Northwest News Roundup – Latest Breaking News For WA, OR, and Idaho
Here's the latest news from the Associated Press and Newstalk 870, for April 3rd, afternoon edition.
Authorities have U.S.-Canada Drug Smuggler in Custody
SUMAS, Wash. (AP) — Police in Abbotsford, British Columbia, say a man suspected of shooting at U.S. Border Patrol agents Tuesday near Sumas was arrested at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday across the border at a residence in Abbotsford.
Police say in a statement he is a B.C. resident known to police. U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Michael Milne said agents on patrol Tuesday encountered two men in camouflage and wearing backpacks in the Columbia Valley, a forested area known as a drug-smuggling corridor. The man who fired at agents fled and was the target of a manhunt.
The other man was arrested Tuesday and is making his first court appearance at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in federal court in Seattle. Agents recovered two backpacks at the scene that contained 58 pounds of an amphetamine.
WA State Liquor Control Board to Close Pot Loopholes for Bars
SEATTLE (AP) — Washington state officials say it's not OK for bars to allow marijuana use, and they'll take quick steps to address that.
The announcement from the state Liquor Control Board on Wednesday followed a recent report by The Associated Press about establishments in Olympia and Tacoma that allow people to consume marijuana on-site.
Washington legalized pot for adults last fall, but public display and use of marijuana is barred under the law, punishable by a civil infraction carrying a $103 fine.
The Liquor Control Board's rules allow it to punish bars that allow criminal activity on-site, but not bars that allow civil infractions, and that's the loophole regulators intend to address.
Board members say they're concerned about people mixing alcohol and marijuana, then getting behind the wheel.
Hanford Contractor Settles Lawsuit with Federal Government
RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — A Hanford contractor has agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle a lawsuit with the federal government that accused it of using federal money to lobby for new government customers at a training facility for first responders.
Fluor Corp. denies it did anything wrong and says it decided to settle to avoid the distraction and costs of litigation.
The Tri-City Herald reports $200,000 will go to the employee who filed a whistleblower lawsuit in 2011.
Fluor Hanford operated the HAMMER training facility for the Energy Department from 1996 to 2009. Court documents say consultants were paid $669,000 to lobby other government agencies to use the Hanford training facility.
The Justice Department says the money was intended only for training, not lobbying.
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