Local News

The Associated Press PORT ANGELES — A Sequim woman who was ticketed for driving past two barricades in Olympic National Park during the government shutdown was found not guilty after a brief bench trial before a federal magistrate. Magistrate Judge Bryan Tsuchida said Leanne Potts made an honest mistake and misunderstood what the signs on the barricades…

TACOMA — Pierce County prosecutors have charged the ex-wife of a retired Tacoma police detective with multiple counts of identity theft, forgery and theft. They allege that Rhoda Ramirez took advantage of the man, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. Ramirez is also a former Tacoma police officer. The News Tribune reports that Ramirez’s lawyer Barbara Corey says…

A 39-year-old woman traveling cross-country from Illinois to Alaska for a new job says she lost all her possessions when someone stole her U-Haul truck and her minivan from the parking lot of an Everett motel. The U-Haul truck and minivan were found in Lynwood Friday afternoon, the Everett Police Department said, though it’s unclear whether…

By Andy Hobbs / The Olympian A community cleanup of trash and dirty needles has been organized by a Facebook page that pokes fun at Olympia. So far, Olympia Memes has recruited 14 sponsors and 16 teams of volunteers for “Oly Clean in 2014.” The inaugural event will take place all day March 22 at sites throughout…

A male suspect remains at large after he was discovered inside a sorority house during an early morning burglary, according to a Seattle Police Department release. Officers responded at approximately 3:51 a.m. to the 4500 block of 22nd Avenue NE for the report of a burglary. Preliminary investigation indicates that the house was unoccupied when the…

This weekend will bring more frustration for Seattle drivers as Washington State Department of Transportation crews close all but one of the northbound collector-distributor lanes that merge traffic from Interstate 90 onto Interstate 5 and downtown freeway ramps. The ramp from South Dearborn Street to northbound I-5 will also close. It will be a partial closure…

The Associated Press PORT ANGELES, Wash.  — The city electrical utility has threatened to cut off power to a home unless the owners accept the installation of a smart meter that sends readings wirelessly to City Hall. The signals threaten human health and violate their right to privacy, say Virginia and Tom Leinart. To block the installation of…

The Associated Press SPOKANE, Wash.  — That new shoreline exposed by the drawdown of cracked Wanapum Dam is being closed to the public. The Grant County Public Utility District announced the closure Thursday. The district owns the shoreline. Utility officials say people have been drawn to the area and are even driving on the newly exposed shoreline, which…

The Associated Press The Okanogan County sheriff’s office says a man accused of a break-in at the Okanogan, Wash., Eagles Lodge was arrested after deputies checked where his ankle monitor had been. Deputies who responded Tuesday to a burglary call at the lodge found a phone line cut, a back door pried open and $2,000 missing from…

A woman tried to steal a car after crashing into a Department of Veterans Affairs van this morning on Interstate 5 near Federal Way, according to the Washington State Patrol. Neither the woman nor anyone in the van was seriously injured. The woman crashed into the $80,000 van — used to transport disabled veterans –about 8:45…