In brief: Man shot by police remains paralyzed

OLYMPIA – An attorney representing the Olympia stepbrothers who were shot by a police officer last month said Bryson Chaplin is paralyzed from the waist down but his family hopes his paralysis is temporary.

Attorney David Beninger told KING-TV of Seattle that Chaplin and his stepbrother, Andre Thompson, did not assault the officer with a skateboard.

Chaplin, who was shot up to five times, is still being treated at Harborview Medical Center.

Thompson is recovering at home after being shot once in the side. Beninger said the shot broke some of his ribs.

Deputy Chief Brad Watkins of the Thurston County sheriff’s office said the investigation of the shooting is awaiting a crime lab analysis, which could take another four to six weeks.

When the investigation is complete, Thurston County Prosecutor John Tunheim will determine if Olympia police Officer Ryan Donald acted appropriately.

Hearing set for Shell’s rig permit

SEATTLE – A Seattle hearing examiner has set a date to hear an appeal filed by the Port of Seattle and Foss Maritime over whether the port needs a new permit to host Shell’s Arctic drilling rig.

The Seattle Times reported a hearing was tentatively set for July 23-24.

The city of Seattle issued a violation notice to the port last month, saying Shell’s use of the port terminal to prepare for exploratory oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean violates the permitted use as a cargo terminal.

The port and Foss Maritime appealed the city’s interpretation.

Ex-rail workers file suit over asbestos

PORTLAND – Three former employees have sued BNSF Railway, claiming they suffer from lung disease caused by job-related exposure to asbestos.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Portland says the men had to work with and around items that contained asbestos while employed by the railway and its predecessor, Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs – Charles Anderson, Harold Gjerman and Gary Sachtjen – all spent at least 34 years in the industry before leaving in the first decade of the 21st century.

Attorney Paul Bovarnick said BNSF was negligent in failing to provide the men with a reasonably safe place to work, and each of them seeks $300,000.

BNSF has faced similar lawsuits in recent years. A company spokesman, Gus Melonas, declined comment.

Lawmakers turn from land transfer

HELENA – In the wake of allegations against the American Lands Council, the state legislative panel that embraced its ideas last session has fallen silent on public land jurisdiction.

Montana’s Environmental Quality Council in 2013 found an “urgent need to correct the way federal public lands are managed.” But the committee has no plans to revisit the subject after subsequent legislative proposals failed this year.

The change of heart coincides with the absence from the committee of Sen. Jennifer Fielder, who spearheaded the effort to study and change federal land management.

Multnomah homeless number unchanged

PORTLAND – The number of homeless people in Multnomah County has remained about the same over the past two years.

A report that comes out every other year identified 1,887 people living on county streets. That’s an eight-person decrease from 2013.

The report released Wednesday by the county and the cities of Gresham and Portland found another 1,042 people in transitional housing and 872 sleeping in an emergency shelter.

Of the unsheltered population, half said they had been homeless for a year or less.

Though the total number of homeless was little changed, the survey found sharp increases in the number of African-Americans, women and families with children living without shelter.