Serving Central Oregon since190375
WEDNESDAY March 26,2014
88 Ill OLI 0 Llll OI'Bll NS SVringtrail OUTDOORS • D1
OUTDOORS • D1-
bendbulletin.com TODAY'S READERBOARD Slice of dasedall history
— A newsreel from 1925captures Ruth andGehrig in the game that would start Gehrig's streak.C1
Consumersmore confident —The latest study has American optimism at a6-year high.C6 PIOS: IOIIS —Personal income is upinOregon.C6
Divided dy smokes —A new study shows how it's increasingly becomethe province of the poor.A3
oca rewerssru e omee eman BUSINESS • C6
EPA intro uceswater protection proposal By Andrew Clevenger
even those that sometimes
The Bulletin
run dry over the course of the
Water Act has safeguarded nected wetlands and streams our rivers, lakes, wetlands and that are vital to healthy waters
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection
year, as part of the protected
coastal waters. But over the
Agency unveiled Tuesday its
1972, the landmark anti-pollution bill subjects public waters
"Waters of the U.S." Passed in
last 15 years, two complicated
to clarify the definition of pub- to government regulation and lic waters protected under the permitting, and established
court decisions have tangled up implementation of the law," said EPA administrator Gina McCarthy as she announced
federal Clean Water Act. The new rule would include
the proposed rule. "Using the best available science, we can
proposed new rule that seeks
many streams and wetlands,
civil and criminal penalties for
polluters. "For four decades, the Clean
DESCHUTES
2 lawsuits against DA settled for $320K
and vital to healthy communities downstream."
Oregon-based environmental groups cheered Tuesday's announcement, which was made in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers. SeeWater /A5
identify and protect intercon-
By Shelby R. King The Bulletin
The Oregon Department of Administrative Services on Monday re-
leased the amounts paid to settle two lawsuits with one former and one
in
current employee of the Deschutes County District Attorney's office,
Slope shots — Videogra-
bringingthe total payout onbehalfofcasesfiled
phers use avariety of strategies to capture adventurous footage in the Northwest.O1
against District Attorney
Patrick F1ahertyto $1.35 million since he took office in 2011.
In world news —Attempts
These are the fourth and fifthemployment-related lawsuits involving Flaherty, and the final
to locate the missing plane resume, but evenwith a general area to search, hopesare low.A2
outstanding suit to be settled by the state on
Flaherty's behalf. Sha-
And a Web exclusive-
ron Sweet, a former in-
Desalination plants quell water worries in Israel. bentlbulletin.cnm/extrns
vestigator forthe office, was awarded $310,000 from the state and county. The Department of Administrative Services settled with Nicole Jenson, a trial assistant, for
I vyy .yy
EDITOR'5CHOICE
$10,314.
C~
Federal health site to allow more time
Since Jan. 1, 2005, the
department has paid $1.693 million in daims
c
on employment-related
";c
lawsuits filed against all Oregon district attorneys, according to information from Penny
r vg y
Evans, DAS risk manager. Of that, 80percent
was for cases involving Flaherty. SeeLawsuits/A4
By Amy Goldstein The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has
decided to give extra time to Americans who say that
they are unable to enroll in health-care plans through
Joe Kiine/The Bulletin
delay in their afternoon game against Marshfield in the Central Oregon Spring Break Softball
the federal insurance mar-
Tournament at Skyline Field in Bend. The game was called after three innings, but the weather didn't
ketplace by the March 31 deadline.
put a damper on all the games.See full coverage in Sports, Page C1.
Federal officials con-
firmed'Itresday evening that all consumers who have begun Inside to apply for • Justices coverage on hear case HealthCare. on birth g o v , but who control,A2 do not finish byMonday, will have until about mid-April to ask for an extension.
Under the new rules, people will be able to qualify for an extensionby checkinga blue box on HealthCare.gov to indicate that they tried to
enrollbefore the deadline. This method will rely on an honor system; the government will not try to deter-
mine whether the person is telling the truth. The administration's de-
cision affects the 36 states where the federal government is taking the lead on sign-ups. The 14 statesincluding Oregon — running their own websites could well follow, since some had been pressing for an extension on account of their own technical problems. SeeInsurance/A4
Chemical weapons still lurk
Members of the Redmond High School softball team huddle in their dugout Tuesday during a rain
By David Zucchino Los Angeles Times
REDSTONE ARSE-
NAL, Ala. — Yanking aside atree branch, Jason Watson peered into a waterlogged trench. He pointed out discolored metal drums sunk
WASHINGTON MUDSLIDE
A quiet morning, broken by adeluge of earth
halfway in the water.
"Bhster agents, choking agents, blood agents,"
By Kirk Johnson, lnn Lovett and Alan Blinder
verized forest, destroying much
New York TimesNews Service
and killing at least 16 people. The McPhersons were
Watson said, listing the
swept apart, her in one direction, him in another. When
ons inside thousands of metal containers that
OSO, Wash. — This was
how last Saturday morning began for Linda McPherson, 68, and her husband, Gary, 78,
of the tiny community of Oso
things stopped moving — the house ripped into pieces and were in their redining chairs in shoved 200 feet from its founthe living room easing into the dation— Gary McPherson day when, without warning, at found himself trapped. He a fewminutes before 11a.m., could breathe but not reach their world and everything the surface of the enveloping around them was shattered. muck, his leg pinned by a Agiant wallof water-saturat- beam of the house he had just ed earth destroyedtheirhouse been sitting in. in a roar of mud, rock and pulSee Mudslide /A4
arrayofchemicalweapwereburied on thebase
better known as Mac: They
TODAY'S WEATHER Rain and snow <'ii, @>
H i g h 47, Low32
Page B6
after World War II.
Watson is part of a team charged with finding, identifying and eventuallydeaning up 17long trenches that snake for debris field as recovery efforts continue Tuesday near Oso,Wash.
agents and munitions. See Weapons/A5
Sixteen people are confirmed dead in the Saturday mudslide.
The Bulletin
INDEX Business Calendar Classified
6miles, crammed with World War I chemical
Marcus Yam/The Seattle Times
Rescue workers carry an inflatable boat to the flooded area in the
C5-6 Comics/Pu zzles E3-4 Horoscope 0 6 Outdoors B2 Crosswords E 4 L o cal/State B1 6 S I E1-8 Dear Abby D6 Ob ituaries B5 TV/Movies
AnIndependent
D1 - 6 C1 4 D6
Vol. 112, No. es, 32 pages, 5 sections
Q i/i/e use recycled newsprint
0
IIIIIIIIIIIIII 88267 02329