Bellevue
Reporter
newsline 425-453-4270
crime | Man gets 27 1/2 year sentence for murdering his aunt in her Bellevue apartment [3] Sports | Eastside FC’s Jojo Harber helps club take third at youth tourney [10]
Business | India Gate restaurant reopens after fire shuts popular spot down for 10 months; friday, August 22, 2014 express version to open downtown [9]
Transient man faces murder charge filed in stabbing death BY BRANDON MACZ BELLEVUE REPORTER
A 38-year-old transient man was charged Wednesday with second-degree murder for what is alleged to have been the indiscriminate stabbing of an elderly man inside a Bellevue Burger King on Sunday. Steven O. Padilla is alleged to have approached a 65-year-old man, Jose L. Arias, while he was sleeping inside the Burger King on Northeast 24th Street around
3:15 p.m., and stabbed him multiple times in the upper torso, according to a police report filed with charges in King County Superior Court. Witnesses say Padilla exited the fastfood restaurant restroom and removed a knife from his jacket pocket, reaching over a partition to stab Arias. Arias staggered out of the restaurant and collapsed in the parking lot, where he was declared dead at the scene. It is believed at least two of the stab wounds contributed to Arias' death.
Padilla fled the scene, but was arrested 1 1/2 miles away. A K-9 unit led police to an office complex on the 14300 block of Northeast 24th Street, where a large, fixed-blade knife believed to have been the murder weapon was recovered. Bellevue Police Ofc. Seth Tyler confirmed Arias had also been homeless, however, detectives are still working to determine what his relationship might have been to Padilla. "We're still trying to determine that definitively, if they did in fact know each
other," he said. Police are also awaiting the results of a toxicology report for Padilla, to determine if he was impaired at the time of the alleged murder. Probable cause was found to detain Padilla during a Monday hearing at the King County Jail, at which the suspect refused to appear. Padilla also declined to attend his bond hearing on Tuesday. Brandon Macz: 425-453-4602, bmacz@bellevuereporter.com
STEM focus a hit with students at elementary school
Grab-and-run thieves hit high-end shops at Bravern BY BRANDON MACZ BELLEVUE REPORTER
Bellevue School District to expand program to more schools By Julie Benson Special to the Bellevue Reporter
Elementary students in Bellevue are tackling their learning with newfound enthusiasm thanks to a new focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). “We’re asking kids to think about things like they’ve never thought about them before,” said Alisha Singh, a third grade teacher at Newport Heights Elementary. “This isn’t ‘gotcha science.’ It’s engaging and thought-provoking. There’s depth to it and kids are diving right in.” Three Bellevue elementary schools launched the elementary STEM pilot last year, kicking off an effort that has been years in the making. The project is expanding to another seven schools this year and slated to be in all 17 of the district’s elementary schools by the 2015-16 year. “Our focus on robotics and engineering will support students in developing skills required for success in the 21st century workplace,” said K-5 Stem Curriculum Developer Greg Bianchi. “These programs are inclusive of all students, including those traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields.” “There’s no need to group kids by ability,”
Ardmore Elementary School students program a robot at the after-school robotics club. COURTESY PHOTO, Singh said. “There are so many entry points that every kid has something to bring to the table.” Work during the first year focused on the development of engineering design challenges for K-5 students, professional development for teachers, the introduction of robotics in both the classroom and after-school clubs, and family engagement through events such as family engineering and coding nights. Bellevue Schools Foundation donors provided $125,000 to launch the pilot and are returning with an increased investment of $200,000 for the 2014-15 school year.
“Support from the Bellevue Schools Foundation is critical,” explained Bianchi. “We wouldn’t be where we are today in this effort without them.” Developing teachers’ capacity to engage students in STEM education is particularly important given that many elementary teachers don’t have a background in the sciences. In addition to attending workshops covering a range of related topics, teachers are using Teaching
Bellevue Police are working with Bravern security to improve its ability to curb thefts following four at the high-end shopping center over the past month. Bellevue Police Ofc. Seth Tyler said a detective has been assigned to those four shoplifting cases due to the high cost of the items stolen, including $8,000 in merchandise taken from Gucci during two grab-andruns there on July 19 and Aug. 3. Two other thefts were reported at Salvatore Ferragamo and Tory Burch. "We believe those suspects are the same in those cases, and we also believe they're related to some strong-arm robberies in the Des Moines area," Tyler said. Police contacted Bravern security on Aug. 12, and will be working to improve
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