Man assaults, burns Yakima woman
YAKIMA - Police say a man inflicted intentional burns on a woman early Thursday during an argument at a residence in Yakima.
The 55-year-old woman was taken to a local hospital for transfer to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
The 48-year-old man fled the scene, but was spotted a few hours later and arrested for investigation of assault.
Angry Packwood mother arrested for school voicemail
PACKWOOD, Wash. - A Packwood woman was so angry that a school bus let her child off at the wrong stop Wednesday she left a threatening voicemail at White Pass Elementary.
Because of threats to staff, Lewis County sheriff's deputies locked down the school for three hours Thursday morning until the
48-year-old woman was arrested and jailed on suspicion of felony harassment.
The sheriff's office said the family recently moved and the bus took the child to the wrong address.
Three Oregon TV stations sold
to Atlanta-based partnership
EUGENE, Ore. - A Georgia partnership is buying three Oregon television stations for $30 million.
Atlanta-based Heartland Media LLC and MSouth Equity Partners announced Wednesday they are buying ABC affiliates KEZI in Eugene, KDRV in Medford and KDKF in Klamath Falls from Chambers Communications Corp.
Heartland CEO Bob Prather told The Register-Guard newspaper that no changes are planned at the stations.
Scott Chambers, CEO of Chambers Communications, said in a statement that Heartland is well suited to build on the strengths of the stations.
Gov. Kitzhaber signs tribal mascot bill
SALEM, Ore. - Oregon schools will have a chance to keep their American Indian mascots under a bill Gov. John Kitzhaber's signed into law Thursday.
A statewide ban on school use of American Indian mascots takes effect in 2017, but lawmakers crafted a bill to let school districts keep them, with tribal permission.
The law requires the state Board of Education to consult with federally recognized tribes in Oregon to write guidelines for the agreements between schools and tribes over mascots and their use. The agreements are also subject to the board's approval.
The governor vetoed a similar bill last year that didn't require the Board of Education to get involved.
This time, lawmakers and tribal leaders worked with the governor's staff early in the process to reach a compromise.
Montana drops proposed land swap amid opposition
GREAT FALLS, Mont. - Montana is dropping a proposed Fergus County land swap with a Texas businessman amid public opposition to the deal.
Dana Ranch owner David Killam of Laredo had proposed buying and giving to the state a 14,505-acre ranch near Winifred. In exchange, the state would have given Killam 14,136 acres of public-school trust parcels that are scattered on his ranch.
Department of Natural Resources spokesman John Grassy said his agency received 171 comments on the proposal, with 141 opposed to it.
Many believed the value of the state-owned land is greater than what the state would have gotten in exchange. DNRC director John Tubbs said Thursday the agency also considered the projected income from the new land in deciding not to take the proposal to the state Land Board.
Starbucks cup identifies rape suspect in Olympia
OLYMPIA - A discarded Starbucks cup helped lead police to a rape suspect in Olympia.
The paper cup fell out of the attacker's car Feb. 19 as a woman fled in a parking lot.
The cup had a sticker with coffee information that showed it had been bought earlier that day at a Starbucks drive-through in DuPont, Wash. Police were able to match surveillance video, leading to the arrest Tuesday of 35-year-old Bryon E. Johnston.
The Olympian reported a judge found probable cause Wednesday to hold Johnston in jail for investigation of kidnapping and rape in the February attack and a similar attack in November on another woman abducted from an Olympia bus stop.
Johnston's defense lawyer, Paul Strophy, declined comment Wednesday.
Associated Press