Catalog 4

The election landscape will be dramatically different in February when seven Snohomish County school districts ask their voters to approve funding measures.

State voters narrowly passed a simple-majority requirement for school levies in the Nov. 6 general election. District leaders say that instead of the high-stress uncertainty of securing a 60 percent supermajority, they now will have to convince a little more than half of their voters to pass the levies that fund about 17 percent of daily school operations. Construction-bond measures still require 60 percent approval.

But for the first time, school districts also face the county’s all-mail election, which means more ballots in the hands of people who don’t necessarily support schools or the taxes to pay for them.

District leaders around the county say they are uncertain what effect the changes will have.

“It changes our anxiety level,” said Judy Schwab, Mukilteo School Board vice president. “This is the great unknown.”

Arlington, Darrington, Granite Falls, Lakewood, Monroe, Mukilteo and Stanwood-Camano all plan to go to their voters with school-levy and/or construction-bond measures Feb. 19.

Snohomish County adopted all-mail voting in January 2006, but it didn’t take effect until the September primary, making the seven districts the first to run finance measures under the all-mail vote.

When Thurston County changed to all-mail voting in 1993, one of the first casualties was school-finance measures, said Auditor Kim Wyman. Instead of running one campaign, which often consisted of mailings and phone calls to supporters on the eve of the election, Wyman said districts had to shift to running campaigns timed to the mailing of absentee ballots and continuing through the election date.

“In 1994, [North] Thurston schools had a double levy failure for the first time. A lot of people pointed fingers at us,” because of the change to all-mail voting, Wyman said,

Once school supporters adjusted their campaign strategies, she said, they successfully passed finance measures, though by narrower margins. The upside for the county, she said, was that voter participation nearly tripled, from about 13 percent to 42 percent in general elections.

Schwab said the Mukilteo campaign will include community forums and getting information to voters early on its $139.2 million construction-bond measure and $11.2 million capital-projects and technology levy.

“Then we’ll ramp it up,” she said, noting that the state simple-majority measure went from apparent election-night defeat - the early ballots of absentee voters - to victory on the strength of late poll voters.

Lakewood Superintendent Larry François said the challenge under all-mail voting will be to ensure that poll voters, who have traditionally favored school measures, return their ballots.

Lakewood’s March 2004 levy failed on its first try despite 75 percent approval by poll voters. Just 51 percent of absentee ballots supported the measure. Those measures passed in a second attempt, but at a cost of $21,300, François said.

And the costs can be higher. The Snohomish School District spent $90,165 to rerun its failed levy in April 2006, said budget analyst Ruth Floyd.

This time around, Lakewood is seeking approval of a $20.1 million, four-year replacement levy and a $3.8 million technology levy. And under the simple-majority provision, they only need one vote more than 50 percent to pass.

“We’re all hoping it’s not such a stressful situation, that the levy will pass the first time and spare everyone the time and expense of a second election,” François said.

In the past four years, levies in every district received at least 50 percent approval. But a Marysville construction bond in 2003 received just 48 percent approval, and a February 2006 levy crossed the 60 percent mark by only 23 votes.

Marysville Superintendent Larry Nyland called passage of the simple-majority measure “huge.” He said rerunning failed levies not only costs money, it effectively puts a district’s administrative work on hold until the levy is approved. Budgets are cut in anticipation of the levy failing; employees must be notified of potential layoffs; and instead of directing energies to supporting classroom instruction, administrators are taking all of these steps while trying to support a second campaign.

“Life stops,” Nyland said.

Adding all-mail voting to the mix may reduce the overall percentage of voters favoring schools, Nyland said, but on balance, the simple majority should make levies easier to pass the first time.

Mukilteo’s Schwab said the basic compact between the school district and the voters remains unchanged.

“We still have to get their permission to spend money and prove we’re spending it wisely,” she said.

Lynn Thompson: 425-745-7807 or lthompson@seattletimes.com

WASHINGTON - Pat Nagel built model airplanes and had all the aviation books she could handle as a little girl in the 1930s. She pursued her passion as a flight attendant and as a docent for the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

Now 80, she has been a valuable source of expertise for museum curators of the new exhibit “America by Air,” which opened Saturday at the Washington, D.C. museum. Nagel, an American Airlines attendant from 1950 to 1952, was able to explain the purpose of a mysterious compartment on the DC-7 aircraft: It was used for dog crates.

“We were stewardesses. We were not flight attendants,” said Nagel, who will gives tours each week. “People said it was like being a movie star, but get this, movie stars had their pictures taken with us!”

