Tom Banse, Author at Northwest Public Broadcasting

Catch The Cost Lift: Up And Down ‘Airline Pricing’ Coming To Northwest Ski Areas

By Tom Banse October 17, 2018

Mt Hood Meadows chair lift with Mt Hood in background

The cost of lift tickets at Mt. Hood Meadows in Oregon will rise and fall daily based on demand. What the ski industry calls "dynamic pricing" was pioneered by major resorts in Colorado, Utah and California. It has been slow to spread to the Northwest. Read More

Reunification 101: Some Northwest Schools Moving Beyond Emergency Drills And Toward Aftermath

By Tom Banse October 15, 2018

Teacher Jeremy Thomas holds up an all-accounted-for sign after the school evacuation. CREDIT: TOM BANSE / N3

It's a sad fact of life that K-12 students must practice for calamities such as earthquakes, fires, lockdowns or active shooters. Now a few public schools in the region are roping in parents and guardians to practice for the aftermath. Read More

High-Tech Archaeology Helps Uncover Stories Of Long-Lost Gold Miners

By Tom Banse October 11, 2018

Southern Oregon University archaeologist Chelsea Rose with remnants of a five-part gold pan found during a dig this summer. CREDIT SOUTHERN OREGON UNIV. LABORATORY OF ANTHROPOLOGY

By 1885, the small town of John Day had one of the biggest Chinatowns in the U.S. after San Francisco, Portland and Tacoma. Now there's just one solitary building left of what might have been 100 structures at the town's peak. Continue Read More

Your Word Of The Day Is ‘Torrefaction.’ First-Of-Its Kind Plant To Open In Eastern Oregon

By Tom Banse October 7, 2018

Biomass Operations Specialist John Rowell stands next to a boiler that awaits installation pending permits. TOM BANSE / NW NEWS NETWORK

Construction begins soon in eastern Oregon for the first commercial-scale "torrefaction" facility in the country. If you don't know what that word means, you're in good company. But the process itself isn't all that exotic. Think of how your coffee beans get crispy. Read More

Farm Bill Expiration Leaves Northwest Researchers And Farmers On Edge

By Tom Banse October 2, 2018

Organic Seed Alliance Program Director Micaela Colley at the nonprofit's research farm in Chimacum, Washington. CREDIT: TOM BANSE / NW NEWS NETWORK

The U.S. House and Senate have passed differing versions of the massive farm bill and are having trouble agreeing on a compromise. Usually what happens in this situation is Congress passes a short-term extension to keep programs going, but that didn't happen this time. Read More

Boy Scout ‘Boot Camp’ For Girls Near Olympia Paves Trail For Coed Scouting

By Tom Banse October 1, 2018

Amy Miseli, here teaching map and compass skills to Cub Scouts, plans to attend the BSA Boot Camp at Camp Thunderbird. Courtesy of Amanda Lafferty

A western Washington chapter of the Boy Scouts is preparing to welcome girls to scouting with a "boot camp" just for teenage girls this coming weekend, Oct. 5-7. It’s a first-of-its-kind event hosted by the Pacific Harbors Council. Continue Read More

Nearly 100 Olympic Mountain Goats Moved To North Cascades; 11 Dead After First Relocation

By Tom Banse September 28, 2018

A young male mountain goat rested in its crate shortly before release Wednesday. CREDIT: TOM BANSE / NW NEWS NETWORK

The eye-catching scenes of mountain goats flying through the air under helicopters, riding in refrigerated trucks and taking ferries to new homes are done for the year. Roundups and relocations of non-native Olympic National Park goats will resume next year. Read More

Trade War With China Yields Cancelled Orders For Northwest Exports

By Tom Banse September 27, 2018

File photo of cherries - Northwest Cherry Growers

Retaliatory tariffs levied by China on U.S. goods are taking a toll on Pacific Northwest farm exports. Details about cancelled orders came out this week at a state Senate committee hearing in Seattle. Continue Reading Trade War With China Read More

New (But Unfinished) I-90 Animal Crossings Already Getting Use From Furry Travelers

