Seattle doctor sentenced over illegal steroids

Seattle

A local physician who kept a pool table and chilled beer in his medical office has been sentenced to 22 months in federal prison for illegally prescribing anabolic steroids.

Howard J. Levine, 58, of Seattle, was arrested last June after an undercover agent with the federal Drug Enforcement Agency was able to obtain a prescription for steroids from Levine without being evaluated medically, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Parrent.

"There were no patient charts and the examination room featured a pool table. While a refrigerator in a legitimate medical office might contain medications that needed to be kept cool, the refrigerator in Dr. Levine's office contained beer," prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.

Levine pleaded guilty in November to one count of distribution of a controlled substance and surrendered his permit to prescribe controlled substance. He was sentenced Tuesday.

Seattle

Learning center closes its doors

DiscoverU, a private, independent local institution, has decided to close its doors after more than 16 years in business, according to an archived version of the institution's now-defunct Web site.

A posted message read: "Thank you, Seattle, for your patronage." The message also offered a phone number for DiscoverU's office for anyone registered for a class that has not yet taken place. "You will be instructed as to when [you] can expect your refund," the message said.

DiscoverU had a history of offering what were called lifelong-learning classes, many of them oriented toward career exploration in specific areas. Classes on a variety of topics had been offered at a variety of locations in the area. DiscoverU got its start here in 1992.

Lynnwood

Fire damages industrial building

A fire broke out early Wednesday at HMC Industries in Lynnwood. The Lynnwood Fire Department responded to an automatic fire-alarm at 4:42 a.m. and dispatched units to 21000 block of 63rd Avenue West, near the Edmonds city limits, said spokeswoman Marybeth O'Leary. It took about an hour and 40 minutes to extinguish the blaze, she said. No injuries were reported.

The fire at the business, which makes display fixtures from various materials such as wood, plastic and metal, was contained to the office and storage area, she said, mostly because the company's four buildings are separated by fire walls.

Seattle

Recycling, garbage contracts to change

Seattle residents will see changes to their recycling and garbage collection service 14 months from now, as a result of two new contracts the city announced Wednesday.

In April 2009, customers will no longer have to place glass in a separate container from the recycling bin for paper and plastic. More types of plastic also will be allowed in the recycling bin, such as plastic cups and deli containers.

Customers also will be able to put meat scraps into the recycling bin that takes yard waste and vegetable scraps. That bin, now collected every two weeks, will be picked up weekly. Recycling table scraps, now optional, will become mandatory for single-family homes in April 2009.

Seattle Public Utilities is making the changes to improve the city's recycling rate, which has stagnated at 44 percent.

The contracts for recycling and garbage collection with Waste Management of Washington and Rabanco expire in March. The new 10-year contracts, worth about $62 million a year, went to Waste Management and CleanScapes.

Federal Way

Dog dies in blaze that ruined house

Flames destroyed a single-family home near Federal Way Wednesday morning, killing one of two dogs trapped inside, authorities said.

The fire started shortly before 6:30 a.m. in the 34000 block of 26th Avenue South in unincorporated King County. It took about a half-hour to extinguish, said Kendra Kay, spokeswoman for South King County Fire and Rescue. No other injuries were reported.

Authorities are investigating, but the fire did not appear suspicious, she said.

The homeowner, a man in his 30s, was not at the house, Kay said. His pit bull died, but a miniature schnauzer escaped unharmed, she said.

Ellensburg

University official quits over scandal

The vice president of university relations for Central Washington University has resigned after credit-card scandal in his office. He will leave at the end of the month.

An audit of credit-card and travel expenses for the department uncovered more than $10,000 in unsupported, duplicated or questionable charges made by two former CWU employees who worked for Vice President Paul Baker.

The employees, Julie Cloninger and Nate Harris, no longer work for CWU. According to the university, they repaid $10,489 in charges, including $8,850 by Cloninger and $1,639 by Harris.

Baker came to CWU in 2002 from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.

Olympia

Senators to hear Hindu prayer

A Hindu prayer will open the state Senate on Friday — the first time in recent memory the Senate has had a Hindu opening prayer, according to the Lieutenant Governor's Office.

Rajan Zed, a Hindu chaplain, will read from ancient scriptures in Sanskrit, and then read the English translations.

Bellingham

Petitioner wants buses to allow dogs

Andy Ingram would like to take his dog, Luna, to a park for a walk, but he doesn't have a car, and the Whatcom Transit Authority doesn't allow dogs on buses.

Ingram, of Bellingham, says he was able to take his dog on buses in Seattle and Lynnwood. Now he's collected 300 names on a petition to the Whatcom Transit board of directors, asking it to change its policy.

A transit spokeswoman, Maureen McCarthy, says management is not inclined to change because dogs make messes, cause allergy problems or scare other passengers.

King County Metro Transit and Community Transit of Snohomish County allow leashed dogs on buses. Sound Transit allows dogs only in a carrier, except service dogs.

Seattle

Metro to add service on 25 bus routes

King County Metro Transit said Wednesday it will add service on 25 bus routes and add four new routes in the next few years.

Under a new partnership program, two-thirds of the $14.5 million annual cost will come from voter-approved sales taxes, and a third from cities or employers.

Planned improvements this fall include:

• More trips on Seattle lines serving the Central Area, Capitol Hill, Wallingford and Fremont.

• Increased peak-time runs on Route 269, partly funded by Microsoft and the cities of Sammamish, Redmond and Issaquah.

• New midday service on Route 153 in Renton and Kent.

• A partnership between Redmond and Microsoft to continue Route 644 between Kenmore and Redmond, which otherwise would expire in September.

Vancouver, Wash.

Trial delayed for veteran charged in shooting

Trial for an Iraq war veteran accused of shooting at a motorist has been rescheduled.

The trial was supposed to begin Monday in Clark County Superior Court for Christopher P. Partridge, but is now set for May 14.

His court-appointed attorney, Edward Dunkerly, said Tuesday he's still waiting for medical records from the Veterans Administration, and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tony Golik said he has another trial set to start Monday.

Partridge has pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault after allegedly firing a gun into another vehicle Sept. 18 while driving on Highway 500.

The driver had swerved to take the eastbound Thurston Way exit.

Nobody was injured.

Dunkerly has said he may use a defense of diminished capacity for Partridge, an Iraq War veteran diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Partridge has been in the Clark County Jail on $150,000 bail.

Seattle Times staff and news services