The Murrow News Service

On the Palouse, Wind Farm Brings Hope for Small Town

 

Video by Jeff Fairbanks and Joe Carreras/Murrow News Service

 

By Kaitlin Gillespie

Murrow News Service

 

OAKESDALE, Wash. – This farming town south of Spokane, population 420, has suffered through the slump of other rural communities across America.

A restaurant bought out by a California developer stands empty across from City Hall. There’s an old filling station at the other end of the street that serves no purpose. The drugstore is boarded up.

“This poor town, we’ve lost a lot of businesses over the years,” Mayor Dennis Palmer said, standing outside City Hall. “It’s just like all the small towns.”

But after four years and $200 million, a wind farm just a short drive west of town may bring change.

Smoke casts haze over eastern, central Washington

Whitman County health officials have issued a health advisory and encouraged people with health issues to stay indoors. Joe Carreras, Murrow News Service

 

By Bill McKee and Ian Ogburn

Murrow News Service

PULLMAN _ A smoky haze continues to hang over much of eastern and central Washington, prompting health warnings from the Palouse to central Washington to the mountain town of Leavenworth.

In Pullman, particulate matter in the air reached its highest levels of the year on Friday morning, according to the Puget Sound Clear Air Agency, which tracks air quality across the state. Washington State University officials said Saturday’s 1 p.m. game against the University of Colorado has not been canceled, but that they are monitoring the situation.

“Anything is possible, but current models show things a lot better by kickoff,” the university said via Twitter on Friday afternoon.

The Whitman County Health Department has categorized the air quality as “unhealthy,” specifically for people in “sensitive groups.” That includes people with heart or lung disease, asthma or other medical issues that may be irritated by the poor air quality.

“It should be okay for people who are healthy,” said Fran Martin, Whitman County director of public health.  “There are no guarantees, though.  And people with health issues should definitely stay indoors.”

Across the state, wildfires have blanketed cities and rural towns with smoke. State health officials sent more than 20,000 respirators to public health offices in central and eastern Washington. Infants and young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and those with heart and lung conditions should take special care, state health officials said.

Student journalist films Yemen protests at U.S. Embassy

 

By Rochelle Adams and Joe Utter
Murrow News Service

Student journalist Mohammed Bahashwan had a first-hand view of Thursday’s protest at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen, using his cell phone to capture video of the chaotic scene.

“The situation escalated little by little,” said Bahashwan, a 24-year-old journalism student who studied at Washington State University this summer. “It started to be very wild, very chaotic and violent.”

Summer tuition at WSU may be reduced in 2013

By Kaitlin Gillespie
Murrow News Service

Washington State University President Elson S. Floyd said summer tuition may be reduced by 16 percent next year.

“What we’re trying to do is figure out more ways to get more students to participate in our summer session,” Floyd said in an interview Friday. “Cost may be one of the issues associated with it.”

If a 16 percent reduction is approved by the Board of Regents, next year’s summer tuition for traditional, in-state students will cost about $414 a credit. It is currently $494 a credit. During the regular school year, a similar student will pay about $380 a credit next fall, up from about $326 this spring.

Summer tuition will be exempt from the 16 percent tuition hike for the 2012-2013 academic year. 

Census Shows Rising Median Age of Hispanic Population

Yakima Valley's agriculture industry offered employment for a generation of Hispanic workers. Now, the Hispanic population represents the fastest-growing segment of America's elderly. Josh Pflug, Murrow News Service

 

By Andrea Castillo and Josh Pflug
Murrow News Service

YAKIMA, WASH. _ In 1972, Raul Soto immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico, expecting to work for only a few years before returning to his home country.

Forty years later, the 69-year-old former fruit picker – like millions of other migrant workers – is growing old in America.

“I still think about going back to Mexico, but I have never returned,” said Soto, now a U.S. citizen. “I never thought I would stay in this country, but I did.”

The Hispanic population in America continues to grow older, with the median age steadily increasing over the past 15 years, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday. Census Bureau projections indicate that the elderly Hispanic population - people aged 65 and older - will grow from 2.9 million in 2010  to 13.8 million by 2050.

Elderly Hispanic people now represent the fastest-growing population currently at or near retirement. By 2050, Hispanics will make up 20 percent of the elderly population, up from 7 percent in 2010, according to Census data.

