SEATTLE, WA—The Attorney General’s Office and the Better Business Bureau today issued a warning that flood damaged cars from Hurricane Sandy are showing up for sale in Washington state.

The AGO and BBB caution consumers to make sure the vehicle you buy does not have flood damage.

"Once the waters recede, scam artists often descend into a flood area," said Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson. “Buyer beware, protect yourself from buying a rebuilt, water-logged wreck. Make sure you check the history of the vehicle and take a close look at the physical condition.”

"Don't be fooled by shiny paint and a ‘new car’ smell,” says Robert W.G. Andrew, CEO of BBB serving Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington. "Unscrupulous sellers will use every trick in the book to clean up and sell totaled vehicles. If buyers aren't careful, the cars they end up with could be loaded with hidden and serious problems."

Flood damaged cars may look normal, but almost always have serious problems including chronic mildew and corroded wires that lead to electrical failure.

HOQUIAM, Wash. - The Hoquiam School District announces the sponsorship of the Simplified Summer Food Program for Children.  Meals will be made available at no charge to attending children 18 years of age and younger

Meals will be served at the following two locations:

OLYMPIA – Throughout Western Washington, the needles on many young Douglas-fir trees have suddenly turned red this spring, and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) believes drought to be cause of the damage that is being observed.

DNR’s Forest Health Program has examined affected trees at several sites from Shelton, DuPont, and Auburn, south to Vancouver, and along the Columbia River Gorge. Douglas-firs that are between 5 and 15 years old appear to be the most commonly affected, but some larger trees are also showing symptoms including entirely red crowns, red tops, and red branches.

In a typical year, this type of damage may have many causes, but this year it is primarily the result of an extended period with little to no rain during August-September 2012 and a drier than normal spring in 2013. Damage has been most severe in areas with rocky soils, such as glacial outwash around the Puget Sound. Water drains quickly in these soils, and trees depend on occasional rains during the summer to replenish their water supply

Public meetings to be held at the Aberdeen City Hall, June 20th at 2 PM, and 25th at 6 PM.

ABERDEEN, Wash. - The Grays Harbor Transit Authority was presented with two grim options to cut service yesterday, as the board works to correct an $800-thousand budget deficit. General Manager Mark Carlin told a packed house at their regular board meeting last night that eliminating weekends is only part of the option that we reported last month “In order to get to that number that we needed, along with the weekend service we also had to eliminate the Centralia run Monday and Friday, and 3 days of para-transit service in between there. This plan would also eliminate the Westport dial-a-ride, and it would affect about 150,000 customers annually.” Carlin said that plan would eliminate 6 drivers, 1 shop position, and the customer service representative at the Aberdeen station.
A second option would thin out the transits’ 7-day schedule “So what I did was take the number of hours that eliminating weekends would give me, and I went through and eliminated the amount of runs to come up with the same amount of hours,” Carlin said details of this option included cutting the frequency on many routes in half, and because they wouldn’t be closing the doors on the weekends, the holes in service would be more noticed. The "thinning plan" would eliminate 8 driver positions, Carlin said making these cuts would affect about 205,000 riders.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - An upriver soldier in the state's battle against invasive species has been recognized nationally for keeping an aquarium plant from taking over the Chehalis River system.

Rick Johnson, Coordinator of the Thurston County Noxious Weed Agency in Washington State, is recognized by the US Department of the Interior for his 34-year record of commitment to invasive plant management, and has served on multiple weed management committees, boards and associations.

Rick led a program for the management of Brazilian Elodea in the Chehalis River system, an initiative which spanned multiple agencies over the course of ten years.

Up until 1996, the plant was commonly sold in Washington pet stores under the name "anacharis."  Unfortunately Brazilian elodea grows very well in Washington lakes, and was quickly classified as invasive.

The major national groups that coordinate the battle against invasive species today announced the 2013 National Invasive Species Achievement Awards. The awards recognize the dedication and collaborative efforts of local, state and federal officials; private citizens; and volunteers in preventing and controlling invasive species.

The Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, the National Invasive Species Council and the Federal Interagency Committee for Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds presented the awards to: The Lake George Association in New York; the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Austin, Texas; Rick Johnson, Thurston County, Wash.; Dr. Richard Reardon of the U.S. Forest Service; Dr. Richard Everett of the U.S. Coast Guard; and the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program; The Malheur Wildlife Associates, Friends of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon; and Ben Schrader in Texas.