Youth Connection

is a product of Bellevue

Youth Link

Youth Link is a partnership of

the City of Bellevue and

Bellevue Public Schools

Inside this issue:America’s Promise Award p. 1King County Election Results p. 2Kids Care Coat Drive p. 2Fire Station Toy Drive p. 3Youth Link Survey p. 3Snowflake Lane p. 4Cherpumple Recipe p. 4Skating Rink p. 5Garden D’lights p. 5Tesla: Electric Cars p. 6Book Drive p. 6JSA p. 7Gift Ideas p. 8End of the Semester p. 8Winter Break Ideas p. 9Pecan Pie Recipe p. 9Fiction Section p.10Biscotti Recipe p.12About Us p.12

Winter 2011

Bellevue Fulfills America’s PromiseBy Cody Ng

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For the fifth year in a row, the city of Bellevue has won the 100 Best Communities for Young People award from America’s Promise Alliance. Each winning community in the competition received a grant of $2,500 to fund either a local service, or an event to celebrate the win. The award symbolizes our commit-ment to young people in the community. The America’s Promise Alli-ance chose the city of Bellevue because of our high educational standards and involvement with teen issues. The Bellevue School District’s schools all rank on the top 100 schools in America.

In addition, the city supplies an abundance of Youth Programs. For example, our Youth Eastside Services provides substance abuse services and youth coun-seling, as well as funds for the Together Center, which pro-vides services for immigrant and refugee families. Other notable youth programs include the Books-on-Wheels Summer Program, Boys & Girls Club, Bacon Family Foundation, Proj-ect Readiness, Bellevue Youth Council, and the Bellevue Youth Court. Bellevue is preparing youth for all that lies ahead!

The Aftermath of the King County ElectionsBy Bonnie Pan

The November 8th King County elections results are in. But there’s a catch. For city council, incumbents Claudia Bal-ducci, John Chelminiak, and Jennifer Robert-son (positions 5, 3, and 7 respectively) swept the race with over 65% of the votes for each (Robertson, who ran without opposition, had over 95%). A much less decisive victory came to their ally John Stokes, who won with a mere 51 ballots out of 35,000 over Aaron Laing—a minuscule .17%. This meant a manual recount is in order, which began December 8th to clear up any doubts on the outcome of the election. In the school board elections, Christine Chew and Michael F. Murphy both ran

without opposition. Meanwhile, Steve Mc-Connell won over incumbent Betsy Johnson with 1.84% more votes for a spot for director district number 1.

Kids Care Coat Drive Distributes Coats to the Needy By Alex Tang

First started in 2004, the Kids Care Coat Drive has be-come a tradition. Over Novem-ber 21st and 22nd, volunteers, including members of Bellevue Youth Link, passed out coats to over 400 families in need at its annual Kid’s Care Coat Drive event at Crossroads Community Center.

Every piece of clothing was donated by the populace of Bellevue. Collection boxes were dispersed among various schools and community cen-ters. Thanks to the efforts of the Bellevue Youth Council and the Bellevue High School Fashion Club, the Kid’s Care Coat Drive managed to collect a total of 3,500 coats over the course of two months. The

coats will be especially helpful this year, as snowfall is antici-pated and warm outerwear will be essential. The clothes that remained after the event will be distribut-ed at the Youth Link’s monthly Teen Closet events during the rest of the school year. Congratulations Bellevue on another successful coat drive!

Bellevue Fire Stations Collect for Toy DriveBy Rachel Lau

Whether you have extra stuffed animals, gift certificates, craft kits, or footballs, a kid out there needs cheer-ing up! On December 13th, staff will be giving out the toys to families and children in need at the Crossroads Community Center for the Youth Holiday Party just in time for the holiday season. This year’s city-wide toy drive will still be collecting toys through to the 22nd. If you have toys that are new and unopened, you can take them to one of the following fire stations for donation.

