Tom Banse, Author at Northwest Public Broadcasting

Nearly 4,500 Older Brick Buildings In Washington Could Be Dangerous In Quake, New Report Says

By Tom Banse March 10, 2019

Damage from fallen bricks in Seattle's Pioneer Square district after the 2001 Nisqually Quake. CREDIT: KEVIN GALVIN / FEMA NEWS

The State of Washington has completed its first statewide inventory of buildings prone to crumble or collapse in an earthquake. The bottom line: There are an awful lot of unreinforced, old brick or stone buildings that could be dangerous — a similar number to estimates in Oregon.Read More

Incentives For Electric Car Buyers? Yes In Oregon, Maybe In Washington

By Tom Banse March 7, 2019

Electric cars parked at the Washington State Capitol. CREDIT: TOM BANSE / N3

Democrats in the Washington Legislature want to revive a tax break for buyers of electric cars, which critics view as wasteful and unnecessary. Meanwhile, a publicly-financed rebate for battery-powered cars in Oregon is finding thousands of takers.Read More

Cattle Grazing Gives Way To Big Solar Farm Leases In Central Washington

By Tom Banse March 6, 2019

The new Avangrid Renewables solar farm in Klickitat County, Washington, will rise across the Columbia River from the smaller Wy'East Solar Project, shown here in Sherman County, Oregon. CREDIT: AVANGRID RENEWABLES

A Portland-based energy developer has signed property leases for a big solar farm in Klickitat County near the Columbia River. When completed, the solar project will be the largest in Washington.Read More

Clean Electricity Rule To Phase Out Fossil Fuel Plants Moves Closer To Passage In Washington

By Tom Banse March 4, 2019

Colstrip power plant in Montana - Flicker-Creative Commons

Electric utilities in Washington would have to phase out all coal power, and eventually, natural gas-fired generation under a measure passed by the state Senate last week. The 100 percent clean electricity mandate is a priority of Gov. Jay Inslee and environmental groups, but Republican critics decried it as a big rate increase in the making.Read More

Bricks Could Rain Down On Your Head During The Next Major Quake. These Proposals Want To Fix That

By Tom Banse February 22, 2019

Brick or unreinforced concrete buildings could crumble in an earthquake, like this one in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2011. CREDIT: SCHWEDE66 VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS - TINYURL.COM/YCFSUL7Z

Thousands of old brick, stone and concrete buildings in the Pacific Northwest could crumble in the next strong earthquake. To face that challenge, measures pending in the Oregon and Washington legislatures would set up grant programs to help owners of dangerous buildings make seismic safety upgrades.Read More

There Were Few Major Pacific Northwest Earthquakes Over The Past Decade. What Does That Mean?

By Tom Banse February 16, 2019

File photo. The joke around the PNSN office is that recently departed director John Vidale (left) did a good job suppressing earthquakes for the past decade. TOM BANSE / N3

Most people in the Pacific Northwest know we live in earthquake country. A new analysis published this week, however, notes that major quakes in the region have gone on a puzzling hiatus over the last decade.Read More

Digital License Plates May Be Coming Soon To A Road Near You

By Tom Banse February 14, 2019

If someone steals a car with a digital license plate, the tag can be remotely changed to say that. CREDIT: REVIVER AUTO

If a custom license plate or a college-themed plate isn't good enough for your car, a startup has the latest in automotive accessories: a digital license plate.Read More

Columbia River Art Installation At The Dalles Put On Hold By Yakama Nation Opposition

By Tom Banse February 9, 2019

Artist Maya Lin's design for Celilo Park included an elevated arc that would end at the edge of the now-flooded historic falls on the Columbia River. CREDIT: MAYA LIN STUDIO

A public art project proposed to be built beside the now-inundated great falls of the Columbia River has been put on indefinite hold by its sponsor. The installation was planned for Celilo Falls — east of The Dalles, Oregon — as the sixth and final outdoor artwork in a series by celebrated designer Maya Lin along the Columbia and Snake rivers.Read More

Technology Is Taking On Addiction. Now There Are Smartphone Apps To Help Prevent Relapse

