Missing teen could be in danger
Spokane police are seeking the public’s help in finding a missing 17-year-old.
Andrew Thomas Graves has been missing since Thursday or Friday, said Spokane police Officer Tim Moses. He is not considered a runaway; rather, it is feared Graves could be in danger, Moses said.
Moses said it’s possible Graves may be in the Hayden Lake area. He could be driving a red 1999 Mustang coupe with tinted windows and Washington license plate number 430 PYF.
Anyone with information about Graves’ whereabouts is asked to call (509) 993-2788 or their local police department.
Suspect flees during robbery attempt
Spokane police are investigating an attempted OxyContin robbery at the Rite Aid at 810 E. 29th Ave.
Police told KHQ that a man entered the store around 11:40 a.m Saturday and gave the pharmacist a note demanding OxyContin. He also claimed he was armed with a gun. The pharmacist started to comply and left the window to get the drugs; when she returned the man had left the store empty-handed. Witnesses reported seeing the man running from the store.
According to KHQ, the robber is described as a white male with a dark complexion, 6-foot-1 with a medium build, long dark hair and dark facial hair. He was wearing a black T-shirt, shorts, a baseball cap and sunglasses. Police searched the area but were unable to locate the man after the attempted robbery.
Light rail debut draws thousands
SEATTLE – Thousands of people enjoyed free rides Saturday on the first day of service for Seattle’s new light rail line.
After more than four decades of political wrangling and financial struggles, trains are finally running.
Sound Transit officials estimated more than 30,500 riders had used the new light rail line as of Saturday afternoon. A soccer game and a popular food festival were expected to add to those numbers as the day progressed.
The agency offered free rides Saturday and today.
The rides are being offered on the 13.9-mile Link route between downtown Seattle and the south Seattle suburb of Tukwila.
Voters to decide shopping bag fee
SEATTLE – Voters in Seattle will decide next month whether to enact an ordinance passed by the City Council that charges shoppers 20 cents for every disposable bag from a supermarket.
The Seattle Times reported that the ordinance, passed last year, aimed to change customer behavior and reduce waste. The goal was to encourage people to reuse grocery bags or use nondisposable totes.
But opposition quickly grew and enough signatures were gathered to take the issue to the Aug. 18 ballot.
The fee would include paper and plastic, making Seattle the first city in the country to target both types of bags.
Talks fail to resolve grizzlies’ status
BILLINGS – The fate of the Yellowstone region’s grizzly bears will be decided in federal court following the collapse of negotiations over whether the animal should be listed as endangered.
Roughly 600 grizzlies live in the forested mountains of the Yellowstone area, which includes portions of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.
Federal biologists say the population is healthy. But environmentalists argue grizzlies remain at risk and need the protections of the Endangered Species Act.
Two lawsuits were filed against the government after those protections were lifted in 2007. Parties in the cases met in Missoula on Thursday to try to reach a settlement at the order of the judges overseeing the litigation.