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Local News/Northwest News Network Primary Format : News Language : English Also Listed as: City : Pullman State/Province : WA Country : USA Region : NA User Tags: User Votes: RSS Feed Website People found this Podcast Searching for: View this Podcast on a Google Map. Podcast iTunes Link Text Only listing of Northwest News Network Podcasts Methings.com listings of Northwest News Network Podcasts If you like this podcast, you might also like:

Idaho Republicans Campaigning To Beat Congressman Walt Minnick Idaho Congressman Walt Minnick has made quite a name for himselfthis year as a conservative “Blue Dog” Democrat. But he’s notconservative enough for Republicans. Two GOP challengers arealready on the campaign trail and the party has made that seat a toppriority for 2010. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Federal Government Looking To Buy An Unmanned Mystery Boat A federal lab in Washington State is asking forbids on an unmanned, silent boat that could gather data on theocean. The project is classified. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Gregoire Says Entire Programs Could Be Cut Washington Governor Chris Gregoire says the state'sprojected budget shortfall is the worst in 80 years. The latestestimate was released yesterday. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Settles With College Fund Investment Firm Some Oregonians who lost money in their child’s college savings fund will get a portion of it back. The state of Oregon today announced a $20 million settlement in a lawsuit against OppenheimerFunds. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Idaho Game Commission Extends The State’s Wolf Season Hunters in Idaho will be allowed to shoot wolves in most parts of the state for an extra three months. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Officials Optimistic About Tax Amnesty Oregon’s first-ever tax amnesty program is on track to meet or exceed its goal, according to the state’s Department of Revenue. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington State Tax Collections Drop Another $760 Million In Olympia, the sea of red ink is reaching drowning depth. Washington state’s chief economist today subtracted another three-quarters of a billion dollars from the state checkbook. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon’s Economy Has Been Down So Long, Flat “Looks Like Up” Oregon’s financial outlook is holding steady. That’s according to state economists, who released their latest revenue projections to lawmakers today. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Why the Bear Has a Short Tail: A Native American Story Told by John Bevis Find out why the bear has a short tail. This Native American story and others are passed down to younger generations during this season of family gatherings. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | It's Story Time in Native American Households It’s a time to nestle indoors and tell stories. Native stories help pass on culture and religion to younger generations but that’s become harder in the age of Wii and the I-Phone. Anna King reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Potential Closure of U of I Ag Center May Hurt Idaho's Economy The University of Idaho is proposing cuts to places that hit the core of its agricultural mission as a land-grant institution. Doug Nadvornick reports advocates believe some cuts are short sighted and will hurt Idaho’s economy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Al Gore Predicts No Treaty from Copenhagen Former Vice-President Al Gore says nuclear power and clean coal may have role in the world's energy future, but a limited one. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Sarah Palin Plans to Visit the Tri Cities on Her Book Tour Former Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin plans to visit the Tri Cities on her book tour. Residents have mix reaction to the announcement. Anna King reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon AG Hires Two Attorneys To Head Up Environmental Crimes Unit Making good on a campaign promise, Oregon Attorney General John Kroger announced the lawyers who will lead his newly-created “Environmental Crimes Unit.” KLCC’s Angela Kellner reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | OR and WA Lawmakers To Receive Revenue Forecasts State lawmakers in Oregon and Washington tomorrow will get the latest look at their state’s financial picture. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Kuongoski Takes a Closer Look at the Business Energy Tax Credit Governor Ted Kulongoski is asking the leaders of two state agencies to take another look at what's called the Business Energy Tax Credit. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Spokane Schools Move Away From Letter Grades This week, school teachers in Spokane are meeting with parents to talk about students’ fall grades. What’s different this year, for grades four through six anyway, is that the traditional letter grades are gone. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Frogs Released from Prison 80 Oregon spotted frogs were released yesterday at Fort Lewis in Pierce County. It’s part of an effort to restore endangered frog populations in the Northwest. Some of the frogs were raised in prison. Sarah Waller reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Apolo Ohno Stirs Olympic Anticipation Olympic short-track speed skater Apolo Ohno was mobbed by autograph seekers during a rare visit to his home town of Seattle yesterday. Ohno told fans at SeaTac Airport that he’s in the best shape of his life as he prepares for the Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada. Tom Banse reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Man Working with Troubled Kids Arrested for Sex Abuse A Springfield man has been arrested after allegedly sexually abusing foster children. He met them while working at a Lane County residential treatment center for emotionally disturbed children. Correspondent Angela Kellner reports Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington Wine Number One On Wine Spectator’s Top 100 List A Washington State winery has earned an honor that could translate into big sales for the Northwest wine industry. Out of 17,000 wines, it landed the number-one spot on Wine Spectator magazine’s top 100 list. Anna King reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Salem Judge Allows Tax Measures Ballot Titles To Stand Ballot language for two Oregon tax measures now has the go ahead for a special election in January. A judge in Salem today denied a request for a preliminary injunction sought by opponents of the tax hikes. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Governors Ask for Second Stimulus Package A sizeable portion of the economic stimulus package Congress passed earlier this year was used to plug holes in state budgets. On Thursday, Washington state’s chief economist is expected to forecast even more budget shortfalls ahead. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Southeast Alaska Shellfish Farmers Poised For Growth Northwest shellfish producers may soon face increased competition from Alaska. Tribal and nonprofit oyster farmers in that state's panhandle say they're on the verge of a significant expansion. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington’s Unemployment Numbers Slightly Lower Than That Of Nation Washington’s unemployment rate saw a slight uptick in October to 9.3 percent. That’s according to David Wallace at the state Employment Security Department. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Our Northwest: Want Out of Debt? Ask Yourself What You Really Want You’ve probably heard your friends say it, or have said it yourself. I’m going to pay off this credit card debt. But another year goes by and the bills keep coming. In Our Northwest, Sueann Ramella talks with a man who paid off a substantial amount of debt by asking himself a simple question. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Big Algal Bloom Lingering Along Coast, But Less Deadly For Now Marine scientists have been surprised by the persistence of an unusual red tide along the Washington and northern Oregon coast. This is the algae bloom which produced a slimy foam that killed thousands of seabirds earlier in the fall. Tom Banse reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | OR Governor Kulongoski Returns from Iraq and Afghanistan Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski is home after a whirlwind trip to Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers asked the governor about jobs at home. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Governor Contemplating Cutting Entire Programs There may be signs of an economic turnaround on the horizon, but it’s not going to come soon enough to spare Washington state government from further cuts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | New Federal Report Shows More People Went Hungry in 2008 The federal Agriculture Department reports more Americans are going hungry because of the recession. Today, the agency released its annual “food security” survey. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports the state of Washington is following the national trend. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon’s Bridges Vulnerable to Quake Damage Many of Oregon’s major transportation corridors would be impassable if a major earthquake hit. That’s the upshot of a study released today by the Oregon Department of Transportation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Tractor Rams Through Umatilla Chemical Depot Fence Security at the Umatilla Chemical Depot is high. That’s because a driver rammed a 14-foot-wide farm tractor through the depot’s perimeter fence and then fled last night. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Tsunami Warning Siren Hodgepodge in Oregon To Be Standardized Oregon is pushing its coastal counties to standardize the sound of tsunami warning sirens. Washington state has already done so. Correspondent Tom Banse reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Idaho Legislators: Next Year Could Be ‘Awful’ For Schools Idaho state lawmakers are carrying a grim message to local school board members. They say schools may have to make more budget cuts next year. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | University of Idaho and Boise State to Continue Joint Research Tomorrow the University Idaho Vandals and the Boise State Broncos slug it out on the Blue Turf of Bronco Stadium. But today both university presidents pledged to continue and expand their joint research capabilities. Boise State Radio’s Don Wimberly has more. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Climate Change: Record Highs Outpace Lows, Particularly in West Here’s some interesting new evidence of climate change in the West. A study finds that over the past decade, new records for daily high temperatures are being set far more often than new record lows. Correspondent Tom Banse reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Senator Murray Says Federal Stimulus Money Will Help Hanford In The Long Run Washington Senator Patty Murray said today the impact of federal stimulus money at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation will last beyond this influx of spending. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Federal Education "Race to the Top" Guidelines Released Top federal education officials rolled out final guidelines today for determining which states will qualify for more than four billion dollars in federal school improvement money. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Supreme Court Upholds School Salary Formula The Washington State Supreme Court today unanimously upheld the state’s funding formula for school salaries. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington Health Program To Fold In Mental Health Care The state of Washington is now offering mental health care for patients in its General Assistance-Unemployable or G.A.U. program. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | President Approves Money for Walla Walla Vets’ Hospital The Veterans’ Administration has the green light to move ahead with plans to build a new clinic at the V-A Hospital in Walla Walla. President Obama signed a bill into law Wednesday to do just that. The facility serves about 70-thousand veterans in eastern Washington, Oregon and north Idaho. Doug Nadvornick reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Northwest Ski Season Off to an Early Start Ski season is getting off to an early start here in the Northwest. Today, Crystal Mountain, and Mount Hood Meadows opened with limited operations. The Northwest is supposedly in for a warmer and drier “El Nino” winter. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | President Approves Money for Walla Walla Vets’ Hospital The Veterans’ Administration has the green light to move ahead with plans to build a new clinic at the V.A. Hospital in Walla Walla, Washington. President Obama signed a bill into law today to do just that. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Brown Pelican Removed From Federal Endangered List The federal government today removed brown pelicans from the endangered species list. Nowadays, the migratory seabird is a common sight along the Oregon and Washington coasts between June and October. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Veterans Day Marked By Northwest Troops in Iraq Veterans Day was observed at cemeteries and war memorials around the Northwest today. It was also a special day for 4,000 soldiers from Fort Lewis who are deployed in Iraq. Correspondent Tom Banse reports their theme was “Make a veteran on Veterans Day.” Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Pew Report: Oregon Faces Fiscal Peril Oregon isn’t much better off than California when it comes to its financial outlook. That grim assessment comes in a study released today by the Pew Center on the States. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington Wraps Up Wolf Management Plan Hearings Washington state officials are digesting hundreds of comments after 12 public meetings on their draft plan for managing wolves. The last hearing is tonight in Wenatchee. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Vice President Lauds Fallen Fort Lewis Soldiers On the same day President Obama led a memorial service at Fort Hood in Texas, Washington’s Fort Lewis honored seven fallen soldiers of its own. They were killed in Afghanistan two weeks ago. Vice President Joe Biden delivered a eulogy at the service. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Veteran To Receive High French Honor As the nation pauses to remember its veterans tomorrow, one Northwest man is getting ready to be honored by the French government for what it calls his exceptional conduct during World War Two. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Governor Kulongoski Visits Iraq Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski will spend Veteran’s Day in Iraq. The surprise visit is his third trip to the war-torn country. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Northwest Economy May Struggle A While Longer The Northwest job market will stay sluggish for the next year. That prediction comes from at least one economist. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Idaho Unemployment Rate Inches Up In October Idaho’s unemployment rate inched up just slightly in October. It’s now at 8.9. It’s the fourth month in a row that the rate has remained essentially flat. State officials say that puzzles them. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Additional Cuts Expected to Idaho's Medicaid Program Governor Butch Otter is expected to call for additional cuts in the coming months. For Idaho’s Medicaid Program, that means cutting programs, programs that provide essential health care to thousands of Idahoans. Samantha Wright reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Gay Rights Referendum Passes Supporters of a Washington referendum to expand domestic partnership rights have secured a virtually insurmountable lead. Ballot counting continues today. Tom Banse reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Cries of Foul Over Feds Columbia Water Plan The government plans to build a massive pipeline near Moses Lake with federal stimulus money. Critics say an environmental analysis is needed. Anna King reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Census to Provide Big Job Stimulus to the NW Job creation is not part of the mission of the US Census, but US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said next year’s headcount should put a temporary dent in high unemployment around the Northwest. Tom Banse reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | U of I Football Wins Boost Local and State Economy The resurgence of the University of Idaho football team is giving a boost to the local and state economy. Glenn Mosley reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | OR Governor Kulongoski Extends State’s Flu Authority The State government in Oregon has more power to respond to the H1N1 flu outbreak. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Governor Sympathizes With Seattle Mayoral Candidates The neck-in-neck Seattle mayor’s race could narrow more as another batch of ballots is counted today. Environmental attorney Mike McGinn went to bed on election night with a lead of 910 votes. That margin over T-Mobile executive Joe Mallahan has now slipped to 462 votes. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Consultant Recommends Washington Prison and Reform School Closures A study commissioned by the Washington Legislature recommends closing three prison wings and a juvenile lockup. Washington Governor Chris Gregoire says she’ll give the recommendations serious consideration. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Mining Company Told No Digging Near WA Highway 410 Landslide Washington’s Department of Natural Resources has issued an emergency order blocking rock mining near a huge landslide. The slide last month took out two homes and blocked Highway 410 west of Yakima. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Army Corps Reduces Green River Flood Risk The Army Corps of Engineers says that recent repairs at the Howard Hanson Dam have greatly reduced the flood risk in the Green River valley. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon’s Umatilla Chemical Depot Gets Go-Ahead by Court The Umatilla Chemical Depot got the go ahead today from an Oregon’s Circuit Court judge to incinerate thousands of tons of mustard agent. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Idaho Looks at Opting Out of Federal Health Care Reform A joint legislative Task Force in Boise is already reviewing the pros and cons of Idaho opting out of federal health care reform. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Northwest Republicans Predict 2010 Success Republican leaders in the Northwest are hoping that GOP victories in a pair of east coast governor’s races foreshadow similar results here. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Pacific Northwest Reaps Federal Economic Development Tax Credits Five economic development institutions in Oregon and Washington have received nearly 200 million dollars in tax credits. The aim is to stimulate job creation and launch “green” businesses. The tax credits come from the US Treasury. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington State Loses Last Rural Democrat Lawmaker East of the Cascades Voters in southeast Washington appear to have rejected the last rural Democratic state lawmaker east of the Cascades. Correspondent Anna King explains. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Government Revenue Growth Cap Defeated in WA State Washington voters have soundly defeated anti-tax initiative promoter Tim Eyman’s latest ballot measure. Tom Banse has more. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | R-71 Supporters in Spokane Look Ahead If Referendum 71 passes in Washington, it will be because of support west of the Cascades. The gay rights measure lost in every county east of the mountains, some by large margins. Doug Nadvornick reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington's R-71 Has Slight Lead The Washington state ballot measure to confer additional rights to gay couples and other domestic partners has a slight lead after the first round of statewide vote counting. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Revenue Cap Initiative Defeated in Washington State Washington voters have soundly rejected a revenue cap on state and local government. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Governor's Trade Mission to DC Governor Chris Gregoire is leading a delegation of business leaders to Washington, D.C., today for meetings with members of the Obama administration. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Northwest Silver Mines Enjoy Good Times Mining is traditionally a boom-and-bust industry. Right now, times are good. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Does Money Predict Fate of WA Ballot Measures? Washington voters today are deciding two controversial ballot measures. Is the money spent on these measures a good predictor of their outcomes at the ballot box? Austin Jenkins reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington Approves New Name for Pugest Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca A state board in Washington has approved a measure to give Puget Sound, Georgia Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca a new name. They’ve officially designated them the “Salish Sea.” Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | 51 Percent Voter Turnout Predicted in WA State Washington’s top elections official is predicting voter turnout today will be “about average” for an off-year election. Secretary of State Sam Reed says the popularity of vote-by-mail should keep turnout on pace. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Solar Plant Opens in Salem, OR Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski joined officials from electronics giant Sanyo in Salem today to help open a solar cell plant. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | B.R.O. Begins Oregon Campaign Basic Rights Oregon is laying groundwork for a ballot initiative aimed at overturning Oregon's same sex marriage ban. April Baer reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Ballot Procrastinators May Delay WA Election Results Washington State’s top elections official is standing by his earlier prediction of 51 percent voter turnout statewide tomorrow. Vote-by-mail ballots are trickling in to county offices rather slowly. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Hunting Tradition Stays Strong in Idaho Every five years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service counts how many Americans hunt. That number has fallen steadily since the 1970s, even in the rural West. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Olympic Torch Relay Starts From Victoria A 106 day Olympic torch relay is now underway in Canada. The Olympic flame arrived in British Columbia today from Greece. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Ethics Probe Includes WA Congressman Norm Dicks Longtime Washington Congressman Norm Dicks denies any ethical lapses over campaign contributions and earmarks. The Democrat from Bremerton responded today to a Washington Post report. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Seabird Die-Off Abates on NW Coast A seabird die-off on the Washington and northern Oregon Coast has abated. Now marine scientists are trying to understand the cause of the underlying algal bloom. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Lottery Commission Approves Status Quo The Oregon Lottery Commission decided today to make no changes to the way the state compensates video lottery retailers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Shots Fired Near OR Rep. DeFazio's Office The FBI is investigating shots fired at the US Federal Courthouse in Eugene sometime Wednesday night or early Thursday morning. Several public officials have offices in the Courthouse – including US Representative Peter Defazio. Correspondent Jes Burns reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Number of Stimulus Jobs Created in NW States Questioned Oregon and Washington are revising their estimates for how many jobs are being created by the Obama administration’s stimulus plan. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | New Oregon State Hospital Panel Gets To Work Yet another effort is underway to improve conditions at the Oregon State Hospital. A 16-member citizen panel held its first meeting today. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Democrats Reject Actuary’s Pension Advice Concern is mounting in Washington state over the health of the public employee pension system. The state actuary has warned of a scenario where the two oldest retirement plans could run out of money by 2017. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Democrats Fight To Hold One Of Few House Seats In Eastern Washington Across the Northwest, democrats who represent rural districts have become almost an endangered species. In Washington State, just one democratic lawmaker hails from a rural area east of the Cascades. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Groups Call for Halt to Individual Fishing Quotas Fishermen and environmental groups are asking Congressman Peter DeFazio to put the brakes on federal plans for individual fishing quotas. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Spokane Voters Consider City’s own Bill of Rights In Spokane, a local city charter initiative is overshadowing local races for city council and school board. Supporters of what they call a Citizen Bill of Rights say passage would end domination of city politics by special interests. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Psychiatrists Among Top Paid State Employees in Washington On a list of the top-100 paid state workers – not including higher education employees - more than half are psychiatrists. Correspondent Austin Jenkins went to find out who these doctors are and what they do. He profiles one at Western State Hospital near Tacoma. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | FDA Approves Microwave Preservation Process for Prepared Foods The Food and Drug Administration has approved an alternative to the traditional canning process. It was developed at Washington State University. Correspondent Tom Banse explains. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Bill to Protect OR Devil's Staircase Making Way to Congress Bills that would further protect Oregon’s Devil’s Staircase waterfall and the Molalla River are making their way through Congress. Wednesday morning, the House Natural Resource Committee finished their mark-up. Correspondent Jes Burns reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Republican Reaction to Boeing Announcement Minority Republicans in Washington state are reacting with dismay to news that Boeing will build its second 787 line in Charleston, South Carolina. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Gregoire “Angry” and “Disappointed” Over Boeing Announcement Washington Governor Chris Gregoire says she’s “angry” and “disappointed” that Boeing will builds its second 787 assembly line in South Carolina - not Everett, Washington. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NW Police Eyeing California Marijuana Discussion California legislators are considering loosening marijuana laws, to cope with a yawning budget hole. From Oregon Public Broadcasting, April Baer reports that Oregon police officers are keeping a wary eye on the discussion. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Eight Fort Lewis Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan The military has confirmed that eight soldiers killed in Afghanistan yesterday were based at Fort Lewis. KUOW’s Liz Jones reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Idaho Schools Ask For Flu Forgiveness Many Idaho school districts worry their swine flu-related absentee rates this fall will mean cuts in their funding. Idaho allocates money based on average daily attendance. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | StoryCorps Wenatchee: Abby and Gale Fitzsimmons The death of a family member is tragic especially when it occurs around the Holidays, as in the case of the Fitzsimmons family of Yakima. On New Year’s Eve seven and a half years ago they lost their 29 year-old-son, Kevin, who stopped to help a motorist and was killed. In the last Storycorps Wenatchee on Northwest Public Radio daughter Abby interviews her mother, Gale about Kevin’s death. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Task Forces Aim to Solve Issues of Geese, Bottles and Taxes When lawmakers can't agree on a thorny issue, they often simply create a task force. The theory goes that if you bring in fresh voices and give them time, they'll come up with a better plan that all sides can agree on. Chris Lehman reports on if recommendations are heard. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Earthquakes Bigger Threat to Oregon Coast Then Previously Thought The fault line off the Oregon Coast is far more active than previously thought. And Oregon State University researcher finds an 80 percent chance that a quake close to 8.0 magnitude will shake the Oregon Coast in the next 50 years. Correspondent Ethen Lindsey reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WSU To Reopen Yakima Learning Center Washington State University says it’s going to find the money to keep a learning center in Yakima open. Glenn Mosley reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | AP: Ft. Lewis Soldiers Likely Among 8 Killed Tuesday in Afghanistan Fort Lewis, Washington soldiers are likely among the eight US troops killed today in Afghanistan. That’s according to the Associated Press. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Lower Natural Gas Bills On Tap for Oregon Users Oregon natural gas customers will pay less to heat their homes this winter. The Public Utility Commission todayannounced a double-digit rate drop for each of the state’s three natural gas utilities. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Federal Judge Keeps WA Contribution Caps Washington’s campaign contribution limits will remain in place through Election Day. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Energy Department Releases Massive Document Outlining Cleanup Options for Hanford Federal officials say they won’t ship new waste to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation until 2019. That’s according to the preferred alternative in the Department of Energy’s new 6,000 page cleanup plan released yesterday. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Red Tide Along NW Coast Threatens Wildlife It’s like an oil spill, but without the oil. That’s how wildlife rescue people are describing an unusual red tide along the Northwest coast. Correspondent Tom Banse is on scene. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Northwest Spooky Jobs Part Two Some jobs are spooky year round, not just at Halloween. This week, we're sending out correspondents to find the spookiest jobs in the Northwest. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | No Love Lost Between Business Lobby and Oregon Lawmakers The rift is growing between Oregon’s largest business group and majority Democrats in the state Legislature. Associated Oregon Industries is already backing a campaign to repeal two budget-balancing tax hikes. Now the influential group has a scathing scorecard of Democratic leaders. Chris Lehman reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Seabird Rescue Widens on Coast Wildlife rescue centers in Western Oregon and Washington arebeing overwhelmed with dying seabirds. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | $7B in Recovery Dollars Flowing to WA State So far, some $7 billion in federal recovery money has beenflowing to Washington state. But it hasn’t resulted in a jobsbonanza. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Hanford’s New Cleanup Schedule for Tank Waste up for Public Comment The U.S. Department of Energy is collectingcomments over the next few weeks on its new timeline for cleanupat the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Northwest Spooky Jobs Part One Halloween is a chance to forget all your troubles and get spooked out. But some people have chill-inducing jobs year-round. We sent our correspondents out to find some of the spookiest jobs in the Northwest.Today we learn about two jobs that might send you howling, but not to the workers. We begin with hard rock miners in North Idaho. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Coeur d’Alene Indians Celebrate Water Potato Harvest Coeur d’Alene tribal members are finishing the harvest of traditional foods that their ancestors relied on to stay alive. In the fall, they dig up small tubers known as water potatoes. Doug Nadvornick reports the tribe uses the harvest as a way to pass along its traditions to its children. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Big Coal Plant Discussing Switch to Natural Gas The owners of the coal-powered electricity plant in Centralia, Washington are negotiating with the state to reduce their global warming emissions. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Northwest Hospitals Hustle to Keep Up With Swine Flu Patients Many Northwest hospitals are improvising to keep up with a steady stream of patients with the flu. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Will R-71 Lead to Gay Studies in Public Schools? Election Day is a week and a half away and the campaign over Washington’s Referendum 71 is passionate. Lawsuits are flying and ads are hitting the airwaves. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | 1910 Big Burn Fire Anniversary Reignites Pulaski's Legend A new book about the Big Burn Fire of 1920 in Idaho and Montana has reignited the legend of a local hero, Ed Pulaski. Doug Nadvornick reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Preparing for Earthquakes in Idaho When you think of earthquakes, California or even Japan may come to mind. But we’ve actually had a major earthquake here in Idaho. It happened 26 years ago in Challis. Samantha Wright reports on the history. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | 20 People In Seattle Charged As Part of Drug Cartel Raid Federal prosecutors in Seattle have charged twenty people as part of a national strike against a Mexican drug cartel. Correspondent Tom Banse has more on the Northwest connection. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | International Paper Shuts Down Iconic Oregon Factory The International Paper factory will shut down one of its last remaingin mills in the Northester. 270 workers in Albany, Oregon found out that they will lose their jobs by the end of the year. Correspondent Ethan Lindsey reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Alaska Air Group Flies To Profit The parent company of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air is bucking industry headwinds. The sister airlines announced an $87 million profit in the third quarter. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Down Surplus Sales in Oregon Sign of the Economy Call it another economic indicator. Online sales of government surplus items in Oregon have dropped dramatically over the past year. Chris Lehman has more. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Army Corps of Engineers At Work in WA's Nile Valley Residents of the Nile Valley in Eastern Washington are getting some extra help from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Superintendent of Public Instruction Dorn Shortens Assessment Time by Half Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn says he plans to cut in half the time it will take students to complete Washington’s new student assessment test. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Critics Say Wealthy Will Benefit Most From WA I-1033 Ballots are arriving and Washington voters must decide Tim Eyman’s latest initiative. It would cap government revenues and also cut property taxes – by an estimated $9 billion over the next five years. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Congress Ends Deportation Threat Hanging Over Grieving Spouses A Portland attorney has won his long battle against the so-called “widow penalty.” A new law is on its way to the President's desk. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Families Happy with Revised Popular Child Nutrition Program The federal government is giving low income parents an incentive to pick up more fruits and vegetables for their children. It is revising the menu for its low-income nutrition program to cut fat and add fiber. Doug Nadvornick reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | StoryCorp Wenatchee: Keith Sexson and Matt Cadman Keith Sexson recalls the beginnings of the Music Theatre of Wenatchee and its relationship with the Liberty Theater with his friend, Matt Cadman. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | R-71 Petitions Will Remain Sealed for Foreseeable Future The legal battle over Referendum 71 petitions in Washington state will likely continue for months after the November election. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Search And Rescues Add Up At National Parks A new study that analyzed 15 years of data shows that on average, National Park rangers launch 11 search and rescue missions each day nationwide. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | New Nuke Plant Proposed Near Idaho-Oregon Border A small Idaho company has applied to build a second new commercial nuclear power plant. This one would be located in rural Payette County near the Oregon-Idaho border. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Tree Farmers May Profit From Climate Regulation Airlines and ski resorts are offering customers a chance to buy carbon offsets. In our region, private timberland owners, farems and some tribal governments are seeing green. Tom Banse explains. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | U of I Football Team Lifts Spirits After Recent Wins After a decade of losing seasons, the University of Idaho football team is eligible for a bowl game. The team’s success is helping to lift spirits at a university that, like many of its peer institutions, has been dealing with budget cuts. Glenn Mosley reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | FAA Stimulus to Fund Some Lower Priority Projects The Federal Aviation Administration has awarded more than $44 million in stimulus grants to airports in Washington State. But nearly 30 percent of the money has gone to projects with low priority ratings. Liz Jones reports Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Boise Conference Focuses on Global Environment The global environment is the focus of this years annual Frank Church Conference at Boise State University. The day long conference opens today. Correspondent Don Wimberly reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Corporate Tax Opponents Take Aim With Measure 67 Oregon's tax Measure 67 applies to corporations and many wonder if it is good or bad for business. Chris Lehman found the reality to be more nuanced than expected. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Tax Opponents Decry Proposed Oregon Ballot Titles Opponents of a pair of tax hikes that are going before Oregon voters in January claim majority Democrats in the Legislature are trying to unfairly influence voters. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | US Supreme Court Justice Blocks Release of WA R-71 Petitions A legal battle over a gay rights ballot measure in Washington State has reached the US Supreme Court. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | At U.N., Canada Asks For Worldwide Truce During 2010 Winter Games At the United Nations today, Canada asked for a worldwide truce during the upcoming Winter Olympics. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Naches Landslide Repairs Will Get Federal Help The Federal Highway Administration will provide one million dollars for emergency repairs to a central Washington highway. State Route 410 was severed by a huge landslide October 11th. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Swine Flu Vaccine Arriving Slower Than Anticipated A manufacturing delay means swine flu vaccine is arriving more slowly in Northwest states than health officials had expected. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Use and Legality of Robo Calls During Elections Regulators have clamped down on pre-recorded telemarketing calls. But "robo-calls" are alive and well this election season. Correspondent John Ryan reports candidates are trying to reach voters any way they can. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Tagging Along with Wolf Trapper Carter Niemeyer Part One Wolf hunting season is in full swing. One lesson hunters are learning is that wolves are an elusive prey. Adam Cotterell joined a man who has caught and collared over three hundred wolves in his career as a master trapper with the Department of Fish and Game. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Understanding the Debate of WA Domestic Partnership Law Washington voters will decide whether to approve or reject the state’s latest domestic partnership law. The law gives registered domestic partners all of the same rights and responsibilities as married couples. Opponents argue it paves the way for gay marriage in Washington. Austin Jenkins has this voters’ guide to the measure. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NW Tribal Leaders to Meet With the President Tribal leaders from the Northwest are gearing up for a national conference on Native American issues at the White House next month. Representatives of tribes from across the nation will meet with President Obama. Doug Nadvornick reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Senate Race in the Northwest Quiet So Far Nearly a year before the 2010 elections, three northwest US Senators are gearing up to run again. And while Congress has taken on hot button issues like climate change and health care this year, none of the Northwest incumbents appears especially vulnerable. Chris Lehman reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | UI Agriculture Funding Plan Deadline Looming The University of Idaho says early November is the deadline to have a funding plan in place for its agriculture and extension services. Glenn Mosley reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Nellis Welcomed as 17th President of University of Idaho in Ceremonies Duane Nellis was officially inaugurated as the 17th president of the University of Idaho during ceremonies held on the university’s Moscow campus on Friday. