Feds: No toxicology tests on sea lions

Portland

An examination of the heads of six sea lions who died in traps at Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River hasn't given federal investigators reason to pursue toxicology tests to see whether the animals were poisoned, an official of the National Marine Fisheries Service said Thursday.

Beyond that, federal officials revealed little about the mystery surrounding the deaths of the six animals trapped in cages as part of an effort to keep them from feeding on endangered salmon.

Fisheries officials have ruled out their initial assumption the six sea lions were shot to death and say they are still puzzled about how the animals came to be trapped in the cages. The trap doors had been left open, so the sea lions would grow accustomed to them until it was time to send them to aquariums.

Specialists at a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service forensic lab in Ashland, Ore., examined the sea lion heads and sent findings to the fisheries agency, which is investigating the deaths. Their report wasn't made public.

The sea lions were found Sunday in two traps. Each held three animals, and the doors to both were somehow closed. The gates of the two traps operate independently of one another. "The conundrum for us is how they both closed," said fisheries-service spokesman Brian Gorman in Seattle.

Everett

Sex offender charged in burglary

A Marysville sex offender accused of breaking into an Everett couple's home and masturbating has been charged with first-degree burglary with sexual motivation.

Christopher Eddy, 25, entered the couple's home on April 29 and stripped off his clothes, according to a police report. When police arrived, the couple and their child were hiding, Eddy was naked in a bedroom, the report said. He was arrested by police.

The residents weren't hurt.

Eddy is on probation after previous convictions for child rape, vehicle theft, drug possession and kidnapping.

Olympia

Anti-smoking plan for moms-to-be

Expectant mothers who smoke jeopardize not only their health but that of their fetuses; smoking during pregnancy raises the risk of everything from spontaneous abortions to birth defects.

Yet about 12 percent of U.S. women smoke while pregnant; in Washington, that's nearly 9,000 women each year.

To give these women an extra push to quit, the state Health Department has beefed up its free Tobacco Quit Line. Callers will get individual coaching on how to quit, and those who need nicotine-replacement medications can get them free.

The goal is to keep the women from lighting up even after delivery to protect children from respiratory illnesses, infections, fires and other hazards of secondhand smoke.

For information, contact the Quit Line at 800-QUIT-NOW, or 1-877-2NO-FUME for Spanish, or go to www.quitline.com.

Seattle

Ex-teacher pleads guilty in porn case

A former Whitman Middle School teacher pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of attempted possession of child pornography, which could result in up to one year in jail.

Timothy Sheehan, a 24-year-veteran of the Seattle School District, most recently taught video production at the Crown Hill-area school before being placed on leave after he was charged last year. He caught the attention of police in 2007 after a former girlfriend reported to them that Sheehan had professed he was a "pedophile and a boy lover and ... a rapist," according to court documents filed in Superior Court.

Sheehan, 51, is to be sentenced June 13.

Medford, Ore.

Woman charged with animal abuse

A 19-year-old Medford woman has been charged with aggravated animal abuse that includes stomping a 3-month-old puppy.

Medford police said that about 10 witnesses near a shopping mall told officers Wednesday afternoon a young woman clutching a Pomeranian puppy had been throwing it to the ground, stomping on it and swinging it by its leash.

An officer said the young woman was squeezing the small dog so hard it couldn't breathe. He says he asked her to hand him the dog, but she refused and threw it about 10 feet onto the pavement.

Shasta Dawn Parnell was held at the Jackson County Jail. Police say she may suffer from a mental illness.

The puppy was taken to the county animal shelter.

Olympia

Speed limit drops on 12 miles of I-5

Starting Monday, the speed limit drops from 70 mph to 60 mph on a 12-mile stretch of Interstate 5 south of Olympia, between mileposts 85 and 97, where the state is widening the freeway and building new bridges through fall 2010. The limit will be lowered for the next two years.

The $88 million Grand Mound to Maytown project will add a third lane in each direction between Highways 12 and 121.

Seattle Times staff and news services