First of two articles: In many cities around Puget Sound and across the state, municipals judges are appointed by city officials. There's cause to worry about the judges' independence and cities' desire to sway the amount of revenue from the courts.
Second of two articles: Cities strongly oppose a bill offered by Sen. Adam Kline would require election of more municipal court judges, rather than allowing their appointment by city officials who may have an interest in raising revenues from traffic tickets, fines, and court costs.
Why are state prosecutors contracting with private check companies to send letters threatening legal action and hundreds of dollars in fines to those who wrote a bad check?
Reports show some patients had troubles with end-of-life procedures, but complications were rare. Advocates say they'll work to better publicize proper methods.
Teenage movie ushers bounced three people in Yakima this week who were drinking a bottle of wine while watching Bottle Shock [http://www.bottleshockthemovie.com/], a film about the early days of California winemaking.
