BCC announces new lecture series

BELLEVUE — Bellevue Community College (BCC) launches a new public-lecture series next month, a project of the college's new Center for Liberal Arts.

The 2003 series features environmentalist Denis Hayes, April 9; Tibetan educator and BCC International Scholar-in-Residence Nawang Dorjee, April 23; science journalist and author Dava Sobel, May 6; and a panel of local community leaders examining the history and character of the Eastside community May 20.

Hayes, coordinator of the first Earth Day, is the president of the Bullitt Foundation, which supports environmental causes in the Northwest. He'll speak Wednesday April 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the Carlson Theater. Tickets are $10, or $35 for the series. They can be purchased on the Web at www.bcc.ctc.edu or by calling 425-564-2042.

Residents respond after report of few applicants for city panels

ISSAQUAH — The number of applications for openings on city boards and commissions more than tripled late last week.

On Thursday morning, the city had received just 12 applications for 23 openings. By the Friday-afternoon deadline, 38 applications were in hand.

News reports about the lack of applicants for the boards helped boost interest, city officials said. The city received at least one application for every opening, except an alternate slot on the Cemetery Board.

Bellevue man pleads not guilty to charges of rape, assault

BELLEVUE — A 19-year-old Bellevue man pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges of second-degree assault and third-degree rape of a child.

Ricardo Guzman-Gil remains in King County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail. If convicted, he could face up to 15 to 20 months in prison, King County prosecutor's spokesman Dan Donohoe said.

Guzman-Gil was arrested late last month on a Bellevue police warrant.

6 Bellevue residents to draft voter info on city charter system

BELLEVUE — The City Council on Monday appointed six local residents to draft the pro and con statements for the voters pamphlet on whether to create a committee to write a charter, which would outline the future structure of city government. The election is on May 20.

Writing in favor of the charter idea are Renay Bennett, a community activist living near downtown's southern edge, Don MacKenzie, a former city councilman, and Rebecca Lewis.

Writing against it are Nan Campbell, former city councilwoman and mayor, Metropolitan King County Councilwoman Jane Hague, and Richard Chapin, a former state lawmaker and a retired Bellevue attorney.

Juanita High School student arrested over bomb-threat note

KIRKLAND — A 16-year-old student at Juanita High School was arrested and booked into the King County juvenile facility in Seattle yesterday over a bomb-threat note.

At 9:05 a.m., a note was found in the boys bathroom at Juanita stating there were "4 pipe bombs hidden around the school," set to go off at 11 a.m.

Students were evacuated and officers began interviewing students, which led to the suspect. No bombs were found.