Paul Gottlieb

Port Angeles school cutbacks: Sports receive more board support than elementary music

PORT ANGELES -- School Board members expressed far more reluctance to cut sports programs than they were elementary music education at a work session Monday… Continue reading

Coast Guard examining security breech after man later found dead was escorted off

PORT ANGELES -- A 32-year-old Navy veteran who died of hypothermia two weeks ago at an abandoned industrial site breached security at Group/Air Station Port… Continue reading

Teen accused of killing her baby rejects plea offer; trial likely

PORT ANGELES -- An attorney for Lauryn Last said that her client rejects a plea offer that would have netted the teenager no additional jail… Continue reading

Another delay in Port Angeles infant-murder case

PORT ANGELES -- A plea agreement under which teen Lauryn Last, who is accused of killing her newborn son, would not receive any jail time… Continue reading

Hearing delayed on teenager accused of killing her newborn

PORT ANGELES — A court hearing on the admissibility of statements accused teenage murderer Lauryn Last made to police about her dead newborn son, which… Continue reading

Who’s next after Kessler? Scramble begins after Peninsula representative abruptly announces retirement

PORT ANGELES -- A flurry of exclamatory e-mails between 24th District party leaders greeted state Rep. Lynn Kessler's surprise announcement early Tuesday morning that she… Continue reading

Double-murder sentencing hearing delayed; retrial request set for today

PORT TOWNSEND -- Sentencing for convicted double-murderer and arsonist Michael J. Pierce has been delayed by almost a month -- though he could be granted… Continue reading

Ecology says closed Port Angeles landfill not affecting Strait; Dry Creek Coalition says danger is real

PORT ANGELES -- On a bluff overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca sits the city's closed landfill, 44 acres of dump brimming with 2… Continue reading

Jury got testimony wrong, convicted murderer’s attorney says; new trial sought

PORT TOWNSEND -- Richard Davies, the lawyer for convicted double-murderer and arsonist Michael J. Pierce, is asking for a new trial on the basis of… Continue reading

Man found dead at Rayonier site died from hypothermia, autopsy shows

PORT ANGELES -- A visitor whose body was found Wednesday on the site of the former Rayonier Inc. pulp mill died of hypothermia, Police Detective… Continue reading

Throat slit two months ago, tiny dog finally losing its fear, has new family in Port Angeles

PORT ANGELES -- After his throat was deliberately slit and he was left for dead, 5-pound Harley is on the mend in the care of… Continue reading

Dogs in shoreline archeological survey stick up noses at most locales, but find some areas interesting

PORT ANGELES -- The four forensic canines who patrolled 50 acres of Port Angeles' waterfront late last year for buried Native American remains indicated 93… Continue reading

Word on convicted terrorist’s appeal in two weeks

PORT ANGELES -- Convicted terrorist Ahmed Ressam expects to learn by April 15 if the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will rethink a decision that… Continue reading

Dog that attacked Port Angeles boy won’t be euthanized

PORT ANGELES -- Jack, a family dog that mauled an 11-year-old boy last month, has been spared the death penalty. The 50-pound Labrador retriever mix,… Continue reading

The smell of gas: Jury quickly decided Pierce was guilty of Quilcene double-murder

PORT TOWNSEND -- The jury in Michael J. Pierce's double-murder trial had a general sense from the onset of its deliberations, which began Thursday, that… Continue reading

Pierce guilty of two murders, other charges

PORT TOWNSEND — Michael J. Pierce was found guilty this afternoon of two counts of first-degree murder in the March 18, 2009 shooting deaths of… Continue reading

Double-murder trial in jury’s hands; cost of proceedings adds up for Jefferson County

PORT TOWNSEND -- Jefferson County had paid $282,202 in expenses related to the case of double-murder defendant Michael J. Pierce as of Dec. 31, the… Continue reading

Jury to begin deciding fate of double-murder defendant Pierce today

PORT TOWNSEND -- Michael J. Pierce is a cold-blooded killer motivated by a desire for meth -- or he simply used a slain couple's debit… Continue reading

UPDATE: Pierce double-murder trial heads to jury Thursday

PORT TOWNSEND — Closing arguments and jury instructions from Superior Court Judge Craddock Verser were wrapping up today, and the jury deciding Jefferson County's first… Continue reading

Forensic photography expert ties Pierce to slayings in Quilcene

PORT TOWNSEND -- The man who used the ATM card of Pat and Janice Yarr the same night they were slain was likely Michael J.… Continue reading