King County judge censured, suspended

Olympia

The state Supreme Court has censured a King County district court judge and suspended her without pay for 30 days.

The court's unanimous order disciplining Judge Mary Ann Ottinger of Issaquah came on the recommendation of the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, which in May found a pattern of improper conduct by Ottinger related to informing defendants of their legal rights.

The commission said Ottinger routinely told defendants of their right to have an attorney after they had entered a plea rather than before, often failed to make required findings of probable cause, and did not tell defendants about maximum possible penalties.

Man turns self in after 2 are shot

A man and woman, both in their 20s, were shot and critically wounded at a Rainier Valley house Saturday morning, Seattle police said.

Several hours later, a 26-year-old man walked into a King County police office in Skyway and said he had been involved in the shootings, Seattle police spokeswoman Debra Brown said. He was booked into King County Jail on suspicion of assault and a weapons violation, she added.

The shootings occurred around 10 a.m. in the 2600 block of South Delappe Place. Brown said one or more men pulled up to the house in a white car, walked in, shot the victims and drove away. The police gang unit was called to the scene, she said.

The victims, whose names were not released, were taken to Harborview Medical Center.

Crews will help with Lebanon evacuation

More than 30 pilots and loadmasters from McChord Air Force Base are heading to the Middle East to help with the evacuation of U.S. citizens fleeing Lebanon.

Tech. Sgt. Carrie Bernard, a spokeswoman with McChord's 62nd Airlift Wing, said Saturday that crews are expected to fly evacuees from the island of Cyprus to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.

McChord airmen have been shuttling food, water and other essentials to the island of Cyprus, providing aid to Americans who escaped the hostilities.

McChord's 10th Airlift Squadron, currently on a four-month deployment in the Middle East, is also taking part in the evacuation effort.

Green Lake vigil calls for Lebanon cease-fire

Members of the Seattle area's Arab-American community held a candlelight vigil at Green Lake on Saturday night to call for an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon and safe evacuation of Americans in that strife-torn nation.

"This is an issue that affects all Arabs," said Rita Zawaideh of the Arab American Community Coalition. "All Arabs have been to Lebanon."

Zawaideh, who operates a tour business focused on the Middle East, said at least 250 local families are trapped in Lebanon. Some can't get from southern Lebanon to Beirut to be evacuated, she said, and the U.S. government has taken far too long to respond. Considering Lebanon's volatility, "evacuation plans should already have been established years ago," she added.

Zawaideh said she couldn't say who's responsible for the latest upsurge in violence in Lebanon but argued that Israel's aerial attacks and other military responses to the capture of Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah, the guerrilla group that controls much of southern Lebanon, are excessive.

"Hezbollah is not the Lebanese people," she said.

Seattle

Two men who died in accidents ID'd

The King County Medical Examiner's Office has identified two men who died in separate accidents Friday afternoon.

Steven Kimball, 52, died after being shocked by a ship-to-shore power outlet on a vessel at Fishermen's Terminal. Attempts by bystanders and medics to revive him were unsuccessful. Kimball's hometown was unavailable.

Sean Jackman, 25, drowned at Vasa Park on Lake Sammamish on Friday afternoon. He had apparently been swimming alone at the park on the southwest shore of Lake Sammamish. Jackman's hometown was also unavailable.

Kitsap County man missing for 5 days

The Kitsap County Sheriff's Office is searching for a Kitsap man who has been missing for the past five days.

Louis Esmeralda Estribor, 29, was last seen Monday morning. Family members said he left the family's East Bremerton home to go for a walk and didn't return.

Estribor is described as 5-feet-4, 160 pounds, with brown eyes, black hair and a moustache. The family says Estribor's medical condition includes a history of depression and schizophrenia. He reportedly has not been taking his prescribed medications for several months.

Anyone who knows of Estribor's whereabouts or has seen him is asked to call 911 or the sheriff's office at 360-308-5400.

July 6 forest fire is up to 671 acres

A forest fire started by a lightning strike July 6 in the remote headwaters of the Entiat River in the Glacier Peak Wilderness has grown to 671 acres.

The Tinpan Fire, about 40 miles from Entiat, is moving slowly from south-facing to west-facing slopes in subalpine fir forests, Forest Service officials said. The agency is dropping water on the blaze intermittently from helicopters and monitoring its progress.

Despite high temperatures and reduced humidity, the fire has spread little in recent days, officials said.

Coast Guard rescues hiker in Olympics

A 54-year-old man who fell while hiking on The Brothers, a prominent peak in the Olympics, was rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter Saturday.

The hiker fell about 200 feet down the 6,866-foot peak, the Coast Guard said. A companion contacted a Mason County dispatcher, who in turn asked the Coast Guard for help with the evacuation around noon.

The crew of the helicopter from the Coast Guard station at Port Angeles found the man at the 6,300-foot level of the mountain and lowered a crew member to help. The hiker was hoisted onto the helicopter and taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, arriving around 2:15 p.m.

The hiker's name and condition were not available.

Bend, Ore.

Board upholds ruling against Wal-Mart store

A state board has ruled against a Wal-Mart store proposed for the north side of Bend, upholding a local hearing officer.

The Land Use Board of Appeals said city hearings officer Karen Green had substantial evidence for turning down the retail giant's application.

Green rejected Wal-Mart's application in January. She said the improvements Wal-Mart had agreed to do on nearby roads were not enough to offset the 12,764 trips a day the supercenter and seven other tenants were expected to generate.

Wal-Mart has 21 days to decide whether to appeal the land-use board's decision to the Oregon Court of Appeals. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Jennifer Holder said she is unsure what the store's next step will be.

Yakima men plead guilty to bribery

Two Yakima men have pleaded guilty to bribery of a federal employee in a case stemming from U.S. Department of Agriculture foreclosure sales, prosecutors said Friday.

Bacil W. Shirley and Ronald G. Frank entered pleas last week in U.S. District Court here, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Rice said.

Shirley, 55, who worked for a company that helps run foreclosure auctions, and Frank, 58, owner of a Yakima tire store, were released pending sentencing hearings this fall.

Shirley was an employee of Legal Couriers, Inc., a company hired to read foreclosure sales scripts at public auctions, according to court documents. In January 2003, Shirley rolled back the sales price of two USDA foreclosed properties in return for a kickback from the high bidder, court documents say.

A USDA employee found out about the deal and confronted Shirley, who later gave the employee $3,000 to keep quiet about the scheme, court documents say. The federal worker recorded the conversation.

According to the plea document, Frank, operator of Frank's Tire Store, admitted contacting the same USDA employee and offering him $10,000 for each foreclosed house he could buy at a reduced price prior to auction.

Seattle

County candidates can now file online

Candidates for office in King County can now file online.

Beginning Monday, candidates will be able to file from their computers rather than making a trip to the elections office. Candidates still have the option to file in-person or by mail during candidate filing week this week.

No credit-card numbers will be stored and all payment information is encrypted. After filing, the candidate will receive an e-mail confirmation.

Mail-in filings must include a notarized declaration of candidacy, and the filing fee must be received by King County Elections by 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Times staff and news services