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news: January 2008


Is ship builder a law breaker?

4:07 PM Thu, Jan 31, 2008 |

The KING 5 Investigators' tipline is full of stories from people who feel they've been ripped off.
Indeed, we've done stories on contractors who don't deliver on their promises, Web sites that aren't what they appear, or charities accepting money on behalf of people they really don't support.
But Phil Warnock's boat building business is the type of story that is uniquely Northwest. There can't be too many places where a boat maker ...



A question of acceptable risk

9:26 PM Wed, Jan 30, 2008 |

After closing I-90 for about 30 hours, the Washington State Department of Transportation had to make a call. To open the pass now that the avalanche threat had greatly dimished, or keep it closed despite an estimated impact of nearly $20 million a day to the economy.
After clearing out six major slide zones over and over again as the snow just kept coming down, exhausted WSDOT avalanche control teams on Wednesday morning, said it looked...



Stealing Cinnabon's dough

10:15 PM Mon, Jan 28, 2008 |

I couldn't resist the pun that rose quickly to mind on this one. A Seattle Police report from the weekend detailed allegations a Cinnabon manager stole thousands of dollars from his store by pocketing rolls of cash that were supposed to be deposited at the bank.

...



Stranded on a bendy bus

11:22 AM Mon, Jan 28, 2008 |

I had intended to drive in to work from Redmond into Seattle this morning because the roads were pretty clear, but before I'd even finished my latte, the snow began to fall - hard. It was quickly piling up so I decided to take the 545 express bus, which is one of those bendy "articulated" buses.
The driver had no trouble on the surface streets, but then we got to the West Lake Sammamish onramp to westbound 520. Another 545 bendy bus was...



Who invited them to the party?

7:16 PM Fri, Jan 25, 2008 |

Who hasn't hosted a little gathering at home among friends and new acquaintances after a night at the bars? I for one have attended a few after hours. But here's a cautionary tale about opening up your house for a late night shindig.

...



The check is not in the mail

7:00 PM Fri, Jan 25, 2008 |

I've blogged previously about the danger of sending checks in the mail since I read about the incidents of identity theft reported by the Seattle Police Department every day. Well, I came across another one today I wanted to share.

...



Wild in West Seattle

9:26 PM Tue, Jan 22, 2008 |

In the past month, Seattle Animal Control has captured two servals in West Seattle. Although they were underweight and malnourished, they tell us these wild African cats are much bigger and more dangerous than domestic cats - and are also illegal in the city.
Animal control officers believe the cats were likely owned by the same person and either escaped, or were set free.

...



Afternoon sunshine at the new terminal

7:46 PM Mon, Jan 21, 2008 |

This is the spectacular new Terminal 3 at Beijing's airport.
It is really an amazing building, or set of three buildings. It is designed to represent a dragon chasing a pearl, which may sound odd for an airport as you're reading my description in black-on-white words, but it is a design that really seems to work.

...



Facing down the sewer monster

7:44 PM Mon, Jan 21, 2008 |

Photographer Ken Jones is always up to a challenge. Here, he goes lens-to-nose with a sewer pipe-crawling remote controlled inspection device. This and other very cool sewer-inspection-and-repair devices were used in more than 700 miles worth of sewer lines in and around Olympic Park.

...



Lab-coat fashion at the Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine

6:36 PM Mon, Jan 21, 2008 |

It's too late at night after too long a day to be blogging, but here I am anyway...
This was a fascinating trip to the Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine. Absolutely fascinating. And the place had nothing to do with the Olympic Games.
Well, maybe if you reallly stretch the point.

...



A fraternal gesture that goes a long way

10:30 PM Thu, Jan 17, 2008 |

Fraternities get a lot of bad press, at least that is the complaint we hear often when we're out on the UW Greek Row. Too often the media focuses on the drinking or the hazing.
But tonight we met a group of young men at Tau Kappa Epsilon who help dispell the bad reputation.
At a party Wednesday night, the TKE brothers took a collection for the assault victim attacked near Greek Row last week. They raised about $680 and one of their...



A fraternal gesture goes a long way

10:30 PM Thu, Jan 17, 2008 |

Fraternities get a lot of bad press, at least that is the complaint we hear often when we're out on the UW Greek Row. Too often the media focuses on the drinking or the hazing. But tonight we met a group of young men at Tau Kappa Epsilon who help dispell the bad reputation.

