Teen rewarded for his honesty

Federal Way

Teen rewarded for his honesty

Integrity pays.

A 17-year-old who returned $10,000 he found at the Federal Way Top Food grocery store where he works has received several awards.

The teen, Moisei "Moses" Baraniuc, received $500 from the man who lost the money and another $500 from the store owner. He's also received at least a dozen cards and letters from strangers, some with checks and money orders worth nearly $100.

The teen told The Tacoma News Tribune that doing the right thing does pay off.

The Todd Beamer High School student found a bag stuffed with $50 and $100 bills in the restroom of the store Nov. 13 and turned it over to the manager. The money was the life savings of a Vancouver, Wash., man who had accidentally left it behind.

Maury Island

Construction begins on gravel-mine dock

Work on a new dock crucial to a gravel-mine expansion on Maury Island began Friday afternoon, marking the first construction on the project at the center of a decadelong fight.

Glacier Northwest, the company that owns the mine, hopes to have a decrepit dock there torn down and a 305-foot one built before mid-January, when work must stop in the water to protect migrating fish, said company official Peter Stoltz.

Environmentalists, who say the mine expansion and dock in Puget Sound will harm chinook salmon and endangered orcas, say they are confident they can persuade a King County court to order a halt to construction.

The work got under way with the go-ahead of King County after the state Department of Natural Resources issued a lease for underwater land where the dock will stand.

In a statement, King County Executive Ron Sims said the county had little choice but to let the project go ahead.

"This is a disappointment to those of us who work passionately to protect the waters of Puget Sound," he said.

Seattle

Cars can recharge at Sea-Tac garage

The Port of Seattle is offering parking spaces with plug-ins for electric vehicles at the main garage of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

The pilot program includes six spaces on the fifth floor of the garage that will provide free electric charging. The electric-vehicle plug-ins consist of standard 120 volt outlets with 20 amps. Standard parking rates will apply.

Federal Way

2 teens arrested in double shooting

Two teens were arrested Friday in connection with the shooting of two people on Thursday near Alderdale Park in what police say was a drug transaction.

A 17-year-old Covington boy and a 15-year-old Federal Way boy were arrested in Kent and have been booked into the King County Juvenile Detention Center on investigation of first-degree assault, police said.

According to police, both of the suspects had guns, and each of them shot one of the victims.

One of the victims, a 19-year-old Kent man, suffered life-threatening injuries and is in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center.

The other, a 17-year-old Federal Way boy, has been treated and released.

Federal Way police said the shooting took place around 2:30 p.m. in the 2700 block of Southwest 340th Place.

They said the shootings did not appear to be gang-related.

Seattle

Murder suspect likely fled to Mexico

Seattle police said that a man charged with stabbing his ex-wife to death in her Rainier Valley home on Sunday likely has fled to Mexico, where he has relatives.

The 2004 Suzuki Verona that was believed to have been driven by 39-year-old Jose Angel Blanco was found Friday in Santa Ana, Calif.

Blanco was charged Monday with first-degree murder in King County Superior Court in connection with the Nov. 30 slaying of 31-year-old Noemi Lopez.

According to police, Blanco stabbed Lopez 60 times while their children — ages 15, 13 and 6 — were at church with an aunt. He then left a message on his eldest daughter's cellphone warning her not to return to the home with her brother and sister.

Blanco was initially believed to have been driving a silver BMW, but that car was recovered in Algona early Tuesday, and police subsequently said Blanco was driving the Suzuki.

Seattle police said they are "working to secure his arrest."

Olympia

Judges disciplined for abusive behavior

Two judges have been disciplined by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct for their abusive behavior in the courtroom.

Seattle Municipal Court Judge Michael Hurtado received an order of admonishment, the least-serious form of discipline, and Federal Way Municipal Court Judge Michael Morgan received an order or reprimand, an intermediate-level form of discipline.

Hurtado agreed that on one occasion he failed to treat with patience and courtesy two attorneys who appeared before him. The commission ordered him to familiarize himself with the Code of Judicial Conduct, and it found that Hurtado generally maintains appropriate courtroom demeanor.

According to the commission, Morgan had a pattern of discourteous, undignified behavior and made comments that were threatening, disparaging or that otherwise violated the Code of Judicial Conduct in his association with present and former court personnel and city employees.

According to the commission, Morgan acknowledged that on a few occasions he "discussed matters of a personal or sexual nature with court staff" and "raised his voice and uttered profanities" during meetings. He said he acted in that way to give the impression that he was in charge and that the court was independent.

The commission, which is an independent regulatory agency, also noted that Morgan did report some of his conduct to the commission on his own and that he has been a judge only since January 2006. The commission ordered Morgan to be evaluated by a counselor, to undergo training to help him manage his judicial duties and to complete a course in judicial ethics.

Times staff and news services