City Council panel backs alcohol plan

A proposal to ban cheap, high-alcohol beer and wine in a large area of Seattle was endorsed Tuesday by a City Council panel.

If the plan is approved by the full council, Seattle will petition the state Liquor Control Board to create "alcohol-impact areas" covering about six square miles, including downtown, Capitol Hill and the University District. In those areas, more than 30 fortified beers and wines, often favored by street alcoholics, would be banned under Mayor Greg Nickels' proposal.

The council's Housing, Human Services and Health Committee voted 2-1 to endorse the plan Tuesday. Council members Tom Rasmussen and Jan Drago voted in favor of the proposal, which supporters say would encourage homeless alcoholics to disperse throughout the city or seek treatment instead of congregating in certain areas.

Councilman Richard McIver voted against the proposal.

The full council is expected to vote on the proposal Monday.

Tacoma

Murder suspect turns himself in

A man who reportedly fled to Mexico while being sought for more than eight months in a King County murder case has turned himself in at the urging of relatives, authorities said.

Juan "Johnny" Zavala-Rodriguez, 23, of Pacific, agreed to meet Pierce County sheriff's deputies at the Tacoma Mall and was jailed in Seattle last Wednesday, according to a statement from the U.S. Marshals Service.

Zavala-Rodriguez was wanted on a warrant charging him with first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder in a shooting March 12 in Pacific. Michael Allen Rideaux, 23, of Tacoma, was arrested previously and faces similar charges in the shooting death of Dee Anthony Davis, 19, of Federal Way, and the wounding of Davis' girlfriend.

Woman, 83, dies in highway crash

A woman died and a man had head injuries after a crash in Edmonds that closed both directions of Highway 525 shortly before the afternoon commute Tuesday.

Witnesses told police the Mukilteo couple's vehicle was westbound when it moved into the left turn lane near the 8700 block, apparently to pass a vehicle, but continued across traffic and hit a utility pole, said Edmonds police spokesman Jeff Jones.

A "handful" of customers lost power as a result of the incident, said Neil Neroutsos, Snohomish County Public Utility District spokesman.

The 83-year-old female driver had a heart attack and suffered head injuries and died at the scene, Jones said. Her 88-year-old husband was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, he said.

Their names were not immediately released.

Olympia

Electronic monitors to get trial run

Parolees who violate terms of their community supervision may have electronic surveillance as an alternative to re-incarceration, the state Department of Corrections announced Tuesday.

Corrections and the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs are phasing in the electronic-monitoring program for offenders in Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish counties after the Legislature passed a bill earlier this year that required a program be established, according to a news release from the corrections department. Eventually, the program will be expanded statewide.

The initial surveillance program will have two systems. One will consist of home monitoring. The other uses Global Positioning System technology to track offenders as they move throughout the community.

Seattle

Injured student out of hospital

After about a month in the hospital, the Marysville-Pilchuck High School student hit by a bus in October was released from Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Tuesday.

Keito Swan suffered several broken bones; doctors had to use skin grafts to repair deep wounds on his legs.

Swan was dragged about 100 feet by the bus on a dark, foggy morning Oct. 27. After the incident, the bus driver was placed on paid administrative leave.

After a public outcry about pedestrian safety in the area, the Snohomish County Public Utility District installed lights in mid-November on 108th Street Northeast, where Swan was hit.

The county may make some further improvements to the road, said Kaori Tutewohl, Swan's mom.

Swan may return to school this week for a visit, but he doesn't expect to be back full time until February.

Federal Way

Woman who died in crash is ID'd

The King County Medical Examiner's Office has identified Yong C. Rudd as the 64-year-old woman killed in a head-on collision in Federal Way early Saturday.

Rudd's death has been ruled an accident, investigators said.

Around 12:30 a.m. Saturday, Rudd was driving south in the 30700 block of Pacific Highway South when she crossed the centerline into oncoming traffic, said Federal Way police spokeswoman Stacey Flores. Rudd's car collided with a northbound vehicle driven by a 27-year-old man, she said. Rudd died at the scene. The man suffered head and leg injuries.

Times staff and news services