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Northwest News

On Super Tuesday, Don’t Expect Quick Election Results From Western States

By NPR News March 2, 2020

A voter prepares her ballot during early voting for the California presidential primary election at a new LA County "Mobile Vote Center" outside Universal Studios Hollywood on Thursday. Large numbers of Californians vote early and by mail, which can slow election night vote counting. CREDIT: Mario Tama/Getty Images

On Super Tuesday, 14 states including California, Colorado and Utah will all cast ballots. The western states increasingly rely on mail-in ballots that often take longer to count. More than 60% of California voters cast absentee ballots in 2018 and it took weeks to call some races in California and Arizona that year.Read More

UPDATE: At Least 6 People In Puget Sound Region Have Died From COVID-19 Coronavirus

By NWPB News March 1, 2020

EvergreenHealth Medical Center in Kirkland, Washington, where a person died of COVID-19. State health officials announced the death Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, marking the first such reported death in the U.S. CREDIT: Elaine Thompson/AP

A patient in King County who tested positive for coronavirus has died, according to state and local public health officials. It's believed to be the first coronavirus death in the U.S. The news prompted Gov. Jay Inslee to declare a state of emergency. Read More

With An Election On The Horizon, Older Adults Get Help Spotting Fake News

By NPR News March 1, 2020

Marlene Cianci looks at a meme about the census. The workshop helps seniors parse the source of an article, fact-check a claim online and discern propaganda from reputable sources. Sam Gringlas/NPR

Middle and high schools have been adding courses about how to spot fake news. Older adults also struggle to sort disinformation online, but they have fewer resources tackling the problem. Read More

Alaska Feels The Brunt As Investors Promise Retreat On Fossil Fuels

By NPR News March 1, 2020

JPMorgan Chase is the latest investor to say it won't finance drilling in Alaska's Arctic. Some welcome the move, but there's also concern in a state that depends heavily on oil revenue. Read More

Draft Federal Plan Recommends Keeping Lower Snake River Dams In Place

By Courtney Flatt February 28, 2020

The Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River. CREDIT: BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and Bonneville Power Administration laid out a range of six alternatives in a draft environmental impact statement. The most controversial measure would have been to remove or alter the four Lower Snake River dams.Read More

Before Making Military History, Olivia Hooker Witnessed One Of History’s Worst Race Riots

By NPR News February 28, 2020

In her StoryCorps interview in September 2018, Olivia Hooker talked about her experience as the first black woman to enter the Coast Guard. CREDIT: Afi Yellow-Duke/StoryCorps

Olivia Hooker advocated for the military to open its doors to women of color. But even after policies started to change, "nobody seemed to be joining," she said. So she decided to join herself.Read More

Lewis County Pushback Leads Washington Lawmakers To Consider Bottling Plant Restrictions

By Tom Banse February 27, 2020

Craig Jasmer co-founded the Lewis County Water Alliance to fight a proposed water bottling plant near Randle, Washington. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3

Uproar in Lewis County has pushed the Washington Legislature to the verge of closing the tap for water permits for new water bottling plants statewide. Business groups are mounting an 11th-hour push to stop what they consider to be an overreaction in Olympia that they say could cost jobs and unfairly tarnishes a healthy product.Read More

Study: Evidence Does Not Support Hunting As A Way To Control Cougar Population

By Erin Ross February 27, 2020

Problem encounters with cougars have increased in Oregon's Willamette Valley. CREDIT: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Most Western states rely on hunters to keep cougar numbers in check. It makes a sort of logical sense: if cougar populations are high, attacks on elk, bighorn sheep and deer should be high. So should attacks on livestock and humans. But a new study casts doubt on the effectiveness of sport hunting as a means of predator control.Read More

Washington Lawmakers Ban ‘LGBTQ Panic’ Defense Based On Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation

