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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Region in brief: Bomb scare clears Broadway, leads to gas leak discovery

The Spokesman-Review

Police responding to a suspicious device found in a duplex Saturday closed off Broadway Avenue for several hours between Chestnut and Cochran streets in the West Central neighborhood.

Although no explosives were detected, officers said hazardous waste likely linked to methamphetamine production was found. A disposal crew from the state Ecology Department was called in to remove it.

A contractor for a landlord was cleaning out a duplex unit at 2218 West Broadway Ave. when he found a heavy bucket with wires hanging out of it. Suspicious of the device because the landlord had just evicted the tenant, he called police at 10:45 a.m.

The bomb squad arrived just after noon. No evacuations were ordered, but police asked neighbors to stay inside until the bomb squad had finished its work. A nearby grocer closed for about an hour, police said.

The bomb squad determined the bucket was not an explosive device, Spokane police Sgt. Brad Thoma said at the scene. But Spokane Fire Department responders discovered a gas leak in the duplex, and people in the adjacent apartment were moved out until the leak could be fixed.

– Karen Dorn Steele

Trial ordered for lawsuit alleging malpractice

An appeals court has reversed the dismissal of a medical malpractice lawsuit, ordering a trial for a woman who sued a Spokane neurosurgeon after her husband was paralyzed following spinal surgery in 2000 and died from complications.

The Washington Court of Appeals in Spokane said Spokane County Superior Court Judge Neal Q. Rielly erred in dismissing the case of Norma Elber against Dr. Jeffrey J. Larson and Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Rielly dismissed the case on technical grounds, concluding that the plaintiff’s expert witness failed establish an adequate basis for the case. The state Appeals Court disagreed and has sent the case back to Spokane County Superior Court for trial.

– Karen Dorn Steele

Boise

Hailey attorney named Democratic Party leader

Hailey lawyer and former attorney general candidate Keith Roark has been elected chairman of the Idaho Democratic Party.

Members of the party’s Central Committee voted Friday to elect Roark, who succeeds former Idaho Rep. Larry Stallings, who stepped down Dec. 20.

Roark, 58, ran unsuccessfully for attorney general against Republican Lawrence Wasden in 2002.

Roark is the senior and managing partner of the Roark Law Firm in Hailey. He previously served as Blaine County prosecuting attorney and mayor of the city of Hailey.

He defeated Jerry Brady, candidate for Idaho governor in 2006, in the secret ballot for party chairman.

– Associated Press