Northwest Briefly: Airline sues Boeing over loss of ‘Dreamlifter’ contract
Published 11:05 pm Thursday, April 1, 2010
SEATTLE — An Oregon airline is suing Boeing Co. after it was ditched as a contractor on the 787 supply chain.
Evergreen International Airlines Inc. of McMinnville won a contract in 2005 to fly and maintain Boeing’s “Dreamlifter” superfreighters, which are 747s converted to transport large sections of the company’s new 787 Dreamliner.
The company expected to have the contract for decades, even though it was subject to review every five years. Last month, Boeing notified Evergreen it was switching the contract to New York-based Atlas Air.
Evergreen sued Boeing in federal court in Seattle on Thursday. The company said it performed its duties under the contract, and that Boeing is only switching to Atlas because it owes Atlas nearly $1 billion over delays in delivering 747-8s the company ordered.
Evergreen says it will lose $175 million in profits, and Boeing should have to pay that.
A Boeing spokeswoman did not have any immediate comment on the lawsuit.
86-year-old driver hits West Seattle bank
An 86-year-old man accidentally drove into the front of a bank in West Seattle at the Westwood Village shopping center.
Authorities at the scene Thursday told KIRO-TV he was shaken up but uninjured. He apparently thought his car was in park.
The man may not be charged, but he may have to recertify his license before he gets behind the wheel again.
Skagit dam towns will get energy enhancements
Seattle City Light plans to turn the towns of Newhalem and Diablo into a “living laboratory” for energy efficient techniques.
The Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce reported the work will be merged with efforts to preserve the historic towns and enhance living conditions.
Seattle City Light started building homes in the towns during the 1920s for employees working at the Skagit Hydroelectric Project. The towns are located along Highway 20 on the Skagit River.
Seattle City Light will install energy efficient heat pumps, lighting, water heaters and add extra insulation, then measure their effectiveness.
Eventually 34 homes and up to 24 commercial buildings will be updated.
Olympia: More medical professionals get OK to allow medical pot use
More medical professionals will be allowed to authorize the use of medical marijuana for qualified patients under a measure signed into law by Gov. Chris Gregoire that takes effect June 10.
It adds physician assistants, naturopaths, advanced registered nurse practitioners and others to the list of those who can officially recommend marijuana for patients under the state’s medical marijuana law.
Under previous law, only physicians were allowed to write the recommendation.
Tax increase for 911 upgrades approved
The state Senate has approved a measure that lets counties and the state increase a tax on landline and cell-phone bills to pay for 911 system upgrades.
Under the measure that passed on a 29-12 vote Thursday, voice over internet services would be taxed as well. All the increases would take effect Jan. 1, 2011.
The bill lets counties increase their excise tax to 70 cents per month, up from the current 50 cents. And the state tax would increase 5 cents to 25 cents a month. The measure now heads to the House for further consideration
Supporters say the tax is needed to help modernize the 911 emergency response system, especially in rural counties. The new system would include voice and data texting to help hearing impaired or deaf residents.
Gregoire adviser leaving cabinet
Robin Arnold-Williams is leaving Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire’s cabinet after a little more than a year as head of the executive policy office.
She previously headed the state Department of Social and Health Services.
Gregoire spokesman Cory Curtis said no replacement is yet identified.
59 killed in fires last year in Washington
Fifty-nine people were killed in fires last year in Washington.
An annual report from the Office of the State Fire Marshal also says the 25,000 fires in 2009 caused more than $239 million in property loss.
The report Thursday said only one of the fatalities occurred in a building equipped with sprinklers. In that case the fire started in a chair where the victim was sitting. The sprinkler system activated and contained the fire.
Fires in homes were the deadliest, responsible for 41 of the fatalities.
Chehalis: Credit union robbery trial
The man wounded by a police officer in a robbery attempt at a Centralia credit union has been convicted.
A Lewis County Superior Court jury in Chehalis returned guilty verdicts Wednesday against Michael Anthony Lar on charges of attempted robbery, kidnapping and burglary.
KITI reported Lar faces a life term as a three-strikes offender when he is sentenced next week.
Prosecutors say the 57-year-old broke into the Twin Star Credit Union before it opened Jan. 25 and then held an employee at gunpoint when she arrived for work. Another employee called police.
An officer pulled the woman out the door and shot at Lar. He escaped but was later arrested in Olympia.
Oregon: Man struck and killed by his own pickup
The Douglas County sheriff says investigators believe a 61-year-old man died when he was hit by his pickup while trying to light a cigarette.
Sheriff John Hanlin said Thursday that Gary Cunningham of Tenmile stopped on Tenmile Valley Road late Wednesday and got out of his pickup. The vehicle rolled backward, went over Cunningham’s body and ended up in a ditch 50 feet away.
An unlit cigarette was found a next to Cunningham’s head and a lighter was nearby.
Hanlin said an open container of alcohol was in the pickup.
Date set for Alsea dogfighting trial
A May 17 trial date has been set for two Corvallis residents accused of taking part in a dogfighting operation.
Police arrested 32-year-old Cody Hufeld and 29-year-old Victoria McKenna last month after their homes were searched in a drug case. Evidence uncovered as part of the searches led authorities to a home in Alsea, where they discovered 15 pit bulls chained to stakes in the ground.
The bodies of three dead pit bulls were recovered from the property.
Hufeld and McKenna face more than 20 counts each relating to dogfighting and drug charges.
Hufeld pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Wednesday in Corvallis.
From Herald news services
