Memorial service set for Woodinville drowning victim
Christopher Lund was rafting with his younger brother near Startup in Snohomish County on July 4 when their rubber raft tipped over. Both brothers clung to the raft as it headed for Canyon Falls, an approximately 50-foot waterfall surrounded by rocky cliffs. The younger boy, who made it to shore, later saw the empty raft at the bottom of the falls, said Snohomish County Sheriff's spokeswoman Jan Jorgensen.
Snohomish County sheriff's Sgt. John Flood said Lund's body was found shortly before dark on Thursday, in a 30-foot-deep pool below the falls, and recovered the next day.
Shoreline
Fire destroys portable classroom at high school
SHORELINE — A fire early this morning destroyed a portable classroom at Shorecrest High School. There were no injuries and no other structures were endangered, Shoreline School District spokeswoman Marjorie Ledell said.
Firefighters are investigating what caused the blaze, which broke out around 2 a.m. Ledell said the portable was used for health classes and was located at the south end of the campus.
Renton
One man, two women arrested in shooting
Three people were arrested this weekend in the July 8 shooting death of a 30-year-old Renton man.
Justin Gordon was shot once in the chest about 1:20 a.m. at the Eagle Lane Apartments in Renton. He staggered to a neighbor's apartment. The neighbor called 911, and Gordon was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he later died.
The suspects are an 18-year-old man and two 21-year-old women, all from Seattle, said Penny Bartley, Renton Police spokeswoman. The first woman is the male suspect's girlfriend, and the other woman is her sister, Bartley said.
Investigators believe the man was the shooter. They say he knew Gordon and was trying to rob him.
Boise
Food-stamp calls go through India
The company that manages Idaho's food-stamp program has subcontracted part of the work to India.
The state administers its electronic benefits-transfer program through a contract with New York-based J.P. Morgan Chase, Health and Welfare Department spokesman Ross Mason said.
But that company subcontracts the call-center portion of the work to MsourcE in India, according to a report by Good Jobs First, an advocacy group for higher-paying jobs in America.
About 150,000 Idaho residents call the system every month, Mason said, and about 1,100 of those calls are sent to the Indian call center. Mason did not know how much each call cost under the contract.
Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne has stressed the need to bring jobs to the state, especially struggling rural communities, and has focused much of his administration on stimulating the economy and reducing Idaho's unemployment rate, which was 5 percent last month.
Tom Johnson, a spokesman for J.P. Morgan Chase in New York, emphasized that the vast majority of the work under the state contract — managing and monitoring the money that flows to food-stamp recipients through the cards — is done in the United States.
He said the calls being handled offshore could be handled in the United States if the state wanted that change, but it would cost more.
Sidney, B.C.
Vancouver Island hit by second strong quake
The second strong earthquake in five days rocked the west coast of Vancouver Island early yesterday, the Pacific Geoscience Centre said.
The earthquake, at 1:01 a.m., was measured at magnitude 6.1. Like the magnitude 5.8 quake early last Thursday, it was centered in the Nootka Sound area.
Seismologist John Cassidy said it was felt in communities across Vancouver Island. Several small aftershocks also were recorded.
Other than some items being knocked from shelves, there were no reports of damage.
Vancouver, B.C.
Relocation of Luna on hold for now
Efforts to relocate a friendly but lonely and potentially dangerous killer whale have been called off, at least until fall.
The decision announced by Lara Sloan, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Ocean, leaves Luna free to continue to hang out in Nootka Sound off the west coast of Vancouver Island.
The 5-year-old orca became separated from his pod, which frequents the waters around the San Juan Islands, three years ago. Authorities are concerned about the potential hazard as he becomes increasingly friendly toward boats and people.
A plan to reunite Luna with his clan is opposed by the Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nation, which dispatched canoes to lure him away from a net pen. Indian leaders have demanded a voice in the relocation plans. Some believe he is the reincarnated spirit of a dead chief.
Staff and news-service reports