“Latino adults are clearly living longer, but they are not living better,” said Yanira L. Cruz, president National Hispanic Council on Aging. “Their quality (of life) is very weak, leaving a lot to be desired.”

With eye on Kenya, graduate hopes to build community

Scott Jones, 25, plans to use his master's degree in architecture to build community centers in Kenya. Photo courtesy Scott Jones.

By Mallory Bouchee
Murrow News Service

Scott Jones won’t be using his graduate degree in architecture to find a high-paying job. After graduating on Saturday, he will be starting his own nonprofit organization, and his first project is in Kenya.

Jones, a 25-year-old master’s candidate in architecture at Washington State University, has been working with friends and colleagues to create a project called “Thrive.” Thrive’s goal is to send a shipping container filled with books, computers, tools and building supplies to Eldoret, Kenya. Then, the community of Eldoret must invest their own labor, local materials and staff to turn the 400-square-foot shipping container into a 7,000-square-foot vocational training center.

“It’s like a box of Legos,” Jones said. “There are instructions and materials, but the community has to do the rest.”

In Nicaragua, Veterinarians Treat and Train

A puppy receives treatment at World Vets' surgical training center in Granada, Nicaragua. Andrea Castillo/Murrow News Service

By Andrea Castillo
Murrow News Service

GRANADA, NICARAGUA -- The German Shepherd staggered into the veterinary clinic. A large bandana – wrapped around its belly – hung low, almost touching the ground.

The dog, named Lassi, winced as veterinarians checked her body, her cries suppressed with a muzzle. When the veterinarians removed the bandana, they discovered a ruptured,five-pound tumor.

“When Lassi suffers, I suffer,” said the dog’s owner Ana Goussen. “I was going to have her put down even though it would hurt from the bottom of my heart.”

Lassi was taken to a new surgical clinic in Nicaragua operated by World Vets, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Fargo, N.D.

Since 2006, the once-small startup nonprofit has grown into an international organization that has administered thousands of emergency surgeries conducted by volunteer veterinarians in developing countries. World Vets also responds to international crises, from rescuing stranded pets in flood-ravaged Thailand to scouring debris for animals that survived the 2011 earthquake in Japan. 

As homers drop, college players look to bats

Outfielder Derek Jones is one home run short of Washington State University's career record. Photo by Derek Harrison, Murrow News Service.

By Ryan Burnett
Murrow News Service

Outfielder Derek Jones is chasing Washington State University’s career record for home runs this season.

But the senior slugger will have to do it with a new bat standard that led to a nationwide slump in college hitting last season.

“It was a little frustrating last year about how much they toned them down because it completely changed the game,” Jones said, who has 39 career home runs. “It’s definitely purified the game now because some schools used to recruit big donkeys that just kind of poke the ball over the fence, and I remember you could hit the ball on the very edge of the bat and the ball would still go out.”

Last season, the NCAA instituted the new bat standards, which decreased the “pop” in the bats and were expected to decrease injuries from batted balls that previously rocketed back towards pitchers. Nationwide statistics show that batting average, home runs, and runs dropped significantly last year.

An organic expansion at WSU

By Jared Brickman
Murrow News Service

Organic farmer Brad Jaeckel carries a razor-sharp, seven-inch blade and trowel with an exotically wicked name: the Hori-Hori.

The Hori-Hori, “a pretty common tool,” is just one item in a toolbox for organic agriculture that’s always growing, said Jaeckel, Washington State University’s organic farm manager and instructor. Since the university broke ground on its organic farm in 2003, WSU has provided a place to put each of those tools to the test. Now, after nine years, the farm is getting an upgrade that could cost $15 million, depending on fundraising.

Election, economy spark explosive growth of militias

By Stephanie Schendel, Murrow News Service

In partnership with MSNBC.com

The election of President Barack Obama in 2008 triggered an explosion in the number of militias and so-called patriot groups in the United States, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported in its annual tally of such anti-government organizations.

There were 149 militias and patriot groups when Obama took office, compared to more than 1,200 today — an increase of 755 percent, the nonprofit civil rights organization reported.

"The increase has just been astounding," said Mark Potok, editor-in-chief of the SPLC report. "The reality is that many of these groups are becoming more and more fearful that Barack Obama will win the re-election. You can see the anger rising along with that fear."