SEATTLE — A fossil that dates from before the time of the dinosaurs has been stolen from the Burke Museum at the University of Washington.
Museum staff noticed that the fossilized crinoid, a plantlike animal related to starfish that lived at the bottom of the sea about 320 million years ago, was missing before closing time Sunday. University police are investigating.
Spokeswoman Natasha Dworkin said a screwdriver was used to open a glass case where the fossil was kept in an exhibit called "Marine Meadows" near the museum lobby. The case was not protected by an alarm or security camera, officials said.
Liquor board settles with restaurant owner: The Washington State Liquor Control Board has agreed to pay $525,000 to a Seattle restaurant owner who said he was unfairly targeted in a drug crackdown by city police and state agents. The board acknowledged Monday, the day the case was scheduled to go to trial, that Oscar McCoy did not knowingly allow crack cocaine dealing in Oscar’s II and agreed to compensate him for lost business during 16 months that his liquor license was revoked. In February, McCoy agreed to accept $675,000 from the city to settle a civil rights claim he filed against the police. City officials said they settled to avoid identifying confidential informants.
Olympia
Deputy pleads innocent to rape: A Thurston County sheriff’s deputy pleaded innocent Tuesday to charges that he forced a woman to have sex with him to avoid arrest. Dallas Hogan was arraigned on charges of kidnapping, extortion and rape. Prosecutors contend Hogan took a 21-year-old woman into custody after a Feb. 8 traffic stop, told her there was a warrant for her arrest and then raped her. Hogan maintains the woman willingly had sex with him, said defense attorney Jim Freeley, who entered the plea in Thurston County Superior Court.
Ecology approves Columbia dredging: Washington state will allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do annual maintenance dredging of the channel at the mouth of the Columbia River, the state Department of Ecology announced Tuesday. State approval allows the corps to dredge the river bottom so it remains deep enough for ships to use. The corps must comply with state and federal environmental protection laws. The corps is waiting for a water quality permit for its maintenance dredging from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. This annual dredging differs from the corps’ proposal to deepen the river channel by 3 feet. That proposal has not yet been approved by state and federal agencies.
Colville
Deputy ordered to turn in guns: A Stevens County sheriff’s deputy accused of shooting up his neighborhood was ordered to surrender all his guns and to refrain from alcohol. District Court Judge Pam Payne set those conditions Monday in a ruling that allows deputy Will Clark to remain free on $6,000 bail while awaiting arraignment on charges of possessing an illegal weapon, reckless endangerment and obstructing law enforcement. Clark, 29, declined to comment on charges that could result in a prison sentence up to five years. Clark and three others are being investigated for firing shots that struck two Suncrest homes early April 18.
Oregon
Chinook forecast reduced: A panel of biologists has sharply reduced its upriver spring chinook forecast, from 333,700 fish to 250,000. Though much lower than the 416,500 chinook that passed Bonneville Dam in 2001, the new forecast would still be the second-highest number to pass the dam since it was completed in 1938. The reduced forecast, released Monday, means the sport fishing season on the Columbia and Willamette rivers, now set to continue until May 15, might have to be shortened by two weeks or more, said Steve King of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
From Herald news services
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