In brief: Woman finds bomb in car
AUBURN, Wash. – Police in the south Seattle suburb of Auburn, Wash., say a woman who stopped at a gas station found an explosive device attached to her car. She called for help Wednesday, and the nearby area was temporarily blocked off while a bomb squad responded.
Police Cmdr. Mike Hirman said officers confirmed the item was an improvised explosive device. No one was hurt.
Hirman said the device was inside the car’s fuel hatch.
A bomb squad neutralized the device.
Man gets prison for polluting
TACOMA – A Washington state developer is getting prison time for polluting.
Bryan Stowe was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to six months in prison and a $300,000 fine. Seattle U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan said it’s one of the first criminal prosecutions under the Clean Water Act in U.S. history.
Stowe admitted that he and his construction company deliberately ignored the conditions of their stormwater discharge permit when they were cleared 50 acres for warehouses next to the West Valley Highway in Sumner.
He repeatedly pumped sediment from the site into the nearby White River, despite warnings from environmental officials, and caused two major landslides that closed the highway in 2010 and 2011.
Stowe also must pay $100,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and his company has been ordered to pay $350,000.
Judge calls in jury shirkers
OKANOGAN, Wash. – An Okanogan County Superior Court Judge has issued court summons to about 100 people who ignored their jury summons in September.
Judge Jack Burchard said he decided to act because only about half the people who have been summoned have been showing up for jury duty in Okanogan.
The Wenatchee World reports the court summons gives the jury shirkers until Nov. 5 to appear before the judge and explain themselves. The court summons notes a state law that says it’s a misdemeanor to ignore jury service. The penalty is up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
School locked down for bears
ISSAQUAH, Wash. – Black bear sightings aren’t unusual in east Seattle suburbs like Issaquah, but the sight of an adult bear and three cubs rambling across the campus of an elementary school prompted a brief lockdown.
Officials at Issaquah Valley Elementary School alerted police and the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife when they saw the bears Wednesday morning.
KOMO-TV reports that the lockdown was lifted around noon.