Semitrailer sex slaves; honest busboy; jail for ATV ride

LAS VEGAS — A homeless woman accused of slamming a car carrying her 3-year-old daughter into a crowd of pedestrians on the Las Vegas Strip told authorities she was stressed out after being chased by security guards from parking lots where she had been trying to sleep before the crash, according to a police report obtained Monday.

Lakeisha N. Holloway, 24, resided in Oregon and had been in Las Vegas for about a week in her 1996 Oldsmobile sedan, parking it at garages throughout the city, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said.

After her arrest, Holloway “described a stressful period today where she was trying to rest/sleep inside her vehicle with her daughter but kept getting run off by security of the properties she stopped at,” the police report states.

“She ended up on the Strip, ‘a place she did not want to be,’” the report quoted her as saying. “She would not explain why she drove onto the sidewalk but remembered a body bouncing off her windshield, breaking it.”

Investigators said Holloway had run out of money and she and her daughter had been living in the car. Police believe she was headed to Dallas to find her daughter’s father after they had a falling out.

Holloway is accused of intentionally mowing down people on a busy stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, killing a woman from Arizona and injuring dozens of others on Sunday night.

The dead woman was identified as Jessica Valenzuela, 32, of Buckeye, Arizona, who was visiting Las Vegas with her husband, according to the Clark County coroner.

At least 35 people injured in the crash were taken to hospitals, including three people still in critical condition with head injuries, officials said. Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center, which treated 13, still had five patients Monday, including two who were upgraded to good condition.

After the crash, Holloway parked at a casino a few blocks away, told a parking attendant that she had run down people and asked the valet to call 911, Lombardo said. Her daughter, who was in the backseat, was not hurt.

The sheriff said Holloway was stoic when police arrived, showed no resistance and spoke coherently about what happened. He declined to elaborate on what she said.

“She didn’t appear to be distressed due to her actions. That’s the best way I can describe it,” Lombardo said.

Authorities declined to comment on a potential motive and said they were struggling to piece together Holloway’s background.

She had changed her name to Paris Paradise Morton in October, according to Oregon court records.

Several years ago, Holloway, a graduate of an alternative high school, received an award for overcoming adversity from the nonprofit Portland Opportunities Industrial Center.

In 2012, she told The Skanner, a newspaper that covers Portland’s African-American community, that she was homeless during her freshman year in high school.

Holloway’s cousin, Lashay Hardaway, told The Oregonian that Holloway worked hard to provide for her daughter.

The crash happened in front of the Paris and Planet Hollywood casino-hotels and across from dancing water fountains of the Bellagio hotel-casino. Droves of visitors to the stretch walk from one casino to another.

The Miss Universe pageant was being held at Planet Hollywood at the time of the crash.

People jumped on the car and banged on its windows, but Holloway didn’t stop driving on the sidewalk, Lombardo said. The car was fully on the sidewalk twice, including once when it traveled for 200 feet, police said.

There was no evidence that Holloway had consumed alcohol, but a drug recognition expert at the scene determined that she was under the influence of some sort of stimulant, Lombardo said.

Holloway, who was being held without bail, will be charged with murder with a deadly weapon, said Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson, who anticipated “a great number” of additional charges.

SAN DIEGO — The owners of a janitorial company serving luxury hotels in Southern California and Nevada are charged with running a $7 million workers' compensation insurance and tax evasion scam, prosecutors announced Monday.

Hyok "Steven" Kwon and Woo "Stephanie" Kwon were arrested Friday and remained jailed with bail set at $1 million each, according to the San Diego County district attorney's office.

Hyok Kwon pleaded not guilty Monday. His wife's arraignment was pending.

The couple own Irvine-based Good Neighbor Services. Prosecutors say they concealed the existence of at least 800 employees to avoid paying millions in payroll taxes and workers' compensation insurance.

"These defendants lied on the backs of their employees, who were cleaning rooms in some of the most prestigious hotels in California," San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said. "If employees got hurt on the job, they were threatened with being fired."

"The Kwons treated their workers like chattel when they fraudulently did not provide workers' compensation insurance coverage for their workers," state Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said.

