Regional News

American Red Cross officials say they are urgently looking for blood donors right now.

They say there's a shortage caused by an increase in demand, combined with fewer people donating during the Covid pandemic.

A former caregiver for people with developmental disabilities has been criminally charged in connection with the 2019 death of a client who ingested a large amount of household cleaning vinegar.

Fikirte T. Aseged, 43, is charged in Spokane County Superior Court with third-degree assault, a felony, and reckless endangerment, a gross misdemeanor.

The Attorney General’s office announced the charges Tuesday following a nearly two-year investigation.

A former caregiver for people with developmental disabilities has been criminally charged in connection with the 2019 death of a client who ingested a large amount of household cleaning vinegar.

Fikirte T. Aseged, 43, is charged in Spokane County Superior Court with third-degree assault, a felony, and reckless endangerment, a gross misdemeanor.

The Attorney General’s office announced the charges Tuesday following a nearly two-year investigation.

If you’ve ever been hiking in the Cascades, high up in the alpine meadows, and were spooked by a streak of a bird, a plume of feathers that darted right in front of your face, you may have come across the Mount Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan.

This chicken-sized grouse stays hidden, until you are right upon it. Then it squawks and flies away.

An intense spring storm drenched the Inland Northwest early Tuesday morning, lighting up the sky and dropping needed rain.

Washington state officials are warning residents to beware of scammers impersonating lottery workers, saying there have been several scams reported since the state rolled out its COVID-19 vaccine lottery.

“We will never ask you for personal information over the phone, or by email, or by text. We’re not going to ask you for your date of birth, your social security number, your phone number, your address, your banking information, your mother’s maiden name, none of that kind of thing."

Editor’s Note: Anna King knew John Zachara, he was a friend and colleague of her husband at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. 

John Zachara was a brilliant geoscientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. And he had a dry sense of humor. 

In the mountains of British Columbia a decade ago, Zachara was really getting bugged by horse-flies. 

Washington State is receiving more than $47 million in American Rescue Plan funding for public transit infrastructure projects, which includes one project in Eastern Washington and five in Western Washington.

According to a news release Friday from the Department of Transportation, the projects include $5.8 million for the Central City Line Bus Rapid Transit project in Spokane.

Gonzaga University is now requiring students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend the college this fall.

According to a news release Thursday, all students who participate in classes on campus this fall must show proof of vaccination, though medical, or religious exceptions will be available.

Online graduate students are exempt from the new requirement.

Gonzaga joins several other universities in Washington state in requiring vaccination against COVID-19 including Washington State University, Eastern Washington State University and University of Washington.

More than two-thirds of Washington residents 16 and older have had at least their first COVID shots. That puts the state just four percentage points away from 70%, the goal Governor Jay Inslee established to reopen the state before June 30.

Nearly 12,000 acres of Easterday family farmland in Benton County will likely sell for more than its $210 million asking price, according to court documents and sources with knowledge of the deal.

Two big players are vying for the sweeping property near the Columbia River: Farmland Reserve’s AgriNorthwest, which is backed by the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Seattle-based Bill and Melinda Gates’ Cottonwood Ag Management. 

The man who has overseen Gonzaga University’s incredible run in athletics over the last quarter-of-a-century announced his retirement on Tuesday.

Mike Roth will leave on August 31 after 24 years as athletic director and 34 years in Gonzaga’s athletics department.

Fire crews in Stevens County are urging the community to be cautious when using guns after several fires broke out at shooting ranges.

Officials say the most recent fire at the area known as Bogg’s Pit near Loon Lake was the third since April.

The largest burn was about two acres.

Cannabis stores in Washington can now offer in store vaccines, with a complimentary joint.

According to a Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board news release, the “Joint for Jab” program goes from Monday until July 12. People getting a first or second vaccine dose at a vaccine clinic in a pot shop will be eligible for one pre-rolled joint.

The program is only for people 21 or older, and does not include any other cannabis products.

The Pacific Northwest is famous for churning out jet airliners, computer software and huckleberry syrup. The U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials beginning June 18 in Eugene will showcase another local product: Olympic distance runners.

Crews battled several small wildfires around the Inland Northwest over the weekend, many of them burning dry brush and whipped up by brisk winds.

While Washington’s system has been strained for years, state officials and disability rights advocates say it effectively ground to a halt during the pandemic.