Hempfest gets permit, to withdraw lawsuit
Seattle Hempfest organizers said Monday they'll withdraw a lawsuit against the city and the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) because the festival has received a permit guaranteeing access to Myrtle Edwards Park.
Hempfest filed the lawsuit July 31 in King County Superior Court out of concern that construction of SAM's Olympic Sculpture Park would interfere with equipment trucks and crowds for the Aug. 19-20 event. They were particularly concerned about the main waterfront approach from Alaskan Way and Broad Street.
The conflict was defused after the city sent Hempfest a special-event permit Friday stating that SAM and its contractor, Sellen Construction, must allow festival organizers adequate space to set up and hold the event.
Hempfest, which features concerts and speakers advocating decriminalization of marijuana, has been held in Seattle parks since 1991.
Seattle
Council eases rules for B&Bs
The City Council on Monday adopted amended rules that will make it easier for bed-and-breakfasts to operate next to single-family homes.
The restrictions were lifted after Blayne and Julie McAferty, owners of the Greenlake Guest House, challenged a city order to shut down their B&B. The couple had added window dormers to expand two upstairs bedrooms of their house, violating a city prohibition against making exterior alterations to accommodate use of a house as a B&B.
The amended law jettisons that ban and increases the number of guest rooms allowed from three to five.
Seattle
Harborview releases woman shot in knee
A 35-year-old Seattle woman who was shot in the knee when a gunman barged into the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle on July 28 has been released from Harborview Medical Center.
Carol Goldman was shot as she reached for the phone to call 911, according to charging papers filed in King County Superior Court. Goldman was executive assistant to Pamela Waechter, the campaign director who prosecutors say was killed by Naveed Afzal Haq.
While a hospital spokeswoman declined to say when Goldman was released, she was listed in satisfactory condition at the Seattle hospital on Friday.
Victims Layla Bush, Christina Rexroad and Cheryl Stumbo remain at the trauma center. Rexroad, 29, and Stumbo, 43, are listed in satisfactory condition; Bush, 23, is in serious condition.
Seattle
Not-guilty plea in Skyway shootings
A 23-year-old man pleaded not guilty Monday to charges he killed three young men last month.
Dimitri Sidorchuk is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree manslaughter and several counts of first-degree assault stemming from a neighborhood disagreement in Skyway that ended in a spray of bullets July 20.
The incident began after a group of five friends were kicked out of the Skyway Bowl and Casino. According to police documents, the teens and young men then moved into a nearby neighborhood and began clashing with Sidorchuk and his friend, William Belk.
Confrontations between the groups followed before the young men from the bowling alley drove into Sidorchuk's driveway, charging papers say. Police allege that's when Sidorchuk and Belk shot at the other group, which was unarmed.
Sovintha Nhem, 23, and Sophea Sun, 20, were killed. Belk, 28, also died; police say he was shot accidentally by Sidorchuk. Three others were injured.
Sidorchuk is being held on $1 million bail.
1 killed, 1 injured in weekend crashes
One Eastside driver died and another was injured in vehicle crashes over the weekend, the State Patrol reported.
In one accident, Trevor A. Cichy, 35, of Redmond, died when his southbound 2002 Honda Civic left the road in the 600 block of North Sunrise Boulevard on Camano Island about 8:15 p.m. Sunday. The driver overcorrected, and the car hit a tree on the eastbound shoulder. The Patrol said the car was going too fast for road conditions.
In the second crash, Garold Wayne Rightenour, 57, of Woodinville, was injured about 1:40 p.m. Sunday when his eastbound 2004 Harley-Davidson motorcycle failed to negotiate a curve, struck a dividing barrier and rolled several times on Highway 542, the Mount Baker Highway, at Bagley Creek in Whatcom County.
Rightenour was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and was in the intensive-care unit Monday.
Seattle
Damaged club may reopen this week
Though a popular downtown nightclub sustained $250,000 in damage during a fire Monday, an owner says the club hopes to be open for a show Wednesday night.
Jeff Steichen, owner of the Showbox at 1426 First Ave., said workers are trying to get the water damage cleaned up so Peaches & Herms and the Eagles of Death Metal can perform.
"By the grace of God, the damage was minimal," Steichen said.
Firefighters, called to the club at 5:23 a.m., quickly extinguished the accidental blaze. The fire was caused by overheating in the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, said Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Helen Fitzpatrick.
There were no injuries, Fitzpatrick said.
Snohomish CountyMan found in yard was shot to death
Snohomish County sheriff's detectives are investigating a homicide after a man was found dead Saturday in the yard of a condominium in the 700 block of 124th Street Southwest.
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim Monday as Dennis Riojas, a 19-year-old who lives near Everett. He died of a gunshot wound, the medical examiner reported.
The Sheriff's Office called the death suspicious but didn't provide details in a news release.
Deputies found the body after being called to investigate a report of an unconscious man. Medics pronounced the man dead at the scene, according to the release.
Times staff and news services