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Nile Valley Residents Deal with Aftermath of Major Landslide, Prepare for Winter The residents of the Nile Valley in Eastern Washington have just weeks before their only roads to civilization are cut off. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Political Outsider Enters Oregon Governor’s Race Oregon’s Democratic primary for governor is already crowded with two veteran politicians. That hasn’t stopped a former computer company executive from officially entering the contest. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Feds Test Robot Arm to Remove Radioactive Sludge at Hanford The Hanford Nuclear Reservation still has 53 million gallons of radioactive sludge sitting in leak-prone underground tanks. Now, the federal government is testing a new robotic arm that officials say will clean out those tanks more quickly. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington, Idaho People Die from H1N1 Virus Health officials in eastern Washington and northern Idaho announced today that five people who had or likely had the flu have died. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Referendum 71 Petition Signatures to be Released The 9th U-S Circuit Court of Appeals today reversed a lower court's injunction blocking the release of Referendum 71 petitions. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Forclosures Rise Further in ID & OR, Dip in WA Foreclosure filings soared in Idaho in the third quarter of this year. A new report today from the firm RealtyTrac also showed an uptick in foreclosures in Oregon but an unexpected dip in Washington State. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | 9th Circuit Orders R-71 Petitions Released Voter petitions for Referendum 71 in Washington state were improperly sealed. That’s the ruling today from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Forest Service Tries to Resurrects White Pine in Idaho The U-S Forest Service is trying help the white pine tree regain its former prominence. Doug Nadvornick went to check out young seedlings of this old tree. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Are WA Initiative and Referendum Petitions Public? The legal battle over initiative and referendum petitions in Washington state continues. Yesterday two courts heard separate, but similar cases. Austen Jenkins reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Seattle Teacher Quality Report Calls for Reforms Seattle’s public schools have received a less-than-glowing report card in a study released yesterday. A national education reform group says Seattle should improve the way it evaluates teachers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | BSU Part Time Employees Face Increases in Health Insurance Part time employees at Boise State University Wednesday attempted to get the ear of some key state lawmakers. 230 Boise State employees face dramatic increases in the cost of their in health insurance premiums. They want to make sure lawmakers fully understand the impact. Don Wimberly has more. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Judge Blocks Release of Initiative and Referendum Petitions Should initiative and referendum petitions with voter names, addresses and signatures be public? That question is now the subject of two court battles in Washington state. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Post High School Jobs Skill Training Pushed As Washington and the nation begin to emerge from the severe economic downturn, and businesses start hiring again, employers worry that there won’t be enough so-called middle skill workers to fill expected vacancies. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Conservationists Disappointed by Aspects of New Oregon Forest Plan US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar todayannounced a new plan for managing federal forests in Western Oregon. Conservationists say the plan is not ideal. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Obama Administration Moves Forward on Oregon Timber The Obama Administration announced today it will move forward promptly on 62 new timber sales on Oregon forests. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Massive Landslide on Hwy 410 Cuts Off Nile Valley Community Residents of the remote Nile Valley of Eastern Washington are settling in for a long period of hassle. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Idaho Schools Wary of More Budget Cuts Idaho legislators are getting a mid-year progress report on the state budget this week and the news isn’t good. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington State Umemployment Rate Drops Slightly Washington’s unemployment rate rose again last month, in contrast to the slight drops recorded in neighboring Idaho and Oregon. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | StoryCorps Wenatchee: David and Tracy Gelb A Korean War Veteran remembers a suicidal mission and how his company was surrounded by the enemy only to be left alone. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Drivers Contribute $1.4M to State Parks in September A controversial funding scheme to keep 40 Washington state parks from being mothballed due to budget cuts appears to be working. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Finance Committee Passes Health Care Bill; 2 NW Senators Voted Yes When the Senate Finance Committee approved Chairman Max Baucus' health care bill today, Oregon's Senator Ron Wyden, and Washington's Maria Cantwell both voted yes. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Idaho Settles Lawsuit with Pharmaceutical Manufacturer Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly has settled a lawsuit with Idaho over the marketing of the anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Hanford’s Vit Plant Construction Halted For Two Days A power outage has kept 1,4000 workers off the job for two days at Hanford’s massive vitrification plant in southeastern Washington. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Stimulus Money Creates, Retains Oregon Jobs Federal stimulus money has created or retained the equivalent of 8000 full-time jobs so far in Oregon. That’s according to a report released yesterday by the office of Governor Ted Kulongoski. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | University of Idaho Cuts Budget by $7.1 Million The University of Idaho will be returning more than seven million dollars to state coffers to help the state deal with its mid- year budget shortfall. Glenn Mosley reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | First Microbreweries, Now Micro-Canneries Flourish in NW You’ve heard of micro-breweries. How about "micro-canneries?" They specialize in locally-caught, hand-packed albacore and salmon. A growing number of commercial fishing families are choosing to can their catch themselves. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Senator Ron Wyden Hopeful About Health Care Bill The Senate Finance Committee is set to vote tomorrowon federal health care legislation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Releases Initial Stimulus Report Federal stimulus money has created the equivalent of 8000 full time jobs in Oregon so far. That’s according to a state report released today. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Initiative Spending Low-Key Tomorrow is the deadline for Washington state campaigns to report their latest financial figures. So far, 2009 is turning out to be a low-key political year on the statewide level – despite two relatively controversial measures on Washington’s November ballot. Austin Jenkins reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Laid Off Truck Workers Get Extra Help The federal government agreed that foreign competition caused layoffs at Imperial Fabricating in Chehalis, Washington and at Auto Truck Transport in Portland. That means more than one hundred affected workers qualify for Trade Act assistance. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Less Trash Generated in the Down Economy Across the Northwest people are throwing away less trash these days. That’s good for the environment, but it’s also forcing some cities and counties to lay off landfill staff or raise dump prices. Anna King explains. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Northwest Nurseries Busy Preparing for Christmas Some Northwest residents are deep into Christmas preparations. That’s because they work for nurseries and spend the season constructing wreaths, swags and garlands. Anna King explains. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Dalles Navigation Lock Set To Re-Open Today Boat traffic on the Columbia River should be moving again soon. Officials with the Army Corp of Engineers said that they expect repairs to The Dalles navigation lock to completed by this evening. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Experiencing the Rogue River Without Savage Rapids Dam Kayakers and salmon had the first opportunity to experience the Rogue River in a different way. For the first time in 88 years, they can travel the Rogue without passing the Savage Rapids Dam. April Baer reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | End of Life Advocates Work to Overcome "Death Panel" Claim Colin Fogarty reports that end of life experts from the region want the provision many falsely know as 'death panels' re-inserted into the health care plan. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Time-Share Fraud Snares Oregonians The state of Oregon has fined several companies and insurance agents who took part in a scheme to sell fraudulent time-shares. The Department of Consumer and Business Services says more than 100 Oregonians lost a total of at least five million dollars. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Idaho Higher Education Officials Concernred About Budgets Higher education officials in Idaho met with Governor Butch Otter this week to express concerns about the state budget situation. Glenn Mosley reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Devil's Staircase in Oregon Close to Winning Federal Protection A pristine piece of the Southern Oregon landscape is closer to winning federal protection. April Baer reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Tax Measures Qualify For Ballot It’s official. Oregonians will vote on a pair of tax measures next January. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Competing Philosophies Mark Oregon Income Tax Debate Oregon voters will weigh in on a pair of budget-balancing tax increases in January. The Secretary of State’s office said today that backers of the effort to get the measures onto the ballot have submitted enough valid signatures. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Voters’ Guide: Tim Eyman’s I-1033 Austen Jenkins reports on the pros and cons of Tim Eyman's I-1033 which would cap government revenues and cut property taxes. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Women Encourage to Pursue Careers in Science The National Science Foundation reports that women make up only 33 percent of all people in science. That’s especially true in the hard discipline of radioactive elements. Anna King reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Memorials Become Common Occurrence at Ft. Lewis Memorials have once again become a common occurrence at Fort Lewis, Washington. One ceremony tomorrow will remember Specialist Kevin Graham who was killed by a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan last month. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington, Oregon Ask for Federal Help for Dairy Farmers The Washington and Oregon state agriculture departments are asking the federal government to buy massive amounts of milk and cheese. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | States Prepare First Stimulus Report States are racing to beat this weekend’s deadline to report the early results of federal stimulus spending. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | StoryCorps Wenatchee: Louis Wagoner and Kristin Woods When you‘re buying property it’s not often that the owners lower the price to help you realize your dreams. But that is what happened to Louis Wagoner and his wife Judy when they bought a pear orchard in Peshastin, Washington. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Small Quantities of Swine Flue Vaccine Available in NW Northwest states are starting to receive the first shipments of H1N1 vaccine. Anna King reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Drug Busts at Outdoor Pot Plantations On Record Pace The Northwest’s vast acreage of public land is proving attractive to marijuana growers. Federal and local drug agents are on pace to match or break the region’s previous record for seizures from outdoor pot gardens. Tom Banse reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Survey Shows Northwest Residents Weary of Recession A survey conducted by the Northwest Area Foundation this summer shows that families in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon are struggling to make ends meet in this economic downturn. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington Releases Draft Wolf Management Plan Washington has released a new wolf management plan for comment, just five days after Idaho opened its entire state to wolf hunting. Washington wildlife officials say the state has only two confirmed wolf packs. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Swine Flu Vaccine Available in Washington, Oregon and Idaho Northwest states have begun receiving shipments of swine flu vaccine. The vaccine is being distributed to county health departments, hospitals, physicians and health clinics. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Dot Foods Ruling Could Cost WA Millions in Lost Tax Revenue Washington state coffers may soon take another several hundred million dollar hit. But it has nothing to do with the weak economy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Farm to Fork Dinners Deliver More Than a Meal Farm to Fork dinners are usually served on the very farms where the food was grown. They're a national phenomenon and Guy Hand visited and dined at Boise's Peaceful Belly Farm and brings this report. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | High Demand Overloads Oregon Unemployment Claims Process The Oregon Employment Department is working to catch up after a computer system went down for much of the day Sunday. The temporary failure of the online claims system caused a massive backlog Monday at the state’s telephone call centers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Big Idaho Land Swap Generates Opposition Over the last few decades, land exchanges have become a popular tool. It’s a way for government agencies and private landowners to acquire property they want, but can’t afford. Some land exchanges are a good deal. But opponents lament what the public would lose. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | 3rd Annual WA Foster Care Survey Shows Improvements Nearly seventy percent of Washington foster kids are now getting an almost monthly face-to-face visit from a caseworker. That’s a key result from a survey of foster parents released today. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Sockeye Spawn in Lake Cle Elum for First Time in 100 Years For the first time in more than 100 years, sockeye salmon are spawning at Lake Cle Elum in the Cascade Mountains. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Impending Frost Means Bad News for NW Gardens This week the first frosts of the season are expected across the Northwest. That means green thumbs should bring in their sensitive plants, cover up their produce at night and say goodbye to their marigolds and basil. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | "Culture Change" Needed at Eastern State Hospital Washington state officials say a culture change is needed at Eastern State Hospital. That’s their assessment after investigating how a potentially dangerous patient walked away from a Spokane fair last month. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Environmentalist Luers Back in Prison After Mistaken Release Environmental activist Jeffrey “Free” Luers was released from a Portland prison Friday but was quickly taken back into custody. Correspondent Angela Kellner has the details. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Blowing Dust, High Winds No Stranger to Eastern Washington High winds and massive plumes of blowing dust darkened the sky in Eastern Washington Sunday afternoon. Nearly a dozen people ended up in emergency rooms from crashes related to the storm. But this type of weather is not unusual in Eastern Washington. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Series of Bad Decisions Delayed Escape Response Eastern State Hospital employees made a series of bad decisions after a potentially dangerous patient disappeared last month. That according to the head of Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Hanford’s Massive Vitrification Plant Nears Halfway Point At the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, Washington, officials are building a massive factory that will eventually bake radioactive sludge into more stable glass logs. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Floyd Says WSU Can Meet Future Challenges In his annual State of the University Address, Washington State University President Elson Floyd said Thursday that the past year has been one of the most challenging in the university’s history. Glenn Mosley reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Northwest Humanitarian Teams Head to Somoa Humanitarian organizations from the northwest are on their way to Samoa to help in the wake of a devastating earthquake and tsunami. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Repairs Begin To Lock At The Dalles Dam Crews will work around the clock starting tonightto repair the lock at The Dalles Dam on the Columbia River. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Wolf Season Now Open Statewide in Idaho In the month since wolf hunting started in selected regionsof Idaho, hunters have killed 16 wolves. But that number isexpected to go up rapidly. Today, wolf season has just opened tothe entire state. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Treasurer’s Office Defends Bonus Payouts Oregon Treasurer Ben Westlund is defending the use of bonuses fortop-level employees. His office has paid out nearly $370,000 so farthis year. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Census Bureau Says Idaho’s Poverty Rate Stable The US Census Bureau says Idaho’s poverty rate stayedabout the same between 2006 and 2008. The numbers surprisedIdaho state officials, who say the figures don’t reflect what’s goingon now. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Wait List Grows for WA Basic Health It’s another sign of the down economy. The waitlist forWashington’s Basic Health insurance program has ballooned to nearly70,000 people. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Power Company to Remove Klamath Dams Pacificorp says it will destroy its four dams along the Klamath River, near the Oregon-California border. Ethan Lindsey reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Bicycle Commuting Up in NW But Pales Compared to Europe Census numbers show an increase in bicycle commuting in the Northwest but as Tom Base reports, these numbers pale in comparrison to cities like Copenhagen and he finds out why. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NW Governors Gather For Climate Conference At a national summit on climate change, Governor Gregoire said regional cooperation isn’t enough when it comes to curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Noose Left on Porch Rile Spokane Leaders and NAACP City leaders and the head of Spokane’s NAACP chapter denounce a recent incident in which a noose was left on the front porch of a local African-American resident. Correspondent John Vlahovich reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | OR Referendum Will Have Financial Impact Before Vote Referendum votes on a pair of Oregon tax increases have not yet qualified for the January ballot. But the state is already feeling the financial impact. Chris Lehman reports that the state will lose expected revenue from those measures even if they ultimately pass. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | $15M in Grants Awarded to WSU for Specialty Crop Research Washington State University researchers have been awarded $15 million in specialty crop research grants from the US Department of Agriculture. Glenn Mosley reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Vigils Planned for Hikers Detained in Iran Friends and family of three American hikers detained in Iran are holding vigils in cities all over the country. One of the three has ties to Oregon. People gathered in Cottage Grove and Rachael McDonald was there. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Big Idaho Land Swap Generates Opposition The U-S Forest Service and a Portland-based timber company are considering a large land trade in Idaho. Doug Nadvornick reports on the pracitce of land trading and how opponents lament the practice. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WSU Awarded $15M in Specialty Crop Research Grants Washington State University researchers have been awarded $15 million in specialty crop research grants from the US Department of Agriculture. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Governors Gather For Climate Conference Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski and Washington Governor Chris Gregoire are in Los Angeles this week for a national summit on climate change. It comes as lawmakers in Washington DC continue to negotiate over a massive climate bill. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Racism Denounced by Spokane Leaders City leaders and the head of Spokane’s NAACP chapter today denounce a recent incident in which a noose was left on the front porch of a local African-American resident. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Federal Stimulus Dollars used to Tear Down Old Hanford Site Buildings Hanford Nuclear Reservation officials are showing off the new projects that are on the fast track because of federal stimulus dollars. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Five NW banks Placed Under Tighter Scrutiny Stress in the region’s banking industry continues. The FDIC and state regulators have put four more Washington banks and another Oregon bank on a tighter leash. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | H1N1 Vaccine Coming to Oregon Oregon health authorities say the first doses of H1N1 vaccine should be in the state by Monday. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Fall Brings Farm Festivals to Northwest Towns If jack-o-lanterns, warm cider and corn mazes are on your mind, you’re not alone. More posters and web sites are popping up advertising fall farm festivals in the Northwest. As Anna King reports, there are more fall farm festivals in Washington, Oregon and Idaho this year. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Crush Part 3: Using Celebrity to Sell Northwest Wines If you want to see stars outside of Hollywood, head to a Northwest winery. Across the region winemakers are increasingly courting rockers, artists and movie stars to help market premium wines. Correspondent Anna King reports on how big names are investing a little cash down on the farm. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Storycorps Wenatchee: Angela Prater and Orlino Bareng In 2006, StoryCorps launched an initiative to collect stories from people affected by memory loss. When the Storycorps mobile recording booth was in Wenatchee, Angela Prater sat down with her father, Orlino Bareng, to record his stories about growing up in Hawaii where memories of food and working on a sugar plantation left an indelible impression. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Gov On Boeing’s Future in State The Boeing Company expects to decide within the next month where to build its second 787 production line. Everett, Washington and North Charleston, South Carolina are the leading contenders. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Agriculture Secretary Visits Idaho, Talks Forests U-S Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was in the Northwest today to try to build support for the Obama administration’s fire prevention strategies. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Unemployment Benefits Reach New Levels Unemployment trust funds across the country are under tremendous stress, but officials with Oregon’s Employment Department assured a legislative panel today that the state’s unemployment trust fund remains on solid ground. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Gov Softens Stance on Taxes Washington Governor Chris Gregoire appears to be softening her stance on raising taxes. Gregoire said today that her “door is open” to lawmakers and advocates who want to make the case for a tax package this January. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Hanford Workers Begin Digging Contaminated Sites Near Columbia River Workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southeast Washington began digging up dirt in one of the most contaminated sites near the Columbia River. As Correspondent Anna King reports, digging up material at Hanford can yield a potpourri of nasty stuff. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Homeowners Launch Bid to Reopen Tamarack Ski Resort A group of homeowners is trying to reopen the foreclosed Tamarack Resort in time for this winter’s ski season. Correspondent Tom Banse reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Yakima Fire Officials Reviewing Safety at Log Mill Officials in the City of Yakima have ordered a large log chipping mill to shut down operations until it figures out how prevent more fires. Over the weekend a sawdust and bark pile spontaneously combusted at the Dunollie mill. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Gregoire Makes Business Case to Boeing Washington Governor Chris Gregoire is making the case for why Boeing should build its second 787 line in Washington and not South Carolina. But the 32-page report released today [Monday] isn’t winning any commitments from Boeing. Correspondent Austin Jenkins reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | New Business Plan for Walla Walla Wineries The bad economy has hit the Northwest wine industry hard. That’s especially true in the market for high-end wines. In part two of “The Crush,” Correspondent Anna King visits this tight-knit, pastoral valley to see how winemakers are adapting. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | EPA to Move Ahead with Idaho Mine Waste Repository Mining waste is already on its way to a north Idaho flood plain after the EPA announced today that it has opened a new dumping ground. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon's Higher Vehicles Fees Kick In Thursday Starting Thursday, it’s going to cost more to register or title your vehicle in Oregon. Separate health care taxes are also taking effect. Those increases comes less than a week after opponents of the hikes fell short in their attempts to force referendum votes Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Gov Makes Biz Case to Boeing Washington Governor Chris Gregoire is making the case for why Boeing should build its second 787 line in Washington and not South Carolina. But the 32-page report released today falls short says a Republican Congressman. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Eastern WA Vintners Set Up Shop West of Cascades Walla Walla is known as Washington's wine capital. But as the economy has faltered, a trend is emerging. Eastern Washington winemakers are heading West over the Cascades. They're opening tasting rooms in Woodinville wine country, near Seattle. Austen Jenkins reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Cow Poop Not Waste When Electricity Involved Dairy cows make milk, and they make poop. Thirty gallons of poop a day. Now farmers can send the cow waste to machines that will convert it to electricity. Washington Governor Chris Gregoire will visit one of those electrical plants in Skagit County today. Phyllis Fletcher reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Tax Showdown Appears Likely A pair of tax hikes are likely headed for the ballot in Oregon. Opponents of the increases beat Friday’s deadline to submit signatures in an effort to overturn the tax measures. Correspondent Chris Lehman reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Poised for Fight Over Taxes A group seeking to overturn a pair of tax increases turned in more than a dozen boxes of signatures to the Secretary of State’s office Friday. Opponents of the taxes say they collected more than twice as many signatures as needed in order to get the measures on the ballot. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Idaho Higher Education Faces Additional Budget Holdbacks Public colleges and universities in Idaho are facing a budget holdback totaling six percent for this fiscal year. Correspondent Glenn Mosley reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Tax Showdown Appears Likely A pair of tax hikes are likely headed for the ballot in Oregon. Opponents of the increases beat today’s deadline to submit signatures in an effort to overturn the tax measures. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | New Instrument Array Planned to Plumb Mount St. Helens Volcano Scientists monitoring Mount St. Helens are looking to put a new instrument array on the volcano. They want to get to the bottom, literally, of whether or not the mountain is recharging for another blow. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Fishing for Objections to Obama Administration's Salmon Plan The Portland judge overseeing a major case involving threatened salmon is fishing for objections to the Obama Administration's latest plan. Correspondent Rob Manning has more. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Dodging the Taxman? Oregon Offers Chance To Fess Up Oregon is telling its delinquent taxpayers to let bygones be bygones. The state is rolling out its first ever tax amnesty program starting October first. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Supreme Court Throws Out Two Measure 11 Sentences The Oregon Supreme Court has for the first time overridden a voter-approved mandatory minimum sentencing law. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Two Fast-Moving Wildfires Still Challenge Oregon Crews Crews continue to grapple with two fast-moving wildfires in Oregon. The Tumblebug Complex Fire 24 miles southeast of Oakridge has grown to more than 9,000 acres. It’s 5 percent contained. The Boze Fire east of Roseburg is more than 10,000 acres and at 35 percent containment. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Recession Pinches People’s Generous Instincts More than one in three Americans tell pollsters that they’re giving less to charity in this recession. The consequences are showing up on the bottom lines of large Northwest charities... including the one that commissioned this survey. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | H1N1 Vaccine Set To Arrive In Early October Northwest public health officials are gearing up to receive millions of doses of vaccines meant to ward off the H1N1 flu virus. Health experts warn that the virus, also know as Swine Flu, could result in a flu season that’s more severe than usual. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington Evaluates Field Trips for Criminally Insane Inmates The head of the Eastern State Hospital in Spokane has resigned. Hal Wilson will leave his post October 1 after 10 years in the position. Wilson's departure comes as Washington state officials re-evaluate a policy that allows mentally ill criminals to take field trips. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | CEO of Eastern State Hospital Resigns After Patient's Field Trip Escape The head of Washington's Eastern State Hospital has resigned. Hal Wilson's departure comes in the middle of an investigation. State officials are looking into how a hospital patient who murdered a woman in 1987 walked away during a supervised outing in Spokane last week. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Eastern State Hospital CEO Voluntarily Resigns The head of Washington’s Eastern State Hospital resigned yesterday. Hal Wilson was at the helm last week when a hospital patient who murdered a woman in 1987 walked away during a supervised outing in Spokane. Phillip Paul was apprehended three days later. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WSU Kicks Off New Phase of Martin Stadium Renovation Project Washington State University says the next phase of its renovation of Martin Stadium will be funded completely through private dollars. Glenn Mosley reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Smoke From Two Oregon Wildfires Reaches Into Canada Smoke from two wildfires in the southern part of Oregon has reached all the way into British Columbia. Unhealthy air has been reported in the Eugene/Springfield metro area and in Oakridge, Oregon. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Seismic Survey Cruise Steers Around Whale Conflict A seismic survey cruise led by the Universities of Oregon and Washington has navigated past objections from Canadian save-the-whales groups. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington’s Eastern State Hospital CEO The head of Washington’s Eastern State Hospital has resigned. Hal Wilson’s departure comes in the middle of an investigation. State officials are looking into how a hospital patient who murdered a woman in 1987 walked away during a supervised outing in Spokane last week. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Three Months in Prison For Food Bribe Scandal Businessmen Three California businessmen who pled guilty to bribing an Oregon prison official will spend three months behind bars. A federal judge in Eugene issued the sentence today. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | World Scientists Discuss Radioactive Contamination at Kennewick WA Conference Top-level scientists from all over the world are meeting this week in Kennewick to exchange their most recent findings. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Top Washington Businesses Silent on Their Climate Impacts Most of the world's largest corporations have begun tracking and publicly reporting their emissions of greenhouse gases. But many of the biggest businesses in Washington state continue to keep their contributions to global warming under wraps. Correspondent John Ryan reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Shrinking the West Coast Fishing Fleet Even More West Coast fishermen who catch bottomfish are facing a sea change in their business. Federal fishery managers are replacing traditional fishing seasons with individual catch quotas. The strict quotas are expected to shrink the trawl fishing fleet significantly. Correspondent Tom Banse reports the transition is roiling the waters in Northwest fishing ports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington Evaluates Field Trips for Criminally Insane Inmates Washington state officials are re-evaluating a policy that allows mentally ill criminals to take field trips. That review is underway after Eastern State Hospital patient Phillip Paul walked off from a group of mentally ill patients visiting a Spokane fair this month. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Fewer Solo Drivers in the Northwest New numbers from the U-S Census Bureau show how gas prices and the recession are changing behavior even for people who have kept their jobs. Washington and Idaho show some of the highest increases in commuters switching to carpools or public transit. Correspondent Tom Banse reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Federal Bonds Granted to NW Tribes for Non-Gaming Projects Several Northwest tribes are planning to use federal aid granted this week for reservation development projects. Nationwide, the stimulus package includes $1 billion in federal aid for tribes. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Attorney General: State Can Declare Moratorium on Well-Drilling Washington state has the authority to halt well-drilling in parts of the state where water is in short supply. That’s one part of an opinion yesterday from the Washington Attorney General’s office. Correspondent Austin Jenkins reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Struggling to Find Work in the NW as Unemployment Benefits Run Out Congress is considering granting yet another extension of unemployment benefits to out of work Americans. But unless lawmakers act quickly, thousands across the Northwest will soon cash their final unemployment insurance checks. Correspondent Austin Jenkins introduces us to two Northwest families in this predicament. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Finding Security in Port Roberts, Washington When terrorists attacked the US eight years ago, some people found it hard to feel safe in places like New York City or Washington D.C. Some of them even left. And a few moved to what is referredto as the largest gated community in the US: Point Roberts, Washington. Correspondent Barbara Leidl reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | U of I President Nellis Pushes for Expansion of Medical Education University of Idaho President Duane Nellis says Idaho needs to expand the number of seats it offers in the Northwest’s regional medical education program. Glenn Mosley reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Wilberger Killer Pleads Guilty, Reveals Location Of Body The killer of Oregon college student Brooke Wilberger will spend the rest of his life in prison. The sentence comes as part of a plea bargain in which Joel Courtney gave officials the information they needed to recover Wilberger’s body. The case garnered national attention in 2004. Correspondent Chris Lehman reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | 2004 Murdered Victim's Body Found, Killer Pleads Guilty The books are finally closed on one of Oregon’s highest-profile murder cases this decade. The body of 19-year-old college student Brooke Wilberger was found over the weekend, more than five years after she was abducted and killed. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Fire Threatens Ashland, Oregon; Families Clear Out A fire in Southern Oregon has prompted the evacuation of several homes and businesses in Ashland last night. The fire was threatening structures on the south-east edge of Ashland and was close enough to town that fire officials called on about fifty families to clear out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Fires Threaten Two Southern Oregon Cities Crews worked through the night to get a handle on wildfires burning on the outskirts of Ashland and Medford. Correspondent Jessica Robinson reports, the two fires broke out within an hour of each other yesterday, putting a strain on local resources. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA L&I Proposes 7.6% Workers Comp Rate Increase; Business Group Calls for Reforms Washington’s business lobby is demanding reforms to the state’s workers’ compensation system. This after the Department of Labor and Industries today proposed a significant rate hike for 2010. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Idaho Colleges and Universities Planning for Budget Cuts Idaho’s State Board of Education has told the state’s colleges and universities to decide how they might work cuts of anywhere between four to six percent into their budgets this year. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Spokane to Bill State of Washington For Manhunt Spokane County’s sheriff says he’ll bill the state of Washington for the cost of searching for a mentally ill killer who escaped. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Spokane Mentally Ill Killer Caught in Goldendale, WA Authorities have arrested an escaped mentally ill patient in the south central Washington town of Goldendale. Phillip Paul was on the run for three days. He killed an elderly woman in 1987. On Thursday he walked away from a supervised visit to a Spokane fair. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Pasco Planned Parenthood Clinic Denied Because of Potential Protests Abortion rights advocates are still hoping to salvage a proposal for a planned parenthood clinic in Pasco, Washington. This week Pasco’s planning commission voted down the idea. The city officials agreed with critics who say there would be too much disturbance to the neighborhood from protestors. Correspondent Anna King has the story. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Number Of Homeless Oregon Students Growing The number of homeless students in Oregon grew by nearly 14% during the last school year. Correspondent Angela Kellner reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Anti-Tax Backers Reach Signature Goals Backers of an effort to overturn a pair of tax increases in Oregon say they’ve already made their signature goal. Correspondent Chris Lehman reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Child Porn Found In Washington Sex Offender Center Large caches of child pornography have been found in the possession of sex offenders in Washington State custody. Federal agents arrested seven residents of the special treatment center on McNeil Island. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | U of I Kibbie Dome Renovations Unveiled It’ll be brighter inside the University of Idaho Kibbie Dome this Saturday during the first home football game of the season. The university is nearing the end of a ten million dollar renovation. Glenn Mosley reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Northwest Has Enjoyed Slower than Usual Wildfire Season The Northwest wildfire season is entering its final few weeks. Fire experts say it’s been a slower-than-usual summer, with a relatively small number of acres burned. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Design for New I-5 Columbia River Bridge Approved Mayors of both Portland and Vancouver gave their approval today to the design for a new I-5 bridge over the Columbia. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Prison System Makes Lay-Offs; Prepares for Further Cuts Washington state’s prison system is downsizing. Already nearly 300 positions inside the prisons have been eliminated. Another 200 community corrections jobs are about to be cut. But the budget savings don’t come easily. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Amtrak Report Positive on Restored Oregon Route Senator Ron Wyden's office today released a draft report from Amtrak with some good news for Oregon, Idaho, and Washington. Wyden, and Idaho Republican Senator Mike Crapo, both asked Amtrak to study reopening a shuttered Amtrak line between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Revenues Continue to Decline; State Faces Another $1B Budget Deficit Washington state tax collections will fall another $238 million over the next two years. That’s the prediction today from the state’s official revenue forecaster. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Bradbury Enters Race For Oregon Governor Former Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury filed papers today for what has long been expected: That he’s entering the race to become Oregon’s next governor. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Large Caches of Child Porn Found in Sex Offender Lock-Up Seven residents of Washington’s first-in-the-nation Commitment Center for violent sex predators have been indicted for possessing large caches of child pornography. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Lawmakers May Face $1B Budget Hole in January Washington lawmakers won’t have to reconvene next month for a special session. But they will have to tackle a possible one-billion dollar budget hole when they meet again in January. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WSU Report Sharp Decline in Students Complaining of the Flu Washington State University may have turned the corner in its battle against the flu. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Rethinking the Front Yard: Cities Make Room For Urban Farms Michelle Obama isn't the only one turning her family's front yard into a garden. Throughout the Northwest, people are looking at ways to farm inside city limits. These small-scale operations aren't likely to put grocery stores out of business. But they are bringing neighbors together, and changing the way we think about urban agriculture. Deena Prichep reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon's Kitzhaber Downplays Congressional Health Care Efforts Oregon Democratic candidate for governor John Kitzhaber is warning that current Congressional efforts to overhaul health care won’t be enough to rein in costs. He made his remarks Wednesday at his first major public appearance since entering the governor’s race. Correspondent Chris Lehman reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Former U of O and NCAA President Dies Former University of Oregon President and NCAA president Myles Brand died Wednesday after battling pancreatic cancer. Corrspondent Jes Burns reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Ecology Officials Tighten Regs for Spokane River Discharges Up until a year ago, Washinton state officials believed they were on track to determine how much phosphorus dischargers could release into the Spokane river. The element causes algae blooms, and limits the amount of oxygen available for fish Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington and Oregon Prepare to Deport Inmates Early It’s something Arizona has done for years. Now Washington and Oregon are gearing up to deport illegal immigrant inmates to save on prison costs. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Two More WA State Based Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan; Memorial for Three Others The death toll continues to rise among Washington state-based soldiers in Afghanistan. Today the Department of Defense announced the deaths of two more soldiers from 5th Stryker Brigade. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | No Change in Oregon's Minimum Wage for 2010 Labor officials in Oregon announced today that the down economy will keep Oregon's minimum wage flat for the next year. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Swift and Passionate Reaction To Obama Salmon, Dams Plan The Obama Administration has finally laid its cards on the table for Northwest dams and endangered salmon. The new administration wants to largely maintain the course set under the Bush Administration. But it opened the door just a crack for dam removal on the lower Snake River. Tom Banse reports on the passionate reaction. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Obama Administation to Continue Bush Salmon Plan; Reaction Mixed The Obama Administration says it wants to largely maintain the Bush Administration’s approach to endangered Northwest salmon and Columbia Basin dam operations. Environmental groups are bitterly disappointed, while river-dependent businesses are relieved. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Smoking Banned Campus Wide At Some Oregon Colleges Smoking is banned inside virtually every public building in the Northwest. Now, students and staff at two Oregon community colleges won’t be able to light up anywhere on campus….not even outside or in their cars. Chris Lehman has more on what could be the next wave of anti-smoking policies. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington’s Unemployment Rate Up in August Washington’s unemployment rate inched up 0.3 of one percent in August to 9.2 percent. That reverses an identical drop in the jobless rate in July. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Women Play a Growing Role in Hunting The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates 12.5 million Americans still hunt. That number has fallen in the last 10 years. But at the same time, there’s a countertrend: more women are breaking into this male-dominated sport. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Wine is Judged by its Label, Study Shows A new study by an Oregon State University researcher shows people judge a wine by the label as well as what’s in the bottle. KLCC’s Rachael McDonald explains. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Report: Health Insurance Premiums Outpaces NW Incomes The cost of health insurance premiums has greatly outpaced the average income in the Pacific Northwest over the past decade. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Obama Team To Maintain Bush-era Course on Northwest Salmon The Obama Administration will not make radical changes to a 2008 Bush-era plan for endangered Northwest salmon. That news comes out of a legal brief submitted today to a federal judge in Portland. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Storycorps Wenatchee: Julie Denlinger and Kristie Allen Postpartum depression affects between 10 – 15% of new mothers within 6 months after giving birth. In last week’s Storycorps Wenatchee a teenager interviewed her mother about her postpartum depression and her suicide attempts. In this segment of Storycorps Wenatchee, twin sisters Kristie Allen and Julie Denligner of Spokane talk about ways to help those suffering from postpartum. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington and Oregon Swap Stimulus Dollars Washington state has awarded several stimulus contracts to Oregon companies. The projects are worth millions of dollars and dozens of jobs. Correspondent Liz Jones looks at the winners and losers when stimulus money crosses state lines. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Why A Few Western Glaciers are Growing Instead of Melting While most of the world's glaciers recede, a few in the American West are bucking the trend. Climate change skeptics would have you believe these examples undermine the evidence for global warming. Glacier researchers on the other hand can explain the aberrations. Correspondent Tom Banse takes a closer look. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Kent Teachers Are Back in Class Teachers in the Kent School District in Washington State went back to their classrooms yesterday. They voted this morning to end a strike that delayed school by ten days. Correpsondent Phyllis Fletcher reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WSU and U of I Celebrate the U.S. Constitution All educational institutions that receive federal funding are required to hold programming marking Constitution Day, which is September 17th. Glenn Mosley reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Violent Crime Rates Down In Northwest New FBI statistics show the violent crime rate is down in the Northwest as it is nationwide. Salem Correspondent Chris Lehman sorts through some of the numbers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | $40M Sought for Green River Flood Preperation The King County Executive is seeking more than $40 million to prepare for possible flooding this winter from the Green River. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Federal Plan for Columbia and Snake River Salmon Expected The Obama Administration is expected to roll out its long-awaited approach to threatened Columbia and Snake River salmon tomorrow. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Gov Releases Natural Resource Reform Ideas An update now to a story we brought you earlier this month on government reform efforts in Washington state. Today the Governor’s office unveiled 22-ideas for overhauling the way the state manages and protects natural resources. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon's Unemployment Up Again Oregon’s seasonally adjusted unemployment has risen again, this time to 12.2 percent. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Creative and Controversial Ways to Hold Inmates in Oregon's Lane County The Oregon Supreme Court is considering whether to take on a dispute between Lane County Commissioners and one of the County's own judges. As April Baer reports, a public safety funding crunch means cases are slipping through the cracks sometimes with disastrous results. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Businesses Brace for Workers’ Compensation Rate Hike Just as the economy is bottoming out, Washington businesses are bracing for a major increase in workers’ compensation premiums. This week officials will meet in Olympia to discuss the rate hike. Correspondent Austin Jenkins reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Idaho Soldiers Compete in Warrior Olympics Ten Idaho National Guard soldiers are competing this weekend in a marathon competition dubbed the Warrior Olympics. The contestants will complete a series of fitness and military events over a 24-hour period. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | UI Says Kibbie Dome Will be Ready for Home Football Opener University of Idaho officials say the latest round of improvements at the Kibbie Athletic facility in Moscow will not stand in the way of the home football opener on September 19th. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Record Enrollments at WSU, UI AND LCSC Record enrollments are being reported at Palouse area colleges. Glenn Mosley reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Spokane Police Raid, Close Medical Marijuana Dispensary A Spokane police raid on a marijuana dispensary yesterday has shed new light on the questions about Washington’s medical marijuana law. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA AG Appeals Judge’s Ruling Sealing R-71 Petitions The legal battle over Referendum 71 petitions in Washington – and whether they should be released to the public, is not over yet. Yesterday a federal judge in Tacoma ordered the petitions sealed to protect the people who signed them. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Secretary of State “Disappointed” By Ruling Keeping R-71 Petitions Sealed Washington election officials say they’re “surprised” and “disappointed” by a judge’s ruling yesterday. Federal Judge Benjamin Settle ordered the Secretary of State not to release petitions for Referendum 71 to the public. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Kent School Teachers Fined by Judge Teachers in Kent, Washington have been on strike over pay, class size and time teachers spend meeting with administrations. Now a judge has fined the teachers for everday they are out of school. Phyllis Fletcher reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Environmentalists Welcome Sherman Nomination as US Dept. of Agriculture Undersecretary Environmentalists are welcoming the nomination that could put another western state official in a new position in charge of the U.S. Forest Service. Harris Sherman is head of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. He's been selected to be an undersecretary with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a post that oversees the Forest Service. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | South Carolina Boeing Workers Dump Union; Bad News for Washington Workers at Boeing's 787 fuselage assembly plant in South Carolina voted to get rid of the Machinists union. This is bad news for Washington state. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Judge Orders WA R-71 Petitions Remain Sealed The names and addresses of Washington voters who signed Referendum 71 petitions will not be made public, at least for now. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Interenet Social Networking Comes to Oregon Governor’s Race Today is the first day to officially file to become a candidate in next year’s Oregon primary. Many Oregon candidates are taking a cue from President Obama by turning to online social media sites to spread their message. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | 3000 Oregonians Exhaust Extended Unemployment Benefits The state says extended unemployment benefits have run out for thousands of Oregonians. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Poverty Rate & Uninsured Rise During Recession Not surprisingly, the poverty rate and the number of people without health insurance rose as the nation slipped into recession. New figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau today show the increase was sharpest in the West. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Seattle Researchers Say Vaccine Best Way to Control H1N1 Researchers at a Seattle cancer center say the best way to control the H1N1 virus is through a vigorous vaccination program that targets children. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Growing Iranian Fruit and Crops in Idaho Who would think that Idaho and Iran have anything in common? Dr. Esmaeil Fallahi does. This Iranian immigrant and Idaho fruit researcher says you only have to visit his fruit orchard in Parma to see that southern Idaho and his Middle Eastern homeland have important similarities and that's been good for Idaho agriculture. Correspondent Guy Hand reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Navy Researchers Explore Link Between Skagit Bay and North Korea. The tideflats of Skagit River stretch for miles into Puget Sound. The Navye is funding research of the Bay because of a possible connection with North Korea. Correspondent John Ryan reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Wolf Hunt is on in Idaho But Future is Murky The season will continue as planned, but the future of wolf hunting in Idaho beyond this year is still murky. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | OSU Researchers Help Map “Potato Famine” Pathogen Researchers say they’re one step closer to defeating the culprit behind the Irish Potato Famine and countless other crop disasters. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Rep. Norm Dicks Named in Report on Defense Earmarks and Campaign Contributions The Center for Public Integrity says Dicks, a Democrat, is among a dozen members of Congress engaged in questionable relationships with the defense industry and its lobbyists. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Fishing Groups Want to meet Commerce Sec. Locke about Salmon A coalition of seven fishing groups is asking Commerce Secretary,and former Washington governor, Gary Locke, to more directly confront the declines in salmon populations. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Flu Season Is Hitting Hard on Palouse area Campuses It’s not unusual to see a number of flu cases as college classes get underway every fall semester. But the difference this year has been in the large number of students reporting flu like symptoms. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Judge Allows Wolf Hunts in Montana and Idaho to Continue A federal judge in Montana says hunters can continue to shoot wolves in Idaho. He turned down a request by conservation groups to stop the wolf season. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Tensions Between Tribal Fisherman and Cops on Columbia River Tensions are building on the Columbia River between tribal fishermen and state wildlife police. At the heart of these tensions is a tangle of jurisdictional disputes, cultural differences and long-standing mistrust. Correspondent Austin Jenkins reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | In-Party Challenges in Oregon's First District First District Congressman David Wu will face a primary challenger next year. Democrat David Robinson has announced he'll run against Wu. This would be his first foray as a candidate. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | StoryCorp Wenatchee: Heidi and Elora Kloss-Nobel For many women, motherhood is a time of new discoveries, excitement and feelings of love so deep it is hard to describe. It is also a time of sleepless nights, lifestyle adjustments and enormous responsibility. Sometimes the experience is made difficult by postpartum depression as in the case of Heidi Koss-Nobel. She was interviewed by her 14-year-old daughter, Elora, about her postpartum depression in today’s Storycorps Wenatchee. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Domestic Partnership Supporters Fail Again to Block R-71 From Ballot Washington voters will decide this fall whether to keep or reject the state’s latest gay domestic partnership law. A judge in Thurston County today refused to block Referendum 71 from the ballot. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Death with Dignity Act Update 11 people have ended their lives using Washington's Death With Dignity Act which went into effect six months ago. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Local Officials to Determine How to Distribute H1N1 Vaccine Health officials in Washington say they have a tricky question to answer. Who should be the first to get their H1N1 vaccine next month? As correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports, that was one of the main questions raised today at a pandemic flu summit in Seattle. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Union Membership Increases in Oregon & Idaho During Recession Labor unions in Idaho, Oregon, and California managed to increase their membership during this economic recession despite widespread layoffs. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Teachers In Eugene Work For Free On First Day of School Students at public schools in Oregon head back to the classroom today. Teachers at one district will be working the first day for *free. Correspondent Angela Kellner reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Idaho National Guard May Be Headed Overseas Idaho Army National Guard members learned Friday they may be headed overseas again. The same brigade spent a year in Iraq in 2004 and 2005. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | John Lim Announces Oregon Gubernatorial Bid There’s another Republican in the race to become Oregon’s next governor. Former state lawmaker John Lim says he’ll seek the GOP nomination in next May’s primary. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Concerns Over Sturgeon Poaching on the Columbia River In the deep waters of the Columbia River lurks a pre-historic looking creature. It’s the White Sturgeon – the largest freshwater fish in North America. Sturgeon are prized for their meat and eggs that’s why they’re being hunted by poachers. Correspondent Austin Jenkins reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NW Kayakers Descend on Tieton River The Northwest is a kayaking Mecca. And every year around Labor Day hundreds of kayakers and rafters flock to the Tieton Canyon in Washington when water is released from the dam near Rimrock lake. Anna King has this audio post card. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Northwest Schools Prepare for H1N1 On Tuesday, classes will start in many school districts. The schools are planning how they’ll react when large numbers of students come down with the H-1-N-1 virus. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Court Battle Over WA Ref 71 Continues; Petitions Still Sealed By Judge The legal war over Referendum 71 in Washington state will fire back up after the Labor Day weekend. R-71 is the measure to repeal Washington’s latest gay domestic partnership law – also known as “everything but marriage.” Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NW States Gearing Up to Go After “Race to the Top” Dollars Washington Governor Chris Gregoire wants the Obama administration to rethink some of its requirements for “Race to the Top.” This is the federal stimulus program to fund education reform at the state level. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Old Jawbone To Be Repatriated To NW Tribes: Scientists Surprised The jawbone, found in the Tri-Cities, is old and of Native American origin. That’s according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. As Correspondent Anna King reports, the Army plans to repatriate the bone to Native American tribes soon, and that surprises Kennewick Man scientists. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WSU: Safe to Attend Football Game Saturday Washington State University officials are assuring fans who plan on attending Saturday’s football game in Pullman that they won’t get sick. More than a hundred students have reported flu-like symptoms this week. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Why Are Wasps So Grumpy? In the Northwest, nights are getting cooler and days are getting shorter as we head into fall. It also means that wasps are swirling around the dead bugs on your car bumper and your family picnic this Labor Day. Correspondent Anna King found out there’s a reason behind their cranky behavior. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Mandatory Training for New OR Motorcyclists Motorcyclists are far more likely to be involved in fatal accidents in Oregon than people behind the wheel of a car. A new law will require all new motorcyclists in the state to pass a rigorous training course, in hopes of reducing deadly wrecks. Correspondent Chris Lehman reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Gay Rights Group Continues Effort to Keep WA Ref 71 Off Ballot Gay rights supporters in Washington have won a key legal step in their bid to keep Referendum 71 off the fall ballot. This is the measure to overturn Washington’s latest gay domestic partnership law. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | With Kitzhaber In, Clem Bows Out of Oregon Governor Race John Kitzhaber’s decision to enter the race for Oregon governor is already having ripple effects. One potential rival said today he’s decided against going up against the former two-term governor in the battle for the Democratic nomination. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NWPCC Releases Power Plan After weeks of gridlock over a new 20-year power plan, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council agreed today to release the plan to the public. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Veterans Cemetery To Receive $9 Million Stimulus The Washington State Veterans Cemetery near Spokane will receive nearly $9 million from the federal government. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA to Receive $33 Million from Pfizer Settlement Oregon will receive almost 5 million dollars from the largest national health care fraud agreement ever reached. Washington will get $33 million as part of this agreement, while Idaho will get $650,000. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Governor’s Race To Feature Familiar Name The race for Oregon’s top political job will feature a familiar name. Former two-term governor John Kitzhaber said yesterday that he’s going to seek his old office in next year’s election. Salem Correspondent Chris Lehman reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Smoking Rates Fall Again in Washington Washington health officials today said the state’s adult smoking rate has fallen for the sixth consecutive year. They credit an emphasis on tobacco prevention programs, higher cigarette taxes and a bad economy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Northwest Fire Crews Battle Los Angeles Fires Northwest crews are helping fight the wildfires burning in southern California. Federal officials say firefighters from all three states are there. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Memorial For Two of Nine Ft. Lewis Soldiers Killed in Past Two Weeks Nine Fort Lewis, Washington-based soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan over the past two weeks. All of the soldiers were members of the 5th Stryker Brigade – which deployed in July. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | John Kitzhaber Throws His Hat In The Ring Former Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber ended months of speculation today by declaring his intent to get his old job back. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | N.W. States Receive Funds from Pfizer Fraud Agreement Oregon will receive almost $5 million dollars from the largest national health care fraud agreement ever reached. Washington will get $9 million as part of this agreement, while Idaho will get $650,000. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Federal Stimulus Puts Oregon Youth to Work Many of Oregon's young people have been put to work this summer with the help of federal stimulus dollars. Governor Ted Kulongoski visited Eugene's Hendricks Park today to highlight a project by the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps. Correspondent Rachael McDonald reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | StoryCorp Wenatchee: Ronald Hull Shares How He Met His Wife After serving in the Vietnam War, Ronald Hull was stationed in Korea to interrogate North Korean spies. In South Korea, he met a young, artistic woman named Chung. Their courtship faced a language barrier and tensions with her family but despite the difficulties they married. In today’s Storycorps Wenatchee, Ronald shares the story of how he met his wife, with his son-in-law Brad. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA State Abandons Multi-Million Dollar On-Line Recruiting System It cost Washington taxpayers millions of dollars to build, but never worked properly. Now the state is abandoning its troubled E-Recruiting program. Instead the plan is to contract out the service Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Rammell; No Appology for "Obama Tags" Remark Republican Candidate for Idaho Governor Rex Rammell is refusing to apologize for his controversial remarks about purchasing “Obama Tags.” Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Former OR Gov. Kitzhaber to make Announcement about Possible Run for Old Office A source close to former Oregon governor John Kitzhaber says theDemocrat will make an announcement about his political futuretomorrow. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Northwest Gets Major Part of $500M in Federal Stimulus Money for Renewable Energy Today the federal government announced it willspend $500-million on renewable energy projects across thenation. The money will help pay for wind, solar and bio-mass energyventures. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WSU Assaults False Police at Washington State University say all of the assaults reportedat WSU in Pullman near the start of the fall semester were falselyreported. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Kulongoski Looks At “Streamlining” Government, One Panel At A Time It’s said that desperate times call for desperate measures. Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski wants to cut or consolidate dozens of state boards and commissions. Whether that amounts to desperate measures is in the eye of the beholder. Correspondent Chris Lehman reports in the second and final part of our series on government reform. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Governor Tackles Natural Resource Reform But Critics Say Too Little Too Late Government is seldom a model of efficiency. But now, in the face of a recession and budget crises, states like Washington and Oregon are embracing the idea of government reform. Correspondent Austin Jenkins examines efforts by Washington's governor to streamline state government. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Contentious Fight Over Gay Rights Looms in WA If you think the healthcare debate has been contentious, just wait until this fall in Washington state. A major battle is shaping up over gay rights. Correspondent Austin Jenkins explains. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Hanford Contractors Dig Up Historic Landfill Two dumps at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation are being considered for the National Register of Historic Places. This means cleaning them up requires extra care. Correspondent Anna King reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Idaho's Wolf Hunting Season Starts Today But For How Long? Idaho’s first wolf hunting season opens today in some parts of the state. How long it will stay open is up to a federal judge in Montana. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Hanford Contractors Dig Up Historic Landfill At the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southeast Washington you just never know what you could dig up. Two dumps there are being considered for the National Register of Historic Places, so cleaning them up requires extra care. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Sunshine Committee Votes to Eliminate “Legislative Exemption” Washington lawmakers should not be exempt from the state’s open records law. That’s the recommendation today from the state’s “Sunshine Committee.” It voted 8 to 1 to recommend the elimination of “legislative exemption.” Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | School Districts Challenge WA State in Court Over Education Funding A coalition of school districts, teacher unions, and parents in Washington State had their first day in court today. They’re suing Washington State. They say the state hasn’t funded its constitutional mandate to provide basic K-12 education. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Gay Rights Repeal Likely Headed for WA November Ballot It looks like Washington voters will decide this November the contentious issue of whether to keep or overturn the state’s latest gay domestic partnership law. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Montana Judge Mulls Wolf Hunt Injunction A judge in Missoula, Montana is considering whether to grant an injunction that would stop wolf hunts in Idaho and Montana this fall. Federal Judge Donald Molloy heard arguments from conservation groups, the two states and the federal government this morning. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | LCSC Dedicates New Nursing & Health Sciences Building Lewis- Clark State College officials say they hope the college’s new Nursing & Health Sciences Building in Lewiston will help the region deal with a shortage of nurses and other health care professionals. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Northwest Apple Harvest is Underway In Northwest farm country, apple harvest is in full swing. Huge trucks loaded down with fruit can be seen on the highways headed for market. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Idaho Wolf Advocates Protest Start of Wolf Hunting Season With Idaho’s wolf hunting season due to start next Tuesday, opponents and hunters are each trying to sway public opinion. In Coeur d’Alene today, both sides held respectful, but competing demonstrations. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NOAA Fleet Move Challenged By Spurned Rival Oregon officials are scoffing at the latest attempt to block NOAA from moving its Marine Operations Center to Newport, Oregon. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WSU fights off swine flu outbreak in Pullman, WA At Washington State University in Pullman at least 180 students have come down with flu-like symptoms in the first week of classes. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Utilities Vie for Government Funds for Next Gen Energy Projects Thirteen utilities and government agencies from Washington to Wyoming are hoping to get federal funds to do nearly $180 million worth of experimental energy projects Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Northwest States Mixed in Speedy Broadband Study The Pacific Northwest is home to many well-known high tech companies. But the region doesn’t rank high in Internet connection speed. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA PDC Denies Request to Seal Names of Donors; Next Stop Court? Leaders of an effort to overturn Washington’s latest gay domestic partnership law say they’re prepared to go to court. This after Washington’s Public Disclosure Commission today refused to seal the names of campaign donors. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | U.S. Rep. Minnick Talking Health Care with Constituents Idaho Congressman Walt Minnick is holding a series of town meetings in the First Congressional District of Idaho, talking about health care. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Revenues Continue To Fall Oregon may be past the deepest point of its recession, state economists said today. But the number crunchers warned lawmakers not to break out the champagne just yet. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon State Cell Phone Audit Reveals Potential Savings The state of Oregon is paying too much for cell phone service. That’s the upshot of a new state audit released today. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon's Lawmakers React to Kennedy's Passing Senator Ted Kennedy's death last night continues to resonate across the country. Ethan Lindsey reports on reactions from the Pacific Northwest. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Floyd says WSU is 'Budget Weary" Washington State University President Elson Floyd says he won’t speculate on what the future might bring for the university’s budget. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Vampire Phenomenon Transforms Image of Timber Town Last fall's blockbuster "Twilight" created a boon for the tourism industry in Forks, Washington. The small timber town on the Olympic Peninsula is the setting for the vampire book series. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Northwest Senators Pay Tribute to Ted Kennedy Northwest senators today are remembering Ted Kennedy’s important influence in their political lives. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon SAT Lower than Last Year Average scores on the college entrance exam called the SAT dipped nationwide last year, and dropped a little more in Oregon. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Another Fort Lewis Stryker Brigade Prepares to Deploy Yet another Fort Lewis Washington based Army Brigade isshipping out. This time it’s the 4th Stryker Brigade. It’s headed toIraq for a one-year deployment. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon: Gas Tax Opponents Try To Block Increase Business groups aren’t the only ones trying to quash recentlypassed tax hikes in Oregon. Opponents of a gas tax increase arepressing ahead with their own signature-collecting for a possiblereferendum vote. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Boasts about Washington SAT Scores The College Board made its annual announcement of SAT scoresnation-wide today. Washington State is number one, forstates where most of the eligible students take the SAT. That’s thekind of boast the College Board discourages. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Latest Attack on WSU Woman a Fake; University Alert System Put to the Test Reports of attacks on campus have prompted WashingtonState University managers to send out three alerts to student cellphones and e-mails in less than a week. Three women havereported assaults near central campus in Pullman. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Family Will Sue Lane County Over Prisoner Release A Lane County family has indicated it will file a lawsuit over a man who committed rape after being released from jail early. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | "You Can Never Judge a Book By Its Cover" Buford and Valla Howell of Leavenworth made an audio record of their story for their son and his family. They talked about howthey met and married, their first home, becoming new parents, and told the story of a cross-country road trip they took with their baby from South Carolina to California. As long-married couples often do, they sometimes recalled the details differently. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Renewed Invasion of Jumbo Squid on Northwest Coast Large Humboldt squid have re-invaded the waters off Oregon and Washington. The squid are 4 to 6 feet long. They used to be rare this far north, but are becoming more common. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Wolf Hunting Tags Go on Sale in Idaho Sales of wolf tags in Idaho are brisk on the first day they’re available. The season is scheduled to start in some parts of Idaho on September 1. But there’s still some question as whether the hunt will go off as planned. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Eastern Washington Fire Destroys Iconic Café in Remote Black Rock Valley Eastern Washington’s remote Black Rock Valley has lost one of its most famous institutions to wildfire. The Silver Dollar Café west of Yakima was destroyed in the Dry Creek Complex fire that burned nearly 49,000 acres. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WSU President Floyd says the Pullman Campus is Safe In the wake of two reported assaults on campus in Pullman in the past week, Washington State University President Elson Floyd says the campus is safe. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Second Attack Reported on WSU Campus As Students Return But concerns about safety have dampened the excitement and back-to-school barbeques. Two female students have been attacked on the university’s home campus in Pullman, Washington since last Wednesday. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington Attorney General Says Prescription Drug Abuse is on the Rise Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna says prescription drug abuse is an epidemic in the state. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | University of Idaho to Require Freshman to Live on Campus First year students at the University of Idaho’s Moscow campus willbe required to live on campus starting in the fall of 2010. GlennMosley reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Lowe’s Pays Heavy Price to Settle Sexual Harassment Claims Beginning this week, all of thehardware chain’s Oregon and Washington operations are under courtoversight. That will last for the next three years. Lowe’s also willpay nearly $1.75 million to three former workers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Boeing Sends Out More Layoff Notices Five-hundred more Boeing workers got layoff notices today.More than half of them work in the Puget Sound region. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Court Battle Over WA’s Top-Two Primary Lives Another Day It’s the legal battle that won’t end. Washington’s politicalparties have won the right to continue waging war over the state’stop-two primary system. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Four Fires Burning, Residents Evacuated Near Soap Lake in Eastern Fifty homes have been evacuated and 2,000 acres have burnedin Eastern Washington, near Soap Lake. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Northwest Officials Brace For Flu Season Public health officials are bracing for what could be adifficult flu season. In Salem today, Oregon policymakersconvened for a daylong “flu summit”. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | ‘Julie and Julia’ Whips Up a Run on Cookbooks in the NW The newly released movie “Julie and Julia” has whipped up a frenzy of cookbook buying throughout the Northwest. Fans are especially hunting for Julia Child’s first book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” published in 1961. Local bookstores can’t seem to keep the book in stock. Correspondent Anna King reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The New Normal: Experts Say Shoppers Have Changed Their Ways The recession has created a different kind of shopper and that’s having a profound impact on retailers including ones in the Northwest. Correspondent Anna King ventured into a mall to see how consumers and retailers are adjusting to “The New Normal.” Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Ten Men Indicted After Massive Marijuana Raid in Eastern Oregon Investigators say they seized more than 30,000 plants with a street value estimated to be more than $30 million. The raids took place over two days on remote Bureau of Land Management land in Malheur County. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | 21 Arrested In Oregon Crackdown Of Delinquent Child Support Cases The Oregon Attorney General's Office says 21 people were arrested Wednesday for failing to pay child support. Officials say the parents arrested owed more than a half-a-million dollars in delinquent child support. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | McKenna says Gang Problem is Statewide in WA Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna says gangs are alaw enforcement issue across the state. He says prevention andintervention programs put together by a partnership of educators,government, and non- profit agencies is part of the answer inaddressing the problem. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Obama Administration Schedules Seattle Meeting on Tribal Crime It’s an old problem that’s getting new attention: high crime ratescoupled with a lack of crime-fighting-resources on Indianreservations across the U.S. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Idaho, E. Washington Officials to Denounce Racist Literature Authorities in north Idaho and eastern Washington aredenouncing the latest round of racist literature distributed in Coeurd’Alene. