| 23rd and Union claims another
Welcome to one of the most notorious intersections in Seattle. This is where drugs and cash change hands out in the open, protesters take to the streets for justice, and bullets too often fly. This is where a football star found trouble, a Seattle mayor was beaten in daylight, and just this week, a life was stolen. Given nearby gentrification, the spot is at a crossroads. Given the thugs who loiter near the intersection's four corners, it sits in cross hairs. The victim Wednesday was 32-year-old Degene Barecha, who came a long way to die senselessly. An immigrant from Ethiopia, he was working at Philadelphia Cheese Steak, the restaurant he owned at the corner, when a customer walked in with a gun. Early Friday, crimson spatters still stained the restaurant floor.
Ice closes schools; more could come
The snow hit late Thursday afternoon, quickly turning roads icy. Cold overnight temperatures meant the snow and ice stayed around, prompting public school officials to cancel Friday's classes, and leaving commuters to head back to work on slippery roads.Police responded to dozens of weather-related crashes Thursday night and Friday morning but reported no serious injuries.The Benton County Sheriff's Office reported that officers responded to at least 15 vehicle accidents and 30 reports of cars sliding off the road. No injuries resulted from the accidents, said Lt. Greg Ridler."The (deputies) that normally get off work at 3 a.m. were still here until 7:30 a.m.," Ridler said. "They were pretty exhausted when I got here in the morning."Ridler said the areas around Northwest Springhill Drive, Scenic Drive, Highway 20W and the west hills were especially problematic.Corvallis Police Sgt.
North Interstate and Greeley intersection sees change after another ...
The second accident in two weeks involving a bicycle and car at the intersection of North Interstate and North Greeley has resulted in prohibiting right turns onto Greeley from North Interstate. Commissioner Sam Adams and the Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT) are closing the right turn following the Nov. 6 incident in which the bicyclist was seriously injured. Crews are setting up barricades and traffic controls to prohibit automobiles from turning right. This closure is indefinite while the Commissioner and PDOT engineers explore other solutions to improve bicycle safety at this intersection. "We're hoping it will only be a matter of days or weeks (the turn is closed down), we don't want to cause any undue inconvenience," said Roland Chlapowski, Adam's Senior Transportation Policy Director.
Outdoors Calendar
Exists to encourage safe and responsible recreational bicycling in the WNC area. To find out more about the club and its ongoing advocacy efforts, or to see a complete club calendar, visit: www.blueridgebicycleclub.org. PISGAH AREA SORBA: Asheville chapter of the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association, a mountain bike club promoting land access, trail preservation and trail development. Visit www.pisgahareasorba.org. Group rides, trail workdays, events. HIKING Wednesday NORDIC WALKING: Learn the basics of Nordic walking. Meets weekly at 5 p.m. at River Ridge Apartments, 1906 River Ridge Drive. Free. To RSVP or get information, call 298-4789, e-mail tbonerun@hotmail.com or visit www.tbonerun.com. Saturday FONTANA HIKING CLUB: Meet Saturdays at 10 a.m.
Nelson's gas severance tax: details
He said he felt the measure had the strong support of Beebe, who he believes would veto any major change to the 7 percent rate.) Nelson said he and his committee, the Committee for a Fair Severence Tax, plan to start collecting signatures during the May 20 primary elections. The committee will have over seventy-five members -- at least one from each county. It will be going for 70,000 signatures in order to meet the threshold of 62,000 needed to put the initiative on the ballot. Nelson said he expected the campaign for the initiative to cost about $1 million, which he will obtain through personal fund-raising efforts. Nelson expressed confidence that Arkansans would vote in favor of the measure. He also downplayed fears that a tax increase would cause gas companies to take their business out of state.
U.S. unveils Games-class BMX track
With a crowd of past, present and future BMX stars proudly looking on, USA Cycling CEO Steve Johnson and Steve Roush of the U.S. Olympic Committee officially opened the Olympic BMX training track on January 21 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, four members of the U.S. BMX Olympic talent pool sped down the 19-foot-high starting ramp and onto the 370-meter course, which is dotted with berms and sizable jumps. “We made a conscious effort to finish construction as quickly as possible," said Roush, the USOC's chief of performance. “[The United States] may be strong [in BMX] now, but this facility will ensure that when the rest of the world catches up, we will continue to be prepared," Indeed, ground wasn't broken on the project until November 4, 2007.
WCC WOMEN: CONFERENCE PREVIEW
One team, the conference tournament champion, goes the NCAA Tournament and everybody else goes back to the drawing board. A team-by-team look, in The Chronicle's predicted order of finish: Gonzaga (9-6): Injuries have affected Gonzaga, which was 13-1 in winning the WCC last season. Without Bowman, the Bulldogs are 4-4. With her, 5-2. Sophomore forward Vivian Frieson missed seven games with a broken finger, but is back in the lineup. Gonzaga leads the WCC in scoring at 76.3 points a game. San Diego (9-5): The Toreros, 21-9 last season and 10-4 as the conference runners-up, open WCC play on a roll, winning five of their last six. The only loss came on a last-second shot against No. 15 Texas. San Diego has one of the conference's best tandems in junior center Amanda Sprague and senior guard Amber Rego, last year's conference co-Player of the Year.
Nervous China sweats on Yao injury
This is like a lightning bolt," wrote a blogger on the popular Chinese-language portal sina.com. "We now all have to hope that he can be fully recovered before the Olympics."
Some were pessimistic that he would be match fit, even if his injury healed in time to lead the Chinese team.
"Even if he comes back, he'll have a month, at most, to get ready and that's not enough," wrote a web user on sohu.com, another Chinese portal.
Yao said in September that China's Olympic medal hopes looked dim unless the team shaped up and improved on poor form last year.
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