Local Digest
Zoo's baby tapir dies suddenly

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive

SEATTLE — The Woodland Park Zoo's 10-week-old baby Malayan tapir died yesterday despite zookeepers' efforts to save it.

Zoo officials did not know the cause of the calf's death but said it displayed coliclike symptoms and weakened quickly. Until recently, the 104-pound male had been considered healthy.

Dr. Darin Collins, associate veterinarian at the zoo, said the tapir calf had been kept in a heated barn and was well-cared for by its mother. Necropsy and pathology tests are planned. The calf was the third for its 8-year-old parents. Only 55 of the animals, which are related to horses and rhinoceroses, are in captivity in North American zoos.

Winter salmon runs lure killer whales to Sound

SEATTLE — Killer whales drawn by winter salmon runs are cruising into central and south Puget Sound, providing a visual treat for those lucky enough to see them.

The orcas move fast and cover considerable distance in their endless quest for fish.

Winter salmon runs are small, but "enough for the whales," said research director Rich Osborne at the Whale Museum on San Juan Island north of Puget Sound, where the orcas spend more time and are seen more often.

The salmon now running are chum, coho or silver, and maybe chinook, he said.

Most of the sightings around Seattle involve J pod, which stays in Washington's inland waters all winter, Osborne said. There are 22 whales in that family group.

Seattle School Board elects officers to its committees

SEATTLE — The Seattle School Board unanimously elected its executive committee yesterday: Mary Bass is president, Brita Butler-Wall is vice president and Darlene Flynn is member-at-large.

The board's executive committee is the liaison between the superintendent and the rest of the board. The committee also is responsible for setting the agenda for each meeting. The board elects its officers annually.

Also yesterday, School Board member Dick Lilly was named chairman of the Audit & Finance Committee, Sally Soriano, chairwoman of the board's Policy & Legislative Committee, Jan Kumasaka, chairwoman of the Student Learning Committee and Irene Stewart, chairwoman of the Joint School Board/City Council Committee.

'Clean-air-credit' proposal for industries causes anger

MEDFORD, Ore. — A government air-quality agency has angered residents after it proposed that industries purchase "clean-air credits," allowing them to pollute more.

Jackson County residents yesterday blasted the Department of Environmental Quality proposal, which would enable industries that have installed new pollution equipment to sell their clean-air credits to those factories that have not.

However, industry leaders say that, in practice, none of these credits is available, making it impossible for polluters in the Rogue River Valley to buy such credits.

A majority of the 80 residents who showed up at an air-quality workshop in Medford said local pollution standards should be kept at current levels, or made even stronger.

The agency's proposal, approved recently by a slim majority of a local air-quality-advisory committee, would allow a potential doubling of fine particles that would be produced by new or expanding industry.

$2.6 million grant awarded to Oregon agencies, charities

PORTLAND — Oregonians down on their luck from the state's high unemployment and sluggish economy will get a little help from the Department of Homeland Security.

The federal agency created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to coordinate domestic security has announced it will award a $2.6 million grant to social-service agencies and charities in Oregon.

The money will go to homeless shelters and soup kitchens, and to help poor Oregonians pay their rent, utility or mortgage bills, according to a statement released yesterday by U.S. Sens. Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden.

The Department of Homeland Security's Emergency Food and Shelter board, chaired by a Federal Emergency Management Agency official and composed of representatives from private charities and relief organizations, will manage the grant.

FBI investigating death at Indian boarding school

PORTLAND — The death of a girl in a Native American boarding school is under investigation by the FBI, agency Special Agent Jane Brillhart said yesterday.

The girl was found dead Saturday night at the Chemawa Indian School in Salem. Autopsy results are due today, Brillhart said.

The FBI has not released the name of the victim.

Founded in 1835, the Chemawa Indian Boarding School was created by Methodist missionaries for Indian students.

It is one of the oldest continuously running boarding schools for students of Indian ancestry. The 436 students attending the school said their Web site represents 70 different tribes.

Times staff and news services

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company