By Tom Banse February 7, 2019

Daniela Tudor and Murphy Jensen co-founded WeConnect Health in Seattle, which developed an addiction recovery app. TOM BANSE / N3

Every week, tens of thousands of Americans complete intensive drug and alcohol rehab programs. The next months, however, are fraught with risk of relapse. A treatment counselor or supporter can't monitor you around the clock. But now your always-on smartphone can watch you, coach you, alert your mom and even give rewards.Read More

Oregon’s Grant County Keeps Its United Nations Ban. Leaders Have Other Ideas Against Big Government

By Tom Banse February 2, 2019

Former Grant County Supervisor Mark Webb has challenged the anti-United Nations and other anti-big government initiatives. CREDIT: TOM BANSE/N3

In 2002, Grant County, Oregon banned the United Nations by citizen initiative. The referendum wasn't close: 58 percent of voters said to keep the United Nations out of Eastern Oregon. The sponsors asserted the United Nations sought to impose "world taxation," take away guns and private property and bring about "one world controlled education."Read More

Proposal To Replace Statues Of Northwest Pioneer Marcus Whitman Stokes Backlash In Olympia

By Tom Banse January 30, 2019

The legacy of Marcus Whitmas and his missionary efforts in the 19th century are under increasing scrutiny, which Washington state lamakers recently voting to replace his statue in the U.S. Capitol with one of Native American rights leader Billy Frank Jr. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3

A proposal to remove the larger-than-life statues of pioneer missionary Marcus Whitman from the Washington state capitol and the U.S. Capitol drew angry responses during an initial legislative hearing in Olympia.Read More

Yay Or Nay On Permanent Daylight Saving Time? You May Get To Vote On It

By Tom Banse January 30, 2019

File photo. A loosely coordinated effort is gaining steam to get all West Coast states to synchronize their clocks to year-round daylight saving time. CREDIT: HENRIQUE SIMPLICIO / FLICKR PHOTO HTTPS://FLIC.KR/P/F1JXBL

Oregon and Washington voters could get a say at the next general election on whether to adopt daylight saving time year-round — and thereby abolish the twice-yearly clock changes.Read More

A Farm-To-Bottle Movement Takes Off In The Northwest, Searching For The ‘Taste Of Here’

By Tom Banse January 28, 2019

Sandstone Distillery owner John Bourdon wants his liquor to display the terroir of the grains it was made from. TOM BANSE / N3

Some Northwest distillers, brewers, farmers and university researchers are exploring if there is a way to highlight and sell the taste of the local "terroir."Read More

Northwest Officials, Companies Scramble To Help Thousands Of Federal Workers Impacted By Shutdown

By Tom Banse January 24, 2019

TSA screeners and air traffic controllers called for an end to the partial government shutdown during a rally outside Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Tuesday. CREDIT: CASEY MARTIN / KUOW

More public and private agencies are stepping up to ease the financial strain on federal workers affected by the partial government shutdown. Many of those workers will miss their second paycheck Friday.Read More

Washington May Rope In Ranchers To Help With Wildfires — As Oregon And Idaho Already Do

By Tom Banse January 18, 2019

A water tender for fighting wildfires is parked next to rancher Charlie Lyon’s barn near Mountain Home, Idaho. CREDIT: JESSICA ROBINSON/N3

Washington may soon copy a rural wildfire fighting strategy that Oregon, Idaho and Nevada already employ: letting private ranchers attack range fires before the blazes get big.Read More

Honey, Please Stop At The Grocery To Pick Up Some Bread, Milk And… Bitcoin?

