Burger battle; small-town pot plan; marriage license discount
Odd and interesting news from around the West.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
A Tucson woman has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for mailing child pornography to her jailed husband who was awaiting trial on child porn charges.
Federal prosecutors say 28-year-old Breana VanDyck received a 63-month prison term Monday.
After serving her sentence, VanDyck will be on lifetime supervised release with stringent sex offender conditions, including the condition that she register as a sex offender.
VanDyck was found guilty of mailing child pornography last September following a jury trial in U.S. District Court in Tucson.
She was accused of printing and mailing child pornography to her husband at the Central Arizona Detention Center.
At the time, VanDyck's husband was in jail awaiting trial on charges involving the possession and production of child pornography.
- Updated
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A federal appeals court is refusing to revive an excessive force lawsuit from the family of a Utah doctor who killed himself after his arrest by federal agents in an artifact looting investigation.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decided Monday the Bureau of Land Management didn't use excessive force when agents dressed in body armor arrested James Redd in 2009.
Redd's family had argued it was unfair to overwhelm him at gunpoint at his house in the small town of Blanding, Utah.
A lawyer for the family says they're disappointed with the ruling and are still pursuing a separate lawsuit seeking damages in Redd's death.
The appeals court upheld a lower-court decision finding the mere presence of federal agents in SWAT-like gear wasn't unreasonable.
- Updated
BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (AP) — A 26-year-old skier died after hitting the snow on an expert run at Breckenridge Ski Resort on Friday.
The Summit Daily News (http://bit.ly/2kCpToO ) reported Monday that coroner Regan Wood that Ricardo Cohen of Mexico City suffered severe head trauma even though he was wearing a helmet at the time.
The accidental death is the fourth ski-related death in the state this year and the third at Breckenridge. Nine people died while skiing or snowboarding in the state last season.
Breckenridge's vice president, John Buhler, issued a statement saying Breckenridge and parent company Vail Resorts extended their deepest sympathy and support to Cohen's family and friends.
___
Information from: Summit Daily News, http://www.summitdaily.com/
- Updated
FARMINGTON, Utah (AP) — A Utah teenager accused of firing a shotgun into the ceiling of a junior high classroom before being disarmed by his parents has agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors.
The Standard-Examiner in Ogden reports (http://bit.ly/2lJ1ZJi) the 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty Monday to two felony charges: theft of a firearm and shooting toward a building. He had been charged with five felony and misdemeanor counts.
Police say the teenager walked into a science classroom and fired into the ceiling on Dec. 1 before his parents caught up him with him and disarmed him. No one was hurt.
Authorities said the parents became concerned and followed him to school after discovering a shotgun and handgun missing from their home.
The Associated Press is not naming the boy because of his age.
___
Information from: Standard-Examiner, http://www.standard.net
- Updated
LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — City leaders in northern Idaho are calling for a stand of giant sequoia trees to be saved from a planned development.
Plans for a new Lewiston Fire Department station were released last week and since then several people, including the mayor of Lewiston, have stepped up to say six sequoias on the station site should be saved, reported the Lewiston Tribune (http://bit.ly/2kCH8Gg).
Mayor Jim Kleeburg said at a City Council meeting on Monday that the six giant sequoias, which stand 60 to 70 feet tall, should be incorporated into plans for the fire station.
Lewiston Urban Forester Riley Stark agreed that it is rare for trees to get so big.
"It's uncommon for trees to get that big, much less giant sequoias, given how rare they are," Stark said. "I hope that when it gets developed, they give them adequate consideration. They should have a tree protection zone during construction."
Officials with Baker Investment Group of Spokane, which will build the station, said they will try to preserve the trees.
Fire Chief Travis Myklebust has proposed a lease-to-own plan in which the Baker Group will build the station and lease it to the city until the city purchases the property.
Horticulturist Harriet Husemann said the neat row of sequoias and other trees are a remnant of Walter S. Thornber's nursery, which operated at the site during the first half of the 20th century.
"Everybody that knew anything about the history of Lewiston, especially plant-wise, knew that Walter Thornber had one of the very first nurseries in the area," Husemann said.