Station 1: 766 Bellevue Way SE (Downtown/West Bellevue)Station 2: 2802 148th Ave SE (Eastgate/Lake Hills/W. Lake Sam-mamish)Station 3: 16100 NE Eight St. (Crossroads/Northeast Bellevue)Station 4: 4216 Factoria Blvd. SE (Factoria/Somerset)Station 5: 9621 NE 24th St. (Northwest Bellevue)Station 6: 1850 132nd Ave NE (Bridle Trails/Wilberton)Station 7: 11900 SE Eight St. (Wilburton/Woodridge)Station 8: 5701 Lakemont Blvd. SE (Eastgate/Cougar Mountain)Station 9: 12412 SE 69th Way (Newport)

If you don’t have time to shop for toys, you can still donate funds to the drive for staff to buy them. Any contribution will help spread smiles to children in our community!

Get Ready, Get Set, Survey!By Alex Tang

After months of planning and numerous edits, Bellevue Youth Link Board has rolled out the first wave of its survey online via Survey Monkey. Up until February, the Youth Board will be preparing to present to the Bel-levue City Council an updated charge and new goals for the next few years. Surveys have been distributed to schools in the Bellevue School District. Bellevue Youth Link members

plan on visiting various hubs in the Bellevue community to gather data on the ideal direc-tion the program should take toward address-ing youth concerns. Volunteers will be gather-ing responses at the Jubilee Reach Center, the Magic Season Ice Rink, Bellevue Square Mall, Crossroads Mall, Bellevue Youth Theatre, and Crossroads Community Center. You can take this survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/youthlink.

Everyone loves some holiday pie and everyone loves some holiday cake so why not combine the two? Meet the Cherpumple; a new and unique twist on traditional holiday deserts. Essentially, it is a triple layer cake with a different pie baked into each layer. It features a cherry pie, a pumpkin pie, and an apple pie. Thus the name, Cherpumple. Think Turducken, but dessert. And here’s the best part: each pie is baked in a different flavor of cake that complements it perfectly. The pumpkin pie is embedded in a spice cake, the cherry pie in a chocolate cake, and the apple pie in yellow cake. So how can you make one? Let’s get started.

You will need:•1 8” frozen pumpkin pie•1 8” frozen apple pie •1 8” frozen cherry pie•1 box spice cake mix•1 box yellow cake mix•1 box chocolate cake mix•eggs and oil according to the cake mix•3 tall tubs of cream cheese frosting•3 8.5” round cake pans

Instructions:1. Bake all three pies according to the instructions (or bake your own using your secret family recipe) 2. Let the pies cool overnight 3. Make each cake batter according to the instructions 4. Now here’s the difficult part: assembly. Pour ONLY 1 and 1/3 cups cake batter into each pan.5. Carefully remove each pie from its tin and gently place it face-up in the pan for its respective flavor of cake. Chocolate cake for cherry pie, spice cake for pumpkin pie, and yellow cake for apple pie.6. Gently press down on the pies to release any air bubbles. Then pour the remaining batter over the pie, covering each one completely. 7. Bake each cake according to the instructions given on the box.8.Once each cake is out of the oven, let them cool. 9.Remove the cakes from the cake pans and layer them into three tiers. 10.Generously frost the cake.

Recipe courtesy of: http://www.charlesphoenix.com/2010/10/cherpumple-monster-pie-cake-new-test-kitchen-video/

Recipe: The Cherpumple By Alisha Saxena

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas carols, holiday lights, Starbucks holi-day cups, Justin Bieber’s new album—list could go on and on. This festive spirit will continue until New Year’s Day, and what better way to celebrate than entering a magical holiday wonderland? Come watch Snowflake Lane, at 7:00 p.m. nightly right outside Bellevue Square. The show begins with a parade of drumming nutcrackers through Bellevue Square and Lincoln Square. Witness as toy soldiers,

princes, and princesses come alive in this storybook-worthy spectacle. And if you’ve been hoping for a white Christmas this year, you’re in luck, be-cause at Snowflake Lane, it snows every night. Don’t forget to bring your camera, as there are many photo-ops and meet-and-greet op-portunities within this magical set-ting. Enjoy as the festive atmosphere, the friendly char-

Experience Winter Festivities on Snowflake Lane

acters, the crowds lining the street, and the blasting holiday soundtrack as they all come together to create an immersive experience that you have to see to believe.

