News
The Chronicle - Centralia
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Man, 72, is accused of threatening to 'shoot up' Thurston County bank, court records show
Olympia police arrested a 72-year-old man Tuesday on suspicion of threatening to shoot up a downtown bank. The man attended his preliminary appearance in Thurston County Superior Court on Wednesday. The day before, officers arrested him outside Olympia Federal Savings on Capitol Way South. The man allegedly threatened to "shoot up the place" during a Monday phone call with a bank employee, according to court records. The employee reportedly called the man earlier in the day to tell him the bank was going to "freeze/close" his account due to unusual behavior. Officers contacted the man outside the bank on Tuesday. Judge Carol Murphy found probable cause for "threats to bomb or injure property" and ordered he be released on his personal recognizance with conditions. In doing so, Murphy determined the court could not be reasonably assured he would appear in court when required. She also barred him from contacting the bank or the employee he allegedly threatened. Court records show the man has no known adult criminal convictions. The man had not been charged with the alleged crime as of Wednesday. Prosecutors have until 5 p.m. Friday to file charges or else his conditions of release expire. If charged, the man is due back in court on May 21 for his arraignment hearing. A probable cause statement describes the investigation in the alleged crime from the perspective of law enforcement. An officer responded to Olympia Federal Savings on Tuesday after a bank employee reported the threat. The bank was reportedly closed for the day as a precaution. The employee told the officer that he called the man on Monday to tell him they were going to "freeze/close" his account. Later that day, the man allegedly called back to ask what was going on. While on the phone, the man allegedly said he would come to bank on Capitol Way and "shoot up the place." However, the last bank he visited was a location in Yelm. The employee notified branches throughout the area and they all closed their doors until the man could be located, according to the statement. At about 1:20 p.m. Tuesday, Olympia officers responded to a robbery alarm at the downtown bank on Capitol Way. A caller advised they saw the man sitting across the street from the bank. Officers contacted the man near the bank and detained him in a patrol vehicle. While searching him, officers reportedly recovered a small pocketknife. An officer read him his rights and asked him if he wanted to make a statement. He allegedly agreed and proceeded to admit to threatening the bank as the employee initially described. When asked why, he allegedly said he was mad at the bank for closing his account. He allegedly explained that he was taking large amounts of money out of the account for his wife. He added he did not intend to act on the threats, according to the statement. The officer then asked why he visited the bank on Tuesday, but the man did not provide an answer. He allegedly said he did not have access to any firearms. ___ (c)2024 The Olympian (Olympia, Wash.) Visit The Olympian (Olympia, Wash.) at www.theolympian.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. |
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Boy dies after jumping off bridge in Spokane
A boy died Wednesday night after he and three other teens jumped off the orange pedestrian bridge at Riverfront Park in downtown Spokane. Spokane Fire Department spokesman Justin de Ruyter said firefighters were called at 6:58 p.m. to a report of four young people who had jumped off the popular bridge just north of the Rotary Fountain. De Ruyter said multiple 911 callers said they heard screaming. Firefighters arrived four minutes after the call, and divers recovered the unconscious boy, who was in his early teens, at 7:53 p.m. about 100 feet from where he jumped from the bridge, he said. The boy died at the scene. The other three teens managed to get out of the cold water and were OK. The rescue drew several first responders, including the Spokane County Sheriff's Office dive team, water rescue teams from Spokane and Spokane Valley fire departments, American Medical Response, and several vehicles from local law enforcement agencies and fire departments. Three rescue kayakers and a drone above could be seen looking for the boy as dozens of people watched the search from the shore and bridge. Onlookers were eventually asked to move as law enforcement cordoned off a large area with red and yellow police tape. Jeanniene Lee, who was visiting from Texas, was on a walk at the park when "all of a sudden I heard a commotion," she said. She heard people saying children were in the water, and she saw the boy floating with his head going "up and down." Lee said someone should jump in and get him, but she didn't realize it was dangerous to do so. She considered jumping in to save him but was glad she didn't, she said. "Then, all of a sudden we didn't see him anymore," she said. "He just went under." She said someone next to her called 911. ___ (c)2024 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) Visit The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) at www.spokesman.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. |