By Tom Banse January 17, 2019

You can now buy bitcoin at select Coinstar kiosks in Washington and two other states, including at this one in Tumwater, Washington. CREDIT: TOM BANSE / NORTHWEST NEWS NETWORK

West Coasters may soon be able to pick up bread, milk and, yes, bitcoin, at their local supermarket. Read More

Would You Want To Be Composted After You Die? Washington Lawmakers Consider Making It Legal

By Tom Banse January 16, 2019

Artist's rendering of a future flagship Recompose facility in Seattle. CREDIT: MOLT STUDIOS VIA RECOMPOSE

A bipartisan effort to make Washington the first state to legalize human composting faced its first test in front of lawmakers on Tuesday — and the idea seemed to go over relatively well. Read More

State Parks Workers To Clean Overflowing Garbage, Restrooms On Federal Land During Shutdown

By Tom Banse January 10, 2019

Trash was piling up at the Santiam Sno-Park in the Willamette National Forest near Sisters, Oregon, on Jan. 2, 2019. CREDIT: CHRIS LEHMAN / KLCC

Some Oregon State Parks workers are now tending to federal recreation lands as the partial U.S. government shutdown continues with no end in sight. People are still visiting trailheads, day-use parking lots and boat ramps on federal lands, but U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management rangers aren't on duty. Read More

Affected By The December 911 Outage? Washington’s Attorney General Wants To Know

By Tom Banse January 8, 2019

Washington state's attorney general wants to know if emergency response was delayed to anyone during a nearly statewide 911 outage late last month. The accounts of victims, if there are any, could figure into a penalty against call network manager CenturyLink.Read More

Washington State Ferries Unveils Plan For Younger, Greener (And A Bit Larger) Fleet By 2040

By Tom Banse January 7, 2019

File photo. MV Puyallup approaches Pier 52 in Seattle. CREDIT: TOM BANSE/N3

Washington State Ferries has come up with a plan to replace more than half of its fleet with new, electric-powered ferries. But the new plan faces hurdles from a cost standpoint and limited shipyard capacity.Read More

Following Crater Lake, Mount Rainier National Park Shutters Entrances Due To Government Shutdown

By Tom Banse January 6, 2019

Deep snow surrounds the closed Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise in Mount Rainier National Park in this webcam view Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019. CREDIT: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

When the government shutdown began on December 22, National Park Service higher-ups aspired to maintain access to Western parks—to the extent it was possible with a skeleton staff. But that quickly became untenable at Crater Lake National Park due to lack of snow plowing and sewer maintenance.Read More

Local Impacts From Partial Government Shutdown Shouldn’t Be Too Bad — For Now

By Tom Banse December 22, 2018

File photo. Mount Rainier National Park was closed for 16 days in October 2013 during a government shutdown. TOM BANSE / NORTHWEST NEWS NETWORK

National parks would be affected. The contingency plan for the National Park Service says to stop plowing roads. Given the current wintry weather, that would close Crater Lake and Mount Rainier National Parks in short order. Fort Clatsop would be likely to close too.Read More

Changing Climate, Water Flows Impact Bald Eagles’ Feasts On The Skagit River

By Tom Banse December 20, 2018

A bald eagle looks for its next meal along the Skagit River. Eagles converge there in great numbers every winter. CREDIT: JASON RANSOM/ NPS 2017

From mid-December to February, hundreds upon hundreds of bald eagles flock to the Skagit River in northwest Washington to feast on spawning salmon. It's one of the biggest seasonal concentrations of eagles in the Pacific Northwest, but this eagle watching hot spot is being affected by changing cycles of nature.Read More

Another Amtrak Cascades Train Derailed Almost Exactly One Year After I-5 Wreck, No Injuries

By Tom Banse December 18, 2018

No passengers were injured Monday when an Amtrak Cascades train derailed while slowly backing into the station in Vancouver, Canada. CREDIT: FILE PHOTO BY ERICVNTR / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS TINYURL.COM/Y9ULXW5W

An Amtrak Cascades train arriving in Vancouver, B.C., from Seattle derailed at low speed Monday. Nobody was hurt, but the timing was unfortunate: The derailment occurred almost exactly one year after last December's deadly derailment south of Tacoma, which killed three people and injured dozens more. Read More

Survivors Still Healing, Seeking Accountability One Year After Deadly Amtrak Derailment Over I-5

By Tom Banse December 14, 2018

Cars from an Amtrak train lie spilled onto Interstate 5 below alongside smashed vehicles as some train cars remain on the tracks in DuPont, Washington. CREDIT: ELAINE THOMPSON/AP

