Everett Daily Herald, April 24, 2015

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Silvertips look to the future

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Federal help an unknown Several groups have applied for a $4.2 million grant to pay for counseling and reimburse some overtime costs. By Diana Hefley and Eric Stevick Herald Writers

MARYVILLE — It could take until December to hear whether the federal government will

help fund recovery efforts at Marysville Pilchuck High School after the shootings there six months ago. The school district, Marysville, the Tulalip Tribes, Victim Support Services and

Volunteers of America have applied for a $4.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime. The money would help pay for mental health and victim support services, additional school counselors, suicide prevention efforts and other programs at the high school and throughout the district. It also

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would help reimburse some costs such as police and firefighter overtime. On Oct. 24 a freshman opened fire in front of more than 100 students inside the school’s cafeteria. The Tulalip boy, 15, shot five of his friends before turning the gun on himself. See MPHS, Page A2

A bumper crop of kittens

Council furious over 21% pay hike The raise, which was later revoked, was given to a top county attorney by Executive John Lovick’s administration against the rules, members say. By Noah Haglund Herald Writer

long-waited event,” Earling said. Voters in Snohomish, King and Pierce counties first voted in 1996 to authorize Sound Transit to build a transit system that would one day bring light rail to regional population centers, including Everett. The funding mechanism is the

EVERETT — A 21 percent raise has put an attorney who oversees Snohomish County’s Office of Public Defense at the center of a political furor over pay hikes for top managers. County Executive John Lovick’s administration in November increased Sara Bhagat’s annual salary to $105,175.80, up from the $86,574.60 she was hired at a year earlier. The pay hike was made retroactive to the previous April. Now it’s gone. A majority of the County Council has been demanding that Lovick rescind Bhagat’s raise, after learning about it early this year. “It’s fiscally irresponsible because we don’t have the money,” County Council Chairman Dave Somers said. “From a policy standpoint, giving these raises to the best-paid employees we have sets a bad precedent because we can’t do the same for the rest of our employees.” Somers and two other councilmen have insisted that Lovick’s office failed to follow county code. At least three separate legal opinions from county attorneys supported their stance that the council, and not the executive, needs to approve the type of raise that Bhagat received. The executive for months refused to roll back her salary, but gave in this week. The change is effective as of the end of 2014. Lovick’s action came after an April 10 memo from Somers that included a copy of the executive’s oath of office and pledge to uphold the county’s charter and ordinances. Lovick’s administration still believes Bhagat’s raise was appropriate, despite the reversal. “It’s fair to say that we have a different interpretation of code,” spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said. “This decision was about resolution for her. This battle could go back and forth. It’s not the outcome that we believe is right or fair to her, but this has turned toxic and that affects employees. It’s toxic for her and for others. And that’s why this decision was made.”

See RAIL, back page, this section

See RAISE, back page, this section

Emily Mulhall, 17, who volunteers weekly at the Camano Animal Shelter Association, plays with the cats Wednesday after cleaning their room. With an especially large kitten season expected this year, the shelter could end up with 100 cats. In the meantime, it’s gearing up with its sixth annual Little Whiskers Open House on Saturday. People can come by the shelter at 198 Can Ku Road and bring gifts of kitten formula, bottles, food or non-clumping cat litter. For more information, check out the story on Page A3.

Light rail route to Lynnwood, Terrace OK’d The 8.5-mile addition would open at once. It likely will be more than 20 years before Link makes it to Everett. Herald Writer

SEATTLE — The Sound Transit board of directors unanimously approved a route Thursday to take Link light rail to Lynnwood and Mountlake

Terrace by 2023. The 8.5-mile addition would extend service to the Lynnwood park-and-ride lot from Northgate. Trains would stop along the way at the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center, and in Shoreline at NE 185th

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the buzz

By Noah Haglund

VOL. 115, NO. 72 © 2015 THE DAILY HERALD CO.

INSIDE

Business . . . .A11 Classified . . . . B1

Comics . . . . . .D4 Crossword . . .D4

Street and 145th Street. The whole addition would open at once, rather than in stages. Edmonds Mayor Dave Earling, a Sound Transit board member, called the project “a vital lifeline for commuters tired of dealing with traffic and congestion along I-5.” “We’re finally fixing the alignment, which has been a

Unplugged Your merger appointment is between 8 a.m. Monday and 5 p.m. Oct. 10, 2018: Comcast has decided to ditch its $45.2 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable (Page A11). The cable company got pushback from regulators concerned about a Dear Abby. . . .D5 Horoscope . . . B7

single company getting a monopoly on being hated. Heard it in a love song: The Marshall Tucker Band, country-rock hit-makers of the 1970s, have enjoyed a publicity bump since getting name-checked in “Cruise,” the charttopping country music hit by Florida Georgia Line

Lottery . . . . . .A2 Obituaries. . . .A9

Opinion. . . . .A13 Short Takes . . .D6

(Short Takes, Page D6). Meanwhile, the Charlie Daniels Band just tweeted this to Florida Georgia Line: “What are we, chopped liver with country gravy and a side of grits?” Don’t know much about history: On this day in 1970, the People’s Republic of China launched its first Sports . . . . . . . C1 Stocks . . . . . .A12

satellite, which transmitted a song called “The East is Red” (Today in History, Page D6). The song’s lyrics glorified Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution, but if you play it backward and at half-speed, you hear “Within three decades, China will make and the USA will take.”

— Mark Carlson, Herald staff

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