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PENINSULA DAILY NEWS March 29, 2016 | 75¢
Port Townsend-Jefferson County’s Daily Newspaper
Death inquest starts today
Magical art appears
Court probes man’s shooting BY CHARLIE BERMANT PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
CHRIS MCDANIEL(2)/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
Naomi Davidson, 40, of Port Angeles shows her daughter Arwen, 4, a sidewalk mural by artist Todd Fischer that was unveiled Monday in front of the Conrad Dyar Memorial Fountain at First and Laurel streets in Port Angeles. The mural, a portion of which is at the child’s feet, can only be seen when wet. Below, part of the mural reads “The Northwest is Best.” Other sections feature a drawing of the Olympic Mountains, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and nearby forests.
Water mural makes debut New work invisible except when wet BY CHRIS MCDANIEL
SEATTLE — An inquest into the events surrounding the death of a former Port Townsend man in a police shooting will hopefully clarify how the incident unfolded, his mother said Monday. Sam Toshiro Smith, 27, was shot and killed on July 17, 2015 by Seattle Police Officer Shaun Hilton, 35, after Smith brandished what was later identified as a sushi knife. Smith was shot three times by Hilton on Ravenna Avenue in Seattle after Smith hit a Seattle police patrol car on Interstate 5. “I just don’t want this to be rubber stamped whether it goes anywhere or not,” Sarah Fitch said of the inquest. “As a parent, I can’t accept that my son was killed in this fashion. It is so far beyond comprehension of any kind.” The inquest begins at 9 a.m. today in courtroom W355 at the King County Superior Court building, 516 Third Ave. in Seattle with District Court Judge Anne Harper presiding.
Six-person jury
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The inquest, which is expected to take about three days, includes a six-person jury that will hear witness testimony and draw conclusions about the event in question. The information gathered can be used to support a prosecution or to become evidence in a civil case, lawyers say. Fitch is to be represented by Sunitha Anjilvel while Hilton’s advocate is Evan Bariault, who is representing him as an individual and not as a member of the police force. The inquest itself doesn’t have any teeth, Anjilvel said, but its conclusion can have a bearing on the case should it go any further.
PORT ANGELES — Clandestine messages hidden in plain sight? No, this isn’t Cold War-era espionage but art intended to brighten the day of pedestrians. At noon Monday, a sidewalk mural located in front of the Conrad Dyar Memorial Fountain was unveiled. But the art — known as rain-activated art or “rainworks” — is only visible when wet, meaning it either has to be raining or a passerby needs to dump water on it to get a look. TURN
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Second PT-Alaska race to launch June 23 Inspiration, boaters’ safety a focus BY CHARLIE BERMANT PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
PORT TOWNSEND — The second Race to Alaska is expected to be louder, larger and more exciting than last year’s inaugural event, but that doesn’t ensure it will happen a third time, organizers said Monday. “That’s part of our strategy, to not commit to doing it forever,” said Northwest Maritime Center Executive Director Jake Beattie after addressing the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce. “We want it to continue to be a source of inspiration and something we can manage safely. If it
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evolves into just another yacht race, that’s not something we really care about.” Beattie, along with Race Boss Daniel Evans, addressed about 40 people at the chamber’s weekly meeting at the Port Townsend Elk’s Club.
Race started “We started this race because we live in a pretty incredible place. We sit at the foot of this incredible passage all the way from here to Alaska,” Beattie said. “The Maritime Center’s job is to get people on the water, to celebrate the maritime culture in a
spirit of adventure and discovery.” Beattie said the first race in June 2015 got international press and crashed several servers. This year there will be participants from around the world. “There are heroes among all of us. This race provides the opportunity for that hero to come out,” Evans said. “No matter what your pedigree, no matter what your boat experience, if have the experience to stay safe, we were going to let you race the boat that you thought was a potential winner.” The race, open to any boat without an engine, begins at 6 a.m. June 23 in Port Townsend CHARLIE BERMANT/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS with Ketchikan, Alaska, as the end. Matt Sorenson of Oakland, Calif., prepares his 29-foot TURN TO RACE/A5 catamaran for the first Race to Alaska last year.
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