It's been almost one year since an Amtrak Cascades train derailed near DuPont, Washington. The crash killed three passengers and injured more than 60, including drivers on adjacent Interstate 5. One year later, some of the seriously injured are still healing. The courts are just beginning to deal with the lawsuits stemming from the crash. Read More

Arson And Hate Crime Suspected In Latest Attack On Jehovah’s Witnesses Near Olympia

By Tom Banse December 7, 2018

A highly suspicious early morning fire on Dec. 7, 2018 destroyed the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Lacey, Washington. TOM BANSE / NW NEWS NETWORK

A suspicious fire early Friday morning destroyed the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Lacey, Washington. If confirmed as arson, this would be the sixth attack on the faith in Thurston County this year.Read More

Porcupines And Hares Beware! Weasel-Like Fishers Return To North Cascades

By Tom Banse December 7, 2018

Fishers are among the lesser known carnivores native to Pacific Northwest forests. CREDIT: JOHN JACOBSON / WDFW, FILE PHOTO.

An elusive carnivore in the weasel family is roaming free in Washington’s North Cascades for the first time in at least 70 years.Read More

Here A Wolf, There A Wolf, Everywhere A Wolf, Wolf. Public Sightings Abound In The Region

By Tom Banse December 4, 2018

Two wolves from the newly discovered Middle Fork Pack on U.S. Forest Service land in the Imnaha WMU in Wallowa County in December 2017. CREDIT: ODWF 2017

An online map of wolf sightings from the public includes unconfirmed reports of wandering wolves from the Idaho border to the Pacific beaches, not to mention inside major cities such as Seattle and Tacoma.Read More

Northwest Entrepreneurs Cheer On Provision To Legalize Hemp In Farm Bill

By Tom Banse December 3, 2018

A hemp field during harvest this November on the Colville Indian Reservation. CREDIT HEMP NORTHWEST

A new five-year federal Farm Bill that could get a vote from the House and Senate next week contains a provision to fully legalize hemp production in the U.S. Northwest hemp entrepreneurs who have been operating under restrictive state laws are excited by the possibility.Read More

A Yakama Woman’s Promise To Her Elders Sheds Light On A Forgotten Northwest War

By Tom Banse November 29, 2018

Emily Washines and Glen Hamilton met in person for the first time earlier this fall at Fort Simcoe on the Yakama Nation reservation. CREDIT: LAY CONN / KCTS-9

Emily Washines was 18 years old when she was crowned Miss National Congress of American Indians. Yakama tribal councilmembers and elders sung a warrior song for her and then extracted a promise. Tribal leaders had something in mind. They wanted Washines to remember a message about a little-known war that wracked the Northwest in the 1850s. Read More

Dread The Dark? West Coast Lawmakers Say It’s Time To Stop The Clock ‘Fall Back’ Routine

By Tom Banse November 20, 2018

Changing the clock for the first Daylight Saving Time in 1918. CREDIT: U.S. SENATE HISTORICAL OFFICE

According to some Oregon and Washington legislators, it's high time to get rid of the twice-yearly ritual of changing clocks. This past month, 60 percent of California voters approved Proposition 7, a ballot proposition to make daylight saving time permanent. Read More

China-Based Cryptocurrency Firm Establishes Foothold In Central Washington

By Tom Banse November 19, 2018

Dignitaries cut the ribbon at the grand opening of Bitmain's new East Wenatchee bitcoin mine -- in other words, a data center that earns cryptocurrency. CREDIT: TOM BANSE

One of the biggest players in the global cryptocurrency space has established a foothold in the Pacific Northwest. China-based Bitmain Technologies held a ribbon cutting for a $20 million data center near the Wenatchee airport on Friday. A celebratory mood ran through the grand opening despite headwinds besetting the virtual currency sector.Read More

Officials Worry ‘World’s Smallest Harbor’ In Depoe Bay Could Shrivel Unless Dredged

By Tom Banse November 17, 2018

City leaders in Depoe Bay are anxiously awaiting word if silt accumulating at the south side (image right) of their harbor will be dredged in 2019. CREDIT: CITY OF DEPOE BAY

