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RICIN LETTER-SPOKANE

FBI: No arrests in case of Spokane ricin letter

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - The FBI says it still has not made any arrests after searching a downtown Spokane apartment as part of an investigation into the discovery of a pair of letters containing the deadly poison ricin.

The letters were postmarked last Tuesday in Spokane and addressed to the downtown post office and the adjacent federal building.

Few details have been released, but investigators in hazmat suits spent from 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday executing a search warrant at a three-story apartment building. Authorities said there was no public health risk.

Agency spokeswoman Ayn Sandalo Dietrich said Sunday investigators appreciated the patience of the building's residents and neighbors.

The Spokane investigation comes a month after letters containing ricin were addressed to President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator and a Mississippi judge. A Mississippi man has been arrested in that case.

SEATTLE HIT AND RUN

Pedestrian killed in Seattle hit & run

SEATTLE (AP) - Police are investigating a hit & run that left a man dead in Seattle.

Investigators say it appear the victim's body had been dragged by a motor vehicle after being struck early Sunday morning at 12th Avenue South and South Dearborn Street.

South Dearborn Street was shut down while detectives reviewed the crime scene.

SEATTLE-CRUISER DUI CRASH

Police: Intoxicated woman crashes into cruiser

SEATTLE (AP) - Seattle police say an intoxicated woman crashed into a cruiser being driven by an officer on patrol, then took off.

No injuries were reported.

Investigators say that at 3:12 a.m. Sunday the officer was in the Ballard neighborhood when another car cut across the street and struck his patrol car.

The woman fled, but was caught nearby, arrested and booked for investigation of driving under the influence.

BOAT CAPSIZES

1 dead, 1 injured after capsize in Tulalip Bay

SEATTLE (AP) - One man has died and a woman is in the hospital after their boat capsized in Tulalip Bay north of Everett.

The Seattle Times reports someone called 911 just before 11 p.m. Friday.

Tulalip Fire and Rescue went to the area near Priest Point on the Tulalip Reservation and found a 50-year-old woman, who was wearing a life jacket, but hypothermic and in shock.

She said she had been in a boat with her boyfriend when it overturned.

Rescuers searched the area and found the man, who had died, at 4:15 a.m. He was about two miles north of the area where the woman was found, at Mission Beach. He wasn't wearing a life jacket.

GUN CONTROL ADS

Snohomish transit organization rejects anti-gun ad

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) - The main transit organization in Snohomish County is declining to run advertisements from a statewide gun control group on public buses.

The Daily Herald of Everett reports that Community Transit's board adopted a new policy May 2 banning political advertisements. Board members said the new policy was not directed at Washington CeaseFire, which wanted to run the ads.

Instead Community Transit says it wanted to avoid creating any controversies and did not want riders to think it was advocating any position.

The two advertisements Washington CeaseFire sought to run urged readers to "Think twice about having a gun in your home." One said having a gun in the home quintuples the chances of a suicide, and the other said it could turn an argument into a funeral.

Community Transit ran those same ads from Washington Ceasefire a year ago.

WHATCOM COUNTY E-COMMERCE

Report: E-commerce a big boon for Whatcom County

BLAINE, Wash. (AP) - A new report from the state Department of Revenue shows that online commerce is a big boon for the Whatcom County towns of Blaine and Sumas on the Canadian border.

The Bellingham Herald reports that many Canadians can save money on shipping costs by having items they order on Amazon.com and other sites shipped to mailboxes on the U.S. side of the border. A number of mailbox stores have opened in Blaine recently.

Blaine tallied $12.3 million in taxable retail sales in online commerce last year, a 58% jump from 2011. The city manager says Amazon, which must collect sales tax for products it ships to Washington state addresses, is now the largest contributor of sales tax in Blaine.

Blaine's economy depends on several factors, including the strength of the Canadian dollar and the ease of travelers crossing the border.

The Revenue Department estimates that Whatcom County could collect millions more in sales tax from online sales if Congress passes the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would allow states to more uniformly tax online sales.

COLUMBIA LAND TRUST

Land trust opens new Oregon office, raises profile

VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) - A Vancouver, Wash.-based organization dedicated to preserving land near the Columbia River has opened a new office in Hood River, Ore., in an effort to raise its profile.

The Columbia Land Trust had modest beginnings, but in the past two decades has grown to manage 24,000 acres in and around the Columbia River Watershed. It has a staff of 2 dozen people, a multimillion-dollar budget and the support of 1,800 members.

The Columbian newspaper reports that by opening the Hood River office last month, the organization is trying to have a more visible presence in an area that has become a key part of its restoration and conservation efforts.

UNDERWATER OBSERVATORY

New lab to give scientists underwater access

SEATTLE (AP) - Scientists around the world will soon have access to a wealth of data from a lab at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

The National Science Foundation is paying the University of Washington to put laboratory equipment as deep as 2 miles below the waves and partly on top of an underwater volcano.

They will be turning on 40 sensors, of 13 different types, as they are installed this summer, with the lab expected to be fully operational by early 2015.

The potential topics of exploration are broad, beginning with earthquakes, volcanos, fish and marine mammal migration, climate change, ocean acidification and exotic microbes.

Once the infrastructure is in place, scientists will be able to watch the ocean and conduct research - from their own Internet-connected offices.

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