Dangling workers rescued via window

Two construction workers left dangling in downtown Seattle on Wednesday morning were safely rescued.

Just before 9 a.m., two men were working six stories up on a "swing stage," installing exterior metal panels on a 25-story expansion at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel when one of four cable supports snapped, causing the stage to sag dangerously, according to Chris Toher, senior vice president for Skanska USA, the general contractor.

Workers at the Skanska USA project were able to pull the two men to safety through a window, Toher said. He said the men were wearing safety harnesses and lifelines.

Seattle fire rescue crews were called to the project, at 1400 Sixth Ave., at 8:54 a.m.

The state Department of Labor and Industries is investigating.

Seattle

23-year-old man fatally shot

A 23-year-old Seattle man died after being shot Wednesday afternoon.

Police were called to the 4800 block of Rainier Avenue South at 3:15 p.m. and found the man on the ground. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead later Wednesday.

He had been shot in the torso.

Police are looking for a vehicle that witnesses said left the area shortly after shots were fired, but they have not determined whether the vehicle had any connection to the shooting, according to Seattle police spokeswoman Debra Brown.

Edmonds

Forgotten car snarls ferry commute

A forgetful driver on Wednesday morning's Kingston-to-Edmonds ferry run walked off the boat, leaving behind a car and disrupting the morning commute.

Ferry workers discovered the abandoned black car with paper license plates after the ferry Spokane arrived in Edmonds at 7:40 a.m. and unloaded its passengers, said Scott Davis, safety-systems manager for Washington State Ferries. When a sweep of the ferry failed to turn up the driver, Edmonds police and a State Patrol officer were summoned to check the car, he said.

Meanwhile, the ferry Puyallup had arrived, also from Kingston, so the Spokane — now empty — was temporarily backed out of the terminal, Davis said.

The Spokane was just pulling back into the slip, about 8:30 a.m., when the car's owner returned, he said.

"This is not as uncommon as you would think," Davis said. "People that are routine passenger commuters, that typically walk on board, and that one day of the month or year that they drive on board — they just have a brain freeze and walk off with the rest of the crowd."

The car's owner — a Kingston man in his 20s — looked surprised when informed that he'd be getting a $101 ticket in the mail, said Edmonds police Sgt. Don Anderson.

Bothell

Chancellor finalists plan campus visits

Two finalists for chancellor of the University of Washington, Bothell, will visit the campus over the next two weeks.

The finalists are: Nabil Ibrahim, chief academic officer at 9,300-student Purdue University in Calumet, Ind.; and Kenyon Chan, dean of Occidental College in Los Angeles, which has 1,800 students.

The community is invited to presentations by Ibrahim on Tuesday and Chan on March 30. Both presentations will be held at 4:30 p.m. in room UWB2-005.

The search committee is continuing to speak with other potential candidates and reserves the right to bring other finalists to campus.

UW Bothell is home to 1,700 students. Last year it became a four-year institution, accepting its first freshman class.

Times staff and news services

Information in this article, originally published March 22, 2007, was corrected March 22, 2007. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the Rainier Valley shooting victim, later identified as Randy West, was 22 years old. He was 23 years old.