Everett Daily Herald, June 04, 2015

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The Classes of 2015 are ready to walk the walk

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OSO MUDSLIDE

Judge sorting legal claims The county has immunity from some situations that arise during work to fight flooding, he finds, but it’s not absolute. By Scott North Herald Writer

EVERETT — A King County judge has begun making clear what claims may be pressed in the legal battle to decide whether

anyone can be held responsible for the deaths and damage caused by the Oso mudslide. Under state law that encourages governments to tackle flood problems, Snohomish County has immunity from mudslide

claims that arise out of decisions made over the years to fight flooding along the North Fork Stillaguamish River, King County Superior Court Judge Roger Rogoff said in a written ruling Monday. But that protection is not absolute, the judge held. The county has floodcontrol immunity for work that

modified the river’s course after it was blocked by a 2006 slide, Rogoff said. However, that legal protection doesn’t extend to the county’s involvement in a wooden cribwall that later was built at the toe of the slide That cribwall, a project that See OSO, back page, this section

Meeting higher standards Sno-Isle TECH students are working to develop clean diesel exhaust

MARK MULLIGAN / THE HERALD

Teacher Brent Delfel (left) works with diesel power technology students Nicholas Jamieson (center) and Ian Fujinaka on a newly donated exhaust treatment system from PACCAR Technical Center outside of their class May 28 at the Sno-Isle TECH Skills Center in Everett.

Herald Writer

EVERETT — Little did they suspect they would be delving so deep into math, chemistry and engineering. For several months, four students in Brent Delfel’s diesel power technology class at the Sno-Isle TECH Skills Center have been researching and experimenting with ways to make diesel exhaust cleaner. It’s a far cry from what they’d envisioned when they signed up for the course. “At the beginning of the year, we never thought that we would be doing something like this that

is important for the environment and society,” said Zackary Hickey, who split time during his senior year between the skills center in south Everett and Arlington High School. “Now we actually think about the environmental side,” said Joseph Neil, a South Whidbey High School senior who attends Sno-Isle. For Delfel, it’s a sign of changing times. A quarter century ago he attended diesel classes he now teaches at the technical school. Since then, tougher standards have made for more sophisticated emissions systems. All heavy-duty diesel truck engines

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INSIDE

Business . . . . .A5 Classified . . . . B2

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

produced in recent years must meet new Environmental Protection Agency standards in reducing particulates and nitrogen oxides. That’s resulted in less air pollution and fewer health risks. New off-road machinery, such as construction and agricultural equipment, also are subject to emission standards requiring similar reductions. In other words, the days of belching black smoke from the tailpipe are numbered as older diesel vehicles are phased out. Last month, the PACCAR Technical Center donated to the Sno-Isle class an exhaust treatment system weighing several

Taco well drinks Stumble for the border: Taco Bell is testing beer, wine and “mixed alcohol freezes” at a new location in Chicago, a bid to attract millennials (Page A5). We know millennials are open to new things, but nobody is ready for a margarita with a glass rim Dear Abby. . . .D5 Horoscope . . . B4

hundred pounds for up-close and hands-on study. That delighted Ian Fujinaka, a home-schooled junior from Arlington, who heads up the student team. Fujinaka said he has come to realize that even tiny improvements in technology can have massive effects on the environment. He’s interested in the diagnostics end of the trade, learning how to develop the new technologies that can make a difference. “He is doing some amazing work with the technology that keeps diesel engines running clean,” Delfel said. “It has been

dusted with crushed Nacho Cheese Dorito chips. Don’t laugh; he hit 90 percent of them: Game 1 of the NBA Finals begins tonight on ABC. The Golden State Warriors face the Cleveland Cavaliers. This is the first year since 1975 the Warriors have played in the finals (The Clicker, Page D6).

Lottery . . . . . .A2 Northwest. . . . B1

Obituaries. . . .A8 Opinion. . . . . .A7

Bikini barista pleads guilty Samantha Lancaster admitted she helped promote prostitution at the stands and agrees to testify against a former sergeant. By Diana Hefley Herald Writer

EVERETT — A bikini espresso stand veteran admitted Wednesday that she helped her boss rake in millions by selling sex at roadside coffee huts. Samantha Lancaster also has agreed to testify against former Snohomish County sheriff ’s sergeant Darrell O’Neill, who is accused of turning a blind eye to the prostitution operation. Prosecutors allege that O’Neill provided information about undercover police stings in exchange for sexual favors with Lancaster and stand owner Carmela Panico. O’Neill’s trial is scheduled for July. Lancaster, 24, faces up to eight months in jail when she is sentenced later this year. She pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree promoting prostitution, a felony. Lancaster managed the stands for Panico. She is a veteran in the business and was caught up in Everett’s first coffee stand scandal. In 2009, Lancaster, then 18, was working for Bill Wheeler Sr. at a Grab-N-Go espresso stand. Wheeler’s stands made national headlines after Everett cops revealed that baristas were exposing themselves to customers in exchange for money. Lancaster and her fellow baristas never saw any jail time in connection with that case. Instead, they were warned to keep clean or face a criminal conviction. Lancaster went on to manage Panico’s stands. Panico, a former exotic dancer, pleaded guilty last year to promoting prostitution out of Java Juggs and Twin Peaks and laundering the proceeds. She, too, is expected to testify against O’Neill. The espresso madam was arrested in 2013 as part of an investigation into police corruption. Everett detectives and the FBI began tailing O’Neill after police heard from some of Panico’s baristas that there was a See BIKINI, back page, this section

See DIESEL, Page A2

Coincidentally, it’s Turn Back the Clock night for Golden State: Players will wear 1970s sideburns and short shorts, and free throw attempts will be “granny style” in honor of Rick Barry. Fore! Pierce County officials have barred the media from attending a briefing for state legislators that will be held Short Takes . . .D6 Sports . . . . . . . C1

during the U.S. Open golf championship. The meeting gets lawmakers around an ethics rule that would have prevented them from accepting free tickets to the event (Page B1). Instead, media members are invited to caddy for lawmakers during a free nine-hole round.

—Jon Bauer, Herald staff

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