OLYMPIA — Washington State Patrol motorcycle troopers will be out in force on Wednesday and Thursday, looking for speeders and aggressive drivers on I-5.
The emphasis patrols from Vancouver, Wash., to Bellingham are designed to reduce the number of collisions caused by speed and aggression.
State Patrol Chief John Batiste said drivers who are too fast and aggressive are a main cause of traffic accidents.
The State Patrol has 44 motorcycle troopers assigned to work throughout Washington state; 37 of them are assigned to this two-day speed emphasis patrol.
@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no:Voter registration surpasses 3.6 million
The state has hit a record number of registered voters.
More than 3.6 million people are registered to vote in Washington state, the highest number in state history.
The old record was set in 2004, when it hit 3,514,078. That number was surpassed earlier this month.
The new number released Tuesday doesn’t include all of the in-person registrations completed by the Oct. 20 deadline.
The Secretary of State’s Office said there are more than 373,000 new voters this year. Of the state’s 6.6 million people, about 75 percent of those who are eligible to vote are registered. About 1.2 million voting-age, eligible people are not registered.
@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no:Gov. Gregoire will be ‘Dora’ for Halloween
Gov. Chris Gregoire will be costumed as “Dora the Explorer” as she continues the tradition of greeting Halloween trick-or-treaters at the Governor’s Mansion in Olympia.
Her husband Mike will be Dora’s sidekick, “Boots the monkey.” And the family dog, Trooper, turns into the fox “Swiper.”
The Olympian reports that more than 1,600 people have visited the mansion each Halloween to see the governor’s family.
Gregoire will include five golden tickets in the treats. They entitle finders to an early look at the mansion’s holiday decorations Dec. 5.
@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no:Interstate closures cost $75 million
The state Transportation Department said the closures of I-5 and I-90 in severe weather last winter cost the freight trucking industry $75 million.
Department surveys found a $47 million loss from the four-day closure of I-5 at Centralia because of Chehalis River flooding and a $28 million loss from four days of winter closures on Snoqualmie Pass.
The department said it’s using the study to improve highways, detours and communications.
Seattle: City Council opposes I-985
The Seattle City Council voted to oppose I-985, the initiative to ease traffic congestion.
Council members said Monday it would divert money from other government needs to highway construction. They said it probably would end the red light camera ticketing program and cause more congestion by opening car pool lanes in non-peak hours.
The council urged other cities to take a similar stand.
@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no:UW reactor building makes heritage list
The University of Washington building that once housed a nuclear reactor has been added to the Washington Heritage Register, although the university still wants to tear it down.
The Friday listing was a victory for recent UW architecture graduate Abby Martin who wants to save the 47-year-old building.
The small research reactor was shut down in 1988 and the building has been decontaminated.
The state heritage agency recommends that the National Park Service add the building to the National Register of Historic Places. A listing won’t save the building.
A UW spokesman, Norm Arkans, said the university hopes to demolish the structure to make way for future construction.
@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no:Police investigate sexual assault in home
Police say a man entered a north Seattle home and sexually assaulted a woman while her husband was away on an errand and her children slept.
The man stole some items Monday night before fleeing the home in the Wallingford neighborhood. Police dogs were unable to track him.
Officers are reminding people to keep doors and windows locked, even while at home.
Tacoma: Fatal fire called accidental
Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said investigators believe a fire that killed three young Graham sisters early Sunday started in the main living area of the two-story home and was accidental.
But Troyer told The News Tribune on Tuesday that the investigators are not providing more specifics about what sparked the blaze until further tests can be conducted to confirm their findings.
Troyer said officials also believe the three Ballard sisters — 10-year-old Michaela, 11-year-old Emily and 13-year-old Katelyn — were awoken by the fire and tried to get out. He said all three made it out of bed on the second floor, but couldn’t make it out of the house.
Troyer said the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled that two of the sisters died of “inhalation of products of combustion,” while an autopsy on the third sister was being done.
The girls’ father and stepmother were downstairs and escaped.
Kennewick: Missing boy asleep on bus
A Kennewick first-grader who was reported missing after school was found sleeping on a school bus.
Police said about 30 officers and administrators searched for the boy Monday near Amistad Elementary.
An alert was sent to bus drivers and the 6-year-old was found asleep. The boy is autistic and does not speak.
The Tri-City Herald reports he apparently followed another student onto the bus instead of waiting for his mother to pick him up.
Lynden: Sunday liquor sales approved
It’s OK to sell liquor in Lynden on Sundays.
The City Council voted 4-3 Monday to repeal the 41-year ban.
The Bellingham Herald reports the majority decided a once-a-week ban made no sense.
Pullman: Third fall reported in a month
A 21-year-old man is in a Spokane hospital after falling from the third floor of an apartment building in Pullman.
Police said alcohol was a factor Saturday night in the man trying to scale the exterior stair railing.
KRPL reported it was the third fall from a Pullman building in less than a month. The other two involved falls at WSU fraternities.
Spokane: Homeless camp rules adopted
Only one homeless camp of no more than 100 people will be allowed in Spokane under rules adopted by the City Council.
The rules approved Monday also ban the camp within 750 feet of a library, park or day care center. The camp must be sponsored by a group with a business license.
The Spokesman-Review reports the camp must be surrounded by a 6-foot fence and have a portable toilet and hand-washing station for every 20 residents. Drugs, guns and sex offenders are banned.
Castle Rock: Prosthetic leg stolen
A Castle Rock man said his high-tech prosthetic leg worth more than $32,000 was stolen from his truck while he was fishing near a Cowlitz River boat launch.
Chuck Fowler said the leg is a custom fit and worthless to anyone but himself.
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said it is treating Friday’s theft has a major crime.
Fowler, who lost a limb in a mill accident 13 years ago, told KIRO-TV he would like the thieves caught, but he really just wants his leg back.
Twisp: Colville Tribes sue for property
The Colville Tribes are suing to stop the Forest Service from auctioning property in Twisp.
The tribes said they should be given the property, which includes 17 buildings on six acres. The suit filed last week in federal court in Spokane seeks a temporary order to halt the sale.
The Wenatchee World said the only bid so far is $1 million from the Twisp Public Development Authority, which was formed to use the property for a variety of uses.
Oregon: Climber survives 300-foot fall
A novice climber is recovering from injuries after falling 300 feet down the south side of Mount Hood.
Chris Biddle, 39, of Puyallup, was descending from the summit early Sunday afternoon when he lost his footing and tumbled down the south side of the mountain.
He tried to stop the fall with an ice ax, he said, but he couldn’t get it to sink in.
“I remember thinking that I might just slide a long, long ways down the hill,” he said.
Moments later, Biddle said, his face struck the icy mountainside and he blacked out. His fall ended on a plateau.
He did not suffer broken bones or other serious injuries. His knee ached, and he twisted his ankle, he said, but he can walk.
Associated Press
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