By Alisha Saxena

The Magic Season Ice Arena in Bellevue’s Downtown Park has been a holiday tradition for many years. Allow yourself to be amazed as the park’s duck pond is transformed into a Winter Wonderland, a complement to other Magic Sea-son events Bellevue has in store. This arena is the area’s only open air frozen water skating rink. Patrons can enjoy music from STAR 101.5 and Seattle’s Greatest Hits. The rink also offers free skating lessons as well as a few special holiday events to kick the holiday season into gear. Ad-mission is $10 with a skate rental or $7 without. Food concessions will be offered on-site. The Magic Season Ice Arena is open through

Skating in Bellevue By Emily Jiang

It’s the time of the year again for the Botanical Garden in Bellevue’s beautiful display of lights! The event is an annual tradition of Bellevue. The Gar-den D’Lights is a cost-conscious yet wonderful way to spend a night with friends and family. Entrance is only $5 per person for families and individuals for the chance to witness a delight-ful assortment of over 500,000 lights. Children that are ages 10 and under receive free entry. Go visit to see the new addi-tions to the garden display this year!

There are a few free nights still open where tickets are not required: December 12, 13, and 14. The Botanical Garden is lo-cated at 12001 Main Street, Bel-levue 98005 and opens from 5PM – 10PM Monday through Sunday until December 31st , 2011. Tickets can also be bought online.

January 8, 2012 in Bellevue Downtown Park. It will also be open on Christmas day.

What a D’Lightful Garden! For more information on this event visit http://bellevue.com/happening.php?id=315.

By Julia Liu

With the combination of environmental worries and increased gas prices, fully electric cars are slowly gaining the spotlight, and Tesla is currently the leader of the pack. Tesla has produced the first highway-capable all-electric, affordable car available in the United States. The Roadster can travel about 250 miles per charge with absolutely zero emissions. The cars can simply be plugged into a normal wall out-let to recharge when battery runs low. Recent-ly, major interstate highways such as I-5 have been creating rest-stops with charging stations for cars available at little or no cost. Currently, Tesla is set to release a more family-friendly, sedan in 2012 called the Model S. The Model S has the longest range of all of

the electric cars in the world. An all-electric car does not require compromises on power or quality. The Roadster and the Model S have phenomenal acceleration speeds and incredible torque. In addition, both models have sleek de-signs that incorporate luxury with practicality. As part of its nationwide tour to promote the Model S, a new Tesla store has opened shop in Bellevue Square, complete with a Roadster on display. The Tesla store allows ev-eryone to learn about the new technology and experience the look and feel of the cars. Will Tesla revolutionize the automotive industry? Only time can tell. To learn more, visit the Tesla store in Bellevue Square, or visit http://www.teslamotors.com/.

Presenting: The TeslaBy Alisha Saxena

Food for the Mind is a student-led, nonprofit organization based at Interlake High School. It was founded in 2010 with the mission to promote education and literacy throughout Washington com-munities. Since education plays a greater and greater role in the future, advancement, and wellbe-ing of our community, Food for the Mind is organizing a book drive to provide less fortunate Washington communities with access to reading materials. We aim to aid Washington people of all backgrounds with the means to develop and become informed,

educated, and empowered citi-zens. This year, the Food for the Mind team organized a book drive at Interlake in the form of a class competition. We are pleased to announce that we raised over 700 books from Interlake alone. In addition, we received an addi-

tional donation from the Cross-roads Half Price Books of over 200 books. In the past year, Food for the Mind’s book drives also proved extremely successful. In total, we raised over 2000 books from various local schools, busi-nesses, and book drives. The col-lection of books was then donated to hospitals, homeless shelters, and schools. If you would like to help out or donate books, please contact the Food for the Mind team at books.foodforthemind@gmail.com or visit our website at http://www.foodforthemind.org.