It will be hard to miss one of the newest additions to the museum. The front section of a huge Boeing 747 airliner from Northwest Airlines pokes its nose into the new gallery, which curators spent more than five years developing. The exhibit traces the history of passenger air travel from its very beginning: the early attempts to start up airlines just a decade after the Wright brothers made the first flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C., in 1903.

Interactive exhibits depict the early air service developed to carry U.S. mail and later wealthy business travelers, the coming of the jet age and the airlines’ struggles after the government deregulated the industry in 1978.

“In the span of less than 70 years, we’ve gone from tiny little airplanes to full-blown, massive, million-pound airliners carrying a billion people around the planet a year,” said aeronautics curator Robert van der Linden.

The first passengers to fly across the country paid about $300, he said. The price is about the same today.

“That has never changed. It’s just what that $300 could buy. In 1930, you could buy an automobile (for $300),” van der Linden said.

The permanent exhibit is the first major gallery to be updated in several years. Attendance has been more sluggish ever since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but it still averages about 27,000 people a day, said museum director Jack Dailey, a retired Marine Corps general and former NASA administrator.

Touch screens, simulations of 1920s airmail flights and a Web site that allows visitors to contribute their memories of airline travel are among the new additions designed to reach a younger generation of museum visitors.

A section on the qualifications for stewardesses shows the strict requirements women such as Nagel had to meet. Single women only, not divorced. Ages 21 to 26. The maximum weight was 135 pounds.

Because the government set airfare rates, the airlines used amenities to attract passengers. At least one ad campaign focused on the “pretty girls” aboard each flight.

“You could imagine we were all sure we were heaven’s gift to aviation,” Nagel said, adding that she loved serving passengers. “It was my airplane. It was like they were guests in my house.”

Speaking via phone roughly 2,600 miles away, the voice of Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan comes through as rapid-fire as the run-and-shoot offense he operates so well, seemingly breathless.

He’s talking about the excitement level in Hawaii this week as the Warriors prepare to host the Washington Huskies on Saturday night in what many are calling the biggest game in school history.

Win it, and Hawaii will finish the season 12-0 and almost certainly qualify for a BCS bowl for the first time, a berth that would give the school a chance to validate itself as a legitimate college football power.

It’s everything Brennan said he hoped for when he decided to return to Hawaii for his senior season after a junior year in which he led the nation in touchdown passes (58) and passing yards (5,549) and briefly entertained thoughts of entering the NFL draft.

“I set out to be undefeated,” he said this week. “I came back to be a winner my senior year. It wasn’t about records but just about getting 12 victories in the regular season. I’m one week away from that. So it can be what I hoped for if I can get one more victory.”

But maybe Brennan also didn’t want to leave Hawaii because it’s the place where he started over after his college football career was almost derailed before it could get started.

Brennan, a graduate of perennial prep power Mater Dei High in Southern California, signed with Colorado, where he redshirted in 2003. In January 2004, he was accused of entering a female student’s room uninvited (while allegedly drunk) and failing to leave, earning several charges, including sexual assault.

He was convicted of first-degree criminal trespass and second-degree burglary (sexual assault was dropped) and sentenced to seven days in jail and four years probation. He was kicked off the team at Colorado, and after spending the following season at Saddleback (Calif.) Community College, found that his past was hard to escape.

A number of schools that would have been interested in him were scared off by his conviction.

Hawaii coach June Jones offered Brennan a chance to walk on and prove himself, holding out the carrot of leading what has become one of the most prolific passing offenses in college football - the Warriors have been ranked in the top five nationally in passing eight straight seasons.

Brennan took the challenge, as well as the starting job. His 126 touchdown passes are the most in NCAA history.

He has said he has no one to blame but himself for what happened at Colorado, but also that his discretions were exaggerated and shouldn’t have resulted in almost being banished.

“There’s a lot of ways you could look at it,” said Brennan. “It was really weird what I went through at Colorado. It wasn’t until after I went through that and I [came] to Hawaii that every dream I ever had as a kid has come true.”

Brennan’s stats aren’t quite as staggering this season, due in part to missing one game and almost all of another due to injury. He has passed for 33 touchdowns and 3,732 yards, completing 69.9 percent of his passes. He says his ankle is still a little sore following Friday’s win over Boise State, but should be fine by Saturday.

Washington coach Tyrone Willingham said the 6-foot-3, 196-pound Brennan “has a wonderful knack for knowing where his people are and he has a unique release that he can almost release it underhand and get it to people, which you don’t really see a lot of.”

Brennan also is aided greatly by a talented group of receivers, led by senior Davone Bess, an Oakland, Calif., native who signed with Oregon State but was let go after being sentenced to a juvenile facility for 15 months for allowing friends to put stolen merchandise in his car. He came to Hawaii in 2005, the same year as Brennan, and Bess has tied an NCAA record with three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons.