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Return of the Redfish: Snake River Sockeye Salmon Swim Back From the Brink The most endangered run of Pacific salmon is beating the odds this summer. You can’t get any closer to extinction than Snake River sockeye salmon did last decade. This is the run that gave us “Lonesome Larry,” so named because he was the one and only sockeye to complete the migration in 1992. Correspondent Tom Banse reports Lonesome Larry’s descendents are coming back this year by the hundreds. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Sunny Welcome for Huge Solar Farm in Central WA Central Washington State could be home to the world’s largest solar power plant... at least for a little while until someone else builds bigger. This week, a startup company submitted a development application to plant 400,000 solar electricity panels near Cle Elum. The huge project is getting a sunny welcome from the neighborhood. Correspondent Tom Banse reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Don Hewitt Remembered as WSU Murrow Awared Recipient Broadcast pioneer and “60 Minutes” creator Don Hewitt, who died Wednesday, was the 2008 recipient of the Edward R. Murrow Award at Washington State University. Glenn Mosley reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Anti-Tax Group Uses Obama Quote To Drum Up Support A conservative anti-tax group in Oregon has hit the airwaves with an ad meant to drum up support to overturn two new tax hikes. But you might be surprised at who the ad features. Correspondent Chris Lehman explains. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Lawsuit Fails to Halt Incineration of Chemicals at Umatilla Army Depot and Other Sites The U.S. Army can continue to incinerate chemical weapons after a judge’s ruling yesterday. The lawsuit could have brought operations to a halt at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in northeastern Oregon. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon State Hospital Touts Nurse Hiring Success The Oregon State Hospital is touting its recent success in hiring nurses. But critics say that’s only one part of what the beleaguered agency needs to do to. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Seattle Utility in Dispute Over Dam Compensation Washington’s largest metropolis has a close link to a remote part of the state. Seattle’s city utility and a northeastern Washington county are at odds. The conflict is over a hydroelectric dam that provides the Emerald City with more than 40% of its power. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Spokane Rallies for Public Health Care Option Supporters of a public health insurance option are mobilizing to convince the president and Congressional Democrats not to give up on the idea. More than 200 people rallied today in Spokane to deliver that message. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Huge Solar Farm Gets Sunny Welcome in Cle Elum Earlier today, about 50 residents of central Washington’s Kittitas County asked questions of Teanaway Solar Reserve managing partner Howard Trott. Trott told his audience that the 400,000 panels he wants to install in a forest clear-cut will be well hidden. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Unemployment Benefits Will Start Running Out Soon For Many NW Job-Seekers Thousands of job-seekers will soon exhaust their unemployment benefits. That means the pressure is on to find work in what is still a tough job market. Olympia Correspondent Austin Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The New Normal Part 2: The Future of Home Construction in the NW In the second part of our series “The New Normal,” Correspondent Austin Jenkins reports on the future of the Northwest homebuilding industry. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Courteous Crowd At Oregon Town Hall Meeting in Eugene A courteous crowd of more than 1,100 people turned out for a Town Hall meeting Tuesday night with Congressman Peter DeFazio in Eugene. Correspondent Rachael McDonald reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Bellingham Company Employees Hired Illegal Immigrants Two employees of a Bellingham company have pled guilty to federal charges that they knowingly hired illegal immigrants. Correspondent Liz Jones reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | StoryCorps Wenatchee: Mathew and William Dick Mathew and William Dick are members of the Wenatchee tribe. In StoryCorps Wenatchee, they share the history behind one of the songs they were given and of a trade offering that was rejected by their parents. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Second Amtrak Train to Vancouver, BC Starts Wednesday The long-awaited second daily AMTRAK Cascades train to Vancouver, B.C. makes its inaugural run tomorrow, starting from Portland. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Seattle’s Group Health in National Spotlight as Buzz About Health Care Co-Ops Grows The White House hasn’t called, but lots of reporters from around the country have. That’s the word this week from Seattle’s Group Health. It’s suddenly in the national health care reform spotlight because of the buzz in Washington, D.C. over co-operatives. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Battle Brewing Over Video Lottery Compensation Rates The tug-of-war over compensation rates for hosting video lottery games drew people from around Oregon to a public hearing in Salem today. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Insurance Agencies Asking for More Home Fire Protection from Northwest Residents Insurance companies have increased the number of home inspections in Eastern Washington and Oregon in response to wildfire damage. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Unemployment Rate Drops Slightly It might be another sign the economy has bottomed-out. 4,000 new jobs were created last month in Washington state. And the state’s unemployment rate dropped for the first time since April. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | What Will the NW Housing Market Look Like When The Economy Recovers? Economists expect the recession to end in the next year, but not without some long-term changes. In our series, 'The New Normal' we’re looking at lasting alterations to the region’s economic landscape. Austin Jenkins reports on the real estate market. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Cambodian Refugee Faces Deportation from Washington He got in trouble with the law. And now a 33-year-old Federal Way, WA man faces deportation to Cambodia - even though he left that country as a small child. Family and friends call it a miscarriage of justice. Correspondent Austin Jenkins reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Nuclear Regulatory Commission Investigating Fire at Washington State’s Nuke Plant Earlier This Month Earlier this month an electrical fire broke out at a nuclear power plant at the Hanford Reservation in southcentral Washington. That fire is now the subject of a federal investigation as Richland Correspondent Anna King reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Idaho Commission Approves Wolf Kill Quota Wolf hunting will begin in some parts of Idaho on September 1. It’s the state’s first wolf hunting season since the animal was removed from the Endangered Species list in May. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Veteran African-American Lawmaker Steps Down The first African-American woman to serve in the Oregon Legislature is stepping down this month. Democratic state Senator Margaret Carter is resigning to accept a high-level post at the Oregon Department of Human Services Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Unemployment Flat Oregon’s unemployment rate remained flat for yet another month, according to numbers that state officials released this morning. The unemployment rate for July is 11.9% virtually the same as it’s been every month since March. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Nursing Home For Brain Injured Patients Threatened By WA Budget Cuts In Snohomish, Washington there’s an old tuberculosis hospital that’s now a private nursing home for brain injured patients. The future of Delta Rehab - and other Washington nursing homes - could be imperiled because of recent budget cuts. Austen Jenkins reports on a lawsuit to prevent the loss of funds. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Plastics Industry Outspends to Prevent Bag Fees More money has been poured into a grocery-bag referendum than any other race on tomorrow's ballot in Seattle. Opponents of the proposed 20-cent fee on disposable grocery bags have outspent their foes more than 15 to one. Seattle officials say it's the most spent on an election in recent memory. John Ryan reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Ag Secretary Offers Unqualified Defense of Roadless Rule Speaking in Seattle Friday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the administration will do whatever it takes to block road building, logging, or other development on undisturbed national forest lands. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Math Scores Still Dismal; Dorn Says More Education Funds Needed Washington state schools need a billion dollars more per year to improve student achievement. That’s the word from Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Police Investigating Opium Poppies in Oregon Backcountry Investigators were surprised this summer to discover cultivated poppy fields growing in Oregon's wilderness. Several scenarios may explain these illegal backcountry gardens, but law enforcement isn't thrilled with any of them. April Baer reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Heat Kills Fish in Washington Waters The recent Northwest heat wave was more than just uncomfortable for people; it was deadly for fish. Washington state wildlife officials say hundreds of thousands of them died in hatcheries. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Blumenauer Defends End-of-Life Counseling Provision The U.S. Senate appears to have dropped an amendment to offer Medicare coverage of end-of-life counseling sessions in health care reform Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Ag Secretary Calls for Increased Forest Thinning In Seattle today, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack laid out a “new vision” for the U.S. Forest Service that focuses on conservation and restoration. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington Student Test Scores Plateau; Many More Schools “Failing” By Federal Standards Washington student test scores have hit a plateau. And it will take more money to achieve improvements in the future. That’s the blunt message from Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Heat-Seeking Chopper Flies Over Salmon Rivers The Bonneville Power Administration normally uses it's aircraft to troubleshoot transmission lines. But this week, BPA diverted one helecopter to fly reconnaissance over salmon streams using a thermal imaging camera. The video will be used to help target millions of dollars of salmon restoration spending. Correspondent Tom Banse went aloft to get our story. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Call, Don’t Text 911 Say WA Emergency Officials It might seem obvious, but if you ever need emergency help – don not try to send a text message to 911. That’s the message today from emergency officials in Washington state. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Supreme Court Hears Arguments Over Gift Limits Lobbyists in Oregon are howling over a relatively new law that limits how much money they can spend to wine and dine lawmakers. They made their case against the law to the Oregon Supreme Court today. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Bringing Salmon Back to the City To a salmon, big cities make for poor habitat. Not much fish food grows on a bare concrete bulkhead. Now some scientists hope to change that. They're looking at new ways for salmon to live in the city, or at least find some food. Joshua McNichols reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Man Heads Up World’s Shortest Wagon Train The pioneers who settled the west endured several months journeying over rutted trails and high mountain passes. An Oregon man is commemorating that trek this month by taking his covered wagon on a much shorter journey. Correspondent Chris Lehman went along for part of the ride. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Northwest Congressional Members Answer Health Care Questions Health Care reform is the main topic of Current Town Hall gatherings. These meetings have been both spirited and polite. We have two reports now from Oregon and Idaho. Correspondent Chris Lehman starts us off in McMinnville, Oregon. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Conservation is Northwest’s Big New Energy Solution The Northwest Power and Conservation Council is deadlocked on a new regional energy plan that leans heavily on conservation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Town Hall in Cottage Grove, Oregon Crowded Yet Civil Roughly 300 people showed up for a Town Hall meeting with Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio in Cottage Grove, south of Eugene, today. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon National Guard Engineers will Deploy this Fall 95 members of the Oregon Army National Guard are being deployed to Afghanistan this fall. KLCC’s Jes Burns reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Officials Break Ground on New I-5 Bridge Over Willamette River Crews in Eugene and Springfield are working on the largest bridge project in the Oregon Department of Transportation’s history. It’s a replacement for the Interstate 5 Bridge over the Willamette River in Oregon. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Chu to Scientists: “Save the planet!” Energy Secretary Steven Chu told federal scientists in Richland to work urgently to clean up the Cold War legacy at Hanford, create new jobs and do nothing less than save the planet. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | StoryCorps Wenatchee: Ramiro Lopez and Greg Jordan In Today's StoryCorps Wenatchee, the story of Ramiro Lopez and how he sought and worked hard to capture the American Dream. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Gov’s Budget Office: I-1033 Would Cost State $6B in Lost Revenue by 2015 Washington initiative activist Tim Eyman’s latest measure will cost state coffers $6 billion over the next five years. That’s the analysis out today from the Governor’s budget office. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Gains Greater Role in Hanford Cleanup Decisions The State of Oregon will have a greater role in cleanup decisions at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu made that announcement today on a visit to Hanford. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Student Firefighters Allowed to Go to School Late Some Northwest university students may have to miss the start of school in late August and September. They’re working on wildfire crews and may not get back before classes begin. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington State Pushes Feds to Hold Off On Shipping New Waste to Hanford State and federal officials announced todaythey’ve settled a lawsuit over the pace of cleanup at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The news came as U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu visited the nuclear site in southeastern Washington for the first time. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Citing Threats Ref 71 Opponents Ask for Contributors Names to Be Sealed Opponents of Washington’s latest gay domestic partnership law say they’re under attack and feeling threatened. As a result they want Washington’s Public Disclosure Commission, or PDC, to seal the names of their financial backers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Congressman Holds Town Hall Meeting Focused on Health Care Several Congressional town hall meetings around the country have been tense this month. So, interest was high as Oregon Democrat David Wu held a gathering in McMinnville, Oregon last night. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Town Hall Meeting At Times Testy, But Civil Overhauling the nation’s health care system has been the subject of debate at congressional town hall meetings across the country, sometimes with a great deal of passion and even heckling. There was some of that at a meeting held last night by Oregon Democrat David Wu. But as Correspondent Chris Lehman reports, much of the discussion was civil. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Energy Secretary Chu Announces New Power Project in NW A new multi-million dollar power transmission project will create hundreds of jobs and carry wind energy to homes and businesses across the West. That’s according to U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu who made the announcement Monday in Richland. Correspondent Anna King reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Update: WA DSHS Says Progress Being Made at Colville Office Officials with the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) say progress is being made after complaints at the Colville office. Advocates say the jury is still out. Correspondent Austin Jenkins reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Show Me the Money: It’s in Greater Seattle If you’re wondering in this recession where the big money is, the answer is in greater Seattle. Correspondent Tom Banse has details. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NW Bollywood Theater Offers Immigrants a Connection to Home Indian-style films have enjoyed greater attention in the U.S. after “Slumdog Millionaire” swept the academy awards last year. Bollywood is more than just spectacle to thousands of immigrants who have made the Northwest their home. Correspondent Anna King found a small Bollywood theater in Kirkland, WA that has has become a cathedral of cultural. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Western Democrats Meet in North Idaho Voters in the western U.S. added a little blue to their region’s generally red electoral map last November. Democrats from throughout the inland West are met in north Idaho last weekend to map out how to keep their momentum going into the next election. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Withholding Payments From Medicaid Computer Contractor The state of Oregon is so fed up with a troubled new Medicaid computer system, its withholding payments from the contractor it hired to design the program. Correspondent Chris Lehman reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Reprieve for Post Offices in WA & MT, But Not OR & ID Customer uproar has led the U-S Postal Service to give a reprieve to all post offices proposed for closure in Washington State and Montana. But six branches in Oregon and three in Idaho remain candidates for consolidation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Senator Proposes New Tools for Cross-Border Prosecutions Oregon Senator Ron Wyden says he'll introduce a bill to expedite cross-border pursuits of suspects who flee to Mexico. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | 50 Year Record Shows Glaciers Melting in Pacific NW A new Department of Interior report says three "benchmark" glaciers in Washington State and Alaska are melting and fast. The representative icefields include South Cascade Glacier in Washington’s Skagit County. Correspondent Tom Banse has more. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Power Plant at Hanford Remains Closed: NW Power OK A nuclear power plant at Hanford remains shut down after an electrical fire Wednesday. But the incident isn’t expected to short Northwest power customers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Democratic Leaders Not Invited to WA Labor Convention It’s another sign of the rift between Washington State labor unions and majority Democrats. Labor leaders are meeting this week for their annual convention but didn’t invite any state Democratic leaders to speak. Correspondent Austin Jenkins reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon To Offer Online Voter Registration Oregonians will soon have the chance to register to vote online. Governor Ted Kulongoski signed a bill that will allow people to sign up as voters in time for next spring’s primaries. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NW Dealers Welcome Cash for Clunkers Refill Auto dealers around the Northwest are thrilled that Congress has extended the Cash for Clunkers program until about Labor Day. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Why African-Americans Have Not Used Assisted Suicide in Oregon It’s been five months since Washington became the second state, after Oregon, to enact a so-called “Death with Dignity” law. So far, at least nine Washington patients have taken lethal doses of medicine prescribed by their doctor. But if Oregon is any guide, African-Americans are unlikely to take advantage of the law. Correspondent Austin Jenkins explains. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Peaceful Healthcare Town Hall Meeting for Minnick in Idaho Health care reform is dominating many of the discussions between Northwest Congressional members and their constituents this week. In some parts of the country, representatives are running into organized protests. But in Democrat Walt Minnick received a polite reception in Post Falls. Corrrespondent Doug Nadvornick reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon, Washington Test Markets for Electric Cars Oregon and Washington are set to become guinea pigs for the electric car industry. The Obama administration announced yesterday that the two states will get a network of charging stations designed to make owning an electric car easier. Correspondent Chris Lehman reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Wildfires in Control at Umatilla Chemical Depot Officials at the Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot say they have contained several wildfires caused by lightning. As Correspondent Anna King reports underground bunkers were not affected. