Pilot found dead after plane crash

The pilot of a twin-engine plane that crashed Friday night was found dead early Saturday morning inside the aircraft in woods near Skagit Regional Airport, according to county officials.

Eric Anthony Beard, 47, of Auburn was the only occupant of the plane.

Airpac Airlines of Seattle confirmed that the plane was one of their cargo planes, a Piper PA-34.

Whidbey Island Naval Air Station notified the Sheriff's Office around 9 p.m. on Friday of a possible downed plane near the airport in Burlington. The Federal Aviation Administration is handling the investigation.

Port Orchard

Mudslide closes

Kitsap highway

A mudslide closed Highway 166 on the Kitsap Peninsula early Saturday.

The state Department of Transportation said the highway, which links downtown Port Orchard with Highway 16, was closed shortly before 1 a.m. after at least one vehicle struck the mud. Crews worked Saturday to clear debris, the agency said, and a geotechnical engineer was scheduled to assess the area for signs of additional slide activity this morning.

The highway will remain closed until at least Monday morning, officials said. Detours have been set up.

The Port Orchard slide is the latest weather-related problem for the state's transportation network. Several slides blocked the Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks between Seattle and Everett on Friday. An Amtrak spokesman said full passenger service should resume today. Sound Transit has said it expects Sounder commuter-rail trains will resume service on schedule Monday morning.

Talmadge says no

to head state Dems

Former state Supreme Court justice and former state Sen. Phil Talmadge has withdrawn his name as a potential candidate for state Democratic Party chairman, saying he does not have enough time to devote to the job.

Talmadge said he could not continue to meet obligations at his law practice if he took on the full-time job of party chair. He added that he thinks the party chairman should be a part-time role, focused more on strategic vision.

Talmadge also said he remained unclear about whether Gov. Christine Gregoire would feel comfortable working with him. Talmadge was a primary candidate in the governor's race of 2004, but dropped out for medical reasons. He was a tough critic of Gregoire during the campaign.

Talmadge was recruited to run for state party chairman less than two weeks ago by Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-Renton. Prentice said she urged him to come forward to oppose Dwight Pelz , a former King County Councilman.

Longtime Chairman Paul Berendt is resigning next month, a year short of finishing his current term. The Democrats' state committee will hold a special election Jan. 28 in Kent to select someone to complete the term.

Debris suffocates

woman in home

A woman reported missing was later found under a pile of debris in her home, where she had suffocated to death, Shelton police said.

Officers found the body of Marie Rose, 62, buried under clothes after 10 hours of searching Thursday.

"This is without a doubt the most cluttered residence I've ever been to," Shelton Police Chief Terry Davenport told KIRO-TV of Seattle. "Officers were having to climb over the top on their hands and knees, in some areas their heads were touching the ceiling while they were standing on top of piles of debris."

The medical examiner's office confirmed the woman's cause of death.

Fire and city code inspectors released the home back to the family after inspecting it. The woman's husband told KIRO that she had health problems and may have been looking for the phone when she died.

Land-use laws

to get day in court

The bitter battle over Oregon's land-use planning laws and the rights of property owners comes to a head Tuesday when the Oregon Supreme Court hears oral arguments on the constitutionality of Measure 37.

The outcome will decide whether thousands of claims filed with cities, counties and the state to override restrictions on development will go forward or die. It will also determine the direction of the discussion sure to continue over how to plan for growth in Oregon.

The court agreed to expedite resolution of the politically charged case after Marion County Circuit Judge Mary James ruled last October that the sweeping measure violated five provisions of the state and federal constitutions.

Measure 37 requires that state and local governments either compensate landowners when regulations lower property values, or waive those rules. No statute in the country limits government's power to regulate land use more severely, and Measure 37's passage in Oregon, a state known nationally as a pioneer in land-use planning, rippled across the country.

The law allows landowners to seek compensation for regulations adopted any time after they acquired their property.

Oregon adopted some of the strictest land-use restrictions in the nation in 1973, which limit development of farm and forestland and slow the spread of cities into rural areas.

Widespread feelings that the restrictions were unfair resulted in Measure 37 passing overwhelmingly as a voter initiative in 2004.

Man sentenced

over bomb threats

A 19-year-old man was sentenced to five years of probation and 50 hours of community service Friday for making false bomb threats to the Darrington School District and a school district in New Jersey.

Elroy John Lamont of Darrington apologized in U.S. District Court for his actions in May 2004, which prompted the Darrington School District to cancel classes. Assistant U.S. Attorney Vince Lombardi wrote in court papers that Lamont had struggled in school and that his family, though well-meaning, lacked the resources to deal with his Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism.

Since his arrest, Lamont has done well in a structured educational environment outside his home, Judge Robert Lasnik noted.

"It's too bad you didn't get education services earlier," the judge said.

Seattle Times staff and The Associated Press