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One arrested in Grays Harbor County following pursuit and crash
A 44-year-old man was arrested Wednesday by the Washington State Patrol on charges of driving under the influence after a pursuit ended in a two-car crash on Wishkah Boulevard in Aberdeen. Keith Haskey was arrested and is currently detained without bail in the county jail for driving under the influence and attempting to elude a police vehicle. State Patrol was notified after 5 p.m. of the pursuit, initiated by a deputy from the Grays Harbor Sheriff's Office, said Trooper Katherine Weatherwax in a phone interview. "We got a call into our dispatch around 5:25 p.m. that we had an erratic vehicle," Weatherwax said. The vehicle, a Toyota 4Runner, was traveling at 90-plus miles per hour, said Weatherwax, and driving aggressively and erratically. The sheriff's deputy broke off pursuit for safety reasons, Weatherwax said. The troopers were notified shortly afterward that the vehicle had struck another vehicle and been involved in a rollover crash as it entered Aberdeen. The driver of the other vehicle was uninjured, Weatherwax said. State troopers performed a field sobriety test and took Haskey into custody. Aberdeen fire and police responded to the scene alongside the Sheriff's Office and the troopers. The scene was cleared up within about an hour of the crash, said Cmdr. Steve Timmons of the Aberdeen Police Department. ___ (c)2024 The Daily World, Aberdeen, Wash. Visit The Daily World, Aberdeen, Wash. at thedailyworld.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. |
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Washington AG: Archdiocese of Seattle refusing to share sex abuse documents
The Archdiocese of Seattle is refusing to turn over documents showing how it handled child sexual abuse allegations by church leaders, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a news conference Thursday. The archdiocese is citing a legal exemption for religious organizations that shields the records from public disclosure, said Ferguson, who has asked a King County Superior Court judge to force the church to comply with the office's subpoenas and turn over the documents. Ferguson has requested a May 22 hearing. Ferguson's motion comes months after his office issued subpoenas to the state's three dioceses — Seattle, Spokane and Yakima — as part of an investigation into allegations that they misused charitable funds to cover up decades of sexual abuse by church leaders. The investigation also seeks to identify accused priests and determine the church's role in how it had kept those in positions of power, Ferguson said. Ferguson is among nearly two dozen state attorneys general in the country investigating alleged abuse by church leaders, he said at a news conference Thursday in Seattle. He said states such as Illinois have found hundreds more "substantiated child sex abusers" compared to what Catholic officials have disclosed. "This investigation is not about second guessing the church's use of funds for legitimate religious or charitable purposes," said Ferguson, who is running for governor. "Abuse of children is obviously not a religious or charitable purpose — that exemption does not apply to them." His office will file similar motions for the Yakima and Spokane dioceses if they refuse to cooperate with the investigation, Ferguson said. Ferguson said the Attorney General's Office made a round of subpoenas to all three dioceses last summer and this spring. In a statement Thursday, the Archdiocese of Seattle said it had cooperated with the Attorney General's Office for the last 10 months and had already turned over some of the information requested in an April subpoena, including offering to share with the office this week a series of "private deposition documents." The archdiocese also referenced a list it made public in 2016 of all 83 clergy members in the archdiocese who had been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor, and said it had received no new reports since 2007. "Only by addressing this issue directly, will victims and the Church find healing," the organization said in a statement. "However, based on the recommendations and guidance of professionals, we must do so in a way that protects the privacy of victims and ensures they are not re-traumatized." The archdiocese said it had asked the Attorney General's Office earlier this year if they could hold a joint news conference about the investigation, but was rebuffed. The Attorney General's Office does not typically discuss ongoing investigations, but did so Thursday because it is taking legal action against the Archdiocese of Seattle, Ferguson said. The Attorney General's Office set up a hotline for victims and people with information to call at 833-952-6277. "There is still time for the church to do the right thing — I can't say I'm optimistic, but there is still time," Ferguson said. "I'm speaking more as a Catholic than as an attorney general, but I have personally asked them to do that and to do the right thing and to do it now." In a statement, Washington-based nonprofit Catholic Accountability Project called for Ferguson's office to share with survivors and advocates documents it gets from the archdioceses as the investigation progresses. The organization also called for Ferguson's