Anna King

Japanese officials visit Hanford to learn nuclear cleanup strategies

Anna King — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:17:28 +0000

The people overseeing the cleanup of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster are learning some valuable lessons from the long-running cleanup at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. A Japanese government delegation recently toured some of the southeast Washington site this week.

Controversial florist sues Wash. state, says she 'will not wilt'

Anna King — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:55:59 +0000

The Richland florist who refused to sell flowers for a same sex-couple’s wedding has filed a counter suit.

Arlene’s Flowers owner Barronnelle Stutzman says she "will not wilt." She argues there are plenty of other shops in the Tri-Cities that could cater to a gay or lesbian wedding.

Some Hanford water cleanup moving faster than expected

Anna King — Tue, 14 May 2013 00:20:58 +0000

Cleanup of a hazardous chemical in the groundwater at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is going faster than expected.

Hexavalent chromium is the nasty stuff that made Erin Brockovich famous down in California. The chemical was used to inhibit rust in coolant water in Hanford’s reactors. But that water was dumped into the desert, and now the carcinogen is making its way toward the Columbia River in large groundwater plumes.

Wildfire Awareness Week begins with 2 blazes burning in W. Wash.

Martha Kang and Anna King — Mon, 06 May 2013 23:39:00 +0000

Wildfire Awareness Week began Monday with record-breaking heat and crews working to contain two blazes that broke out over the weekend in Western Washington.

Controversial florist stirs back-and-forth on social media

Anna King — Fri, 03 May 2013 22:36:53 +0000

Business is bustling at the Richland florist who faces a lawsuit over same-sex marriage. The florist says she was standing up for her Christian values when she refused to sell flowers for a gay couple’s wedding. Now, the case has become a focal point of intense debate on social media across the globe.

On Arlene’s Flowers' Facebook page, right alongside advertisements for corsages and boutonnieres, there are hundreds of posts for and against same-sex marriage.

Well-known Northwest wine writer starts wine venture

Anna King — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 14:01:00 +0000

In the wine business, one good review can mean a lot of money.

Now, one of the most prominent wine writers in the Northwest is getting into the wine business himself. And the news has agitated some in the industry.

Former Seattle Times columnist Paul Gregutt defends his winery in southeast Washington, but others see a conflict of interest.

Northwest asparagus comes a tad early

Anna King — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Northwest farmers are beginning to harvest the first asparagus of the year this week in southeast Washington. That’s a tad earlier than usual. And after last year's farm-labor shortage, growers across the region are keeping an eye on how many asparagus workers show up for the harvest.

What makes Hanford's 'TRU' tank waste different from the rest?

Anna King — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 12:00:00 +0000

The U.S. Department of Energy says its wants to send 3 million gallons of radioactive tank waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation to a storage site in New Mexico. That’s 3 million gallons out of a total of 56 million gallons of some of the most toxic stuff on earth.

But what is different about this waste in particular, and why some groups are against moving it to New Mexico?

Song about Hanford furloughs picks up viewers on YouTube

Anna King — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 06:24:23 +0000

Jason Strickling and his wife Lana of Pasco, Wash. are planning some extra time with the kids this summer. That’s because she works for a Hanford Nuclear Reservation contractor in southeast Washington and her employer is requiring her to take about five weeks of unpaid leave before September.

Hanford cleaup slows while tanks leak, tratment plant stalls

Anna King — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 23:21:10 +0000

Every day, up to three gallons of radioactive waste at Hanford seeps into the desert sand from underground tanks, not far from the Columbia River.

That has prompted Gov. Jay Inslee to tour the remote site along with buses full of officials and media that roll through a sea of sagebrush.

For some, border crossing stories part of family history

Anna King — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Most American families have some kind of immigration lore. Think Ellis Island, the Oregon Trail and slave ships.

At dinner tables across the Northwest, some Mexican-American families tell their own vivid tales. They regale each other with stories of relatives swimming to better opportunities across the Rio Grande or crossing the desert at night.

Mystery solved: Who the 'Kennewick Man' really was

Anna King — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 20:39:11 +0000

For one thing, Kennewick Man – the 9,500-year-old remains found in the shallows of the Columbia River more than 16 years ago – was buff. We’re talking beefcake.

So says Doug Owsley, head of physical anthropology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Owsley led the study of the ancient remains.

In Washington state, picker shortage threatens apple boom

Anna King — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:59:45 +0000

In western Michigan, there aren't enough apples to pick because bad weather decimated 85 to 90 percent of the crop. But Washington state has the opposite problem — there's an abundance of apples, but not enough pickers.

This should be the happiest, busiest time of year in Washington apple orchards.

Wildfires in Washington, Idaho continue challenging crews

Jessica Robinson and Anna King — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 20:44:02 +0000

High winds are challenging crews battling the Taylor Bridge fire in central Washington; and crews fighting the Trinity Ridge fire in Idaho are in a standoff with that fire, waiting for it to reach lower ground.

Illegal Sewage Dumper In Kennewick, Wash., Fined $50,000

Anna King — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:11:50 +0000

RICHLAND, Wash. – State regulators have fined a port-o-john operator in southeast Washington for illegally dumping raw sewage down a manhole at least five times. Some of the 50-thousand-dollars in fines will go to the city of Kennewick, which had to clean up waste that backed up into streets.

Early in the morning, a truck would drive out to a not-yet-built cul-de-sac and empty its waste. Waste water managers could tell from the chemicals it wasn't theirs, but from a portable toilet company.