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EVERETT, WASHINGTON
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‘Punched in the gut’
Round two for health care
Ashes of a loved one are among the treasures stolen with a safe By Eric Stevick Herald Writer
MARYSVILLE — Deirdre Thomason thought she did everything right. When the Marysville woman put her house on the market, she placed her valuables in a 400pound safe she’d had bolted into the concrete of her garage floor. Her caution didn’t stop burglars who, on a Sunday afternoon in October, broke through a double-locked metal door, cut through the bolts and wheeled the safe away. It was a lucrative haul for the thieves and a devastating loss for Thomason. Inside the safe were her husband’s ashes, in a white plastic box. There also was his gold wedding ring she’d planned Clint Thomason to hand down to her son when he married. Gone, too, were her husband’s trifold wallet, photos of Thomason as a little girl and precious letters her mother wrote to her before she died 21 years ago. Her grandmother’s engagement ring also vanished, as did her grandfather’s 1949 college ring from Loyola in Chicago and her great aunt’s amethyst pendant with a large oval purple stone. So did her own platinum diamond engagement ring and her daughter’s sterling silver locket with her dad’s initials engraved in it. “I didn’t want to take the chance that someone could pick something up inside my house during a house showing, so I put it all in the safe,” she said. Her home had an alarm; the detached garage did not. Thomason believes the burglars cased her secluded home, bided their time and even used her handcart to move the safe. She and her daughter were gone for several hours that
The Washington Healthplanfinder website opens again with consumer-friendly features for those looking to purchase insurance. By Sharon Salyer Herald Writer
Last year, there were problems with shopping, comparing and getting help buying individual health insurance plans sold through the state’s website. This year, the state promises improvements. The Washington Healthplanfinder website will be easier to navigate. There will be more help available online and through a toll-free hotline, as well as more plans to choose from. People can begin shopping and signing up for individual health insurance Saturday. The website is not only for those who are signing up for the first time. People who signed up for individual health insurance last year must renew coverage this year. “There’s a lot of things to make it more consumer-friendly,” said Bethany Frey, a spokeswoman for the state’s health insurance marketplace. Last year, 1.3 million Washington residents signed up for individual health insurance. Consumers complained of problems that slowed or prevented them from signing up online and long waits to get help after connecting with call centers. MARK MULLIGAN / THE HERALD
See THEFT, back page, this section
Deirdre Thomason stands inside her garage where burglars broke in and stole a 400-pound safe bolted to the floor. The safe contained her late husband’s ashes, among other valuables.
See HEALTH, back page, this section
Prototype stage progressing for 777X components Herald Writer
EVERETT — A year after the project was launched, Boeing’s new 777X airliner is taking physical shape. The company is developing prototypes for wing spars — the wing’s backbone — and the hardware needed for their mass production, a Boeing spokesman said. “We have some early builds
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of the spars,” said Scott Lefeber, a spokesman for Boeing’s 777X program. He declined to elaborate. But people familiar with the program said a rear spar prototype is finished and a front spar prototype should be finished next month, according to people familiar with the program. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk publicly about the program.
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“The manufacturing technology, we’re working through that,” Lefeber said. The spars are made by machines designed and built by Mukilteo-based ElectroImpact, a couple of miles from Boeing’s Everett plant at Paine Field where the 777X will be produced. The North American division of Germany-based Durr is in the running for making machines to trim and drill the wing spars, according to the sources
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familiar with the program. Boeing declined to comment. Durr did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Some wing components also will be made at Boeing’s St. Louis facility, where the defense and space division produces the F-15 and F-18. The 777X airliner’s wings — spars, ribs and skin — will be made from carbon-fibercomposite materials, making them lighter, stronger and more
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durable than the traditional metal alloys used to make airframes today. The massive wings will be cooked in giant autoclaves at Boeing’s Everett plant. The sprawling wing production building is under construction on the north side of the main factory building, which will house the 777X assembly line. See 777X, back page, this section
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