NFL scouts remain somewhat mixed on Brennan, wondering how much of his success is due to the system and team, and how much is him. College coaches know he’s almost impossible to stop.

“The passing game is all about timing and spacing, and their timing and spacing is excellent,” said Fresno State coach Pat Hill, whose team lost to Hawaii 37-30 three weeks ago and also lost to Oregon earlier this year. “And don’t ever underestimate the speed of their receivers. Oregon’s a good football team with very good receivers and Hawaii’s may not be as big … but I felt they were a lot faster, and they could really run. They know what they are doing and Colt has a great release, and it’s very hard to get to them because they get the ball out of there so quickly.”

Just as suddenly as his time in Hawaii has come up, as well. Brennan is hoping now for the perfect ending.

“It’s kind of a crazy story, and I’m sure there’s a lot to be learned from it,” he said of his path to Hawaii. “I’m just trying not to mess things up.”

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com

Man with a golden arm

A look at Heisman Trophy candidate Colt Brennan’s three seasons as starting quarterback for Hawaii:

Year
Team
G
Cmp
Att
Yds
Yds-G
TD
Int

2005
Hawaii (5-7)
12
350
515
4,301
358.4
35
13

2006
Hawaii (11-3)
14
406
559
5,549
396.4
*58
12

2007
Hawaii (11-0)
10
295
422
3,732
373.2
33
14

Career

36
1,051
1,496
13,582
377.3
*126
39

* - NCAA record.

The idea of turning Mount St. Helens into Washington’s fourth national park isn’t dead yet.

U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, who remains noncommittal about the idea, recently agreed with Democratic U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell to form an advisory committee to look into it. Because the 110,000-acre Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument is within Baird’s congressional district, his acquiescence is a political necessity if it were to be turned into a national park.

“It’s worth exploring what the pros and cons would be,” Baird, a Democrat, said Monday.

On a preliminary ledger sheet, opponents worry the biggest “con” would be a curtailment of access to hunters, fishermen and snowmobilers with the loss of U.S. Forest Service oversight. The biggest “pro” would be money.

Cowlitz County officials are watching the issue closely, mainly because primary access to the volcano cuts through the county on state Highway 504.

County commissioners initially favored a National Park Service takeover of the monument, in light of the cash-strapped Forest Service’s recent decision to permanently close the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center after 14 years. Commissioners withdrew that support, however, after hearing from recreational groups concerned about access.

Mark Plotkin, the county’s tourism director, said he has subsequently looked into the issue further and found a revealing item while combing through the National Park Service’s budget.

He decided to compare the Forest Service’s roughly $500,000 annual budget for recreation on Mount St. Helens with a comparable location. He picked California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park, which is similar in visitation and acreage to Mount St. Helens, but has a budget that’s nine times the size of Mount St. Helens’ - $4.5 million.

“Something’s way wrong,” Plotkin said, “and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that.”

Cowlitz County Commissioner Axel Swanson endorsed the idea of an advisory committee with representatives of Cowlitz, Clark, Lewis and Skamania counties. He said the county might support a Park Service takeover, but only if the enabling legislation allowed continued access by sportsmen’s groups.

“There are a wide variety of national parks,” Swanson said. “The differences are in the enabling legislation.”

National park status for the volcano appeared to dim earlier this year, after county commissioners and Baird heard from constituents concerned the National Park Service would restrict public access.

But the prospect of a steady source of funding appears to be breathing new life into the idea.

National parks receive a line item allocation of funding in the federal budget each year. By contrast, Mount St. Helens receives its share of recreation money from the Forest Service only after it filters through three distinct layers of administrative overhead, from national headquarters, through the regional office in Portland, and, finally, through the Gifford Pinchot forest headquarters in Vancouver. At each level, the monument must compete with other recreation programs operated by the Forest Service.

Even so, Forest Service officials maintain their agency remains best-positioned to manage the monument as well as the various national forest campsites, trails and roads surrounding it.

UW notebook |

Wilson Afoa came to Washington to be part of a Huskies defense that Rick Neuheisel once referred to as “Hawaiian punch.”

Afoa only hopes Saturday that Hawaii doesn’t hit back too hard.

A native of Waipahu, Afoa is one of four Huskies who will return to their home state Saturday when Washington takes on Hawaii at Aloha Stadium.

Hawaii (11-0) needs a win to secure its first BCS bowl berth. Afoa, who has attended many games there, knows the atmosphere will be raucous.