The company's website says its clients include the Westin, Hyatt, Hilton, Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Omni, Marriott and Sheraton hotel chains, and other hotels including the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The website says the company has offices in San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Las Vegas and Atlanta.

The indictment handed down Thursday only covers Southern California hotels, including the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad and the landmark Hotel del Coronado in Coronado.

The Kwons are charged with insurance fraud, tax evasion and extortion. They each face up to 31 years in prison if convicted.

Six other people also have been charged in the alleged scheme.

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Power officials say nearly 16,000 customers are without power in central Idaho due to multiple downed power lines.

The utility company says severe weather conditions caused the power outages in Valley County on Monday.

The power went out just hours after utility crews had finished restoring outages in Valley County that had occurred over the weekend and early Monday morning. Heavy snow and broken branches broke multiple power lines in McCall, Donnelly and Cascade areas for more than 10,000 customers.

Idaho Power had no immediate estimate when the power would be back on.

CARSON CITY, Nev. — State officials said they're unable to conduct the complete study on background checks that some lawmakers wanted as a condition of voting for ride-hailing in Nevada.

The Nevada Transportation Authority told members of the Legislative Commission on Monday that they don't have the authority — or the money — to force drivers for Uber and Lyft to participate in fingerprint background checks for testing purposes. Lawmakers wanted to compare whether fingerprinting and FBI background checks, which are required for taxi and limo drivers, are better at catching criminal history than the checks Uber and Lyft do now.

Authority officials provided lawmakers with a brief analysis of the two types of background checks, but said the Legislature would need to pass another bill to give them power to conduct an in-depth comparison using actual driver data.

Senate Democratic leader Aaron Ford said he was disappointed state officials didn't carry out the full study, which was due six months after the bills authorizing ride-hailing passed in May. He and other Democrats wanted it so they could decide whether their decision to trust Uber and Lyft's background check process was appropriate.

Ford said he's asking the authority to develop a more in-depth analysis on the background check options, and may take action in the 2017 legislative session to authorize the full study he wanted in the first place.

Background checks were a major sticking point when lawmakers considered ride-hailing bills this spring.

Taxi companies and Democrats argued potential drivers could use false identities to pass background checks if a biometric system, such as fingerprinting, wasn't used.

State officials and ride-hailing companies say the third-party checks through public records are faster, and say FBI checks sometimes flag arrests but don't tell the final outcome of a criminal investigation. The companies also say they use multiple documents and photo comparisons to guard against people using fake identities.

SALT LAKE CITY — A judge will allow a jury to hear allegations that a Utah truck driver accused of keeping two women as sex slaves in his semitrailer had four previous victims.

U.S. District Judge David Nuffer ruled Friday that there is no legal reason to toss out what the women said about Timothy Jay Vafeades.

The 55-year-old man is facing charges alleging that he kidnapped two women, ground down their teeth and repeatedly sexually assaulted them.

Additional allegations came to light after he was arrested last year. Some cases date back 20 years and prosecutors have said they are too old for more charges, but nevertheless show his intent.

Vafeades has pleaded not guilty to federal charges including kidnapping and transporting for illegal sex.

His attorney, Vanessa Ramos, could not immediately be reached comment.

FLAGSTAFF — A Navajo community south of Monument Valley will be home to the tribe's first utility-scale solar plant capable of powering 7,700 homes on average.

The $64 million plant is on track to be built by the end of 2016, using federal loans and tax credits, said Walter Haase, general manager of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority. Photovoltaic panels will be spread throughout 300 acres in Kayenta.

"It will be our first step in the green economy of the Navajo Nation," Haase said Monday. "When I walk into an office and someone says, 'Don't waste my time, nothing's ever been built,' I can say that's not true."

Companies hoping to build on the reservation often are challenged by the lack of infrastructure, required environmental clearances and consent from anyone holding a permit or lease for use of the land.

Haase said the 27-megawatt project had broad support from the community and had access to an electrical substation and transmission lines that can carry power to homes in the region, which made it economically feasible.

Navajo customers won't see an immediate increase in their bills. That's because the Salt River Project, a major utility in the Phoenix area, has a two-year agreement with the tribal utility to buy power from a natural gas plant the tribe invests in. The Salt River Project also will get credits to help meet its goal of having 20 percent of its portfolio from sustainable energy sources by 2020, said Tom Cooper, director of resource planning.

