Saving For A House At Home

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Reichert’s race tightens up

No charges in Sound oil spill ConocoPhillips ship suspected in ’04 BY ROBERT McCLURE AND PAUL SHUKOVSKY P-I reporters

Rep. Dave Reichert and Democratic challenger Darcy Burner are in a statistical dead heat in suburban Seattle’s 8th Congressional District, according to a non-partisan poll by KING/5 and SurveyUSA. SEE B1

Terrorism bill passes House The House approved a bill giving the Bush administration authority to interrogate and prosecute detainees it accuses of terrorism, moving President Bush toward a pre-election victory. Washington’s delegation split on a party-line vote. SEE A3

After a mysterious midnight oil spill turned central Puget Sound beaches into a stinky mess, the Coast Guard proudly proclaimed that investigators had tracked down the spiller. The oil’s chemical fingerprint clearly implicated a ConocoPhillips tanker, the agency said.

That was more than 11⁄2 years ago. But now, federal prosecutors in Seattle are declining to press criminal charges against ConocoPhillips, even though the chemical fingerprint showed that the substance spilled was crude oil, which is usually carried by tankers such as ConocoPhillips’ Polar Texas. The Polar Texas was in the vicinity of the spill in Dalco Passage, near Vashon

and Maury islands, on the night of the October 2004 spill. It was the only oil tanker there that night. The decision by U.S. Attorney John McKay’s office not to prosecute ConocoPhillips, which hasn’t acknowledged guilt, doesn’t mean the firm is totally off the hook. Federal and state environmental officials are still pushing civil cases against the Houston-based oil company. And a grand jury in Alaska investigated allegations of criminal conduct by the company in unrelated episodes, includ-

ing the apparent cover-up of another oil spill. It’s unclear whether criminal charges will be brought in that case. In Seattle, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Oesterle would not elaborate on why McKay’s office is declining to prosecute, saying commenting might interfere with ongoing negotiations between the company and environmental officials regarding possible civil penalties. “I’m not prepared at this point to give SEE SPILL, A8

Saving for a house at home More and more cash-strapped adults are moving in with mom and dad

Gun horror at Colo. school A gunman took six girls hostage at a Colorado high school Wednesday, then fatally shot a girl and killed himself as a SWAT team moved in. The incident occurred not far from Columbine, the scene of another horrific attack in 1999. SEE A11

ALSO IN THE NEWS NATION/WORLD Deadly Iraq raid: Relatives of eight people killed by U.S. troops during a raid in Baghdad said the victims had nothing to do with any terrorists. A4

SEATTLE Bicyclist injured: A woman in her 20s is in critical condition after colliding with a van that police say might have turned improperly. B1 Thief’s conviction: The U.S. attorney and the state attorney general vow more efforts to stop identity theft. B1 Wife abuser deported: Victor David, convicted in a notorious abuse case, is sent back to Canada. B2 Auburn girl found: A 9-year-old who had been missing for more than two years is found safe in Montana, and her father is arrested. B2

BUSINESS Jetliner industry: Boeing exec Scott Carson believes the current upturn is the best ever. E1 “Halo” deal: Movie director Peter Jackson will work with Microsoft’s Bungie Studios on a future installment of the video-game franchise. E1 SSA Marine: The largest U.S.-owned port terminal operator scrapped plans for a $2 billion sale after some buyers balked at the price. E1

INDEX TODAY’S WEATHER Patchy morning fog, then sunny. High 75. Low 52. B8 Comics Crosswords Editorial Horoscope Lottery Obituaries Television

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JOSHUA TRUJILLO / P-I

Pricey Seattle housing, average incomes can make decision easier BY AUBREY COHEN P-I reporter

In between jokes about tiki torches, country music and trashy TV Tuesday night, Paul David gets serious. Having his daughter, Kate Gwinn, and her husband, Jason, living in his Magnolia house has allowed him to see their marriage close-up, he says. “I appreciate and I value the way you

treat Kate,” he tells Jason Gwinn, 25. “I do really, really appreciate that,” his son-in-law responds. “Sometimes she can be a real pain.” Fun aside, living with mom and dad, or mom and dad-in-law, is just practical. The Gwinns are using would-be rent money to pay off debts and save up to buy into Seattle’s out-of-reach housing market. And they are not alone. While moving home with a spouse has been common in many cultures, now it seems to be hitting the U.S. mainstream for economic purposes – at least in pricey cities such as Seattle. More than 22 million adult sons and daughters were living in a household

maintained by one or both parents in 2005, compared with 15 million in 1970, according to Census Bureau statistics. Fourteen percent of all U.S. families included at least one adult child in 2005 – up 3 percentage points since 1970; a census analysis attributed the increase to delayed marriage and increasing costs to set up and maintain a household. Kate Gwinn, 26, said some of her friends moved back in with their parents for a while before they bought houses, and these are young people with good jobs. “It’s like what all the cool kids are doSEE HOME, A9

1918 flu may help avert new plague P-I reporter

SEE FLU, A11

P-I book critic John Marshall rounds up the best fall books, including 21 must-reads.

