Student flies from London amid chaos

Eastern Washington University student Neleigh Olson picked a bad time to wrap up her summer backpacking trip in Europe. And a bad airport.

But how could she have predicted the chaos that descended on London Heathrow Airport on Thursday after the discovery of a terrorist plan to detonate bombs aboard London-to-U.S. flights?

Olson got her first inkling of trouble on the morning subway ride to the airport, when PA announcements told all Heathrow employees they needed to attend a pre-shift meeting.

Then she noticed no one going through security at the airport had carry-on luggage.

And then there were the pat-downs of everyone. Even babies.

“I almost didn’t take the flight,” Olson said. “My legs were shaking so bad.”

Aboard her plane from London to Amsterdam where she was to connect to a flight to Vancouver, B.C., Olson watched the flight attendant close empty overhead bins.

“It was a hollow click, hollow click, hollow click – just so ominous,” she said.

But once she landed in Amsterdam, Olson said the panic began to melt away, and as she made her way to Vancouver and landed to meet her mom and boyfriend at the airport, she felt even better.

By Friday, she was walking around downtown Seattle, and now she’s driving back to Spokane.

Born again

A new movie explores “Who Killed the Electric Car?” but local inventor/entrepreneur Rick Woodbury is working to resurrect it.

His electric Tango car is driven by actor George Clooney, and Woodbury drove his own Tango on Friday over to River Park Square for the opening of “Who Killed the Electric Car?”

Woodbury reports giving the movie’s director, Chris Paine, a “white-knuckle” ride in the Tango in California, and says that Paine was so impressed that he shot a lot of footage for possible inclusion with the movie’s DVD extras.

“He couldn’t believe the attention it got,” Woodbury said.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment may include the material on the DVD, but it’s not a certainty yet, said Mark Roper, Sony’s manager of DVD content and programming.

“Chris shot the footage but is not sure if he will be able to make a piece out of it or not,” wrote Roper in an e-mail. “And until I actually see it, I don’t know if the piece would be legally cleared for our use.”

We’ll have to wait and see.

Racking up the miles

North Idaho’s fledgling Citylink bus system recently hit the 500,000-mile mark and has carried more than 110,000 passengers since September of last year.

The system, a joint effort of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and Kootenai County, transports people in an 80-mile area between Post Falls and DeSmet. Communities served include Coeur d’Alene, Hayden, Post Falls, DeSmet, Tensed, Plummer and Worley.

Rides are free.

For more information, visit www.idahocitylink.com

Foot off the gas

Spokesman-Review colleague Bert Caldwell cautions that Idaho State Police have been lying in wait for drivers cruising down Interstate 90 on the west side of Lookout Pass.

On the return drive from a couple of trips to Montana, he said, he saw swarms of state police stopping speeding cars just past an overpass where another police officer was clocking speeds.

And those who thought they were past the speed trap and could put the pedal to the metal? They were picked up a mile down the road by another state police officer.

You’ve been warned.

Toasted? You’re toast

Washington state and local law enforcement launch another “Drive hammered, get nailed” impaired driving crackdown Friday.

The Washington Traffic Safety Commission is funding an extra 327 patrol hours from Friday through Labor Day weekend. The reason? Impaired drivers killed 1,260 people in Washington from 2000-2004.

Fair warning

The Spokane Police Department’s traffic unit is no longer advertising one specific patrolling location. Instead, officers are placing an increased emphasis on responding to citizen traffic concerns.

The traffic hotline program will place three officers in a position to address 10 complaints apiece each week.

So, for instance, the reckless motorcycle rider someone complained about racing up and down 42nd Avenue Street had better watch out this week.

You can reach the city of Spokane’s traffic hotline at 625-4150.

Slow Going

I-90

I-90 is reduced to two lanes in each direction between Division and Maple. Many nights it will be further reduced to one lane in each direction. The Monroe/Lincoln ramps are closed, as are the westbound Browne Street on-ramp and the eastbound Maple on-ramp and eastbound Division exit. The speed limit has been reduced to 45 mph. No changing lanes.

North Spokane

Monroe Street is under construction from Francis to Wall. Expect delays.

Bridge work on Mount Spokane Park Drive may cause delays of up to 20 minutes this week at milepost 9.6.

Euclid Avenue repairs will cause lane restrictions between Haven and Lee this week.

Rutter Parkway is open on a gravel road with a 25 mph speed limit and single lane traffic. Flaggers will also be directing single-lane traffic most days on Highway 291 near Rutter Parkway and Charles Road from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Expect long delays.

Crestline Street is closed from Lincoln Road to Francis Avenue. Lincoln Road is closed from Napa Street to Crestline. Detours are in place.

West Dennison-Chattaroy Road is closed to all but local traffic between Highway 395 and Perry Road.

South Spokane

Highway 195 construction between Rosalia and Plaza will reduce traffic to one lane between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Bernard Street is closed from 14th to 29th avenues. Traffic is detoured to Grand Boulevard and Lincoln Street.

Work on 37th Avenue closes it from Bernard Street to Grand Boulevard. Several nearby streets are also closed.

Freya Street reconstruction will close traffic to all but local access from Hartson and 11th Avenue and from 18th and 37th avenues. Detours are in place.

Regal Road is under construction from 57th to the Palouse Highway. Expect delays.

Spokane sweeping

Crews will sweep this week in the northwest area bounded by Monroe, Ash, Wellesley and Johansen Road; the northeast from Mission to Euclid and Ruby to Hamilton; and the south side in the area bounded by Hartson, 29th Avenue, Crestline and Ray/Thor.

Please move cars off the streets. For more information, call (509) 456-2666.

Spokane Valley/Liberty Lake

Adams Road is closed from Fourth Avenue to Eighth Avenue.

Sprague Avenue is closed from Harmony Road to Hodges Road through Aug. 25.

Montgomery is closed from Long to Riverway through Friday.

Broadway Avenue overlay work is under way between Bates Road and Sullivan Road. Expect lane restrictions.

Barker Road is closed from Boone to Mission for road widening.

Idaho

Prairie Avenue remains under construction between Ramsey and Huetter.

The Government Way bridge in Coeur d’Alene is closed to traffic.

Construction on Lancaster Road between Government Way and Strahorn may cause delays.