By NWPB News February 26, 2020

Washington State Capitol CREDIT: BRIANHE / WIKIMEDIA

Washington has joined a growing coalition of states that are banning what are known as "LGBTQ panic" criminal defenses. Advocates say these defenses have resulted in reduced or shortened sentences in cases of violence against LGBTQ people. Now, both houses of the state Legislature have passed a bill that prohibits the use of those defenses. Read More

From Allergies To Declining Business, Warming Winters Affect Everyday Life

By NPR News February 26, 2020

Thomas Germanson sails a radio-controlled model yacht in early December in Madison, Wis. Thomas Germanson

For many parts of the United States this winter has been one of the warmest on record. People around the country are feeling the effects of it.Read More

Idaho Attorney General Says Proposed Transgender Athlete Ban Could Be Unconstitutional

By NWPB News February 25, 2020

The Idaho state flags hangs in the rotunda of the statehouse in Boise

The Idaho Attorney General’s office says a bill that would ban transgender women from competing on sports teams that align with their gender identity could be “constitutionally problematic” and “likely vulnerable to a court challenge.”Read More

Head Of Seattle Catholic School Placed On Leave Amid Protests Following Ouster Of Gay Teachers

By NWPB News February 25, 2020

Nicolas Velasquez, 17, holds a rainbow flag during a walkout to protest the departure of two LGBT educators on Tuesday, February 18, 2020, at Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien. "I don't think that it's okay that this is happening now," Velasquez said. "I want to be the change that I want to see."

Kennedy Catholic High School President Mike Prato was placed on leave following the "forced" resignations of two teachers who were open with administrators about their same-sex engagements. The Archdiocese of Seattle sent out a memo Tuesday afternoon announcing Prato's leave.Read More

The Curious Case Of A Big Company (Boeing) That Wants To Give Up A Tax Break

By Tom Banse February 25, 2020

The Boeing Company is bringing an unusual request to state lawmakers in Olympia: please take away our airplane manufacturing tax break. The Washington Legislature seems likely to oblige, but possibly will add some strings to the deal.Read More

In Oregon, It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again As Republicans Stage Legislative Walkout — Just Like 2019

By Dirk VanderHart February 24, 2020

Democratic members of the Oregon Senate stand in the mostly empty Senate chambers at the Oregon Capitol in Salem, Ore., on Thursday, June 27, 2019. On the eighth day of a walkout by Republican senators, Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney adjourned the session shortly after it began due lacking the required number of senators to meet a quorum.

Cap and trade is on its way to the Senate floor in Oregon again — and Republicans are heading for the exits. They staged a similar protest last year — twice.Read More

Tugboat Carrying Diesel Fuel Sinks In Columbia River Near Umatilla Above McNary Dam

By Monica Samayoa February 24, 2020

Google Maps - Oregon Tugboat diesel spill in Columbia River - Twitter image

Crews from multiple state agencies responded Monday to reports of a 38-foot tugboat that has sunken in the Columbia River. According to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the tugboat reportedly has 750 gallons of diesel on board.Read More

An Airbnb For Cropland Hits A Snag, As Farmers Raise Data Privacy Concerns

By NPR News February 24, 2020

A mix of barley, peas and flax grows in a field at Casey Bailey's farm near Fort Benton, Mont. Bailey sells this crop to Montana dairy farmer Nate Brown, who has been feeding it to his goats.

American farmers spend about $32 billion each year to rent land, and Tillable CEO Corbett Kull thinks his company could be farmland's AirBnB or Zillow. "This is one of the beauties of digital marketplaces, where you can bring two parties together that otherwise might never meet," he says.Read More

Scientists Gather To Study Risks Of Microplastic Pollution In Northwest Waters

By NWPB News February 24, 2020

Microplastic fibers, like this one from an Oregon river, are less than 5mm and often show up in vivid color under the microscope. CREDIT: TODD SONFLIETH / OPB

This week, a group of five-dozen microplastics researchers from major universities, government agencies, tribes, aquariums, environmental groups and even water sanitation districts across the U.S. West is gathering in Bremerton, Washington, to tackle the issue.Read More

BLM Director Defends Agency’s Controversial Move From D.C. To Western U.S.

