Top 10 most-viewed stories of 2025 at auburn-reporter.com

1. Green River levee breach impacts small areas of Kent, Renton and Tukwila: A GO NOW evacuation notice was issued for small portions of Kent, Renton and Tukwila due to a Green River levee breach in Tukwila, according to King County Emergency Management Services and the National Weather Service. King County reached out to 1,100 contacts in the impacted area, mostly an industrial and business area, and more than 500 people were evacuated.

2. Auburn flood updates: “We’re not out of this storm yet,” mayor says: The Auburn area continued to see flooding from the Green River and White River as a result of the atmospheric river weather system that has soaked Western Washington in early to mid-December.

3. Woman dies in Auburn crash: The King County Medical Examiner’s Office identified a woman who died in a vehicle crash on the 1400 block of 8th Street NE as Tenisha Marche Burrage, 34. The office ruled the death as an accident in a vehicle, with the cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries.

4. Chinook Elementary librarian charged for rape of child: The Auburn School District placed a Chinook Elementary School librarian on administrative leave after she was charged with second-degree rape of a child stemming from an alleged incident with a 13-year-old boy. On June 10, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Shayla Schwoch, 37, with second-degree rape of a child. According to charging documents, Schwoch went to the Auburn Police Department on June 5 to report a sexual assault. She then told officers about a sexual assault she committed against a 13-year-old boy at her home that spanned between two days.

5. Auburn man strangles wife to death in “honor killing”: An Auburn man was charged with murder after he called police early in the morning Nov. 23 and told them that he had killed his wife. On Nov. 26, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO) charged Sayed Sadat, 37, of Auburn, with first-degree murder after, according to charging documents, he strangled his wife, Geety Sadat, 43, to death as an “honor killing” because he suspected that she was having an affair.

6. South Hill rapist Kevin Coe moves to Auburn: Convicted rapist Kevin Coe, who was a suspect in over 30 Spokane rapes in the late 1970s, was released from McNeil Island in October and temporarily lived at an Auburn address before relocating to Federal Way. Coe died Dec. 3, 2025.

7. Safeway distribution center in Auburn fined for violating new law: For the first time since Washington state enacted a new law in 2024 to improve standards for warehouse workers, the state Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has cited an employer for quota-related safety and workplace rights violations. L&I’s investigation found that the Safeway distribution center in Auburn often tracks its workers’ restroom, meal and rest breaks, their movements, and other activities down to the minute to enforce strict-and-frequently changing production quotas.

8. Loss of funding leads to Valley Medical clinic closures: In the wake of significant financial instabilities and uncertainties, Valley Medical Center announced it was shuttering multiple healthcare units and clinics throughout South King County. The loss of state and federal funding led to the closing of two inpatient units, five clinics and the consolidation of two clinics.

9. 16-year-old arrested in Auburn for murder: A 16-year-old Tacoma boy was arrested in Auburn and subsequently charged with the murder of a 15-year-old Tacoma boy. According to the Auburn Police Department crimes log, at 7:22 p.m. March 2 in the 12000 block of SE 312th St., a juvenile was arrested in Auburn as a murder suspect, with other listed offenses of aggravated assault and a weapons offense. The teen is Jeremiah Wade, who will be charged as an adult for first-degree murder, second-degree murder — for the same victim — and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

10. Boy dead, mother arrested after fatal late night crash: A boy was killed in a single car wreck in Enumclaw. According to the King County Sheriff’s Office, the crash took place around 1:43 a.m. April 27 west of the SE 416th Street and 236th Avenue SE intersection, close to the Enumclaw Evergreen Memorial Park. According to probable cause documents, deputies allege the Auburn woman left the road onto the shoulder and hit a ditch, causing the vehicle to launch into the air for about 150 feet, roll over, and settle about 700 feet from where it first left the road.

More top Auburn news events of 2025

JANUARY

• Former Auburn cop sentenced to 16 years, 8 months for murder: Former Auburn Police Officer Jeffrey Nelson was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison for second-degree murder after shooting a man while on duty in May 2019. In a packed courtroom Jan. 23 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, with attendants spilling into the overflow seating and 200-plus viewers on Zoom, King County Superior Court Judge Nicole Phelps sentenced Nelson for the May 31, 2019, murder of Jesse Sarey, 26. Nelson, 46, also received a 123-month sentence for first-degree assault against Sarey, but that will run at the same time as the 200-month murder sentence. The judge’s sentence is 20 months short of the prosecution’s recommendation of 220 months and longer than the defense’s recommendation of 78 months.

FEBRUARY

• Councilman Larry Brown steps down from position: For months in 2024, Auburn City Councilmember Larry Brown battled an ongoing yet unspecified medical condition that kept him from attending city meetings. On Feb. 18, Brown resigned from his seat, Position 6. Brown began his first term on Jan. 1, 2018. From 2018 to 2022, he was president of the Washington State Labor Council, which represents over 550,000 union workers throughout the state. He worked in the aerospace industry for over 40 years and for the union for 23 years.

MARCH

• Athens Pizza and Pasta experiences fourth burglary in two years: Business will go on at Athens Pizza and Pasta in Auburn, but for the Contoravdis brothers, the fourth burglary in two years is a mental strain and hard on their wallets. At about 3 a.m. March 16, Bill and Tom Contoravdis said they got a notification alerting movement on the cameras at their restaurant at 959 E. Main St. Bill Contoravdis said when he got the alert, he already knew what had happened because the only time they get alerts is after a break-in.

APRIL

• Lisa Stirgus appointed to Auburn City Council: On April 14, the Auburn City Council appointed Lisa Stirgus to complete the eight months left of former councilmember Larry Brown’s term. Stirgus was slated to fill the position until the last council meeting in December. Voters in the November election chose Stirgus to fill a full-four year term on the council.

