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Today's Headlines: July 16, 2024

Cantwell, Wyden react to Trump VP nomination

At least two Democratic U-S Senators from the Pacific Northwest have criticisms about J-D Vance being picked to be the Republican vice presidential nominee.

Democratic Senators Maria Cantwell from Washington and Ron Wyden of Oregon had thoughts about Vance just hours after he was chosen.

Cantwell spoke about it in downtown Seattle on Monday.

"Senator Vance and I don't agree on women's right to choice, and it's definitely a very big issue we're going to hear a lot about in the campaign," she said. "I disagree with him. It's very important our state codified that law.”

Wyden said the Vance pick makes it clear what the stakes are this election.

“I just so appreciate Senator Cantwell's leadership on making sure that women's healthcare is something that women get to decide, not government and not Senator J-D Vance,” he said.

Both senators also said they don’t support any political violence after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump this past weekend.

Spokane aerospace hub competes for federal funding

A group of officials from the U-S Commerce Department paid a visit to Spokane’s aerospace manufacturing industry yesterday.

Last October, the agency named the American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Tech Hub as one of its 31 regional industry clusters. The tech hubs were authorized as part of the federal CHIPS and Science Act.

Alejandra Y. Castillo, the department’s assistant secretary for economic development, is leading the delegation. She said the Spokane hub will play an important role in pushing the aerospace industry into new areas.

“How do we make sure that we’re developing materials that are going to be innovative in terms of how we built airplanes and how we make them more efficient?" she said to SPR News. "That tech hub played very much into one of those critical technologies that is stated in the legislation. It was also impressive to see the consortium that came together.”

The consortium is led by Gonzaga University. Its stated goal is to help companies that build advanced composite materials for specific parts of airplanes.

WA, ID prepare for USA's 250th birthday

The U-S is now less than two years away from the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. State organizations in Washington and Idaho have been created to plan commemoration events.

Washington’s group met last week to review projects that are on the drawing board or already underway. The discussion was led by Jennifer Kilmer, the director of the Washington State Historical Society.

“This type of commemoration is not done by one body," she said. "It is a culmination of activity by what we hope will be many, many arts and culture and heritage organizations and educational institutions around the state.”

However, Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck lamented the projects seem to be missing a key element.

"The whole point of 250 is to commemorate the founding of the republic, and I don’t see anything in here that deals with that,” he said.

Heck said the bicentennial celebration of 1976 did a fine job of celebrating the creation of the United States, even if it did gloss over many of America’s foundational problems.

Still, Kilmer said there’s plenty of time to build in celebratory elements to supplement programs that address serious issues.

Keller Ferry closed for repairs

The Keller Ferry in north-central Washington is out of service for repairs to its hull.

Department of Transportation officials say a recent Coast Guard inspection found cracks in the hull that could not wait for a fix.

“We know that it’s an inconvenience to travelers especially during peak recreation season, it being summer, middle of July," DOT spokesperson Joe McHale said.  "But just for the safety of the traveling public, everyone who uses the ferry as well as our crews, we needed to remove it from service to make these repairs.”

About 60,000 vehicles use the Keller Ferry each year.

It’s part of state highway 21 that crosses the Columbia River north of Wilbur.

Detours are available by way of other highways but add about an hour of travel time.

Repairs to the Keller Ferry are expected to be completed sometime on Friday.

Franklin County fire burns more than 350 acres in under a day

Crews are working to contain a fire that’s burning near the town of Kahlotus, in Franklin County.

The Wallace Walker Road Fire, which started yesterday afternoon, has already burned more than 350 acres.

The state fire marshal ordered air resources to be deployed to help local crews, and there are currently no evacuation orders in place.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.


Reporting contributed by Casey Martin, Doug Nadvornick, Tom Lee, and Owen Henderson.