Sunny, with a high near 77. Forecast here.
Making headlines around the Northwest:
- Wash.'s 4th wolf pack documented in Kittitas Co.
- Ex-prisons chief says he had affair with staffer
- Off the wire: Landslide; sex offender message therapist
- Cyberattack on Richland national lab computers
- Boaters allowed to enter U.S. with a phone call
- Tacoma pastors feeding kids over the summer
Ex-prisons chief says he had affair with staffer
Washington's former secretary of corrections says he had an extramarital affair with a subordinate.
Eldon Vail told The Seattle Times on Tuesday that he abruptly left his job last week after learning of a video that apparently showed him and the employee leaving a motel near Olympia. He said he heard rumors that the video may be made public, so he decided his only choice was to resign.
Vail said the relationship was inappropriate and that he is trying to work it out with his wife. He declined to discuss the employee or say how long their relationship lasted.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Chris Gregoire said there is no investigation planned into the video or affair.
Wash.'s 4th wolf pack documented in Kittitas Co.
State wildlife officials have documented Washington's fourth wolf pack, the Teanaway Pack of Kittitas County.
DNA tests of an adult female wolf caught and radio collared last month confirmed the animal is a wild gray wolf. The wolf was lactating, indicating she was nursing pups. Biologists are monitoring the wolf's activity through the tracking collar.
Before the Teanaway Pack, there were an estimated 25 resident wolves in Washington.
The state's three other packs including the Lookout Pack in Okanogan County, and the Salmo and Diamond Packs in Pend Oreille County.
Off the AP wire: Landslide; sex offender message therapist
- Kent police say a small landslide has knocked down a tree and some power lines, temporarily cutting power to about 1,400 residents. Lt. Pat Lowery says the slide occurred about 9:30 last night.
- Fire temporarily shut down a railroad trestle over Bellingham Bay about a mile south of Bellingham but a railroad spokesman says the trestle has reopened.
- Bellingham police say an autopsy is set for today in what they're calling the suspicious death of a 32-year-old woman found in a pool of blood inside her apartment. Lt. Rick Sucee said the body of Kriston A. Dunya was found yesterday by a co-worker who went to check on her after she hadn't reported for work.
- Police say a 16-year-old drowned while swimming at Horseshoe Lake in Woodland. The Cowlitz County coroner's office identified the victim as Jesus Orlando Gomez Beltran of Woodland.
A level-three sex offender convicted of child molestation has been identified as a massage therapy student at Carrington College in Spokane Valley who began doing massages last week to the public. College officials confirm he is a student but say privacy laws preclude them from disclosing information about students without their consent.
Cyberattack on Richland national lab computers
The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory at Richland is restoring its computer system this week after a cyberattack.
Spokesman Gregg Koller says when officials became aware of the sophisticated attack Friday they shut down most computer services for employees, such as email and access to the Internet.
KONA reports computer experts have been analyzing the attack and installing a security patch.
The national lab conducts scientific research, including nuclear science related to the Hanford nuclear reservation.
Boaters allowed to enter U.S. with a phone call
The boating news site Three Sheets Northwest reports that a new federal program aims to make it easier for boaters to report to authorities when arriving in the United States.
Launched nationwide in May, the initiative allows boaters to call a designated number from onboard their vessels and report their arrival in the U.S. without needing to go to a port of entry.
There’s no cost to enroll – boaters just fill out an online application and then schedule an in-person interview with a Customs and Border Patrol office.
Two Tacoma pastors feeding kids over the summer
The Tacoma News Tribune writes that two pastors have put their theological differences aside in order to help feed kids over the summer.
The Rev. Al Harmon of Grace United Methodist Church and the Rev. John Atkins of New Beginnings Baptist Church share a building in Tacoma’s East Side to run a state-funded meal program.
“There’s a lot of things we do that we believe in,” Harmon said. “(It) doesn’t matter if you’re Baptist or Methodist, we’re serving the community. Everything we do is for them. It doesn’t make sense for a kid this day and age to not have a meal.”
Their site is among 96 in Tacoma and an estimated 763 in Washington that will operate a lunch program this summer.
