MIVAL was the inspiration of a handful of local artists in 1961. At that time they agreed to form a network of local artists to meet regularly to discuss art, show and sell their artwork, and to provide art demonstrations to members. For fifty years, MIVAL has continued to provide inspiration and support to numerous artists in our community.

We have painters, fiber artists, photographers, as well as artists who work in glass, jewelry, ceramics, encaustic media and film. We hold regular meetings and exhibit our work at over ten venues in our community.

In 2009, MIVAL opened a gallery in the spirit of a cooperative. Each member takes part in the support and management of the gallery. Membership is open to all members of the larger MIVAL organization. All MIVAL members have opportunities to show their work at the gallery as well as other venues on Mercer Island.

Join us for gallery receptions on the first Friday of the month from 5 – 8 pm and see our CALL FOR ENTRIES page for open calls for upcoming art shows.

Here is their listing from the Eastside Business Directory at BellevueBusinessJournal.com:

Mercer Island Visual Arts League and Arts Gallery

A good cure for this problem is to be linked to and from by other sites – especially sites that rank well for your desired keywords.  For instance, if it would be important to you to be ranked highly under the keywords “Bellevue Business”, it would probably be very beneficial to you to be linked to the Eastside Business Directory at BellevueBusinessJournal.com (which is consistently the #1 organic ranked site on Google for the keywords mentioned).  Once you have a link from us (we’ll probably want to share you on Twitter and Facebook too), you might want to share the love with a link back to our site from yours – and you might even decide that you would like to write a regular (or semi-regular) column for us.

The price of this online marketing help is normally only $100 for an entire year!!!  For a very limited time and only the first 50 businesses, the price has been slashed in half to $50 for 12 full months!  Get your business listed in the Eastside Business Directory now – before your competitors do!

Here is some more information about the directory:

Who should list their business in Eastside Business Directory?
(there are 180 categories – if we don’t have yours, let us know and we’ll create it)

• Anyone who sells a product, whether it’s a physical product or a digital product like an e-book
• Anyone who provides a service, like graphic designers, web designers, nannies, cleaning services, and bookkeepers
• Anyone who owns a store, whether it’s a bricks & mortar store or an online store
• Anyone who has a blog, website or other online presence they want noticed
• Anyone who wants increased sales, more exposure, and improved SEO.

Why should you list your business in Eastside Business Directory?

Here are just a few good reasons I can think of:

• It’s an extremely affordable way to market your business – it’ll cost you just $100 per year or $0.27 per day.
• It offers maximum exposure – something you definitely need. Well, at least for your business.
• It will help you increase your sales all year round.
• It will boost your SEO by having your URL link on a Google Page Rank 4 site
• It will get you on the #1 Googled site for Keyword “Bellevue Business”
• It will support your new business, product launches, promotions, specials and more

What will my Eastside Business listing look like?

Your Bellevue Business Journal Listing will look awesome. No, really…check out our current Eastside Business Directory

美國房屋與都市發展部(The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ，英文簡稱HUD) 連同NeighborWorks 美國今天宣佈推出緊急的房屋業主貸款計劃(Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program，英文簡稱EHLP)，協助美國二十七個州和波多黎各處於房屋沒收風險的房屋業主。

美國國會作為多德-弗蘭克華爾街改革和消費者保護法案(Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act)的一部分提供美金十億予HUD去執行EHLP。這個計劃將協助由於美國經濟情況或病情導致非自願的失業或就業不足構成收入減少而處於房屋沒收風險的房屋業主。

在EHLP的準則下，合資格的房屋業主可以有資格得到免利息的貸款用來支付部分的月供房屋貸款，為期最多兩年或金額最高是美金$50,000，以先達到的情況為準。

「奧巴馬政府透過緊急的房屋業主貸款計劃繼續我們協助家庭在艱難的經濟時刻可以保住家園的強有力承諾。」房屋與都市發展部長肖恩•多諾萬表示。「通過NeighborWorks 美國讓我們可以與全美的社區夥伴合作。我們很滿意今天在美國二十七個州和波多黎各推出這個計劃去協助家庭在尋找工作或身體康復的同時也可以保住家園。」

EHLP的資金將支付獲得批准申請人的部分月供房屋貸款，包括逾期未付的房屋貸款或 逾期未付的費用如本金、利息、稅款和保險。EHLP預期會協助最多三萬位的苦惱貸款者，平均的貸款額是美金$35,000。

「通過我們在全美的工作，NeighborWorks 美國非常了解在這個經濟艱難的時刻，面對房屋會被沒收的房屋業主會盡一切所能尋找各種的協助途徑。截止的日期是2011年七月二十二日。我們鼓勵房屋業主現在就遞交他們的資料，看看自己是否符合這個新的房屋貸款援助計劃的資格，以及讓有房屋方面需求的人士知道更多其他可以選擇的資料。」NeighborWorks 美國的首席執行長艾琳M. 菲茨杰拉德表示。

EHLP資金是房屋危機打擊最嚴重的美國十八個州和哥倫比亞特區提供美金七十六億的重災區基金(Hardest Hit Fund)的補充。EHLP基金將提供給以下的州﹕阿拉斯加、阿肯色、科羅拉多、夏威夷、愛荷華、堪薩斯、路易斯安那、緬因、馬省、明尼蘇達、密蘇里、蒙大拿、內布拉斯加、新罕布夏、新墨西哥、紐約、北達科他、俄克拉荷馬、南達科他、德克薩斯、猶他、佛蒙特、維吉尼亞、華盛頓、西佛吉尼亞、威斯康辛和懷俄明，以及波多黎各。五個基本上運行類似計劃的州通過現存的計劃提供EHLP的資金，這五個州是﹕康乃迪克、德拉威、愛達荷、馬里蘭和賓夕法尼亞。今天推出這個計劃後，美國每個州都向失業和就業不足的房屋業主提供房屋貸款的協助。

