MONROE – A minimum security incarcerated individual has escaped from the Minimum-Security Unit at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Monroe, Washington. The individual, 59-year-old Patrick Lester Clay (DOC 908566) appears to have escaped by breaking into a staff office during routine maintenance cleaning and stealing the keys to the staff members car which Clay then drove off grounds. DOC search teams and local law enforcement are actively searching for Clay. Clay was last seen in a white 4 door GMC Sierra truck, plate number C39525X. Clay was last seen wearing khaki pants, khaki jacket and ..read more

OLYMPIA—Snohomish County and local cities are set to receive approximately $61,189,456.22 from efforts led by Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office that will be used to fight the opioid epidemic statewide, his office states. Attorney General Bob Ferguson announces $518 million settlement from pharmaceutical companies in May 2022. SOURCE: Screen capture from video press conference on TVW.org The dollars come from settlements resulting from lawsuits against major pharmaceutical companies Attorney General Ferguson claimed were fueling the distribution of opioids, namely fentanyl, across the reg ..read more

OLYMPIA—Washington State Supreme Court Commissioner Michael E. Johnston ordered, on Thursday, April 25, that the state’s prohibition on high-capacity firearm magazines will remain in effect at least until an ensuing legal battle comes to a close. Johnston said his decision was based on the opposing side failing “to persuasively show” that the ban be overturned while the ultimate law be decided upon and weighing the pros and cons to allowing the sale of the magazines for the time being. #BREAKING: The Washington State Supreme Court has extended its stay, blocking the effect of a lower court d ..read more

WASHINTON, D.C.—Women’s Declaration International’s USA Chapter has submitted an amicus brief (otherwise known as a friend of the court) to the U.S. 9th District Court of Appeals in defense of Olympus Spa, a Lynnwood-based business currently entangled in a human rights commission battle. Dual Pro Olympus Spa and Pro-Trans rallies at the Lynnwood Event Center on June 17, 2023. Lynnwood Times | Gerti Katro. WDI is an explicitly non-partisan feminist group created by women, for women, and led by a group of volunteer women dedicated to protecting women’s “sex-based rights,” its website states. Th ..read more

LAKE STEVENS—The City of Lake Stevens has threatened to take the Lake Stevens Sewer District back to Superior Court following, what they call, concerns of “transparency, fairness, and fiscal responsibility” after the District raised salaries for some of its lead positions. Lake Stevens Sewer District wastewater treatment. SOURCE: Lake Stevens Sewer District. “Recent actions taken by the Sewer District Commissioners, including substantial salary increases for top managers, raise serious concerns about transparency, fairness, and fiscal responsibility,” wrote Lake Stevens Mayor Gailey in a lett ..read more

SNOHOMISH COUNTY—At its Monday meeting on April 15, the 10-member appointed Snohomish County 2024 Salary Commission is proposing a 5-percent minimum salary increase for Snohomish County government elected officials; and a 28.9-percent (or $53,180) increase for the Snohomish County Sheriff position. If approved by the Board at its meeting at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, April 25, the base compensation for the Sheriff will be approximately $237,399, up from $184,219. Salary Commissioners at their April 15, 2024, meeting. SOURCE: Screen capture from the meeting by the Lynnwood Times. “That is a pretty s ..read more

SNOHOMISH—Lynnwood-based PAWS Wildlife Center held a ribbon cutting ceremony Saturday, April 20, for its brand-new, state-of-the-art rehabilitation facility in Snohomish which, when it opens on May 15, will be the largest wildlife center in Washington State. PAWS Wildlife Center ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday, April 20, for its brand new, state-of-the-art rehabilitation facility in Snohomish. SOURCE: PAWS. Since 1981 PAWS Wildlife Center has rehabilitated over 140,000 different injured animals and reintroduced them back into the wild. But for the last 25 years rapid urbanization, an incr ..read more

Elias Huizar EUGENE, Oreg.—After a pursuit with Oregon State Patrol (OSP), former Yakima Police Officer and former substitute teacher for the Richland School District, Elias Huizar, 39, who led law enforcement on a 24-hour manhunt for allegedly killing his ex-wife and girlfriend, was pronounced dead today with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. At approximately 3 p.m., Tuesday, April 23, the OSP located Elias Huizar’s vehicle driving southbound on Interstate 5, near Eugene, Oregon, and initiated a pursuit that ended with the suspect sustaining a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the he ..read more

MUKILTEO—Mukilteo Police officers arrested a 44-year-old Everett woman following a disturbance at the Mukilteo Ferry Terminal, early Tuesday morning, that caused an extended delay in the Mukilteo-Clinton ferry route impacting up to 2,000 riders. In 2023, the ferry route served approximately 3.6 million riders according to the Washington State Ferries’ Route Statement. The Mukilteo Ferry Terminal as one of 16 projects to receive a prestigious AIA Architecture Award in 2023. SOURCE: Washington State Ferries. The incident occurred just after 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 23. A ferry employee calle ..read more

New findings from a study by Connecticut Trial Firm reveal that the leading cause of death in Washington state prisons is cancer. The study, conducted by personal injury lawyers Connecticut Trial Firm, used data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics to find which states have the highest prison mortality rates and the leading cause of death in each state. Connecticut Trial Firm used data on prisoner fatalities that occurred between 2001 and 2019 and compared this to state population size to find the prison mortality rate per 100,000 people in each state. As well as looking at each state’s deat ..read more