Children go on adventurous quests to exotic destinations, becoming financial gurus along the way.  Meanwhile, parents and teachers have access to an administrator tool where they can track progress and assist in the learning experience.

Financial literacy is at an all-time low in the United States, the bank notes, and  research shows that 91 percent of parents are interested in providing a better financial education for their kids.

“As an active member of our community, a big part of our responsibility is helping at the local level, and educating kids about money-management is a great way to make an impact,” says Laurie Stewart, Sound Community Bank president and CEO. “Offering MoneyIsland helps parents and teachers address an important challenge for the children of our community and instill lifelong financial literacy lessons.”

The MoneyIsland curriculum has already been successfully piloted by public schools in Iowa and Texas. There are lesson plans for every level of the learning experience, along with ongoing educational resources for teachers and parents, and the plans are aligned with national standards published by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.

Contact Sound Community Bank at the MLT Cedar Plaza Branch, 800-458-5585, Ext. 100 for more information on enrolling individual children or a group.

Leonard Daniel, left, helps a customer.

Story and photos by Doug Petrowski

The State of Washington has finished auctioning off its 167 state-run liquor stores; some are closing, the rest will have new owners. And large grocery, discount and warehouse stores are preparing to stock shelves with liquor and spirits for sale. So what changes are coming to Mountlake Terrace Liquor and Wine on 44th Ave. W.?

Not many, says the owner of the only store in town where you can currently purchase a bottle of bourbon, whiskey, vodka or other hard liquor.

Leonard Daniel, and his wife Lori have owned and operated the state-contracted liquor store at 22402-44th Ave. W. since June 2010. They plan to “stick to it,” said Daniel, even after their exclusive outlet for liquor sales in Mountlake Terrace gets some competition starting June 1.

Mountlake Terrace Liquor and Wine is one of 162 privately-owned liquor stores in the state; these stores will be allowed to continue to operate when new laws and regulations concerning liquor and alcohol distribution and sales go into effect June 1. The changes are a result of Initiative 1183, which was approved by state voters last November.

In Mountlake Terrace, the number of stores selling liquor will likely go from one (Daniels’ store) to four — Rogers’ Market on 56th Avenue West and Albertsons at 44th Avenue West and 228th Street Southwest have already applied for their liquor licenses and started remodeling to accommodate stock; QFC on 44th Avenue West is expected to follow.

Concerning the coming competition for liquor dollars, Daniel claims he’s not worried. “My competitive advantage is in selection, with 1,300 items in our store,” Daniel said. He speculates the big stores will likely only have dozens of bottles in stock at any one time.

With 1,300 items in stock, Daniel is proud of the store's liquor selection.

“I also have knowledge of the products,” he added. “If you walk into Albertsons and ask how to make a mojito, they might say, ‘There’s the rum aisle; good luck.’”

There is one thing that will change at Mountlake Terrace Liquor and Wine come June 1: The prices will go up. Daniel explained that the state will start collecting a 17-percent fee on liquor sales on top of the already existing sales taxes. The new private liquor distributors (the state had been the sole distributor in the past — now distribution will be privatized) will also be hit with fees from the state. The bottom line is higher prices to the consumer. “I have to raise prices to cover my costs,” Daniel said.

Daniel will continue to be supplied with liquor through the state Liquor Control Board through mid-May. After June 1, it will come exclusively through private distributors.

The Daniels seem to be the perfect pair to take on the challenges of new rules in the liquor business. Before opening Mountlake Terrace Liquor and Wine, Leonard was already in the field of sales, and Lori had worked for 27 years at the Liquor Control Board.

During a recent late afternoon rush at the store, Daniel interacted with customers effortlessly, calling many of them by name. “My customers seem to be very loyal,” he said. “I have customers who drive by other liquor stores to get to ours.” It’s this loyalty that Daniel is counting on to keep the store going despite all the changes coming in the field.

Mountlake Terrace Liquor and Wine is open seven days a week.

Although his store had flooded Friday night, the owner of Dangerous Designs Company says he will be ready to open the brand-new tattoo shop “in about 10 days.”

Dan McGrew is opening the new business in space previously occupied by a couple of now-defunct pizza restaurants at 44th Avenue West and 212th Street Southwest. But Friday night’s events put a little scare into those plans.

“We had just put down a coat of paint on portions of the floor and were going to lay carpet in a couple of days,” McGrew said. “I came back to the shop around 10 and found the whole place flooded from rainwater coming in the two back doors.”

McGrew and his crew worked until 3:00 a.m. cleaning up; he was found Saturday re-painting what he had just painted the day before,” he said. “It set us back a couple days.”

McGrew has been a tattoo artist for 14 years. He is opening the 2,000 square foot space with savings and some financial help from his grandparents.