參與機構的聯絡資料、有意申請人士的篩選問卷、以及更多有關EHLP協助的資訊和資格規定，請上網到www.FindEHLP.org 查詢，或致電免費電話855-FIND-EHLP (346-3345)。

有關美國房屋與都市發展部 (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development，英文簡稱HUD

HUD的使命是為所有人建立起堅固的、可持續的、包容的社區和廉價的優質房屋。HUD 正努力加強房屋市場、振興經濟和保障消費者、滿足廉價出租房屋的需求﹕利用房屋作為改善生活水平的平台、建立沒有歧視的包容和可持續社區，以及轉變HUD的經營方式。有關HUD和其計劃的更多資訊可以上網到www.hud.gov 和 espanol.hud.gov查詢。

有關NeighborWorks 美國

NeighborWorks 美國透過提供購買房屋的機會和租住安全和廉價的房屋，從而改善人們的生活和加強社區。自1991年起，我們協助過接近一百二十萬低到中收入家庭的房屋需求。我們的成功大部分透過支持 NeighborWorks 網絡達到。這個網絡有超過235個社區發展組織在美國五十個州、哥倫比亞特區和波多黎各的超過4,400個城市、郊區和鄉下社區工作。在過去的五年裏，NeighborWorks 的組織已經產生超過美金一百五十億的資金再投資在這些社區上。NeighborWorks 美國在全美培訓從事社區發展和廉價房屋專業人士上站領先的地位。

While I have been focusing on my real estate business lately, I have also been inspired to follow through on what is perhaps the best business idea I’ve ever had in my life.  It is a fully scalable, and repeatable business that will get the support of many, many local business people (including many of the 1,900+ Eastside Entrepreneurs) – as well as consumers.  

This idea is long overdue and would be great for the current economic climate.

To get it started, I will need a retail location in downtown Bellevue.  It does not have to be huge, but does need to have a store front and an area to hold classes and events of 25-50 people or more.  Easy parking is a necessity (as it is for most retail businesses).

The ideal situation would be a space that is currently available – and may have been available for some time – a space like the old Village Bellevue would be almost perfect.  This space would be owned by a motivated and flexible owner, who might consider partnering on this business – and possibly on future expansion.

Alternatively, I may consider taking on equity and/or working partners.

The space used for this biz could also be part of an existing business that isn’t fully utilizing all of it’s space – or another business which would love a lot of traffic coming and going daily.

If you have any ideas or suggestions, please contact me asap – I’d be happy to make a presentation to any possible principles.

“One of the most valuable parts of the site is the Water Information Resource Center,” explained Don Wright, Forum Project Manager for the new Web site. “The Forum has worked hard to compile a broad range of water related data into one place.” The resource center serves as the hub for data related to the water supply, water resources, environmental stewardship and conservation activities of the Forum and other partners within the region.

The new site also showcases the Forum’s recently released 2009 Regional Water Supply Outlook. The 2009 Outlook is a comprehensive assessment of municipal water supply and demand in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties. The Outlook contains current and projected municipal water demands for each county within the three-county region.  It also includes an analysis of regional water supplies, and details of potential future municipal water supply options including enhanced conservation, and wastewater reuse.

“Our Web site exemplifies the Forum’s mission to provide a venue for policy discussions on critical issues related to water supply and stewardship,” said Wright.  “It also allows us to share utility perspectives and insights with the public and key leaders throughout the region.” The Forum aids members and the public by providing a portal for water supply and related water resource issues.

About the Water Supply Forum

The Water Supply Forum is a cooperative effort of representatives of public water systems and local governments in the Central Puget Sound region of Washington State. The Forum addresses current and future water supply issues, including supply planning, environmental stewardship, and other water supply related issues currently facing the region.

March’s host, the PowerPlay Arcade has more than 105 gaming stations, from the to-scale Ferrari simulator with life size rear-ends and 62″ high definition televisions as windshields to the 16 Sega Outrun 2 full motion simulator suites that are inspired by Hummer and Harley Davidson. Then there is the Laser Maze which challenges players to race against the clock by navigating the room without breaking the beam just like Mission Impossible.

Each guest will receive a game card that will allow them to enjoy all that PowerPlay has to offer!

YPN @ Lucky Strike Lanes
Date: Thurs, March 25, 2010
Time: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Location: Lucky Strike Lanes 700 Bellevue Way NE, Suite 250, Bellevue 98004
Members: $15 pre-paid ($20 after 3/23, $25 at the door)
Non-members: $20 ($25 at the door)
Register: Online or contact Larry Pike at larryp@seattlechamber.com | 206.389.7215

About our host
Lucky Strike Bellevue is a sleek, sexy, upscale entertainment venue. The 50,000 square feet includes 16 bowling lanes, pool tables, a private Luxe Lounge, 3 bars, a large open lounge and Power Play which is an adult high-end gaming lounge with more than 125 different arcade games. Lucky Strike can hold parties from 8 guests up to 1450. A happy hour is offered daily from 4-7 p.m. in their lounge with 1/2 off appetizers and drink specials. You can find a live DJ on Friday and Saturday nights with no cover for entry. Whether you are planning a birthday party, holiday party, corporate event or just stopping in with friends or family, Lucky Strike Bellevue will create a memorable experience for every guest.

Why get involved in YPN?

• Exposure to what is going on in Seattle
• To build your business network with other young professionals
• Unique access to regional business leaders and political figures