Grizzly bears; spilled beer mash; misbehaving service animals
- Updated
"Odd and interesting news from the West"
- The Associated Press
- Updated
IRVINE, Calif. — A woman has been rescued after being trapped in her wrecked car for 14 hours after it went over an embankment in unincorporated Orange County.
The California Highway Patrol says the woman went off the road near Irvine, landing about 170 yards down in a canyon.
CHP Sgt. Aaron Knarr said the woman left a voicemail for her husband, a Riverside County Sheriff's Deputy who worked until 2 a.m.
It's unclear when he got the message or when authorities were alerted to the wreck. But once they were, it took about two hours to find the car.
The woman was cut out of the car and is expected to survive.
Authorities say she's lucky to be alive. The car was unrecognizable.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
DURANGO, Colo. — Investigators say beer was a factor in a rollover crash in southwest Colorado, but drunken-driving was not to blame.
Capt. Adrian Driscoll with the Colorado State Patrol says a pickup crashed after sliding on a pile of beer mash that had spilled on state Highway 172 near the Durango-La Plata County Airport on Thursday morning. Mash is a byproduct of beer brewing, and local breweries often give it to ranchers to feed their livestock.
The pickup driver suffered minor injuries, and a passenger was taken to a hospital with moderate injuries.
Lisa Schwantes, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation, tells The Durango Herald that a snow plow had been sent to clean up the slippery mess but did not get there in time.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
ELKO, Nev. — A 30-year-old California man has been arrested for suspicion of drug trafficking and charges related to illegal cock fighting after a Nevada state trooper found a dozen caged roosters in the trunk of his car.
Jose R. Ortiz of Salinas was being held in Elko County Jail Thursday on $48,750 bail for seven charges, including conspiracy to conduct fights between animals.
Nevada Highway Patrol Sgt. Alex Perez told the Elko Daily Free Press a trooper detected the smell of marijuana when he pulled Ortiz over for speeding on Interstate 80 about 6 a.m. Tuesday.
Perez says Ortiz turned over less than an ounce of suspected pot. A search of his white Chrysler 300 turned up the roosters along with a dozen razor blades typically used for cock fighting. It's not clear if Ortiz has a lawyer.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque officials are considering a proposal that would fund a permanent memorial park at the site where the remains of 11 women and an unborn child were found seven years ago.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the City Council next week will consider a proposal to approve $350,000 to build a memorial to the victims of the so-called "West Mesa murders" on land donated by KB Home.
Albuquerque police discovered the remains of the 11 women in February 2009. Since then the police have named some suspects, but no one has ever been charged in the crime. The victims' families have for years called on the city and KB Home to build a memorial on the site.
A final vote on the proposal is expected Monday.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
PHOENIX — Gov. Doug Ducey has signed a proposal that gives business owners more discretion to remove misbehaving service animals under state law.
Lawmakers reached a compromise with service animal advocates to revise the proposal that originally called for the registration of service animals and penalties for impostors.
Sen. Barbara McGuire of Kearny is backing the measure that allows business owners to ask people to leave if their service animals are out of control or are not housebroken.
The bill adds into state law what is already allowed under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
Democrat Stefanie Mach says the bill for makes it easier for police to enforce the law.
Ducey signed the legislation Wednesday.
- By JONATHAN J. COOPER The Associated Press
- Updated
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A group of unions, hospitals and doctors says it will turn in more than enough signatures to qualify a ballot initiative asking voters to extend a temporary income tax increase on the wealthy.
The tax would raise billions of dollars for California government, much of which would go to education and health care.
Voters in 2012 approved Proposition 30 raising sales taxes by a quarter-cent and income taxes on salaries above $250,000. This new initiative would allow the sales tax to expire but continue the income tax hike through 2031.
The group said Wednesday it's submitting nearly 1 million signatures for verification. At least 585,000 must be found valid.
The proponents reported having $13 million in the bank as of the end of March, most of it from hospitals.
- By DONNA BLANKINSHIP and WALKER ORENSTEIN The Associated Press
- Updated
SEATTLE — For about $5 per student in Washington state's public schools, every parent could know if the drinking water in their child's school was free of lead.
But instead of putting $5 million in the state's budget to pay for lead testing inside public schools, Washington's Legislature has left school districts to their own devices on this health and safety issue.
The Associated Press asked all 295 Washington school districts plus tribal districts whether they test for lead in the water. Of the 174 districts that responded to AP, nearly 40 percent said they do not do test for lead. Most big, well-funded districts test their water. Many small ones do not.
And of the 106 that reported they do lead testing, 28 districts started after the Tacoma Public Schools revealed last month that 13 of its elementary schools have tested positive for lead in drinking water.
"Unless you test, you do not know," said Randy Dorn, Washington state's superintendent for public instruction.
Dorn says this is clearly an equity issue, among the many ways Washington's education funding system is unfair. It's one more reason why the Supreme Court's McCleary decision on school funding is so essential, he said.
"My guess is with the media coverage, most schools will be testing now," Dorn said.
Dorn blames the Legislature and the governor for not finding the money to pay for testing, although Gov. Jay Inslee announced last week he would make testing a higher priority.
