In brief: Parents charged in toddler’s death

A Twin Falls couple were charged Wednesday with involuntary manslaughter after their 2-year-old daughter – reportedly left alone at home with her 11-month-old brother – died from injuries she suffered in a house fire.

Jasmine Gorbenko was flown to a burn center in Salt Lake City after she was rescued from the burning home Tuesday. Police Capt. Matthew Hicks said the toddler died Wednesday morning. Her brother, Emmanuel Gorbenko, was taken to St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries, Hicks said. The boy remained in the hospital Wednesday.

The children’s mother, 28-year-old Inna Gorbenko, and their father, 31-year-old Stepan Kutran, were charged with involuntary manslaughter in Twin Falls County Magistrate Court. Police said the parents told them that they left the children home alone while running errands.

A neighbor reported the fire Tuesday afternoon, and firefighters pulled the children from the home. Investigators were still trying to determine the cause of the fire, Hicks said.

Gorbenko and Kutran were being held on $100,000 bond.

Spokane

City attorney Craven to resign

The city of Spokane’s top attorney will resign effective March 31.

City Attorney Jim Craven said he will return to the law firm he helped found in 1978 – Evans, Craven and Lackie – and pursue research and teaching at Pepperdine University in California.

Craven was appointed by former Mayor Dennis Hession in May 2006. Craven said that Mayor Mary Verner’s election did not affect his decision and that he likely would have resigned even if Hession had remained his boss.

“I’m not getting any younger,” Craven, 59, said in an interview.

Craven occasionally has taught Saturday or weeklong sessions at Pepperdine while serving as city attorney. He said he hopes to to finish a master’s degree he started at Pepperdine about nine years ago.

The city attorney job took some getting used to for someone coming from the private sector, Craven said.

“It’s frustrating for an outsider, but I came to be comfortable with it,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed getting this perspective.”

Verner appointed Assistant City Attorney Pat Dalton to serve as interim city attorney.

BOISE

Adjudication bills clear Idaho Senate

Three bills to scale back the proposed North Idaho water rights adjudication and trim its fees overwhelmingly passed the Idaho Senate on Wednesday.

SB 1418, deleting the northernmost basin from the adjudication, passed 33-1; SB 1352, cutting fees for claims and sharply scaling back fees for Avista Corp., passed 34-0; and SB 1354, making adjudication optional for all domestic and stock water rights holders, passed 33-1. Sen. Joe Stegner, R-Lewiston, cast the only “no” votes.

“All of this effort to delay what I think is inevitable is short-sighted,” Stegner said afterward. “You can’t deal with the upcoming water issues of Idaho until you know where the water is and who’s claiming it.”

Sen. Chuck Coiner, R-Twin Falls, said the state must warn North Idaho domestic water rights holders that if they don’t adjudicate their claims, they could face court fights if their claims are challenged.

“If they choose to opt out … they are going to have to bear the responsibility of defending their water right if they have a challenge, and it’s going to be a lot more than the $50 for the fee,” Coiner said.

The three bills now move to the House.

–From staff

and wire reports