SEATTLE — A family was asked to spend the night elsewhere after a mudslide hit the side of their home, and occupants of a neighboring condominium complex were advised to be alert.
About 15 cubic yards of mud and trees buried a car and piled up against the side of the house and condo buildings on Alki Beach shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday.
No injuries were reported and no homes were above the slide. The cause of the slide was under investigation.
Alan Justad, a spokesman for the city Department of Design, Construction and Land Use, said yellow warning tags were placed on the house and condos.
Residents of the house were advised to spend the night elsewhere, and people in the condos were told they should sleep toward the front of their units, away from the slope.
A few houses away, a mudslide in 1997 caused about $500,000 damage to another condominium complex.
Family of attack victim starts scholarship fund: The family of a man who is missing in the terrorist attacks that destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center is starting a scholarship fund in his name. Catherine Fleming, 33, of Seattle, said the family hopes to raise $500,000 for the fund to honor her brother, Lawrence Kim, 31, at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Kim was in his first day on the job for Marsh &McLennan on the 97th floor of the North Tower when it was hit by a hijacked jetliner Sept. 11. Marsh &McLennan lost 292 employees. Kim was so new his name was not on the company’s first list of missing. Fleming said she flew to New York a few days after the attack to try to learn her brother’s fate. "We were debriefed by the chief medical examiner, and he said Larry was seated right at the impact point of the first plane," she said. "He told us not to expect to find remains. Not just a body, but anything."
Compromise reached in public toilet dispute: At last there appears to be some relief in the public toilet dispute between Mayor Paul Schell and the city council. Schell agreed Wednesday to hire a German toilet company, Hering Bau, to provide five self-cleaning toilets in areas with heavy pedestrian traffic for $640,000 annually. In exchange, council members now support Schell’s plan to seek a way to allow advertising kiosks near the units to generate enough revenue to pay for the high-technology potties within 18 months. A resolution endorsing the ad plan cleared the council on a 6-2 vote Wednesday. "We’re not willing to wait," council member Jan Drago said. "We’ve waited a long time. The business community has waited a long time. … We’re going to move forward." Complex legal issues have yet to be resolved, and council action would be required to allow advertising similar to that found on bus shelters in other cities. City attorneys have warned that ad kiosks could endanger a municipal ban on new billboards.
Police say student reacted to cold meds, marijuana: An 18-year-old Western Washington University student died in a struggle following an adverse reaction to cold medicine and marijuana, the Whatcom County medical examiner said Thursday. The student, identified as Joshua Davis of Oak Park, Ill., died Sunday. The preliminary autopsy results showed he had a reaction to "recreational abuse of an over-the-counter cold medicine, complicated by marijuana use," Dr. Gary Goldfogel said in a statement released by the university. Two friends, who also were Western students, tried to restrain a delirious Davis, putting pressure on his chest and neck. That led to his death by asphyxiation, which Goldfogel ruled a homicide. But the university police department said Davis had been highly agitated and his friends were trying to stop him from hurting himself. "Review of this investigation reveals that the intent of the friends’ actions was only to protect their friend," Western police chief James Shaw said in a statement. "It is important to note that the fact of classification of homicide does not require intent to harm."
Costumed criminals pull heist: Robbers dressed as Batman, Robin and Casper the Friendly Ghost robbed an auto parts shop early Thursday morning, the Spokane County Sheriff’s office said.
The costumed criminals were among four or five robbers who stole tools, computers, stereo equipment and a Pontiac Firebird from Market Street Rods, the sheriff’s office said. The robbers loaded their booty into a trailer that also contained the car and drove away. However, the trailer and all its contents were recovered a short time later by deputies. Former state legislator dead at 71: Former state Rep. Shirley Doty has died from complications of surgery. She was 71. Doty died Tuesday at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital. The nature of her illness was not disclosed. Doty, a Republican, was elected to the Legislature in 1984 and retired in 1990. Before that she had been a member of the Yakima City Council. She was an advocate for the Yakima Valley’s agricultural interests and served on the House Agriculture and the Trade and Economic Development committees. A former teacher, she was tenacious and meticulous about details. "When Shirley got her teeth into an issue, she just stayed with it," said state Sen. Alex Deccio, R-Yakima.
Lime dust closes area around newspaper: The fire department closed off several blocks and employees at The Daily News and nearby buildings were asked to stay inside Thursday morning after workers noticed a mysterious white powder on the ground. It turned out to be calcium oxide — lime dust — that floated in from a silo being repaired at Longview Fibre Co. "As the workers opened the silo, unfortunately, accumulated lime dust escaped, and apparently some of the dust drifted in the wind to parts of downtown Longview," said company spokesman Curt Copenhagen. The fire department blocked off about four blocks while tests were run, city spokeswoman Susie Meyers said. Most of the dust, which is used to make pulp, was washed away by rain, Copenhagen said. Calcium oxide can irritate skin and eyes and should not be inhaled, Meyers said. The substance heats up and expands when it gets wet, she said. Longview Fibre was investigating, Copenhagen said.
From Herald news services
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