By Tom Banse September 25, 2018

View from ground level Monday of the new wildlife-only overcrossing on I-90 east of Snoqualmie Pass. CREDIT: WSDOT

Deer have already begun using an unfinished wildlife bridge over Interstate 90 east of Snoqualmie Pass. The Washington State Department of Transportation on Monday celebrated the opening of a section of widened freeway there. The new overcrossing is expected to reduce frightening animal-vehicle collisions. Read More

Got Your Ticket To Fly? Hackers May Have Your Alaska Or Delta Miles To Sell On Dark Web

By Tom Banse September 21, 2018

San Francisco airport at night. CREDIT: ANDREW CHOY/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Hackers are using various forms of digital skullduggery to steal frequent flyer miles from customers of Delta, Alaska and other airlines. The thieves then resell the miles on the dark web. Continue Reading Got Your Ticket Read More

Higher Electric Rates May End Central Washington Bitcoin Rush

By Tom Banse September 19, 2018

File photo. Chelan County Public Utility District managers want to shut down unauthorized bitcoin operations. CREDIT: XIANGFU/WIKIMEDIA

In the last few years, rock-bottom electricity rates have attracted bitcoin miners and other virtual currency entrepreneurs to central Washington state. But in Chelan and Grant counties, that lure may be on the wane because of looming power price hikes. Read More

Almost Everything Leaving Northwest Ports For China Soon To Be Hit With Tariffs

By Tom Banse September 19, 2018

The Port of Olympia does a steady business exporting logs to China and Japan for Weyerhaeuser. Wood is now hit by a retaliatory tariff. CREDIT: TOM BANSE

The Chinese government announced on Tuesday that it would impose tariffs on $60 billion more of U.S. exports. This widens the range of Pacific Northwest companies caught in the trade crossfire. Continue Reading Almost Everything Read More

Washington’s Border Towns Have Become Proxy Addresses For Canadian Online Shoppers

By Tom Banse September 18, 2018

A steady stream of cars with British Columbia license plates stop by the Pulse Packages storefront just off the interstate in Blaine. CREDIT: TOM BANSE

Amazon customers and other mail-order patrons are turning small towns on the northern border into the P.O. box for Canada. Continue Reading Washington’s Border Towns Have Become Proxy Addresses For Canadian Online ShoppersRead More

When Goats Fly! Olympic Range Mountain Goats Relocated By Helicopter To North Cascades

By Tom Banse September 13, 2018

Wildlife biologists have relocated the first two dozen of hundreds of non-native mountain goats slated for removal from Olympic National Park. The logistically-challenging capture and transfer of the woolly wild animals to the northern Cascade Range has been periodically slowed by weather this week. Read More

50 Years On, North Cascades National Park Envisions The Next 50

By Tom Banse September 9, 2018

View from Sahale Peak near Cascade Pass in North Cascades National Park. CREDIT: NPS

Despite its popularity, few know that it took skillful political compromise in the 1960s to establish North Cascades National Park and the adjacent Ross Lake and Lake Chelan National Recreation Areas. Continue Reading 50 Years On, North Cascades Read More

Northwest’s Ancient Earthquakes May Help Predict Future Risk

By Tom Banse September 5, 2018

Washington's Sadie Creek Fault is a strand of the Lake Creek-Boundary Creek Fault zone. CREDIT: DAN COE/WASHINGTON DNR

One way to predict the risk of earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest is to look at how often they occurred in the past – and, for several groups of geologists, delving into the fault lines themselves. The evidence lies in trenches the scientists cut across fault lines in northwest Oregon and on the north Olympic Peninsula. Read More

Judge Says Washington Wildlife Agency Can Kill Togo Pack Wolf For Cattle Hunting

By Tom Banse September 1, 2018

This Togo pack wolf, an adult male shown when he was radio-collared in early June, is now marked for death by Washington's Department of Fish and Wildlife. CREDIT: WDFW

Washington government marksmen now have clearance to go out this weekend to shoot a wolf from a pack that has been preying on cattle in the Colville National Forest. On Friday a judge declined to extend a temporary stay on the killing won by several environmental groups last week. Read More

Bubble Hunters: Ocean Scientists Count 1,000 Methane Seeps Off Pacific Northwest Coast

By Tom Banse August 31, 2018

Oregon-based researchers deployed an ROV to sample methane vents off the Pacific Northwest coast this summer. CREDIT: OCEAN EXPLORATION TRUST

Ocean researchers have found nearly 1,000 methane seep sites along the continental shelf of the Pacific Northwest. The bubble streams could be a sign of offshore energy potential, represent a greenhouse gas threat — or be neither of those things at all. Read More

Have You Planned For Number Two After ‘The Big One’?