Husemann said Thornber was responsible for introducing many trees to the once-treeless Lewiston area. If all six of the sequoias remain after the fire station is built they will be a monument to Thornber's contribution to the area.
___
Information from: Lewiston Tribune, http://www.lmtribune.com
- Updated
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A man was arrested after police say he stole a van from a Southern California mortuary with a dead body inside, returned it and then stole a different van from the same business.
Riverside Police Officer Ryan Railsback says a mortuary employee was nearly run over as he tried to stop the man as he drove away the second time Sunday.
Railsback says an officer investigating the theft of the first van chased the second van for more than two miles. The suspect was arrested and could face charges including vehicle theft.
The Riverside Press-Enterprise newspaper reports Monday (http://bit.ly/2lD0O1h ) that stealing a dead body isn't included in his list of charges because police believe he didn't mean to steal it.
- Updated
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — As legalized marijuana brings more business to Oregon, some communities are seeing a large amount of cash in the economy thanks to strict regulations keeping banks away from the businesses.
Banking officials say that after years of moving away from cash, financial institutions have seen a recent influx due to the marijuana industry, The Mail Tribune reported (https://is.gd/SNcA5h ).
"We're seeing much more cash," says Jeri Reno, chief operating officer at Medford-based People's Bank of Commerce. "It really is the unintended consequences of passing new state laws."
Many banks will not offer lines of credit to marijuana businesses due to high federal penalties for holding pot-tainted money. As a result, the marijuana industry operates with cash. Dispensaries pay their employees, landlords, lawyers and most other people with cash that is then spent in grocery stores and on other daily tasks.
Reno said the supply chain best illustrates how far reaching cash in the marijuana industry can be.
"A marijuana grower is going to need irrigation, fencing, greenhouse supplies and soil," Reno says. "So you can see how far-reaching it is in that it impacts so many businesses in the valley."
As a result, building supply firms, for example, saw increased cash as growers acquired fencing and construction materials.
"We've had people come in and pay three, four or five thousand dollars in cash for the materials they needed," says Becky Hingle, office manager for Hughes Lumber Co. "We've seen a lot of cedar fencing go out of here."
People's Bank Vice President and Operations Manager Dawn DeVita said the southern Oregon-based institution does not work directly with marijuana businesses, but it has seen an increased volume of cash circulation.
"So indirectly, we have a cash society again," DeVita said. "We kind of went back 10-plus years."
The increase in cash came when recreational use became legal in July 2015, Reno said. Growers began obtaining licenses from the state in May 2016.
Because the Bank Secrecy Act requires banks to monitor customer deposits for any Anti-Money Laundering law violations and file reports of suspicious activity to the U.S. Treasury, many banks now have to spend more time dealing with the influx of cash.
"It has evolved over the last five years," DeVita says. "We have daily reports, weekly, monthly. We look for behaviors with algorithms for things outside of normal business patterns. Based on our size, we've seen a substantial increase in those. It's nothing directly related to the marijuana industry, but to BSA regulations."
___
Information from: Mail Tribune, http://www.mailtribune.com/
- By HALLIE GOLDEN Associated Press
- Updated
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Senate has voted down a bill that would require couples to pay $20 more to get a marriage license unless they take a six-hour course on marriage skills or undergo three hours of premarital counseling.
Without any debate, lawmakers on Monday squashed a plan that was aimed at cutting down the estimated 10,000 divorces in Utah each year.
Proposal sponsor Sen. Allen Christensen has said divorces contribute to societal problems that cost the government money and counseling could help couples learn to communicate better and solve problems.
Legislators considered a similar bill last year but it lost steam at the end of the lawmaking session amid a crush of other bills. Marriage license costs vary around Utah's 29 counties--from $50 in Salt Lake County to $30 in Washington County.
- Updated
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — The Kootenai National Forest in northwestern Montana has been selected to provide the 2017 U.S. Capitol Christmas tree.
The tree must be between 60 and 85 feet tall and a species that represents Montana. It also must be accessible to the crane and semi-truck that will be used to remove the tree in November.
