Herald staff
SEATTLE — Chloe, the green sea turtle released back into the Pacific Ocean recently, has slipped off the Seattle Aquarium’s radar.
Scientists at the aquarium had hoped to keep tabs on her with a satellite transmitter, but aquarium spokesman Galen Goff said the device appears not to be working.
Chloe was found cold and bruised in December on a beach at Ocean Shores on the Washington coast. After four months of treatment at the aquarium, Chloe was taken to SeaWorld in San Diego to finish her recovery.
She was dropped into the water off Point Loma, Calif., about two weeks ago.
All eight species of sea turtles are considered endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Senate OKs repayment for WTO: A spending bill that passed the U.S. Senate on Friday includes $5 million to repay Seattle and other local agencies for security costs they incurred during the World Trade Organization meetings last fall, Sen. Slade Gorton said. Gorton, R-Wash., said the bill directs the State Department to pay the money. Gorton said an earlier bill had allowed the State Department to pay the money, but it refused. The new bill has passed the House and now awaits the president’s signature. More than 600 protesters were arrested and millions of dollars in property damage occurred during the WTO meetings.
This stunt wasn’t staged: After watching pro wrestling on TV, a 7-year-old Tacoma boy practiced some moves on his bed and bounced right out his second-floor window. Casey Sabalsa smashed through the window and fell to the ground, landing on soft grass. The boy walked back into the house and told his mother he had broken the window, fire officials said. "He was jumping from the dresser and doing like a backflip thing to the bed and he missed the bed and went straight out the window," said his mother, Lisa Zarate. He was taken to Mary Bridge Children’s hospital, where he was treated for cuts, bruises and minor internal injuries. He was in satisfactory condition Friday. "I’m not doing any more wrestling moves anymore," he said.
Hate crime proclamation in place: The city council and Mayor Peter Jordan have signed a proclamation denouncing racial intolerance and hate crimes. The proclamation has been in the works since the fatal stabbing of Christopher Kinison July 4, council members said. It was unanimously approved Monday. Kinison, 20, of Olympia was stabbed 22 times at a gas station. Witnesses say he had been waving a Confederate flag and shouting racial slurs at three Asian-American tourists from Seattle. Minh Duc Hong, 26, has pleaded innocent to first-degree manslaughter in Kinison’s death. Hong has said he was defending his twin brother, Hung Duc Hong, after he was punched by Kinison. Councilman Mike Snyder said the proclamation "sends a message that any type of hate crimes will not be tolerated by Ocean Shores."
Man sues McDonald’s for piercing encounter: A Bend man has filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s Corp. for serving him a cheeseburger with a hypodermic needle inside. Michael Seth Pugmire, in his mid-20s, is asking for $230,000 in economic and punitive damages, according to his Bend attorney, Warren West. In the lawsuit filed Oct. 2 in Deschutes County, Pugmire said he was unable to remove the needle on his own after biting into the burger on March 1. Pugmire said he went to St. Charles Medical Center emergency room, where a physician removed the half-inch needle from his gums. Nanette Bittler of the Bittler Organization, which owns the restaurant, also is named in the suit. Her organization said it had not seen the suit, but that a full investigation of the complaint was made and there was "no reason to believe that this claim has anything to do with McDonald’s."
