http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/wa-news/ en-us Mon, 4 Jan 2010 02:03:54 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420309/posts Longview teen badly burned while siphoning gas By Erik Olson The Daily News Friday, January 1, 2010 A 17-year-old Longview boy suffered serious burns on his chest and abdomen early Friday morning after he lit a cigarette while attempting to siphon gasoline from a car in the Beacon Hill area, according to police and firefighters. The teenose name was not released, suffered first- and second-degree burns over 30 percent of his body and was transported to St. John Medical Center, Cowlitz 2 Fire and Rescue lieutenant Jason Sanders said. The burns extended to his pelvis, hands and feet, Sanders said.... The Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420309/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 02:03:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419736/posts Wearing his “Don’t Mess with this Woman” T-shirt, Ed Stock could not wait to shake hands with former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. “It was an opportunity of a lifetime to actually meet a down-to-earth political candidate,” Mr. Stock said. A 1968 Bedford High School graduate, Mr. Stock and his wife, Kim, met the former Alaskan governor during Thanksgiving weekend. The Stocks live in Richland, Wash., and were invited to a private signing of Mrs. Palin’s book, “Going Rogue.” “She was extremely personable and very attentive in our conversations,” he said in an e-mail. Mr. Stock met Mrs. Palin’s... Monroe news http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419736/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 00:03:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418919/posts SELAH -- It began when two young men with machetes walked into a Union Gap convenience store early Wednesday morning and demanded cash. What they didn't expect was a second clerk who pulled a handgun and held one of the men until police arrived. The other ran off. It didn't end there. Hours later more than a dozen officers -- including the Yakima police SWAT team -- encircled a Selah house and after a three-hour standoff forced out three other people suspected in at least one other machete-point robbery in Yakima. "It was a busy morning," Yakima police Sgt. Kelly... yakima-herald.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418919/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 14:07:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417871/posts The Issaquah School Board may consider eliminating the Pledge of Allegiance at its regular business meetings. At their Dec. 9 meeting, school board members were asked to eliminate the pledge from their meetings by parent Matthew Barry. “The words ‘under God’ in the pledge are offensive to your atheist residents in this school district,” Barry said at the meeting. “A study from last year, The American Religious Identification Survey, indicates that 15 percent of Americans aren’t religious. In Washington, which is one of the most nonreligious states, 25 percent aren’t religious. So, I think it is safe to assume there... issaquahpress.com. (WA State) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417871/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:35:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417535/posts Seattle Weekly writer/editor Nina Shapiro is at it again in her “Daily Weekly” blog, demanding that the Legislature do something in the wake of a sixth law enforcement death since Oct. 31. Five of those officers, including the only female police officer killed in the line of duty anywhere in the country during 2009, were murdered with handguns. The sixth, Seattle officer Timothy Brenton, was killed with a Kel Tec sport-utility rifle, fitted with an after-market magazine. That particular firearm does not fit any known description of an "assault rifle" except that somebody in the Seattle Police Department called it... Seattle Gun Rights Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417535/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:15:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417278/posts BREMERTON, Wash., Dec. 29, 2009 – Navy Chief Petty Officer Connie Smith, a hospital corpsman, is helping to combat malnutrition in Afghanistan. Smith is involved with the Strong Food Project, which fights malnutrition among local Afghan children under the age of 5. “The project basically is to help kids from 6 to 60 months regain a normal appetite,” explained Smith, who is deployed from Naval Hospital Bremerton here to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. According to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force Afghanistan, the Strong Food Project began in November 2008 in the southern Afghan province of Zabul. The project is composed of... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417278/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:04:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416778/posts SEATTLE – The Pierce County Sheriff's Office says a deputy, critically wounded in a shootout a week ago, has died. Deputy Kent Mundell's wife was at his side Monday evening when doctors turned off life support. Officials say Dep. Mundell passed quickly and died at 5:04 p.m. Mundell and Sgt. Nicholas Hausner were shot Dec. 21 while responding to a domestic violence call. When the deputies tried to get the suspect, David Crable, to leave his brother's home, he opened fire on them. Hausner was hit in the neck. Crable's brother and his girlfriend pulled Hausner into another room and... king 5 tv http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416778/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 05:30:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416029/posts New population figures give a boost to the GOP By: Chris StirewaltPolitical EditorDecember 28, 2009 The 2010 census is sure to be controversial.Republicans will thunder about the community organizers who get hired to do the counting, and Democrats will wail that the homeless and migrant workers are undercounted.But in the final pre-count estimate just released by the Census Bureau, we already have a broad idea of where the results are headed and what they will mean politically.The numbers are cause for alarm for Democrats.Of the states gaining House seats -- Texas (three) and Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah... Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416029/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:44:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416451/posts The Issaquah School Board may consider eliminating the Pledge of Allegiance at its regular business meetings. At their Dec. 9 meeting, school board members were asked to eliminate the pledge from their meetings by parent Matthew Barry. “The words ‘under God’ in the pledge are offensive to your atheist residents in this school district,” Barry said at the meeting. “A study from last year, The American Religious Identification Survey, indicates that 15 percent of Americans aren’t religious. In Washington, which is one of the most nonreligious states, 25 percent aren’t religious. So, I think it is safe to assume there... Issaquah Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416451/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:38:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415786/posts Join thousands of patriots in Olympia on Thursday January 14 at 12:00 noon. The Tea Party and 912 Spokane have coordinated resources and reserved charter buses for $60.00 per seat on January 14, 2010. Loading begins at 4:00 AM, departure at 5:00 AM, same day round trip to Olympia. We will announce the departure area later. A minimum of 38 passengers are required to pay for the bus. You will receive a full refund if we do not have enough. Please have your reservations in and paid for by January 5. 2010. If you can car pool, email at theresa.theteapartyofspokane@gmail.com.... The Tea Party of Spokane http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415786/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 17:21:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414952/posts First it was Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat suggesting that firearms ownership should be regulated like driving and car ownership, and now the newspaper’s editorial page has blamed the “Second Amendment crowd” for “some responsibility” in the shooting of two Pierce County sheriffs’ deputies. The editorial also mentions the slaying of four Lakewood police officers, a vicious crime perpetrated by a career thug who got leniency from a governor and at least one Pierce County judge. There is nothing in the Times editorial about how two dead gunmen – David Crable and Maurice Clemmons – were able to skate through... Seattle Gun Rights Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414952/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:19:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414351/posts WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Microsoft lost its appeal Tuesday against a lower court ruling that it had infringed the patent of small Canadian software company i4i, proving that the fight is not always to the strong. A three-judge federal appellate panel ordered the software giant to stop sales of its popular Word word processing program in its current form on Jan. 11 and to pay i4i $290 million. "In this case, a small company was practicing its patent, only to suffer a loss of market share, brand recognition, and customer goodwill as the result of the defendant's infringing acts,"... UPI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414351/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 09:17:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413158/posts thomst writes "A week ago, Rob McKenna, the Attorney General of Washington State, filed suit against DirecTV, alleging 16 counts of unfair, deceptive, and unethical business practices. The charges include failure to disclose important contract information (such as early termination fees, 'service maintenance' fees, and rebate terms), misrepresentation, 'negative option' billing, 'unconscionable enforcement of contract to which there has been no mutual consent,' failure to honor promotional offers, and 'imposing charges when no service has been provided.' The complaint is available online (PDF). MSNBC's Bob Sullivan states that McKenna's office received 375 complaints against DirecTV in the 11.5 months before... Slashdot http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413158/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:43:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413121/posts SILVERDALE, Wash. – This is one 21st birthday to forget. A 21-year-old man stationed at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor has been arrested after getting into multiple altercations on what one of his friends told law enforcement was the man's 21st birthday. The man was kicked out of the Old Town Bistro early Saturday morning, the first in a series of events. The Kitsap Sun reports about 12:15 a.m. a witness said the man approached him and started a conversation. The man said he was in the Marines, while the witness replied he was in the Navy. The suspect shook his hand... The News Tribune (Tacoma WA) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413121/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:04:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412953/posts EATONVILLE, Wash. -- A Pierce County sheriff's deputy and a sergeant were seriously wounded in a shooting near Eatonville on Monday night. Sheriff spokesman Ed Troyer said the two were responding to a domestic violence call at a cabin in the 34300 block of Tanwax Court East at the time. Investigators said a man, his brother and his 15-year-old daughter were at the cabin when some sort of trouble broke out, prompting the call. "When our two deputies arrived, they were invited in to the house by one of the brothers," Troyer said. Investigators said a man, his brother and... KOMO News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412953/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:03:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412947/posts Two Deputies in Critical Condition After Gunbattle That Left Suspect Dead Tim King Salem-News.com Domestic violence call results in two deputies shot. (EATONVILLE, Wash.) - Two deputies were ambushed Monday in a community still reeling from the loss of four police officers in a recent deadly shooting; Pierce County, Washington officials report that two of their deputies responding to a report of an unwanted guest in a home in the Eatonville area were shot. Officials there say it happened at approximately 8:48 p.m. "The initial call for assistance came from a man who was fighting with his brother. The officers... Salem-News.