Tokitae died from diseases linked to aging, necropsy says, County Council Funding Supports Kitchen Upgrade in Rural ‘Food Desert’, $1 million Mega Millions prize won in Ferndale remains unclaimed, Bellingham-based Rice Insurance facing multi-million-dollar fraud lawsuit, Wash AG ordered to pay Value Village +$4 mil in legal fees, Insurance Commissioner fines UnitedHealthcare $500,000 for not demonstrating compliance with mental health parity laws, PROMO: BEYOND BARS ______________________________
Independent, nonprofit community radio.
KMRE brings you local news for Friday, 19 October. Good afternoon, I’m __David Korb____.
STORY: Tokitae died from diseases linked to aging, necropsy says
The necropsy done on Tokitae the orca was released on Tuesday, saying that she died from chronic diseases associated with aging.
Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (skal-li-CHUKH-ten-not), as she was named by the Lummi Nation, died in August after 53 years of captivity. The necropsy began just hours after Tokitae’s death when her body was trucked from Miami to the University of Georgia. Anthony Hillaire (hill-AIR), chairman of the Lummi Nation, said it was a shock that the Lummi were not consulted about the necropsy.
Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut had heart, lung, and kidney diseases, the necropsy stated. The progression of the chronic conditions ultimately led to her death, according to the report.
There are 75 southern resident orcas today. Orca L25, the world’s oldest known orca who is still alive and possibly approaching 100 years old, is believed to be her mother.
Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut was the last of the southern residents still in captivity. She was 57.
STORY: County Council Funding Supports Kitchen Upgrade in Rural ‘Food Desert’
The East Whatcom Regional Resource Center kitchen is getting a commercial license with the support of the County Council, and the American Rescue Plan Act.
East Whatcom is a USDA-designated food desert, and the Resource Center says the new funding will help them expand their food programs, including the Foothills Food Bank and senior meals. Additionally, the kitchen will now be able to help small-scale commercial businesses operate more effectively.
The project aligns with the goals of the recently passed Whatcom County Food System Plan, and the funding represents the first step in its implementation.
STORY: $1 million Mega Millions prize won in Ferndale remains unclaimed
Washington Lottery officials say a $1 million Mega Millions winning ticket purchased at the Silver Reef Casino in Ferndale is still unclaimed.
The state lottery has regional offices where winners can claim prizes or mail in tickets for smaller winnings, while larger prizes require an in-person appointment. Unclaimed prizes are eventually transferred to the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account each June.
Winners have 180 days to claim their prize.
STORY: Bellingham-based Rice Insurance facing multi-million-dollar fraud lawsuit
Rice Insurance and its previous owner, James Fritts, are facing a multi-million dollar fraud lawsuit in federal court.
After buying Rice Insurance in 2021, PCF Insurance Services retained Fritts to run the agency. The buyout agreement included lucrative bonuses based on Rice’s year-over-year growth.
PCF alleges that Fritts devised a plan to inflate the agency’s growth before the sale was finalized. According to PCF, he and others at Rice kept a secret set of books and used undisclosed amounts to pay company expenses and some employees. PCF claims it overpaid the earn-out bonuses by $19 million in the first year it owned Rice.
PCF says it became aware of the accounting discrepancies in July and began an investigation that Fritts tried to obstruct. Rice Insurance has not yet commented on the lawsuit.
STORY: Wash AG ordered to pay Value Village +$4 mil in legal fees
The state of Washington has been ordered to pay nearly $4.3 million in legal fees to the thrift store chain Savers Value Village.
A long-running court case, led by Attorney General Bob Ferguson, claimed Value Village engaged in deceptive marketing practices– but the state Supreme Court unanimously rejected the claims, deeming the lawsuit “needless.” Despite the ruling, the case did prompt changes in the company’s practices.
The money to cover the fees will come from a reserve account funded by awards from successful cases, rather than taxpayer funds. Savers Value Village, based in Bellevue, says it will donate over $1 million of the award to charity.
STORY: Insurance Commissioner fines UnitedHealthcare $500,000 for not demonstrating compliance with mental health parity laws
One of the largest insurers in Washington is facing a half a million dollar fine for failing to prove its operations are compliant with mental health coverage requirements.
Washington’s Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) says that UnitedHealthcare failed to provide adequate information about its administration of benefits for mental health as well as substance use disorders.
The OIC found that UnitedHealthcare denied a higher number of mental health and substance use disorder cases, compared to cases associated with a medical service. A similar pattern was found with reimbursement rates, potentially violating state and federal law.
Half of the $500,000 fine will be suspended as long as UnitedHealthcare meets a compliance plan, requiring the insurer work with the OIC on these issues for two years. This is the first time the insurance commissioner has acted against an insurer specifically for violating mental health parity requirements.
PROMO: BEYOND BARS
A sales tax increase designed to provide financing for a new jail facility in Whatcom County will be voted on in three weeks.
To provide more background on this important issue we are re-airing the interviews after the 5pm newscast.
Malora Christensen moved to Whatcom County 15 years ago. Today she’s the manager of both the GRACE and LEAD programs—two innovative jail-alternative strategies that are making a difference among the most marginalized people in our community.
MALORA AUDIO
Tune in after the 5pm news, read more at CascadiaDaily.com, and find a complete playlist of all the Beyond Bars interviews at kmre.org/beyondbars.
WX:
Today will be mostly cloudy with a 60% chance of rain. Highs of 65 will head down to a low of 53 tonight. Fog will come tomorrow morning, continuing into the weekend.
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers AnThu Nguyen (ANNE-two new-WIN) and Carlos Braga. Tune in to local news on KMRE weekdays at 3, 4 and 5 p-m. For news tips and feedback, send us an email at news@kmre.org or call 360-398-6150. KMRE is a nonprofit community radio station, powered by your donations. I’m __David Korb______________… thanks for listening.
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