Everyone is a winner in YMCA’s Miracle League A3
●
EVERETT, WASHINGTON
●
WWW.HERALDNET.COM
●
75¢ (HIGHER IN OUTLYING AREAS)
Alcohol still bigger problem The number of drivers impaired by pot goes up and down, but its use often is combined with other substances. By Rikki King Herald Writer
EVERETT — A lot of the rules surrounding marijuana have changed here in recent years. One hasn’t. It’s still illegal to drive while high. Statewide, marijuana was found in 28 percent of blood
samples taken in impaired driving cases in 2014, according to data provided by the Washington State Patrol. That number has gone up and down over the past five years but was higher last year than in 2012 or 2013. The data don’t include cases where drivers failed a breath test
for alcohol and no blood sample was taken. Most often, marijuana is seen in impaired driving cases combined with other substances, including alcohol and illegal drugs, police say. That’s also true in crashes that result in felony charges, according to Snohomish County prosecutors. “Alcohol continues to be far and away the bigger problem,” said Bob Calkins, who until
whose drug and alcohol >> Man test results were suppressed
at trial sentenced in crash that killed his friend’s son, A3
recently was the State Patrol spokesman. In thousands of impaired driving cases every year, marijuana is the most frequent factor for people younger than 21, a State Patrol report says. See POT, Page A9
Modeled on real life Clarence Lentz’s hewn wooden planes inspired by his time in WWII
PHOTOS BY MARK MULLIGAN / THE HERALD
Clarence Lentz stands with a model of a P-51 Mustang he started to hew out of wood in the garage of his north Everett home. The inside of Lentz’s garage is a testament to the many projects he has undertaken with his children and grandchildren, from race cars to building models of WWII-era airplanes, since his time flying in a B-29 radar squadron.
By Rikki King Herald Writer
50% OFF
Go to HeraldNetDailyDeal.com to purchase today’s deal from
Buller Technologies VOL. 115, NO. 125 © 2015 THE DAILY HERALD CO.
INSIDE
Business . . . .A11 Classified . . . . B1
A homemade model of a P-38 is suspended above the
Some insiders are skeptical the utility will take seriously the findings of a recent investigation about no-bid contracts. By Dan Catchpole Herald Writer
EVERETT — Snohomish County PUD executives and the three elected commissioners say they are taking seriously the findings of an outside ethics investigation and will review relevant policies. The investigation found that the Public Utility District appeared to show favoritism, in violation of an ethics policy, when it awarded a no-bid contract for a clean-energy project. Two senior employees, however, and the whistleblower who prompted the investigation say PUD leaders appear to see the probe as a distraction and are ready to move on. They don’t hold out much hope that PUD leadership will take a probing look at policies. “If they do review it, it will be cursory,” said one high-level employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. “They’re ready to move on.” The report says there was an “inference of favoritism” when the PUD skipped the bid process and awarded a contract to a formeremployee-turned-contractor, David Kaplan, and his company, 1Energy Systems, in 2011. But the report found that neither the PUD nor Kaplan “met their obligations under Directive 90,” which prohibits behavior that creates the appearance of a conflict of interest. Commission President Kathy Vaughn called it “kind of a violation of our directives.” At some point, the commission “will want to go through Directive 90 and make sure we have things covered,” she said. Commissioner Toni Olson echoed that sentiment after Tuesday’s regular commissioners meeting, the first since the PUD received the report June 1. The board “will look at our practices and procedures,” she said. She pointed to the commission’s May 26 meeting, when PUD staff briefed the commissioners on the district’s contract procedures. The ethics investigation was still under way at that point.
See PLANES, Page A2 Lentzes’ home in Everett.
the buzz
EVERETT — Clarence and Violet Lentz consider themselves quiet people. They don’t talk much, and they don’t talk loudly. Their three kids are the same way. The Lentzes have been married for 60 years now, in the same single-story house in Everett. The way it used to be, before the neighbor’s trees towered over the fence, people always could spot the Lentz house from North Broadway, they said. That was because of the model airplanes that Clarence, now 84, built from
scratch, starting with trips to the lumber yard. His planes are still there, painted silver and propped on tripods above the shop in the backyard. Each bird measures several feet. They aren’t just any old planes — a B-29 and a P-38 — the first of which Clarence flew on in the U.S. Air Force. He and Vi both grew up in Sultan. They met at a high school football game in Monroe. Vi’s friend wanted to stop by the dance afterward, but she wasn’t allowed to go. A young man named Clarence offered her a ride.
PUD ethics response doubted
Comics . . . . . .D4 Crossword . . .D4
Reality bites Don’t worry — he’ll eventually be fired: Donald Trump on Tuesday made good on his long-standing threat to enter the race for the Republican presidential nomination (Page A10). The Donald’s presence in the race creates double duty for the Secret Service. Dear Abby. . . .D5 Good Life . . . .D1
They’ll have to provide security not only for him, but also for that thing that lives on his head. Cano’s bat stolen by the Russian Mafia? The FBI is investigating whether the St. Louis Cardinals hacked into the Houston Astros’ computer network to steal player personnel data (Page C5).
Horoscope . . . B6 Lottery . . . . . .A2
Obituaries. . . .A9 Opinion. . . . .A13
When they’re done with that, perhaps the Bureau can find out who hacked into the Seattle Mariners’ system and switched off their offense. Choosy fathers choose Apple, Lexus and Under Armour: Dads are doing more of the shopping these days, and they’re spending Short Takes . . .D6 Sports . . . . . . . C1
See PUD, Page A2
more on average than moms, a new survey says (Business Briefly, Page A11). Nearly half of the dads surveyed said they buy only name-brand merchandise — especially name-brand power tools, outboard motors and 65-inch flat-screen TVs.
— Mark Carlson, Herald staff
Progressing 68/51, C6
DAILY
WEDNESDAY, 06.17.2015
6
42963 33333
9