It will be hauled across the country and displayed on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.
In 2008, a fir tree selected from the Bitterroot National Forest, was displayed at the U.S. Capitol.
The 2016 Capitol Christmas tree came from the Payette National Forest in Idaho.
- Updated
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A 21-year-old Missoula woman says she was not driving during a crash last September that killed a man and his 3-year-old daughter.
The Missoulian reports (http://bit.ly/2kLDyMN ) Ashley Nicole Thomas pleaded not guilty Friday to two counts of felony vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol and drugs for a September 2016 crash on Interstate 90 that killed Brandon Zuleger and his daughter.
Prosecutors say Thomas told officers shortly after the crash that she had been driving.
Court records say Thomas had a blood alcohol level of 0.054 percent an hour after the crash and that she also tested positive for ecstasy and there were indications that she had recently used marijuana and cocaine.
Thomas remained jailed Monday with her bail set at $100,000.
___
Information from: Missoulian, http://www.missoulian.com
- Updated
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Carl's Jr. and Utah-based chain Apollo Burger have settled their lawsuit over bacon cheeseburgers.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/2kCQoKw ) that Carl's Jr. Restaurants LLC filed suit in November accusing Apollo L.C. of infringing on its Western Bacon Cheeseburger trademark. Apollo was serving a burger with the same name, which Carl's Jr. said was "confusingly similar" to the fast-food chain's sandwich.
A federal judge on Friday signed court documents in which Apollo Burger admitted to infringing on Carl's Jr.'s rights and agreed to stop selling the similarly named burger.
Both parties will pay their own attorneys' fees and costs.
___
Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com
- Updated
SOUTH EL MONTE, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles County authorities are searching for a suspect who dressed as a construction worker and pulled off a brazen smash-and-grab robbery at a South El Monte jewelry store.
KABC-TV on Monday (http://bit.ly/2lBxjwL) aired security camera footage of the thief — wearing a mask, a hard hat, and a fluorescent vest — using a hammer to bash in a glass case. He runs off with a handful of gold jewelry as the store's owner lunges after him and stunned customers look on. Nobody was hurt.
The news station says the suspect got away Feb. 8 with at least $20,000 worth of 14 carat chains.
The owner says he hopes video from the recently installed cameras will help authorities track down the crook.
___
Information from: KABC-TV, http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/
- Updated
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A group of runners and walkers have set off on a cross-country walk from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., in order to raise awareness about substance abuse and domestic violence within Native American communities.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday (http://bit.ly/2kCeTrh ) that volunteers gathered for prayers and blessings before heading off on the 3,946-mile journey that will take them through various Indian reservations before heading to the District in mid-July.
The itinerary of the trip includes a stop at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, where thousands have been protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota.
The trip is part of a series of similar Longest Walks to raise awareness about health, environmental and other issues facing American Indians across the country. The first such event took place in 1978.
___
Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com
- Updated
PETERSBURG, Alaska (AP) — Now that marijuana businesses are up and running in Alaska, a resident of a small town on Prince of Wales Island is hoping to get support from the town's voters to open up a pot business of his own.
Brian Wilson Jr. has submitted application materials to the state to start a cultivation business in Coffman Cove, but the process is on hold until the town's voters approve marijuana operations locally, KFSK-FM reported (http://bit.ly/2l64HuY).
The matter has already been voted down once, but Wilson said he's looking to get another public vote this summer. In the meantime, he plans on educating voters about how the marijuana industry could benefit the town of about 200 people.
"A lot of people will vote based on their personal opinions toward it," Wilson said. "They don't go off facts; they don't go off the studies that have been done recently."
Wilson said bringing marijuana to Coffman Cove will help open some new doors for the community.
"All of our small towns have such limited resources for income and small economies, which is based around tourism mainly and commercial fishing. So, having a new industry for Alaska, I think, is wonderful," he said.
City Council members say only a handful of votes kept pot businesses from opening in Coffman Cove.
