Tom Banse
Regional Correspondent
Stories
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KUOW Newsroom
Trickle-down effects from Washington's overcrowded hospitals
The overcrowded hospitals we've been telling you about for weeks are having ripple effects out into the community -- some you could predict and some which are a little more startling. Take for example a fire that gutted a house in Ocean Shores or expensive airlifts from Leavenworth, Washington.
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Babies on board! Three endangered Northwest killer whales look very pregnant in aerial photos
Research photos taken with a drone show multiple female killer whales are close to giving birth in one of the Pacific Northwest's critically endangered pods. The late-stage pregnancies stirred excitement among whale watchers -- and also renewed worries about the availability of adequate food supply for the mothers and babies.
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KUOW Newsroom
SuperSonics star places first legal sports bet in Washington state
Just in time for the kickoff of the NFL regular season, the first legal sports betting operation in Washington state has opened for business. On Thursday, a line of bettors queued behind a sports celebrity to place their first bets at a tribal casino in the eastern suburbs of Seattle.
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KUOW Newsroom
Hundreds of Washington schools have failing grade for earthquake safety
Tens of thousands of public school students in Washington state returned to classes this month in school buildings judged to be at risk of collapse in a strong earthquake.
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PeaceHealth, unions clashing after health system places hundreds of workers on unpaid leave
Since PeaceHealth announced its own deadlines, unions representing a swath of workers have leveled at least seven labor complaints.
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KUOW Newsroom
In a hot NW housing market, even isolated Point Roberts is seeing prices sizzle
How hot is the Pacific Northwest real estate market? So hot that even in an isolated exclave such as Point Roberts, Washington, home prices are sizzling and some properties are changing hands sight unseen.
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KUOW Newsroom
Skeptics of sea otter reintroduction getting organized on Pacific Coast
Sea otters are undeniably cute, but cuteness only goes so far when major economic interests are at stake. That's an inference you can make from the emergence of organized pushback to the possible reintroduction of sea otters along the Oregon Coast.
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Tokyo Olympics were a gold, silver and bronze bonanza for athletes with Pacific NW ties
Athletes from the Pacific Northwest will practically need an ore cart to push their haul of precious metal to the airport after the final weekend of action at the Tokyo Olympics. Professional basketball and baseball players from Portland, Tacoma and Seattle accounted for most of the gold and silver medals as the delayed 2020 Summer Games came to a close.Olympians with strong connections to Oregon and Washington state mined 39 total medals at the Tokyo Games.
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KUOW Newsroom
Across 41 year age gap, an Olympic hopeful and a Senior Games champ have partnership that sprints
Not every Olympic story is happening in Tokyo this week. Take for instance these two runners in Tacoma. He's a 26-year-old former Oregon Ducks standout, now a professional quarter-miler. She's a 67-year-old baby boomer who began sprinting barely a decade ago. Together they overcame various personal disappointments and sorrows to make a winning combination.
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More than 100 athletes with Pacific Northwest ties entered in Tokyo Olympics
If you like cheering for hometown athletes — or former Ducks, Zags or Huskies — you're in luck when the Summer Olympics start in less than a week. The team rosters for the USA and a bunch of foreign countries are chockablock with athletes with Pacific Northwest ties. By our count, 50 Team USA Olympians have strong connections to Oregon or Washington. At least 51 more athletes are at the Olympics representing foreign countries after starring for universities or turning pro in the Northwest.