Woman slain under Yesler Way overpass is identified
According to police, about 3:30 a.m., a man in his 30s or 40s stood on top of the overpass at Fourth Avenue and fired at Smiscon and a homeless man, who were both sleeping below.
Seattle police spokesman Duane Fish said investigators don't know why Smiscon was shot and are trying to determine whether she was the intended target.
Police received reports of a "large barrage" of fireworks being let off in the general area of the shooting moments before the fatal shots were fired, Fish said. That could mean the gunman fired indiscriminately in the direction of the firecrackers, Fish said.
Smiscon was shot in the abdomen. The homeless man was shot in the leg. He was treated at a hospital and released.
According to court records, Smiscon apparently came to Seattle from the Wapato and Toppenish areas, in Yakima County.
County Council to create an election watchdog panel
SEATTLE — The Metropolitan King County Council voted yesterday to establish a citizen panel to oversee county elections.
The decision comes after a year of election snafus that forced out two top election officials.
Council members said a watchdog group could have prevented problems that occurred in previous elections. The committee will have a major role in restructuring elections, said Councilman Dow Constantine, D-Seattle.
The panel will include representatives from the Municipal League, League of Women Voters, the secretary of state, the two major political parties and a school district. There also will be three seats for registered county voters.
The nine-member panel, called the Citizens' Election Oversight Committee, is selecting members and will finish its work by March 31, 2004. Council members hope to implement the group's recommendations in time for the 2004 presidential election.
Chicken waste dumped on I-5 during rush hour
LYNNWOOD — About 200 chickens and chicken parts, waste that apparently was dumped accidentally, littered a section of Interstate 5 during the evening rush hour yesterday just south of where a tanker exploded into flames Saturday, police said.
Drivers started calling 911 about 5:30 p.m. to report the mess, said Trooper Lance Ramsay, of the State Patrol. Crews took about 90 minutes to hose down and clean the area, closing two northbound lanes at I-5.
Officials do not have information on the truck that must have lost part of its load.
The scene was filthy and a headache to deal with, Ramsay said, but nothing compared with the 4,000 dead chickens he said fell from a double trailer onto I-5 in Seattle in 1993.
"A couple hundred dead chickens doesn't bother me," he said.
Times staff and news services