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412947/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:54:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412785/posts Two Pierce County Sheriff's deputies responding to a domestic violence call tonight were involved in a shooting. The shooting happened at about 9 p.m. Officers from multiple agencies are responding. The suspect was also shot, according to police radio traffic. http://www.thenewstribune.com/ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412785/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:38:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412571/posts RUSH: Waterloo, Iowa. Ann, I'm glad you waited. You're next on the EIB Network. Hello. CALLER: Hello. RUSH: Hi. CALLER: Hi, Rush. Thank you for taking my call. RUSH: You bet. CALLER: I had a really rough couple of weeks trying to get some good night's sleep. I'm not talking about the bed, I'm just talking about looking and hearing and reading all the stuff going on, health care, all of these socialistic moves, the lying, I mean I wish people would just quit being so politically correct and start calling Obama what he is. He is a liar. Rush Limbaugh http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412571/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:32:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411795/posts THE health-care dance in Washington, D.C., has gone on long enough. Congress needs to focus on the economy and set health care aside. This is a change of position for us. This page supported Barack Obama for president, enthusiastically. We have supported the health-care effort until now. We still support universal coverage as a social goal. But the longer the fight goes on, the more it feels that the timing is all wrong. The economy is wounded. Employers are hurting. The time to think about loading employers with new burdens is when they are strong. Not now. . . .... The Seattle Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411795/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:49:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411252/posts 18 states allow for recall votes on US Senators. The 18 states allowing for recall are as follows: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin. The Senate oath of office is: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well... Vanity http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411252/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:02:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411007/posts US Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) proposed reinstating the Depression-era Glass-Steagall Act that split commercial and investment banking to rein in Wall Street firms in response to the financial crisis. McCain and Cantwell join other lawmakers in Congress proposing to reinstate the 1933 law, repealed a decade ago by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act that led to a rise in conglomerates including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America active in retail banking, insurance and proprietary trading. Legislation to reinstate the ban was introduced yesterday in the House. Under the Senate legislation, financial firms operating commercial banks and investment... NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411007/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 07:04:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410623/posts SEATTLE - Record low temperatures in Washington last week are resulting in something of a record in insurance claims. Seattle's PEMCO Insurance says claims of nearly $4.3 million rank the cold temperatures from Dec. 7 through 13 among Washington's top six severe cold weather events of the past 25 years. "And when I say it's the sixth most severe, that's based on gross claims dollars paid out - in other words, severe enough that people are filing a lot of claims with PEMCO," said company spokesman Jon Osterberg. KOMO News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410623/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:22:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410362/posts As predicted earlier in this column, gun prohibitionists are using the murder of a Seattle police officer, and a couple of other slayings, to launch a new effort to ban the sale of semiautomatic firearms in Washington State, and require current owners to register their firearms. I forecast this development in a Nov. 3 column that addressed the cowardly slaying of Seattle Officer. Timothy Brenton on Halloween as he sat in his patrol car in the Central District with trainee Britt Sweeney, who was able to return fire. The irony is that Brenton, as I wrote in a Nov. 10... Seattle Gun Rights Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410362/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:30:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410084/posts KINGSTON, Wash. - His is the typical boyhood bedroom: Spider-Man doll. Race car bed. Game Boy. But there is one toy here little A.J. Norton loves more than anything: a stuffed brown bear named Bruno that A.J, has had for four of his six years. "He's like a best friend," says A.J. "We want to stay with each other forever and stuff." But when A.J. learned of the deaths of four Lakewood police officers last month, and the nine children they left behind, he felt the need to do something for them. "I wanted to make more people feel happy,"... KING 5 TV Seattle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410084/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:10:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409954/posts Senator wants to ban semi-automatic weapons      By HEATHER BOSCH KIRO Radio  Expect to hear a lot about gun control when the legislature reconvenes in January. Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles is among those who want to ban the sale of military-style, semi-automatic weapons. "These are guns that I don't see have any function in our society." Kohl-Welles said she was prompted to act after the murder of Seattle Police Officer Tim Brenton. "He was believed to be killed by a semi-automatic assault weapon. Of course, we also had the killing of several other police officers not by assault weapons.... My Northwest http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409954/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:16:40 GMT