Most county lakes OK for swimming

Dive right in — the water's fine.

Recent testing of King County lakes by the state and county shows that most have low bacteria levels and temperatures around 70 degrees, just in time for the Independence Day weekend.

That includes all beaches on Lake Washington, Lake Sammamish, Green Lake and Rattlesnake Lake near North Bend.

Not all public swimming holes are always germ-free. Swimmers can check the water temperatures and bacteria levels of their favorites, updated every Friday, online: dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/waterres/swimbeach/default.aspx or dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/waterres/lakes/index.htm for Lake Washington, Lake Union and Lake Sammamish.

The man fatally shot Monday night in the South Park area has been identified by the King County Medical Examiner's Office as Juan Hernandez-Alba, 40.

Hernandez-Alba's death was ruled a homicide by multiple gunshot wounds.

Seattle police found Hernandez-Alba dead on the sidewalk in the 1400 block of South Donovan Street. He had been shot once in the head and at least once in the chest. Police said there were no witnesses.

Seattle

Councilman: Take deeds off Internet

Deeds of trust filed with the King County Recorder's Office between 1991 and 1995 should be removed from the online database to protect people from identity theft, said Metropolitan King County Councilman Reagan Dunn, R-Bellevue. Dunn introduced legislation on Thursday to remove images of deeds of trusts from the county's public-records Web site because some images contain Social Security numbers.

There have been no cases of identity theft related to these documents, Dunn said.

Dean Logan, the head of the Records, Elections and Licensing Services Division, said that having documents online allows for speedy access for title companies and loan officers, and facilitates timely property transactions. Also, Logan said, these documents remain part of the public record so they can still be accessed in person at the Recorder's Office.

Anyone who wishes to remove their property-record image from the online database can file a request with the King County Recorder's Office.

Olympia

Commissioner fines four Geico companies

Washington state's insurance commissioner fined four Geico insurance companies $120,000 Thursday, alleging that they used an unapproved scoring model to evaluate and offer personal auto coverage to consumers two years ago.

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said the companies — Government Employees Insurance Co., Geico General Insurance Co., Geico Indemnity Co., and Geico Casualty Co. — failed to comply with changes in insurance-scoring requirements the Legislature enacted in 2004.

During a five-month period that ended in November 2004, Kreidler said, consumers paid differing rates based on unapproved scoring models that relied on consumers' credit histories.

Geico officials have said roughly 900 of the 24,000 policy holders who were scored under the unapproved model were adversely affected.

The Geico companies have signed a consent order, agreeing to pay the fine and comply with the state's filing requirements and insurance-scoring laws, Kreidler's office said.

Arlington

Allen acquires three WWII-era planes

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has added three World War II-era planes to his collection of antique aircraft and will display them this summer, his venture capital and investment firm, Vulcan, said Thursday.

Two planes, the Republic P-47D Thunderbolt and the Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3, have been restored to virtually original factory condition and went on display Thursday at Allen's Flying Heritage Collection at the airport in this rural town about 40 miles north of Seattle.

A third plane, the Hawker Hurricane Mk. XIIB, is expected to go on display later this summer.

The P-47 Thunderbolt is scheduled to fly on July 8 as part of the collection's "flying days," which happen every summer to keep them operational. Allen's Fieseler Fi-156-C2 Storch will also fly that day.

With the three new acquisitions, Allen now has 15 planes on display. He has about 20 others in various states of repair, Vulcan spokesman Michael Nank said.

Guided tours of Allen's collection cost $20 for general admission. Money raised through the tours pays for care of the aircraft.

Auburn

Tree branch pierces man's lower back

A tree branch pierced a man's lower back Thursday as he was clearing a wooded hillside in Auburn. The man, believed to be in his early 20s, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center.

Logging-company workers were felling unsafe trees. One tree hit another tree as it fell and changed direction, said Auburn Fire Department Battalion Chief Rudy Peden.

The tree fell near one of the workers, penetrating him with a branch 2 inches in diameter.

Seattle Times staff and news services