Man found guilty of firing at deputy
A pistol-wielding man who ran from a traffic stop on a snowy night last December and fired at a sheriff’s deputy was found guilty Tuesday of first-degree assault.
A jury delivered its verdict against Jason Lamar Mann in the courtroom of Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor.
Mann, 26, ran from Spokane County sheriff’s Deputy Jeffrey D. Thurman and hid in a yard near an east Spokane convenience store. Thurman fired at Mann, hitting him four times.
Mann testified during his trial that he felt pain from the gunshots and was trying to get rid of his pistol and surrender when his gun accidentally discharged. But law enforcement investigators found he’d fired the gun at least twice, according to court testimony.
Standoff closes South Side streets
An area of Spokane was blocked off for several hours Wednesday when an assault suspect initially refused to surrender to police.
The man was arrested after he exited a home in the area of Fifth Avenue and Hatch Road early Wednesday evening.
Hatch was closed between Fifth and Seventh avenues. Fifth was closed between Scott and Sherman streets.
Spokane valley
Burglar cleans out espresso stand
Someone broke into an East Sprague Avenue espresso stand overnight Monday and took nearly everything but the sink.
The owner called police to Grinders Espresso, 13325 E. Sprague Ave., about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to Spokane Valley police. The woman told Officer Jim Ebel that she was in the process of moving the business to another location and had stopped to check on it.
She found that someone had broken the lock on a window and entered the building.
The burglar stole two electric blenders, two coffee grinders, three stainless steel 20-ounce mixing cups, a stainless steel cooler and the store’s video surveillance camera.
The loss was estimated at $6,000.
Spokane Valley police ask anyone with information regarding the burglary to call (509) 242-TIPS.
Bellingham
Woman’s death investigated
An autopsy showed that a woman who was found dead near a burning boat on a Lummi Reservation road was dead before the fire started.
Whatcom County Medical Examiner Gary Goldfogel is waiting for test results that may determine how the woman died. He’s also trying to identify her.
She was badly burned in the July 24 fire and the body was found by firefighters.
Boise
Sali proposes tax credit for gas
Idaho congressman Bill Sali has introduced legislation to give every American a tax credit of $500 per adult or $250 per dependent on their tax returns each year, to respond to high gas prices.
“This is a national emergency,” Sali said in a statement. “Congress must act to provide some kind of relief to the millions of Americans hit hard by skyrocketing fuel prices.”
The bill, which Sali’s election challenger, Democrat Walt Minnick, dismissed as a “stunt,” includes no estimates of its cost. Sali spokesman Wayne Hoffman said, “The tax credit itself is $70 billion, but when you consider the economic stimulation from this package it would basically pay for itself.”
Minnick’s campaign spokesman, John Foster, disputed that and estimated such a credit would cost $100 billion. “Middle-class tax cuts are essential, but there is a better way to accomplish them than adding $100 billion to the largest deficit in history,” he said.
Campgrounds’ water turned off
A system that supplies drinking water to six campgrounds in the Sawtooth National Forest has been shut down because of potential contamination.
The campgrounds are in the Minidoka Ranger District, one of three districts that make up the Sawtooth National Forest.
Drinking water at six campgrounds in Southern Idaho was cut off Wednesday. The campsites are in the southern region of the Minidoka Ranger District, which is based in Burley, Idaho.
The sites will remain open to visitors and amenities, such as bathrooms, are still available. The water system won’t be turned back on until testing shows it is “safe and free of contamination,” the District said.
Ex-tenant could be source of mercury
Federal environmental officials say a former tenant of a Boise apartment complex may be the source for the mercury that prompted a full-scale cleanup still under way.
Environmental Protection Agency crews began removing the hazardous metal last week after children were found playing with it outside the complex.
Officials estimate they have recovered between 12 and 14 ounces of mercury, and on Tuesday began ripping up a concrete driveway and sidewalk to lower mercury levels.
Mike Sibley, the EPA’s on-site coordinator, said the search continues for the former tenant neighbors say had mercury.
Vancouver, B.C.
Rock slide blocks road indefinitely
A massive rock slide has blocked the only direct route between Vancouver and Whistler, the main corridor for the thousands of people who will travel between the two main venues for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
An entire cliff face collapsed onto the Sea-to-Sky Highway late Tuesday night, stopping traffic on the busy thoroughfare.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said provincial Ministry of Highways officials were at the site, determining the stability of the remaining cliff still perched over the highway.
Transportation Ministry spokesman Jeff Knight said Wednesday that the road would be closed until further notice. The rocks crashed down just after 11 p.m., covering the north- and southbound lanes near Porteau Cove, south of Squamish. The indefinite closure leaves just one route from the Whistler and Howe Sound area to Vancouver, a seven- to eight-hour drive through Duffy Lake.
Seattle
Asteroid named after UW professor
The Planetary Science Institute has named a recently discovered asteroid after University of Washington Aeronautics and Astronautics professor Keith Holsapple.
He didn’t discover 20360 Holsapple but is being recognized for his long record of research on asteroids.
Lacey, Wash.
Letter carrier campaigns for kilts
An Olympia letter carrier is campaigning to allow kilts as part of the Postal Service uniform.
Dean Peterson has the support of the letter carriers union in Washington and Oregon. But he got a cool reception at last week’s National Association of Letter Carriers in Boston.
Peterson said says wearing a kilt is “like a breeze blowing through the house.” The 48-year-old Peterson is 6 feet tall and weighs 250 pounds. He owns 15 kilts and would like to wear one on the job to prevent chafing.
Changing the Postal Service uniform requires union approval and testing for waterproofing and sun screening.