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Oregon man found guilty of murder after DNA links him to 1980 cold case

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Oregon man found guilty of murder after DNA links him to 1980 cold case

A man living in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, has been found guilty in the 1980 cold case murder of a 19-year-old college student.

Multnomah County Circuit Judge Amy Baggio on Friday found Robert Plympton, 60, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Barbara Mae Tucker, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release on Monday.

MARYLAND POLICE ID SECOND SUSPECT IN DECADES-OLD COLD CASE KILLING OF TEEN GIRL

Plympton was not convicted of rape or sexual abuse because prosecutors failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it happened while she was still alive, the judge said. A medical examiner determined Tucker had been sexually assaulted and beaten to death.

In 2021, a genealogist with Parabon Nanolabs using DNA technology identified Plympton as likely linked to the DNA in the case. Detectives with the Gresham Police Department who found Plympton living in Troutdale, began conducting surveillance and collected a piece of chewing gum he had spit onto the ground, according to prosecutors.

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Police arrested Plympton after the Oregon State Police Crime Lab determined the DNA profile developed from the gum matched the DNA profile developed from swabs taken from Tucker’s body, which had been preserved.

An Oregan man has been found guilty after DNA technology linked him to a 1980s cold case murder of a college student. He is set to be sentenced in June. (Fox News)

Tucker was expected at a night class at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham on Jan. 15, 1980. Witnesses said she had been seen running out of a bushy, wooded area on campus and that a man came out of the area and led her back to campus. A student found Tucker’s body the next day near a campus parking lot.

Multnomah County Chief Deputy District Attorney Kirsten Snowden said there was no evidence that Tucker and Plympton knew each other, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

Plympton said he was innocent and that he didn’t match the description of a man seen pulling her into the bushes.

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He is scheduled to be sentenced in June.

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San Francisco, CA

San Francisco Celebrates One Year of Sunset Dunes – Streetsblog San Francisco

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San Francisco Celebrates One Year of Sunset Dunes – Streetsblog San Francisco


A “PloverFest” party was held Sunday to celebrate the first anniversary of Sunset Dunes, the two-mile linear park along San Francisco’s coastline. When Sunset Dunes opened, it made history as California’s largest pedestrianization project, measuring 50 acres and stretching from Sloat Boulevard to Lincoln Way.

Since then, it’s become a vibrant gathering place where people of all ages come to play, relax, bike, skate, walk, run, and connect by the coast.

“Thousands of people came out to Sunset Dunes for PloverFest to celebrate and listen to music with neighbors and friends,” said Lucas Lux with Friends of Sunset Dunes. “This energy is yet another sign of how beloved the park has become,”

More from S.F. Rec and Park:

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Over the past 12 months, approximately 300 volunteers planted more than 2,200 dune grasses, strengthening the shoreline against sea level rise. Birding excursions, walking tours and dog stewardship education helped community members connect with nature. Birdwatchers documented 87 species, including nesting white-crowned sparrows.

Sunset Dunes hosted 20 permitted events in its first year, drawing large crowds, including nearly 13,000 participants at the Skechers Hot Chocolate Run, 9,500 runners at the San Francisco Half Marathon, and 3,000 Halloween revelers at the Great Hauntway event.

At the same time, the park is used regularly for everyday recreation and gathering. Survey data indicates one in four visitors lives in the Sunset.

Rec and Park also conducted a broad community outreach process in the park’s first year, hosting open houses and stakeholder meetings and gathering input from more than 3,000 people. That work will continue in the second year, with a focus on delivering community-requested improvements, adding new amenities, and engaging the public in shaping the park’s future.

Of course, there’s still a shrinking contingent of obstructionists who will never accept the outcome of 2024’s Prop. K, which converted this stretch of Great Highway into a park. Yes, it cost Supervisor Joel Engardio his job. And, yes, the “controversy” continues. But given the park’s success, the remaining opposition, loud as it may be, is in fact petering out.

“We’re looking forward to celebrating Sunset Dunes’s success for many more years to come,” said Lux.