By Tom Banse August 29, 2018

Sue Mohnkern of Washington County Public Health (Oregon) spearheaded the Emergency Toilet Project. CREDIT: TOM BANSE

It's not something we typically discuss in polite company, but disaster planners say that when water and sewage service fails, finding a place to poop is a big deal. Continue Reading Have You Planned For Number Two After ‘The Big One’?Read More

Northwest Coastal Towns Grapple With Growth Of Vacation Rentals

By Tom Banse August 21, 2018

Newport's Nye Beach neighborhood has the city's highest concentration of short-term vacation rentals. CREDIT: TOM BANSE/N3

Hot housing markets in major cities like Seattle and Portland have pushed the cities to regulate short-term rentals like Airbnb. But small Pacific Northwest towns popular with visitors are also struggling to balance the growth of Airbnb-type rentals with a tight housing supply. Read More

Scientists Sunk A Rare Blue Whale Skeleton. Now They Need Money To Bring It Back Up

By Tom Banse August 20, 2018

An OSU team salvaged the bones from this blue whale in late 2015. CREDIT: OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

There’s a set of massive whale bones resting on the bottom of the bay in Newport, Oregon. Scientists from Oregon State University put them there with a plan for a future display on shore. But they’re having trouble finding the money to retrieve the rare blue whale skeleton from beneath the waves. Read More

A History Teacher, An Obsession With A Sunken Ship, And The Crew Searching For Its Wreck

By Tom Banse August 10, 2018

Shipwreck hunters Jeff Groth, right, and Scott Williams methodically towed a magnetometer back and forth over a search grid -- "mowing the lawn," as they called it. CREDIT: TOM BANSE / NW NEWS NETWORK

An Oregon-based group of shipwreck hunters wants to find the historic remains of the first steamship to provide service in the Puget Sound in the 1800's. The shipwreck search was inspired by one Port Townsend, Wash., man's obsession. Read More

Veterinarians Grapple With How To Save Puget Sound Orca: Salmon Laced With Meds Or Syringe?

By Tom Banse August 6, 2018

Aerial photograph of adult female Southern Resident killer whale J16 with her calf J50 in 2015, when the calf was in its first year of life. CREDIT: JOHN DURBAN (NOAA FISHERIES), HOLLY FEARNBACH (SR3) AND LANCE BARRETT-LENNARD (VANCOUVER AQUARIUM), TAKEN BY AN UNMANNED HEXACOPTER DURING RESEARCH AUTHORIZED UNDER NMFS PERMIT #16163

An emaciated orca from the Pacific Northwest’s critically-endangered resident killer whale population could get a pole injection of medicine under the latest preferred option of an emergency response team. Officials with the lead federal agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, described the changing situation Monday morning. Read More

Group Hatches Plan To Save Emaciated And Endangered Puget Sound Orca

By Tom Banse August 5, 2018

This picture from July 21 shows shrinkage around orca J50's head from weight loss, aka "peanut head syndrome." CREDIT: KATY FOSTER/NOAA

An emaciated, four-year-old Puget Sound orca is drawing alarm. Whale scientists and the federal agency NOAA are weighing what it means to provide food and medicine to this endangered orca. The declining health of the orca has become apparent as it swims and feeds in the border waters between Washington and British Columbia. Read More

Should We Kill Sea Lions To Save Northwest Salmon? Congress Is About To Decide

By Tom Banse July 31, 2018

Sea lions rest at the mouth of the Columbia River before moving upriver to feast on seasonal salmon runs. CREDIT: TOM BANSE / NORTHWEST NEWS NETWORK

