A day after the release of a home video showing three soldiers being beaten about a block from a Pioneer Square nightclub, Seattle police detectives received several tips but were unable to confirm the identities of the assailants.

The incident began when one of the assailants allegedly touched two women inappropriately, said police spokesman Rich Pruitt. No names were released, but police say two of the men beaten served in Iraq, and the third man is about to be deployed.

A witness videotaped the July 31 assault near Larry's Nightclub on First Avenue South and turned the video over to police. The video, released Wednesday to local TV stations, showed the victims being punched and kicked and showed one assailant stomping on the head of a man on the ground.

Hearings scheduled on whale-hunt plan

The federal government will hold three hearings in October to gather public comments and suggestions on a proposal by the Makah Indian tribe to resume hunting gray whales in waters off their reservation at the tip of the Olympic Peninsula.

The meetings are part of a review required under federal law that will eventually lead to publication of an environmental-impact statement on the hunting.

These steps were prompted by the tribe's February request for a waiver of whaling restrictions imposed by the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that the tribe — though its 1855 treaty specifically allows continued whaling — must comply with that law and obtain a waiver from the National Marine Fisheries Service before it can proceed with a hunt.

The Makahs are proposing to harvest as many as 20 gray whales over five years, with a maximum of five whales in any one year and subject to any international quotas.

The public meetings are scheduled for Oct. 5 in Neah Bay, Oct. 6 in Port Angeles and Oct. 11 at the Naval Reserve Building in South Lake Union Park in Seattle. All the meetings will start at 6:30 p.m.

Seattle

Suspect device causes evacuation

Six blocks in Seattle's Lower Queen Anne Hill neighborhood were shut down yesterday while police investigated what appeared to be a pipe bomb found only feet from a Safeway store.

At 3:49 p.m., a Seattle police officer in training spotted the device near First Avenue West and West Republican Street, police spokesman Rich Pruitt said. A responding officer called for the police bomb squad.

Bomb-squad technicians dismantled the device and discovered it was not a bomb, Pruitt said.

The grocery, nearby businesses and apartments were evacuated. Six blocks surrounding the Safeway were blocked off until about 5:45 p.m.

Seattle

$10 million given to Jewish studies

Prominent Seattle philanthropist Althea Stroum is donating $10 million to the Jewish Studies Program at the University of Washington.

Of the total, $5 million will fund scholarships and fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students, $3 million will create new endowed chairs, and $2 million will fund the existing Stroum lecture series and publication of the Stroum book series by the UW Press.

Stroum and her late husband, Sam Stroum, who died in 2001, served for more than 60 years in organizations benefiting the Jewish and larger communities. The Jewish Studies Program, part of the Jackson School of International Studies, will be renamed the Samuel and Althea Stroum Jewish Studies Program.

Shoreline

College will pay outgoing president

Shoreline Community College President Holly Moore will be paid $310,000 under a separation agreement with the college.

Moore, who resigned effective Sept. 1, signed an agreement that prevents her from suing the college or requesting a faculty position in the fall. She will be paid $155,000 when she leaves and $155,000 in January. Board of Trustees Chairwoman Elsa Welch said last week that the resignation is a mutually agreed-upon decision that's in the best interests of the college. Lee Lambert, vice president of human resources, will become acting president when Moore leaves.

Renton

31-year-old arrested in rape allegation

Police yesterday arrested a 31-year-old Renton-area man wanted on suspicion of child rape for allegedly sleeping with a 14-year-old girl near his home.

The man was arrested at a Redmond construction site where he worked, said King County Sheriff's Office spokesman John Urquhart.

Police say the man and girl ran away last month. The girl returned home Tuesday.

The man was being held at the King County Regional Justice Center in Kent in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Bellingham

BPA offers reward over line damage

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is offering a reward for information in the shooting of insulators on a power line between the United States and Canada.

Vandals caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage when they used firearms to shatter several of the glass, disc-shaped insulators covering a line near Lake Cavanaugh that provides power to Whatcom and Skagit counties. Anyone with information may call 800-437-2744.

Times staff and news services