OLYMPIA – U.S. Sen. Patty Murray said Friday that returning contributions from Indian tribes represented by Jack Abramoff would “taint” the tribes.
The state’s senior senator, a Democrat, said there was nothing wrong with accepting more than $40,000 in campaign donations from out-of-state tribes represented by the disgraced lobbyist.
Abramoff’s excesses have been halted, and Congress is considering ethics reforms, she said.
The donations, from 1999 to 2005, placed Murray second among Senate Democrats and ninth overall in the Senate, according to records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington, D.C., organization that tracks money in politics.
A number of lawmakers, including Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., returned similar contributions or sent the money to charity. Murray’s staff announced last month that she saw no reason to do so. The senator publicly discussed the issue on Friday.
“I did not get any Abramoff contributions; let me be very clear,” she said. “If I had them, I’d be more than happy to return them.
“I do feel very strongly that the tribes were a victim of his, and to further taint them by saying ‘Your money is tainted and I’m returning it’ is really the wrong approach.”
Associated Press
Port Ludlow: Man found after missing five days
A 45-year-old Seattle man missing in the Paradise Bay area for five days with only the clothes he was wearing was found on Thursday.
Michael May was last seen about 1 p.m. Saturday in Port Ludlow when he visited property he owns after hearing distressful family news.
About 1:15 p.m. Thursday, Jefferson County Sgt. Ben Stamper recognized May from distributed photos while responding to a report of a suspicious person.
Stamper drove May to his Port Ludlow property, where his wife, Judy Hugueley-May, was staying.
He was taken to Jefferson Healthcare hospital in Port Townsend for treatment of hypothermia.
Hugueley-May said that on the ride to the hospital, her husband couldn’t say where he had been or what he’d been doing the past five days.
“He just kept saying, ‘I’m OK. I’m OK. I just went out for a walk,’” Hugueley-May said.
Peninsula Daily News
Snoqualmie Pass: Fungus killing frogs
A fungus, claimed by scientists to be linked to global warming and the worldwide deaths of dozens of amphibian species, has been found at Swamp Lake on Snoqualmie Pass.
Two Central Washington University biology professors, Steven Wagner and Jim Johnson, identified the chytrid fungus as the cause of the local amphibian deaths.
Wagner found 85 dead Pacific tree frogs, where it would be unusual to find even one dead amphibian. The results are even more disturbing, Wagner said, because the Pacific tree frog was thought to be an amphibian species that was not in decline. One-third of the world’s amphibian species are threatened, according to Wagner.
The chytrid fungus is also responsible for the extinction of almost two-thirds of 110 known species of harlequin frogs in Central and South America. Scientists have linked the spread of the fungus to recent climate changes, according a report in the journal Nature.
How the fungus came to Swamp Lake is still a mystery, Johnson said.
Daily Record
Blaine: Volunteer border patrols to return
The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps will return to watch Whatcom County’s northern border next weekend.
The volunteer group, which tries to call attention to the nation’s border policy, will man points between Blaine and Sumas on Jan. 28 and 29. Tom Williams, a Deming resident who is chapter leader of the Washington Minuteman Detachment, estimated having about 15 volunteers for the event.
It will be the fourth border watch for the group, which first appeared in the county in October. Its border operations have spurred local outcry and protests, with some saying the organization harasses minorities and promotes racism.
Bellingham Herald
Spokane: Suspect in woman’s death kills self
A Kennewick man who shot himself to death Thursday night as deputies attempted to detain him was a homicide suspect in his estranged wife’s death.
Barbara Kozak, 43, was found dead Thursday at the couple’s home in Kennewick, police said.
After finding her body, law enforcement sent out a bulletin on William J. Kozak, 68.
A Spokane County sheriff’s deputy spotted Kozak in a Nissan Altima about 8 p.m., spokesman Dave Reagan said. The deputy followed Kozak while he called for police assistance.
Several law enforcement officers surrounded Kozak’s car and demanded he get out, Reagan said. When the man did comply, the officers approached and found him wounded with a pistol in his hand.
The homicide suspect had apparently shot himself in the head after pulling into a parking lot, Reagan said. Kozak was pronounced dead about 8:34 p.m.
The Spokesman-Review
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
