Northwest News

Two Oregon conservation groups have a new idea for cooling down streams. Their plan is similar to the credits used to offset carbon emissions. And today, the federal government is backing the plan with a grant. Amelia Templeton of Earthfix explains.

A horse in Klamath County has tested positive for West Nile virus. It’s the first reported case in a mammal in Oregon this year. Amelia Templeton of Earthfix reports.

This week, we’re taking a look at some of the claims made about marijuana. Voters in Oregon and Washington will decide this November whether to legalize pot. Ballot measures in both states would allow the drug to be sold in state-licensed stores. The Oregon initiative would allow people to grow their own. One of the claims made by opponents of the legalization measures is that the marijuana of today is much more potent than the pot smoked decades ago. Salem Correspondent Chris Lehman looked into whether that’s true.

Next month scientists at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation plan to use a robotic rover to examine an underground tank full of radioactive waste that has possibly leaked. The spill isn’t a threat at this point to people or the environment. But the possible leak is raising questions about long-term plans for treating and storing 56 million gallons of radioactive waste.

Susan Leckband chairs the Hanford Advisory Board. She says the possible leak isn’t a game changer – she thinks the government can still figure out how to bind up that waste into more-stable glass logs.

Fire officials in central Washington are pushing back their timeline to fully contain the Taylor Bridge fire. They’d hoped to have the fire 100 percent contained by tomorrow. But now officials say early next week is more likely.