Food for the Mind Book DriveBy Maggie Locke

Junior Statesmen of America: The World’s Next PoliticiansBy Julia Liu

“The Power Paradigm: Our Role in a Changing World” was the theme of the 2011 Junior Statesmen of America Fall State Convention. JSA is an organiza-tion created to educate youth on political matters and allow politi-cal involvement. On November 12th, hundreds of well-dressed students from all over the Pacific Northwest, including Washing-ton, Oregon, and Idaho, traveled to the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Bellevue. It was an honor for the city to hold such an important event for youth. Chapters from many high schools, including private schools arrived at the con-vention to participate the debates, thought talks, activities, and the dance. Statesmen and women dis-played a wide range of debating skill in both the serious and silly debate topics. One could not only debate about terrorism and gun control, but also the role of women in Jersey Shore and beauty pageants. After a long day of debates, students relaxed with dinner at Bellevue Square. Each

high school’s chapter sent a male and a female representative on to the stage to perform various tasks to win the title of Mr. and Mrs. JSA for their chapter. In the end, Skyline High School defeated its opponents and took home the crowns. Finally, the day ended with the Fall State dance. A comfortable overnight stay allowed debaters to rest up before more rounds of debating the next day. Even though the Fall State convention ended the afternoon of Novem-ber 13th, it is only the beginning for conventions like this. There are many more to come in this 2011 – 2012 school year. In fact, Winter Congress is coming up

in a few months. Students will be able to stimulating congress, proposing legislature and pass-ing bills. Winter Congress will be held in Portland, Oregon. It’s not too late to join the Junior Statesmen of America at your school! Contact your

school’s chapter president. If your school does not have a chap-ter, learn how to start one here: http://jsa.org/about/how-to-start-a-jsa-chapter-2/. To learn more about these opportunities, go to the JSA website: http://jsa.org/ or contact our Pacific Northwest Re-gion governor, Sarah Greenhall, through the Pacific Northwest Region JSA website: http://pnw.jsa.org/.

Tis the Season of GivingBy Noelle Kola

Yep, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.It’s a time when people open up their hearts to give to friends and family, and those less fortunate than themselves. What can pos-sibly go wrong? Besides last minute shopping, of course. You have to get something for the kids, something for him or her and you can’t forget the in-laws! Then there’s your good friend, but if you get something for her, you have to get something for your other friend and then you will have to get something for all of your friends. And oh no! How could you forget Fluffy? Your poor deprived pet needs something as well. Try as you might and every year you tell yourself you will not procrastinate on Christmas shopping this year, yet here you are. Well look no further because I know exactly what you are going through. First of all, young children can never have too many stuffed animals. Got teenagers? I-tunes gift cards.

Him or her? Universal remote. Or favorite team jersey for him and a bracelet with an “I love you” card for her. Score. Grandparents? In-laws? Some-thing homemade! Go to Creatively Yours and paint a mug. Put your heart into it and you can’t go wrong. You have friends. Tons of friends. Too many to count. But you don’t want this to get too expensive. Hit the dollar store! Load up a small basket with knicks and knacks and a singing card. And for your wonderful, deserv-ing pet, nothing could be better than a sweater. Of course, you could probably think of something better, but at least give them an

extra treat this holiday season. And to wish the world a happy holidays and for the sheer lure of fun and experience, try a bit caroling around the good o’ neighborhood. So curl up and relax. Have fun shopping and have a merry Christmas, a happy Hanukah, a fortunate Kwan-zaa, and in general, a spectacular holiday season.

End of Semester? Grades? Don’t Panic!

