In brief: Boaters must report all oil spills
With recreational boating season approaching, the Washington Department of Ecology is reminding boaters that all fuel spills must be reported to a state hotline, 800-OILS-911.
“Once oil hits the water, it’s a poison,” said Curt Hart, a spokesman for Ecology’s spill prevention, preparedness and response program. Even five gallons of diesel spilled in a narrow channel can coat a mile of shoreline, Hart said.
Last year, fines for negligent or reckless fuel spills increased in Washington. Operators of pleasure craft or a small commercial fishing boat can be fined up to $10,000 per day if their actions are determined to be negligent or reckless.
Spokane
Workshop covers tribal sovereignty
Understanding tribal sovereignty will be the subject of a free workshop for area businesses, local governments and the general public April 23 at the Red Lion Hotel at the Park in Spokane.
“Tribes are having an increasingly large economic impact in our state,” said Craig Bill, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs. “We’d like everyone to understand tribal governments and how we can all work together as a community.”
Panelists for the workshop, which will cover basic law affecting anyone conducting business with tribes or tribal members, will include representatives from GOIA, the state Department of Revenue, the Association of Washington Business, the Puyallup and Swinomish tribes. Topics include taxation, economic development, shared jurisdictions, treaties, Indian law, the 1989 Centennial Accord and the differences between trust land and fee land.
Participants are asked to check in at 8:30 a.m. for the 9 a.m. to noon workshop at the hotel, 303 North River Drive. Call (800) 647-7706 or visit the Department of Revenue Web site at dor.wa.gov to register.
BLAINE, Wash.
Blaine boy claims nose blowing title
A 13-year-old boy in Blaine is claiming the world record for blowing balloons with his nose.
Using one nostril at a time, Andrew Dahl inflated 213 balloons within an hour Friday in the town’s public library. His feat has been submitted for review by Guinness World Records.
His father, Doug Dahl, measured the balloons to make sure each was at least 20 centimeters, about 8 inches, the minimum diameter, and his mother, Wendy Dahl, kept the tally.
At one point he asked, “Does this count as practicing my trumpet?” His mother replied, “Only if you can play that with your nose.”
It was his second try. In February he sent a videotape of himself inflating 184 balloons, only to learn that it didn’t count because he handed them to his father to tie. This time he tied them off himself.
OCEAN SHORES, Wash.
Rip tide kills woman at beach
A woman wading near Ocean Shores was apparently pulled off the beach by a rip tide and drowned in deeper water.
Grays Harbor Undersheriff Rick Scott says 50-year-old Carol Davidson of Bremerton was apparently enjoying Saturday’s warm weather when she was swept away.
People on the beach recovered her body, but she could not be revived. She was declared dead at Grays Harbor Community Hospital in Aberdeen.