office to work with the Vatican to obtain documents in its archive as well. Terry Carroll, a retired King County judge and member of Heal Our Church, an organization pushing for transparency concerning sexual abuse allegations in the Catholic Church, said the Archdiocese of Seattle should have made the documents sought by the Attorney General's Office public years ago. "What entity purporting to represent the teaching of our Lord would not welcome the idea of truth and reconciliation unless there was something to hide?" said Carroll, who is Catholic. "It is critical that the chips fall where they may with any conclusions of the attorney general in their investigation — this is essential for our church to heal and move on." ___ (c)2024 The Seattle Times Visit The Seattle Times at www.seattletimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. |
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Tucker Smeall is new member of American Angus Association
Tucker Smeall, of Chehalis, is a new junior member of the American Angus Association, Mark McCully, CEO of the national organization headquartered in Saint Joseph, Missouri, stated in a news release. Junior members of the association are eligible to register cattle in the American Angus Association, participate in programs conducted by the National Junior Angus Association and take part in association-sponsored shows and other national and regional events. |
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Finn Hill Cemetery cleanup planned in Rochester
The public is invited to a cleanup event at Finn Hill Cemetery in Rochester. The volunteer event will be held at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 19, at the cemetery, located at 499 Nelson Road. Once the road turns to gravel, attendees are asked to continue to the very end of the road. If possible, attendees are asked to bring gas weed eaters, edgers, mowers, power tools to trim overgrown brush, headstone cleaner or mildew and algae stain remover, 5-gallon buckets, gallons of water, nylon or non-metal brushes, sponges, plastic scrapers, leaf blowers and brooms. Learn more and WSVP for the event online at https://tinyurl.com/5n7p7f5u. |
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Trio of Washington lawmakers urge funding for bridge repairs
A bipartisan group of 17 members of Congress has urged the House Appropriations Committee to fully fund the Federal Highway Administration’s Bridge Investment Program. In a letter dated April 29, three Washington lawmakers — Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Kim Schrier and Rick Larsen — urged the committee to include $675 million to fund the Federal Highway Administration’s Bridge Investment Program. “Making these key investments to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure today will provide outsized benefits for decades to come,” the lawmakers wrote. “We respectfully request that you provide $675 million in funding for the Bridge Investment Program. Funding the Bridge Investment Program at its fully authorized level is a necessary step towards improving the condition of our bridges and the function of our nation’s transportation system.” In the letter, the lawmakers said the additional funding is needed “to address the poor condition of bridges nationwide.” According to the letter, the Federal Highway Administration estimates that nearly 43,000 bridges are in poor condition, and a backlog of repairs would cost $125 billion. “Southwest Washington knows the impact of relying on a structurally deficient bridge all too well. Commuters are stuck in endless traffic and the narrow lanes are a safety hazard,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement. “Fully funding this program will help ensure we can continue supporting projects like the I-5 Bridge replacement and strengthening our country’s transportation infrastructure as a whole.” |
The Stand (Washington Labor News)
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Educational Student Employees authorize strike at WWU
The following is from WAWU-UAW: BELLINGHAM, Wash. (May 10, 2024) — A supermajority of Educational Student Employees at Western Washington University (WWU) voted resoundingly by 93 percent to authorize their union’s elected bargaining committee to call a strike if significant progress is not made in their negotiations for a first contract. Seventy-three percent of the […] The post Educational Student Employees authorize strike at WWU appeared first on The STAND. |
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‘We got so much done in 60 days!’
Labor chairs Sen. Karen Keiser and Rep. Liz Berry reflect on 2024 legislative wins for working families. They say none of it would’ve been possible without you. OLYMPIA (May 10, 2024) — In the 2023-24 biennium, for the first time in state history, two women served as labor committee chairs in both houses of […] The post ‘We got so much done in 60 days!’ appeared first on The STAND. |
NYT Politics
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Biden Looks to Raise Taxes on Wealthy and Corporations to Shave Deficit
Lael Brainard, the director of the National Economic Council, said lawmakers should raise taxes on companies and the wealthiest while extending the 2017 cuts for those making less than $400,000.
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