This week’s watchwords I-5
Fly-In
Marijuana
Lane closures for bridge work start today on I-5 over the Stillaguamish River; for updates, go to wsdot.wa.gov.
Arlington’s annual aviation festival, with air shows, workshops and more, is Thursday through Saturday.
The state expects to issue its first retail marijuana licenses today, and some stores could open this week.
MONDAY, 07.07.2014
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EVERETT, WASHINGTON
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Reardon aide to appear in court Kevin Hulten is expected to plead guilty to tampering with evidence charges stemming from a 2013 investigation. By Noah Haglund and Scott North
close in one of Snohomish County’s stranger political stories. Kevin Hulten, 35, was expected to appear in Cascade District Court in Arlington to answer to a criminal charge of tampering with evidence. The aide to Aaron
Herald Writers
EVERETT — If all goes according to schedule this afternoon, an important chapter will come to a
Reardon, who stepped down as county executive in May 2013, is expected to plead guilty, according to his attorney, Jim Johanson of Edmonds. Hulten’s gross misdemeanor charge stems from misconduct in March 2013, after he became the focus of a King County Sheriff ’s Office investigation into digital monkey business on
Reardon’s behalf. Investigators reported finding evidence of him downloading a data-wiping program on a county laptop computer he had been using, just hours before it was to be surrendered for examination by detectives. The investigation began after The Herald published stories linking Hulten to a number of
OSO MUDSLIDE
Debris cleanup starts again Crews are separating material and watching for personal items
online pseudonyms, including some with allusions to a classic revenge novel, “The Count of Monte Cristo.” The fake names were part of an elaborate ploy, much of it conducted from his county desk during work hours, to bedevil his boss’ political See REARDON, back page, this section
Mukilteo drops admin position The mayor is eliminating the city administrator job and creating a new director position with a smaller salary. By Rikki King Herald Writer
Herald Writer
OSO — The debris fields east of Oso look much different in July. The small lakes from the heavy rains of March and April are gone. There is firmness to the sun-dried ground, a much altered-terrain from the aftermath of the March 22 Oso mudslide. Evidence of uprooted and destroyed homes that once made up the Steelhead Drive neighborhood has largely been removed.
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Cars and trucks again roll by along the patched-up stretch of Highway 530. Yet the work in the debris fields is far from over. Contractors hired by Snohomish County are searching through the dirt once more, separating out the wood and waste, all the while looking for remains and personal belongings to return to families. Forty-three people were killed in the slide. All but one has been found. Site restoration is a $6.4 million job of sifting through the piles created by search and
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recovery teams. It also means clearing portions of the countyowned Whitehorse Trail. Crews have begun screening the estimated 200,000 cubic yards of debris on private property. That’s comparable to 17,000 dump truck loads or a football field filled with dirt 100 feet high, said Janice Fahning, the county construction engineering manager monitoring the work. Roughly 95 percent of the material is believed to be soil and wood debris. The project involves up to 80 workers, including heavy
Got pot? Roll another one, just like the other one: The state’s first legal sales of recreational marijuana begin Tuesday, but demand may outstrip supply as some pot stores scramble to find enough product (Page A3). To ensure adequate inventory, the state is instituting a Dear Abby. . . . B3 Horoscope . . .A6
equipment operators, archeologists and spotters. Last week, crews wearing hard hats and orange and yellow safety vests began on the western edge of the debris. It is a delicate and nuanced process that’s to be carried out over 10-hour days five days a week. Work likely will wrap up in September, well before the rainy season, said Matthew Zybas, the county’s solid waste utility director.
strict “no bogarting” policy. Those rolling joints can buy pot on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Those using bongs can buy on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Headbanger’s bawl: German doctors have treated a fan of the heavy metal band Motorhead for a brain injury caused in part by the fan’s
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See DEBRIS, back page, this section
headbanging, the violent shaking of the head forward and back (Page A2). Until the injury fully heals, doctors are prescribing a strict musical diet of James Taylor, Carole King and Kenny G. Houston, we have a problem: CBS’s new miniseries, “Extant,” premieres TV . . . . . . . . . . B4 Your Photos . . B1
See MUKILTEO, Page A2
Wednesday and stars Halle Berry as an astronaut who has returned to Earth after a 13-month-long solo mission aboard a space station. The problem is she’s pregnant (Page B4). Apparently, in the future the U.S. space program isn’t run by NASA; it’s run by Hobby Lobby.
—Jon Bauer, Herald staff
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Spotters watch as through the estimated 200,000 cubic yards of material is sifted for remains and personal belongings at the site of the Oso mudslide Wednesday afternoon.
MUKILTEO — Mayor Jennifer Gregerson is shedding Mukilteo’s city administrator position as part of an ongoing overhaul of city government. The position is expected to be eliminated as the city hires a new management services director. The management services director will have slightly different duties, and a smaller salary, the mayor said. The position will involve overseeing operations. The mayor’s office would play a bigger role in budgeting and long-term planning. Gregerson made clear in her campaign last fall that she didn’t think Mukilteo needed a full-time city administrator. A non-elected city administrator typically handles day-to-day management issues alongside an elected mayor. About half of Snohomish County cities have a city administrator or city manager. Mukilteo’s former city administrator Joe Hannan was let go in early January. Hannan was given four months pay — about $40,000 — as part of his departure, public records show. Hannan also agreed not to seek legal claims against the city. His salary was $118,000. The management services director’s salary will be negotiated, but will be about $30,000 less, the mayor said.
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