In a clash of protected species, Pacific Northwest members of Congress are coming down in favor of salmon. The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee is scheduled to vote to make it easier to kill sea lions who feast on Columbia and Willamette River salmon and steelhead. Read More

Military Reconnaissance Plane Enlisted In Northwest Wildfire Fight

By Tom Banse July 31, 2018

The Washington Air National Guard RC-26 sits at Medford Airport last September before taking off to map the Chetco Bar fire in southwest Oregon. SENIOR AIRMAN SEAN CAMPBELL / U.S. AIR FORCE

For the third year in a row, a military reconnaissance aircraft is joining the battle against Pacific Northwest wildfires. This specialized plane can locate new fires from many miles away. Continue Reading Military Reconnaissance Plane Read More

Bitter Brew: Northwest Craft Beer Industry Feeling Bite From Metals Tariffs

By Tom Banse July 27, 2018

Mobile canning service company Craft Canning + Bottling of Portland and some 60 of its clients have felt pain from the aluminum tariff the U.S. recently imposed. CREDIT: JIM NEWMAN - CRAFT CANNING

The craft brewing industry in the Northwest is starting to feel pain from the Trump administration's steel and aluminum tariffs. Those metals are made into beer cans, kegs and fermentation tanks. Continue Reading Bitter Brew: Read More

‘Critical’ Shortage Of Blood At Northwest Blood Banks

By Tom Banse July 26, 2018

Lt. Gov. Brad Little, the GOP's 2018 nominee for Idaho governor, tweeted this photo of himself giving blood earlier this week.

The two biggest blood networks in the Northwest say the region's blood supply is suffering a critical shortage.The American Red Cross calls it a blood "emergency." Bloodworks Northwest said its supply of some blood types has dwindled to a critical low of less than one days' worth. Read More

Border Crossing Hours To Be Shortened In Northeast Washington (But Not As Much As Proposed)

By Tom Banse July 25, 2018

Effective October 1, the Danville U.S. Border Station in northeastern Washington state will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.. It currently stays open until midnight. CREDIT: U.S. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has finalized shorter hours for several border crossings in northeastern Washington state, effective this fall. The reduction in operating hours in one case was modified based on protests from the local community. Read More

Columbia River Treaty Negotiators Ask For Patience Ahead Of Further Talks

By Tom Banse July 25, 2018

Mica Dam in British Columbia is one of three Canadian projects built under the terms of the 1964 Columbia River Treaty. CREDIT: DAR56 - TINYURL.COM/YC4K2DTJ

The U.S. and Canadian governments have scheduled a second and third round of negotiations to modernize the Columbia River Treaty. The 54-year-old treaty provides flood protection to Portland and smoothes out Northwest hydropower production. Read More

Yet Another D.B. Cooper Theory: He Survived And Landed In … Cle Elum?

By Tom Banse July 25, 2018

D.B. Cooper in FBI composite sketches. CREDIT: FBI ARCHIVES

The legend and theorizing about Northwest skyjacker D.B. Cooper just won’t die. A new documentary about the unsolved 1971 hijacking introduces a new twist to the tale. It suggests we might have been looking for D.B. Cooper and his loot in the wrong place for all these years. Read More

Forget Scarecrows, Northwest Farmers Take Up Lasers To Shoo Pesky Birds

By Tom Banse July 23, 2018

This laser unit is one of six that repel thieving birds from the blueberry fields of Meduri Farms near Jefferson, Oregon. CREDIT: TOM BANSE

During every berry picking season in the Pacific Northwest, blueberry and raspberry growers fight to prevent birds from gobbling up the crop before they can harvest it. This year, some farmers are trying something new and high tech to scare away the thieving birds. It involves lasers. Read More

All Aboard The Case Study For Oregon- Washington-Vancouver Bullet Train

By Tom Banse July 23, 2018

Shown is a W7 Series Shinkansen in Japan. Could the Pacific Northwest be served by high speed trains in the future? I HOKURIKU / TINYURL.COM/Y9PPKGE6

