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What's with these guys? Last night we had a Lynnwood woman who hired a tree cutting service start a job. They did and then vanished. At least when we got a hold of the business they stepped up and finished what they started. So what can you do? Number one: Never pay for the whole deal upfront. Secondly, check with the Department of Labor and Industries to see if the company has been in trouble (i.e. judgments) before. Third, ask for the name of the owner of the company. If you check the L&I search engine, you may find out the owner may have run other businesses in the ground. Talk to your friends. They often have good references or they'll save you from hiring a bad business. Full story.]]> How could the DOC do that? Simple. They have no other options. ]]> With no state money for sex-offender housing and few landlords willing to rent to them, the choices are slim. At least when a Community Corrections Officer, such as Mary Rehberg, assigns a bridge, she knows where to look for her charge. The offender is supposed to be at the agreed-upon location from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. If they're not there, Rehberg, a committed veteran, goes into overdrive to find him or her. Rehberg offered a challenge to the community, and specifically to landlords, when we spent a day with her: "If they're that concerned about him (a sex offender) being put under a bridge, step forward. Give us the opporunity to house them at their place. We'd be more than happy to look at it." Full story.]]> Crates aren't the problem. Not letting customers know about them is. Some of the kennel's customers were urged by kennel management to call us to give us positive feedback about their experiences. They did that. But most had no idea about crating during busy times. One of the owners who called told us his Yorkie had acted skittish and "really off" for several months after his two-week stay at the kennel over Christmas last year. When we told the pet owner we could see his Yorkie in a travel crate in home video secretly taken by an employee during the holidays, he was most disappointed. He had been led to believe his Yorkie had been in a private, roomy, indoor/outdoor run as advertised. According to the Humane Society of the United States, "crate training takes some time and effort, but it is a proven way to help train dogs who act inappropriately without knowing any better. A crate is also a safe way of transporting your dog in the car or taking him places where he may not be welcome to run freely." Full story.]]> We really try to find some kind of resolution in these reports. But sometimes the people who run these businesses would rather run and hide than face the music.]]> Alaya Decor, a furniture store in Auburn, shut its doors weeks ago. We tried to speak with the people behind the company, but no one wanted to speak to us. Just a,"hey, we're sorry, we blew it" is something many of us would understand. After sometime, we got a hold of one of Selene Hill's attorneys. She is listed on the corporation papers as one of the governing people of Alaya Decor. Her lawyer told us not to speak to her, but only to him. Fine. We drove all the way to Tacoma to talk with the lawyer. When he saw me, he refused to say a word. So, that's when we ended up going back to his client's house. She called the cops on us. Folks, there will be times when we can't get your money or items back. But part of our job is to remind some of these business people that they cannot ignore their customers' calls, e-mails, and letters. If we can't find resolution in some of these reports, what do you think we should do? Expose the business, drop the story, or something in between? Full story.]]> Things have cooled down along the route of the torch relay after weeks of protest and disruption and occasional violence and many arrests. But it has cooled down only because the relay has been running through Vietnam and North Korea and is now on Chinese soil. The flame has been split (not sure how that really works) into two pieces with one in Hong Kong right now and the other at an Everest base-camp. The "Journey of Harmony' as the Games organizers have dubbed it (before the first step was run and the first torch attack launched, obviously) will now be truly harmonious.]]> The Chinese are fiercely proud of their country and fiercely proud of the chance to stage the Olympics. They will cheer the torch every step of the way now and there will be few, very few public protests along the route - even fewer that we in the West will ever know about or see. But the protests haven't ended, we can be sure of that. Expect to see organized demonstrations outside of Chinese embassies in major capitals around the world as we get close to the games and right through the end of the competition. Expect major Olympic sponsors to become more prominent targets. These protests will draw the attention of the press and be the filter through which much of the world views the events taking place in Beijing. There's also still the talk of boycotts and demonstrations by athletes and skipping the opening ceremonies as a way of snubbing the hosts. We'll see if any of that happens. And the world will see how the hosts react. It's going to be an interesting 100 days. Let's hope nobody gets hurt...]]> But wouldn't you know it, at the same time home prices are going down, gas prices keep going up. That has added an interesting conundrum to my search. I have found that I am not only looking for the best deal, I am also looking for the most convenient bus line to work since I take the bus about four days a week on average. Here's one example. ]]> I found a great condo that I was ready to put an offer on. I sat down and did my budget for the upcoming year, taking all possible expenses into account. Then, I went to Metro Transit's trip planner online to determine which bus would get me to downtown Seattle quickest. Uh oh. The trip planner said I'd have to transfer once at Sea-Tac Airport, and all told, my one-way commute would take just over an hour. Add the time it takes to walk to and from bus stops and my round-trip commute would be three hours a day. Yikes! I was about to give up on the place just for that reason. There was no way I could afford to give up the bus and drive every day to work. As gas prices sit now, it would cost me $200 a month minimum in my fuel-efficient compact car- and that's just going to work and back. And you know that's only going to get worse. Fortunately, some more investigating helped me determine that my new potential home would only be a mile from a transit station, and there were three different buses from there that went straight to downtown Seattle. Problem solved (and a reminder that Metro may need to update its trip planner). But it goes to show you the domino effect. There are several things affecting the housing market, and yes, the price of gas is one of them. ]]> But we were skeptical when we heard these allegations leveled at Dean Marie Solomon. Her rescue facility - Pacific Equestrian Center in Kent/Auburn - was promoted as a place where everything from thoroughbred race horses to backyard pets could get a second chance. Yet, as we talked with people who used to volunteer at P.E.C. or board horses there, and the King County Animal Control Officers who repeatedly warned Solomon to improve conditions, the picture emerged of a rescue in deep trouble.]]