A water strategy for the parched West
Have cities pay farmers to install more efficient irrigation systems
“Are you going to run out of water?” is the first question people ask when they find out I’m from Arizona. The answer is that some people already have, others soon may and it’s going to get much worse without dramatic changes...
Threatened wild bees get help from Washington researchers
OKANOGAN-WENATCHEE NATIONAL FOREST, Wash. (AP) — Few creatures exist closer to the front lines of climate change than wild, native bees. And few are more important, or as irreplaceable. They’ve always been subjected to a long list of existential threats: habitat loss through agriculture, construction and urban development; pesticides, insecticides and other harmful chemicals; and competition from domesticated honeybees...
Scientists track how huckleberries fare in changing climate
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from 13 counties in a long-running $1 billion lawsuit over timber revenue and what constitutes “the greatest permanent value” when it comes to forest management. The denial ends a six-year legal battle over logging practices on 700,000 acres and is a victory for the state Department of Forestry and environmental groups. The decision leaves in place a lower court ruling saying that Oregon can manage forests for a range of values that include recreation, water quality and wildlife habitat — not just logging revenue. “It’s the end of the road for what has been a false narrative for far too long … that it’s the public forestland’s obligation to provide the bulk of the revenues for local communities,” Ralph Bloemers, who represented fishing and conservation groups in the case, told Oregon Public Broadcasting.
NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week
Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: A graphic purporting to show House Republicans’ policy plan is fabricated and contains inaccurate information. The U.S. Postal Service says it won't reject or delay the delivery of mail-in ballots that are sent with insufficient postage. Colorado’s universal mail-in ballot system is legal and protected by the U.S. Constitution. Police in Southern California did not recently find fentanyl inside boxes of breakfast cereal. And the recent death of a red panda cub at Canada’s Toronto Zoo was not related to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Washington AG’s office, DSHS fined for evidence withholding
SEATTLE (AP) — The Washington state attorney general’s office and Department of Social and Health Services have been fined $200,000 — and could pay hundreds of thousands more in legal fees — for what a judge called “egregious” and “cavalier” withholding of evidence in an ongoing lawsuit. King County Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan ordered the fine in March as a “severe sanction” for the state failing to turn over nearly 11,000 pages of records to attorneys suing over the alleged neglect of a developmentally disabled woman at a home in Kent, The Seattle Times reported...
Two Lewis-McChord pilots taken to hospital after crash
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. (AP) — An Army helicopter crashed at a military base in Washington state during a routine training exercise Monday night, sending the two pilots to a hospital.
Google to purge billions of files containing personal data in settlement of Chrome privacy case
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google has agreed to purge billions of records containing personal information collected from more than 136 million people in the U.S. surfing the internet through its Chrome web browser. The move comes as part of a settlement in a lawsuit accusing the search giant of illegal surveillance. Although Google isn't paying consumers any money in the case, estimates made in court records pegged the value of the privacy controls at $4.75 billion to $7.8 billion. The details of the settlement emerged in a court filing Monday, more than three months after Google and the attorneys handling the class-action case disclosed they had resolved June 2020 lawsuit targeting Chrome’s privacy controls.
Ag market May 6: Grains, Livestock mixed
Wheat for May was up 26.25 cents at $6.3225 a bushel; May corn rose 10 cents at $4.57 a bushel, May oats was off .75 cent at $3.9525 a bushel; while May soybeans gained 33 cents at $12.3475 a bushel. Beef mixed and pork lower on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Jun. live cattle was up .30 cent at $1.7697 a pound; May feeder cattle dropped 1.90 cents at $2.4140 a pound; while May lean hogs lost .25 cent at $.9217 a pound.
