Convicted sex offender charged

Seattle

A 33-year-old convicted sex offender who police say tried to entice a 7-year-old boy inside a Capitol Hill grocery earlier this month has been charged in King County Superior Court with attempted luring.

Police say Henry Richard Newell approached the boy who was with his father inside a supermarket in the 1400 block of Broadway on April 2. While the boy's father was a few feet away talking to a salesperson, Newell walked up to the boy and said, "Come with me," according to charging documents.

The incident was captured on the store's camera, the documents say. Newell left the store when he realized the boy's father was nearby. He was arrested when he returned to the store two weeks later and an employee called 911, according to police.

Newell, who is homeless, has a prior felony conviction in Oregon for raping an 11-year-old girl and is a registered sex offender, according to the documents. He is being held in King County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned May 7.

Seattle

Woman sought in Columbia City stabbing

Police are searching for a woman in connection with the stabbing of a Burien woman Wednesday night in Columbia City in Seattle.

The 42-year-old victim, who wasn't identified by police, was taken to Harborview Medical Center, said Seattle police spokeswoman Renee Witt. Her family requested that details about her condition not be released, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Police received a call about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday that a woman was "bleeding badly" at an apartment building in the 5000 block of 37th Avenue South, Witt said. The woman had apparently shown up at her neighbor's apartment with stab wounds to her neck and cheek, according to a police report.

According to the report, the woman had been in a bar near the apartment building when she got into a fight and was stabbed.

No arrests have been made.

Seattle

Suspect charged in fatal beating

A 48-year-old man was charged Thursday in King County Superior Court with second-degree murder in connection with the beating death of a 49-year-old woman inside a Pioneer Square apartment Tuesday.

Keith Johnson is being held in King County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail.

The victim, Candace L. Kaake, was found about 1:30 a.m. by a friend who went to visit her at the Frye Hotel, a low-income-housing complex at 223 Yesler Way.

Police said that Kaake was struck repeatedly over the head with a lamp, and that she died after a violent struggle, according to charging papers. Neighbors said they heard a loud argument or disturbance coming from her room sometime before her death, according to the papers.

Johnson is scheduled to be arraigned May 8 at the Seattle courthouse. If convicted, he faces a sentencing range of 12 to 20 years in prison.

Seattle

First transit forum set for next month

King County's first Countywide Community Forum — on roads and transit — is scheduled to begin in mid-May, founder Dick Spady announced Thursday.

Spady said in a statement that 1,050 people have signed up to talk about transportation options in groups of four to 12. Initiative 24, promoted last year by restaurateur Spady and adopted by the Metropolitan King County Council, specified that the first forum would be scheduled after 1,000 citizens agreed to participate.

Forums will be scheduled at times and places convenient to participants, who will discuss transportation issues after viewing a 15-minute video documentary. The film will feature interviews with people including Bellevue Square developer Kemper Freeman Jr. and Tim Gould of the Sierra Club. Results of a written survey of participants will be provided to county officials and the public.

To participate, sign up at www.countywidecommunityforums.org or call 206-296-1633.

Seattle

"Prostitution" signs to be removed

Soon, drivers in Seattle will no longer see signs that label a part of Aurora Avenue North as a "Prostitution and Drug Watch Area."

Mayor Greg Nickels announced Thursday the city will remove the "controversial" signs, installed in the 1980s north of Green Lake, as part of a $150,000 improvement plan. Recent police crackdowns and block-watch patrols have reduced a long-standing crime problem, and neighbors seek help making the area more attractive.

Also, red-light cameras will be installed at North 85th Street, and a new left-turn signal at North 90th Street, along with more streetlights. In the future, the area is scheduled to become a bus-rapid transit corridor, and would likely be landscaped.

Orting, Pierce County

Retired Army major to run for Congress

A retired Army major from Orting announced he will run in the 8th Congressional District as a Democrat, setting up a primary contest for Democratic candidate Darcy Burner. The Eastside district's seat is held by Republican Dave Reichert.

Jim Vaughn, 53, runs a staffing service to help veterans find jobs. He says he has better credentials than the two other candidates because of his military experience.

In particular, Vaughn criticized Burner's plan to end the war in Iraq. Burner released the plan last month. Any plan to withdraw troops should be made behind closed doors, Vaughn's Web site says, and he says withdrawing troops and replacing them with civilian security companies is too dangerous. He also supports using Iraqi oil revenue to pay for the war because "to the victor go the spoils."

Before Vaughn announced his candidacy, Burner was uncontested for the Democratic nomination to challenge Reichert. In 2006, she lost narrowly to Reichert. State Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Bellevue, filed to run against Burner last summer but pulled out of the race after he said Burner's successful fundraising convinced him she was a good candidate.

Richland

Agreement reached on Hanford spill fine

The state and federal government have agreed on a fine for a radioactive-waste spill at the Hanford nuclear reservation.

The spill occurred July 27, when workers were pumping waste from an underground tank. The state Department of Ecology fined the U.S. Department of Energy $500,000 in December.

But the two agencies said Thursday they had reached a settlement. The Energy Department will still pay a $50,000 fine but must spend $200,000 to replace filters on some tanks and provide emergency equipment for a local hazardous-materials response team.

The remaining $250,000 of the fine will be suspended if a similar incident doesn't occur in the next year.

Seattle Times staff and news services