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BUSINESS | Longtime owner of Oriental Rug Co. in Downtown Bellevue to retire after 32 years [10]
Sports | Interlake basketball coach, team connect with non-profit organization to help FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013 the community [13]
Escape from the Streets Former prostitute leads movement for survivors BY CELINA KAREIVA BELLEVUE REPORTER
Noel Gomez tried to escape the streets many times. But something always drew her back. Her pimp would find her, or Gomez would convince herself that the prospects weren’t much better outside the life – a dependency she likened to domestic abuse. “Every day I didn’t know if I’d live to see the next,” recalled Gomez of her 15 years in prostitution. “I’ve been hit with baseball bats, raped so many times [I’ve lost count], and had to jump out of cars. You don’t have time to deal with it...It feels like being in a war.” Gomez was a teenager when she first became entangled in the sinister life of prostitution. A young mother, she’d been kicked out of her Kirkland home and was living with her boyfriend of the time. Gomez remembers meeting her pimp at Bellevue Square. He enticed her with promises of a relationship and fame. “I had nothing. He sold me a dream,” she remembers. “He was offering me what I thought I needed at the time. He ended up being a hardcore pimp and abusing me to keep me in line.”
A PROBLEM EVERYWHERE Trafficking draws attention of state and regional leaders. Page 5
Gomez’s story isn’t unique. After a series of busts in the last decade, media and federal agencies pegged Seattle as a hotspot for prostitution and human trafficking. Its criminalization in 2003 has brought greater awareness, but many parts of Washington remain a destination because of their border locale and port city status. Though prostitution is often given the most attention, the types of trafficking vary, from sex slavery to forced labor in restaurants, homes and businesses. The latency of the crime makes it difficult to understand its scope. A 2008 study by anthropologist Debra Boyer estimates that somewhere between 300 and 500 youth are domestically trafficked in King County, alone. That number doesn’t account for the many adult men and women forced into the life, or the equally alarming number of people trafficked into the country. Nationally, that number jumps to 14,500 to 17,500 annually.
Education | U.S. Rep. Adam Smith talks guns, marijuana initiative with Bellevue High seniors [3]
7 honored for downtown contributions
Seven Bellevue individuals, businesses and organizations were honored Thursday night for their contributions to the city’s downtown. The 2012 Place Making Awards, organized by the Bellevue Downtown Association, drew more than 400 business and community leaders to the event at Meydenbauer Center in Downtown Bellevue. “This year’s award winners have contributed to the making of a great place,” said Patrick Bannon, president of the association. “Their ideas, leadership and persistence play a huge role in downtown’s successful evolution as a vibrant, thriving and livable center for the city and region.” The 2012 Place Making Award winners are: Mary Pat Byrne (Arts Champion); Bellevue Botanical Garden Society (Community Treasure); Bake’s Place (Opening of the year); HNTB Corporation (Commute Champion); Su Development (Groundbreaking of the Year); The Bellevue Collection (Cultural Catalyst); and Leslie Lloyd (Leadership). Byrne, whose spent the last 25 years working at the City of Bellevue, was recognized for her advocacy of arts education and her involvement in bringing the biennial sculpture exhibition to fruition. SEE DOWNTOWN, 9
Ruffled feathers brings plea to ban roosters A plea to do something about a noisy rooster prompted the Bellevue City Council on Monday to look into banning ownership of them and peacocks and peahens. The latter two are noted for their alarming screams. The ban would be consistent with ordinances in many neighboring cities. Bellevue’s code would likely continue to allow residents to own up to six hens or ducks, geese and swans of either gender. The problem started in September when a family in Northeast Bellevue complained about a neighbor’s rooster, which reportedly crowed loud enough day and night to disturb homes several blocks away. Code compliance officers worked with the bird’s owner to prevent nighttime crowing, but the resident said the episode in the fall was not the first time a rooster had troubled the neighborhood. The council voted 5-2 for the staff to draft a code amendment, which would be go first to the Planning Commission and be subject to a public hearing before going to the council.
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