January 30, 2009 in City A $3 million jury verdict in Spokane is sending a message to Washington counties, ending their practice of flat-fee contracts for public defenders, legal experts said Friday.

January 30, 2009 in Region President Barack Obama declared a federal disaster Friday for the flooding, mudslides and avalanches in Washington state earlier this month. 1

January 30, 2009 Attracting buyers was more difficult last year for Kootenai County residents who had their homes for sale.

January 30, 2009 in City Looking for browsing materials? Check out these recent hand-picked links from Spokesman.com blogs.

January 30, 2009 in Region Washington’s public employee pension fund lost about a fifth of its value in 2008, bumping up the unfunded liability for the oldest pension plans and likely requiring workers to pay …

  January 30, 2009 in Idaho Read the Coeur d’Alene Police Department log for Jan. 29, 2009.

January 30, 2009 in City State troopers will be keeping an extra eye on Super Bowl XLIII partiers who imbibe then drive in Washington, Idaho and Montana.

January 30, 2009 in Idaho BOISE – Idaho state lawmakers made it final Friday: They won’t be accepting a pay raise this year. The 33-0 vote in the Senate to reject the scheduled 5 percent …

January 30, 2009 in City, Idaho, Region The acronym list at Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services Web site runs 53 pages. OUCH. The acronym list for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare stretches 37 …

January 30, 2009 in Idaho The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is predicting this year’s return of salmon will be the largest in eight years.

January 30, 2009 in Nation/World, Region U.S. Customs and Border Protection is preparing to fill 11,000 positions nationally this year and Blaine, Wash., is one of 15 locations across the country hosting a “National Career Day” …

January 30, 2009 in Idaho A district judge will submit a written decision on whether 23-year-old John Delling is competent to stand trial in the shooting death of a Boise man police say he met …

January 30, 2009 in City More than 35 vehicles have been vandalized throughout Spokane since Jan. 24.

January 30, 2009 in Nation/World Congress is going to take another crack at delaying the analog TV shutdown by four months.

January 30, 2009 in Region There were no immediate reports of damage from a 4.5 magnitude earthquake that rattled the Seattle and Puget Sound area early Friday, but it was a reminder the urban area …

January 30, 2009 in Idaho Spring enrollment is up 1 percent at the University of Idaho, the second straight semester of gains after five years of slipping student numbers.

  January 30, 2009 in Idaho Read the Bonner County law enforcement log for Jan. 29, 2009.

January 30, 2009 in City Patchy freezing fog has been reported throughout the Inland Northwest this morning, however, traffic has not been impacted, officials said. The haze is expected to lift no later than noon …

January 30, 2009 in City on Page A1 OLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire once was asked by a reporter if there was anything she didn’t like about the job. Yes, she said. She hated getting the news that …

January 30, 2009 in Nation/World on Page A1 SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The state senators stood one by one in a hushed chamber Thursday to call Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich a liar and a hypocrite who put his ego …