Federal funds are coming to the state to help crime victims.

The governor announced $938,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money today in the below press release.

OLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire today announced that the Washington State Crime Victims Compensation Program received approximately $938,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funds to help about 1,000 crime victims and reimbursement for services to about 570 health-care providers who treat crime victims. These funds provide benefits to crime victims such as medical care and wage replacement.

"These funds are easing the financial burden that victims of violent crime often face," said Gov. Gregoire. "I am proud our state acted so quickly with this money, helping victims and their families cover unexpected costs in the aftermath of a crime."

The Crime Victims Compensation Program, within the Department of Labor & Industries, was created to help victims with the many costs associated with violent crime. As a payer of last resort, the program provides financial compensation for expenses such as medical bills, loss of earnings and funeral expenses. The program also covers examinations after sexual assaults to gather evidence for possible prosecution.

The Crime Victims Compensation Program has received about 9,000 claims in the past year, up 20 percent from the previous year. The majority of claims are related to rape and domestic assault. Nearly 70 percent of victims are women and children.

For more information, visit www.Lni.wa.gov/ClaimsIns/CrimeVictims.

I just talked to a reader who lives in downtown Tacoma.

She called wondering why the flags had been lowered to half staff at several buildings.

I found the answer on Gov. Chris Gregoire's Web site. There is a page dedicated to flag lowering.

She directed the flags to be lowered today for Peace Officers Memorial Day.

This week is National Police Week, an annual event to remember law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty

On a 5-4 vote, a Washington Supreme Court composed of pro-tem judges has ruled that the public had no obligation to defend Justice Richard Sanders from ethics violations back in 2004.

Sanders (seen here) sought reimbursement of his legal fees in battling charges brought against him by the state's Commission on Judicial Conduct following his 2003 visit to the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island.

A complaint was lodged with the commission shortly thereafter that Sanders should not have been talking to residents there who had cases pending before the Supreme Court.

Sanders sought the assistance of the Attorney General's Office in defending himself, saying he was acting in his official capacity as a judge when he visited the SCC and had a right to a public defense.

The request was denied, and Sanders paid for his own lawyer. He later appealed.

In its decision, the majority ruled Sanders' visit was not an official act.

"There is no dispute that Justice Sanders is a state official," the majority said in an opinion written by Justice Pro-Tem Donald H. Johnson. "But the determinative question for purposes of his entitlement to representation by the Attorney General is whether Justice Sanders' ethical violations were official acts. We conclude they were not."

Dissenters concluded the majority made its decision based on the outcome of the ethics complaints – Sanders was admonished – rather than on sound legal reasoning.

The law says the state has an "unqualified duty to represent judges accused of violating the Code of Judicial Conduct," Chief Justice Pro-Tem Robert Utter wrote in one of two dissents.

"Indignation about Justice Sanders' actions should not override established principles of statutory interpretation," Utter wrote. "Properly interpreting the plain language of the controlling law does not constitute an endorsement of his conduct."

Pro-tem Justice David R. Draper also filed a dissent in the case.

Pro-tem justices were brought in to hear the case so the sitting members of the state's high court did not have to sit in judgment of one of their colleagues.

Crime dropped throughout the state last year, but increased slightly in Tacoma and unincorporated Pierce County, according to preliminary statistics released this week by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

Statewide, violent crime fell 1 percent and property crime dropped 6.2 percent between 2007 and 2008. The violent crimes that are counted are murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assaults. The property crimes are burglary, larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.

In Tacoma, overall crime increased 2.1 percent despite a drop in violent crime. The Pierce County Sheriff's Office had a slight increase - 0.2 percent - in overall crime despite handling fewer property crimes, according to the crime statistics release by the state agency. (The numbers in the preliminary state report are slightly different than the 2008 crime stats reported in The News Tribune last month. The state report has slightly different numbers for 2008 than what I received from the agencies.)

Statewide, law enforcement agencies reported more homicides and robberies. There were fewer robberies, thefts and arsons.

The most prominent change came in car thefts, which dropped nearly 25 percent, according to the report. Law enforcement agencies handled 27,730 motor vehicle thefts in 2008, down from 36,932 in 2007.

