Covington toddler run over by car identified

Covington

An 18-month-old girl who died Monday after being run over by a car has been identified as Mariana Lopez.

The accident, in the 26200 block of 195th Place Southeast in the Covington area of southeast King County, occurred at 12:11 p.m. Mariana died shortly after being admitted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Deputies are investigating, but it appears a family member accidentally backed over the girl, according to King County Sheriff's Office spokesman John Urquhart.

Burien

Town Car sought in fatal hit-and-run

Police are looking for a Lincoln Town Car believed to have been involved in a hit-and-run crash that killed an 81-year-old woman in Burien.

The woman was struck about noon in a marked crosswalk in the 13400 block of Ambaum Boulevard Southwest, according to Sgt. John Urquhart, King County Sheriff's Office spokesman. One car had stopped for the woman, he said, but another car — which was headed north in the next lane — failed to stop and struck her.

The woman, whose name has not been released, died at the scene.

The fleeing vehicle is likely a mid-1990s tan or gold Lincoln Town Car, Urquhart said. It had dark tinted windows and front-end damage from the collision, he said.

Anyone with information on the vehicle is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 206-296-3311 or 911.

Snohomish County

Obesity rates climbing, study says

Almost 25 percent of adults and 10 percent of youths living in Snohomish County are considered obese, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Snohomish Health District.

Health officials say the continuing rise in Snohomish County's obesity numbers spell serious health concerns in the near future, including higher rates of diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

Adult men and women are equally overweight, with the heaviest percentage of weight gain seen in the 55-64 age group, according to the data collected in 2004 and recently studied.

Students in grades eight, 10 and 12 also were studied, with results indicating that 22 percent were either obese or at risk of obesity.

The Snohomish Health District will update the statistics soon with 2005 data, but Dr. Gary Goldbaum, the health district's medical officer, says obesity issues in the county are comparable across the state and increasing.

Tacoma

Motorcyclist killed in River Road crash

A 39-year-old Edgewood man died early Tuesday after his motorcycle rear-ended a pickup on Highway 167 in Pierce County, authorities said.

Michael J. Bartholomew was headed south on 167, also known as River Road, just before 3:30 a.m. when his motorcycle collided with the fender of a pickup also traveling south, said Mark Lewis, a State Patrol spokesman. Bartholomew, who was wearing a helmet, flew off his motorcycle and died at the scene, Lewis said.

The driver of the pickup wasn't injured but was transported to a hospital as a precaution, the Patrol said.

Seattle

Teachers union sues over pension bonus

The state teachers union and individual teachers filed suit Tuesday over the loss of future pension bonus dollars because of legislative action.

The elimination of pension "gain-sharing" will cost teachers and other public employees billions of dollars over the next 25 years, the Washington Education Association said after filing suit in King County Superior Court.

In 1998, state lawmakers decided pensioners should share the wealth when the state's Wall Street investments did well, so they established "gain-sharing."

Nine years later, lawmakers eliminated the pension bonus after a final payout set for next January. Gov. Christine Gregoire signed the repeal Tuesday.

The repeal of gain-sharing is estimated to save about $100 million in the next biennium and $6.7 billion over the next 25 years.

In exchange for the end of gain-sharing, some pensioners will receive cost-of-living increases, and many will qualify for earlier retirement without reducing their pension.

These add-backs will cost about $4.4 billion over the next 25 years.

The WEA lawsuit asks the court to declare the measure unconstitutional because the repeal of gain-sharing "impairs a vested contractual right."

Snohomish County

Bond to expand hospital passes

A bond vote to expand Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington passed with 72 percent of the vote Tuesday night.

The bond means the hospital will collect about $46 million during the next 25 years that it will use to expand the emergency room and renovate many of its older facilities.

The cost to property owners is about 81 cents per $1,000 in terms of property valuation, or $243 annually on a $300,000 property.

This would be the hospital's first expansion in 20 years, said hospital spokeswoman LuAnne Kay. During the past 10 years, emergency-room visits have nearly doubled and patient rooms have been loaded with equipment to keep up with changes in technology and medicine, she said.

In other Snohomish County elections, a measure to merge Snohomish Fire Districts 14 and 18, serving the Stanwood and Arlington areas, passed with nearly 79 percent of the vote.

Times staff and news services