By NPR News February 22, 2020

Acting BLM Director William Perry Pendley stands in the mostly empty suite of offices at the agency's new planned headquarters in Grand Junction, Colo. Kirk Siegler/NPR

The Bureau of Land Management decides who gets to do what on some 250 million acres of public land in the country, or to put it another way roughly one-tenth of all the land in the U.S. Relocating its headquarters to the West, where most of its actual land is, has been floated for years. But now the Trump administration is actually making it happen.Read More

Federal Watchdog Criticizes Energy Department For Hanford Cleanup, Tunnel Collapse

By Courtney Flatt February 21, 2020

A new sign graces the entrance onto the Hanford site near Richland, Washington. CREDIT: ANNA KING

The report from the independent Government Accountability Office says the U.S. Department of Energy has not found the root causes of the partial collapse of the waste-storage tunnel, and that failures in DOE’s investigation, inspections and maintenance of other aging and contaminated facilities is concerning.Read More

Judge: Tim Eyman Concealed More Than $750K In Campaign Contributions For Ballot Measures

By Austin Jenkins February 21, 2020

In November, anti-tax activist Tim Eyman announced he's running for governor. On Friday, Feb. 21, a Thurston County Judge found that Eyman has repeatedly concealed contributions related to his initiative campaigns. CREDIT: Austin Jenkins/N3

A judge has found that anti-tax activist and Republican candidate for governor Tim Eyman concealed more than $700,000 in campaign contributions related to his initiative work over a six-year period. The finding comes as Eyman mounts a first-ever run for public office and faces trial this summer over an alleged campaign finance kick-back scheme.Read More

California Lawmakers Expected To Apologize For U.S. Internment Of Japanese Americans

By NPR News February 21, 2020

During a visit to the California Museum in Sacramento, Les Ouchida holds a 1943 photo of himself (front row center) and his siblings taken at the internment camp in Jerome, Ark., that his family was moved to from their home near Sacramento in 1942. CREDIT: Rich Pedroncelli/AP

The bill's sponsor says he was "disturbed by the striking parallels" between the treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II and current U.S. immigration policy.Read More

Spokane Hospital Treating Out-Of-Area Coronavirus Patients In Specialized Unit

By NWPB News February 20, 2020

Up to four people who contracted the novel coronavirus are or will be recovering in an isolation unit at Sacred Heart.

The patients were transferred from Travis Air Force Base in California and are part of repatriation efforts, meaning they contracted the virus outside of the country. Bob Lutz, health officer for the Spokane Regional Health District, says their arrival shouldn’t worry the city’s residents.Read More

How Warming Winters Are Affecting Everything

By NPR News February 20, 2020

Warming winters graphic illustration. Illustrations by Cornelia Li for NPR

Winters are warming faster than summers in many places, and colder parts of the U.S. are warming faster than hotter ones. The warming winter climate has year-round consequences across the country.Read More

Felon Voting Rights Bill Dies On Washington Senate Floor In The Middle Of Debate

By Austin Jenkins February 19, 2020

File photo - Washington prison - Courtesy of Washington Department of Corrections

Legislation to automatically restore the voting rights of convicted felons when they are released from prison has died unexpectedly in the Washington Senate. Majority Democrats abruptly ended debate on the controversial bill Wednesday evening when they realized they lacked the 25 votes needed to pass the measure.Read More

To Address Homelessness, Spokane Is Starting To Put Relationships Before Punishments

By NPR News February 19, 2020

Julia Garcia started the nonprofit Jewels Helping Hands, which began by operating mobile shower units to serve Spokane's growing homeless population. CREDIT: Kirk Siegler/NPR

There's a growing consensus that a more punitive approach hasn't worked for Spokane. Nationwide, the homeless population is rising. In many communities, it can feel like an intractable problem. Yet cities like Spokane are starting to show some incremental progress with some prevention programs. Read More

Lobbying Pays Off: Washington Health Insurers Benefit From Change To Consumer-Focused Bill

By Austin Jenkins February 18, 2020

Kaiser Permanente’s Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington is among the largest insurance plans in the state, along with Regence BlueShield and Premera Blue Cross. Together they’ve amassed nearly $4.5 billion in surpluses. At the same time, consumers have faced double-digit premium increases.