Wilson said he would want to get his business started in about six months. He has plans to provide marijuana to retail stores on the island that might open in the future before expanding to other areas in southeast Alaska.
He's already picked out a name for the business — Dazed Dog Gardens.
"I have a dog who is 14-years-old and his name is Dazed," Wilson said. "I work construction and travel throughout different towns and he goes with me and a lot of people know him better than they know me."
___
Information from: KFSK-FM, http://www.alaska.net/~kfsk/
- Updated
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A team of biologists that worked in Arizona to relocate an endangered fish from the Little Colorado River has received national recognition as populations of humpback chub appear to be growing.
For more than a decade, biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have moved hundreds of humpback chub each fall about five miles upriver, where there are fewer predators and more food for the fish.
Biologists say they've measured increased growth and survival among the translocated chub compared to their downstream counterparts, The Arizona Daily Sun reported (http://bit.ly/2laiErp).
The chubs' recovery earned the team of biologists Fish and Wildlife's 2016 Rachel Carson Award for Exemplary Scientific Accomplishment, which recognizes efforts applied to a conservation problem.
The biologists received help with moving the fish via helicopter from the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service.
The world's largest remaining population of humpback chub is found in Grand Canyon National Park and the Little Colorado River is the population's main spawning area. The fish could once be found in abundance in the park, but the humpback chub's numbers have been impacted by the introduction of nonnative predators and the construction of Glen Canyon Dam. The dam pulls cooler waters into the Colorado River and blocks the seasonal floods that used to wash through the canyon.
Biologists started moving humpback chub to a stretch of river above Chute Falls in 2003 and now move about 300 baby fish annually, said Mike Pillow, a biologist with Fish and Wildlife.
The area where the fish are moved has warmer water, abundant food sources and far fewer predators, such as invasive trout and catfish.
The conservation efforts have also been applied by officials at the Grand Canyon, where chub from the Colorado River were transported up Havasu and Shinumo creeks. This helps so "all our eggs aren't in one basket," said Randy Van Haverbeke, a senior fish biologist who is involved in the work.
The goal of the project is to eventually be able to remove humpback chub from federal protection, Pillow said.
___
Information from: Arizona Daily Sun, http://www.azdailysun.com/
- The Associated Press
A Tucson woman has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for mailing child pornography to her jailed husband who was awaiting trial on child porn charges.
Federal prosecutors say 28-year-old Breana VanDyck received a 63-month prison term Monday.
After serving her sentence, VanDyck will be on lifetime supervised release with stringent sex offender conditions, including the condition that she register as a sex offender.
VanDyck was found guilty of mailing child pornography last September following a jury trial in U.S. District Court in Tucson.
She was accused of printing and mailing child pornography to her husband at the Central Arizona Detention Center.
At the time, VanDyck's husband was in jail awaiting trial on charges involving the possession and production of child pornography.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A federal appeals court is refusing to revive an excessive force lawsuit from the family of a Utah doctor who killed himself after his arrest by federal agents in an artifact looting investigation.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decided Monday the Bureau of Land Management didn't use excessive force when agents dressed in body armor arrested James Redd in 2009.
Redd's family had argued it was unfair to overwhelm him at gunpoint at his house in the small town of Blanding, Utah.
A lawyer for the family says they're disappointed with the ruling and are still pursuing a separate lawsuit seeking damages in Redd's death.
The appeals court upheld a lower-court decision finding the mere presence of federal agents in SWAT-like gear wasn't unreasonable.
BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (AP) — A 26-year-old skier died after hitting the snow on an expert run at Breckenridge Ski Resort on Friday.
The Summit Daily News (http://bit.ly/2kCpToO ) reported Monday that coroner Regan Wood that Ricardo Cohen of Mexico City suffered severe head trauma even though he was wearing a helmet at the time.
The accidental death is the fourth ski-related death in the state this year and the third at Breckenridge. Nine people died while skiing or snowboarding in the state last season.
Breckenridge's vice president, John Buhler, issued a statement saying Breckenridge and parent company Vail Resorts extended their deepest sympathy and support to Cohen's family and friends.
