WSP reports fewer holiday DUI arrests
Just five motorists were arrested by Washington State Patrol troopers in the Spokane area for allegedly driving drunk on New Year’s Eve and no alcohol-related collisions were reported.
Trooper Mark Baker said the handful of DUI arrests is far fewer than the number of arrests troopers make on any given Friday or Saturday night.
“People are starting the year off right,” Baker said.
Idaho State Police made two DUI arrests in North Idaho, dispatchers said.
– Taryn Hecker
Spokane County
Medical services charity to get funds
A charity will get $195,000 in federal funding for providing medical services for Spokane County’s uninsured and low-income residents.
The government money is the first federal appropriation for Project Access, a charity formed in 2003 by physician members of the Spokane County Medical Society.
Since Project Access was started, physicians and hospitals in the area have donated more than $12 million worth of medical care to struggling residents, according to the group’s calculations.
Thousands of people have been served by Project Access, Executive Director John Driscoll said in a press release.
Information on Project Access or how to enroll in the program is available by calling (509) 532-8877.
– Taryn Hecker
Sandpoint
Developer envisions 105-slip marina
A development company wants to build a resort community on Lake Pend Oreille in North Idaho that will include a 105-slip marina and a float plane dock.
Pend Oreille Bonner Development wants about 42 acres rezoned from rural to recreation so it can develop the area with 109 residential units.
The Bonner County Planning and Zoning Commission has scheduled a public hearing on Jan. 8 to consider the proposal.
The development company says it will install an upgraded septic system and make road alterations to improve traffic flow.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game says the development could cause problems for threatened bull trout in Trestle Creek.
Biologists say the creek is an important spawning stream.
– Associated Press
Spokane
Council to discuss tower, annexation
The Spokane City Council starts the new year this evening with a special meeting at which it will consider a couple of 2007’s thornier issues: a dispute over a proposed condo development overlooking Peaceful Valley and an annexation along North Division.
The council normally meets on Mondays, but scheduled this week’s meeting for today because of the New Year’s holiday.
The evening legislative session starts at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers, on the lower level of City Hall.
Votes on two emergency ordinances are expected.
One involves a new agreement in the dispute over a condominium tower along Riverside Avenue.
The other involves a proposed revenue-sharing agreement with the county for taxes collected in a 120-acre section west of Division, north of Francis and south of Cascade Way, which the council voted to annex last June.
– Jim Camden