NW briefs

Port of Seattle OKs $268 million

for Alaskan Way tunnel project

SEATTLE - Port of Seattle commissioners approved $268 million Tuesday for the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement program. The port agreed with the state Transportation Department three years ago to contribute to the $3.1 billion project to replace the viaduct with a tunnel.

Tunneling by the world's largest boring machine began last week.

Port and transportation officials believe the tunnel and surface road improvements will help keep freight traffic moving along the Seattle waterfront.

The port's contribution will come from the sale of bonds which will be repaid by taxes on property owners in the port district.

Police nab inmate who fled Boise work center

IDAHO FALLS - An Idaho inmate who walked away from a state prison work center in Boise last week is back in police custody.

Authorities said 42-year-old Leah J. McCormack was apprehended in Idaho Falls Wednesday.

Idaho Department of Correction Spokesman Jeff Ray said police acted on a tip and arrested her without incident.

McCormack fled the East Boise Community Work Center and was reported last being seen in Boise, at a motel near Interstate 84. She was scheduled to be released in 2017 after serving time for burglary in Bonneville County and possession of a controlled substance in Bannock County.

Ray said she now faces possible charges for escape.

Woman dies after bike fell into

path of dump truck in Ketchum

KETCHUM, Idaho - Officials in central Idaho are investigating after a woman riding a bike was struck and killed by a dump truck at an intersection in Ketchum.

Blaine County Sheriff Gene Ramsey told the Idaho Mountain Express that a woman believed to be in her 40s died Tuesday afternoon. Her name has not been released.

Ramsey said preliminary information suggests the woman was riding a bicycle in the bike lane when she started to wobble, fell into a lane of traffic and was hit by the truck.

Teacher will be 'ambassador' for education

KENT, Wash. - A social studies teacher from Kent-Meridian High School will spend a year working in the other Washington as a teacher ambassador to the U.S. Department of Education.

Education officials said Lisa Clarke has been chosen to lead a small team of teachers during the 2013-14 school year.

Eight teachers from across the nation have been selected for the Education Department's teacher ambassador program. Clarke and two others will spend the year in Washington, D.C. Five others will do their ambassador work part-time from their classrooms.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said the purpose of the program is to make sure the voices of classroom teachers are heard when education policy is being made.

This is the sixth year of the program. Clarke was a classroom ambassador during the 2012 school year.

Oregon police: On-duty detective suspended after being found with prostitute

PORTLAND, Ore. - The Oregon State Police said one of their detectives has been suspended without pay after he was found with a prostitute while on duty.

The police said in a statement that Clackamas County sheriff's deputies cited the detective Tuesday afternoon after getting a report about a man and woman engaged in a sex act near Southeast 82nd Avenue and Southeast Johnson Creek Boulevard.

He was identified as 50-year-old Richard Narvaez, assigned to the police's Tribal Gaming Section in Salem. He was accused of patronizing a prostitute and public indecency. He has worked for the state police for 23 years.

The woman was identified as 32-year-old Tiffany Denise Smith. She was arrested on probation violation warrants and accused of public indecency and prostitution.

Prosecutor: Animal cruelty charge

added in dog's bombing death

STEVENSON, Wash. - The Skamania County prosecutor said the county will be adding animal cruelty charges to the case against a Stevenson man accused of blowing up his dog.

The prosecutor previously charged Christopher Wayne Dillingham with possession of a bomb or explosive device with intent to use for an unlawful purpose, which is a felony. If convicted, the 45-year-old could face up to 20 years in prison. He's also charged with reckless endangerment.

Dillingham appeared in court Monday in Stevenson and was ordered held on $500,000 bail. The new charges will be filed at Dillingham's next court appearance.

In court papers, investigators said Dillingham attached a fireworks bomb to the dog's collar early Sunday and set it off with a blast that alarmed neighbors. Dillingham said he killed the dog because an ex-girlfriend had "put the devil in it." He also said he was preparing for the rapture.

Associated Press