McKenna asks for Office of Open Records
OLYMPIA — State Attorney General Rob McKenna will ask lawmakers to consider a new approach to settling public records disputes. He would like to create a new Office of Open Records that would use judges to settle disputes.
McKenna told The Olympia he doesn’t have much confidence the bill would pass this year, but he wants to have a conversation about it.
The proposal will be sponsored by House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler of Hoquiam. It’s the result of a task force he and state Auditor Brian Sonntag convened during the fall.
Kessler says the money involved in open records cases continues to grow and it would be good for people to have an option before filing a lawsuit.
Seattle: Murder charges in 2 deaths
The King County prosecutor’s office has filed two counts of aggravated first-degree murder against a man accused of shooting his girlfriend and their 13-week-old daughter.
The charges were filed Thursday against 29-year-old Daniel Thomas Hicks. He’s accused of killing 28-year-old Jennifer Morgan and their baby, Emma. Their bodies were found Tuesday in the basement of her parents’ south Seattle home, where she had lived for several years with Hicks.
Hicks remains at large, and police say they consider him armed and dangerous.
Lakewood: Charge in fatal fire case
Pierce County prosecutors have charged a Lakewood woman with first-degree manslaughter for failing to report a fire that killed a neighbor. Lisa Ann Horton pleaded not guilty in Pierce County Superior Court on Wednesday.
Judge Frederick Fleming ordered the 51-year-old woman jailed in lieu of $150,000 bail at the request of prosecutors. They say she is a danger to the community because she walked out her front door and let others fend for themselves after a fire accidentally started in her kitchen.
Oregon: Oil spills from dam into river
Some oil leaked into the Columbia River from a spare transformer stored at The Dalles Dam and Locks.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says a crew contained and worked at cleaning up about 3,250 gallons of a light mineral-type oil on Thursday.
Aircraft and boat crews looked for more oil on the river, but found none.
The corps said they were looking into why the containment systems around the transformers failed.
Associated Press
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