News

A Pierce County sheriff's spokesman says a 29-year-old deputy has died less than 24 hours after undergoing
surgery for an injury he suffered in an on-duty assault last year.

Spokesman Ed Troyer called Shandon Wright's death Thursday night "a duty-related death" and said fellow officers were shocked.

The Puget Sound Business Journal’s Clay Holtzman reports that the Gates Foundation made its largest ever donation to a media organization, the BBC, in December but didn’t publicize the $19.9 million grant.

As Clay reports, there has been a lot of media attention given lately to the Seattle philanthropy’s funding of media — most recently a comprehensive review of the potential conflicts-of-interest inherent in this practice by the Seattle Times. Clay notes:

When the Seattle Times published a lengthy profile of the Gates Foundation’s grants to professional journalists on Feb. 19, the foundation apparently never disclosed that it had already approved its largest award ever to a media organization.

I’ve written plenty about the Gates Foundation’s support for media, about the potential for good as well as the potential problems given that the philanthropy often IS the story when it comes to global health and development.

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If your heart suddenly stops beating, your chances of getting revived are better in King County than in the rest of Washington.

The Seattle area has one of the highest survival rates from cardiac arrest in the country. Now, a new campaign in Washington aims to boost survival from cardiac arrest by 50-percent in the rest of the state. 

Eastlake Community Church in Bothell is tackling the spiritual implications of pornography this weekend, starting with Porn and Pastries Friday night, Porn in the Morn Saturday morning, and the big event, the XXX Debate between pastor Craig Gross and porn star Ron Jeremy Saturday night. Gross and Jeremy will also be attending the regular Sunday services.

One of the rarest mammals in North America is staging a comeback here in the Northwest. Wildlife biologists have tracked wolverines on mountainsides where they haven't been seen in many decades. But several new studies also suggest the recovery could be short lived if mountain snowlines retreat due to global warming.

Seattle's school board fired Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson and Don Kennedy, the district's chief financial officer, Wednesday evening, as was widely anticipated. The votes were unanimous.

The action was swift retribution following revelations of a financial scandal that drew the anger of board members and the public. The board then voted 6-1 to appoint Susan Enfield as interim superintendent.

Making headlines around the Northwest this morning:

• Tacoma's Wood Smoke Problem
• New Superintendent for Seattle
• More Lye Leaks From Wrecked Railcar
•  

Unusual Readings of Tacoma Pollutants

Wood smoke is a presenting a bigger pollution problem in Tacoma than experts have thought, according to a newly released study by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. The News Tribune's Rob Carson writes diesel and gas emissions remain the  dominant pollutants:

But in Tacoma, the risks from wood smoke were as much as seven times higher than is typical in other urban areas. Potential health effects include cancer, lung damage, heart disease and nerve damage.

The agency's Ryan Dicks tells the Trib more people may be heating with wood stoves because it's cheaper. The high wood smoke readings pushed Tacoma past federal clean air standards, the only area in the state to get such a mark. 

Seattle Wonders "Who is Susan Enfield?"

Seattle headlines are dominated this morning by the school board firing of Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson and her top finance and operations manager, Don Kennedy, in the wake of a financial scandal. KPLU's Jennifer Wing was at last night's meeting, packed with angry parents and teachers who cheered the results.

Governor Chris Gregoire is making another push to create a cabinet-level Department of Education. The idea appears to be faltering in the Washington legislature.

Flight has always inspired humans, from the days when Icarus flew his wax and feather contraption too close to the sun. An accident like his could never happen today. We have learned too much about the mechanics of flight, and Strategic Air Command would have vaporized him once he left controlled airspace.

Icarus could never have imagined that his dream of flight would be an inspiration to anyone who has ever tied 75 helium balloons to a lawn chair.

The Seattle-based Coast Guard Cutter Midgett has returned home from a patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. A highlight of the voyage was the interdiction of a 35-foot-long self-propelled semi-submersible vessel (SPSS) that was carrying about 6,000 kilograms of cocaine. These vessels are also known as narco submarines.

The Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, which received $595,000 from Seattle Public Schools, insists taxpayers got their money's worth despite a state audit report calling the payments of questionable value.

And the winner is...

Fifty soldiers from Joint Base Lewis McChord have killed themselves since the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Some committed suicide on-base, others off and still others while deployed overseas.  Leaders at JBLM say they’ve dramatically stepped up efforts to combat suicide. But they admit it’s not easy to change Army culture.

Today at the White House, President Obama will present the National Medal of Arts to ten creative Americans, including Sonny Rollins and Quincy Jones.

"I'm very happy that jazz, the greatest American music, is being recognized through this honor, and I'm grateful to accept this award on behalf of the gods of our music," Rollins said of the award.

Other honorees include author Harper Lee (To Kill A Mockingbird), actress Meryl Streep and singer/songwriter James Taylor.

Watch the ceremony today at 10:45am PT (1:45pm ET) at www.whitehouse.gov/live

Making headlines around the Northwest this morning:

• Seattle Schools Scandal: Contractor Defends Pay
• Amber Alert Ends Safely in Bonney Lake
• JBLM Soldier Killed in Afghanistan
• NASCAR for Puget Sound?

Seattle School Contractors Ready to Speak Out

As the Seattle School Board prepares to vote on a motion to fire Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson this evening, one of the contractors under scrutiny in the alleged contracting fraud is speaking out. Seattle's Urban League and other small business contractors are expected to tell reporters, including KPLU's Paula Wissel, they earned their pay.