"This will play a relatively small role, but still, it has a part," he said.

Officials said the financial terms are confidential.

Haase said the tribal utility will work to extend its agreement with the Salt River Project after the two years or find another buyer for the power and renewable energy credits. He was confident that would happen but said it depended partly on talks with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on how power and credits could be transferred once plans for reducing carbon emissions take effect.

The tribe doesn't currently generate any of its own electricity, except for a few small solar facilities. The tribal utility spent $30 million on electricity last year from power plants that generate electricity from sources including water, coal and natural gas, said spokeswoman Deenise Becenti.

The solar plant is expected to create 100 construction jobs and a handful of long-term jobs.

Haase said it's significant for the reservation where more than 50 percent of the workforce is unemployed and where extended families often are supported by a single income.

He said the jobs also will help offset any losses from the coal industry.

"You have to take a step in the right direction," he said. "This is the first step and the first project. We need to keep building up on this and the momentum."

SALT LAKE CITY — A southern Utah county commissioner said he's considering an appeal of a conviction that led to a 10-day prison sentence for his role in an ATV protest ride through a closed canyon, but also said he thought the judge's sentence last week was thoughtful and considerate of the facts and situation.

San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman told The Associated Press on Monday that he was impressed that U.S. District Judge David Nuffer considered the realities of living in rural Utah in making his Friday ruling.

"You could tell he had actually considered the realities of what was taking place down here," Lyman said. "To me, that was very gratifying. I was genuinely moved by his comments."

Lyman called it a relief to finally learn his sentence — seven months after a jury found him guilty of misdemeanor illegal use of ATVs and conspiracy. He was given three years' probation and a $1,000 fine in addition to $96,000 he was already ordered to pay for damage caused by the ride. He was allowed to report for his prison stint at a later date.

"I was glad to come home on Friday," said Lyman, a married father of five who works as an accountant in the small town of Blanding, Utah. "I wasn't sure that would be the case."

Lyman, who has a couple of weeks to decide about an appeal, said he'll depend on his attorney's analysis of legal factors in making a decision about an appeal. His lawyer, Peter Stirba, wasn't immediately available for comment Monday.

If he does decide to challenge the sentence, Lyman may be able to get financial help from conservative backers who consider him a symbol in rural residents struggles against an overreaching federal government.

Several Utah officials have stepped up to support Lyman's stance, including Gov. Gary Herbert. Earlier this year, state lawmakers donated several thousand dollars of their own money to help pay for his legal defense during a public hearing.

One of Lyman's biggest supporters, Utah Republican Rep. Mike Noel, said he's talked with Lyman and that an appeal is very likely. They've got enough private funds lined up to foot the bill, and much of the work has been done already by Stirba as he prepared for sentencing, Noel said.

The cost of appealing a federal case to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals generally ranges between $50,000 and $100,000, said University of Utah law professor Paul Cassell.

The chances of succeeding on appeal, meanwhile, aren't high. Criminal defendants lose their appeals 85 to 90 percent of the time, Cassell said.

Noel recognizes the odds but said it's important to establish precedent that the federal government does not have the authority to close trails that are part of roads constructed under a law from the 1800s known as RS 2477. Noel said he hopes the state of Utah will file a friend-of-the-court brief to support the case.

"It's a long shot, there's no question about it," Noel said. "But I think there's merit in it."

Utah U.S. Attorney John Huber said Friday he was satisfied with the sentence, saying 10 days in jail is enough to send a message that his office will prosecute all violations of federal law — no matter where a person falls on the political spectrum. Huber said he would need to assess an appeal, but said his office would likely defend the conviction and sentence.

The ride took place in May 2014 in an idyllic spot called Recapture Canyon in the Four Corners region, about 300 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. The protest was organized shortly after Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy had a standoff with the BLM over similar issues. Prosecutors said Lyman recruited people for his ride who had taken up arms in that faceoff.

Lyman and his attorney say the ATV ride was a peaceful way to bring attention to frustrations from him and his constituents about years of inaction by the federal government.

