Northwest News

SALEM, Ore. – Oregon lawmakers are trying to crack down on bad behavior at funerals. The state House voted Tuesday to increase the penalty to up to a year in jail for disorderly conduct within 200 feet of a funeral service.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Majority Democrats in the Washington state House have unveiled a plan to rebalance the state’s budget. The spending blueprint released Tuesday does not call for a general tax increase. But it would delay a massive payment to public schools. It also relies on savings from reduced demand for state services.

The head of Madigan Army Medical Center south of Tacoma has been removed from his post. The administrative action comes as the Medical Center investigates whether soldiers had their diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder reversed to reduce the cost of a medical retirement.

The Cherry Point refinery in Washington usually produces 225,000 barrels of gas per day. Owners, BP, says the plant could resume production soon. But Marie Dodds of Triple A Oregon and Idaho, thinks prices could increase as a result.

Non-nativSPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. – The northern pike population has exploded in eastern Washington’s Box Canyon Reservoir. These non-native fish have gone from a few hundred to around 10-thousand over the past five years. As correspondent Courtney Flatt reports, the increasing numbers can damage native fish populations, like salmon and steelhead.

Throw your line out in Box Canyon Reservoir, and you’ll likely find a northern pike on the other end. Over the past several years, the northern pike population has increased so rapidly that it’s hard to catch anything else.