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Be sure to check out additional coverage of the anniversary in the SF Chron.



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Denver, CO

Is snow in Denver still possible this season?

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Is snow in Denver still possible this season?


Metro Denver residents will see rain through the middle of May — probably not enough to reverse the drought — and any snow during this week’s cool spell likely will stay in Colorado’s mountains and foothills, according to the National Weather Service.

But Colorado and Denver have a history of May snowstorms, and “it can happen,” NWS meteorologist Russell Danielson said on Monday.

“There’s a slight, very small possibility of a few flakes falling overnight tonight with no accumulation expected,” Danielson said. “And, then, there’s another very slight chance Thursday night – again, with no accumulation expected,” he said.

The cooler weather that reached the Colorado Front Range on Sunday morning is expected to bring significant snow at elevations above 6,000 feet. In metro Denver, temperatures peaked at around 53 degrees on Monday, and NWS forecast afternoon thunderstorms.

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In the mountains, snow showers will create hazardous travel conditions — poor visibility and slippery roads, especially on passes at higher elevations, NWS forecasters said. They issued a winter weather advisory for the north central mountains and anticipated mountain snow accumulations up to 8 inches by Tuesday morning.

Looking ahead, meteorologists predicted moisture in metro Denver over the next two weeks, shifting to warmer conditions through the end of July. That may bring relief after an exceptionally dry winter and early spring. Colorado mountain snowpack ranked as the lowest in recent history, and Denver temperatures in March – typically a month that brings heavy snow — broke records, topping 80 degrees.

“We have varying levels of severe to exceptional drought across the Denver area and the Front Range mountains,” Danielson said.

“Through about May 10, we expect multiple rounds of precipitation. That can, hopefully, lead to a little green-up,” he said.  “But, then, from the second half of May through the end of July, it will look particularly hot and dry. We’re still expecting an above-normal fire weather season.”

On Sunday, up to a quarter inch of rain fell on parts of north metro Denver.

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Seattle, WA

Palestinian terrorist released in deal applauded at Seattle cultural festival | The Jerusalem Post

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Palestinian terrorist released in deal applauded at Seattle cultural festival | The Jerusalem Post


Seattle Palestinian cultural festival participants applauded an al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades terrorist, released as part of a ransom for hostages held in Gaza, as he was introduced as the keynote speaker at a Saturday event.

Speaking by video call from Egypt, according to Instagram stories published by Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return at the University of Washington (SUPER UW), Raed Abduljalil told participants of the Palestinian Cultural Resistance Festival that their actions were “an essential part of the battle we are waging against the occupation and its supporters.”

“Stay vigilant, for homelands are protected only by their conscious and aware. And I tell you today: I am more convinced than ever that I chose the right path,” the Fatah-affiliated terrorist said, according to SUPER UW. “Until we meet, God willing, under the sky of a liberated homeland.”

Abduljalil was released last February after serving 23 years of a life sentence in prison, according to Quds News and Wattan, responsible for terrorist attacks that resulted in deaths and injuries.

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In promotional materials for the event organized by SUPER UW, Nidal Seattle, and Seattle University Students for Justice in Palestine, Abduljalil was described as a “freed Palestinian political prisoner and author” who had met and “struggled alongside” arch terrorist Marwan Barghouti and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) cell commander Walid Daqqa.

“Please don’t miss this important opportunity to learn not only the horrific conditions of the zionist prisons, but of the incredible work and teachings of the compass of the Palestinian resistance: its beloved prisoners,” Seattle University SJP in an April 12 Instagram post.

The program was held at the Cherry Street Village interfaith community center, which, four days prior, hosted a SUPER UW fundraiser for Lebanon and a screening of a documentary about “armed resistance” against Israel.

SUPER UW on April 15 told supporters it was a “crucial time to raise funds to materially support as well as deepen our understandings of the Lebanese resistance.” These remarks led the Department of Justice to announce on Tuesday that it was investigating UW’s handling of antisemitism.

SUPER UW and Nidal Seattle are affiliated with a network of organizations tied to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States.

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