Lyman and about 50 others rode their ATVs on a trail that was declared off-limits to vehicles to protect ruins that are nearly 2,000 years old. The decision to block vehicles in the area has long been a source of tension, with Lyman and other calling it improper and unnecessary.

The protests in Utah and Nevada showcased the strain between the federal government and residents in the West over land use. Disagreements over grazing, drilling and protecting rare animals on the range have led several states to push for more control over vast swathes of federally owned land.

Lyman called the Friday sentencing hearing "an amazing day" that gave him hope something positive could come from the situation.

In an impassioned speech at the end of the hearing, Judge Nuffer implored people on all sides of the federal land management debate to ratchet down the emotion and seek sensible solutions. He made clear he wasn't trying to influence a decision about an appeal.

"We agree on 95 percent of this stuff, it's just the 5 percent we tend to focus on and make these big issues out of," Lyman said. "It's not productive. It doesn't achieve what it is that we're hoping to achieve. We all hope for something that is more functional."

___

Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.

NEW YORK — Patricia Elliott, who won a Tony Award on her Broadway musical debut, went on to star opposite David Bowie in "The Elephant Man" and spent 23 years aboard the TV soap opera "One Life to Live," has died. She was 77.

Elliott died of cancer Sunday at her home in Manhattan, according to her niece, Sally Fay.

Elliott, who was born in Gunnison, Colorado, made her Broadway debut as Countess Charlotte Malcolm in the original production of Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" and won the Tony for best featured actress in 1973.

She also was nominated for a Tony in 1977 in the original production of "The Shadow Box." Her other Broadway credits include "A Doll's House," ''A Month of Sundays" and "Hedda Gabler." For "The Elephant Man," she replaced Carole Shelley as Mrs. Kendal and her John Merricks included Philip Anglim and Bowie.

Elliott also played Renee Divine Buchanan on the ABC daytime drama "One Life to Live" from 1988 to 2011. In addition, she was on the "CBS Radio Mystery Theater" series from 1974 through 1982.

She graduated from the University of Colorado in 1960 and worked at the Cleveland Play House, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., among others.

Elliott starred in "Hay Fever" at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles and played Regina Giddens in "The Little Foxes" at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. She had guest roles on such TV shows as "Kojak," ''St. Elsewhere" and "Hill Street Blues."

Besides her niece, Elliott is survived by an aunt, Claudine Walker, and several cousins.

HELENA, Mont. — Montana regularly sells oil and gas leases for its own land, but rarely, if ever, has it sold mineral rights in another state — until now.

The Montana Land Board on Monday approved the $126,334 lease of the state's 8 percent ownership interest in more than 11 acres in McLean County, in the heart of North Dakota's Bakken oil fields. The buyer was Davis Exploration LLC of Stockbridge, Georgia.

Montana acquired the partial mineral rights to that land and four other tracts in western North Dakota from the estate of William Kamps, an outdoor enthusiast from Kalispell. Kamps died in 2011 and left his ownership stake in the North Dakota land to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks on the condition that proceeds from lease sales go to FWP's Hooked on Fishing school program in northwestern Montana.

The other four tracts Kamps left to the state are already under lease. The newly leased tract is at the edge of a developed field near Lake Sakakawea on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, said John Tubbs, director of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

That location, where drilling is imminent, led to the relatively high price for the small acreage, he said.

DNRC officials could not immediately say if the state has ever leased mineral rights outside its own borders.

The North Dakota land was part of Montana's general lease sale held Dec. 1, when 21 tracts were leased for a total of $140,894. All of the other tracts sold for $1.50 an acre, while the North Dakota tracts went for $10,800 per acre.

Kamps started as a real estate agent but worked for more than 20 years for a Kalispell outdoors retailer, according to his obituary. He wrote a weekly column on hunting and fishing for the Daily Inter Lake newspaper. He died at age 62.

The Hooked on Fishing program provides fishing equipment, a curriculum and teacher training to introduce elementary and middle school students to the sport and the state's aquatic resources. The curriculum, which is based on a national program called "Hooked on Fishing — Not on Drugs," is used in nearly 200 classrooms in the state, according to FWP.

