Northwest News

The Lane County levy for jail and youth services passed with 56%. KLCC’s Lucy Ohlsen was at the yes-on-213 watch party, where Sheriff Thomas Turner celebrated with supporters.

Unofficial results show Portland's fluoridation measure going down by a resounding 60-to-40 margin. Oregon Public Broadcasting's April Baer reports opponents got the upper hand despite being outspent two-to-one.

Eugene voters soundly defeated a ballot measure that would have imposed a monthly fee on residents to help pay for public safety and social services. KLCC’s Angela Kellner reports.

The Obama administration’s new secretary of energy says his top priorities are responding to climate change, safely managing the nation’s nuclear stockpile and fostering scientific research. Ernest Moniz made the comments at his swearing-in ceremony Tuesday.

He also mentioned the need to clean up the nation’s Cold War legacy waste. That would include work at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southeast Washington, “Including attention to the communities and workforce as we go into a somewhat uncertain future again, especially in terms of the budget environment.”

Fishing nets are designed to ensnare fish. But when those nets are lost or abandoned at sea, they don’t stop catching fish. Instead, they become ghost nets – floating death traps for the marine life that continue to get trapped in their mesh.

Crowdfunding and kickstarter campaigns have become popular online tools to raise money for fledgling businesses and independent projects. Scientists are starting to use these sites to fund research as well.

State and federal agencies have begun the environmental review process for the two largest coal export terminals on the West coast. Now there are some scientists who are asking the public to chip in for studies about the impacts of exporting coal. Ashley Ahearn reports for EarthFix.