No states require schools to test their water for lead, although the Michigan Legislature is currently considering several proposals, according to Doug Farquhar, program director for environmental health at the National Conference of State Legislatures in Washington, D.C.
There's no federal mandate for school water testing under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Childhood lead poisoning can lead to learning disabilities, decreased muscle and bone growth, behavior problems and speech and language issues.
Farquhar said that because of the lead water crisis in Flint, Michigan, this issue is currently on the minds of lawmakers.
"With Flint, everyone's kind of refocused their attention," Farquhar said.
Washington's Department of Health decided in 2009 that testing water for lead inside public schools would be a good idea, but money to pay for it was caught up in a legislative fight over budget cuts. The department proposed a rule which also requires testing for mold and other environmental hazards at a total estimated cost of $45 million, but it can't be enforced until the state pays for it.
That money has never materialized.
Two of the state's three largest school districts — Seattle and Tacoma — have found lead in the water at some of their schools. The third, Spokane, has not tested its school drinking water since 1999, but just began testing again.
Of the three largest districts, only Seattle has a regular testing program, which it started more than a decade ago. The state's largest school district found lead above the EPA threshold for schools in some of the drinking water at about 35 schools in 2006.
Among those districts that test, 24 percent have found lead above the level at which health departments require action, which is between 15 and 20 parts per billion, depending on which guidelines are followed.
Some districts that don't test their water said they have all new school buildings so the chance of finding lead inside is low. Health laws require local water systems to test regularly for lead and other contamination. But once that fresh water flows through old pipes and fixtures, lead could become a problem.
Although the state Health Department estimated in 2009 water testing for lead in public schools would cost up to $2,270 per school or about $5 million for the entire system, the test results would likely lead to more costs down the line, from replacing a drinking fountain to retrofitting an entire building water system.
Inslee last week ordered the state Department of Health to bring a proposal to the Legislature to pay for water testing. The legislative session begins in January.
The Senate's lead budget negotiator Andy Hill, a Republican from Redmond, said he couldn't promise money in the Republican budget until the estimated costs are updated and he can see how they fit in with the larger state budget. But he said safety of children is a top priority.
The House's new budget writer, Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, said House Democrats can guarantee money to test school drinking water for lead would be in their budget proposal.
A spokesman for the state teacher's union agreed with Dorn that testing for lead in public schools is an equity issue.
- The Associated Press
IRVINE, Calif. — A woman has been rescued after being trapped in her wrecked car for 14 hours after it went over an embankment in unincorporated Orange County.
The California Highway Patrol says the woman went off the road near Irvine, landing about 170 yards down in a canyon.
CHP Sgt. Aaron Knarr said the woman left a voicemail for her husband, a Riverside County Sheriff's Deputy who worked until 2 a.m.
It's unclear when he got the message or when authorities were alerted to the wreck. But once they were, it took about two hours to find the car.
The woman was cut out of the car and is expected to survive.
Authorities say she's lucky to be alive. The car was unrecognizable.
- The Associated Press
DURANGO, Colo. — Investigators say beer was a factor in a rollover crash in southwest Colorado, but drunken-driving was not to blame.
Capt. Adrian Driscoll with the Colorado State Patrol says a pickup crashed after sliding on a pile of beer mash that had spilled on state Highway 172 near the Durango-La Plata County Airport on Thursday morning. Mash is a byproduct of beer brewing, and local breweries often give it to ranchers to feed their livestock.
The pickup driver suffered minor injuries, and a passenger was taken to a hospital with moderate injuries.
Lisa Schwantes, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation, tells The Durango Herald that a snow plow had been sent to clean up the slippery mess but did not get there in time.
- The Associated Press
ELKO, Nev. — A 30-year-old California man has been arrested for suspicion of drug trafficking and charges related to illegal cock fighting after a Nevada state trooper found a dozen caged roosters in the trunk of his car.
Jose R. Ortiz of Salinas was being held in Elko County Jail Thursday on $48,750 bail for seven charges, including conspiracy to conduct fights between animals.
Nevada Highway Patrol Sgt. Alex Perez told the Elko Daily Free Press a trooper detected the smell of marijuana when he pulled Ortiz over for speeding on Interstate 80 about 6 a.m. Tuesday.
Perez says Ortiz turned over less than an ounce of suspected pot. A search of his white Chrysler 300 turned up the roosters along with a dozen razor blades typically used for cock fighting. It's not clear if Ortiz has a lawyer.
- The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque officials are considering a proposal that would fund a permanent memorial park at the site where the remains of 11 women and an unborn child were found seven years ago.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the City Council next week will consider a proposal to approve $350,000 to build a memorial to the victims of the so-called "West Mesa murders" on land donated by KB Home.
Albuquerque police discovered the remains of the 11 women in February 2009. Since then the police have named some suspects, but no one has ever been charged in the crime. The victims' families have for years called on the city and KB Home to build a memorial on the site.
A final vote on the proposal is expected Monday.
- The Associated Press
PHOENIX — Gov. Doug Ducey has signed a proposal that gives business owners more discretion to remove misbehaving service animals under state law.
