Northwest News

The utility Energy Northwest is launching a new TV ad campaign to improve the image of nuclear power. But as correspondent Anna King reports, the ads touting nuclear energy as green might be a tough sell.

Energy Northwest operates the only commercial nuclear power plant in the region. It’s called the Columbia Generating Station in Richland.

Gorgeous weather is on its way to the Puget Sound region, for the third weekend in a row. That means, kayakers and canoers are eager to get back out on the water. But officials warn that high air temperatures can be misleading, because the water in rivers and lakes is so much colder.

Ted Buehner with the National Weather Service says six people drowned in Washington in the last month in accidents involving non-motorized boats.

When you think of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, its radioactive legacy usually comes to mind. But, as correspondent Courtney Flatt reports, there’s more to clean up than just the site’s nuclear waste.

The Department of Energy wants to cut back commuter traffic at the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site.

Nearly 10,000 workers travel to and from Hanford on a daily basis. That’s a lot of traffic, and most of those cars hold just one person.

The state has been trying to crack down on ER visits for conditions that are not critical. But health care providers say the state’s policies go too far, they’re unsafe for patients, and will shift costs to hospitals.

Hospitals and emergency room doctors want to address the problem their own way. They’ve put together what they call best practices for reducing unnecessary ER visits. A key component of that is using an electronic health information system.

Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed has been on his final college civics tour before he retires next January.
For the past several years, Reed has taken time out every spring to visit college campuses around Washington to engage students in a variety of activities designed to encourage them to register to vote, and to help them become informed voters.