Free Republic

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Union workers were on strike for a second day on Monday at nine U.S. refineries and chemical plants as they sought a new national contract with oil companies covering laborers at 63 plants. The walkouts were the first in support of a nationwide pact since 1980 and targeted plants with a combined 10 percent of U.S. refining capacity. One of the plants, Tesoro Corp's (TSO.N) 166,000-barrel-per-day Martinez, California, refinery, was being shut because it was in the midst of planned maintenance work. The other refineries appeared set to continue running normally as operators initiated contingency plans, calling...

A quaint tourist town in Washington State has become divided over a coffee stand run by scantily clad bikini-wearing baristas. At the center of the dispute is Meghan Calavan, owner of the Sips Ahoy coffee stand, and a female resident of Anacortes who accused Calavan of making offensive comments about her weight. The argument between the two women has caught the attention of local authorities, has compelled members of the community to engage in fist fights and has threatened the survival of the popular sailor-themed bikini barista stand. The feud first began on Facebook when Jesseka Kathleen Cladek posted on...

ANACORTES, Wash. - An explosion and fire at a Washington state oil refinery shook homes and shot flames into the night sky early Friday, killing five people and critically injuring two others. The fire struck the Tesoro Corp. refinery in Anacortes, about 70 miles north of Seattle on Puget Sound, at about 12:30 a.m., the company said. The blaze occurred while maintenance work was being performed and was extinguished in about 90 minutes. Four workers -- two women and two men -- were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, about 70 miles south of the refinery, with severe burns....

Matt Gumbel, 34, of Oak Harbor passed away at 2:45 a.m. Saturday from complications related to burns on two-thirds of his body. Gumbel was severely injured in an April 2 fire at the Anacortes Tersoro Refinery...

SEATTLE -- A fifth victim has died following a fiery blast at the Tesoro Refinery. On Friday night, Tesoro officials announced Donna Van Druemel, 36, succumbed to her injuries at Harborview Medical Center at approximately 7 p.m. Druemel was one of four workers who were airlifted to the hospital with burns covering most of their bodies. Another victim, 29-year-old Kathryn Powell, died at the hospital Friday morning. Doctors said she had sustained severe burns, and her husband reportedly appeared to be in a state of shock. Two others are being treated at the hospital. Matt Gumble, 34, and Lew Janz,...

ANACORTES, Wash. — An explosion and fire at a Washington state oil refinery shook homes and shot flames into the night sky early Friday, killing four people and critically injuring three others. The fire struck the Tesoro Corp. refinery in Anacortes, about 70 miles north of Seattle on Puget Sound, at about 12:30 a.m., the company said. The blaze occurred while maintenance work was being performed and was extinguished in about 90 minutes. Three employees are hospitalized with major burns over the majority of their bodies. Susan Gregg-Hanson, a spokeswoman for Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, said they are one...

ANACORTES, Wash. - Three people have died in an early morning explosion at the Tesoro oil refinery in Anacortes. Four workers have been injured and taken to the hospital. Greg Wright, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Tesoro, tells KING 5 News that three workers were killed in the refinery explosion. At one point, a number of workers were missing but Wright says all workers are now accounted for. The blaze started in a naptha unit of the complex.

FRIDAY HARBOR, San Juan County — The people of the San Juan Islands tend to be independent sorts, espousing a do-it-yourself, leave-me-be ethos as natural and ever-present as the tide. But for many of the 17,000 people of this island county, the normal rhythms of small-town life have hit a dissonant chord lately. A couple of months ago, the U.S. Border Patrol began occasional "spot checks" of every vehicle and passenger arriving in Anacortes off state ferries, the lifeline between these islands and the mainland. For some here, it seems like a good idea or, at worst, a minor inconvenience....