From the neck down, the look was casual, sweats in fact. On top, though, it was all glam and sparkles, with long false eyelashes and a foot-high blonde wig. The martini-swirling phenomenon underneath it all was making the look work, while simultaneously working the Fall City Bistro on a Sunday evening in February.

“Good morning!” Akasha Manila greeted the guests trickling in for dinner, “good to see you! I just woke up!”

Manila’s sleepy claim fit perfectly with the “Divas” theme of the night’s show. It probably wasn’t true though, because this particular diva, like his fellow performers, was already made-up for her appearance in the semimonthly “Night Queens” drag show at the bistro, and doing makeup takes a while.

Read Story

Movie-goers can spot several Valley landmarks in the trailer for “Lucky Them,” and soon, in the movie itself. The independent film, starring Toni Collette as a rock journalist tracking down a rock star who disappeared from the music scene, is scheduled to be released May 30, according to the Internet Movie Database, although other sources project an April 21 limited release.

“Lucky Them” was filmed in several Seattle locations, and on Snoqualmie and Carnation streets, inside a Carnation home, and both in and outside of the Mount Si Pub in North Bend, in February 2013.

Read Story

The question of why never comes up in conversations with the Valley’s top volunteers. The reasons they work so hard, on Relay for Life, on Fall City Days, on the Festival at Mount Si and on preserving local organizations and activities, is simple, obvious even: It’s what you do when you live in a community.

Read Story

Nick Kurka, horticulture teacher at Mount Si High School, has been teaching students for 13 years, 11 of them at Mount Si. Named one of four Educators of the Year for 2014 by the Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation, Kurka below answers questions about his approach. Kurka’s original degrees were in water supply and wastewater technologies, from Green River Community College, and he received his Career and Technical Education (CTE) certification from Bates College through Pacific University.

Read Story

They call it a prom, but drop your preconceptions about high school, limos, and dresses, because this prom is for everyone. No need for dresses, or even dates for that matter, say organizers Patti Inge and Pastor Stephen Haddan

“Just make sure you come,” said Inge.

Read Story

Carnation’s new police officer is back. Scott Allen, who got his first job in law enforcement 17 years ago with Carnation’s police department, is once again patrolling the city, this time as both a King County Sheriff’s Deputy and Carnation’s dedicated full-time cop.

“For the last two years or so, I’ve been wanting to get back to patrol,” Allen said, “I’ve been wanting to get back out here to familiar territory, because I know all the people who work out here.”

Read Story

Raven TV at Twin Falls Middle School is pretty cool, but the President of the United States is not likely to sit down and watch an episode. The guy just doesn’t have time to watch a lot of TV. On Friday, Feb. 28, though, he freed up an afternoon, to watch a different Twin Falls production.

Read Story