In brief: House OKs transportation budget raising car fees

OLYMPIA – The Washington state House has passed a transportation budget that would secure more than $50 million over the next year for immediate transportation needs.

The measure passed Saturday is a far cry from the governor’s call in January for $3.6 billion in new transportation funds over the next decade.

The bill, HB 6455, passed largely along partisan lines, with most Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed.

In addition to a $100 annual fee for electric car owners, the proposed budget would implement and raise a series of other driving-related fees.

A $20 fee would be applied to original license plates, the fee for a title application would increase from $5 to $15 and car dealer license fees would increase by nearly 25 percent.

The measure goes next to the Senate, which is expected to reduce some of the fee increases.

GPS shows California wolf has returned to Oregon

SAN FRANCISCO – Wildlife officials say California’s lone wolf has returned to Oregon.

A GPS device tracking the movements of the gray wolf known as OR-7 shows he left California and crossed into Oregon around noon Thursday.

An official with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife told the San Francisco Chronicle that the wolf, also known as Journey, was in Oregon’s Jackson County on Friday night.

Wildlife officials believe the wolf returned to Oregon after a futile search to find a mate in California.

When he did enter California in late December, officials said he was the first wolf to roam anywhere in state since 1924.

During his journey, OR-7 impressed wildlife experts with his endurance.

The device tracking his movements shows he covered 20 air miles a day as he traveled through California’s Shasta and Lassen counties before heading back to Oregon.

Hanford signage crew exposed to low radiation

RICHLAND – An eight-person crew at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation was exposed to low levels of radioactivity last month while removing an exit sign dating to 1953.

Lab results so far show the tritium capsules that broke near the workers had very low levels of the radioactive isotope.

Washington Closure Hanford said tritium was commonly used in illuminated signs of that era. The sign had been covered with a newer sign and workers didn’t realize the capsules were there.

WSU red-tailed hawk may be species’ oldest

PULLMAN – A 31-year-old red tail hawk living in Washington State University’s raptor club may be the oldest of his kind.

Charlie the hawk’s handlers celebrated his birthday Friday. They calculate that at 31, Charlie has lived the equivalent of about 234 human years.

The normal life span for hawks is about 10 years. For those in captivity, it’s about 20 years.

At his birthday celebration, Charlie was joined by a falcon and an owl.

Court upholds $3.5 million award against Boise Tire

BOISE – The Idaho Supreme Court has rejected Boise Tire Co.’s appeal of a lower court award of about $3.5 million to a Boise man who was seriously injured, and his wife killed, when a wheel came off their vehicle after workers rotated the tires.

The high court earlier this week ruled that the 4th District Court jury’s decision was not a result of “passion or prejudice,” as Boise Tire contended.

Forty-two-year-old Marisela Lycan died in the 2007 crash when the wheel came off and the vehicle rolled off a Nevada highway.

The couple’s 18-month-old daughter was not injured.

Experts testified Boise Tire workers overtightened the wheel’s lug nuts, breaking bolts at the shop and leading to other bolts breaking when the family was on the road.

Oregon man pleads guilty in attack on sleeping pair

HILLSBORO, Ore. – A 28-year-old Sherwood, Ore., man who grabbed an unlit Tiki torch from a couple’s backyard and attacked the sleeping residents with it has pleaded guilty to second-degree assault.

Matthew Zamora was sentenced Thursday to nearly six years in prison.

As the couple awoke to the sight of a scantily clad Zamora swinging the torch at them, the man grabbed a handgun he keeps next to his bed. Washington County sheriff’s officers say Zamora knocked it from his hand, causing it to fire into a wall. The woman then grabbed a shotgun she keeps on her side of the bed and ordered Zamora out of the house in Aloha, west of Portland.

Deputies arrived just as Zamora climbed out a window. When arrested, he reportedly was wearing only underwear, socks and a neck bandanna. Officers say he appeared to be under the influence of drugs.