...



When it comes to air safety, can victory ever be declared?

5:15 PM Thu, Jan 17, 2008 |

It could have been so much worse. At 12:42 p.m. London time, a British Airways Boeing 777 lands short of the runway at London's Heathrow Airport.
The main landing gear is sheared off. The evacuation slides are deployed, and everybody gets out. Nobody dies. In fact, no one is seriously hurt.
And that is good news.

...



Dep. drug czar pushing random drug tests in schools

11:01 AM Thu, Jan 17, 2008 |

This morning, White House deputy drug czar Bertha Madras was in Des Moines, discussing the idea of random, mandatory drug testing of students in high schools.
Lake Stevens High School already has a similar program in place that is supported by a federal grant. The drug testing there is for ANYONE involved in extracurricular a...



The Public's Right to Know

5:52 PM Thu, Jan 10, 2008 |

Washington’s public disclosure laws are tough, but not as tough as you’ll see in other states.

Here, if a court finds a governmental agency wrongfully withholds documents from a citizen, the judge can fine the agency between $5 and $100 a day for each record not turned over in a timely manner.

One state over, it's way tougher. In Idaho they’re talking about personal accountability to discourage government secrecy. A judge can...



Avalanche Control: They're not messing around

3:17 PM Thu, Jan 10, 2008 |

With the waves of winter storms dumping more and more snow on the mountain passes, many drivers will be sitting in traffic backups because of avalanche control work. While it may not seem like it as the freeway becomes a parking lot, I have to tell you the avalanche crews do work as fast as they can to limit closure times.

...



Hope Solo, right or wrong?

2:51 PM Wed, Jan 09, 2008 |

So, is she right or wrong? Are you for or against?
I sat down for an extended interview with soccer goalie Hope Solo last week. Tonight our first news story based on that interview will run on KING5. This is the "Moving Forward" story, tracking where she's headed after a controversial and tumultuous World Cup last year during which she alienated many people in the soccer world, the sports world, and especially the "I've-got-kids-in-littl...



Storm staying: Good enough for you?

11:50 AM Tue, Jan 08, 2008 |

I'll be the first to admit I'm a WNBA fan more than an NBA fan. Call it boring if you want, but I prefer taking my nieces and nephew to see more of an emphasis on fundamentals than the high-flying dunkonomics and poor free throw shooting that you seem to see on the NBA floor every night. So, I was thrilled to hear that Clay Bennett >> Continue reading: Storm staying: Good enough for you?



Has the HD disk format war been called?

5:43 PM Mon, Jan 07, 2008 |

On Friday, Warner Brothers announced it was going to stop offering movies in the HD-DVD format and go exclusively with Sony's Blu-Ray.
They are the 5th major studio to do so.
Some of the key hold-outs include Paramount, Universal and Dreamworks, which will continue to offer high-definition movies in both formats as far as we can tell.
Microsoft is also a big backer for HD-DVD and you can, for between $100 and $150, buy an att...



Hope Solo marches on in her Olympic bid

9:15 PM Sun, Jan 06, 2008 |

Have I told you lately how much I love this job?
I had a chance to kick a soccer ball around with Hope Solo last week. Challenged her to a one-on-one penalty kick shootout. Got my butt kicked; had a great day. And we sat down and talked at length about some tough subjects, which means mostly about her and the things she did and said to make herself famous at the recent Women's World Cup.
All she did, you may remember, is publicly ...



Enough Already!

2:01 PM Thu, Jan 03, 2008 |

I don't watch much football, but even I know USC has a reputation for acting arrogant and spoiled on the football field. So I shouldn't have been surprised to see Desmond Reed flip into the end zone for a touchdown during the Rose Bowl Game against Illinois. I shouldn't have been surprised when his teammate Fred Davis pranced around waving his fingers to taunt the Illini after scoring a touchdown. The resulting 15 yard penalties were clearly...



Computer glitch throws wrench into New Year's show

12:28 AM Tue, Jan 01, 2008 |

If you were like me, you were stunned when the fireworks mysteriously stopped at the Space Needle just after the stroke of midnight with the Star Wars theme playing in the background.

(Watch video of the show here.)

"We wish you could show you more right now, but something has stopped," said KING 5 anchor Dennis Bounds.

Then, less than a minute late...