“Basically you are going against the state of Hawaii when you are in that stadium,” said the senior defensive tackle.

The other Huskies making a homecoming are sophomore defensive end Daniel Te’o-Nesheim of Waikoloa, walk-on safety Jay Angotti of Honolulu and true freshman Kalani Aldrich of Hilo.

It is the final college game for Afoa, who also finished his high-school career at Aloha Stadium. His Saint Louis High team played there to win a state title in 2002.

Afoa, Aldrich and Te’o-Nesheim had scholarship offers from Hawaii but elected to come to Seattle.

“I wanted to get outside the islands and experience something new,” said Afoa.

Although UW never played in the postseason during his time here, Afoa said he has no regrets.

“We have a chance to spoil their BCS bowl,” he said. “And that’s a goal for us.”

NOTES

• Coach Tyrone Willingham said again Monday that WSU’s final touchdown, a 35-yard pass from Alex Brink to a wide-open Brandon Gibson, was the result of a miscommunication.

“From coaches to players,” he said. “So if you’re looking to point a finger, coaches, that was us.”

Some of the players apparently thought a blitz was called and weren’t in position in the secondary when Gibson ran through. UW coaches and players had discussed the play during a timeout before the snap, but the proper call still didn’t get through.

• LB Mason Foster suffered a broken nose during the game, Willingham said, but should be able to play this week. The status of CB Jordan Murchison (ankle) and LB Donald Butler (knee) is uncertain.

• Hawaii coach June Jones said UW QB Jake Locker and RB Louis Rankin “might be the two best athletes we have played this year.” Of Locker, Jones said, “Everybody can talk about [Florida QB Tim] Tebow all they want, that quarterback at Washington is the real deal.”

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com

A man’s body found floating in Steel Lake in Federal Way this morning was original investigated as a suspicious death, but Federal Way Police later found a suicide note at the man’s home.

A passer-by walking in Steel Lake Park discovered clothing and a wallet near the lake and wondered if there could have been someone in the water, said Federal Way Police spokeswoman Stacey Flores.

The passer-by flagged down an ambulance crew that was parked nearby; crew members found a body and retrieved it from the water.

The dead man, a 39-year-old Federal Way resident, had an outstanding warrant against him for communication with a minor, said Flores.

The man’s identity will not be released until the King County Medical Examiner has performed an autopsy to determine a cause of death.

Christina Siderius: csiderius@seattletimes.com

Gino Simone , Skyline football

Simone, a 6-foot, 165-pound junior wide receiver and defensive back, scored touchdowns on both sides of the ball as the Spartans routed Franklin Pierce 48-14 in the Class 3A state semifinals. In the first quarter, he returned an interception nine yards for a score, then had a 26-yard TD reception.

Symone Shaw , Mount Si girls basketball

Shaw, a 5-7 senior forward/post, had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Wildcats opened the season with a 61-58 nonleague win over Ingraham. She shot 90 percent from the free-throw line.

Bothell football team

The undefeated Cougars, coached by Tom Bainter, edged Ferris of Spokane 14-7 in the 4A state semifinals. With 17 seconds remaining and Ferris having first-and-goal at the Bothell 1-yard line, the Saxons fumbled the snap and Rami Salha recovered the ball to clinch the win for Bothell (13-0).

YAKIMA - A teenager who was shot by a homeowner in an apparent burglary is linked to a gang-related killing, and a man the homeowner held at bay was being sought in a methamphetamine case, police said.

Jason Moore, a father of two and owner of a welding business, said he pulled into his drivewayon Nov. 19, noticed a strange car parked outside the house and

the back door kicked open, got a .45-caliber handgun for which he had a concealed weapons license and found two strangers in his bedroom.

Out of the corner of his eye, he said, he could see one holding his own 12-gauge shotgun.

“I fired one round and he went down,” Moore said. “I immediately dialed 911 and told them not to move.”

The one he shot turned out to be a 17-year-old who was arrested last month for investigation in the shooting death of Esteban Robles.

The other man was identified by police as Francisco Javier Aceves, 21, who has been wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service since March. He and four others were indicted in a case involving meth purchases by undercover agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Aceves pleaded for his life, but the teenager “said he was a gang member and that he was going to get guys to come to my house and kill me,” Moore told the Yakima Herald-Republic. “It’s just scary to know that there were two people that bad in my house and in my bedroom.”

Both were being held for investigation of first-degree burglary, and police Sgt. James S. “Scot” Levno said the teenager could also be charged with felony harassment.

Neither would say “why they picked me, why they picked my house, how they knew to come to my house that day,” Moore said. “I was real mad and pretty scared.”

Since then, Moore said he had gotten his wife a concealed firearms license.

