Judge’s ruling legalizes assisted suicide in Montana
A state judge says Montanans have the right to doctor-assisted suicide.
The ruling issued late Friday by District Court Judge Dorothy McCarter makes Montana the third state in which doctor-assisted suicide is legal.
The judge said Saturday she ruled in a lawsuit filed by a terminally ill Billings man, four physicians and a nonprofit patients rights group, Compassion & Choices, a leading advocate of Oregon’s Death with Dignity law. Washington state voters have approved a similar law.
McCarter ruled that mentally competent, terminally ill Montanans have a right to obtain medications that can be self-administered to bring about a peaceful death if they find their suffering unbearable. The ruling says physicians can prescribe such medication without fear of criminal prosecution.
BOISE
Donations help zoo fund purchase of giraffe
Private donors and a local trust gave the Boise zoo more than $30,000 to buy a new giraffe and replace one that became severely ill last month and had to be euthanized.
The zoo says a three-year-old giraffe named Julius Longfellow arrived in Idaho on Thursday.
Longfellow was purchased from the African Safari Wildlife Park in Ohio and replaces a two-year-old giraffe named Shingo that died seven weeks after it was brought to the Boise zoo as part of new exhibit.
Shingo was stricken by peracute mortality syndrome and did not respond to treatment.
The zoo bought the new giraffe with $32,000 in private donations, including $20,000 from the Jeker Family Trust in Boise. The animal was named after Julius Jeker, the benefactor of the trust, and students who helped raise money at Longfellow Elementary School.
SEATTLE
Police arrest man in ‘jungle’ shooting death
A 53-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a shooting death in a wooded area off Interstate 5 in Seattle known as “the jungle” that’s a popular camp for transients.
Seattle police arrested the man Friday. He was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of homicide and narcotics violations. Major Lee Gay, 51, died of a gunshot Sept. 11.
PORTLAND
Panel says wider I-5 bridge won’t spur sprawl
Traffic forecasters say widening the Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River won’t encourage suburban sprawl and result in more traffic congestion.
The assessment has met skepticism from elected officials on a regional panel studying the $4 billion proposal to build a 12-lane structure.
One of their concerns about a bridge that eases rush-hour backups is whether it would foster more development dependent on commuting, resulting in new congestion and more greenhouse gases.
A review panel of experts said the bridge planners have used reasonable assumptions about traffic, and the bridge’s effect on growth would be minimal.
EUGENE, Ore.
Upscale hotel in the works for downtown
A Eugene businessman has announced plans for an upscale downtown hotel.
Brian Obie, owner of the Fifth Street Public Market, said he’s aiming for a European feel with the 54-room Inn at the Market. He says rooms will have balconies, and many will have fireplaces.
He said he’s hoping that the economy will be favorable for the enterprise by the time it gets ready to open.
After permits are approved, he said, construction could begin in late 2009 or early 2010 and take 10 months.