Herald investigation

One worker looks up from the cargo area as another works in what will be the passenger compartment on one of the first Boeing 787 jets as it stands near completion at the front of the assembly line, Monday, May 19, 2008, in Everett, Wash. The plane, the first new Boeing jet in 14 years, is targeted for power on in June followed by an anticipated first flight sometime late in 2008.  (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Boeing workers long-exposed to carcinogen far above legal limits

The company confirmed in depositions that parts of its Everett plant still don’t meet 2010 standards.

 

Traffic moves along Highway 526 in front of Boeing’s Everett Production Facility on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Boeing knew of ‘elevated’ miscarriage rate in ’80s, but followup fizzled

Company doctors found it “difficult” to link chemicals to worker ailments. A thorough study would’ve been “inviting liability,” an attorney said.

 

A photograph of Dr. Barry Dunphy hangs on the wall surrounded by memorabilia and hobby pieces from his hobby room in the Dunphy home on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

For embattled Boeing doctor’s family, a ‘posthumous vindication’

Barry Dunphy warned Boeing about its toxic chemicals. The company’s reaction changed his demeanor, but not his values, his children say.

 

FILE - The logo for Boeing appears on a screen above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, July 13, 2021. Boeing is reporting a money-losing quarter as both its civilian-airplane division and the defense business are struggling. Boeing said Wednesday, April 27, 2022,  that it lost $1.24 billion in the first quarter and took large write-downs for several programs.  (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)

A recap of 3 lawsuits over chemical exposure at Boeing plants

Parents believe toxins in company factories caused serious birth defects in their kids.

FILE - The logo for Boeing appears on a screen above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, July 13, 2021. Boeing is reporting a money-losing quarter as both its civilian-airplane division and the defense business are struggling. Boeing said Wednesday, April 27, 2022,  that it lost $1.24 billion in the first quarter and took large write-downs for several programs.  (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)
Marie Riley, 42, sits in her dining room with a cup of tea Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022, at her family’s home in North Bend, Washington. Riley was born with tetralogy of fallot, a rare congenital heart condition that has required multiple open-heart surgeries during her lifetime. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

Born with heart defect, Boeing worker’s child ‘never knew anything different’

Six years ago, Marie Riley heard about a law firm seeking aerospace workers whose children suffered birth defects — like her.

Marie Riley, 42, sits in her dining room with a cup of tea Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022, at her family’s home in North Bend, Washington. Riley was born with tetralogy of fallot, a rare congenital heart condition that has required multiple open-heart surgeries during her lifetime. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
A Boeing 777 freighter is seen in final assembly at Boeing's Everett Production Facility Wednesday, June 15, 2022 in Everett, Wash. (Jennifer Buchanan/The Seattle Times via AP, Pool)

Secret files reveal Boeing doctor warned of toxic risks, birth defects

In 1980, a doctor wrote factory chemicals would cause “life-long chronic illness, cancer and death.” Lawsuits claim his worst fears came true.

A Boeing 777 freighter is seen in final assembly at Boeing's Everett Production Facility Wednesday, June 15, 2022 in Everett, Wash. (Jennifer Buchanan/The Seattle Times via AP, Pool)
Young girls watch as a canoe carrying an enormous king salmon makes its way to shore on Saturday, June 11, 2022, in Tulalip, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

‘Keep your Indian alive’: After decades of outlawed culture, a Tulalip revival

Government-sanctioned boarding schools scarred Indigenous children for life. In turn, their children and grandchildren have suffered inherited trauma. But those harmed by the Tulalip Indian School, a cornerstone of the Tulalip Reservation since its inception, have begun to heal.

Young girls watch as a canoe carrying an enormous king salmon makes its way to shore on Saturday, June 11, 2022, in Tulalip, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Rev. Eugene Casimir Chirouse, pictured here holding a cross at front right in 1865, founded a boarding school for Indigenous students on Tulalip Bay. It became one of the first religious schools in the country to receive a federal contract to educate Indigenous youth, with the goal of assimilation. (Courtesy of Hibulb Cultural Center)

Unearthing the ‘horrors’ of the Tulalip Indian School

The Tulalip boarding school evolved from a Catholic mission into a weapon for the government to eradicate Native culture. Interviews with survivors and primary documents give accounts of violent cultural suppression under the guise of education at the “Carlisle of the West,” modeled after the notorious Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

Rev. Eugene Casimir Chirouse, pictured here holding a cross at front right in 1865, founded a boarding school for Indigenous students on Tulalip Bay. It became one of the first religious schools in the country to receive a federal contract to educate Indigenous youth, with the goal of assimilation. (Courtesy of Hibulb Cultural Center)
Indigenous children from around the Pacific Northwest were forced by the U.S. government to attend the Tulalip Indian School. (Tulalip Tribes Hibulb Cultural Center)

‘Genocide our people survived’: Tulalip school fueled generations of pain

Growing up in the Tulalip boarding school, Harriette Shelton Dover would “just sit absolutely still and watch my playmates die” of illness, hunger and cold. The Daily Herald dug into rosters and other records at Tulalip that reveal a staggering death toll — and pain passed from generation to generation.

Indigenous children from around the Pacific Northwest were forced by the U.S. government to attend the Tulalip Indian School. (Tulalip Tribes Hibulb Cultural Center)
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation into the background of Calvin Walker, a new hire, after a sergeant expressed concerns about a comment on a photo posted to Walker’s Facebook page in August 2020. A friend asked whether the image, showing Walker in cowboy boots and an American flag t-shirt, was “racist or misogynistic.” Walker responded, “it’s honestly a lot of both.” Walker was fired from the Sheriff’s Office in January 2022 as a result of the investigation. (Snohomish County Sheriff's Office)

How an outspoken Snohomish vigilante became a deputy — then was fired

After affirming Calvin Walker’s hiring, Sheriff Adam Fortney was eventually persuaded it jeopardized public trust.