___
Information from: Summit Daily News, http://www.summitdaily.com/
FARMINGTON, Utah (AP) — A Utah teenager accused of firing a shotgun into the ceiling of a junior high classroom before being disarmed by his parents has agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors.
The Standard-Examiner in Ogden reports (http://bit.ly/2lJ1ZJi) the 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty Monday to two felony charges: theft of a firearm and shooting toward a building. He had been charged with five felony and misdemeanor counts.
Police say the teenager walked into a science classroom and fired into the ceiling on Dec. 1 before his parents caught up him with him and disarmed him. No one was hurt.
Authorities said the parents became concerned and followed him to school after discovering a shotgun and handgun missing from their home.
The Associated Press is not naming the boy because of his age.
___
Information from: Standard-Examiner, http://www.standard.net
LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — City leaders in northern Idaho are calling for a stand of giant sequoia trees to be saved from a planned development.
Plans for a new Lewiston Fire Department station were released last week and since then several people, including the mayor of Lewiston, have stepped up to say six sequoias on the station site should be saved, reported the Lewiston Tribune (http://bit.ly/2kCH8Gg).
Mayor Jim Kleeburg said at a City Council meeting on Monday that the six giant sequoias, which stand 60 to 70 feet tall, should be incorporated into plans for the fire station.
Lewiston Urban Forester Riley Stark agreed that it is rare for trees to get so big.
"It's uncommon for trees to get that big, much less giant sequoias, given how rare they are," Stark said. "I hope that when it gets developed, they give them adequate consideration. They should have a tree protection zone during construction."
Officials with Baker Investment Group of Spokane, which will build the station, said they will try to preserve the trees.
Fire Chief Travis Myklebust has proposed a lease-to-own plan in which the Baker Group will build the station and lease it to the city until the city purchases the property.
Horticulturist Harriet Husemann said the neat row of sequoias and other trees are a remnant of Walter S. Thornber's nursery, which operated at the site during the first half of the 20th century.
"Everybody that knew anything about the history of Lewiston, especially plant-wise, knew that Walter Thornber had one of the very first nurseries in the area," Husemann said.
Husemann said Thornber was responsible for introducing many trees to the once-treeless Lewiston area. If all six of the sequoias remain after the fire station is built they will be a monument to Thornber's contribution to the area.
___
Information from: Lewiston Tribune, http://www.lmtribune.com
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A man was arrested after police say he stole a van from a Southern California mortuary with a dead body inside, returned it and then stole a different van from the same business.
Riverside Police Officer Ryan Railsback says a mortuary employee was nearly run over as he tried to stop the man as he drove away the second time Sunday.
Railsback says an officer investigating the theft of the first van chased the second van for more than two miles. The suspect was arrested and could face charges including vehicle theft.
The Riverside Press-Enterprise newspaper reports Monday (http://bit.ly/2lD0O1h ) that stealing a dead body isn't included in his list of charges because police believe he didn't mean to steal it.
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — As legalized marijuana brings more business to Oregon, some communities are seeing a large amount of cash in the economy thanks to strict regulations keeping banks away from the businesses.
Banking officials say that after years of moving away from cash, financial institutions have seen a recent influx due to the marijuana industry, The Mail Tribune reported (https://is.gd/SNcA5h ).
"We're seeing much more cash," says Jeri Reno, chief operating officer at Medford-based People's Bank of Commerce. "It really is the unintended consequences of passing new state laws."
Many banks will not offer lines of credit to marijuana businesses due to high federal penalties for holding pot-tainted money. As a result, the marijuana industry operates with cash. Dispensaries pay their employees, landlords, lawyers and most other people with cash that is then spent in grocery stores and on other daily tasks.
Reno said the supply chain best illustrates how far reaching cash in the marijuana industry can be.
"A marijuana grower is going to need irrigation, fencing, greenhouse supplies and soil," Reno says. "So you can see how far-reaching it is in that it impacts so many businesses in the valley."
As a result, building supply firms, for example, saw increased cash as growers acquired fencing and construction materials.
