Police Blotter, July 16 - 21, 2021

Anacortes Police 6 minutes read
In this week's Police Blotter, just a glance down at a cell phone caused a rear-end traffic crash near Sharpes Corner.

Sexual harassment cases at school: Appeals court ruling could change how schools judge complaints

Art Shotwell 6 minutes read
When a Virginia high school teen reported that another student repeatedly touched her breasts and genitals without consent during a school band trip, the school decided there wasn’t enough evidence to establish that there was a “sexual assault.” They did not punish the alleged offender.

A Chilling Cure: Facing Killer Heat, ERs Use Body Bags to Save Lives

5 minutes read
As a deadly heat wave scorched our area last month, overwhelming hospital emergency rooms unaccustomed to triple-digit temperatures, doctors in Seattle and Renton resorted to a grim but practical tool to save lives: human body bags filled with ice and water.

US is split between the vaccinated and unvaccinated – and deaths and hospitalizations reflect this divide

Art Shotwell 5 minutes read
In recent weeks, one piece of data has gotten a lot of attention: 99.5% of all the people dying from COVID-19 in the U.S. are unvaccinated.

Single-use plastic bag ban begins Oct. 1 in Washington

Art Shotwell 2 minutes read
Washingtonians will begin to see fewer plastic bags littering the state’s roadsides, parks, and streams beginning Oct. 1 when the statewide plastic bag ban goes into effect. 

Lawsuits over bans on teaching critical race theory are coming – here’s what won’t work, and what might

Art Shotwell 6 minutes read
As states and school districts started threatening teachers with disciplinary action for teaching about systemic racism, the question naturally arose: Does this violate the teachers’ First Amendment rights?