August 2015

A reckless night of drinking and driving left one dead and one man on the run only to be found hiding under a parked car. The crash took place in the early morning hours of August 14th when 26-year-old Benjamin Joseph Smith, the passenger, and an unnamed 24-year-old man from Kent, the driver, failed to make the turn at the intersection of S.W. 119th Street and Ambaum Boulevard and ran a late model white BMW into the jersey barrier on the opposite side of the road.

Emergency responders arrived to find that the driver had fled the scene and that Smith had been killed by a severe head injury caused by the impact. In thanks to King County Sheriff’s department’s Guardian One helicopter and K9 units, police were able to locate the driver who had hidden under a car in a nearby driveway.

King County, WA – Newly released data from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) shows that marijuana is increasing as a factor in deadly crashes. The number of drivers involved in deadly crashes who tested positive for marijuana increased 48 percent from 2013 to 2014.

“We have seen marijuana involvement in fatal crashes remain steady over the years, and then it just spiked in 2014,” said Dr. Staci Hoff, WTSC Data and Research Director.

From 2010-2014, nearly 60% of drivers involved in fatal collisions were tested for drugs. Among these tested drivers, approximately 20% (349 drivers) were positive for marijuana.

However, just testing positive for marijuana doesn’t necessarily indicate if a driver was actually affected by the drug at the time of the crash since marijuana can be detected in a person’s blood for days (possibly weeks) after a person uses the drug. This new data is able to distinguish between drivers who test positive for THC, the impairing substance in marijuana and those who have residual marijuana in their system from prior use which may have occurred days ago.

By Eric Mathison

When Andrea Reay first took over as executive director of Discover Burien, she paired the part-time job with full-time work downtown at the Seattle Opera.

She’d leave home in the Manhattan neighborhood at 7:15 a.m. and not get back until 9 or 9:30 at night.

“It was a crazy schedule,” Andrea recalls. “It was not pretty.”

Luckily, Discover Burien board members wisely realized that even with a great volunteer base their ambitious plans to add additional events, more committees and expanded member services, called for a full-time director. The group focuses on Burien economic development and community engagement.

So in 2015, the board hired Andrea on full-time. No more leaving Burien to work at the opera.

“It felt so luxurious—just one job,” Andrea jokes.

She even got a part-time assistant.

Andrea’s down to “only” a 57-hour work week now.

That’s the way she likes it.

“I’m the kind of person who is better when busy,” Andrea notes. “I’m happier; I can relax more when I’m busy.”

She adds, “When you find your passion and pursue it as a career, it doesn’t feel like work.”

Cooking over an open wood fire may be a once in a while activity for most Westerners, but for almost half of the world population, cooking over an open wood-fueled flame is a daily task, and the practice has serious health, social and environmental consequences.

Two Ballard residents are part of a non-profit looking to change that with a stove fueled by seeds.

Sarah Doherty and Tad Anderson are members of Jet City StoveWorks, and they have been working since 2012 on a project that could dramatically affect the lives of people in Tanzania.

Anderson was an associate research professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington and spent 25 years with the department. He retired four years ago with the goal of devoting his time to working on climate issues and a range of other community-based projects.

Doherty earned her doctorate in atmospheric science at the University of Washington, and Anderson was one of her advisers. Doherty stayed at UW and is now a senior research scientist and associate professor in atmospheric sciences.

Shoplifters make get-away with goods, assault employee with bear spray

Seattle firefighter Jake Desmarteau, based at Station 36 near Harbor Island is just back from a deployment to the Chelan Complex where his strike team of four fought the fires there. His team was some of the 20 Seattle Firefighters that were dispatched in Central and Eastern Washington to assist in firefighting operations. 16 of the firefighters have received wildland fire training and have their Incident Qualification Card or “red cards.”

His team was on a Type 1 engine, (intended for structural firefighting), based in Chelan Falls.

"We arrived under the cover of darkness on Aug. 16, " Despenau said," and that was the day that the fires in Chelan got a head of steam and got as one described 'out of control' and pushed in on the City of Chelan as it was potentially going to overtake it. They lost a lot of warehouses and things. Which is why I think they deployed Type 1 engines just to put the fires that were in those structures out."

