SEATTLE – Six people who worked as librarians and librarian assistants have filed a lawsuit against the King County Library System, saying they were wrongfully terminated.
The plaintiffs, five women and a man, contend their jobs were not reinstated under a new hiring process for the 43-branch system, despite experience and good relationships with their branch managers.
The lawsuit was filed in King County Superior Court on behalf of Mary Johnson, Doris Knight, Don Jeffcoat, Alison Butler, Wendy Graham and Nancy Stafford. It seeks reinstatement of plaintiffs’ jobs and an unspecified amount in back pay.
Plaintiffs’ attorney John Scannell said Thursday that at least 100 employees the library system deemed substitute workers were let go without due cause, which he said violates state law.
The library system, he said, is arguing that the law doesn’t apply because the workers were substitutes.
Associated Press
Olympia: Pollution is increasing, report says
The state Department of Ecology says an increase in manufacturing in the state has led to an increase of pollution. An Ecology Department report, “Chemicals in Washington State,” said pollution released into the environment increased by 600,000 pounds in 2003, compared with 2002. The increase in manufacturing was possibly related to an improving economy, the report said. Three plants accounted for nearly half the pollution released, the department said. They were a coal-fired electric plant in Centralia, the Weyerhaeuser paper mill in Longview, and the Boise Cascade paper mill in Wallula.
Associated Press
Oregon: Teen caught driving at 142 mph
State trooper Matt Klare’s beat is Interstate 205, and he’s used to clocking drivers who are cruising along at 10, 15, even 20 miles over the posted 55 mile-per-hour speed limit. But 87 miles over the limit? That’s another story. Klare said he clocked Ryan Allan Champ, 19, of Oregon City driving 142 mph early Wednesday, the second fastest stop on record by the Oregon State Police. (The record is 159 mph, set in 1993 on the Astoria Megler Bridge.) When Klare caught up with Champ and his souped-up 1992 Honda Civic at a stoplight, “He told me he was going 140,” Klare said. Klare said Champ was driving without insurance and with a suspended license. Champ said he was trying to catch up to someone who had thrown a bottle at his car, Klare said.
Associated Press
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