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah couple welcomed their fourth child into the world on the side of Interstate 15, coached through delivery problems by a 911 operator.

Dispatcher William Kalaher was new to the job and had only been taking solo calls for two weeks when he answered the call from the Eagle Mountain couple around 1 a.m. Friday, KUTV-TV reported.

"I mean, we joke, 'Oh you're going to get a pregnancy call,'" Kalaher said, "and then it actually happens. You train for it, and then here we are. I really wasn't expecting it. But you've got to be ready for it. It's 911."

Kristin Allred gave birth to her 8.4-pound baby girl, Anne, in the family truck. She said she and her husband were about 6 miles from Intermountain Medical Center when she realized they weren't going to make it.

"My body told me I needed to push, and here she is!" Allred said.

The baby came out with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. She cried and then went limp.

Kristin's husband, Shay, had called 911. Kalaher asked if the baby was breathing — she wasn't — and then told the Allreds what to do.

"I need you to take a string — a shoelace, possibly — and tie it tightly around the umbilical cord about 6 inches from the baby. I need you to do it now and tell me when it's done," Kalaher can be heard telling Shay Allred during the 911 call.

The baby started breathing about 30 seconds later.

"As soon as we tilted her head back, she just gasped her first breath and it was like, ah, thank goodness," Shay Allred said.

The couple said it was comforting having Kalaher on the phone during the birth.

"He definitely helped us stay calm in the fact of helping her breathe, because that was just terrifying," said Kristin Allred.

Paramedics and police arrived about five minutes later. The mother and baby were admitted to the hospital Friday and released Sunday.

Kalaher said the birth was his first major call and the "best case scenario," because the Allreds listened to him and were able to get the baby breathing.

After the call, the first thing Kalaher did was call his mom.

"I was like, 'Mom, I delivered a baby on I-15!'" he said. "And she's like, 'What?'"

___

Information from: KUTV-TV, http://www.kutv.com/

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — A struggling Colorado busboy who returned $3,000 in cash that he found on the floor is getting rewarded with a big tip.

As of Monday, people impressed with Johnny Duckworth's honesty have raised more than $3,800 through gofundme.com.

He found the cash Tuesday at Randy's Southside Diner in Grand Junction and handed it over to his boss, Randy Emmons.

The money was in an envelope behind a booth. There was also a bank ATM slip inside, and the bank was able to return the money to its owner, who gave Duckworth a $300 tip.

Emmons told KKCO-TV that Duckworth rides his bike to work, and his paycheck is garnished for medical bills.

Duckworth says he never thought of keeping the money, saying "I work for a living."

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — A dead yellow-bellied sea snake from southern Mexico was discovered on Bolsa Chica beach during a weekend cleanup effort, only the third one ever reported in California.

Natural History Museum snake curator Greg Pauly says it's only the seventh or eighth one ever seen north of Baja California's Magdalena Bay.

All of the sightings in California have come during El Nino years when oceans are warmer than usual. The last one washed ashore at Silver Strand Beach in Oxnard in October. One other was found in 1972 at San Clemente State Beach.

Pauly told the Orange County Register that one in a year is incredible but two is mind-blowing.

The snakes are venomous but not dangerous to humans because they can't open their jaws very wide.

PENDLETON, Ore. — The people of Pilot Rock want to keep their own police department.

But the city of about 1,500 has been without a police chief since the last one quit 11 months ago. City council in November fired officer Gary Thompson for lying. The city's other officer is completing the basic police course at the Oregon Public Safety Academy, Salem. If he graduates, he will have months of field training ahead of him before the state certifies him as an officer.

The hurdles of operating a police department in rural Oregon led Weston in 2014 and Athena at the start of 2015 to shut down their departments and contract with the Umatilla County Sheriff's Office for services. Pilot Rock residents spoke out against such a contract last week at a city council session to discuss the police situation.

Pendleton police Chief Stuart Roberts said much of this is a consequence of what's happening nationally, and the situation may not improve anytime soon. A glut of people entered law enforcement from the 1970s through the early 1990s, he said, and now they are retiring and "leaving this big void."