The first semester of the Bel-levue School District year ends on January 21, 2012. This is the time when people begin panicking over grades, and, in general, suffering from a lack of sleep. However, this does not need to be the case. It is not the end of the world—wait until 2012 before worrying about that apocalypse. Needless to say, for some, the end of semester doesn’t hold much weight. For others, grades are the domineering force in their lives. However, waiting until the end of semester before working overtime

By Alex Tang

to raising one’s grade generally doesn’t help—especially not pull-ing all-nighters every other day. Neither does begging teachers to bump grades. Trust me on that. The end of first semester also means a fresh start—a new begin-ning. For some, this is an excellent chance to recover from a laxness shown in first semester while for others. Look forward to the second semester, and don’t look back. Catch yourself when you fall, and lift yourself back up. Meanwhile, be excited about the three day weekend we’ll get!

Now while you meditate about how to deal with the end of the semester, let me check my grades…

Holiday season is the most won-derful time of the year! Students and teachers of all districts get two weeks of break from the school to celebrate and relax. But with this new free time, comes a new question: how do you spend this winter vacation? If you are looking to have a great time locally, participate in activities that go along with the weather! The

Spending Time this Holiday SeasonBy Julia Liu

cold is a perfect incentive to spend time with your family and friends indoor. Have a holiday movie or bak-ing night with the people that you care about! If it’s snowy, then that’s a great opportunity for participat-ing in snow sports at the Summit in Snoqualmie, Stevens Pass, and Crystal Mountain. There will be the Bellevue Ice Skating rink open in the winter as

well. If snow sports aren’t really your thing, you can always have a snowball fight and make snow angels. Bellevue Square Mall will be hosting Snowflake Lane every night at 7pm and Cross-roads Mall will have holiday perfor-mances as well. If the cold, winter weather makes you cringe, vacationing to somewhere warmer is a good idea. Anywhere in the southern hemisphere will nice and sunny. Book a vacation to the Car-ribean! There are plenty of Christmas cruises in Gulf of Mexico area. No matter what kind of weather you prefer, you can enjoy this winter vacation! For more information on winter events in the city of Bellevue, visit http://bellevue.patch.com/events or http://bellevue.com/holidays.php.

Recipe: A Pecan Pie Holiday TreatBy Noelle Kola Ingredients

Dough:1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour2 teaspoons sugar1/8 teaspoon salt1/2 cup cold butter, diced1 large egg, lightly beatenFlour, for rolling the dough

Directions In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using your fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles yellow cornmeal mixed with bean-sized bits of butter. (If the flour/butter mixture gets warm, refrigerate it for 10 minutes before proceeding.) Add the egg and stir the dough together with a fork or by hand in the bowl. If the dough is dry, sprinkle up to a tablespoon more of cold water over the mixture. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until for at least 1 hour. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough with a rolling pin into a 12-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie pan and trim the edges, leaving about an extra inch hanging over the edge. Tuck the overhanging dough underneath

itself to form a thick edge. Flute the edge as desired. Freeze the pie shell for 30 minutes. Set separate racks in the center and lower third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Put a piece of parchment paper or foil over the pie shell. Bake on a baking sheet on the center rack until the pie shell is lightly golden brown, or about 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. While the crust is baking make the filling: In medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and stirring constantly, continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts, bourbon, and the vanilla. Set the mixture aside to cool for 5 minutes. Whisk the beaten eggs into the filling until smooth. Put the pie shell on a sheet pan and pour the filling into the hot crust. Bake on the lower oven rack until the edges are set but the center is still slightly loose, about 40 to 45 minutes. Cool on a rack. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Filling:5 tablespoons unsalted butter1 cup packed light brown sugar3/4 cup light corn syrup1/2 teaspoon fine salt2 cups chopped toasted pecans1 to 2 tablespoons bourbon2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract3 eggs, lightly beaten

