Kirkland Reporter, December 19, 2014

Page 1

KIRKLAND .com

REPORTER

NEWSLINE: 425.822.9166

PART 2 | Kirkland woman hires gang to assault ID theft victim [3]

Award | JHS Model UN Delegation honored FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2014 [11]

A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING

Blotter | Seahawks fan arrested after reporting stolen tickets [5]

Firefighters’ union expresses no confidence in city leadership This story was first published on kirklandreporter. com on Dec. 12. BY TJ MARTINELL tmartinell@kirklandreporter.com

I

n a scathing letter, the Kirkland firefighters’ union rejected a proposed domestic violence resolution with the city of Kirkland, lambasted Kirkland City Manager Kurt

Triplett for not taking stronger action against some of its members and announced its opposition to the proposed construction of a new fire station. The Dec. 9 letter, written by IAFF Local 2545 President Bryan Vadney, turned down a proposed domestic violence resolution between the union and the city, saying

its policies on both domestic violence and sex trafficking are already clear. The resolution, drafted by Mayor Amy Walen and Deputy Mayor Penny Sweet, would have directed the city manager, fire chief and director of human resources “to take all actions necessary through administrative policies, discipline procedures

and collective bargaining agreements to ensure that no firefighter commits an act of domestic violence.” It would have also called upon the fire department and union to “enact an administrative policy regarding domestic violence by December 31, 2014.” Vadney told the Reporter that “The city is asking us

Council approves new city budget

brought to light. Michael Aguilar Varela recently signed a separation agreement with the city of Kirkland after it was discovered he was involved in a prostitution ring scandal earlier this year. During an internal investigation, they also discovered he had a deferred conviction in 2012 related to a 2011 incident soliciting prostitutes in Seattle. [ more UNION page 7 ]

Suspect in JHS assault attending new high school in LWSD BY MATT PHELPS AND TJ MARTINELL Reporter Newspapers

BY TJ MARTINELL tmartinell@kirklandreporter.com

The Kirkland City Council approved a new biennial budget for 2015-2016 during its Dec. 9 meeting after adding $1 million in spending from the preliminary budget, bringing the total budget to $584 million. According to Director of Finance Tracy Dunlap, the council revised the final budget by adding a social worker at John Muir Elementary school as well as a second school resource officer, whose salary is partially paid for by the Lake Washington School District. The final budget also set aside revenue to replenish the general Capital Contingency Fund, as well as money to evaluate options in response to the proposed closure of the Northshore Public Health Center by King County. The budget also acknowledges the $200,000 given to the city by Google for free Wi-Fi at Everest and Houghton Beach Parks. The new budget shows little change, a .2 percent increase, in spending from the last biennial budget. This [ more BUDGET page 11 ]

to stand with them and our position is we’ve been here all along, we’d liked them to catch up to us. Their actions don’t represent that.” As proof of this claim, the letter cites two firefighters, though not by name, accusing the city of being “cowardly” for not taking stronger action when the firefighters’ behavior was

Rep. Larry Springer has been elected as the new deputy majority leader in the Washington state House. ANDY NYSTROM, Reporter Newspapers

Former Kirkland mayor now deputy majority leader BY TJ MARTINELL

tmartinell@kirklandreporter.com

State Rep. Larry Springer D-Kirkland of the 45th District has been elected deputy majority leader of the Democratic Caucus in the state House, which will focus on business outreach and engagement. As part of caucus leadership, Springer said he will help determine what legislation goes forward and whether a specific bill will be pursued by his party, as well as

build relations with business leaders in the state, including Kirkland and Redmond. The main topics that concern businesses, Springer said, are taxation, land use and regulations. “If you are a business person in Kirkland, if you own a particular business and you have concerns about transportation or healthcare or taxation, I’m the person that would be probably be handling it,” he said. As a small business own-

er, having run The Grape Choice in downtown Kirkland for 25 years with his wife and Kirkland City Councilmember Penny Sweet, Springer said his experience allows him to see how legislation directly affects business owners. “I understand probably better than most of my colleagues the struggles that small business owners face, the day-to-day struggle of keeping your business open and paying [ more SPRINGER page 2 ]

At least one of the suspects in an alleged sexual assault incident at Juanita High School is now attending another high school in the Lake Washington School District (LWSD) despite being placed on emergency expulsion. This comes as two football coaches, who were not involved in the actual incident according to Reporter sources, are still on paid administrative leave pending the results of the LWSD investigation. The Kirkland Police Department (KPD) has also not concluded its investigation into the incident. The King County Prosecutor’s Office is still reviewing the case for charges. It is unclear whether the students will be charged as juveniles or adults in the case. Four sophomore football players were arrested for attacking the specialneeds student in the high school locker room after school on Oct. 22. A fifth student was arrested later. The alleged suspects were immediately given an emergency expulsion. The Reporter has also con-

firmed that at least one of the suspects is also being allowed to once again play sports for his new high school. The LWSD has confirmed that another one of the suspects has a record of repeated disciplinary measures dating back to 2008. Students are given an emergency expulsion if the district believes they impose a danger to other students or faculty members, Lake Washington School District spokesperson Kathryn Reith told the Reporter in October. The students can later be allowed back to school if they are no longer determined to be a danger. All of this information comes as both the KPD and LWSD have denied the Reporter’s repeated public records requests for access to the investigation documents and initial police report. The KPD initially granted the Reporter’s request but later denied it, stating: “RCW 13.50.050(3) All records other than the official juvenile court file are confidential and may be released only as provided in this chapter, [ more ASSAULT page 8 ]


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.