Roberts said when he first took the Pendleton chief job 13 years ago he would receive a hundred applications for every opening. Last month, he said, 30 people applied for an open job. And only four of those passed the physical requirements.

Pilot Rock Mayor Virginia Carnes and Roberts said the problem becomes magnified for small rural communities. They tend to be more isolated, so relying on another agency can be tough. Enterprise in Wallowa County, for example, is in much the same boat as Pilot Rock, but there is no other nearby department to lend a hand.

Pilot Rock's police pay is competitive with similar cities, offering $60,000-$69,000 a year for a police chief. But that's about what Pendleton pays new for a new officer, and tens of thousands less than what Hermiston, Pendleton or Milton-Freewater pay their top cop.

Police departments as a whole are expensive. Pilot Rock's general fund is almost $654,000. Some $338,000 of that pays for the three-person police department.

That kind of price tag was one factor that led Weston to contract with the sheriff's office. Weston, population about 670, budgeted about $185,000 for its two-officer department and now pays about $115,000 per fiscal year to the sheriff's office to provide 40 hours of police work per week.

Roberts said lack of professional development is another factor affecting small departments. A three-officer department, for example, usually cannot afford the cost or the temporary loss of sending an officer to a week of training. And in a field that changes with new legislation and court rulings, he said, that can be problematic.

Roberts is a proponent of police department accreditation as a means to meet standards in an industry that lacks state or federal requirements. Pendleton achieved accreditation in 2009 from the Oregon Accreditation Alliance. Roberts said getting there required building a sense of ownership throughout the department, from buy-in with police union members to having subordinates take charge of the fleet, training and more.

"Look, if you can't do this," Roberts said, "you should be out of the police business and contract for services."

But contracting for police services is a hangup for some Pilot Rock residents, who questioned if they would get their money's worth. Councilor James Hinkle said he emailed friends in Athena to get their input on that city's switch from its own force to the sheriff's office, which also employees Athena Mayor John Shafer as a communications sergeant.

One of Hinkle's friends said the city gave up local control with the contract, while two others said the deal has been helpful to Athena, with better police coverage and response times.

Roberts said he understands the concerns. A police department gives small cities a sense of identity and feeling of security. And a local government contracting for services needs to make sure the contract fits their needs.

Pilot Rock for now is paying $4,000 a month to Pendleton police for Cpl. Ryan Lehnert to handle police duties. Roberts told residents at the meeting that he is committed to helping their city, but doesn't know how much longer his department can sustain the deal.

The solution could come in a hybrid of the usual police contract and what Pendleton provides now.

Roberts said he has done some penciling out since the meeting, and it could be possible for Pilot Rock to pay Pendleton to provide a full-time police administrator. Pilot Rock, though, would still hire its own two officers.

Pilot Rock might not see any cost savings in that plan, but it would get a qualified department head and its own full-time officers.

Carnes said Pilot Rock plans to continuing working to hire a chief, but if that does not work the council will again take another look at the situation.

YAKIMA, Wash. — A Washington survey shows that principals across the state are in "crisis mode" because of a shortage of substitute and full-time teachers.

The Yakima Herald reports that the Officer of Superintendent of Public Instruction found that 58 percent of elementary school principals, 50 percent of middle school principals and 45 percent of high school principals say they're in crisis trying to find substitutes.

Some school administrators end up having to cover for classes for hours or even full days. In the state survey, 74 percent of principals reported personally doing so.

Many school districts have bumped up substitute pay or hired emergency substitutes who aren't fully qualified as a last resort.

Unfilled teaching positions are also abundant. In the OSPI survey, 46 percent of principals from rural schools say they have vacant positions.

SEATTLE — Seattle officials are planning more sweeps to clear out homeless encampments throughout the city this winter.

The Seattle Times reports that officials say they will spend extra money to move homeless people indoors. Deputy director of Seattle's Human Services Department says the emergency funds are paying for 100 additional shelter beds and more aid for people living in unauthorized encampments.

But some say the city's homeless population is too large to ensure help for everyone who gets cleared from the camps.

The number of sweeps of unauthorized campsites in Seattle has grown to 527 so far this year, up from 80 in 2012. Officials attribute the increase to better options for people to report camps and fewer places to set up camp amid construction.