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FRIDAY, May 25, 2012
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SPORTS | Overlake boys’soccer advances to state semifinals [11]
Electric speed on display Battery-operated race car shows burst at Genie demonstration Samantha Pak
Ex-Hopelink employees face felony theft charges Former call center workers allegedly stole and resold more than $95,000 worth of bus passes
spak@redmond-reporter.com
With the sound of squealing tires filling the air and guys doling out concessions to spectators watching a Formula car do laps around a coned-off course, the parking lot at Terex Corporation/Genie Industries in Redmond could have easily been mistaken for a racing event Tuesday morning. One of the only things missing — besides the sun — was the sound of revving engines. This was because the featured vehicle was an electric race car, though onlookers would have been hard pressed to tell the difference if not for its quiet engine. “It has the same performance as it did when it was a gasoline car … Anyone who drives it is blown out of their minds,” said Zach Fung, who led the team that converted the car to electric. He said the car could go 0-60 mph in 3.6 seconds when it was gas powered and can still achieve 0-60 mph in less than
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NEWSLINE: 425.867.0353
CRIME WATCH | Redmond Police Blotter [5] LOCAL | Redmond Wild helps preserve animal habitat [8]
BILL CHRISTIANSON bchristianson@redmond-reporter.com
a “great unmet need for a broad range of legal skills and new energy,” according to a press release. Allen’s experience includes serving as a criminal prosecutor, civil litigator and as an Arizona Assistant Attorney General. Her decision to challenge North was also prompted by North not taking the bench for
King County prosecutors have filed felony theft charges against two former Hopelink employees, who allegedly stole and resold more than $95,000 worth of bus passes between May 2009 and March 2010. The bus passes were intended to be used for homeless, low-income and disabled people, but prosecutors contend Kimberly Holmes, 48, and Manuel Almagro, 30, stole and resold the passes for a personal profit. The two are not in jail and arraignment is set for May 30, according to the King County Prosecutor’s Office. According to charging documents, Holmes and Almagro created false client accounts and altered existing client accounts while working at a Bellevue call center “to have the passes mailed to a series of addresses where Almagro arranged for the collection and retrieval of the passes.” Almagro would then sell the bus passes for $50-100 each and share the profits with Holmes, the charging papers stated. A specific amount of false bus passes was not revealed, but Almagro told detectives that 1,350 fraudulent passes were obtained, according to the charging papers. In addition, Almagro admitted to stealing $200-300 worth of gas cards, according to the charging papers. Almagro was terminated from the Hopelink call center, located at 14812 Main St. in Bellevue, in June 2009 because of attendance issues, according to the charging documents
[ more ELECTION page 3 ]
[ more FRAUD page 9 ]
On Tuesday morning, Terex Corporation/Genie Industries in Redmond hosted a driving demonstration that featured an electric race car that was converted from gas powered by Zach Fung (not pictured). Ryan Charrier (above) drove the car. Photo courtesy of Charles Burgess four seconds now that it is electric. To see the car in action, visit http://tinyurl.com/8939blp. Fung graduated from the University of Washington (UW)
in March and converting the car was the capstone project for him to receive his mechanical engineering degree. He was part of the UW
Formula Motorsports program as a student and was a member of a team that designed and [ more CAR page 10 ]
Redmond council members file for office Allen to run for county judge; Myers seeks 48th District seat Samantha Pak spak@redmond-reporter.com
Two Redmond City Council members have filed to run for office in the upcoming election season beyond the city limits.
Kimberly Allen, who holds Pos. 4 on council, is challenging Judge Douglass North for King County Superior Court, Pos. 30. Hank Myers, who holds council Pos. 1, is running for the 48th Legislative District, Pos. 2 seat that Rep. Deb Eddy (D-Kirkland) will vacate at the end of her term. Allen, who has served on council for seven years and is currently a land-use attorney, said she is running because she sees
Cedar Lawns Memorial Park and Funeral Home
7200 - 180th Avenue NE • Redmond, WA 98052 • 425-885-2414 • cedarlawnsmemorialpark.com
623539
Cedar Lawns Memorial Park and Funeral Home Welcomes you to our 3rd Annual Memorial Day Service Monday, May 28, 2012 at 2:00pm Featuring Local Soloist Greta Matassa and Speaker City Councilman Hank Margeson