"We've had people come in and pay three, four or five thousand dollars in cash for the materials they needed," says Becky Hingle, office manager for Hughes Lumber Co. "We've seen a lot of cedar fencing go out of here."
People's Bank Vice President and Operations Manager Dawn DeVita said the southern Oregon-based institution does not work directly with marijuana businesses, but it has seen an increased volume of cash circulation.
"So indirectly, we have a cash society again," DeVita said. "We kind of went back 10-plus years."
The increase in cash came when recreational use became legal in July 2015, Reno said. Growers began obtaining licenses from the state in May 2016.
Because the Bank Secrecy Act requires banks to monitor customer deposits for any Anti-Money Laundering law violations and file reports of suspicious activity to the U.S. Treasury, many banks now have to spend more time dealing with the influx of cash.
"It has evolved over the last five years," DeVita says. "We have daily reports, weekly, monthly. We look for behaviors with algorithms for things outside of normal business patterns. Based on our size, we've seen a substantial increase in those. It's nothing directly related to the marijuana industry, but to BSA regulations."
___
Information from: Mail Tribune, http://www.mailtribune.com/
- By HALLIE GOLDEN Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Senate has voted down a bill that would require couples to pay $20 more to get a marriage license unless they take a six-hour course on marriage skills or undergo three hours of premarital counseling.
Without any debate, lawmakers on Monday squashed a plan that was aimed at cutting down the estimated 10,000 divorces in Utah each year.
Proposal sponsor Sen. Allen Christensen has said divorces contribute to societal problems that cost the government money and counseling could help couples learn to communicate better and solve problems.
Legislators considered a similar bill last year but it lost steam at the end of the lawmaking session amid a crush of other bills. Marriage license costs vary around Utah's 29 counties--from $50 in Salt Lake County to $30 in Washington County.
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — The Kootenai National Forest in northwestern Montana has been selected to provide the 2017 U.S. Capitol Christmas tree.
The tree must be between 60 and 85 feet tall and a species that represents Montana. It also must be accessible to the crane and semi-truck that will be used to remove the tree in November.
It will be hauled across the country and displayed on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.
In 2008, a fir tree selected from the Bitterroot National Forest, was displayed at the U.S. Capitol.
The 2016 Capitol Christmas tree came from the Payette National Forest in Idaho.
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A 21-year-old Missoula woman says she was not driving during a crash last September that killed a man and his 3-year-old daughter.
The Missoulian reports (http://bit.ly/2kLDyMN ) Ashley Nicole Thomas pleaded not guilty Friday to two counts of felony vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol and drugs for a September 2016 crash on Interstate 90 that killed Brandon Zuleger and his daughter.
Prosecutors say Thomas told officers shortly after the crash that she had been driving.
Court records say Thomas had a blood alcohol level of 0.054 percent an hour after the crash and that she also tested positive for ecstasy and there were indications that she had recently used marijuana and cocaine.
Thomas remained jailed Monday with her bail set at $100,000.
___
Information from: Missoulian, http://www.missoulian.com
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Carl's Jr. and Utah-based chain Apollo Burger have settled their lawsuit over bacon cheeseburgers.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/2kCQoKw ) that Carl's Jr. Restaurants LLC filed suit in November accusing Apollo L.C. of infringing on its Western Bacon Cheeseburger trademark. Apollo was serving a burger with the same name, which Carl's Jr. said was "confusingly similar" to the fast-food chain's sandwich.
A federal judge on Friday signed court documents in which Apollo Burger admitted to infringing on Carl's Jr.'s rights and agreed to stop selling the similarly named burger.
Both parties will pay their own attorneys' fees and costs.
___
Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com
SOUTH EL MONTE, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles County authorities are searching for a suspect who dressed as a construction worker and pulled off a brazen smash-and-grab robbery at a South El Monte jewelry store.
KABC-TV on Monday (http://bit.ly/2lBxjwL) aired security camera footage of the thief — wearing a mask, a hard hat, and a fluorescent vest — using a hammer to bash in a glass case. He runs off with a handful of gold jewelry as the store's owner lunges after him and stunned customers look on. Nobody was hurt.
