Everett, Wash. Published: Thursday, August 7, 2008
Northwest Briefly: Road project to improve Seattle waterfront traffic
SEATTLE -- Port of Seattle commissioners agreed to contribute more than $5 million to a $74 million project to improve the corridor between the waterfront and I-90.
Highway 519 overpasses will reduce delays for trucks carrying containers between the port and the interstate. Part of the project will be a pedestrian overpass for sports fans at Safeco Field so they don't have to walk across the railroad tracks.
The work should be completed by 2011. This is the second phase of a project that started in 2004 with money from the federal government, the state, the port, the city and Burlington Northern Santa Fe.
@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no:Elwha repairs delay San Juan ferry service
Washington State Ferries expects the 144-car ferry Elwha to be out of service for at least two days because of an apparent cooling system failure.
Ferry spokeswoman Susan Harris in Seattle said the Sealth is being brought in as a replacement, but it's a smaller boat.
Three other ferries remain on San Juan Island routes, but some Wednesday sailings had to be canceled.
The Elwha lost power after leaving Shaw Island on Wednesday morning. It was towed to Anacortes, where all cars and passenger were safely unloaded.
@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no:Seattle's Monorail out of service for repairs
The Seattle Monorail is expected to be out of service until late Friday as contractors attempt to solve an electrical problem with the red train.
The red train is the only one running this summer because the blue train has been out of service for a major tuneup.
Poulsbo: Vet clinic worker says he set fire
An employee of a Poulsbo veterinary hospital unhappy with his paycheck told an emergency dispatcher he set fire to the building and said, "Take me to jail."
The Kitsap County sheriff's office said deputies arrested the 52-year-old man at an east Bremerton residence. He was due in court Wednesday afternoon, facing an arson charge.
Deputy Scott Wilson said the Tuesday night fire at Big Valley Veterinary Service destroyed the office and caused about $200,000 damage. The clinic cat, Willow, died from breathing smoke.
Clinic owner Michael Cable said the employee was upset that vacation pay was not included in his paycheck.
Yakima: Gregoire meets with soldiers
Gov. Chris Gregoire met with thousands of soldiers Wednesday at the Army's Yakima Training Center as the soldiers prepare to deploy to Iraq.
The Washington National Guard's 81st Brigade's headquarters is in Seattle but is composed of units from around the state and a battalion from the California Army National Guard. About 2,400 soldiers from Washington and 900 from California make up the force.
The 81st previously served in Iraq in 2004. In their upcoming 12-month assignment, the soldiers will provide convoy security and force protection.
Gregoire praised the group's work during her Wednesday visit and urged Washington citizens to support the soldiers and their families in the coming months.
Olympia: Campaign ad called "racist"
Gov. Chris Gregoire said political criticism of her tribal gambling negotiations is racist because of its negative implications about Native Americans.
In an interview with Seattle alternative news weekly The Stranger, Gregoire calls a critical ad bankrolled by a building industry group "racist."
The ad in question links Gregoire's negotiation of a Spokane Tribe gambling contract with large donations from tribes to the state Democratic Party.
It's paid for by the political group It's Time for a Change, which is controlled by the Building Industry Association of Washington. That trade group heavily supports Gregoire's Republican opponent, Dino Rossi.
@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no:Two new state prison chiefs named
The Department of Corrections has tapped the superintendent of the Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla, Jeff Uttecht, to take command at the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell.
The penitentiary associate superintendent, Steve Sinclair, has been appointed superintendent to replace Uttecht.
Moses Lake: Explosions unrelated
A Grant County deputy coroner said the deaths of two men in separate explosions over the weekend near Moses Lake are apparently unrelated.
Chief Deputy Coroner Lynette Henson said Wednesday that the circumstances at each scene were different and there's nothing to suggest a connection. She said the timing may have been a coincidence.
Autopsies were completed Tuesday on 69-year-old William Arleigh Walker and 53-year-old Javier Martinez Adame. Henson said both died of multiple blast-impact injuries. But other conclusions about the deaths remain to be determined by sheriff's investigators.
Spokane: Diploma mill officer sentenced
A man described as the chief financial operator of a Spokane-based diploma mill has been sentenced to three years in federal prison.
Steven Karl Randock Sr. got the same sentence Tuesday that his wife, Dixie Ellen Randock, was given last month. Both pleaded guilty earlier to conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, and charges of money laundering were dropped in exchange.
For six years, the Randocks and six others sold high school and college degrees from 121 fictitious online schools, as well as counterfeit diplomas and transcripts from 66 legitimate universities, government lawyers said. About 10,000 degrees were sold to more than 9,000 people.
Besides his prison term, Randock was sentenced to three years of court supervision and was ordered to forfeit his interest in more than $500,000 in seized cash and bank accounts.
Oregon: Disoriented man rescued on Hood
Crews rescued a disoriented man from Mount Hood.
The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said 55-year-old Jeffrey Stanberry was carried off the mountain Wednesday afternoon and taken to a hospital.
Stanberry, who lists a Salvation Army address, couldn't say how long he was on the mountain, but he might have been there for two days or more.
