August 18, 2009 in City The five-way race in Southeastern Washington’s 9th Legislative District has three candidates knotted near the top, with the top two shifting as the different counties report their results.

August 18, 2009 in City Spokane County residents overwhelmingly agreed to continue paying an extra penny on each $10 purchase to help pay for law enforcement costs. Also: results for Cheney, Medical Lake, Fairfield, Rockford, … 2

August 18, 2009 in Idaho BOISE — The mother of an 8-year-old boy found dead in an Idaho canal and her live-in boyfriend have been indicted on first-degree murder charges by an Ada County grand …

August 18, 2009 in Idaho For nearly a decade, Idaho has offered to guarantee bonds issued by its local school districts to win them a better interest rate, save local property taxpayers a few dollars …

August 18, 2009 in Idaho A nonprofit group on Tuesday launched a new “government transparency” Web site designed to give anyone who’s interested details about state and local government spending in Idaho, from a mayor’s …

August 18, 2009 in City A kidnapping reported in north Spokane turned out to be a dispute between family members headed to visit an inmate at the Spokane County Jail. 1

August 18, 2009 in Idaho Bruce Sweeney, who served in the Legislature for 20 years and as a member of the Idaho Transportation Board, died Tuesday after battling bone cancer. He was 77.

August 18, 2009 in Nation/World Faced with an unexpected delay, health officials are trying to counter new problems with swine flu vaccine production including a logjam at factories that put the precious liquid into syringes.

August 18, 2009 in Business, City The unemployment rate in Spokane County dropped to 8.2 percent in July, from 8.9 percent in June. That looks like a sign of recovery, but that might be wishful thinking. 2

August 18, 2009 in Sports Brett Favre is coming back for more. The 39-year-old quarterback turned his back on retirement for the second time in as many years, agreeing Tuesday to play for the Vikings.

August 18, 2009 Political columnist Robert Novak, a diehard conservative and pugilistic debater who became a household face on TV, has died after a battle with brain cancer.

August 18, 2009 in Nation/World Twenty-nine species in more than 20 states — from a rare beach-dwelling plant in Yellowstone National Park to a caddis fly in Nebraska — may need federal protections to avoid …

  August 18, 2009 in Idaho Read the Bonner County law enforcement log for Aug. 17, 2009.

August 18, 2009 in Region Got a secret? Feel free to share it with Curtis Eldred. He knows how to keep them. The 61-year-old Yakima resident told nobody but his mother he was a millionaire …

August 18, 2009 in Outdoors, City, Idaho Idaho fishery managers expect more than 28,000 fall chinook to cross Lower Granite Dam in neighboring eastern Washington on their return from the Pacific Ocean, which would make it the …

August 18, 2009 in City, Idaho Hot, sunny weather with highs in the upper 80s to lower 90s returns to the Inland Northwest today and is likely to continue through the weekend.

August 18, 2009 in Nation/World on Page A1 Several leading Democrats voiced concern Monday about an apparent White House shift on health care reform, objecting to signals from senior administration officials that they would abandon the idea of …

August 18, 2009 in City on Page A1 Today is the last day for Washington voters to cast their ballots in local primary elections. Cities and towns as well as school, fire, water and sewer districts are whittling …

August 18, 2009 in Nation/World on Page A2 PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – The first hurricane of this year’s Atlantic season gathered force far out to sea late Monday, while weaker storm systems drenched the northeastern Caribbean and the Florida …