Everett Daily Herald, August 02, 2015

Page 1

Sweet success of the Summer Meltdown D1

SUNDAY, 08.02.2015

EVERETT, WASHINGTON

WWW.HERALDNET.COM

$1.50 (HIGHER IN OUTLYING AREAS)

FARE GAME

Somers pulling Lovick backers Divisiveness between council members and leadership is fomenting a desire for change, some say. By Noah Haglund and Jerry Cornfield Herald Writers

EVERETT — Some powerful political players who worked to retain John Lovick as Snohomish County executive last year are now trying to unseat him. That’s helped Lovick’s chief rival, County Councilman Dave Somers, surge past the incumbent in fundraising. Those who have switched alliances include the political arm of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish counties. The Affordable Housing Council gave Lovick $950 when he ran for a one-year term in office in 2014, but last month donated twice as much to Somers. “There is a desire for change,” said David Hoffman, the group’s director. “For too long members of the County Council and senior leadership have had an uncooperative and combative relationship. Our members are not confident the current executive can change that.” The builders add to a support base for Somers that also includes environmentalists and aerospace interests. Lovick acknowledged his disappointment at seeing former supporters endorsing Somers. See EXECUTIVE, Page A7

DAN BATES / THE HERALD

Community Transit “service ambassador” Nick Ludington talks to passengers about fares on a Swift bus in downtown Everett recently.

By Eric Stevick

E

Herald Writer

VERETT — Nick Ludington knows the dance. He sees it often. It’s a simple two-step. The bus doors open. A prospective rider places one foot inside, leans forward, looks around, spots Ludington and steps back onto the curb. Sometimes, he’ll see people who were sprinting to the bus freeze in their tracks when they see he’s on board. It’s not that the clean-cut Everett native isn’t a friendly fellow. It’s just he has a job to do, and that’s making sure people pay their fares. A whole lot of riders don’t. Roughly one in 10 Community Transit riders try to slip past by paying a partial fare or none at all. The financial hit comes in thousands of seemingly inconsequential dribs and drabs — a dollar here, $2.25 there. Add it all up and the Snohomish Countybased transit agency was out an estimated

$1.2 million in 2014. In Seattle, a 2010 study of Metro buses estimated fare evasion at 4.8 percent of boardings. It’s not that the Pacific Northwest is unique. It seems people cheat everywhere. Fare evasion costs taxpayer-subsidized public transportation agencies around the world hundreds of millions of dollars a year. “Paying fares is very important,” said Virginia Miller, a spokeswoman for the American Public Transportation Association. “From the perspective of a national average, fares pay for about one-third of operating expenses.” Ducking the tab happens on buses, trains and trolleys, in cities and suburbia, from Seattle to Stockholm. “From the day that somebody decided you should collect a fare for a bus, someone else was trying to figure out how to ride for free,” said Tom Hingson, Everett Transit’s director. A five-day check earlier this month found roughly 2.5 percent of Everett Transit See EVADERS, Page A6

Riders who don’t pay cost the transit system — and taxpayers — more than $1 million last year

MIXED MESSAGE

GAS TAX GOING UP, AND UP

Foss offered two forks and two valleys, so they took… both. Outdoors, E1

Former college athlete finds a new outlet for her competitive spirit. Sports, C1

Highway projects will take years, but eventually drivers will see results. Local, B1

Classified . . . . . E3 Crossword . . . . D5

Dear Abby. . . . . D5 Horoscope . . . . D5

Lottery . . . . . . . A2 Movies . . . . . . . D4

Obituaries. . . . . B3 Sports . . . . . . . . C1

Success . . . . . . . A9 Viewpoints . . . . B7

Affable 85/60, C10

VOL. 115, NO. 171 © 2015 THE DAILY HERALD CO.

SUNDAY

THE RIVER LESS TRAVELED

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42963 55555

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SEE YOUR SNOHOMISH COUNTY LOCATIONS FOR SPECIAL OFFERS!

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SUMMER TRAVEL?


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