Steve Hunter

Tricia Patricelli

Kent agency helps former inmates back into society

Tasha White and Tricia Patricelli sit tucked away in a small house across the street from the Kent Police station in downtown Kent ready to help former jail inmates get their lives back on track. White is a paid office manager and Patricelli a volunteer client advocate for New Connections of South King County. They work with men and women recently released from the city of Kent jail or the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center county jail.

Tricia Patricelli

Kent police respond to report of daughter punching mother in the face

Police arrested a 21-year-old woman for investigation of fourth-degree assault after she reportedly punched her 40-year-old mother in the face during a dispute at about 7:56 p.m. Aug. 2 at an apartment in the 2600 block of South 256th Street. The daughter called police to report a dispute and said her mother was high, according to the police report.

Leonard Levack

Leonard Levack and family to be honored at Old Timers Reunion

Before businesses and homes filled up the Kent Valley, Leonard Levack remembers bird hunting with his brothers in the 1930s and ’40s. “Ducks and pheasants were plentiful then,” Levack said during an interview at the Kent Historical Museum. “My brother one season got 250 ducks in the valley here. My mom cooked them for dinner. We put them in cold storage and had duck in the winter and spring.”

Leonard Levack
DANCE FEVER: Kent resident Richard Crisman

He’s ready to give this ball a whirl: catch dancing dynamo at Kent Summer Ball Aug. 17

It didn’t take long for Richard Crisman to recall one of the highlights of the first Summer Ball last year at the Kent Senior Activity Center. “I danced with quite a few ladies,” Crisman, 77, of Kent, said during an interview Tuesday at the senior center.

DANCE FEVER: Kent resident Richard Crisman
Nevaeh Moseley

A shopping spree to remember for Kent kids at Target

Back-to-school shopping turned out to be a thrill for 13-year-old Elisha Ellison as he joined 29 other students for a free shopping spree Tuesday at the Target store on Kent’s East Hill. “I thought it was a pretty cool chance to get school clothes,” said Ellison, of Renton, who had T-shirts, long-sleeve shirts and cargo pants in his shopping cart, funded by an $80 gift card provided by Target to each student through the Salvation Army. “I need some.”

Nevaeh Moseley

Kent mom arrested for biting her grown son

Kent Police arrested a 55-year-old mother for investigation of fourth-degree assault after she reportedly bit her 27-year-old son near his right hip after an argument about her son's dating relationships. The incident occurred at about 4:51 a.m. July 31 at an apartment in the 25200 block of 106th Avenue Southeast, according to the police report.

District 33 Race: Senate incumbent Keiser vs. challenger Michalek

Challenger Jack Michalek believes voters want a new senator in Legislative District 33. Incumbent Karen Keiser remains confident that voters want to keep her experience and values in Olympia. The two face off in the Aug. 17 Primary Election. Both will advance to the Nov. 2 General Election. Ballots have been mailed by King County Elections. Voters must have the ballots postmarked by Aug. 17 in the all-mail election to be counted.

Seth Frankel homicide case: Auburn Police awaiting results from crime lab; have person of interest

Auburn Police are still waiting for forensic results from the Washington State Patrol crime lab before detectives can move forward with trying to solve the May 21 killing of Seth Frankel, a city of Kent employee.

District 47 State Rep. race: Incumbent Sullivan vs. Yanez

Incumbent Pat Sullivan sees his strong community ties and work to reform education funding as reasons to keep him as state representative for House Legislative District 47. Challenger Rodrigo Yanez promises he would help stop raising taxes and work to follow the will of the people based on initiative votes.

Des Moines out of lawsuit involving death of quarantined dog from Kent shelter

King County attorneys withdrew accusations that Des Moines animal control and one of its officers played a role in the death of a dog last fall shortly after it left the Kent Shelter.

The film 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' will be shown at 9:15 p.m. Aug. 6 at Town Square Plaza Park.

Summer Nights and the Silver Screen return to Kent’s Town Square Plaza Park

Comedy, action and a Disney movie share the lineup for the return of the free outdoor summer movies to downtown Kent. The debut of the city of Kent's Summer Nights and the Silver Screen was so popular last year at Town Square Plaza Park that city officials decided to bring the movie series back.