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

High schools

Football
Kennedy Catholic will kick off its football season Friday, playing in the Ballard Jamboree at 4 p.m.

The Highline Public Schools Jamboree follows at 11 a.m. Saturday, with Mount Rainier, Evergreen and Highline doing battle at Highline Memorial.

Pros

Seahawks
Seattle pays a 5 p.m. visit to San Diego on Saturday as it continues exhibition play.

The action can be seen live on Channel 7 TV and heard on 710 AM.

Mariners
The Seattle Mariners wrap up their current homestand Wednesday, hosting the Oakland A's for 12:40 p.m. action at Safeco Field.

Seattle then goes to Chicago for four games against the White Sox.

Games start at 5:10 p.m. Thursday and Friday followed by a 4:10 p.m. game Saturday and an 11:10 a.m. contest Sunday.

From there it's on to Houston for 5:10 p.m. action Monday and Tuesday.

Mariners games are carried on the ROOT Sports cable television network and 710 AM radio.

Rainiers

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Chief Sealth graduate Keone Kela continues to play a key role for the Texas Rangers, who surged into the lead for the second American League wild card spot with a sweep of the Detroit Tigers over the weekend.
The rookie right-handed reliever picked up his 14th hold of the season Sunday, throwing a scoreless eighth inning and striking out two.

Kela has lowered his earned run average to 2.84 over 50.2 innings pitched in 56 games.

He has a 6-5 record and one save with 55 strikeouts.

Mann playing independent ball

Mount Rainier graduate Brandon Mann is now pitching for the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.

Mann was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2002 and the left-hander toiled as a farmhand for them until he spent two seasons with the Yokohama Bay Stars in Japan (2011 and 2012).

Mann received an invitation to spring training with the Washington Nationals that and spent time in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization last year before being cut and going to the independent ranks.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

High school

Practices
Turnouts for football begin across the state of Washington on Wednesday, while the rest of the fall sports get underway Monday.

Contact respective schools for more information.

Pros

Mariners
Seattle plays an 11:05 a.m. game in Texas on Wednesday before coming home to Safeco Field to face the Chicago White Sox at 7:10 p.m. Friday, 6:10 p.m. Saturday and 1:10 p.m. Sunday.

Saturday is Robinson Cano bobblehead night.

The Oakland Athletics will follow the White Sox into town, playing 7:10 p.m. games Monday and Tuesday.

Mariners action can be seen on the ROOT Sports cable television network and heard on 710 AM.

Rainiers
Tacoma is in Colorado Springs for 5:35 p.m. action Wednesday and Thursday ahead of a 6:05 p.m. game Friday and a 5:05 p.m. contest Saturday.

The Rainiers then come home to Cheney Stadium to play the Memphis Redbirds at 5:05 p.m. Sunday and 7:05 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.

Tacoma games are carried on 850 AM and MiLB cable television.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Pros

Mariners
Seattle is home at Safeco Field to face the Chicago White Sox at 7:10 p.m. Friday, 6:10 p.m. Saturday and 1:10 p.m. Sunday.

Saturday is Robinson Cano bobblehead night and Friday is fireworks night with Felix Hernandez taking the mound.

The Oakland Athletics will follow the White Sox into town, playing 7:10 p.m. games Monday and Tuesday.
Mariners action can be seen on the ROOT Sports cable television network and heard on 710 AM.

Rainiers
Tacoma is in Colorado Springs for a 6:05 p.m. game Friday and a 5:05 p.m. contest Saturday.

The Rainiers then come home to Cheney Stadium to play the Memphis Redbirds at 5:05 p.m. Sunday and 7:05 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.

Tacoma games are carried on 850 AM and MiLB cable television.

Seahawks
Seattle continues its preseason action Friday, paying a 5 p.m. visit to the Kansas City Chiefs that can be seen on Channel 13 television and heard on 710 AM.

Sounders