Strong opposition and intense lobbying by Washington’s health insurance industry has resulted in a key change to a consumer-oriented measure designed to address rising premium costs.Read More

Ah, Shuck: Oysters, Cherries, Other Northwest Ag Products Back Up As Coronavirus Quarantines Trade

By Anna King February 18, 2020

Amy Skillings of Oysterville, Washington, wheels the day's shucked oysters into a large cooler to await pickup. The oysters will be flown quickly across the country and to China.

Right now, all sorts of products aren’t reaching the U.S. because of the coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China. Reciprocally, many U.S. agricultural and forestry products aren’t shipping back into China and other Pacific Rim countries. Global trade watchers say backed-up trade is building up on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. Read More

Welcome To … Greater Idaho? Oregonians Could Be Asked To Join Proposal For Shifting State Lines

By NWPB News February 18, 2020

Proponents of the "Greater Idaho" proposal want to add eastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as northern California, to the existing boundaries of Idaho.

The “Greater Idaho Movement” is the latest separatist initiative to have some regions leave Oregon. If successful, the movement would rope in some parts of Northern California as well.Read More

Federal Land Managers Propose 11K Miles Of Fuel Breaks To Combat Wildfires In Western States

By NWPB News February 17, 2020

Ash blows off of rangeland that burned in the Martin Fire of 2018 — the largest in Nevada state history. CREDIT: ASHLEY AHEARN/NPR

The Bureau of Land Management announced a proposal Friday that would fund up to 11,000 miles of strategic fuel breaks in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada and Utah in an effort to better control wildfires.Read More

Lax Regulations And Vulnerable Residents ‘A Recipe For Problems’ In Eldercare Homes

By NPR News February 17, 2020

A family photo of Marilyn Kelly outside Our House Too. Courtesy of June Kelly

Assisted living-type facilities often are subject to less scrutiny than nursing homes. Investigations in Vermont and elsewhere have revealed patterns of poor care and deaths.Read More

A Washington Militia Defends Its Image. Leader Says They’re ‘Not A Paramilitary,’ Embraces Matt Shea

By NPR News February 17, 2020

Attendees recite the Pledge of Allegiance during the United Against Hate rally by the Washington Three Percent in Seattle last month. CREDIT: Jim Urquhart for NPR

Matt Marshall registered Washington Three Percent as a nonprofit corporation — a move copied by groups in other states. His next step was even bolder: He ran for a spot on the Eatonville school board, pledging to represent conservative values. Headlines portrayed him as a danger. Then, Marshall won. He's now running for the state legislature.Read More

2.5 Million Pounds Of Radioactive Waste Illegally Dumped In Oregon Landfill Near Columbia River

By Monica Samayoa February 15, 2020

Garbage, hauled in by train from long distances, is unloaded onto trucks for transfer to the landfill in the barren, rolling hills near Arlington, Ore., Aug. 3, 2004.

The Oregon Department of Energy has issued a notice of violation to a hazardous waste facility for accepting more than 2 million pounds of radioactive materials east of the Columbia River Gorge.Read More

Pullman To Portland Via Spokane On Greyhound: Why A Libyan Comic Is Suing The Border Patrol

By NWPB News February 14, 2020

File photo. The Spokane Intermodal Center, owned by the city, houses a Greyhound bus station where comic Mohanad Elshieky says he was detained by Border Patrol agents in 2019. CREDIT: HIKKI NAGASAKI / PUBLIC DOMAIN

Mohanad Elshieky says Border Patrol agents racially profiled him and held him without cause. The comic, who was granted U.S. asylum in 2018, was on his way home to Portland after a gig in Pullman when the officers confronted him in Spokane.Read More

Interior Dept. Grant To Help States With Wildlife Migration. One Area In North Idaho Is A Chokepoint

