Kirkland Reporter, July 20, 2012

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KIRKLAND .com

REPORTER

NEWSLINE: 425.822.9166

PREPARING FOR THE BIG ONE | CERT program prepares ordinary citizens for natural disasters [6]

Park rename | City to rename Houghton FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2012 Beach Park after late mayor, Doris Cooper [14]

Eastside Cutters knock out rivals

Arts | Kirkland filmmaker takes on suspense genre with new film [10]

Mom helps police catch convicted child rapist BY MATT PHELPS mphelps@kirklandreporter.com

A

Infielder Jeremy Parkhurst, of Kirkland, leads the offense during the annual July Invitation baseball tournament in Walla Walla last weekend, against longtime rival Bothell Dyed. For full story, see sports on page 13. CONTRIBUTED BY EASTSIDE CUTTERS BASEBALL

Annual July Invitation baseball tournament

Potala project poses no significant impact to neighborhood, study says BY CARRIE RODRIGUEZ AND MATT PHELPS Kirkland Reporter

The proposed Potala Village project has drawn much opposition for potential surrounding neighborhood impacts. But a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) released July 12 concluded that the project would not have any significant impact to neighborhood character or transportation, according to city standards. However, project opponents say that the project will still impact the neighborhood and the EIS fails to address several important issues.

City officials stress that this is not the final document and the community still has the opportunity to weigh in on EIS findings. The city will accept written comments about the EIS through 5 p.m. Aug. 24. In addition, the public will have the opportunity to comment on the EIS during a public hearing at 7 p.m. Aug. 14 in the City Hall Council Chamber. Following the public comment period, the city will issue a final EIS in October that will include responses to comments received during the public comment period. The EIS examines the height, bulk and scale of the proposed building, residen-

Kirkland man has been charged with attempted rape of a child after being caught in a sting trying to have sexual contact with his girlfriend’s daughter. Ryan D. Firoved, 36, went to the Baymont Inn in Kirkland expecting to meet his girlfriend and her 9-year-old daughter for a sexual encounter on July 5 and instead was arrested by Kirkland police. The woman’s daughter was not at the hotel at the time and the mother was cooperating with the sting, according to police records. Seattle police previously investigated the man for soliciting sex with minors online and he was convicted in 1999 of child rape. Firoved, who is also married to another woman, told his girlfriend

that he wanted to have sexual contact with her daughter in phone calls recorded by Kirkland police, according to court records. Firoved’s girlfriend came to the Kirkland Police station on June 25 to first report conversations she had with the man about sexual encounters he told her about involving himself and minors. Firoved told his girlfriend on several occasions that he had sexual contact with other minors, one as young as 8-years-old. He told her, “I guess you could say I am a pedophile, but at least I am not a predator. People come to me and I make it consensual,” according to charging documents. Firoved then told his girlfriend that he would like to have sex with her daughter, the documents continue. Officers reviewed text messages from the suspect to the [ more RAPIST page 7 ]

JHS coach’s resignation prompts LWSD to end investigation BY CARRIE RODRIGUEZ crodriguez@kirklandreporter.com

A Potala Village development by Lobsang Dargey, who is proposing a Kirkland project of the same name, is in downtown Everett. A draft Environmental Impact Statement concluded that the project will impact traffic and neighborhood character, though not significantly. FILE PHOTO tial density, traffic, parking, environmental remediation and construction impacts. The 52,600-square-foot Potala site is located at the southeast quadrant of Lake Street South and 10th Avenue South, approximately half-mile south of downtown Kirkland. The four-story mixeduse development would

contain 6,200 square feet of commercial use (general office and medical office), 143 residential units and underground parking with 316 parking stalls.

Traffic impacts One significant area of controversy surrounding the [ more POTALA page 3 ]

The resignation of Juanita High School baseball head coach Sherman Leach has prompted the Lake Washington School District to end its investigation into bullying and gay slur allegations against him. The district placed Leach on administrative leave with pay from his position on April 13, after a JHS student accused the coach of bullying him and making gay slurs about the student and his friend. Leach resigned from

his position on May 1. “In this case, the investigation was not completed because the coach resigned,” said Kathryn Reith, communications director for the district. “There were no formal, official findings.” In his resignation letter to the school dated May 1, Leach said the accusations are untrue and denied any wrongful conduct, according [ more COACH page 7 ]


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