SHELTON — Taylor Shellfish Co. is suing the Washington state Department of Natural Resources for not honoring a lease that would allow the company to harvest geoducks on certain public lands.
The terms of the controversial lease were negotiated by outgoing state Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland a day before he left office.
New Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark did not sign the lease because he said the public was shut out of the process. His spokesman Aaron Toso said Monday the agency hadn’t reviewed the lawsuit but looked forward to reaching a resolution.
The dispute involves state aquatic lands in Totten Inlet near Olympia.
Under the agreement negotiated with Sutherland, Taylor agreed to pay $630,000 in penalties for growing geoducks and clams on public lands without permission. In return, the company would get a five-year lease to harvest the shellfish it grew on those lands.
Olympia: Researcher studies gangs in Washington prisons
A study of gangs in Washington state prisons recommends that convicts be offered tattoo removal during the intake process.
That way new prisoners would not be placed in the position of having to link up with gang members or become instant enemies of rival gang members in prison.
The recommendation is part of the study conducted for the state by Gonzaga sociology professor Douglas Orr.
The News Tribune of Tacoma reports the study praised the state’s “Step Down” program that rewards offenders with lower custody levels for positive behavior.
The study found that gangs were involved in 43 percent of major violent infractions. Gang-affiliated inmates make up about 18 percent of the 18,000 people in Washington prisons.
Washington sends $1 food stamp checks to 250,000
The state of Washington sent out $1 checks to the 250,000 food stamp recipients in the state.
The director of the Community Services Division for the Department of Social and Health Services, Leo Ribas, says the checks mailed Feb. 17 trigger an additional $43 million in federal food benefits. They also connect recipients to an energy assistance program.
Ribas says the $1 check is a one-time move to leverage the federal money. He says next year the state will be able to trigger the federal assistance through a routine deposit in food stamp accounts.
Sumner: Arrest in suspicious death of woman
Police in the Pierce County community of Sumner have made an arrest in the suspicious death of a 60-year-old woman.
Police spokeswoman Carmen Palmer says the body of the unidentified woman was found Monday inside an apartment. Police say the person arrested is, in their words, “known to the family” and the death does not appear to be random.
Details about the death were not immediately available late Monday night and the arrested person was not immediately identified.
Pullman: WSU frat must say goodbye to baby alligator
An article in the Washington State University campus newspaper about a foot-long alligator at a fraternity is forcing the mascot to move out.
Members of Delta Upsilon must say “see you later” to their baby alligator.
Police Commander Chris Tennant saw the article and called Pullman’s animal control officers. He says it’s illegal to own alligators in the city.
KRPL reports the fraternity member who bought the gator over the Internet now has a week to find it a new home.
Hazel Dell: Arrest in fatal stabbing of teen
Clark County sheriff’s detectives have arrested a 30-year-old Vancouver, Wash., man for investigation of first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of a 13-year-old girl whose body was found in a field in Hazel Dell.
A news release from the sheriff’s office said Darrin Eugene Sanford was booked into the Clark County Jail on Monday evening. He was scheduled for a court appearance today.
An autopsy determined the girl was stabbed to death.
A Clark County sheriff’s spokesman, Sgt. Scott Schanaker, said it appears the body of Alycia Nipp had been dragged about 100 yards from where she was killed. He says her clothing was intact, and there was no obvious sign of sexual assault.
The girl had been walking around the neighborhood with friends Saturday night. She may have taken a short-cut across the field. She was reported missing by her mother. The body was found about 2:30 a.m. Sunday by her stepfather.
Seattle: Service set for state woman killed in N.Y. plane crash
A memorial service has been set for Rebecca Lynne Shaw, the first officer from Washington state who died when Continental Connection flight 3407 crashed near Buffalo, N.Y.
Her family says the 24-year-old from Maple Valley had a zest for life, a caring heart and a love for flying.
The service will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at The Museum of Flight in Seattle.
A scholarship fund for female aviators has been set up in Shaw’s name with the Central Washington University Foundation.
The Feb. 12 crash killed all 49 people aboard the commuter plane and one person on the ground.
Man pleads guilty to killing parents in Kent
A man accused of stabbing and beating his parents to death pleaded guilty to murder charges as his arraignment Monday in Seattle.
Vincent W. Housley said he was high on cocaine during the Feb. 1 attack. The bodies of 67-year-old Karen Housley and 66-year-old Joe Housley were found by another son three days later at their home in Kent.
Vincent Housley was arrested at a motel in Tukwila. He told police he sold his mother’s car for an ounce of cocaine.
KIRO-TV reported prosecutors are recommending a 53-year term when the 43-year-old is sentenced in King County Superior Court.
Auburn: Police call woman’s death a homicide
Auburn police are calling the death of a 20-year-old woman a homicide and say the victim’s 19-year-old estranged boyfriend has been arrested for investigation of homicide-domestic violence.
Police said they were called to an apartment complex early Monday because a woman was having difficulty breathing. They found the woman dead.
Auburn police detectives are investigating.
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause of the woman’s death.
Oregon: Snowpack below average, at 82 percent
Oregon’s snowpack is below average, and well below last year’s.
A federal government hydrologist says the snowpack was at 82 percent of average as of Friday. The Oregonian says that last year at the same time, a series of big storms had raised the snowpack to 152 percent of average.
The state’s snowpack is like a reservoir: As the snow melts, water drains into streams during the summer months.
Jon Lea of the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service says the snowpack is slipping away as winter runs its course.
But he says that good management practices this summer could allow farmers to get by.
From Herald news services
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