Avalanche kills Everett snowmobiler
BELLINGHAM — Searchers on Wednesday found the bodies of two snowmobilers killed in an avalanche north of Mount Baker in northwest Washington.
A woman found buried beneath the avalanche Tuesday was identified as Shiela Rowe, 43, of Everett.
Searchers found the body of 63-year-old Danny Woods of Custer on Wednesday afternoon beneath about 2 feet of snow, sheriff’s Lt. Scott Rossmiller said.
The avalanche hit a group of five snowmobilers on Tuesday and swept them several hundred feet downhill from the 5,300-foot level of the Excelsior Pass area of Church Mountain. The snow was about 5 to 6 feet deep, said Whatcom County sheriff’s deputy George Ratayczak.
Two others were unhurt and one person had a minor leg injury.
Seattle: More traffic cameras coming
The city of Seattle is getting more serious with drivers who run red lights.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Mayor Greg Nickels announced traffic cameras will be installed at 19 more Seattle intersections in 2008. The drivers caught by the cameras will be fined $124 each.
Nickels and City Council members Nick Licata and Tom Rasmussen recommended adding new cameras in the 2008 budget.
In 2007, the city funded a one-year project at four intersections, with the costs being covered by citation fines.
Maple Valley: No-bid land deal in progress
King County is going ahead with a no-bid deal to sell land in Maple Valley to a Kirkland developer despite opposition from Maple Valley officials.
The 156-acre parcel is unincorporated land within the city of Maple Valley known as the “donut hole.” It’s now used as a gravel pit and road maintenance shop.
King County Executive Ron Sims wants to sell it to the YarrowBay Group of Kirkland, which wants to build housing. The King County Council approved a no-bid sale because it would create affordable housing and give the county 276 acres of the so-called Icy Creek forest along the Green River.
Maple Valley Mayor Laure Iddings says it’s a “manipulated deal” that’s moving too fast for the city. Sims says it’s legal. It still requires County Council approval.
Gig Harbor: City plans ads to attract tourists
The town of Gig Harbor, population 6,800, is spending $255,000 this year on TV commercials in Seattle, Spokane, Portland, Ore.; and Boise, Idaho.
The ads show a view of Mount Rainier over the harbor to the sound of gulls and water.
City officials say the ads pay off by drawing tourists. There were 5,000 visitors last year at the city’s visitors center.
Gig Harbor expects to collect $280,000 from a hotel-motel tax this year to help pay for four jobs in the city’s marketing department.
Lacey: Mazama pocket gophers gain habitat
The city of Lacey and developers have revised development projects to preserve habitat for the Mazama pocket gopher.
The city scaled back plans for soccer and ball fields at its Regional Athletic Complex to protect 2.6 acres of gopher habitat. And a Thurston County planner says the developer of a housing project near Lacey is setting aside more than five acres of gopher habitat.
The state Fish and Wildlife Department says remaining gophers survive on prairie land in Pierce and Thurston counties, in grasslands near Shelton and on a few alpine meadows in Olympic National Park.
A 2005 study pegged the Mazama pocket gopher population in the low thousands. It was listed as a threatened species by the state in 2006 and is a candidate for the federal Endangered Species Act.
Maryhill: Columbia River bridge closed
The state Department of Transportation has closed the U.S. 97 bridge across the Columbia River until the Memorial Day weekend to begin repairs to the bridge deck.
Drivers can detour around the closure by taking Highway 14 to the U.S. 197 Dalles Bridge. They can also cross at the Interstate 82 Columbia River bridge near Umatilla, Ore.
Crews closed the bridge Wednesday and will work on the north and main spans of the bridge deck. The bridge will reopen for the busy summer travel months, then close again after Labor Day for replacement of the deck on the south side.
Tacoma: Accused killer cannot call wife
A Pierce County judge has ruled a man accused of killing a Graham couple cannot call or write his wife, but can talk to members of his defense team.
Judge Vicki Hogan also has ruled Daniel T. Tavares Jr.’s incoming mail will not be restricted.
Her rulings on Wednesday came after a hearing to discuss Tavares’ phone privileges.
Prosecutors requested Tavares’ access to the phone inside the Pierce County Jail be restricted after learning Tavares had tried to contact his wife, Jennifer Tavares.
Jennifer Tavares has been charged with rendering criminal assistance to her husband. She is accused of lying to detectives to protect her husband.
Associated Press
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