Construction debris injures three passers-by

Three people were injured Wednesday after they were struck by falling debris near a downtown construction site.

One person was hospitalized for cuts on her stomach and hand from the 10-by-15-foot piece of aluminum, said Seattle Fire Department Lt. Sue Stangl. The other two had minor injuries.

The passers-by were hurt about 11:30 a.m. near a construction site at Third Avenue and Seneca Street, police said.

Yakima

Escaped inmate caught; one missing

One more of the nine inmates who escaped from the Yakima County Jail last month has been caught, leaving just one at large.

Gianni Alaimo, 26, of Yakima surrendered shortly before noon Wednesday at a local residence, the police department said.

The inmates escaped using a rope made of bed sheets on Nov. 25. Five were captured immediately and two were caught the next day, but Alaimo and Luis Soto — both charged with assault — remained at large.

Charges are filed in attack at home

A 53-year-old man who allegedly broke into the home of a woman and attacked two of her children and another youth with a hammer and a knife has been charged with four felonies, including two counts of first-degree assault.

King County prosecutors say in charging documents that Ronnie Greer of Seattle broke into a Seattle home about 2 a.m. Saturday and attacked the woman's 19-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son, as well as a 13-year-old boy spending the night.

Prosecutors have asked that bail for Greer be set at $1 million. Greer also is charged with second-degree assault of a child and burglary.

Woman is charged in shower shooting

A woman was charged Wednesday with second-degree attempted murder in King County Superior Court after her ex-boyfriend was shot as he showered.

Police and prosecutors say in charging papers that the man, Darrin Gorham, 36, had allowed Brenna Jean Gill, 35, his ex-girlfriend and the mother of their 10-year-old son, to live at his home in Covington for the past year after Gill was evicted from a previous residence.

According to charging documents, Gorham was taking a shower on Sunday when Gill walked into the bathroom and began firing a .357-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver at him. Gorham was hit twice in the chest and once in the shoulder , police say.

Gorham was listed in serious condition Wednesday at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Gill is being held at the Regional Justice Center in Kent in lieu of $1 million bail.

National broadcasts note missing girl

The search for a missing 10-year-old Pierce County girl went national Wednesday when two national crime centers broadcast news of her disappearance.

Lakewood police Lt. Bret Farrar said police searching for Adre'anna Jackson have enlisted the help of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and TV's "America's Most Wanted" show. Adre'anna was last seen Friday when her parents sent her off on a five-minute walk to Tillicum Elementary School to see whether the school was closed because of snow.

The FBI has been helping Lakewood police with the search, which has focused on American Lake, near the girl's home. The FBI offered its expertise and equipment when the federal agency learned scent dogs had tracked the girl to Harry Todd Park.

Driver in stolen car is shot by police

A man driving a stolen car was shot by Des Moines police officers early Wednesday.

The man was shot after he threw his vehicle into reverse, hitting an officer in the leg, according to the King County Sheriff's Office.

A Des Moines officer spotted a car that was stolen in Bellevue Monday about 1:15 a.m. and began following the vehicle , said sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart. The driver of the car turned down a dead-end street in the 21800 block of 35th Avenue South and stopped, he said.

Two more officers arrived, and with the first officer, they approached the car on foot, Urquhart said. The suspect then put the car into reverse and accelerated, hitting one of the officers in the leg, he said.

The officers fired, hitting the driver, said Urquhart, who declined to say where the man was shot or how many times. The officer who was clipped by the car was not seriously injured. The female passenger in the stolen car was not hurt, he said. The suspect was taken to Harborview Medical Center.

Hastings to donate ex-lawmaker's gift

U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Pasco, will make a $1,000 donation to charity to offset a 9-year-old contribution from a former California congressman who admitted taking more than $2 million in bribes.

A spokeswoman for Hastings said the $1,000 Hastings received from then-Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham in 1996 was legally contributed and spent long ago.

Still, because Cunningham's actions were "shameful," Hastings has decided to make a $1,000 donation to the Salvation Army, spokeswoman Jessica Gleason said. Cunningham resigned last week after pleading guilty to taking bribes in exchange for steering government work to defense contractors

Earlier this week, fellow Republican Reps. Cathy McMorris of Colville and Dave Reichert of Auburn said they are donating to charity $1,000 Cunningham gave to each of their campaigns last year.

Governor names new media aide

Gov. Christine Gregoire has picked a new communications director, keeping a political veteran in the Northwest.

Holly Armstrong, 34, had been Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski's chief spokeswoman. She left his Salem staff last month, planning to return to the private sector but now has been tapped to succeed Kerry Coughlin on Gregoire's staff. Coughlin has resigned to return to Seattle.

Armstrong begins her Olympia job on Monday. She will earn about $124,000 a year.

Coughlin, who was corporate communications manager for The Seattle Times for eight years before joining the governor's staff in June, said she needed to return to Seattle to "maintain family and other obligations."

Monorail drops parking-lot plan

Seattle Monorail Project (SMP) leaders have dropped an attempt to condemn the "Sinking Ship" parking garage downtown, after voters last month pulled the plug on the proposed Green Line.

Days before the election, SMP won a state Supreme Court ruling that forced owner John Fujii to sell the garage for $10.4 million. Fujii, whose father-in-law kept the triangular parcel near Pioneer Square despite being sent to an internment camp during World War II, was willing to sell only enough space for a monorail station and not the entire lot.

SMP wanted the entire triangle to store construction equipment and potentially earn money from it after the monorail was built. Fujii hopes to redevelop it himself after the garage's lease expires in the next decade.

Board members Kristina Hill, Cindi Laws, Cleve Stockmeyer and Rick Sundberg voted 4-0 to settle the dispute.

Times staff and news services