Northwest briefly

OLYMPIA – The state Supreme Court has censured a King County district court judge and suspended her without pay for 30 days.

The court’s unanimous order, disciplining Judge Mary Ann Ottinger of Issaquah, came on the recommendation of the state Commission on Judicial Conduct. In May, the commission said Ottinger routinely told defendants of their right to have an attorney after they had entered a plea rather than before, that she often failed to make required findings of probable cause, and did not tell defendants about maximum possible penalties.

There was no evidence that Ottinger’s actions adversely affected the defendants’ cases, the commission said in its 14-page ruling, but “the negligence of the judge cannot be excused.”

The violations continued for years, even after she was warned by the commission in 2002. It wasn’t until June 2005, when the commission filed its complaint, that she made substantial changes.

Since then she has run a “model courtroom,” the commission said.

Medics took two people to a local hospital Sunday after firefighters detected carbon monoxide on the third floor of the Emerald Queen Hotel &Casino, fire department officials in Tacoma said.

Hotel workers smelled a chemical odor coming from a storage room about 5:20 p.m., said Tacoma’s assistant fire chief, Jim Duggan. Firefighters evacuated 40 to 50 people from the hotel’s third and fourth floors, he said.

The two people transported to local hospitals complained of headaches, Duggan said. Their conditions were not immediately available Sunday night. Medics treated and released three others at the hotel, Duggan said.

About 700 cyclists left Eugene this weekend for the first leg of Cycle Oregon, an annual ride in its 19th year. But some motorists weren’t happy to see them on the roads again.

Ride coordinators who drove the course early Saturday morning found someone had moved some of the pink directional signs marking the route. The vandals also posted some of their own, less cyclist-friendly signs.

Signs posted by Cycle Oregon organizers that warned motorists bicyclists would be the road Saturday were replaced with ones that warned bicyclists that motorists will be on the roadways. One sign read, “Attention bicyclists: Find a safer road.” Another read, “If I wanted to travel at 10 mph, I would be on a bike.”

The vandals may have also placed tacks in the road. At the first rest stop in Lorane, bike mechanic Kelly Aicher of the Bike Gallery said he patched at least five tires punctured by tacks.

Eight adults and one youth were arrested late Saturday after several fights broke out during a concert and dance held at the State Fairgrounds in Salem, the authorities said.

One person suffered a minor injury and was taken to a hospital, said Lt. Gregg Hastings, a spokesman for the Oregon State Police.

Hastings said a personal dispute appears to have triggered the initial fight in the crowd of about 1,000 people. Other skirmishes broke out when the authorities arrived.

Juan Gaona, who promoted the event that featured the band Beto Y Sus Canarios, said the initial fight happened in the beer section and security failed to remove everyone involved.

The charges against those arrested included riot, assault and resisting arrest.

Associated Press