Chapter 3: The Theater The foul stench of the despicable deed lin-gered over The Theater like a menacing cloud of misery. Less and less people came to The Theater because of the murder; they feared for their safety. However, the show had to go on and the expenses for running the show, paying the cast, the crew and the orchestra soon became a burden. Seth noticed the ef-fect on his daily life. Rather than the usual steak dinner, his family now had spaghetti. “Wake up, Seth” Mrs. Smith said tiredly, “We still have rehearsals, even if no one watches our shows.” “I know, Mrs. Smith, I’m getting up.” Seth said with a yawn. He had been rehearsing into the night, practicing for the next show. The theater had been putting in new scenes, new costumes and new props. The actors had been working especially hard these days, trying to appeal to whatever audience they could get. Seth had been helping with de-tective work on the murder for two weeks now but the only clue had been the knife. The authorities had taken it to the lab to do forensics to find some finger prints of blood samples. Unfortunately, no DNA strands, no evidence—nothing else had been found. Oh, great, soon we’re going to have no audience; once everyone hears the rumors about the murder. Seth thought with a sigh. Well, better get going. He hopped out of

bed, plodding to the bathroom. Washing up quickly, he put on fresh clothes and sneakers. He ran downstairs, grabbing a piece of toast, ready for the morning’s rehearsals. “I’m here!” Seth said as he ran into Re-hearsal Room #2. He slid into position along with the cast, ready for the summer produc-tion of Footloose. “Good, now, Jon, don’t forget your lines today. Tiffany, remember to step out of the crowd in time for your solo. I cannot remind you enough, you are the main characters! Okay, in position, kick, kick, turn, spin, don’t forget, that’s at the beginning of the chorus. Start at beginning of the song. Ready, a five, six, seven, and eight…” the new choreogra-pher started the music. Seth focused. Dance was where every-thing had a purpose, where everything still fit. “Cut loose, Footloose!” Seth sang. This was his life--dance was a way to escape his troubles, “Kick off your Sunday shoes!” Dancing and singing, Seth began to smile. They went over the scene two more times before the choreographer said, “Take five!” This was the time when Seth usually went to the library or somewhere to practice the dance by himself, but today, he went out into the hallway to cool down and think. Seth was surprised that the new choreographer had taken the job; surely many thought that they could be in danger too, if they joined the theater. This new choreographer probably doesn’t believe that the murderer will go after him. And, I guess the money helps anyone that is in need. Seth thought to himself. Or maybe

Previously on Curtain Closed: After a trip to the library, our lead character, Seth returns to his father, Normath’s theater to discover that his choreographer, Eli has been mur-dered with a knife.

Fiction SectionCurtain Closed By Rachel Lau

he doesn’t know about the murder, highly unlikely… unless he just moved here. Seth heard the choreographer start giving in-dividual notes and got up. He drank from his water bottle, and headed back into the rehearsal room. “Let’s go over Footloose one more time, and then we can move on to the last scene, I’m Free/Heaven Help me. I want to finish Act 1 before lunch. Let’s go!” Seth froze into his starting position and took a deep breath. The music started, and so did he. “You will not retreat if you repeat. I’m free! C’mon! Try it!” Jon sang as one of the main characters, Ren. “I’m free!” Seth sang, in the role of one of the ‘kids.’ The kids were usually cast with younger children, nine to eleven year olds, but Seth was standing in for a sick child. Singing and dancing was easy, easy when other things weren’t. Remembering the exag-gerated smile that Eli had always reminded them to wear, Seth smiled. When the dance called for turning, Seth turned to face the door and saw Normeth. Seth concentrated harder, wanting to impress. Sneaking anoth-er peek at Normeth, Seth saw him watching not the dance number as a whole, but Seth himself with pride in his eyes. Seth slid into the bridge, the part with the trickiest dance moves. He swung his partner around easily, lifting her and putting her back down in one flowing motion. He moved into the finishing position, leaning casually on a counter in the diner. “Good, good!” the choreographer praised. “Everyone except for Jon and Tiffany is dismissed for the morning. Jon and Tiffany, remember, you guys are the main characters! You need to bring your A-game!” Seth looked around, wondering where Normeth went. Shrugging, Seth grabbed his now empty water bottle, crushed it, and threw it into the recycle as he left the room.

