Train service out after windstorm

Most homes and businesses in Western Washington that lost power during a weekend windstorm regained electricity in time for the Super Bowl, Puget Sound Energy said Sunday, but train service will likely be delayed until tonight.

The utility reported about 12,000 customers remained without power Sunday evening, down from a peak of 140,000 customers a day earlier.

Puget Sound Energy called in crews from Canada, Eastern Washington, Idaho, Oregon, California and Nevada to make sure Seahawks fans could watch the Super Bowl.

High water, heavy winds and a mudslide prompted a 48-hour shutdown of passenger rail service north and south of Seattle. Service by Amtrak Cascades between Seattle and Portland was canceled through this evening, and through this afternoon between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.

– Associated Press

PORTLAND

Late night meals may not be so bad

There may be a little good news for people who eat late at night after a study on monkeys suggested that it does not appear to contribute to weight gain so long as it does not involve a lot of extra calories.

“We’ve all been told at one point in our lives that we should avoid eating meals late at night as it will lead to weight gain,” said Judy Cameron, a senior scientist at the Oregon National Primate Research Center, part of the Oregon Health & Science University.

But Cameron said a study using rhesus monkeys indicates that eating at night is no more likely to result in weight gain than eating during the day.

The research appears in the current edition of the journal Obesity Research.

– Associated Press

School districts to have levy votes

Voters in the Rosalia and Reardan-Edwall school districts will be asked to approve two-year maintenance and operations levies in special elections Tuesday.

Rosalia School District, which has voters in Spokane and Whitman counties, is seeking levies of $400,000 each year in 2007 and 2008, with a levy rate of $4.80 for each $1,000 of assessed value. Reardan-Edwall, which is in Spokane and Lincoln counties, is seeking a total of $1.67 million over the two years, with a rate of $2.89 per $1,000 each year.

– Jim Camden

boise

Officer shoots police dog trainee

A Garden City police officer shot and killed a dog he was training after the dog attacked him and a Boise police officer.

The dog “eventually had to be shot to stop his aggression,” Garden City Police Chief Jim Bensley told the Idaho Statesman. The Garden City Police officer fired the shots that killed the dog Friday evening. The Boise officer didn’t fire any shots.

The Garden City Police Department would not release the names of the officers involved. Both officers are canine handlers.

The 2-year-old male Belgian Malinois, similar in appearance to a German shepherd, was owned by the Garden City officer.

Both officers sustained bite wounds. They were taken to the hospital, treated and released.

– Associated Press