Today's headlines:
- Bryan Kohberger is back in the news. What appeared to be a settled resolution to the murders of four University of Idaho students may not be settled.
- The El Nino weather pattern is likely to have an effect on our weather this year. We’ll hear more about that.
- The U.S. appears to be backsliding on its progress in reducing ozone pollution.
- And we’ll meet with Aaron Croft, one of the few third party candidates running for legislative office from eastern Washington.
____________________________________________
Bryan Kohberger, the former Washington State University grad student who pleaded guilty to killing four college students in Moscow in 2022, wants to reopen his case.
Kohberger is serving four life sentences in prison after his plea last July. He’s now filed a petition for post-conviction relief, and court records suggest he’s representing himself.
In an interview from prison, Kohberger told the New York Times he’s seeking to abandon his guilty plea and have a trial. He said the plea quote, “hinged on false promises and blatant disinformation,” and must be withdrawn.
Kohberger is claiming ineffective legal counsel. He says in a handwritten filing made public by court officials and cited by the Times that his lawyers failed to disclose or review certain evidence.
_____________________________________________________
For years, the United States generally made steady progress on hazardous ozone pollution. But wildfires appear to be upending that success, a trend with significant health implications. From our partners at The Mountain West News Bureau, Murphy Woodhouse has details.
Through the mid-2010s, ozone concentrations were steadily decreasing across the country. And then, according to new research published in the journal Science, that trend switched – offsetting nearly 4 years of mitigation efforts. Author Meng Zhou says that in the American West – as a region – the reversal was even more dramatic.
ZHOU: “The ozone trend reversed since 2015. And, you know, and that is basically wiped out, you know, around, you know, to the maximum six years of, you know, clean Air Act Efforts.”
The reversal also comes with significant health implications. Since 2013, the researchers estimate that nationwide, more than 300 additional deaths annually are attributable to the rise in surface-level ozone pollution.
For the Mountain West News Bureau, I’m Murphy Woodhouse
____________________________________________________
Firefighters will have one more day of hot and windy conditions. The smoky air is due to move out of the region by tonight.
In Spokane Valley…Watch Duty reports the Little Baldy Fire is about 70% contained. It’s burning about 65 acres. Fire officials have issued a Level 2 evacuation warning. The American Red Cross has an open shelter at Trent Elementary School.
Taking a look at the Kaiser Canyon fire, Washington's largest, Level 2 and 3 evacuations remain IN place. One traffic note: the Washington Department of Transportation is operating its Keller Ferry 24/7 to allow people who need to flee wildfires on the Colville Reservation the extra evacuation route. The ferry allows traffic on State Route 21 to cross the Columbia River.
Level 2 evacuations are in effect for residences near the Sinlahekin fire in Okanogan County. That has grown to more than 940 acres. It began Sunday and, according to fire officials, is expected to continue growing. Helicopters and airplanes continue to support ground crews as they work to connect fire lines.
One other fire note: the team working the Bradeen Hill fire near Gifford will hold a community meeting at the Addy fire station tonight at 6. That fire is burning about 3,400 acres acres. It’s threatening homes and other structures. Level 3 evacuations are in place.
___________________________________________________________
Federal researchers say there’s an 80% chance of a very strong El Niño weather pattern by this fall.
KUOW’s John Ryan reports on one surprising impact it could have locally.
For the Pacific Northwest, El Niño boosts the odds of a warm, dry winter, a meager snowpack, and bad wildfires. It also boosts ocean water temperatures.
When sea water--or any liquid--gets warmer, it expands. That’s why climate change has been raising sea levels.
A big El Niño can swell the ocean enough to raise sea level by about a foot. That means flood-prone coastal areas could have a rough winter.
Congresswoman Emily Randall is urging the Trump administration to speed up its long-delayed funding to help cities near Grays Harbor with their flood defenses.
A federal judge in December ordered the administration to restore that funding.
Randall says Aberdeen and Hoquiam have waited long enough, with more than 2,000 properties at risk of flooding.
I'm John Ryan, reporting.
______________________________________
Spokane public health officials say they’ve discovered a bat carrying rabies. The health district reports a lab test conducted on a bat last week confirms the animal was carrying the viral disease. It also reports that no people or animal were exposed to the bat. This is Spokane County’s first case of rabies this year and the fifth in Washington. To avoid contact with bats, authorities recommend that you keep your doors and windows screened at night, keep your pets inside and close your exterior doors, including pet doors, to the outside.
____________________________________________
Three candidates hope to replace Spokane Republican Jenny Graham in the Washington state House of Representatives. One is independent Aaron Croft.
Croft is a retired Air Force veteran who says he’s progressive in his political views, but doesn’t believe the Democratic Party is effective.
Croft told SPR's Doug Nadvornick he thinks the legislature needs more problem solvers.
Aaron Croft: You know, the thing I learned throughout my career over and over again that was reinforced was the fact that people are what make the difference.
The Air Force changed its model many times throughout my career. The one they landed on the most really rubbed me the wrong way. It was mission first and people always. I had commanders that exemplified that mission first, people always mindset and I had some amazing commanders that showed me a better way, where if you put the people first, the mission always gets done at a very high level when your people can not be stressed by these outside factors and things that are causing them to lose their hair at night or lose sleep at night and not really be able to focus on all the other things because they're barely hanging on financially or they know they have a medical condition that they have to go get seen for but their coverage is garbage. So they're totally afraid of the bill that's going to surprise them at the end of that.
When you can protect people from those worries, they're able to focus on the things that they need to do that aren't necessarily the most fun in the world, going to work. But that enables them to do their jobs at a very high level because they don't have those outside stressors weighing on them all day long every day and so, to me, every elected representative should be focused on the people. That's not what I see.
DN: So you made the calculation to run as an independent rather than a Democrat or Republican. In a two-party system that's pretty hard to do. So why did you decide that?
AC: I grew up in a very, very Republican household, very conservative. Union was a four-letter word that you should never say in a good context. I learned over and over again that that was wrong. Workers’ rights are wildly important.
You look at our country before unions came along and the workers were in these squalid conditions and death and injury were a common thing. Unions came into the picture, workers’ rights, collective bargaining agreements, and it started to make not just the members of the union's lives better but the members or the people surrounding those areas where the union's forced conditions to improve.
My highest role was to take care of people and I'm not seeing that on the Republican side. I'm not seeing that on the Democrat side.
I watched a party that used to be concerned with fiscal conservatism and
being good stewards go from what it was back in the day to we just passed the second largest, most expensive bill that's ever been done and it's hurting working people. All of the benefits, all of the cuts went to the top 10%. Everybody technically gets a break, but you know when you take into account the cuts that went to Medicaid and SNAP and all this, they're seeing a net loss. So that's hurting people.
And then on the Democrat side. I see them saying all of the right things, but a lack of firm leadership enables them to get steamrollered at every time and the people lose out and then, on top of that, there are just simple cases where it feels like Democrats are saying the right things but their actions prove that they're basically looking out for their donors or the party, their donors and corporations and, then if there's some white space left over, they think about, okay, what do we do for the people and so that turned me off.
As I was coming out of the Republican Party I couldn't go into the Democratic Party because I just don't agree that they're doing everything that they can.
Aaron Croft is an independent candidate for the Washington State House in the 6th District. He's running for the seat now held by Republican Jenny Graham.
SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting was contributed by Lauren Paterson, Murphy Woodhouse, Jordy Jones, John Ryan and Doug Nadvornick.
Doug Nadvornick hosts and produces the show.
Web support is provided by Anna Gyure Havlek.
