Bloglander

ON INLANDER.COM

NEWS: While activists are hoping to regulate both oil and coal trains under a local ballot initiative that posits both are dangerous, the evidence is thin that coal trains pose a unique health hazard to Spokane.

NEWS: The roof of a tunnel at Hanford containing rail cars full of contaminated equipment collapsed and was discovered Tuesday morning; an emergency was declared and employees next to the site were forced to shelter in place for much of the day. No one was injured; no leak was detected.


IN OTHER NEWS

Definitely not related
President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday, specifically thanking Comey for letting him know repeatedly that he was not under investigation; there does appear to be an investigation into potential Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

The New York Times reports that "Mr. Comey learned from news reports that he had been fired while addressing bureau employees in Los Angeles. While Mr. Comey spoke, television screens in the background began flashing the news. In response to the reports, Mr. Comey laughed, saying that he thought it was a fairly funny prank. Shortly after, Mr. Trump’s letter was delivered to FBI Headquarters in Washington."

Digging deeper into Hanford
Turns out, the tunnel that partially collapsed Tuesday at Hanford was supposed to be evaluated for structural integrity by this September. (Tri-City Herald)

After Bloomsday heart attack, runner gets shirt
A Spokane man who had a heart attack about halfway through the Bloomsday course still got his T-shirt, despite not finishing, after his family pulled some strings. (KHQ)

Stealing from seniors
Vandals cut the fuel line on a Meals on Wheels van, stealing the fuel for the second time this year, eating up the organization's maintenance budget and forcing volunteers to use their personal vehicles to deliver food to homebound senior citizens. (KHQ)