Robles was shot once in the stomach as he was watching a fight between two gang members on Oct. 22. A witness identified the teenager and an adult as the shooters, but both were released because the information ended up “not being credible,” Levno said.

The adult had an alibi and was cleared by investigators, while the teenager who refused to answer questions and asked for a lawyer, Levno said.

“He was never charged but was also never cleared as a suspect either,” Levno said. “He is still a person of interest.”

- - -

Information from: Yakima Herald-Republic,

http://www.yakima-herald.com

Gino Simone , Skyline football

Simone, a 6-foot, 165-pound junior wide receiver and defensive back, scored touchdowns on both sides of the ball as the Spartans routed Franklin Pierce 48-14 in the Class 3A state semifinals. In the first quarter, he returned an interception nine yards for a score, then had a 26-yard TD reception.

Symone Shaw , Mount Si girls basketball

Shaw, a 5-7 senior forward/post, had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Wildcats opened the season with a 61-58 nonleague win over Ingraham. She shot 90 percent from the free-throw line.

Bothell football team

The undefeated Cougars, coached by Tom Bainter, edged Ferris of Spokane 14-7 in the 4A state semifinals. With 17 seconds remaining and Ferris having first-and-goal at the Bothell 1-yard line, the Saxons fumbled the snap and Rami Salha recovered the ball to clinch the win for Bothell (13-0).

University of Washington officials apologized Monday to runners in the Seattle Marathon who mistakenly believed that part of their race fee would go toward charity.

UW Medicine spokeswoman Tina Mankowski said comments made by race announcers and promotion surrounding the Sunday event may have created a mistaken impression. She wanted to make it clear that only money given in addition to race fees - which cost up to $120 - goes to the UW Medical Center Patient & Family Housing Fund. The UW also is the primary event sponsor.

“Judging from the e-mails we are getting today, it was not clear to a number of people in the community, and we apologize for that,” Mankowski said. “Moving forward, it will be very well spelled out for people. I don’t think there’s any question about that.”

The Seattle Times reported Monday that the Seattle Marathon brings in revenue of more than $1 million each year but last year gave just 1 percent of that - $12,000 - to charity, despite statements by race announcers and a logo on the marathon Web site which say the run benefits UW Medicine.

At this year’s event, the UW Medical Center found itself in the unusual position of being both the main sponsor and the sole benefactor from the race. The UW is two years into a four-year contract with the Seattle Marathon Association.

As well as providing medical staff for the event, the UW this year paid $125,000 to help put on the race. That goes up to $155,000 by 2009. In 2006, the UW paid $110,000 toward marathon costs. With the money the UW received back to help patients, it resulted in a net loss of $98,000.

“We weren’t looking for $12,000 back. We were really looking for an opportunity to talk to the public about organ donation,” Mankowski said. “The marathon has been a huge Seattle tradition. From my perspective, it’s been a very well-respected marathon in the community.”

Seattle Marathon Association President John Kokes said it was never the organization’s intent to create an impression that race fees would benefit a charity. He said that keeping donations separate from race fees can encourage entrants who may not wish to donate to the chosen charity, and can also help runners with their tax returns.

Mankowski said the UW gets value through media coverage and a public focus on transplant issues. But in future years, Mankowski said, the UW and marathon officials will pick a small, outside charity that could more substantially benefit from an infusion of $12,000.

Dozens of readers contacted The Times on Monday. Many were upset. “The Seattle Marathon is clearly misleading people with regard to the extent of its charitable contributions,” wrote one. “Why is the City of Seattle closing streets when the purpose is to line the pockets of the organizers?” wrote another.

Others were more circumspect. “The run itself is the purpose, for Olympians and those back in the pack. Raising money for a good cause is just an extra bonus,” wrote one reader.

The marathon association’s way of doing business has changed, Kokes explained. In the two years ending with the 2006 tax returns, employee costs tripled to $330,000 as the organization shifted from volunteer labor to paid labor, especially for tasks like unloading trucks and setting up equipment.

Meanwhile, officials at the previous beneficiary of the marathon said Monday that they had involved a lawyer after they became concerned about the small amount of money - also about 1 percent - that they received from the event.

Attorney Paul Carpenter said he worked pro bono for the then-named Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Puget Sound, which was the beneficiary of the Seattle Marathon for four years ending 2005. He asked marathon officials for an audit of all four years but they refused, he said. The Candlelighters couldn’t afford to pursue litigation, he said.

Kokes said the marathon association was happy - and remains happy - for the Candlelighters to conduct an audit, but it would have to be at the Candlelighters’ expense, something that organization had balked at.

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com