Chapter 4: Just a Conversation Seth lay in bed, tired from the morning and afternoon rehearsals. Burying his face in his pillow, Seth was about to fall asleep when a hollow knock sounded at the door. “Come in.” Seth groaned. “Seth? Are you okay?” Normeth peeked in the room. “Yeah, just tired. Seems like a while since I’ve danced.” Seth said, turning to look at Normeth. “Dinner is in ten minutes, don’t forget.” Normeth told Seth. “I won’t, thanks… Dad.” Seth realized that he hardly called Normeth ‘Dad’ anymore. Normeth stepped inside the room and sat next to Seth, just as he had when Seth was younger. Hugging Seth, Normeth sighed. Seth felt bad for him; he knew that Nor-meth was trying to cover up his worries. The theater was only a small local theater; it relied a lot on the ticket sales to keep run-ning. The sales were not looking particularly good at the moment, and Seth suspected that it wouldn’t be, not until the murderer was found. Seth felt a pang of hopelessness but then Normeth smiled and stood up. Opening the door, Normeth stopped and turned. “Oh, and by the way, you are a good actor, Seth. Maybe you should try and audi-tion at a bigger theater.” “Thanks, dad, I appreciate it.” Seth looked down at his hands. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Normeth nod and walk out, clos-ing the door behind him.

Staff 2011-2012

Editor-in-Chief Lucinda Li

Layout: Lucinda Li

Journalists: Emily JiangNoelle KolaRachel LauLucinda LiJulia LiuMaggie LockeCody NgBonnie PanAlisha SaxenaAlex Tang

City of Bellevue Staff:Helena StephensFamily, Youth &Teen Serviceshstephens@bellevuewa.gov Patrick AlinaYouth Link Coordinatorpalina@bellevuewa.gov

Gunilla RoslanderYouth Link Volunteerroslagun@gmail.com

To learn more about our Youth Link Program,

please visit our web site at www.youthlink.com or call

our office at (425) 452-5254.

City of Bellevue - Youth Link. PO Box 90012, Bellevue WA 90012 - Tel: 425-452-5254

About Youth Connection Youth Connection is an extension of Bellevue Youth Link, a youth leadership program that strives to give youth an active voice in the community and an op-portunity to make a difference! Youth Connection articles and issues are also published on Bellevue Patch at http://bellevue.patch.com/columns/youth-connection.

More about Bellevue Youth Link

Bellevue Youth Link is sponsored by the City of Bellevue, Parks & Community Service Department, WA, USA and Bellev-ue Public Schools. Youth Link consists of the Youth Link Board, the Youth Council, and nine or 10 Action Teams. The Youth Link Board advises the Bellevue City Council and City Manager on youth matters and programs. The Youth Council is the main organizational body of Bellevue Youth Link which meets twice a month to plan various community projects. The council meets to discuss current and future Youth Link projects, hear updates from the action teams, and share local events in school and the community. The council also hears presentations from guest speakers about events in the community and local government, and is responsible for planning monthly service proj-ects.

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Recipe: Holiday BiscottiBy Rachel Lau

Ingredients•1/2 cup butter or mar-garine, softened•1 cup sugar•3 eggs•2 teaspoons vanilla extract•1 teaspoon orange extract

Directions1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in extracts. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in cranberries, pistachios and orange peel. Chill for 30 minutes.2. Divide dough in half. On a floured surface, shape each half into a loaf 1-1/2 to 2-in. diameter. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 min-utes.3. Cool for 5 minutes. Cut diagonally into 3/4-in. thick slices. Place slices, cut side down, on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Turn slices over. Bake 10 minutes more or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

•3 cups all-purpose flour•2 teaspoons baking powder•1/2 teaspoon salt•2/3 cup dried cranber-ries, coarsely chopped•2/3 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped•2 tablespoons grated orange peel