Seattle council makes same-sex benefits easier

SEATTLE — A measure extending municipal employee and volunteer benefits to married same-sex couples has cleared the City Council by a unanimous vote09.

The three measures, proposed in March by Mayor Greg Nickels and passed by the nine-member panel on Monday, largely reduce the paperwork for couples who have been entitled to benefits under domestic partner provisions since 1989. They no longer have to complete domestic partner forms to qualify.

"These three bills recognize basic democratic principles that the council and the mayor agree on, that all people are guaranteed the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," said council member Nick Licata, a co-sponsor of the legislation.

Associated Press

Spokane: Former Secretary of State dies

Former Washington Secretary of State A. Ludlow "Lud" Kramer, a champion of election reform and the underprivileged, died at his suburban Liberty Lake home Friday of lung cancer, his family said Tuesday. He was 71. Kramer served three terms after being elected Washington’s 11th secretary of state in 1964, transforming the office into an activist pulpit for election reform and migrant affairs. "Lud was a remarkable man. He was always about 10 years ahead of the rest of society," former Secretary of State Ralph Munro said.

Associated Press

Shine: Hood Canal Bridge project

Widening of the Jefferson County half of the Hood Canal Bridge will require nighttime lane restrictions and other traffic revisions starting Monday, said Lloyd Brown, a state Department of Transportation communications manager. Nighttime lane restrictions and traffic delays to place a barrier next to the eastbound lane and restripe lanes will occur 8 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. through April 30.

Peninsula Daily News

Lost Mountain: Girl, horse fall off cliff

A 12-year-old girl was rescued Sunday afternoon near the Gray Wolf River after she and her horse fell off a cliff in Olympic National Forest south of Lost Mountain, the Clallam County Sheriff Joe Martin said. The girl walked away from the mishap with only bumps and scrapes, he said. Martin said the rider managed to climb out from where she and the horse fell. The horse’s condition was not known, the sheriff said.

Peninusla Daily News

Vancouver: Teacher gets astronaut job

Astronomy teacher Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger usually gives assignments, but on Monday she got one. The Hudson’s Bay High School teacher was notified that she has been selected by NASA to be an educator astronaut. The position is based at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The educator astronaut job is a full-time position. "Their job is going to be just like any other astronaut’s. They are going to be full-fledged astronauts," NASA spokesman Doug Peterson said.

The Columbian

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