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BUSINESS | Crowds pack Bellevue Square as Black Friday kicks off holiday shopping season [8]
Community | Two men saved when they suffered a heart attack get to meet, say thanks FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2012 to their saviors [4]
Sports | Bellevue High School sets sights on winning record 5 straight football championships tonight [13]
State auction of liquor stores causing owners a hangover Some winning bidders of state license already out of business BY CELINA KAREIVA BELLEVUE REPORTER
Firefighters from Bellevue, Eastside Fire & Rescue, Mercer Island, and Kirkland fight a two-alarm blaze at the Newporter Apartments. The fire was blamed on workers covering a fireplace flue, when they replaced the roof. COURTESY PHOTO, Kirkland Fire Department.
$300,000 apartment fire damages 6 units; families left without homes BY CELINA KAREIVA BELLEVUE REPORTER
A fire broke out Tuesday night at the Newporter Apartment buildings, driving dozens of residents into the streets as firefighters fought the flames. Two units were directly damaged and at least four more suffered water and smoke damage. Initial estimates predict $300,000 worth of repairs, said Lt. Troy Donlin, a spokesperson for the Bellevue Fire Department. The fire department received several
calls at 8:21 p.m. The crews, which took seven minutes to respond, determined the flames were coming from the attic of Building A of the complex, at 5900 119th Ave S.E. in the Newport Hills neighborhood. Donlin credits the fire department for its smart assessment of the situation. He says the crew, though they were operating at night, knew they were dealing with an older building, without a sprinkler system. “We were pretty lucky,” said Donlin. “The firefighters that responded were very
efficient in their efforts to stop the damage from happening.” Though normally crews will vent fires from above, and fight from below, this time they cut holes in the sides of the building, allowing the heat to escape so that it did not run the length of the structure. It took 45 minutes to control the flames. “I have a friend that lives in the A building on the first floor and I immediately thought about him,” said D.J. Porbineula, 15, of Newport High School. “I ran out of SEE FIRE, 19
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Six months after the privatization of liquor sales in Washington state, Kulbir Singh stands to lose everything. The businessman who lives in Brazil, Ind., and purchased nine former state liquor stores — including one in Bellevue’s Northtowne neighborhood — had anticipated that it would take time for prices to settle. He even predicted the competition of retail giants, like Safeway and Costco. But Singh didn’t expect to find himself shutting all of his stores within months of opening. “The storyline here is tragedy,” said Byron Roselli, a commercial real estate broker representing Singh and six others in the state. “It’s a tragedy for all the bidders. It’s a tragedy for all the landlords. And it’s a tragedy for the jobs lost.” In 2011 Washington voters approve Initiative 1183. As part of the move to privatization, the state auctioned off 167 of its stores. Winning bidders were awarded the exclusive right to apply for a liquor license in a space of 10,000 square feet or less, though the winning bidders still would have to negotiate a lease and pay the cost of inventory. Hoping to cash in on what seemed a lucrative business deal, 121 individuals bid as much as $750,100, netting the state a total of $30.75 million. As the winners scrambled to meet their June 1 deadline for the change-over to privatization, some of the bidders began to question the value of their purchase. In the months since, a faulty transition and the competition of chain stores has prompted 11 owners to sue the state, and many more to go out of business. Though the liquor board insists there was no blueprint for privatization, some stakeholders believe it could have been more efficient and transparent about its dealings. Michael Cho, a member of the Washington Liquor Store Association, who bid on three separate locations in Bainbridge, Gig Harbor and Anacortes, says the problem is threefold. The law, written by Costco to favor big box retailers, didn’t specify implementation, but required sales be quickly transferred to the private sector. SEE LIQUOR, 9