Northwest Briefly: Seattle voters may get final say on bag fee

SEATTLE — The Coalition to Stop the Seattle Bag Tax says it has turned in more than enough signatures to put the issue to voters.

The opponents are trying to stop the city from imposing a 20-cent fee for each paper and plastic bag used by customers at Seattle grocery and drug stores.

It’s too late to make the November ballot, so the city council will have to decide when to put it on a ballot.

The bag fee is set to take effect in January. Supporters say it will reduce waste and litter.

Teen buried in sand cave-in dies in Seattle

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office says it has been informed that a 15-year-old Oregon boy buried in a sand cave-in at Dash Point State Park has died.

The office says he died Monday at Children’s Hospital. The office said Tuesday morning it did not yet have custody of the body and had no other information.

The boy and his family, reportedly from Newberg, Ore., had been visiting the Puget Sound park at Federal Way on Saturday when he dug into a sandy bluff that collapsed. It took about 20 minutes to dig out his head and shoulders.

The park has put up a fence and warning sign at the site. A ranger says previous warning signs and fences were torn down or trampled.

Shelton: State trooper’s car windshield shattered

Juveniles accused of shattering the windshield on a Washington State Patrol car under a Shelton overpass told police they thought it would be funny to see a car get hit with a rock.

They didn’t realize the car that was hit early Monday on U.S. 101 was a patrol car.

The patrol says the trooper was not injured. He was able to describe a car on the overpass to dispatchers. Police found it and arrested a 22-year-old Shelton man and two 14-year-olds from Shelton.

The man was booked into the Mason County Jail for investigation of charges that including furnishing liquor to a minor. The teens were booked into juvenile detention for consumption of alcohol, malicious mischief and reckless endangerment.

Federal Way: Charges for voting dog dropped

Criminal charges against a Federal Way woman who registered her dog to vote have been dismissed.

A King County District Court judge on Monday dropped the charge of making a false statement after the 67-year-old woman, Jane Balogh proved she had paid $240 in court costs and completed community service.

Balogh says she registered her Australian shepherd-terrier mix Duncan to protest a loophole in the law that she says makes it too easy to register.

Balogh told a number of elected officials she had registered her dog. She says officials never responded to her complaints that a nonexistent person could be added to the voter rolls. Duncan never voted.

Olympia: Bomb scare closes I-5 ramp

It looks like an artillery shell and its discovery in a Nisqually Delta creek was enough to shut down an I-5 onramp.

The ramp was reopened after about an hour Tuesday after State Patrol and Fort Lewis explosive experts identified it as a dummy anti-aircraft training round.

Fishermen found it in the water while looking for a place to fish. It is not dangerous, and there’s no word on how it landed in the creek.

Initiative aims to limit illegal immigrants

Supporters of an illegal immigration initiative have until December to collect about 225,000 signatures to send it to the Legislature.

I-409 would deny public benefits and driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. And, employers would have to verify that workers are in the country legally.

Initiative backers include the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a civilian group that monitors the borders. One member, Hal Washburn, says the initiative will force the Legislature to take a stand on the issue.

An immigrant advocate, Dianne Aid with St. Matthew’s Church in Auburn, calls the initiative inhumane and impractical.

Woman pleads not guilty in baby’s death

A Lacey woman who had denied knowing she was pregnant has pleaded not guilty to a second-degree murder charge in the death of the newborn baby.

The 29-year-old woman, Jessica Wemhaner, was held on $250,000 bail in the Thurston County Jail after Tuesday’s arraignment in Olympia.

Thurston County prosecutors say she had denied being pregnant but later told investigators she suspected she was pregnant and delivered the baby in the bathroom at her home.

Her husband also denied having any knowledge of the pregnancy and the baby.

The baby girl was found dead in a bathroom cabinet Aug. 10 after Wemhaner was treated at a hospital for bleeding.

An autopsy showed the full-term baby was born alive.

Wellpinit: Pot plants seized on reservation

Authorities say more than 24,000 marijuana plants worth more than $60 million have been seized on the Spokane Indian Reservation.

Stevens County Sheriff Craig Thayer says the pot plants were found last Wednesday in two locations in steep, forested land on the west side of the reservation, which is west of Spokane.

Thayer says it’s the most plants and the highest estimated dollar value of marijuana seized in recent county history.

He adds that the raid was kept secret for days partly to help assure the safety of the task force that investigated the case. Participating agencies include the Drug Enforcement Administration, Washington State Patrol, tribal police, National Park Service and Border Patrol.

No arrests were reported.

Tacoma: Scout leader gets 10 years for rape

A 61-year-old former Boy Scout leader was sentenced in Tacoma to 10 years in prison for child rape and molestation.

Price Nick Miller of Gig Harbor was charged in 2006, pleaded guilty in March in a plea deal with Pierce County prosecutors and was sentenced Monday in an emotional Superior Court hearing. One 18-year-old victim told the judge that Miller had made his life miserable.

Prosecutors say one of the victims was a family friend and Miller met the other through the Boy Scouts.

Miller read a statement in court saying he used horrible judgment and that he prays for his victims to cope.

Spokane: Mayor helps goose through traffic

Mayor Mary Verner and City Administrator Thomas “Ted” Danek Jr. found themselves in a new role after a City Council meeting — goose herders.

Heading for their cars Monday, Verner and Danek saw a Canada goose wandering into traffic. The mayor pulled a towel from her car and to use in keeping the goose in the parking lot.

The goose tried to eat the towel and kept heading for Spokane Falls Boulevard, so they covered the creature with a cardboard box.

Finally the two officials herded the large bird along the sidewalk to Riverfront Park, and Danek held traffic as Verner got the goose across Post Street.

The goose was last seen making for the Spokane River.

A police officer arrived at the end. Danek said he didn’t think it was worth calling 911.

Walla Walla: Trial set for acupuncturist

The trial date for a Walla Walla acupuncturist accused of indecent liberties has been set for Jan. 20 in Walla Walla Superior Court.

The 55-year-old man, Alfred Laggner, has pleaded innocent.

He is accused of rubbing the pelvic area and buttocks of one woman and sticking his hand down the pants of another woman, telling her he lost a needle and was looking for it.

He has been terminated from a clinic where he practiced acupuncture and hypnotherapy as a private contractor.

Oregon: 255 animals removed for neglect

Authorities have taken all 200 sheep and 55 horses from the property of an 80-year-old Klamath Falls woman who authorities say has repeatedly neglected them.

Klamath Humane Society officials started investigating reports of malnourished animals at Leta Johnson’s property in the spring of 2007. Since then, multiple charges have been filed, and Johnson spent two nights in the Klamath County Jail after she was arrested June 23.

She then was put under court order to pay for care and food for her animals after a judge determined she was able to do so.

Klamath County District Attorney Cole Chase said the animals were removed last week after she failed to comply.

Relay officials defend safety measures

State officials and organizers of the popular Hood to Coast Relay are defending their safety measures after an 18-year-old runner in the event was hit by a car near Scappoose.

The runner, 18-year-old Chelsee Caskey of Portland, Ore., remains hospitalized in serious condition. The driver, 20-year-old Chrystal Meyer of Rainier, was charged with assault and driving under the influence of drugs after the weekend incident.

Race director Richard Foote says planners meet often with state and local transportation and safety agencies to evaluate the course and consider changes to better protect participants. Caskey was on the shoulder the highway and wearing a reflective vest and headlamp when she was hit. State police said she is in no way to blame.

Associated Press

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