Everett Daily Herald, June 26, 2014

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How to get your books in order, beautifully

D1

Back where he began Bench coach has unexpected reunion with AquaSox, C1 ●

EVERETT, WASHINGTON

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OSO MUDSLIDE

Limited construction ban The County Council halts new work in the area of the slide but didn’t discuss any of the more controversial ideas. By Noah Haglund Herald Writer

EVERETT — The Snohomish County Council imposed a sixmonth ban Wednesday on new construction in the immediate

vicinity of the Oso mudslide and areas to the east where flood danger is thought to have increased. The emergency ordinances were the county’s first major changes in land-use policy since

the March 22 slide, which covered a square mile in dirt and debris, killing 43 people. The council did not even discuss some more controversial ideas, which faced opposition from builders and Realtors. “I prefer a measured approach,” Councilman Terry Ryan said. “I think the starting point is with a moratorium on

the slide-impact area.” The ban on new construction in the slide zone received unanimous support. The flood-area moratorium passed 4-1, with Councilman Ken Klein opposed. “The flood area is constantly changing out there, so we don’t know what impact this will See BAN, Page A2

Earth sliding, bit by bit

Herald Writer

IAN TERRY / THE HERALD

Juanita Eanes points to trees that have slid down from what used to be her yard at her home in Arlington along the South Fork Stillaguamish River on Friday. Eanes has been forced to move her home farther away from the hillside due to the constant erosion.

Herald Writer

the buzz

ARLINGTON — This spring, Juanita Eanes watched her lawn disappear. Eanes lives with her husband, Keith Eanes, in a manufactured home on a rural lot between Arlington and Granite Falls. They bought their home and

4.6-acre wooded lot overlooking the South Fork Stillaguamish River in 2003, believing they’d found their own little bit of paradise. But starting in 2007, they’ve been losing that paradise bit by bit, as one chunk of sodden earth after another eroded and tumbled 100 feet down into the river below.

Let freedom ring You have the right to silence your cellphone: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that law enforcement agencies must obtain a search warrant before searching someone’s cellphone. “With all they contain and all they may reveal, they hold for many Americans the privacies of life,” said Chief Justice John

Roberts in a 9-0 decision (Page A6). Looking for a way around the warrant requirement, the National Security Agency said it might try to turn Siri into a paid informant. Get me Orson Bean on the phone: Fox may be running out of ideas to boost viewership for “American Idol.” In past seasons it has reshuffled its panel of judges

“We just progressively kept losing it,” she said. The erosion accelerated this spring. Eanes lives above a nearly 180-degree bend in the river known as the Trangen Meander. On Eanes’ property on the right bank, what used to be a slope down to the river is now a sheer cliff of clay and sandy soil. A similar situation played out

to regain viewer interest, but it announced this week it would keep last season’s trio of Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr., despite ratings that continue to decline (Page D6). That’s too bad. We were hoping for a rotating panel that would feature the casts of “Duck Dynasty,” “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” and any panelists still alive from “Match Game 73.”

at a neighbor’s house to the west, where Phillip and Susan Burk estimate they have lost about one-third of their property’s 6.6 acres. In Snohomish County, an estimated 30,000 people make their homes in landslide zones. But See EARTH, back page, this section

Potato, patah-toe: A Washington, D.C., couple is suing British Airways because it ruined their vacation by sending them to the Caribbean island of Grenada, instead of Granada in Spain (Page A6). The couple said they would have dropped the matter there, but when they flew home they landed in Washington. State.

—Jon Bauer, Herald staff

Despite pleas from property owners, the County Council votes to condemn property in order to build a new courthouse. By Noah Haglund

One bend of the Stillaguamish River is a known danger

By Chris Winters

Land will be taken

EVERETT — The Snohomish County pressed ahead Wednesday with plans to build a new downtown courthouse despite cost concerns and pleas from property owners who stand to be displaced. The County Council voted 4-1 to condemn a half-dozen parcels where parts of the new courthouse would be built. That means the county can pursue eminent domain through the courts if the parties can’t agree on a sale price. Councilman Ken Klein cast the lone dissenting vote. While they disagreed with him, colleagues said they face no easy choices. “I was elected to make tough decisions and I think that this is a tough one for me, emotionally and otherwise,” Councilman Brian Sullivan said. “But I’m going to support the motion and I’m going to hopefully be proud of a building that will be here 100 years from now.” The proposed $162 million justice center would mostly occupy a county-owned parking lot that sits about a block east and across Wall Street from the existing courthouse. The county paid about $1.5 million for the lot in the 1990s, intending to use it as a future courthouse location. Following Wednesday’s vote, six businesses bordering the county lot would be subject to eminent domain: three law offices, a legal messenger service, a bail bonds business and a small, private parking lot. The parcels front Rockefeller Avenue and Wall Street. Owners from all three law practices attended the hearing to put the county on notice that they’re digging in for a fight. Attorney Royce Ferguson, who has owned his law building for about two decades, said the property owners’ options at this point are to “cave in or get sued.” “I’m not caving in,” Ferguson See LAND, Page A2

INSIDE Business . . . . .A7 Classified . . . . B3 Comics . . . . . .D4 Crossword . . .D4 Dear Abby. . . .D5 Horoscope . . . B6

Lottery . . . . . .A2 Northwest. . . . B1 Obituaries. . . .A5 Opinion. . . . . .A9 Sports . . . . . . . C1 TV . . . . . . . . . .D6

Impractical 69/57, C6 VOL. 114, NO. 143 © 2014 THE DAILY HERALD CO.

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