In brief: Two men arrested after park robbery

Police arrested two men suspected of robbing a man Sunday night in Riverfront Park as he walked home from work.

Patrick E. Curry, 21, and Guadalupe Alvarez, 19, face robbery, assault and theft charges. The victim said the two men tried to pry his backpack from his shoulders after punching and kicking him and demanding his cellphone.

The man was bleeding from the mouth when police officers arrived, according to court records. He said his tooth was chipped in the attack. A police dog detained Curry near the Washington Street bridge and the victim’s backpack was found nearby after the attack.

Both of the suspects recently spent time in jail on other charges, according to court records.

Former S-R writer Jacobs dies at 42

Patrick Jacobs, a North Idaho blogger and bartender who previously wrote for The Spokesman-Review’s Handle Extra section, died last weekend after experiencing a “cardiac event” on Friday.

Jacobs, 42, reviewed fine dining and dives and North Idaho’s nightlife in a column called “Get Out!” from 2007 to 2011.

After the Handle Extra section was discontinued in 2011, he continued reviewing restaurants, as well as fashion and nightlife, on his own Get Out! North Idaho blog. He also worked as a bartender at Mik’s in Coeur d’Alene.

Jacobs was a prolific commenter on The Spokesman-Review’s Huckleberries Online blog, using the name OrangeTV.

“All of us who knew Patrick personally or through his restaurant reviews and social media are reeling from his unexpected death over the weekend,” Huckleberries Online blogger D.F. Oliveria said Monday.

Jacobs’ cousin Tracy Green said services are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Trinity Lutheran Church in Coeur d’Alene. He is survived by his father, mother and stepfather.

Green said, “We are blessed and encouraged by the outpouring of love and people whose lives he touched.”

Student brings explosive to school

SEATTLE – Officials said a 16-year-old student has been arrested for bringing a Molotov cocktail to school, just days after a mass shooting at a school in nearby Marysville.

The Seattle Police Department said on its Twitter feed that it made the arrest Monday morning at The Center School, a small public school on the grounds of Seattle Center near the Space Needle. Seattle Public Schools identified the incendiary device as a Molotov cocktail and said there were no injuries. The school was evacuated as a precaution.

Three people killed in Seattle home

SEATTLE – Seattle police say a man fatally shot his adult daughter and a teenage granddaughter on Monday night at a south Seattle home, then killed himself. A 10-year-old boy was able to call 911. The child is unhurt.

Police say the boy called for help shortly after 8 p.m., saying his grandfather had waved a handgun at the two victims before shooting them. The boy said his grandfather then turned the gun on himself.

Police described the gunman as a man in his 60s. None of the victims was immediately identified.

Police officials and Mayor Ed Murray rushed to the scene on South Fountain Street.

Assistant Chief Nick Metz said the boy is “shaken up” but was able to escape the house unharmed and is now in the care of his extended family. Metz said it appears there were just four people in the house.

Metz said the motive for the shooting wasn’t immediately known.

The mayor said the shooting appears to be “a family tragedy” and added that “the neighborhood itself is safe.”

Ship rescues three from boat in Pacific

SEATTLE – The Coast Guard said a container ship has rescued three people from a disabled 32-foot sailboat adrift nearly 800 miles west of the California-Oregon border.

Petty Officer 1st Class George Degener in Seattle said the crew of the Hale’s Revenge was safely taken aboard the 965-foot Hyundai Grace on Monday morning in 20-foot seas. The ship is continuing to Panama.

The sailboat was on its way from Honolulu to Everett when it was damaged in the high seas and 45 mph winds. It activated an emergency beacon Sunday evening.

USS Ingraham to be decommissioned

EVERETT – The guided-missile frigate USS Ingraham and a crew of about 200 sailors return to their home port at Everett on Thursday for the last time.

The Daily Herald reports the Ingraham will be decommissioned Nov. 12.

Its final mission was part of a multinational force fighting illegal drug trafficking in Central America waters.

The 408-foot Ingraham was commissioned in California in 1989 and made its home port at Naval Station Everett in 1994.

The Ingraham operated with the carrier Carl Vinson task force during the Iraq War. In addition to the Persian Gulf, deployments also took it to the Mediterranean.

Yellowstone roads closing for season

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. – Visitors to Yellowstone National Park have only a few more days before roads will close to vehicle traffic for the season.

The National Park Service announced that roads will close to vehicle traffic to most of the popular locations in the interior of Yellowstone at 8 a.m. Monday, Nov. 3.

The exception is the road from the park’s North Entrance at Gardiner, Montana, through Mammoth Hot Springs to the park’s Northeast Entrance and the communities of Cooke City and Silver Gate, Montana. That road remains open all year, weather permitting.

All other park roads close for the season to allow staff members to begin preparing the roads for guided snowmobile and snowcoach travel beginning Dec. 15.

UO teaching aides threaten strike

EUGENE, Ore. – The union for graduate students who help teach undergraduate courses at the University of Oregon is threatening to strike in a dispute with the administration over pay and leave.

A 30-day cooling-off period began Monday in talks over a proposed two-year contract, KVAL-TV reported.

If no agreement is reached within 30 days, the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation said it would walk out, taking at least 1,100 employees away from their jobs.

Teaching fellows are paid $25,000 to $30,000 a year.

The union wants a 5.5 percent raise. Federation President Joe Henry said the administration’s most recent offer doesn’t cover what it costs to live in Eugene.

Another important issue is paid leave, both medical and parental, he said.

“If you become seriously ill, there’s no security of protection to help GTFs get through those hard times,” he said.

The administration said no part-time employees on campus receive paid leave, but their jobs remain safe.

It’s the second time this year members of the union have authorized a strike. The previous occasion was in the spring, when negotiations stalled. At that time, the members did not call a strike.

The graduate students’ last contract expired March 31, but its terms remain in place until a new one is reached.