In brief: Inslee seeks return of Kennewick Man to tribes
Gov. Jay Inslee has sent a letter requesting that the remains of “Kennewick Man” be returned to Native American tribes.
Inslee’s letter was sent Tuesday to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Kennewick Man was discovered in 1996 in the water along the Columbia River in Kennewick.
Radiocarbon dating revealed the bones were about 8,500 years old. DNA analysis now shows a genetic link to modern Native Americans.
Inslee is asking that the remains be given to the appropriate tribes as soon as possible.
He said tribes in Washington have waited 19 years for the remains to be reburied.
Inslee asked the corps to provide a timeline for the return of Kennewick Man and offered assistance from the state Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation.
Paving work closes key street sections
Two sections of busy roadway in Spokane Valley will be closed tonight for construction work.
A contractor will be grinding pavement on the interchange of state Highway 290 (Trent Avenue) and Wellesley Avenue from 6 p.m. today until 6 a.m. Thursday.
On Monday night, the interchange will be closed from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. for repaving.
The second road closure will be tonight and Thursday night for the northbound lanes of Sullivan Road from Broadway to Mission avenues from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following mornings for repaving.
Traffic will be reduced to two lanes in each direction of Sullivan from Sprague to Mission avenues through early August.
Man gets prison for child pornography
A Post Falls man was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison for possessing sexually exploitative material.
William O’Connell, 39, pleaded guilty April 15 to having photos and videos depicting young children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Investigators with the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Post Falls police officers found the materials last December during a search of O’Connell’s home.
He was on probation for a 2009 federal conviction for possession of child pornography, for which he served about five years in federal prison. O’Connell began viewing and downloading child pornography a week after he was released from prison, investigators said.
First District Judge John T. Mitchell sentenced O’Connell.
“The sentence guarantees that Mr. O’Connell will not be released from prison for at least four years on the state charge, and then only if he can show the Parole Commission he can control his impulses,” Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney Barry McHugh said Tuesday in a written statement.
AG tackles wage surcharge notice
OLYMPIA – Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said businesses can add surcharges as a way to cover the costs of new minimum wage laws in some cities, but those charges must be clearly disclosed.
Ferguson released guidelines on the issue Tuesday, following reports that some Seattle businesses, including restaurants, were adding a surcharge in response to the city’s new minimum wage law, which will eventually bring minimum pay to $15 an hour. SeaTac has a similar ordinance.
The attorney general said he wants to make sure customers understand what they’re paying for.
Among the guidelines, businesses must clearly disclose the charge, not mischaracterize the charge as a tax or government mandate, and not use the money for anything other than paying workers’ wages.
They also say the surcharge is subject to the state’s business and occupation tax and retail sales taxes.
Fire spreads in Olympic park
PORT ANGELES, Wash. – A wildfire burning in a remote area of Olympic National Park in Washington has scorched more than 1 square mile.
Fire managers said Tuesday that the blaze, which is burning in a wilderness area about 13 miles north of Quinault, continues to spread north and northeast into high mountains and rugged terrain.
Fire managers who surveyed the wildfire by air Monday night mapped its size at nearly 800 acres.
No properties were threatened.
A federal team is being organized to respond.
Park officials say the fire was caused by a lightning strike in late May.
It smoldered and wasn’t detected until June 14.
The fire is more than 12 miles from the Queets River trailhead.