If you've traveled the central Oregon coast, you might remember the signs marking Depoe Bay's claim to fame: the "World's Smallest Harbor." But now that harbor is getting even smaller because of accumulating silt. City officials are on tenterhooks because of the problem. Silt buildup renders the fuel dock inaccessible at low tide.Read More

Otter Fans Float Plan To Bring Sea Otters Back To Oregon Coast

By Tom Banse November 14, 2018

Presently, the only places to see sea otters in Oregon are at the Oregon Zoo and the Oregon Coast Aquarium, where this guy lives. CREDIT: TOM BANSE

It's been more than a century since sea otters were hunted to near extinction along the U.S. West Coast. The cute animals were successfully reintroduced along the Washington, British Columbia and California coasts, but an attempt to bring them back to Oregon in the early 1970s failed. Now a new nonprofit has formed to try again.Read More

In Eastern Oregon, Pendleton Has Become A Drone-Testing Hub, With Hopes For More

By Tom Banse November 12, 2018

The latest variant of the Cubic Ares unmanned reconnaissance drone during flight testing at Pendleton on October 28. CREDIT: CUBIC CORP.

A dream to make rural Pendleton, Oregon into a drone testing mecca is becoming very real. It's so real, in fact, that the city-owned airport has run out of hangar space to rent to global aerospace companies. Now, the Pendleton airport is seeking millions more in public funding to help expand.Read More

Testing Of Ancient Pipes Indicates Tobacco Was Around In Northwest 1,200+ Years Ago

By Tom Banse October 30, 2018

Washington State University researchers Shannon Tushingham and David Gang with some of the ancient pipes on which they found nicotine residues. CREDIT:BOB HUBNER

Tests performed at Washington State University have found that people smoked tobacco in the Pacific Northwest going back more than a thousand years ago.Read More

U.S. Coast Guard Will Help Researchers Track Whales Along The West Coast

By Tom Banse October 25, 2018

Responders cut Dungeness crab fishing gear off this humpback whale in Monterey Bay in 2016. SCOTT BENSON / NOAA FISHERIES

The Oregon crab industry is putting up money to launch a new research study on where whales swim and feed along the Pacific Coast. The study stems from growing concern West Coast-wide about whales getting tangled in fishing gear.Read More

Long-range Forecast Predicts Mild Northwest Winter

By Tom Banse October 23, 2018

With the Northwest on the verge of a weak El Nino, snow levels could run higher than average by midwinter. CREDIT: WENDY POLZIN, 2012

If the long-range forecast from the National Weather Service is right, we have a mild winter ahead of us.Read More

To Prevent Devastating Wildfires, Old Adversaries Are Finding Ways To Work Together

By Tom Banse October 22, 2018

Grayback Forestry crew boss Bob Larkin at work on a thinning project in the Malheur National Forest. CREDIT: TOM BANSE

Nothing is simple when it comes to federal lands management. But in order to thin fire-prone forests — and to break legal and ideological gridlock — national forests in the Pacific Northwest are supporting collaborations with formerly adversarial interests.Read More

Catch The Cost Lift: Up And Down ‘Airline Pricing’ Coming To Northwest Ski Areas

By Tom Banse October 17, 2018

Mt Hood Meadows chair lift with Mt Hood in background

The cost of lift tickets at Mt. Hood Meadows in Oregon will rise and fall daily based on demand. What the ski industry calls "dynamic pricing" was pioneered by major resorts in Colorado, Utah and California. It has been slow to spread to the Northwest.Read More

Reunification 101: Some Northwest Schools Moving Beyond Emergency Drills And Toward Aftermath

By Tom Banse October 15, 2018

Teacher Jeremy Thomas holds up an all-accounted-for sign after the school evacuation. CREDIT: TOM BANSE / N3

It's a sad fact of life that K-12 students must practice for calamities such as earthquakes, fires, lockdowns or active shooters. Now a few public schools in the region are roping in parents and guardians to practice for the aftermath.Read More

High-Tech Archaeology Helps Uncover Stories Of Long-Lost Gold Miners

By Tom Banse October 11, 2018

Southern Oregon University archaeologist Chelsea Rose with remnants of a five-part gold pan found during a dig this summer. CREDIT SOUTHERN OREGON UNIV. LABORATORY OF ANTHROPOLOGY

