OLYMPIA – The state Health Department says four children have been sickened by a rare type of salmonella blamed for outbreaks in 17 states.
State health officials believe the four Washington cases of salmonella poisoning are linked to contaminated snacks called Veggie Booty, which are under a national recall.
The four sick children in Washington are younger than 5. Two cases are in Whatcom County, while King County and Spokane County each report one case. All four children have recovered.
Officials say more than 50 people nationwide, mostly young children, have been sickened in the salmonella outbreak. Salmonella is a bacteria that can cause diarrhea, fever and vomiting.
Thurston County voter fraud cases dropped
One voter used a dead man’s ballot and another voted under two different names, but neither vote fraud case will be prosecuted in Thurston County.
Authorities investigated both cases and decided not to pursue fraud charges.
“It doesn’t seem to me we had an egregious attempt to circumnavigate the law,” prosecutor Joseph Wheeler said of the man who legally changed his name and voted under both names last fall, apparently presuming election officials would figure out which one to count.
Wheeler called that suspicious and stupid, but said the county won’t file felony charges. The man’s telephone number is unlisted.
The other case involved an elderly woman who used a dead man’s ballot that was in her residence when she moved in. The county won’t prosecute that case, either.
Tacoma: Big party for Narrows Bridge costly
State officials have trimmed some costs, but the opening day party for the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge is still going to be a pricey affair.
The July 15 celebration will cost at least $261,500, according to a working budget released Wednesday by the Department of Transportation. That’s $88,500 less than the $350,000 set aside in the bridge construction budget.
Up to 40,000 people are expected to attend the celebration, as they will be allowed to walk across the bridge before it opens to traffic the next day, and much of the cost is for public safety.
A total of $75,000 is going to the Tacoma and Gig Harbor police departments, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management, the Washington State Patrol and an event security consultant.
Other costs include $89,000 for an event planning consultant, $28,000 for a one-day insurance policy to protect the state from liability, and $31,000 for Pierce Transit buses and parking expenses.
The state says it so far has received pledges of $70,000 in cash and in-kind contributions from private companies and Pierce County.
Donated painting fetches $525,000
A painting donated to Pacific Lutheran University sold for $525,000 at Sotheby’s auction house in London.
University spokeswoman Megan Haley said the Nikolai Astrup piece sold Wednesday. She said there were four bidders for the painting, but the school didn’t have any information about who bought it.
The painting, “White Night, Buttercups at Jolster,” was donated to the university by Neil Anderson in 1999. The piece had been in Anderson’s family for decades, hanging over his Tacoma fireplace.
He knew it was valuable. But neither Anderson nor the university knew exactly how valuable until the school had it appraised.
The school said it will put the net proceeds of the sale – about $400,000 – into its endowment to benefit its Scandinavian Cultural Center.
Spokane: River deaths surge over 16 months
Many more people than normal have died in the Spokane River in the past 16 months.
Eleven bodies, including two this week, have been retrieved by deputies since March 2006, according to the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Officials said normally about two bodies are found per year.
“Most of the time they are suicides” or accidents, said deputy Tom Walker of the Spokane County Marine Unit.
It’s not clear why so many bodies have been found lately. However, the medical examiner’s report said there were 12 more suicides locally last year than in 2005.
Those pulled out of the Spokane River since March 2006 include one homicide, three suicides, three people drowned in accidents and one cause of death that’s still undetermined. The causes of death for three men found in the river this month are still pending.
Bodies normally resurface in seven to 10 days, Walker said. They typically float at the surface for 24 to 48 hours before sinking again.
Seattle: Body found at home of missing man
A decomposed body has been found at the rental home of a former Seattle radio talk-show host who has been missing since April.
Police say a property manager found the body Thursday. Seattle police spokesman Jeff Kappel says the body was so decomposed that investigators were unable to immediately determine its sex or age.
Mike Webb worked for KIRO-AM Radio for 10 years and hosted a liberal late-night show before he lost his job after being charged with insurance fraud in December 2005 in a case that stemmed from a traffic accident. In February, Webb was found guilty and sentenced to 240 hours of community service.
Associated Press
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