Published: Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Northwest briefly: Latino leaders want 2 officers fired following kicking incident
SEATTLE — A coalition of Latino and civil rights groups in Seattle has called for the Seattle Police Department to fire two officers seen kicking a suspect in an incident recorded on video.
At a news conference outside city hall on Tuesday the “Community Coalition for Law Enforcement Accountability” also called for other officers on the scene of the April 17 incident to be disciplined.
Interim Police Chief John Diaz said Tuesday an internal investigation is now a criminal case. A detective will submit a report to prosecutors for a charging decision. The FBI also is conducting a preliminary civil rights inquiry.
There also was a small demonstration Tuesday in support of police. One sign said, “'Mexican' is not a racial slur.”
Tacoma: First trial starting in Lakewood officers killing
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday in Tacoma in the trial of Latanya Clemmons.
The 34-year-old sister of cop killer Maurice Clemmons is charged with rendering criminal assistance. She's accused of giving a ride and money to Darcus D. Allen. He's accused of being the getaway driver after the fatal shooting last November of four Lakewood police officers.
She pleaded not guilty, and her lawyers say she helped Allen for reasons unrelated to the shooting.
The News Tribune of Tacoma reported her trial could began by the end of this week.
2 injured in house fire
A Tacoma Fire Department spokesman says a house fire injured two people Tuesday and quickly jumped to the attic of a home next door.
Spokesman Tory Green said the fire started in the kitchen of the first house. The family tried to put it out, but it got out of control.
An off-duty firefighter who was driving by helped evacuate the people in the home.
Green said one child was carried to a waiting ambulance after suffering from smoke inhalation. A woman was also taken to a hospital with third-degree burns.
Gulf spill sends oyster buyers to state
Some shellfish growers in Washington are receiving more interest from across the country because of the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.
Taylor Shellfish Farms in Shelton told The News Tribune of Tacoma it has received phone calls from food distributors in the South and East.
Coast Seafoods of South Bend and National Fish and Oyster of Olympia also say they have received inquiries.
Mount Vernon: Pit bulls kill 2 smaller dogs
Two pit bulls that escaped from their owner's house killed two smaller dogs in separate attacks at Mount Vernon.
Police say the pit bulls killed a chihauhua-terrier in its yard Monday morning and a small terrier on a leash in its back yard Monday afternoon.
Animal Control tracked down the pit bulls and has them in custody. They had a previous complaint for running at large.
Bellevue: Utility building wind farm
Puget Sound Energy announced the start of construction Tuesday of the Lower Snake River Wind Project near Pomeroy in Garfield County.
The first phase calls for 149 turbines, which will able to generate enough electricity for more than 100,000 homes.
The wind farm is being built on 40,000 acres of leased farmland. PSE said more than 98 percent will remain available for crops when the wind farm is operating.
Chehalis: Man moving guns accidentally kills self
The Lewis County sheriff's office said a 43-year-old Onalaska man was moving rifles out of a gun safe when he accidentally shot and fatally wounded himself.
The sheriff's office said it appears the bolt from one rifle caught the trigger of another. It fired into his abdomen.
Contractors working on the man's house heard the shot Monday afternoon and gave him first aid. He died before he could be airlifted to a hospital.
Lakewood: Police chief, wife both battling cancer
Lakewood Police Chief Bret Farrar led his department through the trauma of the slayings last November of four officers.
Now he's facing a personal challenge.
The 52-year-old has bladder cancer. And his wife Cindy Salazar has breast cancer.
The News Tribune of Tacoma reported both received the diagnosis this month and are starting chemotherapy.
Ferndale: Alcoa Intalco saving water at smelter
Alcoa Intalco said it's upgrading the cooling system at its smelter near Ferndale to reduce the use of water by 60 percent.
The Bellingham Herald said Intalco will use 3.6 million fewer gallons of water per day. That's about one-fifth of the water drawn from the Nooksack River by the Whatcom County Public Utility District.
PUD General Manager Steve Jilk said the savings will allow it to supply more water to other users as the need arises. The utility also supplies water to the BP and ConocoPhillips refineries at Cherry Point and the city of Ferndale.
Vancouver, Wash: Fog, clouds hide Mount St. Helens on 30th anniversary of eruption
About 1,000 tourists and other visitors marked the 30th anniversary of the big eruption of Mount St. Helens on Tuesday at the Johnston Ridge Observatory.
