Snoqualmie Valley Record

Federal Way joins Seattle, Burien and other Washington cities, which have passed similar moratoriums. The Federal Way City Council has unanimously voted to put a 12-month moratorium on data centers.

In the last days of the Supreme Court’s 2025-2026 term, the justices made two decisions: one about the power of the president in relation to government independent agencies and another about the importance of the Federal Reserve’ independence. The decisions appeared to be contradictory, but they are not. Both cases, Trump vs. Cook and Trump vs. Slaughter, involved women who Trump fired.

More than 70 years after Doris and Harvey Toppen took root in North Bend, they have been memorialized with a bench alongside the South Fork Snoqualmie River. The Toppen’s daughter and son, Terri and Chris Toppen, had a bench for their late parents installed July 2, with approval from the city of North Bend. It sits behind Mount Si Senior Center, beneath the trees with a view of the mountains; a very similar view to the one out the front window of the Toppen family home.

At the Auburn Farmer’s Market, from 11 a.m. to noon on Sunday, July 5, Marianne Binetti will be hosting a free seminar on “Binetti’s Summer Garden Tips.” At the Rention Water District, starting at 6:30 p.m., Binetti will be giving a presentation on “Unthirsty Landscapes.” This is a free class, but you must RSVP. Visit www.binettigarden.com for more information.

Snoqualmie is also bringing in experts to analyze battery site impact. After every Snoqualmie Valley city passed a moratorium on battery energy storage sites, the cities are now preparing to develop municipal code that will dictate how applications for development of these sites will be handled. Each city passed a moratorium on battery energy storage sites (BESS) in the last couple of months.

It’s been quite a biology summer for Mercer Island resident Emma Li. First, the 16-year-old earned a gold medal at the 12-day Center for Excellence in Education’s USA Biolympiad (USABO) National Finals for high school students at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. And now, the Lakeside School of Seattle rising senior is one of four U.S. gold-medal scholars who qualified for the 37th International Biology Olympiad (IBO) in Vilnius, Lithuania. The premier event is set for July 12-19.

North Bend’s Fourth of July Family Fun Parade 2026. (Bill Swan for the Valley Record) North Bend’s Fourth of July Family Fun Parade 2026. (Bill Swan for the Valley Record) North Bend’s Fourth of July Family Fun Parade 2026. (Bill Swan for the Valley Record) North Bend’s Fourth of July Family Fun Parade 2026. (Bill Swan for the Valley Record) North Bend’s Fourth of July Family Fun Parade 2026. (Bill Swan for the Valley Record)

The tension was paramount, the city of Seattle was buzzing with so much anticipation for the United States round of 16 matchup with Belgium, who are hosted by the City of Renton. But the result was a disappointment for the majority of spectators as the US was eliminated after a 4-1 loss to the Red Devils on July 6. Arguably the most hyped game of all time in USMNT history, took place right here in the Pacific Northwest.

The driver killed in a collision at Pacific Raceways in Kent has been identified as Glenn David Woloski, 62. Woloski died of multiple blunt force injuries in the Sunday, July 5 crash, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, which ruled the death an accident. Woloski, of Garibaldi Highlands, British Columbia, according to the Pacific Raceways race lineup, participated in the Group 9: Formula Ford/Club Ford division. He raced a 1979 Van Diemen RF79.

The 53-year-old woman presented herself as an investment advisor and defrauded $3 million from people in the Korean community, many of whom are elderly. A Federal Way woman has pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and two counts of bank fraud in connection with a fake financial advisor scheme where she targeted people in the Korean community to fund personal expenses and her gambling addiction.