91-year-old charged in death

Pierce County

The 91-year-old man suspected of shooting his caregiver at a University Place assisted-living facility has been charged with second-degree murder.

Joe Conway Elder was charged in Pierce County Superior Court on Wednesday. Police believe Elder killed Ramoncito Barro, a 38-year-old father of five, on Tuesday.

Barro, who worked part time at the facility owned by his parents, was preparing to take Elder to a medical appointment when Elder pulled out a gun and opened fire, said Ed Troyer, Pierce County sheriff's spokesman.

Elder, who is being held at the Pierce County Jail, is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 2 for a competency hearing.

Mount Vernon

Kidnapping suspect sought by police

The Skagit County Sheriff's Office is looking for a man suspected of abducting a 22-year-old woman and her 2-year-old son from a migrant labor camp near Burlington.

The missing woman's sister told police that a 17-year-old who had been rebuffed by the missing woman entered their cabin Saturday with another man armed with guns. They ransacked the cabin, stole money the family had earned over several months and forced the two women and a child into a van.

The sister, who is 15, was released, but because of language difficulties police weren't aware of the details until Monday.

Detectives were obtaining an arrest warrant for 17-year-old Sebastian Sanchez-Velasco, who may be driving a white Plymouth Voyager van with California license plate 4AEJ690.

Seattle

Safeco Field event means extra traffic

Because more than 22,000 people are expected to attend today's Microsoft annual meeting at Safeco Field, morning and afternoon peak-hour traffic is likely to be heavy on streets around the ballfield and on the Interstate 90 exit ramp to Fourth Avenue South.

Hundreds of charter buses transporting meeting attendees will be exiting Interstate 5 at the South Forest Street offramp, and buses will head north on Sixth Avenue, then west on South Holgate Street.

The Fourth Avenue South freeway offramp will be used mainly by cars heading to Safeco Field and Qwest Event Center garages, and traffic near garage entrances is expected to be extremely heavy. Both parking facilities are expected to fill to capacity.

The meeting is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., but heavier traffic should be noticed up to a couple of hours before and after the meeting.

Olympia

Student scholarship program expanded

The state's scholarship program for low-income students is being expanded. Students in ninth grade will now be able to enlist in the program formerly available only to seventh- and eighth-graders.

The Legislature expanded the new College Bound Scholarship program to give kids more time to sign up.

Students are eligible if they qualify for free- or reduced-price lunches or are in foster care. They can go to college for free if they pledge to stay in school and out of trouble and if their family still meets the income requirement when they enroll in college.

Bellevue

Expect weekend delays on I-405

Expect delays this weekend on northbound Interstate 405 in Bellevue.

State Department of Transportation crews working to widen I-405 will close one lane on northbound I-405 in Bellevue between 112th Avenue Southeast and Coal Creek Parkway from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday. A second lane will close nightly for the following three nights: 11 p.m. Friday until 7 a.m. Saturday; midnight Saturday until 8 a.m. Sunday; and 11 p.m. Sunday until 5 a.m. Monday.

The closures will give crews room to pave the new northbound I-405 lane.

Crews will also close the following ramps from 11 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday: the ramp from 112th Avenue Southeast to northbound I-405 and the ramp from northbound I-405 to Coal Creek Parkway.

Tumwater, Thurston County

Workers' comp boost considered

A state agency has proposed a 3 percent boost in workers'-compensation rates, although officials say inflation indicates that the increase should be bigger.

Under the Department of Labor & Industries proposal, average premiums would rise by nearly 2 cents for each hour worked next year. That would raise an additional $57 million.

Director Judy Schurke said there are signs a bigger increase might be needed. She noted that wages rose 5 percent last year, while health-care costs are expected to go up by 5.5 percent in 2009.

She said the agency held down its recommended increase in workers'-compensation rates to try to help businesses in uncertain economic times.

A final decision is set for late November.

Times staff and news services