50 MILLION Number of people killed worldwide in 1918-19 influenza pandemic

BY TOM PAULSON

Scientists at the University of Washington have used sophisticated genetic analysis on mice infected with reconstructed 1918 flu virus to partially unravel one of the biggest mysteries of this deadliest outbreak in human history. The danger came not just from the virus itself, the researchers found, but also from an incredibly violent immune response triggered in the host by the infection. “We wanted to figure out what it was that made this virus so hot,” said Dr. John Kash, a UW microbiologist and lead author of the report in today’s edition of the journal Nature. “It appears to be an overreaction of the immune response.”

COMING TOMORROW

BY THE NUMBERS

Scientists suspect the real killer back then was the human immune system

Kate Gwinn and her husband, Jason, have a discussion Wednesday in the Magnolia home of Kate’s parents as her dad, Paul David, walks into the room. The couple moved back into Kate’s parents’ home so they can save enough money to buy a home.

500,000 Number killed in the U.S. 1,600 Number killed in Seattle

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Flu patients crowded into a clinic in 1918 at Fort Riley, Kan. Scientists say that virus also was a bird flu.

251 Number of people who have contracted bird flu worldwide since 2003 147 Number of those who died

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YARD DAYS

FALL IS A GREAT TIME FOR PLANTING JOSHUA TRUJILLO / P-I

Kate and Jason Gwinn, left, say grace before dinner with Kate’s dad, Paul David, and Kate’s mother, Jo David, in their home Wednesday in Seattle. The Gwinns moved into the house for a trial month in June.

HOME: Living in a basement FROM A1 ing,” she joked. It worked for the Kennedys, also in their 20s, who spent about a year living in the basement of Kristin Kennedy’s parents’ Mercer Island home before buying a house in Beacon Hill last year. “The idea came up that if we helped them remodel their basement, we could live there,” her husband, Aaron Kennedy, recalled. The Kennedys had separate space in the basement, but often ate dinner with Kristin’s parents and hung out on weekends. “We get along with them really well,” Aaron Kennedy said. Mary Wellings, 26, moved back in with her mom for about a year to pay off debts and save up for the Ballard condo she bought in August 2005. “It was a very different experience living with her as an adult. I felt more like I was her roommate,” Wellings said. “We did our own thing a lot and I didn’t, like, let her know where I was. But I still lived with my mom, which was not ideal.” Reports from the Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies echo the Census Bureau statistics. “The problem is, home prices outpaced income growth,” center Director Nicolas Retsinas said. “Moving in with mom and dad gives you that sort of breathing room to catch up.” Cultural factors, including

the increasing number of foreign-born households, have played a small role in the increase, Retsinas said. Shelly Lundberg, an economics professor at the University of Washington, pointed to improved relationships between generations. “I think it’s a lot easier to live with your parents for cultural reasons now than it was 20, 30 years ago.” She noted studies showing that the transition to adulthood has become more complex. “We go back a few decades and you left school, you got a job, you moved out, you got married and you had kids – in that order,” she said. “Now there simply is not a very generally followed pattern and people, I think, are confused about what it means to be an adult.” Jo David said she was happy to help her daughter find a home. She’s continuing a family tradition that started when she was in college and her grandmother bought her a house outright. Of course, houses were cheaper then. Kate Gwinn noted that her parents gave her the choice of a down payment or a wedding. They chose the wedding. The Gwinns moved into the David house for a trial month in June, then house-sat for Jason Gwinn’s parents, who also live in Magnolia, the following month. Before moving back, they sat down with Paul and Jo David, both 56, for a talk. “We had to think about how we were going to continue the

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relationship without everybody completely coming unglued,” said Paul David. They divvied up chores and scheduled who would get access to the laundry room when, who would cook which night and who would shower when. They have one bathroom, although Jason Gwinn, who works in construction, is finishing another. Jo David was in charge of dinner Tuesday evening, cleaning potatoes and seasoning salmon while her daughter chopped shallots and garlic. When called upon, the men take on the outdoor cooking, in the backyard “Oompa-Loompa Lounge” (where the tiki torches are). They share the “Danger, men cooking” oven mitt. Jason Gwinn said his wife’s family spends more time together than his own. Beyond cooking, they go to concerts and restaurants together, and watch movies while sitting side by side on the Davids’ California kingsize bed. It’s not perfect, though. Like many parents and offspring, the dad argues with the kids over music. “That’s our one sticking point,” Kate Gwinn said. “Dad is required to turn down his music at 10 p.m.” “I can only play country music when they’re gone,” Paul David said. P-I reporter Aubrey Cohen can be reached at 206-448-8362 or [email protected].

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