Washington Enterprise digest for June 1-2
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Moving Friday for Saturday
LEGALIZING MARIJUANA-POLICE DOGS
BREMERTON, Wash. – Following the legalization of recreational marijuana in Washington, police dogs in this state are being re-trained or not trained at all to smell the drug because it could hamper obtaining search warrants. But is that necessary? Some defense attorneys think police can still search, even if legal pot is present or not. By Manuel Valdes. AP Photos, video.
Moving Saturday for Sunday
CLEANING UP HANFORD
RICHLAND, Wash. — A stainless steel tank the size of a basketball court lies buried in the sandy soil of eastern Washington state, an aging remnant of U.S. efforts to win World War II. The tank holds enough radioactive waste to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool. And it is leaking. For 42 years, Tank AY-102 has stored some of the deadliest material at one of the most environmentally contaminated places in the country: the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. This complex along the Columbia River holds a storied place in American history. It was here that workers produced the plutonium for the atomic bomb dropped by the U.S. on Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945 — effectively ending the Second World War. Today Hanford’s legacy is less about what was made here than the environmental mess left behind — and the federal government’s inability, for nearly a quarter-century now, to rid Hanford once and for all of its 53 million gallons of toxic waste. There is no greater challenge at Hanford today than its underground tank waste, and the leaks inside AY-102 — a double-walled tank that was supposed to provide more protection against spillage — as well as newer leaks found this year in six other single-walled tanks show how critical the situation has become. Put simply: Time is running out on Hanford’s deteriorating tanks — and, in turn, for completing work on a more permanent solution to store what’s in them. By Shannon Dininny. With BC-US–Hanford Q&A. AP Photos and locator map
AP Member Exchanges
OUTDOORS-SMITH ROCK STATE PARK
TERRABONE, Ore. — For many Oregonians a visit to Smith Rock State Park is a rite of spring. The volcanic crags and classic Western scenery make the park one of the most scenic in the state system (though coastal park lovers will argue that point). The sweet smell of Western juniper and sagebrush, the honking of nesting Canada geese and the occasional lucky sighting of a river otter greet visitors during spring. The 651-acre park in central Oregon’s high desert not far from Redmond draws about 500,000 annual visitors. At the same visitation rate per acre, Washington’s Olympic National Park, the busiest park in the Northwest, would need to pack in 70 million visitors (it gets 2.8 million) to keep up with Smith Rock. By Terry Richard, The Oregonian. AP Member Photos. Moving in advance for the weekend.
OUTDOORS-CRATERS OF THE MOON
ARCO, Idaho — In only a few places in the United States can you walk over what was once lava and explore an underground lava tube crafted by molten rock. Instead of flying more than five hours to Hawaii, drive less than two hours north of Twin Falls to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve near Arco. Here you’ll find an otherworldly landscape, an example of what the ground beneath your feet is capable of producing. By Tetona Dunlap, Twin Falls Times-News. AP Member Photos. Moving in advance for the weekend.
OUTDOORS-PERCH IN THE SURF
LONG BEACH, Wash. — It was windy, raining intermittently, and the tide was ebbing — conditions not conducive to good fishing for redtail surf perch along the Washington coast. But the conditions did not stop Rick Weir of Ocean Park from catching 21 pounds of surf perch in his 12-fish limit in the annual Long Beach Lions Club Surf Perch Derby on a recent Saturday. The conditions did not stop Mike Ragan of Ocean Park from catching a lunker 3 1/2-pound redtail, only a bit shy of the 4.05-pound state record. By Allen Thomas, The Columbian. AP Member Photos. Moving in advance for Monday papers.
The AP-Seattle
