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HANFORD CONTRACT
New Hanford cleanup contract worth up to $10B awarded
RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — The Department of Energy has awarded a new Hanford environmental cleanup contract worth up to $10 billion over 10 years. The Tri-City Herald reports the winning bidder for the new Hanford Central Plateau Cleanup Contract announced Thursday is a team of Aecom Management Services in Maryland; Fluor Federal Services in South Carolina; and Atkins Nuclear Secured in Tennessee. The work includes digging up contaminated soil and debris, tearing down defunct buildings with radioactive or hazardous chemical contamination, operating lined landfills for radioactive and hazardous chemical waste, and cleaning up contaminated groundwater.
AP-US-CHRISTMAS-TREES-IMMIGRANTS
Crash shines light on immigrants in Christmas tree workforce
GERVAIS, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s Christmas tree industry suffered a blow recently when three men died after a pickup truck slammed into a van carrying them and 10 other Guatemalans home from work at a tree farm. The Nov. 29 crash shined a light on Oregon’s immigrant farm workers, the driving force behind the nation's largest Christmas tree industry. State Employment Department officials say Oregon Christmas tree farmers faced a tight labor market this year. They used farm labor contractors who found migrant workers in California to help with the tree harvest. Labor shortages have become a problem across the agriculture industry and have sparked a push in Washington to address the issue.
COUNTY LAWSUIT-HOUSING STATE INMATES
County sheriff wants Idaho prison to take back state inmates
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Ada County Sheriff's Office is asking a judge to hold the Idaho Department of Correction in contempt for failing to quickly remove state inmates from the county jail. The sheriff announced Monday that county taxpayers are paying for inmates who were sentenced to prison but remain at the jail. County officials say the Ada County Jail has a population of more than 1,000 inmates and about 33% of those should be in state custody instead. Officials say the average cost of an inmate this year was more than $100 a day, but the state pays the county less.
AP-US-JUVENILE-DETENTION-SEX-ABUSE
Fewer kids report sex abuse in US juvenile detention centers
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A new federal report has found that the number of kids who say they’ve been sexually victimized in juvenile detention centers has dropped across the U.S. But the Bureau of Justice Statistics report released Wednesday found that remarkably high rates of sexual victimization persist in 12 facilities stretching from Oregon to Florida. Nationwide, about 7% of kids reported being sexually victimized in juvenile facilities last year. That compares with about 9.5% in 2012, the last time the federal survey was done. Advocates say there's been progress, but sexual violence remains commonplace. At one facility in Florida, just over 26 percent of youth reported being sexually victimized in the past 12 months.
PROBLEM ELK-HARVEST
Farmers bump up harvest of problem elk north of Seattle
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) — Officials say landowners in northwest Washington are harvesting elk at a faster pace than last year to reduce damage to farmland. State Fish and Wildlife officials say since July 1, landowners or their hand-picked hunters have shot 22 elk, compared to 15 at this time last year. The Capital Press reports the uptick comes after Fish and Wildlife said it was OK for farmers to charge hunters a fee for coming onto their land to fill a kill permit. Skagit County farmers in have complained for years about elk-damaged fences, pastures and crops. The county assessor has estimated that elk do roughly $1.4 million worth of damage annually.
AP-MT-EXCHANGE-YELLOWSTONE ARCHIVES
Archives tell Yellowstone's story with millions of records
LIVINGSTON, Mont. (AP) — Yellowstone National Park's archives are home to several million documents that tell the story of America's first national park. They span from the early military administration of Yellowstone to modern records, such as 82 boxes about the park's 2000 winter plan. They include a letter from President Theodore Roosevelt and the first written account of someone traveling through Yellowstone in 1820. The archives are housed near Gardiner, just inside the park boundary in the shadow of the Roosevelt Arch. Archivist Anne Foster cares for the records in what she tells The Livingston Enterprise is her dream job.
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