By 1885, the small town of John Day had one of the biggest Chinatowns in the U.S. after San Francisco, Portland and Tacoma. Now there's just one solitary building left of what might have been 100 structures at the town's peak.Read More

Your Word Of The Day Is ‘Torrefaction.’ First-Of-Its Kind Plant To Open In Eastern Oregon

By Tom Banse October 7, 2018

Biomass Operations Specialist John Rowell stands next to a boiler that awaits installation pending permits. TOM BANSE / NW NEWS NETWORK

Construction begins soon in eastern Oregon for the first commercial-scale "torrefaction" facility in the country. If you don't know what that word means, you're in good company. But the process itself isn't all that exotic. Think of how your coffee beans get crispy.Read More

Farm Bill Expiration Leaves Northwest Researchers And Farmers On Edge

By Tom Banse October 2, 2018

Organic Seed Alliance Program Director Micaela Colley at the nonprofit's research farm in Chimacum, Washington. CREDIT: TOM BANSE / NW NEWS NETWORK

The U.S. House and Senate have passed differing versions of the massive farm bill and are having trouble agreeing on a compromise. Usually what happens in this situation is Congress passes a short-term extension to keep programs going, but that didn't happen this time. Read More

Boy Scout ‘Boot Camp’ For Girls Near Olympia Paves Trail For Coed Scouting

By Tom Banse October 1, 2018

Amy Miseli, here teaching map and compass skills to Cub Scouts, plans to attend the BSA Boot Camp at Camp Thunderbird. Courtesy of Amanda Lafferty

A western Washington chapter of the Boy Scouts is preparing to welcome girls to scouting with a "boot camp" just for teenage girls this coming weekend, Oct. 5-7. It’s a first-of-its-kind event hosted by the Pacific Harbors Council.Read More

Nearly 100 Olympic Mountain Goats Moved To North Cascades; 11 Dead After First Relocation

By Tom Banse September 28, 2018

A young male mountain goat rested in its crate shortly before release Wednesday. CREDIT: TOM BANSE / NW NEWS NETWORK

The eye-catching scenes of mountain goats flying through the air under helicopters, riding in refrigerated trucks and taking ferries to new homes are done for the year. Roundups and relocations of non-native Olympic National Park goats will resume next year.Read More

Trade War With China Yields Cancelled Orders For Northwest Exports

By Tom Banse September 27, 2018

File photo of cherries - Northwest Cherry Growers

Retaliatory tariffs levied by China on U.S. goods are taking a toll on Pacific Northwest farm exports. Details about cancelled orders came out this week at a state Senate committee hearing in Seattle.Read More

New (But Unfinished) I-90 Animal Crossings Already Getting Use From Furry Travelers

By Tom Banse September 25, 2018

View from ground level Monday of the new wildlife-only overcrossing on I-90 east of Snoqualmie Pass. CREDIT: WSDOT

Deer have already begun using an unfinished wildlife bridge over Interstate 90 east of Snoqualmie Pass. The Washington State Department of Transportation on Monday celebrated the opening of a section of widened freeway there. The new overcrossing is expected to reduce frightening animal-vehicle collisions.Read More

Got Your Ticket To Fly? Hackers May Have Your Alaska Or Delta Miles To Sell On Dark Web

By Tom Banse September 21, 2018

San Francisco airport at night. CREDIT: ANDREW CHOY/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Hackers are using various forms of digital skullduggery to steal frequent flyer miles from customers of Delta, Alaska and other airlines. The thieves then resell the miles on the dark web.Read More

Higher Electric Rates May End Central Washington Bitcoin Rush

By Tom Banse September 19, 2018

File photo. Chelan County Public Utility District managers want to shut down unauthorized bitcoin operations. CREDIT: XIANGFU/WIKIMEDIA

In the last few years, rock-bottom electricity rates have attracted bitcoin miners and other virtual currency entrepreneurs to central Washington state. But in Chelan and Grant counties, that lure may be on the wane because of looming power price hikes.Read More

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