Everett, Wash. Published: Thursday, March 13, 2008
Northwest Briefly
State to pay $2.25 million in Jewish shootings
SEATTLE -- The Washington state Department of Corrections will pay $2.25 million to five children who were shot or traumatized in the 1999 shooting by a Washington parolee at a California Jewish community center.
Buford O. Furrow Jr., once a Lynnwood resident, had been out of prison for three months and was on probation at the time of the shooting spree at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in the Granada Hills area of Los Angeles.
The families of the children filed a $15 million claim in 2006. They argued that Washington's Department of Corrections failed to properly supervise Furrow by not discovering he had firearms and ammunition and had failed to conduct home visits.
Furrow later killed postal worker Joseph Ileto. He currently is serving a life sentence in a federal prison.
Pike Place Market set for Aniston movie
Some scenes for a movie starring Jennifer Aniston are being shot around Seattle's Pike Place Market.
Most of the movie is being shot in Vancouver, B.C., and Universal Pictures says the actress isn't in Seattle this week.
"Traveling" is about a self-help guru who comes to Seattle for a workshop and meets a florist played by Aniston.
The film crew is set to spray water from cranes to simulate rain when there's not enough of the real thing falling.
Seattle Center work to cost $676 million
Seattle Center officials have a 20-year plan to overhaul the park, cultural and entertainment facilities that were established by the 1962 World's Fair.
The plan announced Tuesday carries a $676 million price tag.
Officials hope the city will ask voters this fall to approve new taxes to start the work.
Plans call for replacing Fun Forest carnival rides with open space, remodeling the Center House and turning Memorial Stadium into a combination sports field and amphitheater.
Mom and daughter accused in DUI crash
The Washington State Patrol says a 32-year-old Auburn woman who was passed out drunk when her 14-year-old daughter rolled their van in a drunken-driving crash faces a number of possible charges.
They could include allowing a minor to drive and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The girl could be charged with vehicular assault, driving under the influence and driving without a license.
The girl was thrown through a window and seriously injured in Tuesday's crash on Highway 18 near Snoqualmie. The mother suffered minor injuries.
Olympia: Rossi says losing Sonics a mistake
Republican contender for governor Dino Rossi says Democrats who control the Legislature are making a mistake in passing on a half-billion dollar offer from Seattle investors who want to buy a basketball team and improve KeyArena.
Rossi says lawmakers are turning their backs on millions in potential tax revenue.
Legislative leaders say they don't have time to consider the request to invest tax money in the plan. The session in Olympia ends today.
A group of four Seattle business leaders has offered to buy the Sonics for $350 million and put $150 million into the KeyArena renovation. The deal would need $75 million from the city of Seattle plus state approval for $75 million by extending existing stadium taxes.
Schools to buy more food from local farms
School cafeterias in Washington should be serving more locally grown produce soon.
The Legislature passed a bill allowing school and state institutions to buy fresh meat and produce from Washington farmers, even if the cost is a little higher.
Lawmakers agreed to spend $1.5 million to implement the local food program.
Gov. Chris Gregoire is expected to sign the bill into law.
Tacoma: Barista gives a kidney to customer
Annamarie Ausnes says her Starbucks' barista is a lifesaver.
She became friends with Sandi Andersen during regular stops at a Tacoma Starbucks for coffee.
When Ausnes told Andersen she needed a kidney transplant, Andersen found out she was a match. And in operations Tuesday at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, Andersen donated a kidney to Ausnes.
Ausness is a 55-year-old who works at the University of Puget Sound. Andersen, 51, has also done missionary work in Mexico. The women say they are now bonded for life.
Walla Walla: Girl, 12, convicted in threat
A 12-year-old girl who wrote a threatening message at a Walla Walla school was convicted of making a bomb threat.
The girl, Wendy Gonzalez, faces up to 30 days in the Juvenile Justice Center when she is sentenced. She was convicted Tuesday by a judge for writing the threat on a bathroom stall in October at Garrison Middle School.
Written in crayon, the message said, "BOMB 2:30 p.m."
The school was evacuated for about an hour. No bomb was found.
Fort Lewis: New base chapel will be largest
A new chapel at Fort Lewis will be the largest of seven on the Army base, with seating for 600 worshippers.
The Army's top chaplain, Maj. Gen. Douglas Carver, was called to preside at Wednesday's dedication of the $8.2 million building.
The North Fort Chapel is in a growing area of Fort Lewis, which is home to nearly 29,000 active duty soldiers.
Spokane: No rabies in euthanized monkey
Tests on a euthanized monkey that had bitten three people after escaping from his owner's home show the small macaque did not have rabies. The Spokane Regional Health District said Tuesday that the tests were performed on the head at a laboratory in Shoreline.