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Green Power Company Ordered to Shut Down The Washington Department of Ecology has ordered a waste-to-energy company in Pasco to shut down immediately. Company CEO Michael Spitzauer describes himself as “shocked” and vows to fight the order to stop operating. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Battle Over WA Initiative and Referendum Petitions Heats Up The National Education Association recently requested copies of petitions that initiative activist Tim Eyman submitted for a tax-cutting measure. This request is the latest skirmish over whether initiative petitions are public record. Austen Jenkins reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | All Children in Oregon Now Have Healthcare Governor Ted Kulongoski signed a bill yesterday that extends health coverage to every child in Oregon. Correspondent Kristian Foden-Vencilreports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Beetles Infest Some Plutonium Packages at Hanford Scientists in South Carolina are investigating how tiny beetles got into plutonium storage and shipping containers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Correspondent Anna King reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington State Patrol Recommends Firing 8 Troopers The Washington State Patrol says it will fire eight troopers accused of submitting phony diplomas so they could collect extra pay. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Port of Newport Lures Government Research Fleet Away from Seattle Newport, Oregon Tuesday won a fierce competition to homeport the federal government’s West Coast research and survey fleet for the next 20 years. But two U-S Senators want to change that. Correspondent Tom Banse reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WSU's Migrant Worker Education Program Loses Funding For more than 40 years, a program at Washington State University has helped migrant workers get a high school level education. But the program is forced to close its doors this fall because its federal funding fell through. Correspondent Liz Jones reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Vietnam Veteran Remembers a Tragic Helicopter Ride In this StoryCorps excert Ronald Hull shares an emotional story of a tragic helicopter ride in Vietnam with his son-in-law, Brad Drury. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Tribal Children Explore Through Photography The Muckleshoot Tribe has started a photography program for American Indian youth. The course helps tribal kids build up their self esteem with the aim of keeping them in school. Correspondent Anna King has the story. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Hiker Detained in Iran has Oregon Ties One of the hikers apparently detained by Iranian authorities is Josh Fattal, who worked at Aprovecho Research Center in Cottage Grove, near Eugene. The State Department is still awaiting confirmation that Fattal, along with two others, was arrested. Correspondent Rachael McDonald reports Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Inspectors Step Up Work-Place Visits Because of Heat Workplace regulators in Washington are stepping up inspections because of the recent hot weather. They’re looking for violations of the state’s year-old heat stress regulations. Austin Jenkins has the details. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Hey Companies! Take These Kids Seriously Social networking, blogging and internet video tools have become so simple that even a fifth grader can use them. In fact, students that young ARE using them and in some cases turning out pages more polished and professional than us grown-ups. Correspondent Tom Banse visits some young and talented bloggers and product reviewers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Native Americans Say Huckleberries Increasingly Harder to Find Hundreds of Native Americans gathered for the Umatilla Tribes’ annual huckleberry celebration. But those berries are becoming increasingly harder to find. Correspondent Anna King reports that pressure from commercial pickers and a changing forest are to blame. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Lawmaker Wants "Rabid-Dog" Approach to Getting Fed Ed Dollars President Obama is putting $5 billion on the table to spur education reform at the state level. But Northwest states may not qualify for the first round of so-called “Race to the Top” dollars. Correspondent Austin Jenkins explains. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | What's the Historical Weather? Look at Tree Rings and Clam Shells Heat wave records abounded last week. But there’s a caveat. Northwest weather records don't date back very far, relatively speaking. An Oregon State University researcher is having success using long lived trees and sea creatures to lengthen our climate record. Correspondent Tom Banse reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | West Coast Groundfish Fishery Fares Well in Global Review Local fish processors are pleased to see the West Coast bottom fish catch classified among the most sustainable of ten global regions analyzed. Correspondent Tom Banse reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Huckleberries and Other Forest Goods Becoming Big Business In down economy more people are turning to National Forest lands to make ends meet. They are picking more berries and mushrooms and hauling away more wood putting increasing pressure on the land and traditional Native American gatherers. Correspondent Anna King reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | A Visit to Boise's Basque Festival The largest Basque community outside of Spain happens to be in Boise, Idaho. Thousands of Basques immigrants came to Idaho, Oregon and Nevada beginning in the late 1800s to work mainly as sheepherders. Every year, Basque descendents from around the Northwest and beyond gather in Boise to share their culture. Correspondent Sadie Babits reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NW Police Agencies Win and Lose with Stimulus Grants Some Northwest police chiefs and sheriffs are celebrating, others are disappointed after the White House announced $1 billion in law enforcement grants. Correspondent Austin Jenkins reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WSU Researchers Finger Leading Suspects for Bee Disorder A research team at Washington State University has fingered two probable suspects behind a mysterious malady affecting honeybees. Correspondent Tom Banse reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Low Attendance at Hearing to Store Mercury at Hanford Site People who live near the Hanford Nuclear Reservation appear to be all right with the possibility the Department of Energy will store the nation’s mercury there. At a public hearing last night only about 15 people showed up. Correspondent Anna King reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Outdoor Workers Take Precautions with the Heat With record and near-record temperatures all around the Northwest, it’s tough to be working outside. Health officials say people who don’t prepare could be vulnerable to heat stroke. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick visited one north Idaho road crew to find out how they cope with the high temperatures. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon to Freeze Wages and Mandate Furloughs Public employee unions and the Oregon governor's office announced a deal yesterday to freeze wages and mandate unpaid furlough days, to help balance the state budget. Correspondent Rob Manning reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Kulongkoski Threatens Two More Vetoes Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski says he may cut a budget passed by the Oregon Legislature. If he followed through on the veto threat, the Oregon court system would get back more than $6 million. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | StoryCorps Wenatchee: A Soldier's Surprise for Her Children Women have served in the U.S. Armed forces since 1775 and currently make up nearly 20% of the military. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan brought light to a gender shift in many military families as mothers were shipped off leaving behind their children and husbands. Hear about one families surprise visit by the mother who was serving in Iraq. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Hailey, Idaho Fiercely Supports Captive Native Son The people of Hailey, Idaho are settling into a new routine. The network news crews have left and some of the immediate controversy over the capture of Bowe Bergdhal has died down. But Hailey is left quietly waiting for him to come home. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Napolitano Satisfied with 2010 Olympics Preparations Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano expressed satisfaction with the preparations along the northern border for 2010 Winter Olympics. Napolitano toured border crossings in Blaine, Washington and cut a ribbon on a $4 million coordination center yesterday. Correspondent Tom Banse reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Hot Weather Stresses Wheat Farmers This week’s broiling temperatures are raising the risk of wildfires. The heat is also stressing wheat farmers in the Northwest. Correspondent Anna King reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Homeland Security Chief Cuts Ribbon for Olympics Coordination Center Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano toured the U.S. - Canada border in northwest Washington Monday. She went there to review preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA State to Break Ground on $300M Data Center Despite Lawmaker Red Flags The State of Washington is about to break ground on a new $300 million data storage facility in Olympia. But two Democratic state lawmakers are raising red flags. Correspondent Austin Jenkins explains. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Dealers Have High Hopes for Cash for Clunkers Auto dealers around the region have high hopes for the “Cash for Clunkers” program. Today is the official start of the promotion to spur new car sales and get gas guzzlers off the road. Correspondent Tom Banse reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Wildlife Rehabilitators Work to Reverse Damage Caused on Highways In the rural West, summer is roadkill season. But what happens to animals who live through their encounter with our cars – injured, but not dead? Jessica Robinson has this story. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Signature Collectors Hit the Streets Anti-tax activists have hit the streets in Oregon. They're trying to collect enough signatures to force referendum votes on two budget balancing tax hikes approved earlier this year by the Oregon Legislature. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Debt Collectors Are People Too: Part Two Debt collectors can only call at certain times of the day and they cannot be verbally abusive. But the debtor can, and sometimes do abuse the collector. Sometimes, they use more than just words. Correspondent Samantha Wright reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA National Guard Members Headed Home From Iraq 24,000 members of the Washington National Guard are heading home from Iraq. The 81st Brigade Combat Team has been deployed since August of last year. This was the second time the 81st has been sent to Iraq since 2004. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Region's Dominant Airline More Profitable Than Expected Quarterly earnings reports from Microsoft and Amazon-dot-co came in lower than expected today. But at least one large Northwest company is reporting healthy profits, despite the recession. Alaska Air Group posted a $29 million profit in the second quarter, reversing three consecutive quarters of losses. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Federal Stimulus: NW States To Get $64M For Trail and Facilities Upgrades More federal stimulus dollars are coming to the Northwest. The U.S. Forest Service announced today that Washington, Oregon and Idaho will get nearly $64 million. The money is for upgrades to trails and facilities. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Construction Started on Groundwater Treatment Plant at Hanford At the Hanford Nuclear Reservation contaminated groundwater is migrating slowly toward the Columbia River. To stop that pollution, federal contractors are building a massive water treatment plant. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Debt Collectors Are People Too: Part One It's an old stereotype, a boiler room full of agitated debt collectors, calling and threatening people who owe money with dire consequences if they don't pay up now. But that picture is not the norm, at least not at most of the 613 debt collection agencies licensed to work in Idaho. So what is the norm? Correspondent Samantha Wright went inside a local agency to find out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Rock Bottom Timber Prices Hurt NW School Budgets Rock-bottom prices for lumber is making life hard for loggers and also for school children. Correspondent Austen Jenkins reports on the financial relationship. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Winemakers Woo Millenials Wine experts say their industry can’t survive unless they appeal to a generation that winces at wine snobbery. Millennials are Baby Boomer-babies now in their 20s and 30s. And they are the up-and-coming wine connoisseurs. Correspondent Anna King explains. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Fatal Shooting and Alleged Sex Predator Encampment Put Ft. Lewis in Spotlight Two people are dead after an apparent murder-suicide at the Fort Lewis Army Base near Tacoma, Washington. The shooting today comes at the same time the FBI is investigating another shocking crime at Fort Lewis. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington State Gets Into the Biomass Business This week, the state of Washington began looking for partners to develop two forest biomass projects, one on each side of the Cascades. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Governor Signs Environmental Bills into Law Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski signed a series of environmental bills today. The seven new laws are expected to level off greenhouse gas emissions and help fight global warming. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | 22,000 Oregonians Need to be Re-Vaccinated State officials are trying to contact 22-thousand Oregonians to tell them that they need to be revaccinated. Krisitan Foden-Vencil reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Don’t Toss That Check Yet Washington residents may want to look closely before tossing their junk mail into the round file. Better Business Bureau spokeswoman Zan Deery says a Bainbridge Island law firm, Williamson and Williams, is mailing checks. Get this: they’re real. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Smoke from Canadian wildfires is filtering down into North and Central Washington Canadian firefighters are battling three blazes that cover nearly 3,000 acres. The smoke from that mess is filtering across the border into the Northwest and causing air quality problems from Wenatchee to Pendleton. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Drug Task Force Finds Opium Poppies in Rural Oregon Police in Yamhill County, Oregon have discovered and destroyed a stand of opium-producing poppy plants . As April Baer reports, anti-drug enforcers think it could be the start of a disturbing trend. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Restructuring Likely as Universities Look at Extension Cuts An update now on a story we first brought to you earlier this month: Declining budgets will likely lead to job vacancies and some restructuring in the way universities administer their traditional extension services. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Taking a Ride with Al Capone's Brother Ruth Clark was born in 1912 and grew up in Tekoa, Washington. She worked at the Coeur D’Alene Indian Agency and assisted the architect who designed the homes on the reservation. She also worked with a Federal Marshal who had a notorious family member. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Sea Otters Rebound From Extermination It’s an unheralded environmental success story featuring the #1 species on the cute and cuddly list. Sea otters are rebounding along the Northwest coast. Correspondent Tom Banse tagged along on the annual sea otter census. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Walter Clore Center Set to Begin Work in August Despite the down economy, Washington wine makers are pressing ahead with plans to build a new wine education facility. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Fallout From WA Legislative Session: Unions Change How They Contribute to Democrats The political fallout continues from the 2009 Washington legislative session. Majority Democrats and their labor supporters left Olympia in April on bad terms. Now big-labor is vowing to change the way it spends its money. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Hostage Pvt. Bergdahl's Home Town in Idaho Deals with World’s Attention Hailey, Idaho is facing the national spotlight today. Over the weekend, news broke that one of the town’s native sons, Private Bowe Bergdahl, is being held hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Oregon Governor Signs Tax Bills, Sparks Referendum Campaign The wealthy and corporations in Oregon will see higher taxes under two bills signed into law today by Governor Ted Kulongoski. Lawmakers approved the measures to help fill a budget gap. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington State Patrol Takes to the Air to Catch Drunk Drivers In Western Washington, 9-1-1 callers from the road are increasingly getting a call back - from a state trooper in a plane. Correspondent Austin Jenkins took to the air to see why. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | WA Capitol Prepares to Write New Rules on Holiday Displays Remember the brouhaha last Christmas over the atheist display in the Washington state capitol? This summer officials are working to head-off another showdown between believers and non-believers this coming holiday season. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Republicans Criticize Democrats for Wild Horse Bill Wild horses in ten states, including Oregon and Idaho, would get more room to roam and perhaps avoid the slaughterhouse under a bill approved today by the U.S. House. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Generous Light Bulb Giveaway Pencils Out For Utility A large regional utility is starting a campaign today to give away 400,000 energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs. The light bulb exchange is one of the largest ever in the Northwest. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Dogs Used to Sniff Out Cell Phones in NW Prisons Specially-trained police dogs have a long history of tracking bad guys on the lam, as well as sniffing out drugs and bombs. But now K-9s have a new job: locating cell phones in prisons. Correspondent Austin Jenkins recently got to see the K-9s in action. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Why Milk Prices Are Falling and Dairy Farmers Are Hurting The price of milk has fallen well below the cost to produce it. Dairy farmers are losing money fast. Correspondent Adam Cotterell looks at the causes and possible solutions for our spoiled dairy industry. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | King County Passes Hefty Fair Baton to the City of Enumclaw The King County Fair in Washington is the oldest continuously-running fair west of the Mississippi. This year, it was nearly cancelled and its future is in question. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Susptected Poachers Face Multiple Charges in Oregon and Pending Charges in Idaho Photographs and videos helped investigators in Deschutes County, Oregon track down five men accused of illegally taking wildlife. Additional charges are pending in Idaho. Correspondent Angela Kellner reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | City of Enumclaw Takes Over King County Fair The King County Fair has started in Enumclaw. It could be its last run. King County faces a nearly 100 million dollar deficit. This year the City of Enumclaw took over the fair in a last-ditch effort to keep the event alive. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Washington Moves to Limit New Wells in Kittitas County The western U.S. has long wrestled with the problem of finding enough water to accommodate population growth. The latest source of controversy is in Kittitas County in central Washington. The state today declared a four-month moratorium on drilling new wells there. Listen | Listen in your iPhone |