The push for a bullet train between Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, BC, is getting additional backing. The state of Oregon and Microsoft Corporation are putting money into an in-depth "business case analysis" previously launched by Washington and British Columbia. Read More

Renegotiating NAFTA Proving Harder Than It Sounds As Outlook ‘Changes With The Wind’

By Tom Banse July 23, 2018

NAFTA flags - US - Canada - Mexico - PRESTON KERES-USDA

Policymakers, academics and regional industry leaders from the U.S. and western Canada are getting together in Spokane on Monday, July 23 to get an update on ongoing talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. So far, top U.S., Canadian and Mexican officials have missed numerous self-imposed deadlines to reach a deal. Read More

There’s A Rare Meteorite To Be Found Off Washington’s Coast

By Tom Banse June 29, 2018

Composite of radar images from three different NOAA radars, showing radar reflections off of falling meteorite fragments along the coast of Washington's Grays Harbor County. CREDIT: MARC FRIES / NASA

On the evening of March 7, a bright flash, a tremendous boom and a rumble like an earthquake alarmed people in coastal Washington state. Next week, scientists will attempt an underwater recovery of the shattered meteorite that caused all that. Continue Read More

Supreme Court Punts Same-Sex Wedding Flowers Case Back To Washington State

By Tom Banse June 25, 2018

Undated photo of Barronelle Stutzman in front of her Richland, Washington flower store. CREDIT: ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM

The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the Washington state courts to take a new look at the case of a florist from Richland who refused to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding. Continue Reading Supreme Court Punts Same-Sex Wedding Read More

Ships In Washington-BC Strait Asked To Slow Down Again For Orcas

By Tom Banse June 22, 2018

Operators and pilots of big ships are again being asked to slow down in the Haro Strait, between Washington state and British Columbia. CREDIT: JOAN LOPEZ / ECHO

The call is going out again to the operators and pilots of big ships to slow down in the shared border waters between Washington and British Columbia. The idea is to reduce underwater noise that could bother endangered killer whales. Continue Read More

Spate Of Illicit Western Washington Pot Busts Suggests Connections To China, Forced Labor

By Tom Banse June 21, 2018

Living rooms and bedrooms were found filled with marijuana plants in different stages of maturity.

In Tacoma, police tactical squads staged coordinated raids on middle class homes converted into indoor pot farms. What the authorities found follows a recent pattern in West Coast states: all of the marijuana growers arrested were immigrants from China who spoke little or no English. Read More

Man Facing Deportation To China After Big Washington Pot Bust Seeks To Withdraw Plea

By Tom Banse June 15, 2018

CREDIT: A small portion of the illicit marijuana found during a three-county bust on Tuesday. GRAYS HARBOR COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

A Chinese immigrant arrested during the bust of a sprawling illegal pot growing operation last November wants to withdraw his guilty plea. The man claims he didn't understand his conviction could lead to deportation. Continue Read More

Changes Coming To Northwest Driver’s Licenses To Meet Federal Standards

By Tom Banse June 15, 2018

After July 1, standard Washington state driver's licenses will be marked as seen here. CREDIT: WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING

Beginning next month, driver’s licenses in Washington state will be changing. Regular licenses and ID cards will be marked with the words “federal limits apply.” Oregon is going down this path too, but not until mid-2020. Continue Reading Read More

Adventurers Aplenty Line Up In Washington For Fourth Running Of Race to Alaska

By Tom Banse June 14, 2018

Racing craft filled the Point Hudson Marina in Port Townsend on Wednesday, the eve of the fourth running of the Race to Alaska. CREDIT: TOM BANSE

The starting gun fires bright and early Thursday morning for the fourth annual running of the maritime Race to Alaska. The 750-mile adventure marathon has been compared to the Iditarod but with a chance of drowning, being run down by a freighter, or getting eaten by a grizzly bear. Read More

With No High Ground, Ocean Shores Considers How To Escape A Tsunami

By Tom Banse June 12, 2018

A tsunami warning siren in Ocean Shores, Washington. CREDIT: TOM BANSE

Ocean Shores, Washington, has no natural high ground inside its city limits. On Tuesday night, residents will meet with government and university experts to discuss whether to build a tsunami evacuation platform as in a few other Northwest coastal towns. Read More

Home On The (Solar) Range: Energy Developers Clamor For Washington’s Grazing Land

By Tom Banse June 11, 2018

File photo. Developers are showing interest in converting public grazing lands in central Washington into large solar farms.

