Valentine’s Business Review
 Local marketing firm McCarty and Associates says business in Shelton was up this past Valentine’s Day when compared to the previous year. Interviews revealed that some restaurants had to turn people away because they were so busy. Virginia McCarty, who has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration in Global Management, said the Shelton area economy is blessed with a strong base of retired people who had successful careers and saved well for retirement.

Thurston Authors Corner
 Thurston County authors are invited to take part in a special gathering this summer. There will be an “Author’s Corner” at this year’s county fair in August, featuring only Thurston County authors. Writers can bring their books to sell and/or sign, talk to their fans, and generally promote their books. Participants will be signed up for 4-hour shifts and will be housed in the Heritage Hall annex. VNC

Sex Offender Listings
The Mason County Sheriff’s website has information on two additional sex offenders who have listed addresses in the county. 30-year-old Ronald Botkin has multiple convictions involving sex crimes involving children. He listed an address in the 200 block of South 12th Street in Shelton.
41-year-old Ryan Rose is listed as transient or homeless in Mason County. He has multiple convictions involving sex crimes, including rape in the second degree.
For information anytime about sex offenders in the county, visit the Mason County Sheriff’s website. VNC

Lumber Figures Up
Log and lumber exports from Washington, Oregon, northern California, and Alaska increased 42 percent in 2011 compared to 2010, according to the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station. Oregon and Washington are again the largest log exporters in the U.S. since 2000. The total value of exported logs from the west coast in 2011 increased by 54 percent, from 844 million dollars to just under 1.3 billion dollars. About 83 percent of the west coast’s log exports and 87 percent of its lumber exports came through ports in Oregon and Washington.

Gingrich To Visit Wash. On Thursday And Friday
Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is bringing his campaign to Washington state a week ahead of the state's Republican caucuses.
      Gingrich and his wife, Callista, will be at rallies in Kennewick and Spokane on Thursday, and will cross the border into Idaho for a Coeur d'Alene rally Thursday night. On Friday, they'll be in western Washington, visiting with Republican lawmakers at the state Capitol in the morning before heading to rallies in south King County and Everett.
      Gingrich is in a crowded primary race with Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul.
      Santorum and Paul have both visited the state, and Romney is scheduled to visit on March 1, in advance of Washington state's nonbinding straw poll caucus on March 3. AP
 
House Democrats Unveil Construction Budget
House Democrats have unveiled a construction budget that they say would create more than 22,000 jobs.
      The $1.3 billion budget would use revenue bonds to start construction jobs as early as this spring. The money would go toward hundreds of projects around the state, including work at hatcheries, parks, community colleges and universities. The budget also counts on $800 million in leveraged or matched funds.
      Under the plan, an estimated $240 million in state sales tax and business taxes from new economic activity from the construction work would go to the state's operating budget. AP

Gregoire on Budget Proposal
Gov. Chris Gregoire is calling a budget proposal from Washington House Democrats a “good start.” The budget plan outlined Tuesday would fix the state’s budget shortfall by relying in part on $400 million in delayed payments and reduced support for local governments. In total, the plan saves some $890 million without asking voters for a temporary sales tax increase, as suggested by Gregoire. VNC

Madigan PTSD Controversy
The Army has removed the head of Madigan Army Medical Center in Washington State over an investigation into whether soldiers had a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder reversed to reduce medical costs. The Army Surgeon General is contacting the families of 14 soldiers whose diagnoses for PTSD were adjusted by the Madigan forensic psychiatry team to reduce disability pensions. VNC

2 Men Shot In Parking Lot Of Seattle Restaurant
Seattle police say two men shot and wounded Tuesday night in the parking lot of a Mexican restaurant in south Seattle suffered life-threatening injuries.
      Police spokesman Mark Jamieson says officers are unsure how many shooters were involved or whether the gunfire in the Rainier Beach neighborhood was gang-related.
      The wounded men were taken to Harborview Medical Center.
      Deputy Police Chief Nick Metz spoke to reporters after Jamieson's briefing, saying he wanted to get the word out about what he called a "huge increase" in shootings since Jan. 1.
      The Seattle Times reports that Mayor Mike McGinn addressed the spike in his State of the City address earlier Tuesday.
      Metz calls the increase in shootings an "emergency," but says he doesn't know the cause. AP
 
