Beacon Hill tavern shooting injures 3

Seattle

A woman and two men were shot and seriously injured when a man opened fire for unknown reasons in a Beacon Hill tavern Friday night, Seattle police reported.

A 27-year-old woman was shot in the chest and a 37-year-old man was shot twice in the torso at The Beacon Pub, 3057 Beacon Ave. S., police spokeswoman Renee Witt said. They both underwent surgery at Harborview Medical Center and were listed in stable condition Saturday evening, a hospital nursing supervisor said.

A 28-year-old man, shot in the knee, was also treated at Harborview, police said.

Witt said two of the victims "stated that they did not know the shooter and didn't know of a possible motive." The third victim, the 37-year-old, was not immediately interviewed because he was being treated at the time.

Police are looking for the gunman.

Fife

Parked patrol car struck; 3 injured

A 21-year-old Seattle man was booked into Pierce County Jail after his car struck a parked Washington State Patrol car on Interstate 5 early Saturday morning, injuring a state trooper and two other people.

The driver was booked on suspicion of vehicular assault and driving with a suspended license.

Trooper Keith Pigott's patrol car was struck while he was pulled over during a traffic stop. The car driven by the Seattle man left the road, striking the patrol car and pushing it into the car in front of it.

Pigott and two other people, including the driver of the car Pigott had pulled over, were injured. They were treated at Tacoma General Hospital.

Tulalip Reservation

Suspect SUV found in fatal hit-and-run

Snohomish County sheriff's deputies have taken into evidence a Jeep Grand Cherokee that may have been driven in a fatal hit-and-run near Marysville on Wednesday morning.

A 58-year-old Marysville woman had been walking in the 12400 block of 34th Avenue Northeast when she was struck and killed. Her body was found about 6:40 a.m.

The Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office identified the woman as Nicole Cheek.

The Sheriff's Office also reported Saturday that a 41-year-old Snohomish County man has been identified as the driver but had not been arrested. The man is not the vehicle's registered owner, but deputies said the Jeep had not been stolen.

Detectives said the investigation could take up to a couple of months to complete.

Authorities are still asking anyone with information about the incident to call the Sheriff's Office tip line at 425-388-3845.

Bellingham

Faculty protests lack of contract

About 150 Western Washington University faculty members picketed outside the school's board of trustees meeting Friday, protesting the lack of a contract after more than a year of negotiations.

The contract would be the first for the faculty since the formation of the union, United Faculty of Western Washington, two years ago.

Five major points are holding up the contract: salaries, teaching load, non-tenure-track faculty, the faculty senate, and arbitration and grievances.

Kevin Raymond, chairman of the board, said the administration bargaining team put out a new proposal, which included salary raises that were higher than what faculty members at Central and Eastern Washington universities received this year. Because of spring break, the faculty bargaining team has yet to review the proposal, union representatives said.

During negotiations, the university's faculty (624 full-time-equivalent members) have been working under the old contract.

Everyone involved is anxious about reaching a decision on the contract, union Vice President Kristi Lemm said, because the university's administration will change this summer when President Karen Morse retires.

Seattle Times staff and news services