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$85,000 has been paid by Snohomish County to a former court worker after she agreed not to file a civil lawsuit alleging that her demotion was retaliation for cooperation with a 2005 state investigation of a judge.

Sherree Marler, who had worked for that court for 26 years, filed a claim against the county, saying that her employment was “terminated” without notice in retaliation for her testimony before the state Judicial Conduct Commission. A lawsuit was prepared, but she continued to negotiate with the county and didn’t file it, according to her lawyer, Jean Huffington of Seattle.

And agreement was reached by Marler and the county in November, and the county paid Marler the money last month, Huffington said.

Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Steven Bladek said that any claim can be a risk to an employer.

“It was determined, as a business decision, this is the best course of action for the county,” Bladek said.
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Drunk drivers in Washington State may soon have their own fluorescent yellow license plate.

Republican state senator Mike Carrell is sponsoring a bill that would require a person convicted of DUI to drive a vehicle with front and rear fluorescent yellow license plates.

The same thing was required in Ohio four years ago.

“I believe shame will keep people from doing it. Looking at somebody who is driving around with a fluorescent yellow license plate should be a good reason for others to decide ‘I don’t want to have my neighbors knowing that I’m a drunk,'” said Carrell.

Under the proposal, if someone is a convicted DUI offender and they’re caught driving without the special license plate, they could be charged with a Washington misdemeanor.
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Southbound traffic on I-5 in south Everett was blocked Friday morning by a serious Washington Bus Collision which left a man critically injured a man, said officials.

The crash happened at about 6:30am, near the Silver Lake rest area. A 30-year-old Everett man swerved his car into the carpool lane and was hit by a King County Metro Transit bus, said Kirk Rudeen, a Washington State Patrol spokesman.

Rudeen also said that the man was to be airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with serious injuries.
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A 94-year-old Shoreline woman died Wednesday when she was hit by a car while crossing a street in an intersection in North Seattle/Shoreline, according to the State Patrol.

State Patrol reported that the woman, Ruby Blood, died in the Seattle pedestrian accident when a car making a left turn from Northeast 145th Street onto 15th Avenue Northeast hit her at about 11:15 a.m. The driver, a 77 year old Bothell woman, had a green light, according to a news release.

Another pedestrian, 67-year-old Shoreline resident Valentyna Shor, was also struck by the vehicle but did not have serious injuries. State Patrol trooper Jeff Merrill said that a preliminary investigation shows that Blood and Shor began crossing the street in a crosswalk with a green light but made it only about halfway before the light turned red.
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According to the Washington State Patrol, the driver of an SUV, traveling on Washington State Route 202 between Redmond and Fall City, died last week after her vehicle left the road and rolled into a ditch filled with water.

Troopers believe the Washington auto accident occurred around 12:10 p.m. near the intersection with 264th Street S.E., said State Patrol spokesman Jeff Merrill.

A motorist who was passing by spotted the SUV and stopped to offer first aid, Merrill said. Unable to pull the 60-year-old woman out of the vehicle, the motorist called troopers.

“We don’t think speed was a factor,” Merrill said. “We’re trying to determine what caused her to drift off the roadway.”
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For the third time, the Oregon Supreme Court has allowed a $79.5 million punitive-damages judgment against Philip Morris. This award was twice struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, which suggested it was excessive.

Jesse Williams was a longtime Malboro smoker. The money was for his family. Jesse, who started smoking during the Army in the 1950s, died of lung cancer in 1997.

According to www.Seattletimes.com, the Oregon court’s decision this week did not contest the U.S. Supreme Court’s latest ruling. This ruling said that when juries assess punitive damages, they can punish a defendant only for the harm done to the people suing. But the Oregon court said that a judge’s decision not to allow the jury instructions proposed by Philip Morris at the trial was correct. The instructions were regarding punitive damages, and have been in the middle of the legal battle over the suit brought by Williams’ widow. The award was made by a Portland jury in 1999.
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All first-time drunken-driving offenders must install an alcohol-detecting interlock device in their cars in order to can get their licenses back, under Washington State Auto law.

But, State Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, wants to change that laws, because offenders often drive illegally for months or even a year or more without a valid license or the device, and that goes into effect only when drunken-driving offenders reapply for licenses.

He has proposed a bill in the Legislature that would create a “provisional” license that would have the locks installed soon after someone is arrested.

Goodman says that while 25% of drunken drivers get their licenses suspended, 75 percent drive anyway and many never get caught.

This bill is modeled after a law in New Mexico. “We want to create this new driver’s license that allows them to drive only if you put an interlock on your car,” Goodman said.

The ignition-interlock bill is a major drunken-driving proposal before the Legislature this year. But it is not the only one. The other, which is more controversial, is a bill sponsored by Rep. Patricia Lantz, D-Gig Harbor, and endorsed by Gov. Christine Gregoire. It would authorize police to set up sobriety spot checks. This is a practice that hasn’t been seen in Washington since it was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1988.
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A man was found dead near the Kingston ferry landing on a dark rural road. Though no vehicle was in sight, he was surrounded by broken glass.

The man is believed to be 85 years old and a resident of the area. He was apparently out for a walk when the pedestrian accident happened, at approximately 6pm.

“Initial evidence indicates that the individual was struck by a motor vehicle and the motor vehicle is no longer on scene, neither is the driver,” said Deputy Scott Wilson, Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.

“I saw a car slamming on their brakes, and headlights, and a screeching like they couldn’t stop,” a witness described.

“I heard like a thump, like something got hit, and I heard screeching” said another witness. “I saw it pull into a driveway, turn around and then look at what it hit, and then speed off,” he said.
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According to the Washington State patrol, a head-on auto accident collision this morning on Benson Highway near Kent resulted in the death of a Seattle man.

Trooper Jeff Merrill reported that the Washington auto accident happened in the 23400 block of State Route 515 in South King County. At about 8:30 a.m. today, a car crossed the center line and hit a pickup traveling the opposite direction.

The driver of the car went through the windshield and was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt.

The driver of the pickup, as well as her passenger, were both taken to an area hospital with neck and back injuries, said Merrill.

A dog that was riding in the car was also critically injured and taken to a local veterinary hospital for surgery, he said.
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On Monday night, a 22-year-old Kent man was taken to the hospital after crashing into a truck while street racing at extremely high speeds along Washington Highway 167. According to the state patrol, the injuries suffered in the Washington Auto Accident were life threatening.

The injured driver was racing another car southbound on the highway near South 180th Street. State patrol spokesman Cliff Pratt said a 911 caller told dispatchers that the two cars were racing as fast as 120 mph.

The driver struck a DOT truck in an HOV lane that was closed for construction. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center with skull fractures, said Pratt. The DOT worker in the truck was not injured, he said.

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