News

Regional reporters Anna King and Tom Banse have won top awards in the 2011 Northwest Society of Professional Journalists Awards. King and Banse report for Northwest Public Radio as part of the Northwest News Network.

Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber's pick for the state’s new education chief is so far winning praise from school leaders. But Rudy Crew’s lengthy career includes many clashes with local school officials. Salem Correspondent Chris Lehman reports:

Kitzhaber wants Crew to be in charge of re-shaping the state's education system from pre-school through college. Crew has worked in some of the nation's largest school districts, such as New York, Miami and Tacoma. Crew says he knows he has a challenge ahead of him in Oregon.

The Washington State Liquor Control Board has turned down Seattle’s request to set its own hours for bars and nightclubs.

All bars and nightclubs in Washington state must stop serving liquor by 2 a.m. Seattle officials including police chief John Diaz, had supported allowing extended hours. They said staggered closing times would work better for police.

But Liquor Control Board chair Sharon Foster said she believed extended hours would cause more public safety problems. And she said neighboring cities would feel the consequences as well.

The state of Washington is preparing for a seismic shift this week in the way people buy liquor. A similar transition from state-controlled alcohol sales is not yet on the horizon in Oregon. But some in the industry hope that will change.

Washington voters initially rejected the idea of turning control of hard liquor sales over to the private sector. But last fall, an initiative to do just that passed by a wide margin after an expensive advertising campaign by Costco.

The retail giant isn't planning a similar ballot run in Oregon this year. Instead, grocery industry lobbyist Joe Gilliam says retailers will try their hand at convincing the Oregon legislature first. And he says the industry will simply point north for an example of what happens when lawmakers don't compromise.

A King County judge Wednesday ruled that Washington voters cannot impose a two thirds majority requirement to raise taxes on the state legislature. Superior Court Judge Bruce Heller found voter approved anti-tax Initiative 1053 to be unconstitutional. But the ruling is far from the last word on the matter.

A group of Democratic state lawmakers and their allies sued to overturn the requirement for a two-thirds vote of the legislature to raise taxes. Washingtonians have repeatedly approved that high threshold at the ballot.

But a county judge in Seattle accepted the plaintiffs' argument that the supermajority requirement conflicts with the state constitution. It says a simple majority is all it takes to pass a bill.

A California American Indian tribe Tuesday asked federal regulators to order the removal of four dams on the Klamath River. The tribe says a restoration plan for the river is stalled. Amelia Templeton reports.

A deadly virus that prompted salmon farmers in British Columbia to kill 560,000 fish has shown up for the first time in Washington. Ashley Ahearn reports.

A federal judge in Eugene heard arguments Tuesday for the release of a man charged in the fire bombing of a Corvallis mosque in 2010. Cody Crawford is currently in jail awaiting trial.

Government lawyers argued victims of the mosque bombing were not given enough notice of Cody Crawford's motion for release. Despite this, Judge Thomas Coffin allowed the defense to make their arguments.

Crawford's attorney presented a psychologist's opinion that his client has Aspergers syndrome, and would not be dangerous if released.

Washington retailers are getting ready for the 78 year old state monopoly on liquor sales to end this Friday. It’s not yet clear what privatization will do to the price of alcohol in Washington. One entity with a big stake in the matter … is the state of Idaho.

Some of Idaho’s most profitable state-run liquor stores just happen to be along its Northwestern border.

Jared Tatro: “And when we went up to visit those stores, we look at IDs, we’re looking at license plates,  they’re coming from Washington.”

HBO is premiering a new film Monday on the love affair between Ernest Hemingway and his third wife, journalist Martha Gellhorn. A University of Idaho Hemingway scholar served as a consultant to the filmmakers. Northwest Public Radio’s Glenn Mosley reports.