Lawmakers reached a compromise with service animal advocates to revise the proposal that originally called for the registration of service animals and penalties for impostors.
Sen. Barbara McGuire of Kearny is backing the measure that allows business owners to ask people to leave if their service animals are out of control or are not housebroken.
The bill adds into state law what is already allowed under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
Democrat Stefanie Mach says the bill for makes it easier for police to enforce the law.
Ducey signed the legislation Wednesday.
- By JONATHAN J. COOPER The Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A group of unions, hospitals and doctors says it will turn in more than enough signatures to qualify a ballot initiative asking voters to extend a temporary income tax increase on the wealthy.
The tax would raise billions of dollars for California government, much of which would go to education and health care.
Voters in 2012 approved Proposition 30 raising sales taxes by a quarter-cent and income taxes on salaries above $250,000. This new initiative would allow the sales tax to expire but continue the income tax hike through 2031.
The group said Wednesday it's submitting nearly 1 million signatures for verification. At least 585,000 must be found valid.
The proponents reported having $13 million in the bank as of the end of March, most of it from hospitals.
- By DONNA BLANKINSHIP and WALKER ORENSTEIN The Associated Press
SEATTLE — For about $5 per student in Washington state's public schools, every parent could know if the drinking water in their child's school was free of lead.
But instead of putting $5 million in the state's budget to pay for lead testing inside public schools, Washington's Legislature has left school districts to their own devices on this health and safety issue.
The Associated Press asked all 295 Washington school districts plus tribal districts whether they test for lead in the water. Of the 174 districts that responded to AP, nearly 40 percent said they do not do test for lead. Most big, well-funded districts test their water. Many small ones do not.
And of the 106 that reported they do lead testing, 28 districts started after the Tacoma Public Schools revealed last month that 13 of its elementary schools have tested positive for lead in drinking water.
"Unless you test, you do not know," said Randy Dorn, Washington state's superintendent for public instruction.
Dorn says this is clearly an equity issue, among the many ways Washington's education funding system is unfair. It's one more reason why the Supreme Court's McCleary decision on school funding is so essential, he said.
"My guess is with the media coverage, most schools will be testing now," Dorn said.
Dorn blames the Legislature and the governor for not finding the money to pay for testing, although Gov. Jay Inslee announced last week he would make testing a higher priority.
No states require schools to test their water for lead, although the Michigan Legislature is currently considering several proposals, according to Doug Farquhar, program director for environmental health at the National Conference of State Legislatures in Washington, D.C.
There's no federal mandate for school water testing under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Childhood lead poisoning can lead to learning disabilities, decreased muscle and bone growth, behavior problems and speech and language issues.
Farquhar said that because of the lead water crisis in Flint, Michigan, this issue is currently on the minds of lawmakers.
"With Flint, everyone's kind of refocused their attention," Farquhar said.
Washington's Department of Health decided in 2009 that testing water for lead inside public schools would be a good idea, but money to pay for it was caught up in a legislative fight over budget cuts. The department proposed a rule which also requires testing for mold and other environmental hazards at a total estimated cost of $45 million, but it can't be enforced until the state pays for it.
That money has never materialized.
Two of the state's three largest school districts — Seattle and Tacoma — have found lead in the water at some of their schools. The third, Spokane, has not tested its school drinking water since 1999, but just began testing again.
Of the three largest districts, only Seattle has a regular testing program, which it started more than a decade ago. The state's largest school district found lead above the EPA threshold for schools in some of the drinking water at about 35 schools in 2006.
Among those districts that test, 24 percent have found lead above the level at which health departments require action, which is between 15 and 20 parts per billion, depending on which guidelines are followed.
Some districts that don't test their water said they have all new school buildings so the chance of finding lead inside is low. Health laws require local water systems to test regularly for lead and other contamination. But once that fresh water flows through old pipes and fixtures, lead could become a problem.
Although the state Health Department estimated in 2009 water testing for lead in public schools would cost up to $2,270 per school or about $5 million for the entire system, the test results would likely lead to more costs down the line, from replacing a drinking fountain to retrofitting an entire building water system.
Inslee last week ordered the state Department of Health to bring a proposal to the Legislature to pay for water testing. The legislative session begins in January.
The Senate's lead budget negotiator Andy Hill, a Republican from Redmond, said he couldn't promise money in the Republican budget until the estimated costs are updated and he can see how they fit in with the larger state budget. But he said safety of children is a top priority.
The House's new budget writer, Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, said House Democrats can guarantee money to test school drinking water for lead would be in their budget proposal.
A spokesman for the state teacher's union agreed with Dorn that testing for lead in public schools is an equity issue.
More information
Most Popular
-
Barnes & Noble to open new store in Tucson
-
Driver falls 100 feet in fatal Catalina Highway crash
-
Tipoff time, TV assignment announced for Arizona's 2nd-round NCAA Tournament game
-
Nancy Guthrie probe is not a cold case, Sheriff Chris Nanos says in wide-ranging interview
-
Quick turnaround to Sweet 16 game vs. Arkansas is a drill Wildcats already know
