SEATTLE — The Carnation couple accused of withholding water from their 14-year-old daughter have pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal mistreatment.
Jon Pomeroy and Rebecca Long remain free on $20,000 bail each after Monday’s arraignment in King County Superior Court.
A spokesman for prosecutors, Dan Donohoe, says the judge issued a no-contact order to prevent them from seeing their children.
They were charged Oct. 13 after an investigation that began when a sheriff’s deputy went to the home because a neighbor reported a scream. The deputy found the teenage girl weighed only 48 pounds and was suffering from dehydration.
Her 12-year-old brother appeared healthy. Police and state workers put both of them in foster care.
Associated Press
Man killed in apartment fire faced eviction
Police say the elderly man killed in an apartment building fire in Seattle on Monday was the last tenant of the older building scheduled for demolition.
Spokeswoman Renee Witt said the owners had told the man to be out Monday. Detectives are investigating the death, and fire department investigators are looking for the cause of the two-alarm fire.
It was reported about 6:30 a.m. Monday in the man’s first-floor unit at 1605 Bellevue Ave., in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Fire department spokeswoman Helen Fitzpatrick said he died at the scene.
A sign said the four-story building will be torn down to make way for a 103-unit residential building.
One firefighter suffered a minor injury and was treated at Harborview Medical Center.
Associated Press
King County unions to vote on plan to save $10 million
Most King County employees would take 10 days off without pay in 2009 if union members agree to take this step to help the county deal with a budget deficit.
A coalition of union leaders has recommended members approve the unpaid furlough and nearly shut the county down for 10 days.
The county is expecting a budget deficit of more than $93 million in 2009. If the 15 unions approve the plan, all county employees except for essential safety and transit staff would take an unpaid vacation and the county would save more than $10 million.
Union and county leadership agreed to 10 nonconsecutive days for the days off. King County Executive Ron Sims says the days are all near holidays, which would help the county save more money on its power bills. Sims says the days are also among the county’s slowest work days.
Associated Press
Olympia: Religious and nonreligious holiday displays approved for Capitol
The state General Administration Department has approved permits for two holiday displays this year in the state Capitol in Olympia.
One is a Nativity scene sponsored by an Olympia-area real estate agent, Ron Wesselius, who sued last year over the issue and won a settlement allowing the display.
The other is a placard from the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Coalition that notes the winter solstice and says religion is a superstition that enslaves minds.
The Olympian reports the displays will likely be on the third floor of the Capitol.
A Christmas tree sponsored by the Association of Washington Business and called a holiday tree will be displayed in the Rotunda.
The Olympian
Lakewood, Pierce County: Tacoma suburb braces for more trains
Residents of the Lakewood area are bracing for more rail traffic when passengers trains are rerouted through south Tacoma.
Officials say the Point Defiance bypass will be completed by 2012, sending about a dozen Amtrak and Sounder trains a day through more-populated neighborhoods.
Neighbors are concerned about the added risk to pedestrians and drivers at about 20 crossings. The tracks are currently used about twice a week by freight trains.
Sound Transit is spending $350 million to improve the route to extend Sounder commuter trains to Lakewood. The state is adding $60 million to improve Amtrak service.
The 19-mile bypass will shave six minutes off the Amtrak run between Seattle and Portland, officials said.
The News Tribune
Burlington: State to rebuild damaged I-5 overpass
The state Transportation Department says work will start early next year on a project to replace the Chuckanut Drive overpass at I-5 in Burlington.
Support beams were badly damaged in July when it was hit by a truck towing an excavator.
The department said I-5 will have to be closed several nights for the repair work.
Funding for the $1 million project is part of a $63 million package the state received from the Federal Highway Administration to help pay for emergencies.
The state is seeking compensation from the people responsible for the overpass damage.
Associated Press
Idaho: Workers injured in freeway bridge collapse
More than a dozen construction workers suffered minor injuries after a bridge collapsed in Nampa and they fell about 30 feet.
Nampa Deputy Fire Chief Doug Strosnider said the bridge gave out Monday afternoon while workers from an Eastern Washington construction company were on top of the structure pouring concrete.
The Idaho Transportation Department said none of the 14 workers were seriously hurt, but some were treated at hospitals in Nampa, Meridian and Boise for broken bones and lacerations.
The state contracted the Spokane-based Graham Construction and Management to rebuild two bridges in southwestern Idaho as part of a larger widening project on Interstate 84.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.
Associated Press
Idaho: Sarah Palin wins college’s alumni award
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has won this year’s Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene.
Palin attended the two-year school for two semesters in 1983. She graduated from the University of Idaho in 1987 in journalism.
Prior to her selection as John McCain’s running mate, Palin was elected governor of Alaska in 2006.
Palin was born in Sandpoint but grew up in Alaska.
Palin has also been invited to be the May 2009 commencement speaker.
Associated Press
Oregon: Man accused of giving cocaine for lap dance
Tualatin police arrested a man who allegedly paid for a lap dance with $20 and a baggy of cocaine.
Police spokeswoman Jennifer Massey said officers responding to a call from a bouncer found Jose Angel Bruno Melgar outside Jiggles Tavern and he acknowledged giving cocaine to the dancer.
The 19-year-old from Cornelius has been charged with cocaine possession and lodged in the Washington County jail. Massey said Monday the cocaine has a street value of $20.
Associated Press
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