The Seattle School Board has voted to close seven school buildings and merge several elementary schools to save money and the board could vote this fall to close three more schools.
After months of study and sometimes emotional public hearings, board president Brita Butler-Wall said Wednesday that the process is painful but necessary.
More than 1,000 students will be moving to new schools. Families will be notified of the new assignments next month and could also sign up at an open enrollment in January.
The school closures are the first in Seattle since 1989. Public school enrollment has been declining in the district, which has about 100 schools and 46,000 students.
Kirkland: Two drown in Lake Washington
A woman who went for a swim in Lake Washington to cool off and a man who tried to save her when she began struggling in the choppy water drowned together late Wednesday, fire officials said.
The bodies of the 37-year-old woman and 34-year-old man, neither of whom had been wearing a life jacket, were recovered about 41/2 hours after they slipped beneath the surface about 150 feet off Yarrow Point, Bellevue Fire Lt. Bruce Kroon said.
Spokane: Jail official fired, accused of lying
A jail supervisor has been fired after an investigation indicated that he lied about two affairs with female subordinates and that he issued a false document to try to get one of them a $75,000-a-year job, officials said.
Sgt. Gary L. Delzer, a 26-year veteran of Spokane County corrections, was dismissed for violating department policies and conduct unbecoming an officer, Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said Wednesday.
A sexual harassment inquiry involving a previous affair remains under review by the county’s personnel department, he said.
An internal investigation revealed that Delzer engaged in an inappropriate relationship with subordinates, tried to arrange favorable work assignments and employment benefits for one of them, failed to follow directives from superiors and was untruthful in responding to official inquiries between March 15, 2005, and May 30, the sheriff said.
Dayton: Body of man sought in murder found
A body believed to be that of a man sought in the shooting death of his wife in Pasco has been found in her pickup truck in the Blue Mountains, authorities said.
Pasco police said investigators received tips that Steven R. Leighton, 57, had been camping near Dayton over the weekend, and the black 1992 GMC Sonoma pickup truck that belonged to his late wife, Patricia Leighton, 41, was found Wednesday afternoon.
Cause of death of the man in the truck remained undetermined pending an autopsy.
At the time of the shooting he was the subject of an abuse investigation involving a teenager who said she had been in a sexual relationship with him for about four years.
Ellensburg: Company will produce biodiesel
The state has awarded an air quality permit to a startup company to produce commercial biodiesel in Ellensburg.
The state granted the permit to Central Washington Biodiesel last week. The permit is required because the facility would release emissions of methanol, an air pollutant deemed toxic by the state, said Lynnette Haller, an air quality engineer for the Department of Ecology.
Central Washington Biodiesel is building the biodiesel production plant at the Ellensburg Business Development Authority’s business incubator.
Production of the fuel, a vegetable oil and methanol blend that releases less carbon dioxide emissions than conventional gasoline, is scheduled to begin early this fall, said Steve Verhey, the company’s chief executive officer.
Associated Press
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