Populist Seattle councilman Charlie Chong dies
Published 9:00 pm Friday, April 27, 2007
SEATTLE – Charlie Chong, a former city councilman known as a colorful populist who championed neighborhood causes, had died at age 80.
Chong died Thursday from complications from a stroke and brain aneurysm, said his former council aide Jay Sauceda.
Chong entered politics by running for City Council in 1996, a position he used to try to secure used snowplows after a blizzard shut down Seattle. Bellevue eventually bought the plows, which gave Chong ammunition to criticize City Hall’s indecision.
In 1997, Chong gave up his seat in an unsuccessful bid against Paul Schell for mayor. At the time, he told reporters he was running because “we’re riding an upswelling of resentment that might not be here two years from now.”
Most recently, Chong – married to Mary Pearson – spent time tending his garden, but he continued to dabble in issues concerning the Alaskan Way Viaduct and Pike Place Market.
Olympia: Transportation chief steps down
Transportation Secretary Doug MacDonald announced Friday he will resign, stepping down as the state gets ready for a pair of huge, politically touchy highway projects in the Seattle area.
MacDonald, 62, has been Washington state’s transportation secretary for six years. In a letter to Gov. Chris Gregoire, MacDonald said it was time for him “to move on to other challenges.” His last day will be July 27.
“I am pleased that over the last six years we have made great progress in the delivery of transportation programs and projects to the people of Washington state,” MacDonald wrote. “We all know that there is much still to do and difficult work ahead.”
MacDonald did not immediately return a call to his home seeking comment Friday afternoon.
Gregoire praised MacDonald’s leadership and said the timing of his resignation will allow the state to tackle huge projects such as Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct and State Route 520 bridge across Lake Washington without too much disruption.
Alaska: Seattle climber dies on Mount Wake
A safety knot might have prevented the death of a woman rappelling down a mountain in Denali National Park and Preserve, her climbing partner said.
Lara-Karena Kellogg, 38, of Seattle, fell to her death Monday on Mount Wake, an 8,130-foot peak in the Alaska Range
Her body was found without ropes attached to the safety harness. Her gear, including crampons, was intact and undamaged, except for the helmet, which was lost during the fall, according to mountaineering rangers.
Her climbing partner, Jed Kallen-Brown, 23, was above Kellogg and out of her sight. He said he heard a scream, then the sound of a person falling.
Kellogg had 15 years experience climbing and had taken on mountains in the Alaska Range before. The climbing fatality is the first in Denali National Park this season. Two climbers died rappelling down Mount Wake in 1994.
Montana: Lawmaker’s tirade on YouTube
A state lawmaker’s profanity-laced tirade against the governor made the rounds on YouTube on Friday, two days after his remarks derailed spending negotiations at the end of the legislative session.
Republican House Majority Leader Michael Lange made the comments Wednesday after leaving a meeting with Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer. Lange was speaking to a room of House Republicans, with reporters and a television camera present.
He said Schweitzer could “go straight to hell” and called the governor an “S.O.B.”
The tirade attracted more than 17,000 views on YouTube and stalled talks to draft a state budget.
Associated Press
