Archive - Northwest
Alaska Charges Former Acting Attorney General With Sexual Abuse of a Minor
Ed Sniffen faces three counts of sexual abuse of a minor for having sex with a 17-year-old girl he coached in high school in 1991.
The U.S. Has Spent More Than $2 Billion on a Plan to Save Salmon. The Fish Are Vanishing Anyway.
The U.S. government promised Native tribes in the Pacific Northwest that they could keep fishing as they’d always done. But instead of preserving wild salmon, it propped up a failing system of hatcheries. Now, that system is falling apart.
Washington State Budgets $1.6 Million for Study and Removal of Toxic Lights
Responding to a Seattle Times and ProPublica investigation, state lawmakers set aside funds after fluorescent lights leaked PCBs at a Seattle-area school for several years. But legislators say it’s only a first step.
Her Story Brought Down Alaska’s Attorney General. A Year Later, She Feels Let Down.
Nikki Dougherty White came forward to say Alaska’s acting attorney general had an inappropriate relationship with her when she was a teen, and he resigned. That was more than a year ago, and the state’s investigation has barely moved.
School District Where Toxic Chemicals Lingered for Years Offers $34 Million Settlement to Families
The settlement would go to nearly 200 students and parents at a Seattle-area school where PCBs are still being cleaned up eight years after they were discovered.
Toxic PCBs Festered at This Public School for Eight Years as Students and Teachers Grew Sicker
The EPA and others warned about potential contamination as far back as 2014. But Washington state law does not require schools or health departments to act on those findings.
Citizens Hide From Active Shooters as Alaska Is Slow to Deliver on 2019 Promise of Village Troopers
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy pledged to add state troopers to villages off the road system. Two years later, many communities are still waiting. “I’m very disappointed, obviously,” one village president said.
FAA Suggests Steps to Improve Aviation Safety in Alaska. Some Experts Say They’re Not Enough.
In a recently released report, the FAA recommended safety measures to address Alaska’s high share of aircraft accidents. The report, which contains few new initiatives or calls for funding, falls short of what’s needed, according to experts.
Searching for Solutions to Alaska’s High Rate of Deadly Air Crashes
Our investigation revealed that Alaska has a growing share of the country’s deadly crashes from small commercial flights. Here’s what experts say could be done to improve aviation safety in the state.
Help Us Understand Pacific Northwest Salmon and Treaty Rights
Dozens of people have told us about the decline of wild fish in the Columbia River and the U.S. government’s failure to uphold treaty rights. Now, we’re interested in hearing from you.
School District That Employed Principal Despite Sex Abuse Complaints Will Pay $3.8 Million to His Victims
An Alaska school principal who abused young girls kept his job despite years of complaints. Now the district will pay millions to his victims. His conviction is part of a series of failures by the state’s schools to protect students from educators.
Alaskan Law Requires DNA From Accused Criminals, but Officials Failed to Collect Samples From 21,000 People
Alaska authorities neglected to collect DNA swabs from nearly a quarter of qualifying arrestees since 1995, the state said. The requirement was supposed to help solve sexual assault cases and put serial offenders behind bars.
Fatal Crash Renews Concerns About Safety of Alaska Aviation
A sightseeing flight near Ketchikan, Alaska, crashed last week, killing the pilot and five passengers. So far this year, 13 people have died in three crashes of small commercial planes.
Tax-Funded Forest Institute in Oregon Misled Public, May Have Broken State Law, Audit Finds
State auditors found that an agency intended to educate the public about forestry presented biased information favoring the timber industry and possibly violated state law. The audit was prompted by our investigation last year into the agency.
Oregon Lawmakers Set Out to Increase the Timber Industry’s Tax Bill. Instead, They Cut It Again.
Legislators cut taxes for the owners of Oregon’s private forests, money that helped fund university forest scientists. Now taxpayers will pick up the tab.
In Alaska, Commercial Aviation Is a Lifeline. The State Is Also Home to a Growing Share of the Country’s Deadly Crashes.
Alaska’s terrain and infrastructure pose unique challenges when flying. Some say the Federal Aviation Administration has been slow to account for these hazards, leaving pilots and customers to fend for themselves, sometimes at risk to their lives.
What We Know About Alaska’s Recent Series of Fatal Flight Collisions
In the past five years, Alaska had five fatal midair collisions involving commercial operators. The rest of the U.S. hasn’t had any since 2009.
How We Tallied Alaska Aviation Deaths
Although Alaska has seen a spate of midair collisions in recent years, detailed analyses of crash patterns involving small commercial aircraft have been limited. Our investigation bridges some of these gaps.
Oregon House Moves to Curb Forest Institute’s Power and Budget
After our investigation found that a tax-funded institute acted as a lobbying arm for the timber industry, Oregon lawmakers passed a bill that would significantly cut the institute’s funding and redirect the money to climate science.
Hours After an Employee Accused Him of Sexual Misconduct, Prominent Alaska Executive Resigns
The head of Alaska’s leading tribal health organization has stepped down after a former assistant accused him of “forcing and requiring sex” to keep her job. He denies wrongdoing and says their relationship was consensual.