• Bob Roegner, former mayor and columnist, dies: Bob Roegner, a longtime political columnist and a former mayor of Auburn, died April 11 at age 76 after suffering from dementia. Roegner served three terms as Auburn’s mayor from 1982 to 1993. In 1994, the City of Auburn dedicated Roegner Park in his honor at 601 Oravetz Road.

MAY

• Auburn PD reports an increase in pursuits since law change: In 2023, the Auburn Police Department pursued 17 fleeing vehicles, a small number owing to a state requirement that restricted officers’ ability to pursue escaping vehicles whose occupants were suspected of lesser crimes like car theft. Police everywhere chafed under the restrictions. But in June 2024, Initiative 2113 became law as the state Legislature relaxed the requirement — restoring to police the autonomy to pursue fleeing vehicles for less violent offenses such as car thefts. As might have been expected, when the state took the cuffs off, the number of police pursuits jumped.

JUNE

• Auburn to expand traffic camera enforcement: In Auburn, as elsewhere in Washington, red light photo critics in the early to mid-2000s claimed that the city’s sole intention in implementing the program was to fatten its purse. Yet, when drivers noticed and began easing off the pedal, resulting in fewer infractions issued, the city concluded that the expense of running the program outweighed its benefits, and pulled the plug in 2014. In 2022, however, based on a two-day study, the city restored cameras to school zones. With adoption of the city’s 2025-2026 biennial budget, the city council approved the expansion of automated traffic safety camera enforcement of speeding violations to places outside of the school zones.

JULY

• Auburn mayoral candidates share vision for the city: During the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce-sponsored debate at the Auburn Senior Center on July 9, the three candidates for Auburn mayor fielded questions about taxes, public safety, youth and the need for decent-paying jobs. What most of the more than 90 people who showed up for the debate will most likely carry away from the event, however, is the moment when an hour-and-a-half of general civility among the candidates — Mayor Nancy Backus, Councilmember Yolanda Trout, and political newcomer Ron Morgan — got personal. Backus went on to get re-elected in the November general election.

AUGUST

• Man dies after White River Amphitheatre concert: An Auburn man accused of killing a man at the White River Amphitheatre after what prosecutors called a petty argument was arrested in Alabama. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Devin Brice McCurdy, 31, of Auburn, with second-degree murder for the death of Brandon Godsey. This charge stems from an Aug. 27 incident at a Suicide Boys concert at the White River Amphitheatre, where McCurdy allegedly punched Godsey once, causing Godsey to fall to the ground and hit his head.

SEPTEMBER

• Seattle sues gun stores in Auburn and Renton over Glock sales: The City of Seattle is suing the firearm manufacturer Glock, alongside a gun shop in Renton and a gun shop in Auburn, for allegedly selling and promoting Glock pistols that people can convert to machine guns through the installation of an attachment. On Sept. 2, Seattle filed the lawsuit against the company Glock, alongside Rainier Arms, 2504 Auburn Way N. in Auburn, and Pantel Tactical, 16926 116th Ave. SE in Renton, for allegedly selling and marketing Glock pistols, thereby contributing to the nuisance of crimes committed with Glock pistols that people illegally convert to shoot rapidly with one trigger pull.

• Auburn to set up a municipal court by Jan. 1, 2027: In a work session Sept. 22, the Auburn City Council gave what may be the final eyeballing to an ordinance that will end the city’s interlocal agreement with King County District Court to then re-establish the city’s own municipal court for the first time since 2013. The action is the first step toward setting up the municipal court, which should begin operations on Jan. 1, 2027, immediately after the interlocal agreement expires.

OCTOBER

• Hundreds attend No Kings rally in Auburn: Residents filled the streets with signs and costumes on Auburn Way North and 15th Street NE for the second No Kings rally in 2025. Rallies took place nationwide as an act against the policies of President Donald Trump and his administration.

• Auburn PD reports decrease in crime stats this year: Auburn Police have had a busy year to date, but statistics show a decrease in crime compared to last year. According to a report from the department, police respond to an average of 165 calls per day across the districts, a 5.09 decrease compared to last year. The report also shows a decrease in crime across all categories except forcible rape, which stayed the same.

NOVEMBER

• Council approves sales-and-use tax increase: The Auburn City Council voted Nov. 17 to add a one-tenth of 0.1% sales-and-use tax for criminal justice purposes. City officials say the tax represents a significant additional source of funding to address public safety needs as well as maintain programs and services that a new state law allows the city to spend the money on. These include domestic violence services, public defenders, diversion and re-entry programs, programs to reduce homelessness and improve behavioral health, community outreach and assistance programs, alternative mental health crisis response programs, and community placement for juvenile offenders.

• Auburn early election results: Mayor, council and more: Results for Auburn mayor and city council elections on Nov. 4 show all incumbents, a recent appointee, and a political newcomer ending the evening with strong leads. Mayor Nancy Backus cruised to victory in her bid to be re-elected to her fourth term as Auburn’s mayor over Councilmember Yolanda Trout. Backus has been Auburn’s mayor since 2014.

DECEMBER

• State mobilization authorized to fight flooding in Kent, Auburn: State assistance has been mobilized under the Washington State Fire Services Resource Mobilization Plan in support of local fire resources working to assist with flooding located in South King County near the cities of Auburn and Kent, according to the Washington State Patrol.

• Divided council picks Tracy Taylor for deputy mayor: By a vote of four to three, the Auburn City Council on Dec. 1 chose Councilmember Tracy Taylor over current Deputy Mayor Cheryl Rakes to hold that office in 2026.