> Today Solomon was arraigned on four counts of Animal Cruelty, including two horses that had to be euthanized. Solomon denies the abuse charges, but her case raises a question: Should "rescues" be licensed or regulated? Serenity Equine Rescue & Rehabilitation of Maple Valley has taken in 22 of Solomon's horses over the past year. But as Serenity's owner, Patricia Clark, struggles to pay enormous feed and vet bills, she worries the public will be leery of all rescues and withhold support. That would be a shame because many people who rescue horses do so at considerable personal sacrifice and there are so many horses in need. Full story.]]> Here's the background: A number of customers took their pianos to Kent's Second Hand Pianos (SHP) for consignment. In other words, a customer gives the pianos to SHP, then SHP refurbishes the piano, sells it and gives the customer the proceeds minus fees. But SHP has gone out of business. We know of at least three customers who have no idea where their pianos are and there may be more victims. Kent Police say they want to know more too. We spoke to SHP's owners Mark and Marci Bagley. They are giving up the location of the pianos. At least one customer has spoken to the Bagleys and they refused to tell them the whereabouts of their missing piano. On our Web site we have pictures of Gayle Birrell's piano. She signed a deal with the Bagleys and she has not seen her piano since. If you recognize this piano, please contact us. You may have purchased it, but it is not yours. Yeah, I know, the piano is worth thousands of dollars. And someone will be throwing a lot of money away by giving the piano back to its rightful owner. But I have faith the person who has this piano is someone will do the right thing. Full story.]]> The victim, Sabrina, is now a 29-year-old mother of five. She was just 15 when David Torrence grabbed her off the street, dragged her behind a vacant home and raped her - a random act of violence. On Thursday night she found out by watching KING 5 News that Torrence had been released from prison and had cut off his electronic monitoring ankle bracelet. The Department of Corrections issued a nationwide warrant for his arrest for escape. We found Sabrina is enrolled in what's called the Victim/Witness Notification Program, run by the Department of Corrections. In letters they assured her she'd be notified if Torrence were to be released from prison and if he ever went back into custody. In 2002, the DOC did in fact alert Sabrina that Torrence was getting out for serving time for the rape. But they failed to tell her he went back in and out of prison 4 more times after that. She had no idea he'd been convicted repeatedly for failing to register as a sex offender, and for drug possession and theft. When we told Sabrina, she felt even more let down by the Victim/Witness Program. "As far as I'm concerned, the victim/witness notification process is worthless because there was no protection for me when I needed it," said Sabrina. "I find that really unfair that I am a victim and I was supposed to be protected and they failed me." The D.O.C. tells us they will look into what went wrong in Sabrina's case. "If there is something that would put a victim at risk, then we need to address that through our practices and policies," said Anna Aylward of the DOC. Full story.]]> He did what many of us should do when we are shortchanged, he complained and fought back. How many times have you been nickel-and-dimed but don't do anything about it? It happened to me not to long ago. I was double-charged at a drug store. I didn't notice until I checked my bank statement, and I got too busy to deal with it. It cost me five bucks. But five dollars is five dollars. Tony did the right thing, not just for himself, but for all of us. ARCO is a company that, I believe, will check into this issue and correct it. How many times have you let something like this slide and later on regret doing so? Full story.]]> For several years he's run a successful business selling pickled olives, onions and other vegetables to restaurants and online. Like any good businessman, last year he applied for trademark protection with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. That's when fast food giant McDonald's came into the picture. In 1994, McDonald's successfully forced a California coffee owner to change the name of her shop, which was then called, "McCoffee." Her name by the way is Elizabeth McCaughey; it was a play on her name. What are your thoughts on this issue? Some customers are simply suffering from the sticker shock of paying a plumber. But poor workmanship, customer relations and rogue "plumbers" also plague the industry. From covering this story, I've learned a couple things you should do to protect yourself. First, find a plumber BEFORE disaster strikes. If you have to call a stranger to your plumbing crisis in the middle of the night, you could be setting yourself up for shoddy work and a big bill. Secondly, ask to see that person's journeyman's plumber's license (or check them out on the State's contractor's Web site). If you're going to pay the big money (many plumbers charge $130-$150 an hour), you should get a fully licensed plumber. If you've got a plumbing tale to relate, I'd love to hear it. I also wonder if some of you plumbers out there want to weigh in. Full story.]]> Buyer on eBay gets sued by a seller for leaving neutral feedback. Seller is sex offender on the run. Wow. And he's worried about his reputation? What surprised us is that we had all kinds of difficulty getting court information from North Carolina. And then, we get a call from a detective from the Henderson County Sheriff's Department asking for OUR help. We're told the man was convicted of possession of child porn in 1985. We didn't want to know the sordid details, but the fact that this man wants to show up in courtroom again, is unbelievable. You just never know who you are dealing with on eBay. And you never know how they are going to deal with you. Full story.]]> Someone mysteriously posted an interesting YouTube Clip over the weekend, which includes some surprising comments from NBA Commissioner David Stern.
http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/sonics/index.html#027467 Also, a quick thanks to KING-5 Photographer Mike Bachety, Demetri, Craig Helfant and Jamie Jackson at NBC Newschannel. They all worked together to solve some technical issues while we were in Manhattan, so we could get the story back to Seattle. Here's Mike and me:
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