FRIDAY HARBOR — Whale researchers say a pod of killer whales has returned from the ocean to Puget Sound waters with a new baby orca.
The Center for Whale Research at Friday Harbor reports members of the K and L pods were sighted Tuesday at the south end of San Juan Island. Researchers also spotted the new calf.
The whales were last seen in February in the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Sekiu and in January off Monterey, Calif.
Associated Press
Ashford: National park opens bio toilet
Mount Rainier National Park is holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday to activate a new bio toilet at Cougar Rock Campground.
The $70,000 toilet was donated by Groundwork Mishima, a group that promotes volunteerism at Mount Fuji, which has a “sister mountain” relationship with the park. The toilet was installed with the help of students from the Japanese Volunteers-in-Parks Association.
The toilet uses cedar chips and natural composting to operate with little water or odor.
Associated Press
Snow cleared away, Chinook Pass reopens
State Transportation Department crews have finally finished clearing snow and avalanches from Chinook Pass. The section of Highway 410 on the east side of Mount Rainier National Park was reopened at noon Thursday.
Associated Press
Spokane: Plea in child abuse case postponed
A Spokane woman accused in the death of her 4-year-old stepdaughter says she needs more time to think about a plea deal.
Adriana Lytle had been expected to plead guilty Thursday to homicide by abuse, which carries a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison, in the death of Summer Phelps in March 2007.
A defense attorney says Lytle decided when she arrived at court that she needed more time. The hearing has been rescheduled for July 21 — four days after her husband Jonathan Lytle’s mental competency hearing. He faces the same charge in his daughter’s death.
The Spokesman-Review
Olympia: Felonies reduced after college fracas
Four people charged with felonies for violence at a February concert at The Evergreen State College have been accepted into a diversion program.
Charges will be reduced to misdemeanors if they complete the program and pay $45,000 for destroying a patrol car.
Thurston County court papers say criminal charges against a fifth person who hid a seat stolen from the car will be dropped if he completes the diversion program and pays $541.
The college paid the sheriff’s office for damage to the patrol cars and will be reimbursed from the restitution.
The Olympian
Seattle: Alleged gang leader pleads not guilty
The alleged leader of a British Columbia gang implicated in a major drug-smuggling operation has pleaded not guilty to U.S. charges.
Clayton Roueche was arrested last month after he was denied entry to Mexico and authorities put him on a plane to Dallas. He appeared Thursday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, where he was indicted last fall and charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana and to launder money.
Canadian authorities say Roueche is the leader of a vicious gang that’s called the United Nations because of its ethnic diversity. The U.S. attorney’s office in Seattle says the charges against him arose from an investigation called Operation Frozen Timber, which uncovered the smuggling of tons of marijuana into the U.S. by private planes and helicopters.
Associated Press
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