Bank robbery suspect arrested
A 23-year-old man was arrested for first-degree robbery Tuesday night after he allegedly stole an undisclosed amount of money from a north Spokane bank around 5:15 p.m.
Police say Kristopher M. Turner walked into the Bank of America near the corner of Wellesley and Division streets, indicated he had a gun and fled on foot after taking the money.
Spokane police officers located Turner at the corner of Wellesley and Nevada, and he took off running northbound. Officer Kevin King chased and detained Turner, Spokane police Officer Brian Eckersley said.
Witnesses identified Turner as the alleged robber, and police arrested him.
Officers remained in the area looking for a gun, Eckersley said. Police recovered the money.
Anti-union efforts alleged at hospital
Employees from two Portland hospitals demonstrated on the Sacred Heart Medical Center campus Tuesday morning, decrying what they say is tampering and intimidation of union organizing efforts.
The demonstration, organized by the Service Employees International Union 49, was aimed at getting the attention of members of the Sisters of Providence, who were in Spokane for a religious meeting.
It’s the latest attempt at meeting with leaders of the religious order that operates the large hospital system, said SEIU spokeswoman Shauna Ballo. The union said it wants an agreement with Providence about a fair union election process.
The sisters declined to meet with the employees, who staged a peaceful demonstration by singing songs along Ninth Avenue in front of a Providence administration building.
Colleen Wadden, a spokeswoman for Seattle-based Providence, said the union organizing issue should be handled at the local hospital level.
Post Falls
Police nab men wanted in theft
Two Yakima Valley men wanted for felony grand theft were arrested Monday in Post Falls.
Juan Manuel Maciel, 27, and Matthew Clayton Scott, 28, allegedly broke the window of a vehicle parked at the Highlands Golf Course on July 29 and took a purse containing cash, credit cards, three checkbooks and a Social Security card. Within an hour of the theft the suspects allegedly withdrew more than $650 from an ATM with a stolen credit card, and purchased new outfits at a Macy’s department store before the victim canceled her card, police said.
On Monday, a Post Falls police officer traveling on Seltice Way spotted two men matching those shown in a store security video. Maciel and Scott were arrested and charged with several counts of felony grand theft and misdemeanors. Maciel was wanted on a Washington Department of Corrections warrant.
Pullman
WSU researcher joins world study
Washington State University wheat researcher Stephen Jones will participate in a $9 million multination project funded by the European Commission.
The project aims to improve the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers in food, feed and biofuel crops. In a press release, Jones said developing traits within wheat that can help the plant absorb more nitrogen could assist in cutting farmers’ costs and curbing the amount of farm-chemical runoff.
Jones envisions the research helping both organic and conventional farming methods.
Researchers in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Bulgaria, Germany, Switzerland and China will participate in the program. Jones is the only researcher from the United States participating.