In brief: Surveillance photo of suspect released

Spokane police on Thursday released a clearer picture from a surveillance camera showing a man believed to have stabbed a woman last month in what police have described as a random attack.

The victim reported that she was stabbed while walking along Second Avenue between Post and Wall streets at about 11:30 p.m. Police are asking anyone who recognizes the man to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233. The victim has been released from the hospital.

Suit settled in death of mentally ill man

TACOMA – Pierce County has agreed to pay $750,000 to resolve a lawsuit in the case of a mentally ill man who died last year after an encounter with sheriff’s deputies.

As part of the settlement, the sheriff’s department has agreed to provide additional training for deputies to help them better respond to calls involving the mentally ill.

The News Tribune reported relatives of Ronald Hillstrom alleged the death was caused by deputies’ inadequate training and excessive force.

Deputies found the 44-year-old man holding a screwdriver and running in circles on May 11, 2014. After he refused to obey their commands, they struggled with the man. The newspaper said he was shocked with a stun gun, hog-tied and punched. He was being taken to a hospital when he suffered cardiac arrest and died.

Bills seek test-based teacher evaluation

OLYMPIA – The Washington Legislature is going to make another bid for flexibility under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

The Daily Herald reported Sen. Steve Litzow introduced two bills this week that would require school districts to use student test results as a factor in teacher evaluations, starting with the 2016-17 school year.

Hearings on the bills are expected next week.

Last year, Washington state lost its waiver from some elements of the federal education law after lawmakers refused to answer a federal government demand that they pass a law similar to Litzow’s proposal.

This school year, Washington went back to the old way of meeting student achievement requirements. More than 40 other states have been granted a federal waiver that allows them to try new ways to measure student progress.

Health exchange short 81,000 signups

SEATTLE – The Washington health exchange is 81,000 short of its goal for signing up people for insurance this year. But the people who run Washington Healthplanfinder are not panicking, even though open enrollment ends in just over a week.

They remain optimistic there will be a last-minute rush to buy coverage, and exchange spokesman Michael Marchand has a long list of other ways to explain the enrollment shortfall.