Other News

RICHLAND, Wash. – The U.S. Department of Energy is defending its safety culture at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southeast Washington. The agency sent its workers a letter in response to harsh criticism this month in a report by a federal nuclear watchdog.

Time for some fun in the sun: Mostly sunny, with a high near 71. Forecast here.

Making headlines around the Northwest:

• Class-action suit claims public defenders swamped
• Off the wire: Train derailment; women attacked
• Unusual dolphin sighting in south Puget Sound
• Olympic National Park rangers kill aggressive elk

An erratic driver who sped away from Spokane County, Wash., deputies even after a tire was flattened by a spike strip finally collided with a loaded log truck and was killed.

Hundreds of women in skimpy outfits – plunging necklines and the shortest of shorts – disregarded the overcast 60 degree weather on Sunday and marched down the streets of Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood.

The march was part of a series of "SlutWalks" taking place this spring and summer in which scantily-clad women, and some men, take to the streets. They say they're protesting a culture in which the victim of a sexual assault is blamed, rather than the perpetrator.

The Seattle City Council has unanimously endorsed The Happiness Initiative, reports Sustainable Seattle, an organization that develops regional indicators of well-being and sustainability.

“Measuring the subjective happiness or well-being levels of Seattle residents is an important tool that can help our council make effective policy decisions and can engage our community in conversations about what we really want from life and from our economy,” City Council President Richard Conlin said in a press release.

Qwest is becoming CenturyLink, and that means Seattle stadium where the Seahawks and Sounders play will become CenturyLink Field.

This week, several “invitation-only” meetings will be held in Seattle featuring hundreds of leading experts in global health from around the world.

They all revolve around the Pacific Health Summit, which starts Wednesday. For an audio summary and Q & A about the summit, listen to the above podcast.

One of those confabs orbiting the summit is the Global Health Research Congress, which starts today.

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Earlier this year, a Toronto police officer suggested women could avoid sexual assault by "not dressing like sluts." That comment incited an international movement called SlutWalk, where activists dress in skimpy outfits to protest the treatment of sexual assault victims. This Sunday, June 19, Seattle will hold its own SlutWalk.

Two children are among four people sickened by E. coli infections after recent visits to the city of Everett animal farm.

Dr. Gary Goldbaum of the Snohomish Health District says one child was hospitalized for several days but has since been discharged. All four people reported vomiting and diarrhea.