In brief: I-90 resurfacing starts

A $6 million Interstate 90 resurfacing project began Monday evening and will run from the Washington state line through Coeur d’Alene.

To minimize the impact on travelers, work will be done between 7 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

Traffic will be reduced to one lane in the areas where work is being done. The speed limit in the construction zone will be slowed to 55 mph.

The Idaho Department of Transportation said the project should wrap up by Nov. 1. Some 40,000 motorists a day use the corridor.

Poe Asphalt and Paving of Post Falls won the contract for the job.

Informational open house

If you want to weigh in on the proposed roadway parallel to U.S. Highway 95 and state Highway 41 in Kootenai County, drop in at an informational open house Wednesday between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the multipurpose room at Post Falls High School, 2832 E. Poleline Ave.

The Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization has come up with two proposals.

Under one idea, the roadway would run generally along Huetter Road from Interstate 90 to U.S. 95 and state Highway 53.

Under the other plan, the roadway would run generally along Greensferry Road from I-90 and then would follow the Union Pacific/Spokane International Railroad right of way connecting to U.S. 95 and Highway 53.

Public comments will be accepted at the session. Comments also may be sent to kmpo@kmpo.net; mailed to KMPO, 221 W. First Ave., Suite 310, Spokane 99201; or given by phone at (800) 698-1927.

Fundraising auction

A private dinner for six. A cruise for four on Lake Coeur d’Alene. And a basket of new books.

These are a few of about 34 items in a silent auction to benefit the Dirne Community Health Center. The Hot Summer Nights fundraiser will be Tuesday from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Seltice Center Shops.

Sponsoring the event is the new Women Making Business Alliances group. The event is free and open to all.

Stop by and enjoy a free chair massage, a spa treatment, balloon sculptures, light hors d’oeuvres, a chocolate and caramel fountain and music.

A white canopy will protect guests from the sun. Vendors will set up outdoors, while shopkeepers will welcome visitors inside the mall.

Florists, restaurants, sculptors, a knife manufacturer, water parks and bakeries, are among those donating auction items.

For more information, call Connie O’Neal at Floral Designs at 773-3555.

– From staff reports