In brief: Rogers High a Skype site for governor’s education talk
OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee will take his plans for public schools to the public, at Rogers High School and three other locations, via Skype on Monday evening.
With large screens set in the schools to carry the video-phone connection, Inslee will unveil his proposals for the state to meet court orders to improve public schools, along with other education initiatives he will include in his upcoming 2015-17 state budget. He then will take questions from audiences in four locations.
He’ll be at Newport High School in Bellevue for one hour, starting at 6 p.m., and carried via Skype to the Rogers Commons, the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center in Moses Lake and a middle school in Tacoma.
Inslee will spend about 15 minutes outlining his plans, then take questions from the different locations. The schools were chosen to accommodate large crowds, a spokeswoman said. Seating is free, on a first-come basis.
Barbieri named regent at WSU
Spokane businessman Don Barbieri has been appointed to the Washington State University board of regents.
The six-year appointment was announced Thursday by Gov. Jay Inslee.
Barbieri replaces former Regent Connie Niva, of Everett, who finished her second term on the university’s governing board in September.
“Don Barbieri has spent the majority of his professional and personal career working to improve the quality of life for Washingtonians and other residents of the Pacific Northwest,” Inslee said in prepared remarks. “He will be a great addition to the board of regents of our state’s land-grant research university.”
Barbieri is a former chairman of Red Lion Hotels Corp. and is joining WSU’s board at a time when the university is looking to establish its own medical school in Spokane.
Vaccines given free at city’s Walgreens
A collaboration between the city of Spokane and Walgreens is offering vaccines for pneumonia, whooping cough, chicken pox, shingles, MMR, meningitis and influenza free of charge to anyone who needs them.
All Walgreens locations throughout the city will administer the vaccines daily during regular pharmacy hours, but age and health-related restrictions may apply. No appointments are necessary.
“Spokane is a very compassionate community, and that includes its community pharmacies,” said Spokane Mayor David Condon in a statement. “Walgreens has stepped up to provide assistance that can help improve the health of many in our community.”
The partnership was announced on the city’s Give Health Care day, part of its 12 Days of #GivingSpokane initiative.
Laid-off Hanford whistleblowers win
RICHLAND – A Hanford Nuclear Reservation contractor has been ordered to pay $186,000 in back wages to two employees who raised safety concerns at the site.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Thursday ordered Computer Sciences Corp. to pay the workers, who were laid off after raising safety concerns.
The agency said the names of the two workers were not released because of laws protecting whistleblowers.
The agency said the two employees reported a defective electronic medical records system that had problems tracking medical restrictions for workers. They were subsequently laid off.
OSHA also ordered the contractor to post a notice saying that retaliation against employees for voicing nuclear safety concerns is illegal.
Shooter adjusted aim in killing, court told
MISSOULA – The lead detective who investigated the shooting of a German exchange student by a Montana man testified Thursday that it appeared the man adjusted his aim before firing the shot that killed the 17-year-old.
Missoula police detective Guy Baker said in Markus Kaarma’s murder trial that the first three shots fired by Kaarma were low, and they seemed to follow Diren Dede as Dede moved across Kaarma’s garage.
Baker said Kaarma’s fourth shot, striking Dede in the head, was aimed much higher.
Based on where Baker found blood in the garage, he said it appears Dede was shot in the arm and then moved behind a car where he crouched down. An absence of blood in an area by the car showed that Dede then moved again, Baker testified.
“It indicates to me that at some point Diren stood up facing Kaarma, and he was then shot in the head,” he said.
Defense attorney Lisa Kauffmann strenuously objected to Baker’s testimony and wanted it stricken, claiming Baker doesn’t have the training to be a blood spatter expert.
Missoula Court Judge Ed McLean overruled but said the defense could question Baker today.
Prosecutors argue that after a previous burglary, Kaarma was intent on harming an intruder when he shot Dede on April 27.
Kaarma, 30, said in a telephone call from jail that he didn’t know whether Dede was armed and that he had a right to defend his home under Montana law.