorter]

Photo above of Aubrey Davis Park