By NWPB News February 14, 2020

A mule deer uses a wildlife crossing below Highway 97 in Oregon, the same major north-south route in north-central Washington's Okanogan County looking at similar measures. CREDIT: ODOT

A new federal grant aims to improve wildlife habitat and migration corridors in the Northwest. About $100,000 is going to a project related to a wildlife underpass that will be built under U.S. Highway 95 in North Idaho.Read More

Bringing Back Oregon’s Sea Otters Gets Federal Bucks For Feasibility Study

By Tom Banse February 14, 2020

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

A group that wants to bring back wild sea otters to the Oregon Coast is taking a big step forward. The federal government has awarded them a grant to launch a feasibility study for a possible reintroduction effort.Read More

Indigenous-Led Pipeline Protest Forces Closure Of Major Rail Link In British Columbia

By NPR News February 14, 2020

A truck sits parked at railway tracks during a protest near Belleville, Ontario, Canada, on Thursday. Demonstrators have been disrupting railroads and other infrastructure across Canada for more than a week to protest the planned Coastal GasLink pipeline. CREDIT: Bloomberg via Getty Images

An indigenous-led anti-pipeline protest has shut down a vital cross-continent rail line in Canada, disrupting freight and passenger service and costing millions of dollars in lost revenue, officials say.Read More

Tim Eyman Promises ‘Aggressive’ Run For Governor, Switches From Independent To Republican Bid

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa February 13, 2020

Tim Eyman addresses a crowd of supporters in his home town of Yakima Wednesday, Feb. 12. He announced he’s running for governor of Washington as a Republican, not an independent, as he previously said in November. CREDIT: Enrique Pérez de la Rosa/NWPB

The announcement was met with jubilant cheers from supporters at a campaign event at Yakima’s McCormick Air Center. Eyman said he initially considered running as an independent because initiatives he sponsored in the past — from $30 car-tabs to a ban on affirmative action in 1998 — were nonpartisan. Read More

Idaho Rep., A Former Basketball Player And Coach, Seeks To Bar Transgender Girls In School Sports

By NWPB News February 13, 2020

Rep. Barbara Ehardt outlines her “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” designed to ban transgender women from participating in women’s sports. The House Education Committee introduced the bill Wednesday. CREDIT: Sami Edge/Idaho Education News

On Feb. 12, the Idaho House Education Committee gave its initial approval to a bill designed to keep transgender students from competing in girls’ sports. That means the bill could come back at a later date for a full hearing.Read More

They Had A Beachcombing Blast On The Washington Coast After Old Munitions Washed Ashore

By Tom Banse February 13, 2020

Military anti-aircraft rounds like these are washing up by the small town of Pacific Beach, Washington.

Beachcombing was a blast for soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord earlier this week. An ordnance disposal unit was called out after unexploded military munitions washed up on the beach north of Ocean Shores, Washington.Read More

Where Will They Go? Washington Nursing Home For Brain Injured Patients To Close

By Austin Jenkins February 12, 2020

Washington nursing home for brain injured patients will close after nearly half a century. Read More

Beer Waste Helps Montana Town Save Money On Water Treatment

By NPR News February 12, 2020

In Bozeman, Mont., the Water Reclamation Facility treats more than 6 million gallons of water every day from sinks, showers, toilets — really anything that goes down a drain. That includes liquid waste from more than 10 breweries in this city of nearly 50,000.Read More

The Mosquito And The Northwest Orchid: A Love Story. Sort Of.

By Erin Ross February 11, 2020

A mosquito feeds from a blunt-leaf orchid. The yellow balls attached to its antenna are balls of pollen, or pollinia. CREDIT: Kiley Riffell

Don’t feel bad for not noticing the blunt-leaf orchid. Native to bogs in the Pacific Northwest among other places, this unassuming little flower is easy to miss. It’s green all over like the moss it grows out of — right down to its green flowers.Read More

Odds Improving That Washington May Legalize Sports Betting, But Not Like Oregon

By Tom Banse February 11, 2020

At least in the near term, Washington state lawmakers do not want to have online sports betting as offered by the Oregon Lottery.

