In brief: Gregoire plays down radiation
Gov. Chris Gregoire sought to assure Washington residents that they were safe from radiation escaping from a nuclear power plant in Japan.
She repeated statements made earlier this week playing down possible radiation exposure – even if conditions at the nuclear plant about 150 miles north of Tokyo worsen.
She urged residents to avoid taking potassium iodine, warning of its side effects.
“It is not needed and can cause side effects,” she said in a Thursday news release.
Potasium iodine tablets may protect a person’s thyroid from radioactive iodine-131, yet the side effects can be harmful to people allergic to iodine, or those with skin disorders dermatitis herpetiformis, or urticaria vasculitis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Infants and pregnant women should avoid taking potasium iodine because it can cause thyroid disorders.
Baseball player dies in wreck
LEWISTON – A baseball player for Lewis-Clark State College was killed in a traffic accident in Lewiston.
Police said Zachary Hull died at the scene of the accident. His passenger, teammate Brock Jessup, was treated for minor injuries and released.
Police said the truck Hull was driving went over an embankment and landed on its top.
Bandana-masked man robs shop
A man robbed a northeast Spokane sandwich shop at knifepoint Thursday.
The man displayed a knife at Subway, 3900 N. Market St., and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash about 3:30 p.m., police said.
Witnesses said the man escaped in an older model white Subaru.
The vehicle was last seen southbound on Regal Street.
The man wore a teal bandana over his face and a brown, hooded sweatshirt and jeans.
Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for tips that lead to an arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call (800) 222-TIPS or submit tips online at www.crimestoppers inland northwest.org/.
13 volunteers to track radiation
BREMERTON – Thirteen radiological technicians from the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard have volunteered to help monitor radiation in Japan.
The Kitsap Sun reports the last member of the team departed Wednesday.
The Navy said they’ll work from ships or bases to help the Japanese.
About 700 Puget Sound Naval Shipyard workers are already based at the Yokosuka Naval Base where they maintain the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington.
Toll stickers unreadable
TACOMA – The state’s new “Good to Go” electronic toll stickers that people are putting on their windshields aren’t compatible with the machines on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
The problem won’t likely affect drivers, but it will make extra work for the Department of Transportation and cost taxpayers money. Cameras will take pictures of license plates and then transportation staffers will check their records to see if the driver has signed up for a “Good to Go” transponder account. People who don’t have accounts will get bills in the mail, and people who do will pay automatically.
Transportation officials told the News Tribune the state could lose as much as $600,000 over the next year from cars the cameras miss. But savings from the new transponders are expected to outweigh the costs.
Paul Allen buys Russian-made jet
EVERETT – Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has added a restored Russian-made fighter jet to his collection of vintage airplanes.
The Herald newspaper reports one of Allen’s companies closed on the purchase of the MiG-29 last week.
The jet had been restored by another Washington aviation enthusiast and is currently on display at Allen’s aviation museum at Paine Field in Everett. The manager of the Flying Heritage Collection said the jet is not expected to stay in Everett.
Allen founded Microsoft with his high school friend Bill Gates in 1975. He left Microsoft in 1983 and has invested broadly in technology, real estate, sports and the arts. He owns the Seattle Seahawks football team and the Portland Trailblazers basketball team, and is part-owner of Seattle Sounders FC, a major league soccer team.
Driver injured in tanker spill
BOISE – The Idaho State Police said a tanker truck crashed on Interstate 84 in southwestern Idaho, critically injuring the driver, spilling thousands of gallons of gasoline and closing a 13-mile stretch of the westbound lanes for about nine hours.
The ISP says the semi was eastbound and negotiating a curve east of Mountain Home at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday when the tanker went off the left shoulder of the road, down a slope into the median and overturned.
The driver, 39-year-old Danny Guntrum of Nampa, was taken by air ambulance to St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. The nursing supervisor said he was critical condition Thursday morning.
Fire crews and hazmat teams worked to contain the estimated 3,000 gallons of gasoline that spilled.
The crash remains under investigation.