“My grandparents have lived in Mountlake Terrace since there were dirt roads out here and there was a stop sign, not a stoplight, at this intersection,” McGrew said.

McGrew himself has roots in this community; he graduated from Mountlake Terrace High in 1996.

Dangerous Designs Company will open with two employees, but McGrew has plans to add more in the future. He calls the new business “a high-end shop” that will also feature piercings. He’s already getting interest from potential customers who drive by and stop to peek into the shop.

“People see the TV shows about the art and become interested. I have people looking in here in their 30s, 40s and 50s who are interested in getting a tattoo,” McGrew said.

The concept is simple: a freshly pressed waffle topped with your choice of several frozen yogurt flavors and some of the many fruit, chocolate and nut toppings they offer. The waffles used by Melt are not the typical, airy waffle that most of us are used to. Melt’s waffles are a denser and chewier waffle that are made with dough rather than a batter. Pearl sugar is added to the dough which caramelizes on the outside of the waffle when pressed.

The standard Melt Waffle treat comes with the waffle, a swirl of frozen yogurt and two toppings and is $4.95. For a little more you can get additional toppings or yogurt. You also have the option to get just the waffle, just the yogurt or a smaller kid sized Melt Waffle treat.

Melt Waffles & Frozen Yogurt held a special preview evening for their Facebook fans on Friday evening and had a good turnout. I decided to go with the waffle, vanilla yogurt, blackberries and chocolate chips. The combination of the warm, doughy waffle with the cold frozen yogurt is something unique that you won’t find anywhere else.

Melt Waffle & Frozen Yogurt is located at 44th Ave W and 212th, next to Randal Southam Photography Studio and Urban City Coffee. They open to the public at 10am on Saturday, September 3rd.

From the Market’s Facebook Page:

This week is the fabulous Tour de Terrace and the market will be open on Friday to provide parade watchers with munchies! We will have beautiful berries, incredible treats both savory and sweet from Snohomish Bakery, wonderful ice cream bars from Whidbey Island Ice Cream! And if your headed home to grill we’ve got the most amazing vegetables to go with anything you picked up from MLT’s one and only DD Meats!!

Last week I received a press release from a new veterinarian hospital that had just opened in Mountlake Terrace. I had planned to write a post, as I often do, letting the MLTnews readers know about the new business. The next day I can home from work and went outside to see my dog, Gus. The right side of his mouth was all swollen and I couldn’t figure out why. Gus’ previous vet had moved locations a while back and I hadn’t found a replacement. It just so happened that the new vet that sent me a press release opened up in the same location as Gus’ old vet.

So I set up an appoint the next day as I researched online what may be the cause of the swelling. Other people’s pets had similar symptoms from things as minimal as bugs bites to something that required surgery like an abscessed tooth (that sounded expensive). Bills had just started to come in from my daughter’s birth and the last thing I wanted to do was pay for surgery.

I showed up the next day at Gus’ appointment and Dr. Leslie Kasper from Whiskers & Wags quickly pulled out a small piece of bone or something that was lodged in Gus’ cheek. Dr. Kasper recommended a few products I could get from any drug store to help heal Gus’ cheek and to help with a couple other issues he was having. No surgery, no expensive prescriptions. Most people don’t enjoy spending an unnecessary amount of money on their pets and Dr. Kasper certainly had that in mind. I got out of there for about the cost of a tank of gas.

I usually don’t make these sort of recommendations on MLTnews but after my experience at Whiskers & Wags I have to say that if you’re looking for a local, budget-conscience vet to take care of your pets, Whiskers & Wags is a great choice.

If you do end up checking out Wags & Whispers Veterinarian Hospital please let them know that MLTnews sent you!

See the press release below:

The restaurant, know for its authentic Greek food as well as burgers, will have a 40′x50′ tent set up in the parking lot, Roast Lamb on the spit, live Greek music from Taki and the Mad Greks, BBQ, Dj ShaKa playing traditional Greek music, a beer garden and more.

From the owners:

You too can be Greek for a day at the Time Out Greek Festival! Being Greek means relishing the world around you and enjoying life to its fullest. The Time Out Mini-Greek Festival gives us the opportunity to open our arms, our hearts and our kitchens as we share our culture with you! So. . . Come on! Be Greek for a day. Come to our Festival and see what we’re all about! It no longer has to be “All Greek” to you!

More information at TimeOutBurgers.com.

Most of the fostered dogs that are up for adoption are small to medium breeds.

Ginger’s Pet Rescue specializes in saving “Death Row” Dogs. Tell all your family and friends to come by the store on Saturday May 14th and Sunday May 15th and adopt one of the happy rescued and fostered dogs we will have at the store.

For more information, go to pet-adventure.com or call the store-425-771-0676