Judge dismisses suit about zoo elephants

King County Superior Court Judge Julie Spector dismissed a lawsuit Monday brought by local animal-rights activists against Woodland Park Zoo and the city of Seattle.

The Northwest Animal Rights Network (NARN) and two private citizens sued in June, accusing the zoo of violating the federal Endangered Species Act and the State Environmental Policy Act with its treatment of elephants at the zoo.

Valerie Bittner, NARN's attorney, said the zoo's oldest elephant, Bamboo, was experiencing "elephant psychological breakdown" because of improper care and lack of space in its one-acre yard. NARN sought to get Bamboo moved to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee, where she could roam more than 2,000 acres.

Spector dismissed all the claims against the city, the zoo, its directors and staff, saying they had no merit — except for the claim filed under the Endangered Species Act, which the judge ruled belongs under the jurisdiction of federal court.

Bittner said NARN will consider pursuing its case in federal court if it can raise the funds.

In a press release, the zoo said Bamboo and its three other elephants were healthy and thriving.

The owner of a local pawnshop, who is accused of fencing stolen goods and using street addicts to do the thieving, pleaded not guilty to numerous felony charges Monday in King County Superior Court.

Martin D. Levy, 69, of Mercer Island, his daughter Leslie Calvo, 38, and her husband, Richard Calvo, 37, both of Burien, entered the pleas to charges that included trafficking in stolen property, possession of stolen property, solicitation of theft, leading organized crime and money laundering.

Police and prosecutors with the state Attorney General's Office said Levy, the longtime owner of Liberty Jewelry & Loan pawnshop on Pike Street, and his daughter knowingly bought stolen goods from addicts and transients, then sold the items at their shop or through an eBay account. Richard Calvo, who has a dentistry practice, is alleged to have run the eBay account, police said.

Court documents also say the defendants not only bought stolen goods but also directed addicts and homeless people to particular retail stores to steal specific items. They kept some luxury items, such as Armani suits, Coach purses and one-of-a-kind blown-glass art, for themselves, police said.

Seattle

Businesswoman named to UW board

Gov. Christine Gregoire on Monday appointed Spokane business leader Kristianne Blake to the University of Washington Board of Regents.

In a release, Gregoire cited Blake's work with the Higher Education Coordinating Board and with the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute.

"She will bring a unique geographic perspective to the university and will work to make sure the UW continues to serve the entire state," Gregoire said.

Blake chairs the board of the Russell Investment Co. and Russell Investment funds and sits on the board of directors of Avista Corp., Advantage IQ, the WM Group of Funds and Laird Norton Tyee. She is also president of her own accounting firm.

Blake graduated from the UW in 1975 with a bachelor of arts degree in business administration. She will replace Shelly Yapp, whose six-year term expires at the end of this month. The 10-member UW Board of Regents is charged with governing the university and hiring the university president.

City's ethics rules eased for volunteers

Members of 29 volunteer advisory boards and commissions will face different ethics rules than city employees face, under changes the Seattle City Council unanimously approved Monday.

Volunteer panelists will pay smaller maximum fines than city employees for violating ethics rules, and they won't have to disqualify themselves from matters in which they have only a perceived conflict of interest, but not a personal financial stake.

The council's revisions were stronger than a proposal by Mayor Greg Nickels, which would have exempted advisory-board members from fines for violating the city's conflict-of-interest rules. Board members will face fines of up to $1,000 for failing to recuse themselves on issues in which they have a financial interest; a $5,000 penalty can be levied on city employees. Board members will face a $250 maximum fine for failing to disclose "the appearance of a conflict of interest."

Boulevard Park

Teenager shoots brother in face

A 15-year-old boy who apparently purchased a stolen gun on the street shot his younger brother in the face Sunday night at his family's home south of Seattle.

King County sheriff's deputies were called to the house in the 12400 block of 10th Avenue South in Boulevard Park just before 10 p.m., said Sgt. John Urquhart. The wounded boy, who is about 9 years old, was shot through the cheek and was taken to Harborview Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, Urquhart said.

The 15-year-old, who told deputies he purchased the .22-caliber pistol "on the street," was booked into the King County juvenile detention center in Seattle on suspicion of assault, Urquhart said. The gun was apparently stolen in Kennewick, he said.

Auburn

Collision kills man, injures woman

A man died and a woman was seriously injured Monday in a three-vehicle collision in Auburn.

Traffic investigators with the Auburn Police Department were still trying to figure out the chain of events that ended when a commercial vacuum truck carrying dirty water slid into a tractor trailer, killing the driver of the vacuum truck, said police spokesman Jamie Sidell.

The 8:36 a.m. collision in the 2500 block of B Street Northwest also involved a sedan, driven by a woman who was taken to Harborview Medical Center, he said. The driver of the semi was not hurt.

3 fire victims were "full of promise"

Three young adults who died in a weekend house fire were identified Monday as David Sawyer, of Eatonville, and Nathen Hoffman, of Gig Harbor, both 22, and Suzanne Surface, 19, of Ashford, the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office said.

All were reportedly graduates of Eatonville High School, and Surface was a student at Eastern Washington University.

They were among nine people inside the home early Sunday morning when the fire began, apparently ignited accidentally by a candle. Six people escaped the home, but the three victims died from smoke inhalation, the medical examiner said.

Many at the high school remember the victims, who graduated in 2003 and 2005.

"This is a close, very supportive high school," said Eatonville School District Superintendent Ray Arment. The young people who died were all "caring, intelligent and just full of promise and could make a real difference in the world."

Edmonds

Pepper spray sends students to hospital

Twenty-nine Edmonds-Woodway High School students were taken to hospitals Monday after another student used pepper spray near the cafeteria.

No one was seriously injured, but those exposed to the spray were taken to six area hospitals, according to Edmonds police.

A female student released the pepper spray in "an apparent act of self defense" related to another female student, according to an Edmonds police news release.

The school was evacuated while the air was cleared.

Dump truck hits car, killing driver

A 56-year-old Lake Stevens man died Monday morning after his car was hit by a dump truck near Arlington.

The man, who was not identified, was backing across Forty Five Road in the 15900 block when the dump truck broadsided his car, according to a Snohomish County Sheriff's Office news release.

Sculpture stolen from Legion Park

The Everett Parks Department is looking for a sculpture it says was stolen from a park sometime Friday evening.

The modern sculpture, titled "Neck Fragment," was knocked from its base at the Evergreen Arboretum and Garden in Legion Park, according to a city of Everett news release.

The sculpture is of a human form from the bottom half of the face to the bottom of the ribs and weighs about 150 pounds.

"We're hopeful this might be a very misplaced prank, and the person or people involved will realize the seriousness of the situation and return the piece," parks director Paul Kaftanski said.

Anyone with information is asked to call 425-257-8450.

Medina

Jewelry, money stolen from home

About $15,000 worth of jewelry and money was taken from a Medina home Monday when the homeowner had left for a brief time.

The theft took place in the 2500 block of Medina Circle, the Medina Police Department reported.

The homeowner left about 11:30 a.m. and returned about 2:15 p.m. to find that someone had forced his or her way inside through a lower-level sliding-glass door, police said. The home was not equipped with a security system.

Suit would cancel need for repayment

Washington seniors who received mistaken refunds for Medicare prescription-drug premiums in August may not need to rush to repay the government.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Monday suspended efforts to recover the money after a seniors group sued in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Friday.

The group contended that Medicare beneficiaries should have been told they could keep the refunds if, among other factors, repayment would cause financial hardship.

Some 230,000 seniors nationwide, including about 6,500 in Washington, erroneously received an average of $215 each because of a processing glitch.