Locke, Gregoire propose new terrorism laws

SEATTLE — Gov. Gary Locke and state Attorney General Christine Gregoire proposed legislation Wednesday that would toughen existing anti-terrorism laws and create new ones.

The proposals include creating a felony crime of terrorism, which would make deadly terrorist attacks subject to the death penalty under state law.

The legislation also would require background checks for flight school students, allow the state to freeze or seize assets used by terrorists, make it a crime to knowingly provide financial support to terrorist organizations, and stiffen penalties for tainting a public water supply.

The proposals largely would reinforce federal law. Gregoire said the state needs its own laws because federal agencies don’t always have the money or manpower to go after such crimes.

Locke stressed that the state would not enforce anti-terrorism laws at the expense of civil liberties.

Feds to release equipment seized in raid: Property seized at a small market and gift store during a raid intended to cut funding for Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terrorist network will be returned to the owners, officials have decided. Abdinasir Ali Nur, owner of the Maka Mini-Mart and Halal Meats, was notified in a letter Monday from the Treasury Department. He said Tuesday he hoped to reopen the store. Still undecided is whether he will be compensated for meat prepared in accordance with Islamic religious requirements and other perishable goods that were seized and dumped after the store was raided Nov. 7, said Robert Nichols, a Treasury spokesman in Washington, D.C. "I’m so happy now," Farah said. "It is not easy to get these goods. Now I can get them back, at least."

Woman jailed following fatal crash: A Snoqualmie woman was charged Wednesday with vehicular homicide and vehicular assault in a fatal car crash that prosecutors said was caused by her driving drunk the wrong way on I-90. Debra J. Acey, 44, had a blood-alcohol content of .30 and told authorities she had taken a muscle relaxant before getting into her sport-utility vehicle to buy Thanksgiving cards Sunday night, charging papers said. She collided head-on with a car carrying Central Washington University student Erin M. Klotz, 20, of Kennewick, and driver Tracey L. Fischer, 20, of Edmonds. Klotz was killed; Fischer sustained a broken collarbone and was recovering. Prosecutors requested bail of $250,000 and said Acey was to have no contact with Fischer. Acey was scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 3.

Final mayoral results certified: King County elections officials on Wednesday certified results from the Seattle mayor’s race, confirming county council member Greg Nickels’ victory over city attorney Mark Sidran. Nickels finished with 86,403 votes, or 50.9 percent, to Sidran’s 83,245, or 49.1 percent, a difference of 3,158. Sidran called Nickels last week to concede. Nickels, a longtime supporter of public transportation, has appointed former Mayor Norm Rice to head his transition team. Voter turnout for the race was 41.3 percent.

Officer will not face charges in Bellevue shooting: The King County Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday it would not press charges against a Bellevue police officer who fatally shot a 24-year-old Guatemalan man as he reportedly fumbled for his wallet. In a seven-page analysis, prosecutors said they could not prove Officer Mike Hetle broke any laws when he killed Nelson Martinez Mendez while responding to a domestic disturbance on Aug. 8. An inquest jury previously ruled that Hetle had reason to fear for his safety when he fired. Hetle, who refused to testify, shot Martinez Mendez while responding to a dispute at the Palisades apartment complex on Northeast 12th Street.

Tacoma

Cooking oil fire fatal: A cooking oil fire apparently caused the blaze that killed a man in a ground-floor apartment Wednesday, a fire official said. Firefighters responding just before 5 a.m. at the Landmark Court Apartments found the victim, fire department deputy chief Gary Schiesz said. Firefighters also rescued a woman who was taken to Saint Joseph Hospital in critical condition. The two-alarm fire was confined to the one unit. Other residents in the 60-unit building were safely evacuated and allowed to return about an hour later. Schiesz estimated damage at $25,000, mostly from smoke.

Bellingham

Lummis suspend college president: Lummi tribal officials reportedly have suspended the president of Northwest Indian College four months into an investigation of alleged financial mishandling and improper firings. The Bellingham Herald reported Wednesday that President Tommy Lewis had been barred from campus. "The school board president resigned … and the president was locked out," Jeff Boyd, former director of the college’s Oksale teacher program, told the newspaper. Efforts to reach the tribe Wednesday were unsuccessful. There was no answer at the tribe’s primary telephone listing. The tribal council began an investigation of the college after an independent auditor, the college comptroller and several department heads reported finding major discrepancies in the college’s accounting system last summer.

East Wenatchee

State money freeze halts farm worker move: It’s unlikely state money will be available anytime soon to move 28 low-income farm worker families living in a mobile home park that will close Nov. 30. More than $400 million in capital projects are frozen as the state grapples with a projected budget shortfall of $1.2 billion. Among those capital projects was $1.6 million to build a new mobile home park here to house the farm workers. The state grant for the new park had been arranged through the Columbia Valley Housing Authority in Wenatchee.

Omak

Colvilles seek to buy Omak mill: The Colville Tribal Enterprise Corp. has offered to buy a closed plywood and lumber mill. The tribal corporation’s board of directors on Tuesday agreed to offer $5.85 million for the Quality Veneer &Lumber plant in Omak. Tribal officials said they hope to close the deal in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing set for mid-December. The mill closed last summer, shortly before the Seattle-based company filed for bankruptcy protection. If a judge agrees to the offer, the plant will be renamed Colville Indian Power and Veneer, and will generate electricity and produce green veneer. Once in operation, the new business would employ 70 people, eventually increasing to 120, tribal leaders said.

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