NW today: Friends worried about detained journalist
What’s news in the Northwest today:
SEATTLE — The fiancé of a former Seattle journalist detained by Syria says he’s very concerned by a report she has been transferred to Iran. Todd Barker told KOMO Radio Wednesday morning he hasn’t heard from Dorothy Parvaz for 13 days and “that’s very alarming.” He declined to speculate on what a transfer to Iran might mean but said, “We expect that Dorothy is going to be treated with respect, and that’s all I can say.” Parvaz is a former reporter and columnist for Seattle Post-Intelligencer now working for Al-Jazeera’s English language channel. The Qatar-based network says Syrian officials say she was sent to Tehran after she was detained when she arrived April 29 to report on political turmoil. Parvaz holds U.S., Iranian and Canadian citizenship.
Feds propose protecting slickspot peppergrass
TWIN FALLS, Idaho — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the endangered plant slickspot peppergrass should be protected on nearly 60,000 acres of land in Idaho. The agency’s critical habitat proposal involves land in Elmore, Owyhee, Payette and Ada counties. The public can review the proposal and submit comments through July 11. The Times-News reports that federal scientists developed the proposal in hopes of allowing the plant space to grow across the sagebrush-steppe habitat and address threats like wildfire, residential and agricultural development. The agency says the proposal is also designed to address potentially inappropriate livestock use such as trampling.
Toppenish fake pregnancy teen on ‘Today’ show
NEW YORK — The Washington state student from Toppenish High School who faked a pregnancy for a senior project went on NBC’s “Today” show today with her boyfriend, mother and principal. Gaby Rodriguez says she was worried about being able to pull off the deception for six months and feared the reaction she would get at a school assembly revealing she is not pregnant. She says her first instinct was to apologize. Students applauded her, and she says people are still telling her they are inspired by her story. Her project was about the rumors that circulated about her pregnancy. Her message is to take control of your life and not live in the shadows of stereotypes.
Man stabbed to death in Wapato street fight
WAPATO, Wash. — The Yakima County sheriff’s office says a man was stabbed to death in a street fight outside a party in Wapato. Officers found 27-year-old Javier Garcia, Jr., in the road Tuesday night with a wound to the chest. He was dead on arrival at a hospital. Investigators learned that Garcia had been at a nearby party, but no one at the party could identify the other person in the fight.
Family of teen who died at JBLM suing Army
TACOMA — The family of a 16-year-old girl who fatally overdosed on drugs in a soldier’s room at Joint Base Lewis-McChord is suing the Army and a security contractor, accusing them of negligence. In the suit filed Monday in federal court in Tacoma, the family of Leah King is seeking a total of $10 million. The News Tribune reports the Army declined to comment on the lawsuit and the contractor did not return a call. King died in February 2009 after taking drugs in the room of her 19-year-old boyfriend. The soldier, Timothy Bennitt, was convicted at a court martial last year of drug and manslaughter charges and is serving a six-year sentence.
Dairies, Idaho energy research center to cooperate
BOISE — The dairy industry and an Idaho energy research center announced a plan to advance the science and best management practices of renewable energy as more farmers get interested in poop-to-power operations. The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, the Dairy Research Institute, and Idaho’s Center for Advanced Energy Studies today announced cooperation on a national research program to boost the economic viability of dairy farms and rural communities. The Center for Advanced Energy Studies, based in Idaho Falls, includes the U.S. Department of Energy, Idaho National Laboratory and Idaho’s research universities. With this partnership, the parties say they will marry science-based information with funding to accelerate the development and commercial rollout of innovative technologies for farmers. Idaho currently has several anaerobic digesters at dairies producing electricity for the power grid.
Autistic boys remain in foster care
VANCOUVER – Two autistic boys who were allegedly kept locked in a cage-like room will continue to stay in foster care, a Clark County court commissioner ruled Tuesday. Clark County Superior Court Commissioner Carin Schienberg will set a trial date on June 7 to determine permanent custody of the brothers. The commissioner was deciding whether to move the two boys, ages 6 and 7, out of temporary state care. The boys’ biological mother, Jona Bronson, lives in Tillamook, Ore., and is seeking permanent custody. She has been allowed visitation at a Department of Social and Health Services office; a no-contact order is in place for their father, John Eckhart, in connection to his criminal case. Assistant Attorney General Dana Gigler told the commissioner that there has been “no substantial change” warranting a shift in care. Currently, the boys are staying in foster homes in Clark County.
Mount St. Helens exhibits spotlight return of life after 1980 eruption
VANCOUVER – Looking for a reason to visit Mount St. Helens on the 31st anniversary of its cataclysmic 1980 eruption? Here’s one: A new interactive touch-screen exhibit that lets you track the phenomenal return of plants and animals to the ash-gray landscape surrounding the volcano in the past three decades. Beginning Saturday, three kiosks featuring the Return to Life exhibit will be available at Johnston Ridge Observatory, at the end of state Highway 504. The road is plowed to the observatory, and crews are working to clear the parking lot of 14 feet of snow for its opening this weekend. “It’s a big parking lot, but the snow has made it a little smaller,” said Chris Strebig, spokesman for the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Long lines may form inside as visitors explore the options at their fingertips.
