In brief: ‘Wild’ author Cheryl Strayed to speak at YWCA fundraiser

Cheryl Strayed, whose memoir of turning her life around by hiking the Pacific Crest Trail became a New York Times bestseller, will speak at the YWCA of Spokane’s annual lunch on Oct. 1.

The YWCA honors local Women of Achievement at the event, which will be held at the Spokane Convention Center. The organization will put out a call for nominations for those annual awards on May 1, according to a news release.

In its 33 years, the Women of Achievement lunch has honored more than 200 women in the region, the release said. It’s the YWCA of Spokane’s largest fundraising event.

Strayed’s book, “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail,” was turned into a movie last year starring Reese Witherspoon.

Silverwood park account hacked

Someone hacked the Facebook page of the Silverwood Theme Park near Athol on Saturday morning, posting multiple links to suggestive adult content.

Theme park representatives quickly set up a new Facebook page to post a note of apology to their customers and to explain that their account administrators have been deleted.

“We have no way of stopping the posts,” the statement said. “Silverwood is committed to being family friendly and in no way is associated with today’s posts.”

Some Facebook users who saw material from the hacked site, however, did not understand the page had been hacked and expressed outrage at Silverwood.

The business is working with Facebook to regain control of the Facebook page.

“Thank you for your patience during this process and we are truly sorry,” the statement said.

The park is scheduled to open for the season on May 2.

Pre-nuke era focus of Hanford tours

The story of the Hanford site prior to nuclear development is the focus of a new public tour offered by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Richland office. 

“It’s time to expand the public’s access to Hanford’s history,” said Colleen French, a National Park Service program manager. “These tours will showcase the hard work, innovation, and perseverance of the families who lived here before the government’s occupation of the land.  Their struggles, accomplishments and, ultimately their loss of the land to the Manhattan Project effort, are an important part of the Hanford story.”

About 40 tours will be offered from May through October.

The tours will include stops at the Bruggemann Warehouse, the river-rock covered building that is the last structure from the large pre-1943 farm and orchard of the Bruggemann family; Hanford High School, which was built in 1916; and the White Bluffs Ferry Crossing at the Columbia River, which played a key role in early transportation.

Plans are underway to create a new park at Hanford and related nuclear weapons sites in Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The historical park would tell the story of the race to build an atomic bomb during World War II. Hanford was created to make plutonium, a key ingredient in nuclear weapons.

Registration for the new historic tours will open at 8 a.m. May 12. For reservations, visit manhattanprojectbreactor.hanford.gov, or call (509) 376-1647.

Last day for regular Bloomsday sign-up

Today is the last day to register for Bloomsday at regular rates.

The cost to enter Bloomsday is $18 plus a $1.99 processing fee.

But starting Monday, the entry fee increases to $35 plus a $3.89 processing fee, according to a Bloomsday news release.

The annual 12-kilometer race through Spokane will be held on May 3. Organizers expect 50,000 participants this year.

Registration for the event is available at www.bloomsdayrun.org. Late registration will be accepted online until April 26. After that, late registration will only be allowed in person at the Bloomsday event.

No-fly listing not explained, suit says

PORTLAND – A group of Americans on the U.S. no-fly list, including the imam of the Portland Islamic Center, say the U.S. has failed to explain their placement on the list.

The Oregonian reported a motion filed Friday alleges the government refused to do what Portland U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown ordered: provide notice to plaintiffs explaining why they remain on the list.

The motion was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of six people who five years ago sued Attorney General Eric Holder.

Those prevented from boarding airplanes can petition the government for redress and get a chance to review an unclassified explanation.

According to the ACLU, the six received responses that were inadequate.

The government says in some cases, national security prevents them from releasing information.