Renewable energy developers are showing interest in converting public grazing lands in sunny central Washington into large solar farms. The state Department of Natural Resources says around 15 companies have expressed interest in long-term leases of public rangeland properties, primarily in Klickitat County but also in Yakima, Grant, Douglas and Kittitas counties. Read More

Aerial Survey Flights Find Reintroduced Fishers Dispersing, Possibly Reproducing

By Tom Banse June 8, 2018

A captive fisher at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. CREDIT: INGRID BARRENTINE / NORTHWEST TREK WILDLIFE PARK

Since 2008, wildlife biologists in Washington state have worked to reintroduce the fisher, a locally-extinct forest weasel. Continue Reading Aerial Survey Flights Find Reintroduced Fishers Dispersing, Possibly ReproducingRead More

Washington And Oregon Solar Projects Face Legal Hurdles From Farmland Projection Groups

By Tom Banse June 3, 2018

CREDIT - SARAH SWENTY - USFWS - TINYURL.COM/YBSAL64J

1:00 Two projects that would convert cropland in Oregon and Washington into large solar farms are hitting new bumps. Last week the Oregon Court of Appeals issued a ruling that blocks a planned 80-acre solar project on farmland outside Medford in southern Oregon. Read More

Sloths Seized In Olympia From Oregon-Based Center Turning Into Courtroom Saga

By Tom Banse June 1, 2018

Two-toed sloths at the ZWCC Sloth Center in Rainier, Oregon, in 2014. CREDIT: STEVEN FRIEDERICH

The Olympia city prosecutor's office confirmed to public radio Thursday that it will file animal neglect charges in the next day or two against the owner of an Oregon-based sloth sanctuary. Continue Reading Sloths Seized In Olympia Read More

Coastal Erosion Gnaws At One Of Northwest’s Most Popular State Parks

By Tom Banse May 29, 2018

Dale Beasley shows trees killed by saltwater intrusion and erosion that previously fronted the Cape Disappointment State Park campground. CREDIT: TOM BANSE / NORTHWEST NEWS NETWORK

Coastal erosion is chewing away at one of the Northwest's most popular recreation areas. It's threatening the main campground and other amenities at Cape Disappointment State Park, which has the second most camper visits in the Washington State Park system. Read More

New Hope To Stop Relentless Erosion Of Washington’s ‘Washaway Beach’

By Tom Banse May 23, 2018

This animation shows the extreme rate of coastal erosion at North Cove, Washington. The red line indicates the shoreline in 1990. CREDIT: GOOGLE EARTH

Aptly nicknamed Washaway Beach in Pacific County, Washington, has long suffered from the most extreme coastal erosion along the whole U.S. West Coast. Now a relatively low cost defense is raising hopes among property owners and nearby cranberry growers. Read More

Meet The Companies Testing Self-Driving Vehicles In The Northwest

By Tom Banse May 21, 2018

Google spin-off company Waymo is one of seven companies that has notified Washington's Department of Licensing that they plan to test self-driving vehicles. CREDIT: WAYMO

Seven different companies have notified Washington's Department of Licensing that they plan to test self-driving vehicles on roads in the state. Oregon transportation officials have gotten notifications from two other companies. Continue Read More

Cougar Attack Kills And Injures Mountain Bikers Near North Bend, Washington

By Tom Banse May 20, 2018

Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife agents tracked and killed the cougar thought responsible for the attack, May 19, 2018. Courtesy Washington DFW

A rare attack by a cougar killed a Washington state man over the weekend Saturday, May 19 and seriously injured another man near North Bend, Washington. Continue Reading Cougar Attack Kills And Injures Mountain Bikers Near North Bend, Read More

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