A former Bellevue attorney was sentenced to two months in prison Tuesday for his connection to the state’s largest mortgage fraud scheme, in which seven other real estate professionals falsified $47 million in mortgages.
Jacob A. Korn, now of Seattle, pleaded guilty in September 2010 to not reporting income received from Bellevue-based Emerald City Escrow, one of three companies involved in the scheme, and failing to supply information about closed home sales to the Internal Revenue Service in 2007 and 2008.

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Jin Chen defied classification. A gifted employee at Microsoft and an accomplished athlete in several sports. A gregarious and social person, and a near master of one of the most complex strategy games in the world. But Chen’s story was over before it even had a chance to begin.

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A 70-year-old Bellevue man was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle to a year in prison Monday for his role in counterfeit honey imports.
Chung Po Liu admitted in September to consistently repackaging honey imported from China to appear from another country, saving him nearly $3 million in additional taxes.

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Two employees of the state Department of Licensing and a Kirkland man were sentenced Friday for their organization of a scheme to sell fake identification documents out of the Bellevue DOL office.
Rodrigo Moura, 33, a Brazilian immigrant was sentenced to two years in prison. After serving his term, Moura will likely be deported, according to a Department of Justice press release.

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Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday announced her plan for the 2011-13 budget that bridges a $4.6 billion gap and will slash money for schools, social services and lead to the loss of 1,800 state jobs.

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Casting his first vote in the Legislature, new State Sen. Steve Litzow (R-Mercer Island) was one of the few dissenting votes on an emergency cutting package to address the state’s $1.1 billion budget shortfall in 2010.
“I was disappointed in the fact that we’ve known about a $1.1 billion deficit, we could only get half of that solved and the first place we turned was education,” he said.

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Not only will users of the State Route 520 floating bridge pay tolls next year, drivers on Interstate 90 will likely be affected by increased traffic as well.

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Even the naming of a consultant to perform conceptual engineering reports can’t escape the contentious debate that surrounds East Link…

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The City Council Monday finished off the season-long, painstaking 2011-12 budget “reset” that will help navigate Bellevue through the continuing recession.
“I’m very proud of this budget,” said Council Member Jennifer Robertson. “It’s balanced, has no new taxes and really honors the stewardship of this city.”

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The Bellevue City Council is only a step or two away from finalizing a difficult 2011-12 operating budget and Capital Improvement Program.
At Monday’s meeting the group engaged in nearly four hours worth of discussion where they debated the merits of the last few aspects of the $353 million CIP and the $671 million operating budget.
The council is expected to take final action at its Dec. 6 meeting.

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A public hearing over Sound Transit’s East Link Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement quickly morphed into a familiar debate about two controversial alternatives for light-rail through south Bellevue.
Speaker after speaker marched to the podium at Bellevue City Hall Tuesday to argue for or against the route that uses the BNSF rail corridor (B7), or the one that pushes through 112th Avenue and Bellevue Way (B2M).

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The state Transportation Commission Tuesday tentatively elected to set tolls of $3.50 (during peak hours of 7-9 a.m. and 3-6 p.m.) for Good to Go transponder users for the State Route 520 bridge.
The decision isn’t final. A preliminary vote was necessary as part of the legal process to form the Washington Administrative Code (WAC). There will be two opportunities for citizens to comment at public meetings in Seattle and Bellevue Dec. 6 and 7. A final hearing on the matter will be held Jan. 5.

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Citizens packed Bellevue City Hall to the brim Monday night for the third and final public hearing for a budget that could result in far-reaching consequences for the city.

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The Washington State Department of Transportation is expected to present options to the State Transportation Commission for toll rates on State Route 520 as part of an all-day meeting at Bellevue City Hall on Tuesday.

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