A couple of years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for states beyond Nevada to have sports betting. Oregon dove in last year. Idaho, Washington and California have held back. Now, Washington state lawmakers are taking a hard look at legalizing sports betting. But they do not seem inclined to copy much from Oregon's playbook.Read More

Colorado Voters Are Set To Decide If Wolves Should Be Reintroduced To The State

By NPR News February 11, 2020

A wolf from the Snake River Pack passes by a remote camera in eastern Wallowa County, Ore. A wolf advocate group in Colorado is challenging the model for U.S. wildlife management. CREDIT: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife via AP

In November, Coloradans are set to vote on whether to return wolves to the state. The ballot initiative may be the first time voters in any state could force reintroduction of an endangered species.Read More

Washington Lawmaker Wants To End ‘Better-Than-Boeing’ Tax Break For Prescription Drug Warehouses

By Austin Jenkins February 11, 2020

File photo. Distributors of opioids and other prescription drugs in Washington kept their better-than-Boeing tax break this year, despite a lawsuit against the industry's three largest players. CREDIT: Kevin Mooney/N3

Democratic state Rep. Lauren Davis says Washington’s current approach to helping people with substance use disorders is like a stool that’s missing two legs. While Medicaid pays for treatment, it doesn’t fund pre-treatment services which Davis calls the first leg of the stool.Read More

Federal Government Sues King County Over Ban Of Deportation Flights From Boeing Field

By NWPB News February 10, 2020

A man detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement waves back to activists from the Yakima Immigrant Response Network Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019 as they wave signs and call out "no estas solo, you are not alone." CREDIT: ENRIQUE PÉREZ DE LA ROSA/NWPB

The United States Department of Justice is suing King County over its ban on deportation flights from Boeing Field. A King County executive order banned deportation flights from Boeing Field in April 2019. Since then, ICE has diverted detainees to and from Yakima airport by bus.Read More

Mitzi Montoya Left Job As WSU’s Provost After 2 Months. Newly Obtained Emails Shed Light

By NWPB News February 10, 2020

The French Administration building houses WSU's leadership office, including the president and provost. “I think the conclusion is that I am not a fit for what you need here,” former WSU provost Mitzi Montoya wrote to President Kirk Schulz in September 2019. CREDIT: Jacob Jones/Whitman County Watch

Newly released emails to and reporting from the Whitman County Watch news site show Washington State University’s former provost described receiving sexist performance assessments and other institutional pushback just days before she stepped down in September.Read More

Canadian Court Clears The Way For Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion; First Nations Opposed

By NPR News February 10, 2020

The expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline has seen significant opposition, such as this camp set up by demonstrators in Vancouver, Canada, in 2018. CREDIT: Jeremy Hainsworth/AP

The Trans Mountain expansion, which would add more than 600 miles to the pipeline and increase its capacity from 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000, has been mired in controversy and legal battles since Canada's cabinet first approved the project in 2016.Read More

Helicopter Rescues, Roads Closed, Sandbags Filled: SE Washington And NE Oregon Hit With Floods

By Anna King February 9, 2020

Many houses in Waitsburg, Washington, a small wheat town, are still sitting in lakes of trapped water. Residents were busy moving out their valuables, and accessing damage on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020. CREDIT: Anna King/N3

Flood waters in southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon are starting to recede. But this relatively good news follows days of bad news and inundated towns – along with collapsed bridges, dozens of helicopter rescues and washed-out roads. It’s all caused by recent heavy rainfall and fast-melting snow.Read More

Legal Betting On The Super Bowl Was A Big Draw In Oregon. Washington Could Be Next

By Tom Banse February 9, 2020

Legal betting on the recent NFL Super Bowl was a winner for the state of Oregon and a handful of Oregon tribal casinos. This comes as legislators in Washington state ponder whether to legalize sports betting too.Read More