The report included these other numbers:

* $329,005,833: the value of the property stolen in 2008.

* $104,666,693: the value of the property recovery in 2008.

* 886 officers were assaulted last year. One officer was killed in the line of duty last year.

* 235 incidents involving 318 criminal offenses of hate or bias crimes were reported last year. This was an increase of 26.7 percent over 2007.

* 42,500 domestic-violence crimes were reported in 2008. That was a decrease of 11.7 percent from 2007.

An agency by agency breakdown of reported crime statistics is available here.

The flags at all state government buildings will be lowered today in honor of a Wentachee soldier who died in Germany earlier this month.

U.S. Army Pfc. Court D. Haugen, 23, died March 11 after he was hit by a train. He was on his way back to Fort Lewis after serving 15 months in Iraq, Gov. Chris Gregoire's office reported.

The governor has ordered that flags at all state agency facilities be lowered to half-staff until the close of business today or first thing Friday morning.

The state Attorney General's Office sent out the below press release today regarding a bogus door-to-door sales business.

SEATTLE – The Washington Attorney General’s Office today issued a warning about a company selling magazine subscriptions door-to-door in Washington and several other states. Fresh Start Opportunities claims that money from the subscriptions will be used to help young people get a "fresh start on life," but the company isn't a registered charity.

The company lists a downtown Seattle address on its Web site at www.freshstartopportunities.com but the address is simply a mailbox and the company's owner is believed to reside in another state.

Solicitors represent that the purchase of subscriptions will help young people get off the street and back on their feet so they can earn money to go to school. The Web site describes Fresh Start Opportunities as a "job business training company designed to teach young adults about self discipline, personal growth, self esteem and setting goals for the future."

Consumers have paid between $50 and $295 for subscriptions which, according to the company's site, may take up to 120 days to arrive. Calls to the company's phone number and letters sent to its Seattle address are ignored.

The company has ignored inquiries from the Secretary of State's Office concerning its failure to register as a charity. It also hasn't responded to the many complaints received by the Attorney General's Office and the Better Business Bureau.

A 19-year-old man working for Fresh Start Opportunities was arrested in October after he allegedly broke into an Edmonds home, attacked the owner and stole her purse. The man was also a suspect in burglaries in Sammamish and Tumwater. Incidents of theft by Fresh Start Opportunities employees have also been reported in California.

Always check out a charity with the Secretary of State prior to making a donation. Ask solicitors for the need of the charity that they are representing, as well as the name of their employer. Request paperwork. Then search www.secstate.wa.gov/charities or call the office’s charities program at 1-800-332-4483. You can whether a charity is registered and how much of each dollar raised is used to help.

The flags have been lowered today at all state buildings in memory of a Air Force sergeant who was killed in Afghanistan.

Here's the press release from Gov. Chris Gregoire's office:

OLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire has directed that flags at all Washington state agency facilities be lowered to half-staff Friday, Feb. 27, in memory of U.S. Air Force Sergeant Timothy P. Davis of Montesano. Davis was killed February 20, when his convoy was struck with an improvised explosive device near Bagram, Afghanistan.

Flags should remain at half-staff until close of business today.

Three comedians are going to be part of a new, national campaign aimed at reducing the number of youths who drive recklessly.

The campaign featuring Rachel Harris, Fred Willard and Rob Riggle (pictured here) was launched today by the Ad Council. The council is joined by a group of state attorneys general (including Washington's) and consumer protection agencies in the effort.

Car crashes have been the No. 1 killer of teens in the country for more than 20 years.

"The message we're aiming to get across is that when your buddy is driving like a bat out of hell, you need to speak up," Attorney General Rob McKenna said in a press release. "Research shows that teen drivers will listen to their friends."

Here's more from the state Attorney General's Office's press release:

In one TV spot, Harris plays a ditzy teen concerned that her driver is paying more attention to the car stereo than the road. "If we die in a car crash, I want to donate my eyes to my neighbor, Gary," she says with a sarcastic smile and toss of her blonde ponytail.

Another public service announcement features a not-so-youthful-looking Riggle wearing a letterman's jacket as he tells an off-the-wall story about horses that ends in a threat to his speeding driver. Willard, stretching the teenage image to the extreme, goes even further with his warning to a teen talking on a cell phone: If he dies, he'll return as a ghost to haunt the boy.