But the volcano five miles away remained stubbornly behind fog and rain clouds.
Forest Service and other officials commemorated the May 18, 1980, blast by cutting the ribbon on a new exhibit and breaking ground on a new outdoor amphitheater at the observatory.
They will help tell the story of how the top 1,300 feet blew off the mountain in a blast that killed 57 people, knocked down 230 square miles of forest, filled local rivers with mudflows and spread ash for miles.
Wenatchee: $47,000 reward for teen's killer
The reward for information to help catch the killer of a 17-year-old Wenatchee High School student is now up to $47,000.
A task force of police and Douglas and Chelan sheriff's deputies said they have checked more than 400 leads and conducted more than 700 interviews, but they could use more tips in the death of MacKenzie Cowell.
She left a beauty school class in Wenatchee Feb. 9. Her body was found four days later along the Columbia River at Crescent Bar. she had been hit on the head, strangled and stabbed in the neck.
Pasco: School board president moves to city council
Pasco School Board President Saul Martinez is giving up his seat to move to the city council.
The council selected him Monday to fill a vacant seat.
The Tri-City Herald reported Martinez will leave the school board at the end of the school year.
Spokane: Drop in inmates means jail layoffs
The Spokane County sheriff says a drop in the number of county inmates means 57 corrections employees will be laid off.
Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said Tuesday that 59 positions will be lost but two are already vacant. The 57 employees expected to lose their jobs range from corrections deputies to nurses and cooks. The layoffs take effect June 16.
The sheriff said the detention services budget for 2010 was based on a predicted average daily population at the County Jail and the Geiger Corrections Center of 920 inmates. But that average population has dropped to 750 and seems to be holding at that level.
Oregon: 3 state men killed in crash
Oregon State Police said three Washington state men died early Tuesday when their pickup collided with a commercial truck on a remote stretch of U.S. Highway 97 in Central Oregon.
The victims were identified as 23-year-old Jose Luis Sandoval Guerrero, the pickup driver, and two passengers, Sandoval-Barajas, 43, and Pablo Alcala Marmolejo, 52. All were from Mattawa.
Troopers said the pickup crossed the center line into the path of the semi-trailer truck driven by Benjamin Quiroz, 58, of Anaheim, Calif.
Quiroz and a passenger suffered minor injuries.
From Herald news services
At a news conference outside city hall on Tuesday the “Community Coalition for Law Enforcement Accountability” also called for other officers on the scene of the April 17 incident to be disciplined.
Interim Police Chief John Diaz said Tuesday an internal investigation is now a criminal case. A detective will submit a report to prosecutors for a charging decision. The FBI also is conducting a preliminary civil rights inquiry.
There also was a small demonstration Tuesday in support of police. One sign said, “'Mexican' is not a racial slur.”
Tacoma: First trial starting in Lakewood officers killing
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday in Tacoma in the trial of Latanya Clemmons.
The 34-year-old sister of cop killer Maurice Clemmons is charged with rendering criminal assistance. She's accused of giving a ride and money to Darcus D. Allen. He's accused of being the getaway driver after the fatal shooting last November of four Lakewood police officers.
She pleaded not guilty, and her lawyers say she helped Allen for reasons unrelated to the shooting.
The News Tribune of Tacoma reported her trial could began by the end of this week.
2 injured in house fire
A Tacoma Fire Department spokesman says a house fire injured two people Tuesday and quickly jumped to the attic of a home next door.
Spokesman Tory Green said the fire started in the kitchen of the first house. The family tried to put it out, but it got out of control.
An off-duty firefighter who was driving by helped evacuate the people in the home.
Green said one child was carried to a waiting ambulance after suffering from smoke inhalation. A woman was also taken to a hospital with third-degree burns.
Gulf spill sends oyster buyers to state
Some shellfish growers in Washington are receiving more interest from across the country because of the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.
Taylor Shellfish Farms in Shelton told The News Tribune of Tacoma it has received phone calls from food distributors in the South and East.
Coast Seafoods of South Bend and National Fish and Oyster of Olympia also say they have received inquiries.
Mount Vernon: Pit bulls kill 2 smaller dogs
Two pit bulls that escaped from their owner's house killed two smaller dogs in separate attacks at Mount Vernon.
Police say the pit bulls killed a chihauhua-terrier in its yard Monday morning and a small terrier on a leash in its back yard Monday afternoon.