The film 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' will be shown at 9:15 p.m. Aug. 6 at Town Square Plaza Park.
Kent Police officer and event coordinator Hans Mak poses with Coolbird besides a Ford roadster at the second annual Greg Duffin Car and Motorcycle Show July 31 in Kent.

Greg Duffin Car and Motorcycle Show draws crowd to Kent: See the slideshow

Drivers entered more than 100 vehicles in the Greg Duffin Car and Motorcycle Show July 31 at the Kent Performance Auto Center at the corner of West James Street and Washington Avenue.

Kent Police officer and event coordinator Hans Mak poses with Coolbird besides a Ford roadster at the second annual Greg Duffin Car and Motorcycle Show July 31 in Kent.
The Backstreet Boys perform Aug. 5 at the ShoWare Center in Kent.

Backstreet Boys to deliver a ‘show in the fullest form’

Nick Carter has noticed a few similarities as well as changes in the crowd during his current Backstreet Boys tour compared to when the group first toured in the 1990s.

The Backstreet Boys perform Aug. 5 at the ShoWare Center in Kent.
07/30/10 Senator Patty Murray unveiled Army Corps plan to repair the Howard Hanson Dam Friday

Army corps reveals new Hanson Dam repair plans to protect Green River Valley

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has decided to install additional drains as well as extend an existing drainage tunnel to repair the Howard Hanson Dam rather than extending a temporary grout curtain. The corps revealed the new plans at a press conference Friday in Seattle organized by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., to announce how the corps would spend the $44 million approved for repairs as part of a $59 billion emergency supplemental spending bill approved earlier this month by Congress and signed July 29 by President Obama.

07/30/10 Senator Patty Murray unveiled Army Corps plan to repair the Howard Hanson Dam Friday
Pat Ellis

Kent car show to raise funds for police support group

Pat Ellis started Cops With Cancer to help make sure Greg Duffin's dream to support his fellow police officers fighting the disease became a reality. Ellis, a city of Kent crisis intervention coordinator and chaplain for the police and fire departments, sat down at a table sandwiched between a 1932 Ford Roadster and a classic Harley-Davidson in the showroom at the Kent Performance Auto Center to discuss the endeavor. The center will host the Second Annual Greg Duffin Car and Motorcycle Show July 31, a fundraiser for Cops With Cancer, a Kent-based nonprofit set up to support officers struck by cancer.

Pat Ellis
Project coordinator Bruce Axworthy

Lake Meridian group to replace Kent’s popular Meridian Belle boat

Michelle McDowell walked out on the dock behind her Lake Meridian home and looked at the Meridian Belle before crews started to tear apart the 40-year-old boat. "She's just falling apart," said McDowell, who carefully stepped up on the boat but took only a few steps because of the weak floorboards. The boat had once been the queen of the lake hosting dinner parties and even a brass band as it traveled around the lake on Kent's East Hill. But nobody had used the boat for a couple of years because of its bad condition. That, however, is all about to change.

Project coordinator Bruce Axworthy
National Night Out organizer Janet Nance and her daughter Genevieve

More than 80 Kent neighborhoods ready to gather for National Night Out

Janet Nance discovered planning became much easier this year for the annual National Night Out gathering Aug. 3 at the Pheasants Hollow neighborhood in Panther Lake because the area has annexed into the city of Kent.

National Night Out organizer Janet Nance and her daughter Genevieve
Water is released out of the Howard Hanson Dam that helps protect the Green River Valley from flooding.

U.S. House approves $44 million for Hanson Dam repairs to help prevent flooding

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 308-108 Tuesday to approve a $59 billion emergency supplemental spending bill that includes $44 million to repair the Howard Hanson Dam that helps protect the Green River Valley from flooding.

Water is released out of the Howard Hanson Dam that helps protect the Green River Valley from flooding.

Council delays vote on measure that would tack fees to vehicle licenses

The Kent City Council did not take any action at its July 20 meeting about whether to form a transportation benefit district in order to charge Kent residents an annual city vehicle-license registration fee that would cost anywhere from $10 to $20, and would be used to fund city street projects.

Teacher with ties to Kent, Renton schools enters plea to sexual misconduct

A former teacher in the Kent and Renton school districts pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a charge of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor for reportedly having sex with a 17-year-old male student last month when she was a teacher at Garfield High School in Seattle.