Bellevue Reporter, January 16, 2015

Page 1

Equality for all

BELLEVUE

REPORTER FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2015

Open Window Students take first, second and third in county MLK essay contest

Crime

BELLEVUEREPORTER.COM

Education  [ 02 ]

Bellevue College, WSU eye partnership

[ 03 ]

Murder suspect nabbed

BY JOSH STILTS ISSAQUAH & SAMMAMISH REPORTER

The Eastside could see a lot more cougars in its future as Bellevue College and Washington State University officials are exploring the possibility of a partnership between the two schools. In an effort to meet the increasing financial needs of the college's rapidly

Bellevue man arrested in connection to December Portland hotel murder

News

[ 07 ]

City eyes coveted home

growing enrollment, Bellevue College's Board of Trustees unanimously voted to authorize the school's president, David L. Rule, to explore potential financial partnerships, including with Washington State University. Rule told the Reporter he and his staff were approached by WSU president Elson S. Floyd in November, when he pitched the idea of a potential union of the two colleges.

"It's a very logical conversation," Rule said. "We're still the community's college. But we need to find out if the grass is actually greener on the other side." Floyd said there's been ongoing conversations within the states’ higher education sector to find affordable four-year degree programs. With an increasing student population, enrollment, its

infrastructure and growth potential, Bellevue College was an ideal target. "We're trying to figure out how the two- and four-year programs can work for students," Floyd said of his initial conversations with Rule. "We're just beginning to explore ways in which the two

Burglarized Bellevue family strikes back

City, PSE to convert streetlights to LED bulbs

BY BRANDON MACZ

BELLEVUE REPORTER

Project to cut energy consumption in half

Two arrested after couple uses cellphone to track down belongings

BY BRANDON MACZ

Bellevue considering buying house at auction for Newport Hills community

Sports

BELLEVUE REPORTER

[10 ]

Selfless floor general

Dominique Jordan Bellevue College’s top scorer through 15 games

@BelReporter

SEE PARTNERSHIP, 6

Darren and Nancy Gertz went from crime-victims to crime-stoppers last month when they tracked down the two men charged with burglarizing their Bellevue home while they and their children slept. Nancy Gertz woke up early on Dec. 17, with the realization she had forgotten to bring her cellphone to bed with her. She walked into the living room and noticed the screen door half-open. Her first thought was it had been left open for Bolt, the family bulldog. Then Nancy saw a Christmas stocking lying on the floor. "I threw it under the tree, and then I said, 'Where are the presents?' " The Bellevue couple quickly determined they were once again the victims of a home burglary. Nancy's Louis Vuitton purse, wallet, cellphone and other valuables also were discovered stolen. Their kitchen cabinets and vehicles had been rifled through. Nancy Gertz found her car keys in her husband's locked car. The keys to a Porsche that Darren Gertz had driven home from the dealership he works at also were stolen, but the high-end vehicle was left parked on their street. He had planned to sell it later

that day. The couple was quick to check the status of Nancy's credit cards. One had been used to purchase gas at a station in Auburn. They waited until their boys — 10 and 12 — were out of the house before calling the police. "We didn't want to scare them or disrupt their day," said Darren Gertz. "We got them off to school. Of

The city plans to convert half of Bellevue's streetlights from incandescent bulbs to light-emitting diodes by 2016, the changeover estimated to save the operating budget $173,000 annually. A quarter of the $1.1 million project is funded through a state Department of Commerce energy efficiency grant and another $239,000 is coming from rebates through Puget Sound Energy, which owns the lion's share of streetlights to be converted to LEDs this year. The city is paying another $600,000 for the project, which city Traffic Engineering Manager Mark Poch said will be paid off within 3 1/2 years through energy cost savings and PSE rebates.

SEE BURGLARY, 12

SEE LED LIGHTS, 12

BRANDON MACZ, Bellevue Reporter

Darren and Nancy Gertz show the cellphone and app that helped them track down her stolen phone to a parking lot in Auburn.

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