 Clallam County Sheriff: 2 Killed Near Sequim, WA
The Clallam County sheriff says his officers are investigating two homicides in the Sequim, Wash., area - and he thinks the cases are related.
      The Peninsula Daily News reports that 19-year-old David Randle was shot and killed after an argument Tuesday morning at a home.
      Sheriff Bill Benedict says officers are looking for 45-year-old John Loring.
      On Tuesday afternoon, authorities found the body of a 65-year-old man in the Diamond Point area about 10 miles northeast of Sequim. Benedict says that man is a homicide victim apparently killed several days ago. He was not immediately identified.
      The sheriff says the deaths appear related. He adds that it appeared Loring had been driving the Diamond Point man's vehicle.
      Court records indicate Loring was free on bail after being charged with violation of a no-contact order and unlawful possession of a firearm. AP
 
Arraignment Delayed For Man Arrested In Ore. Chase
Arraignment for a man accused of leading Astoria, Ore., police on a high-speed chase after he was shot and wounded by officers has been delayed a day after the man requested a Russian interpreter.
      The Daily Astorian reports that 37-year-old Yevgeniy Savinskiy of Washougal, Wash., made his request Tuesday to Judge Cindee Matyas, saying he wanted to be sure he understood the legal terms involved.
      Matyas rescheduled the arraignment for Wednesday.
      Lawyer John Orr was appointed to represent Savinskiy. The defendant is charged with 13 counts, including attempted aggravated murder, attempted assault, identity theft and felony attempt to elude.
      The charges stem from a Feb. 12 encounter with officers at the Lamplighter Motel in Astoria. Police say they located an assault rifle and materials to manufacture a silencer in the man's motel room. They say they shot and wounded him after he pointed a loaded handgun at them. Police say Savinskiy told them he was carrying the weapons for protection. AP
 
Man Shot In Seattle's Woodland Park Dies
A man shot and critically wounded in Seattle's Woodland Park has died.
      Harborview Medical Center officials tell KOMO-TV the man died Tuesday afternoon.
      He was shot three times Monday evening. The victim was not immediately identified.
      Police detectives collected evidence at the scene. A police dog was brought in to search for the shooter but there were no immediate arrests.
      It wasn't clear what led to the shooting. AP
 
Pepper Spray For Would-Be WA Pharmacy Robber
A Spokane County sheriff's spokesman says a man who tried to rob a pharmacy in Deer Park, north of Spokane, got only a blast of pepper spray for his efforts.
      Deputy Craig Chamberlin says officers arrested 24-year-old Aaron Miller for investigation of robbery late Tuesday afternoon.
      Deputies who responded to the robbery attempt at the Medicine Shoppe were advised that a pharmacy employee had sprayed the intruder in the face.
      The Spokesman-Review says the pharmacy was robbed twice in December. AP
 
Sailor Assigned To Trident Sub Found Dead
The Navy says a 29-year-old sailor assigned to a Trident submarine based at Bangor, Wash., has been found dead in his quarters.
      Submarine Group 9 spokesman Lt. Ed Early tells the Kitsap Sun that the name of the sailor found Tuesday in his Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor quarters is being withheld pending notification of relatives. The cause of death is under investigation.
      Early says the sailor was assigned to the USS Louisiana's blue crew.
      The Louisiana is one of eight Trident ballistic missile submarines assigned to Bangor.
      They each have two crews - blue and gold. AP
 
$12.8M Verdict For Wash. Firefighter's Fall Upheld
The Washington state Court of Appeals has upheld a verdict of nearly $13 million for a Seattle firefighter who was severely injured when he fell down an unmarked, unsecured pole hole at a fire station in the Rainier Beach neighborhood.
      Firefighter Mark Jones fell 15 feet down the hole in the middle of a night in December 2003. He suffered traumatic brain injuries and a shattered pelvis. Many of his vertebrae were broken as were nearly all of his right ribs.
      The city of Seattle appealed, saying among other things that it should have been allowed to present evidence at trial of Jones' prior alcohol use, even though he had not been drinking the night of the fall.
      An expert for the city speculated that Jones could have been disoriented by alcohol withdrawal symptoms, but the appeals court found that the trial judge was correct to bar that testimony from the trial. AP
 

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