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Washington lawmakers edge closer to final deal

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington lawmakers edged closer to a final budget deal Friday, aided by an agreement on fixing the state’s estate tax, the prospect of an unexpected revenue boost and fresh signs of compromise.

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  • By MIKE BAKER and LA CORTE, Associated Press
  • June 15, 2013

Northwest news in brief

EAGLE POINT, Ore. (AP) — A school district in southern Oregon is considering arming teachers and other staff members to protect students from school violence. “The first three minutes of an armed attack require an armed response,” said Scott Grissom, president of the five-member school board in Eagle Point, a town of about 8,500 north of Medford.

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Humpback whales return to Northwest

Fifteen years ago, species was unheard of in sound SEATTLE — The video shows an exceptional wildlife sighting for a big city: A humpback whale surfaces just yards from Seattle’s busy waterfront at twilight. The city’s port cranes, Ferris wheel and car headlights glow in the background, and a ferry cruises by while the giant tail disappears back into the Puget Sound.

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  • By MANUEL VALDES, Associated Press
  • June 15, 2013

Klamath biomass plan withdrawn

KLAMATH FALLS (AP) — A developer has withdrawn an application to build a wood-fired electrical generating plant near Klamath Falls. Klamath Falls Bioenergy said delays in getting a state siting permit meant it couldn’t meet a year-end construction deadline set by federal economic stimulus legislation, which was expected to provide 30 percent of the project’s cost. Neighbors had organized to oppose the biomass project. It would have burned wood chips to provide enough power for about 35,000 homes.

Dalles Dam offers weekend guided tours

Guests can also wander Seufert Park The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will offer tours of The Dalles Dam this summer, every Saturday and Sunday at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Tours will end the last weekend of September. Visitors can join a park ranger for a guided tour to learn about the dam’s history, operations, power generation and fish passage facilities.

Weather Service confirms Oregon tornado

McMINNVILLE, Ore. (AP) — It was indeed a tornado that damaged several buildings Thursday in the community of McMinnville, the National Weather Service has confirmed. Nobody was hurt, but three commercial buildings, all of them used for storage, were damaged, McMinnville Fire Chief Rich Leipfert said. The porch roof on one nearby home also sustained minor damage, Leipfert said.

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Helping non-traditional students

Mother, 54, heads back to college to earn dream degree EUGENE — When Margaret Innocenti was in eighth grade nearly 40 years ago, her father told her she’d make a good engineer. The idea always stuck in the back of her mind, but she never pursued it.

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  • By JOSEPHINE WOOLINGTON, Eugene Register-Guard
  • June 13, 2013

Tree huggers seek record hug

PORTLAND, (AP) — It sounds like a scene from "Portlandia." A Portland arboretum is calling all tree huggers for an organized attempt to set a world record for simultaneous tree hugging in one place at one time.

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Oregon officials dug in on budget

Impasse stalls movement on spending plans SALEM — The Oregon Senate delayed a vote on a $6.55 billion funding package for schools Tuesday because it was clear it wouldn’t pass — the latest wrinkle in a budget impasse that shows no sign of breaking.

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  • By JONATHAN J. COOPER, Associated Press
  • June 12, 2013

Wash man sentenced for trying to aid terrorists

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A man who almost killed himself in an explosion three years ago was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for making a bomb and attempting to help terrorists.

Antelope school needs repairs

The Dalles Chinatown also listed as endangered ANTELOPE (AP) — In September 1984, residents in the sleepy ranching community of Antelope headed to the only public building in town for a vote that ended with the town re-christened “Rajneesh.”

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  • By LESLIE PUGMIRE HOLE, The Bulletin of Bend
  • June 11, 2013
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Tribes, feds claim water rights

GRANTS PASS — Tens of thousands of acres in Oregon’s drought-stricken Klamath Basin will have to go without irrigation water this summer after the Klamath Tribes and the federal government exercised newly confirmed powers that put the tribes in the driver’s seat over water use — a move ranchers fear will be economically disastrous.

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  • By JEFF BARNARD, Associated Press
  • June 11, 2013

Drone bill on path to governor’s desk

Rep. John Huffman, R-The Dalles, is on the homestretch to get a bill approved that protects civil liberties when drones are used by law enforcement agencies to gather information.

Senate helps landowners; City manager to ask governor for a veto

City manager to ask governor for a veto State legislation that will drastically change the way The Dalles handles lot partitions is now two steps away from becoming law.

ODOT using eminent domain for Les Schwab land

BEND, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Department of Transportation wants Les Schwab Tire Centers to sell land that's needed for a $45 million overhaul of U.S. Highway 97.

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