New UW Regents head named

Tacoma Gov. Christine Gregoire has appointed Tacoma business leader Herb Simon to the Board of Regents for the University of Washington.

Simon, 62, a former member of the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Board, is a longtime advocate of the university’s Tacoma campus. Simon will be the only Pierce County resident on the Board of Regents.

The county has agitated for a voice on the governing board, particularly with the Tacoma campus being the only public university in the state’s second-largest county. Gregoire said that was a consideration, but also said she picked Simon because he was the best qualified candidate.

“Herb Simon’s longtime commitment to the University of Washington is one of making sure his alma mater succeeds as a top institution of higher learning,” Gregoire said at an event on the UW’s Tacoma campus on Tuesday. “His dedication to that cause will no doubt result in UW’s future success at our campuses statewide.”

State Rep. Jeannie Darnielle, D-Tacoma, said the appointment shows that UW Tacoma, founded in 1999, now holds “a pivotal place” in the university system.

UW President Mark Emmert called Simon an excellent pick.

“I am delighted with Herb Simon’s appointment to our Board of Regents. His great attachment to the UW is complemented by his deep and long-standing commitment to higher education,” he said.

The six-year term begins immediately. He will require state Senate confirmation.

Simon is a 1964 political science graduate of the UW. He invests in real estate and venture capital projects. Simon is a past board member of the National Association of Recycling.

Union Pacific fined for oil, fuel spill

Olympia The state Department of Ecology has fined Union Pacific Railroad $106,000 for spilling more than 1,300 gallons of fuel and oil when two freight trains collided near Kelso two years ago.

Earlier this year, the National Transportation Safety Board found that Union Pacific was negligent.

The agency determined the November 2003 crash occurred when a Union Pacific conductor and engineer were asleep on the job. The NTSB said the crewmembers failed to acknowledge approach signals and stop the Union Pacific train to allow an oncoming Burlington Northern-Santa Fe train to switch tracks.

The collision derailed three locomotives, spilling about 1,104 gallons of diesel fuel and 268 gallons of engine lube oil. Cleanup crews recovered about 1,200 gallons of oil from ground water and excavated about 1,200 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil.

The cleanup effort took more than two weeks. Union Pacific did not immediately return a call for comment.

Nature group plans oyster recovery project

Olympia The Nature Conservancy says it will try to rehabilitate dwindling numbers of Washington’s only native oyster species under a partnership with the state Department of Natural Resources.

The environmental group and DNR on Wednesday announced a 10-year plan for boosting Olympia oyster populations in southern Puget Sound’s Hudson Inlet.

The inlet is home to some of the few scattered populations of Olympia oysters remaining in the sound.

Under a conservation lease with DNR, the Nature Conservancy will manage a 10-acre tract of underwater land in the inlet’s Woodard Bay.

Officials said the agreement is the first such lease of submerged land in the nation.

The conservancy collected more than $200,000 in grants and donations to help pay for the oyster recovery project, officials said.