The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation into the background of Calvin Walker, a new hire, after a sergeant expressed concerns about a comment on a photo posted to Walker’s Facebook page in August 2020. A friend asked whether the image, showing Walker in cowboy boots and an American flag t-shirt, was “racist or misogynistic.” Walker responded, “it’s honestly a lot of both.” Walker was fired from the Sheriff’s Office in January 2022 as a result of the investigation. (Snohomish County Sheriff's Office)
Tami Agassi and Lobsang Dargey in happier times (top left), Lobsang Dargey (bottom right) outside the federal courthouse in Seattle in 2017, and Everett properties developed by Dargey.

In debt for millions, a con man’s ex-spouse is ready to talk

Tami Agassi, ex-wife of disgraced Everett developer Lobsang Dargey, wants “to prevent history from repeating itself.”

Tami Agassi and Lobsang Dargey in happier times (top left), Lobsang Dargey (bottom right) outside the federal courthouse in Seattle in 2017, and Everett properties developed by Dargey.
An artist's rendering of the proposed Riverfront Village development along the Columbia River in Wenatchee. Anandacom, a company that employs federally convicted developer Lobsang Dargey, recently sold the property, which was listed for $12 million. (Anandacom) 20211212

Ex-Everett developer, convicted of fraud, back in business

Lobsang Dargey is working for Anandacom, a Bellevue firm formed in 2019.

An artist's rendering of the proposed Riverfront Village development along the Columbia River in Wenatchee. Anandacom, a company that employs federally convicted developer Lobsang Dargey, recently sold the property, which was listed for $12 million. (Anandacom) 20211212
"Marlborough Man I" by Bob Fink was taken in Papau New Guinea. He is a Huli Wigman.

3 key questions about the Schack’s postponed photo exhibit

Here are notable takeaways from our deep look at the controversy around Everett artist Bob Fink and his work.

"Marlborough Man I" by Bob Fink was taken in Papau New Guinea. He is a Huli Wigman.
Bob Fink at his home in Everett on Saturday, July 31, 2021. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Unaware of sex scandal, Schack named him Artist of the Year

A showcase by Everett photographer Bob Fink — a major donor — was delayed due to his art, not his past, Schack leaders say.

Bob Fink at his home in Everett on Saturday, July 31, 2021. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Robert Preston in 2014 on the ground at an Everett park-and-ride, where he said he was assaulted by a Snohomish County sheriff's deputy. The incident led to a lawsuit and a $150,000 settlement. (Snohomish County Sheriff's Office via federal court filing) 20210822

County pays $600,000 to settle 7 claims of deputy misconduct

In one case, settled for $150,000, a man who was allegedly fleeing said a deputy sheriff beat him senseless.

Robert Preston in 2014 on the ground at an Everett park-and-ride, where he said he was assaulted by a Snohomish County sheriff's deputy. The incident led to a lawsuit and a $150,000 settlement. (Snohomish County Sheriff's Office via federal court filing) 20210822
Allison Smith (left to right), Jamie Gonzales and Jodie Aney listen during the sentencing of Jeremy Pidgeon in Snohomish County District Court in Monroe on June 23, 2021.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Outside the ring, survivors say Snohomish coach abused them

When MMA gym owner Jeremy Pidgeon was arrested, it unmasked decades of domestic violence, three women say.

Allison Smith (left to right), Jamie Gonzales and Jodie Aney listen during the sentencing of Jeremy Pidgeon in Snohomish County District Court in Monroe on June 23, 2021.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Pedestrians walk beside a brick building on Wetmore Avenue on March 17, 2021, in Everett, Washington. Old buildings constructed before 1945, with unreinforced masonry, are vulnerable to seismic waves. The exterior could break away and plummet into the street. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

3. Aftermath: Infrastructure won’t fare well in a big quake

Shockwaves from a shallow fault here could ravage bridges, schools and the water supply in Western Washington. Emergency planners want you to be ready.

Pedestrians walk beside a brick building on Wetmore Avenue on March 17, 2021, in Everett, Washington. Old buildings constructed before 1945, with unreinforced masonry, are vulnerable to seismic waves. The exterior could break away and plummet into the street. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)
Jody Bourgeois, a University of Washington researcher who specializes in liquefaction, surveys the Snohomish River delta, where land is prone to turn to liquid in a major earthquake. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

2. Built on pudding: Can modern quake engineering prevail?

At least 30,000 people in Snohomish County live on saturated soils and sediment that will behave like shaken liquid when a big earthquake hits.

Jody Bourgeois, a University of Washington researcher who specializes in liquefaction, surveys the Snohomish River delta, where land is prone to turn to liquid in a major earthquake. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Our Fault: The earthquake hazard beneath us. Map of major geologic faults of the Puget Sound region. No caption necessary. 20210502

1. Buried danger: A slumbering geologic fault beneath us

An earthquake along the southern Whidbey Island fault reshaped the land some 2,700 years ago. Another big one is expected, and it could be devastating.

Our Fault: The earthquake hazard beneath us. Map of major geologic faults of the Puget Sound region. No caption necessary. 20210502
NO CAPTION NECESSARY. Map shows epicenters for earthquakes greater than 3.0 magnitude between 1969 and 2021. (Chuck Taylor / The Herald) 20210509

Life or death: Be prepared for a major earthquake

Resources to help get you, your family and home ready.

NO CAPTION NECESSARY. Map shows epicenters for earthquakes greater than 3.0 magnitude between 1969 and 2021. (Chuck Taylor / The Herald) 20210509