Oregon House panel takes up immigrant tuition bill
SALEM, Ore. — A state House committee will hear from the public Wednesday about a bill that would allow some illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at public universities in Oregon. The issue has sparked emotional argument from proponents who say young illegal immigrants shouldn’t be punished for their parents’ actions, and from opponents who say it would encourage people to sneak into the country. The Senate approved the bill in March with support from all 15 Democrats who were present and three Republicans. The House Rules Committee has scheduled a public hearing on SB 742 for this afternoon, but the committee will not vote on the measure. The bill needs the support of at least one member of each party in the Rules Committee, which is evenly divided with four Republicans and four Democrats.
School superintendent rejects new testing goals
BOZEMAN, Mont. — Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau is rejecting the latest federal requirements for school testing. Juneau said she wrote a letter to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan saying she would not raise the state’s target test scores to meet benchmarks for No Child Left Behind, the national education overhaul. She told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle that the current federal requirements are unrealistic for schools to meet while they also wait for new education standards from the Obama administration. No Child Left Behind required Montana to increase its goals for grade-level competency from 83 percent of schools to 92 percent in reading and from 68 percent of schools to 84 percent in math. Last year, 84 percent of Montana schools met the reading standard, while 67 percent met the math standard.
Seal Rock couple cited for animal neglect
NEWPORT, Ore. — Thin cattle were the first hint that something was amiss at a Lincoln County farm. Investigators say the animals, along with goats and a pony, were not receiving minimum care. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office has issued multiple animal-neglect citations to 59-year-old Thomas M. Wilson and 51-year-old Joy L. Wilson of Seal Rock. The sheriff’s office describes the case as difficult to prosecute and one of the county’s largest. An anonymous tipster told the sheriff’s office that there were dead cattle at the farm. From the road, sheriff’s deputies saw the thin cattle and began a month-long investigation that culminated in the citations.
Negotiations begin for DA accused of misconduct
PENDLETON, Ore. — Negotiations have begun between the state attorney general’s office and Umatilla County District Attorney Dean Gushwa to settle official misconduct and contempt of court cases involving Gushwa. The East Oregonian reports Circuit Court Judge Charles Luukinen, a veteran settlement negotiator, is overseeing the negotiations. The Oregon Department of Justice has accused Gushwa of intimidating and threatening two women in the district attorney’s office into having sexual relations. Gushwa faces seven misdemeanor charges of official misconduct, and 11 counts of contempt of court for allegedly disobeying a judge’s order not to contact employees in the district attorney’s office. Gushwa has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Judge denies bid to drop burglary charge
KALISPELL, Mont. — A District Court judge has denied a request to dismiss a burglary charge filed against a man who is charged in the beating death of a 49-year-old Kalispell man. Attorneys for Jeffrey Nixon argued the charge represented “prosecutorial vindictiveness,” because it was filed on March 1, after Nixon rejected an agreement that called for him to plead guilty to accountability to deliberate homicide in the April 2010 death of Wesley Collins. Nixon initially was charged with deliberate homicide, robbery and evidence tampering. The Daily Inter Lake reports District Judge Stewart Stadler wrote Monday that charges can be filed up to five days before a trial and prosecutorial vindictiveness generally cannot arise from pretrial negotiations. Prosecutors said the burglary charge was added to ensure Nixon was held accountable if he were acquitted of the homicide charge.
Train kills man on tracks at Marysville
MARYSVILLE, Wash. — Police say the death of a man struck by a train at Marysville appears to be a suicide. The man was hit just after 3 a.m. today by a freight train. Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokesman Gus Melonas says the train was traveling at less than 5 mph at the time. The man was about 800 feet from a crossing. The empty coal train from British Columbia, destined for Wyoming, and four other freight trains were delayed until the track reopened about 7 a.m.
Man indicted in death of former fiancée in Boise
BOISE — A grand jury has indicted a man for the suffocation death of his former fiancée, whose body was found between a burning mattress and box spring at her house in Boise on March 5. The Idaho Statesman reports an Ada County grand jury indicted Lloyd Hardin McNeil Tuesday on charges of second-degree murder for the death of Natalie Davis, along with arson and grand theft. Prosecutors allege McNeil suffocated Davis and set a fire before taking her car and other belongings. He was arrested in Seattle and remains jailed on $1 million bail. The night before her death, Davis declined to press charges after telling police that McNeil had tried to shove pills down her throat. Charges that McNeil assaulted Davis at a campground near Bozeman, Mont., last summer were dismissed after Davis’ death.
MHP sergeant suspended for “overtime abuse”
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Montana Highway Patrol suspended a Billings-based sergeant for a week without pay for reporting he was working for the patrol for while he was actually working a second job as a private security officer. The Billings Gazette obtained the letter Col. Mike Tooley sent to 12-year veteran Sgt. Jay Nelson informing him of his suspension from March 14-18. Nelson declined the Gazette’s request for comment. Billings Police Capt. Keith Edgell investigated Nelson and found that he claimed pay for 103 hours of regular patrol time and for 10 hours of family medical leave sick time while working as a private security officer over a period of 22 days. The letter also cites eight hours of questionable overtime Nelson claimed between Nov. 24 and Dec. 7.