Washington | featured news

Portland will close the Eastbank Esplanade for two months starting Feb. 1, in what marks one of the most extensive maintenance projects in the popular trail’s nearly 20 year history.

PORTLAND — A 12-year-old boy is accused of killing an elderly woman found dead in her Eugene-area home on Monday.
The boy, who has notbeen identified by Lane County authorities, is being held at the Serbu Juvenile Justice Center on suspicion of murder and first-degree burglary, according to Jason Davis, a Lane County Health and Human Services Department spokesman.
The boy was booked into the juvenile detention center early Thursday in connection with the death of 92-year-old Erma Burnell, according to Davis.

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — The half brother of Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, is facing a drunken-driving charge after an arrest in Oregon.
State police said Thomas Wayne Markle Jr. was visibly intoxicated when he was pulled over at about 1:30 a.m. Friday in Josephine County, in southwestern Oregon. Authorities said his blood-alcohol content was 0.11 percent, above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
The 52-year-old from Grants Pass was taken to a detox center.
Meghan Markle, a former actress, married Prince Harry last May. They are expecting their first child.

TONASKET — A tiny city in Washington is in turmoil after a police officer came forward with allegations that the mayor wanted him to start using the name “Joseph” because “Jose” sounded too Hispanic.
The mayor also has disbanded the small police department in Tonasket, and City Council members are demanding he resign. The issue blew up at a City Council meeting Tuesday in the city of about 1,100 people.