The Associated Press

A University of Washington faculty member has been awarded one of 22 "genius grants" from the Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

TACOMA, Wash. — With Tacoma schools closed by a teachers' strike, district food service workers gave perishable produce to a food bank.

TACOMA, Wash. — Tacoma Boy Scouts are asking metal recyclers in the region to watch for a 6-foot bronze statue of a Boy Scout that was stolen.

The Woodland Park Zoo is getting ready to release about 1,400 Oregon spotted frogs into Washington wetlands in a move to try to save the imperiled species.

TACOMA, Wash. — A Pierce County Superior Court judge says he's considering giving the Tacoma school district the option to hire replacement teachers for those on the picket line.

ELLENSBURG, Wash. — The Ellensburg City Council will take public testimony at Monday's meeting on proposed regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries.

TACOMA, Wash. — Schools are closed Monday for another day in Tacoma as negotiations continue between the school district and striking teachers.

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. — A soldier from Joint Base Lewis-McChord died Saturday of combat injuries in Afghanistan.

The Defense Department says 27-year-old Staff Sgt. Michael W. Hosey, 27, of Birmingham, Ala., was fatally injured when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire.

Hosey was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group.

RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the historic B Reactor at the Hanford nuclear reservation should be part of a national park to tell how the nuclear era was born out of World War II.

Salazar visited the reactor Sunday with Sen. Maria Cantwell, Rep. Doc Hastings and Gov. Chris Gregoire.

The Tri-City Herald reports the B Reactor would be a key attraction in the Manhattan Project National Historical Park along with properties at Los Alamos, N.M., and Oak Ridge. Tenn.

SEATTLE — Wild-fish advocates say they plan to sue federal and Washington state agencies over a fish hatchery built as part of the Elwha River restoration project.

KELSO, Wash. — About 200 Longshore workers stopped by a courthouse in Washington state to turn themselves in but left a short time later after no arrests were made.

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — It still may be technically summer this weekend, but the snow level is going to drop on the Cascade Mountains.

The Bellingham Herald reports that the snow level will drop from 10,000 feet to 5,500 feet in the North Cascades. It will drop to 6,500 feet in the Central Cascades.That means hikers and campers heading to the mountains may see a dusting of snow or cold rain.

The fall equinox is Sept. 23.

TACOMA, Wash. — A federal judge has found a union in contempt of court after hundreds of its members raided a grain terminal in southwestern Washington, smashed windows and menaced security guards last week.

Teachers in Washington state's third-largest school district have voted overwhelmingly to remain on strike, in defiance of a judge's order that they return to work.

Some 93 percent of the nearly 1,600 Tacoma School District teachers meeting in the Tacoma Dome arena today said they wanted to continue picketing. The teachers walked out Tuesday.

Six webcams will snap pictures throughout the day during the three-year removal process the Elwha River dams.