The news station says the suspect got away Feb. 8 with at least $20,000 worth of 14 carat chains.
The owner says he hopes video from the recently installed cameras will help authorities track down the crook.
___
Information from: KABC-TV, http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A group of runners and walkers have set off on a cross-country walk from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., in order to raise awareness about substance abuse and domestic violence within Native American communities.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday (http://bit.ly/2kCeTrh ) that volunteers gathered for prayers and blessings before heading off on the 3,946-mile journey that will take them through various Indian reservations before heading to the District in mid-July.
The itinerary of the trip includes a stop at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, where thousands have been protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota.
The trip is part of a series of similar Longest Walks to raise awareness about health, environmental and other issues facing American Indians across the country. The first such event took place in 1978.
___
Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com
PETERSBURG, Alaska (AP) — Now that marijuana businesses are up and running in Alaska, a resident of a small town on Prince of Wales Island is hoping to get support from the town's voters to open up a pot business of his own.
Brian Wilson Jr. has submitted application materials to the state to start a cultivation business in Coffman Cove, but the process is on hold until the town's voters approve marijuana operations locally, KFSK-FM reported (http://bit.ly/2l64HuY).
The matter has already been voted down once, but Wilson said he's looking to get another public vote this summer. In the meantime, he plans on educating voters about how the marijuana industry could benefit the town of about 200 people.
"A lot of people will vote based on their personal opinions toward it," Wilson said. "They don't go off facts; they don't go off the studies that have been done recently."
Wilson said bringing marijuana to Coffman Cove will help open some new doors for the community.
"All of our small towns have such limited resources for income and small economies, which is based around tourism mainly and commercial fishing. So, having a new industry for Alaska, I think, is wonderful," he said.
City Council members say only a handful of votes kept pot businesses from opening in Coffman Cove.
Wilson said he would want to get his business started in about six months. He has plans to provide marijuana to retail stores on the island that might open in the future before expanding to other areas in southeast Alaska.
He's already picked out a name for the business — Dazed Dog Gardens.
"I have a dog who is 14-years-old and his name is Dazed," Wilson said. "I work construction and travel throughout different towns and he goes with me and a lot of people know him better than they know me."
___
Information from: KFSK-FM, http://www.alaska.net/~kfsk/
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A team of biologists that worked in Arizona to relocate an endangered fish from the Little Colorado River has received national recognition as populations of humpback chub appear to be growing.
For more than a decade, biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have moved hundreds of humpback chub each fall about five miles upriver, where there are fewer predators and more food for the fish.
Biologists say they've measured increased growth and survival among the translocated chub compared to their downstream counterparts, The Arizona Daily Sun reported (http://bit.ly/2laiErp).
The chubs' recovery earned the team of biologists Fish and Wildlife's 2016 Rachel Carson Award for Exemplary Scientific Accomplishment, which recognizes efforts applied to a conservation problem.
The biologists received help with moving the fish via helicopter from the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service.
The world's largest remaining population of humpback chub is found in Grand Canyon National Park and the Little Colorado River is the population's main spawning area. The fish could once be found in abundance in the park, but the humpback chub's numbers have been impacted by the introduction of nonnative predators and the construction of Glen Canyon Dam. The dam pulls cooler waters into the Colorado River and blocks the seasonal floods that used to wash through the canyon.
Biologists started moving humpback chub to a stretch of river above Chute Falls in 2003 and now move about 300 baby fish annually, said Mike Pillow, a biologist with Fish and Wildlife.
The area where the fish are moved has warmer water, abundant food sources and far fewer predators, such as invasive trout and catfish.
The conservation efforts have also been applied by officials at the Grand Canyon, where chub from the Colorado River were transported up Havasu and Shinumo creeks. This helps so "all our eggs aren't in one basket," said Randy Van Haverbeke, a senior fish biologist who is involved in the work.
The goal of the project is to eventually be able to remove humpback chub from federal protection, Pillow said.
___
Information from: Arizona Daily Sun, http://www.azdailysun.com/
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