Animal Control tracked down the pit bulls and has them in custody. They had a previous complaint for running at large.
Bellevue: Utility building wind farm
Puget Sound Energy announced the start of construction Tuesday of the Lower Snake River Wind Project near Pomeroy in Garfield County.
The first phase calls for 149 turbines, which will able to generate enough electricity for more than 100,000 homes.
The wind farm is being built on 40,000 acres of leased farmland. PSE said more than 98 percent will remain available for crops when the wind farm is operating.
Chehalis: Man moving guns accidentally kills self
The Lewis County sheriff's office said a 43-year-old Onalaska man was moving rifles out of a gun safe when he accidentally shot and fatally wounded himself.
The sheriff's office said it appears the bolt from one rifle caught the trigger of another. It fired into his abdomen.
Contractors working on the man's house heard the shot Monday afternoon and gave him first aid. He died before he could be airlifted to a hospital.
Lakewood: Police chief, wife both battling cancer
Lakewood Police Chief Bret Farrar led his department through the trauma of the slayings last November of four officers.
Now he's facing a personal challenge.
The 52-year-old has bladder cancer. And his wife Cindy Salazar has breast cancer.
The News Tribune of Tacoma reported both received the diagnosis this month and are starting chemotherapy.
Ferndale: Alcoa Intalco saving water at smelter
Alcoa Intalco said it's upgrading the cooling system at its smelter near Ferndale to reduce the use of water by 60 percent.
The Bellingham Herald said Intalco will use 3.6 million fewer gallons of water per day. That's about one-fifth of the water drawn from the Nooksack River by the Whatcom County Public Utility District.
PUD General Manager Steve Jilk said the savings will allow it to supply more water to other users as the need arises. The utility also supplies water to the BP and ConocoPhillips refineries at Cherry Point and the city of Ferndale.
Vancouver, Wash: Fog, clouds hide Mount St. Helens on 30th anniversary of eruption
About 1,000 tourists and other visitors marked the 30th anniversary of the big eruption of Mount St. Helens on Tuesday at the Johnston Ridge Observatory.
But the volcano five miles away remained stubbornly behind fog and rain clouds.
Forest Service and other officials commemorated the May 18, 1980, blast by cutting the ribbon on a new exhibit and breaking ground on a new outdoor amphitheater at the observatory.
They will help tell the story of how the top 1,300 feet blew off the mountain in a blast that killed 57 people, knocked down 230 square miles of forest, filled local rivers with mudflows and spread ash for miles.
Wenatchee: $47,000 reward for teen's killer
The reward for information to help catch the killer of a 17-year-old Wenatchee High School student is now up to $47,000.
A task force of police and Douglas and Chelan sheriff's deputies said they have checked more than 400 leads and conducted more than 700 interviews, but they could use more tips in the death of MacKenzie Cowell.
She left a beauty school class in Wenatchee Feb. 9. Her body was found four days later along the Columbia River at Crescent Bar. she had been hit on the head, strangled and stabbed in the neck.
Pasco: School board president moves to city council
Pasco School Board President Saul Martinez is giving up his seat to move to the city council.
The council selected him Monday to fill a vacant seat.
The Tri-City Herald reported Martinez will leave the school board at the end of the school year.
Spokane: Drop in inmates means jail layoffs
The Spokane County sheriff says a drop in the number of county inmates means 57 corrections employees will be laid off.
Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said Tuesday that 59 positions will be lost but two are already vacant. The 57 employees expected to lose their jobs range from corrections deputies to nurses and cooks. The layoffs take effect June 16.
The sheriff said the detention services budget for 2010 was based on a predicted average daily population at the County Jail and the Geiger Corrections Center of 920 inmates. But that average population has dropped to 750 and seems to be holding at that level.
Oregon: 3 state men killed in crash
Oregon State Police said three Washington state men died early Tuesday when their pickup collided with a commercial truck on a remote stretch of U.S. Highway 97 in Central Oregon.
The victims were identified as 23-year-old Jose Luis Sandoval Guerrero, the pickup driver, and two passengers, Sandoval-Barajas, 43, and Pablo Alcala Marmolejo, 52. All were from Mattawa.
Troopers said the pickup crossed the center line into the path of the semi-trailer truck driven by Benjamin Quiroz, 58, of Anaheim, Calif.
Quiroz and a passenger suffered minor injuries.
From Herald news services
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