...

The PSAs direct audiences to visit www.SpeakUpOrElse.org, where teens can send instant message videos starring the comedians to their friends. The recipient, expecting a friend to chat, will instead receive a reckless driving video. The site will also include an application that turns an iPhone or iPod Touch into a bullhorn with flashing lights that can be used to inform a friend of his or her reckless driving.

Created pro bono by ad agency Y&R New York, the ads are a continuation of a prevention program that began in January 2007 with a promotion called UR the Spokesperson. Earlier PSAs featured a stereotypical, smarmy, over-the-top spokesperson who appears in the car to deliver safe driving tips. The ads concluded with the message, "There is no spokesperson to prevent reckless driving. There's only you. Speak up."

...

The Ad Council is distributing the new PSAs to media outlets nationwide this week. Since its launch, the campaign has received more than $44.5 million in donated media support.

SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) will be helping to spread the message by reaching out to its 350,000 student members. And the Ad Council will work promote the campaign on social networking sites and blogs.

NHTSA data shows that, on average, more than 300,000 teens are injured in car crashes each year, nearly 8,000 are involved in fatal crashes and more than 3,500 are killed. Research also shows that teen drivers are involved in more than five times as many fatal crashes as adults. Young drivers are more likely to speed, run red lights, make illegal turns and die in an SUV rollover.

Students, prevention professionals, politicians and advocates will gather in Olympia today for a rally at the Capitol rotunda.

The "Prevention Rocks!" event is scheduled to begin at noon. The goal is to "increase legislator and community awareness about the value of investing in prevention programs," Safe Streets wrote in a press release.

Lt. Gov. Brad Owen, state Attorney General and Rep. Roger Goodman will speak to the crowd. In addition, high school students from Yakima, Olympia and Tacoma will talk.

The Washington Music Mentors, a youth vocal group, will provide the entertainment.

According to Safe Streets, this year makes the 20th anniversary of the passage of a drug bill that launched a statewide effort to beef up enforcement, treatment and prevention of substance abuse and violence.

For the first time in at least 20 years, no one was killed in traffic-related deaths over the 2008 Christmas weekend, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission reported today.

Since 1990, there have been 92 traffic fatalities on Christmas weekends. That's an average of 4.8 a year, the commission reported.

"Washington had adverse road conditions this Christmas weekend because of the snowfall, which may have kept vehicle speeds and traffic volume downs," Lowell Porter, director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, said in a press release. "Nevertheless, this milestone of zero traffic deaths during a major holiday is a significant accomplishment toward our goal of Target Zero."

Over the New Year's weekend, there were four traffic deaths reported on the state's roads. That's less than the annual average of 5.53. Since 1990, there have been 105 traffic deaths in Washington, the commission reported.

U.S. Marshals in Western Washington worked with a number of agencies this week to round up fugitives in five counties.

Pierce was not one of them.

The coalition worked in Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific and Thurston counties Monday through Friday.

"Operation 5-County Clean Up" netted 94 people wanted on outstanding felony warrants, according to a press release from the U.S. Marshal Service. Twenty-six of those arrested were wanted on outstanding DOC felony warrants.

Officials spent 10 weeks planning the operation. They focuses on captured felons wanted for "crimes against women and children, crimes of violence, gun and drug
offenses, sexually motivated offenses and unregistered sex offenders," the press release stated.

Per the press release:

The 13 agencies participating in Operation 5 County Clean Up are as follows:
• U.S. Marshals Service (Pacific Northwest Fugitive Apprehension Task Force)
• Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office
• King County Sheriff’s Office
• Lewis County Sheriff’s Office
• Mason County Sheriff’s Office
• Pacific County Sheriff’s Office
• Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
• Seattle Police Department
• Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General
• Thurston County Communications Center
• Thurston County Sheriff’s Office
• Washington State Department of Corrections
• Washington State Patrol

Gov. Chris Gregoire has ordered that flags at all state buildings be lowered today in honor of U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Eichmann Strickland.

The Arlington native was killed in action Sept. 9 in the Panwar Province of Afganistan.

Flags will remain at half-staff until sunset today or first thing Tuesday.