EVERETT — Passenger service on a key rail line north of Seattle has been restored following a mudslide.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway spokesman Gus Melonas said the line running Seattle to Everett and beyond was reopened to Amtrak and Sound Transit trains Saturday morning.
A mudslide Thursday about a mile north of Mukilteo covered one of the two main rail tracks through the area. Crews cleared the slide — which was 2 feet deep and about 50 feet long — later that day but the railway required a 48-hour waiting period before resuming passenger service to ensure safe operating conditions.
Freight trains were able to use the other set of tracks and freight travel was not disrupted.
Melonas said about 50 trains daily use the route and the vast majority of those are freight trains.
While the waiting period was in effect, passenger trains still rain between Seattle and Mukilteo. Express buses were available for people commuting between Seattle and Everett.
Seattle: Police help quell jail incident
Seattle police helped stabilize a disturbance at the King County Jail.
Department spokeswoman Renee Witt said officers set up a security perimeter around the jail after they received three calls, one of which reported a riot — possibly with weapons — on the 10th floor.
She said windows on the north side of the jail were broken.
SWAT units responded and police surrounded the facility, closing off streets and some ramps to I-5.
The incident was under control by 3 p.m., less than an hour after it started. The Seattle Times reported that an ambulance arrived soon thereafter and entered an interior parking area at the jail.
No further details were immediately available.
Tumwater: Man killed in I-5 crash
The Washington State Patrol said an Orting man drove six miles in the wrong direction on I-5 before he was killed when he crashed head-on with a semi.
The patrol identified the man as 24-year-old Garrett Felt. Investigators said he nearly collided with several other vehicles including a police cruiser while driving southbound in the northbound lanes in Pierce County early Sunday.
Felt was not wearing a seatbelt, and investigators say they don’t know if drugs or alcohol played a role. The semi-truck driver was not injured.
Kennewick: Researchers study stemless cherries
Tired of trying to knot cherry stems with your tongue? Researchers in leading cherry-growing states are working on getting stemless cherries to market.
Researchers from Washington State, Oregon State and Michigan State universities are in the second year of a four-year project to develop a mechanical harvester that could not only save growers money on harvest costs, but also remove stems from the cherries. The stems sometimes dent the fruit as it’s shipped.
The research involves studying what types of sweet cherries are most easily dislodged from their stems and studying consumer acceptance of stemless cherries.
Researchers at Michigan State also are researching new packaging that could help extend the shelf life of sweet cherries.
The research is funded by a $3.8 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant.
Prosser: Potato plant to shut down
A potato plant that is the city of Prosser’s largest private employer is closing.
The Yakima Herald-Republic reported that the 250 workers at the ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston plant received word last week that it would shut down indefinitely in May. The plant processes frozen french fries and Tater Tots, and has been in operation since the 1950s.
Many of the workers are husband-and-wife couples, some of whom had been there more than 30 years.
The company blamed the soft economy for the decision to shut down the operation. People have been eating in restaurants less and that means fewer french fries.
City staff spent late last week revising the city budget to compensate for an expected loss of more than $400,000 in annual revenues. City administrator Charlie Bush said he believes Prosser can adjust without raising taxes, cutting service or laying off staff.
Oregon: Hiker dies in fall at state park
Oregon State Police have released the identity of a 22-year-old hiker who died in an apparent accidental fall at Silver Falls State Park east of Salem.
Spokesman Lt. Gregg Hastings said the young man was Naseem Shqueir. He was with a dozen other Washington State University students from the Vancouver campus visiting the park Saturday afternoon.
Hastings said the victim and two others stopped to take photos along a trail near Drake Falls. He walked out of sight of the others and fell from a cliff 50 to 75 feet to rocks and water below. Emergency responders rappelled down to recover the body.
Hastings said the victim was reportedly a recent WSU graduate and his parents live in Israel.
Associated Press
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