Northwest Briefly: Sale of two Washington fast ferries closes
Published 10:53 pm Wednesday, January 21, 2009
OLYMPIA — Washington State Ferries has closed the sale of the passenger-only fast ferries Chinook and Snohomish for $4 million.
The boats were sold to the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District of Larkspur, Calif. They will be put into service on San Francisco Bay.
The Chinook and Snohomish were built in the late 1990s and ran between Seattle and Bremerton.
The Washington Legislature in 2006 voted to end state funding for passenger-only ferries and in 2007 directed the ferry system to sell the vessels. Lawmakers said the proceeds should be put in a passenger ferry account to be used to help fund county-run passenger-only ferry service.
The Kitsap Sun reported sale proceeds will go to the King County Ferry District and likely will be used to provide passenger-only service between Vashon Island and Seattle.
@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no:State hires Victoria Express for Hood Canal shuttle
The state Transportation Department has hired Victoria Express of Port Angeles to provide a shuttle service across the Hood Canal this spring when the floating bridge is closed for renovation.
The free passenger shuttle between Lofall and South Point begins May 1. The 149-passenger vessels will leave every half hour between 4 a.m. and 11 p.m.
The department is urging drivers to plan now for the six-week closure.
Spokane: City seeks to annex airport area
Spokane leaders are pursuing the largest expansion of city boundaries since 1907.
The Spokane and Airway Heights city councils have reached an agreement that divides much of the West Plains area between the two cities.
Spokane will pursue the annexation of 10 square miles, including the Spokane International Airport, starting in March. If that is successful, Spokane will cede a square half-mile to Airway Heights.
Spokane officials have long argued that locations that receive city services should eventually be annexed to Spokane. Much of the West Plains receives sewer and water service from Spokane.
Seattle: Spokane man charged after weapons arsenal found
A Spokane man is being held in Seattle after federal agents reported seizing military-grade weapons from a Bellevue commercial storage shed.
Ronald L. Struve, 65, is charged with unlawful possession of firearms and illegally storing explosives.
In searches in Bellevue and Spokane, agents seized 37 machine guns, 12 silencers, two grenade launchers, more than 60 high-explosive grenades, several pounds of military-grade C-4 plastic explosives and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
On Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Mary Alice Theiler ordered that Struve be held pending a detention hearing Friday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas M. Woods says he will present evidence that Struve also possessed “anti-government material.” According to a complaint filed in court, Struve “planned to use the items at some uncertain date.”
Oregon: High school’s dragon sculpture recovered
The authorities recovered a 200-pound dragon sculpture that was swiped from atop Monroe High School in Monroe last month.
The steel sculpture of the school mascot was found in a basement closet at the home of John L. Crymes. The 23-year-old Eugene man faces felony charges of theft and hindering prosecution.
Benton County sheriff’s Lt. Greg Ridler says investigators think others participated in the caper. It would have taken an incredible effort for someone acting alone to hoist the 5-foot-tall statue and carry it off the high school’s sharply-pitched roof.
School Superintendent Randy Crowson says the dragon might be the most prominent public artwork in the small town that sits between Corvallis and Eugene. It was installed in the summer of 2007 at a cost of $2,000 and quickly became a point of pride.
Oregon hunting fatality brings 5-year sentence
Kelly Johnson didn’t mean to kill his friend Cody Armstrong in an October hunting accident, but he didn’t immediately own up to it either.
Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier said Johnson asked another hunter to lie and say an unknown hunter shot the 20-year-old Powers man in the head.
On Tuesday, Johnson was sentenced to five years in prison after his guilty plea to criminally negligent homicide.
Defense attorney Ron Cox said the 41-year-old Johnson had no prior convictions but suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after Army service in Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
Montana: Oregon fugitive gets 30 months on arms count
An Oregon fugitive accused of shooting at sheriff’s deputies in northern Montana has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on a federal weapons charge.
Authorities say Brian D. Rendon, 37, was wanted for violating parole when two women called 911 in October 2007 to say he and another man had beaten them up and threatened to shoot at law enforcement officers.
Rendon pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by an unlawful drug user.
He is on lifetime supervision due to a homicide conviction. Oregon Department of Corrections records say he was convicted in Linn County.
A co-defendant, 40-year-old Daniel J. Schwindt, is to be sentenced Jan. 30 after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Associated Press
