Judge won’t dismiss case against BIAW

A lawsuit that alleges illegal governor’s race spending by Republican Dino Rossi’s biggest backer will go forward in King County Superior Court. But a judge said she won’t rule until Monday on whether Rossi will have to give a deposition before Election Day.

Judge Paris Kallas on Friday refused to dismiss the case at the request of the conservative Building Industry Association of Washington, which had argued she didn’t have jurisdiction.

Kallas also said an expedited schedule for the case may be warranted – a schedule that would have Rossi give a deposition before Election Day. However, an earlier order by a court commissioner putting the case on a fast track was improper because the commissioner didn’t give the builders group a chance to object, she said.

“The right to be heard and the right to object is the heart of due process,” she said.

After deeming the commissioner’s order improper, she said she would accept briefs from both sides and decide Monday whether to put the case on an expedited schedule. Rossi had been scheduled to give his deposition Wednesday.

Two former state Supreme Court justices – Robert Utter and Faith Ireland, both of whom are supporting incumbent Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire – filed the lawsuit against the BIAW, arguing that it illegally coordinated its fundraising with Rossi.

OLYMPIA

Rossi didn’t disclose $50,000 loan

For several years while he served in the state Senate, Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi didn’t tell state regulators about a $50,000 loan from a real estate investor – a misstep that Democrats are using now to question Rossi’s integrity.

Rossi acknowledged the error when it was brought to his attention by the Associated Press, which learned of the error from state Democrats.

But Rossi also characterized his failure to disclose the loan as a minor, unintentional oversight.

His campaign correctly pointed out that much larger real estate transactions were disclosed on his personal financial disclosure form, which government officials and candidates are required to file with state regulators.

LEWISTON

Permit for gold mine project halted

Work on a permit for a proposed open-pit gold mine near Elk City has stopped because the company is using an outdated plan, an official at the Bureau of Land Management says.

BLM field manager Stephanie Connolly also said Elk City Mining LLC has not reached an agreement to compensate the agency for developing an environmental impact statement.

“We are not moving on the project at all,” Connolly said Thursday at a meeting about the mine. “There is no (memorandum of understanding) between us and the proponent to move forward. We are not going to use taxpayers’ dollars to pay for it and they are not ready to enter into a cost recovery (agreement).”

She said the company’s goal of having the impact statement finished by 2010 likely will be significantly delayed.

Connolly said the company is working off a plan approved 18 years ago before the state updated its cyanide regulations in 2005. The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality told her the company would need to submit a new plan.

Company officials contend the cyanide heap leach process they want to use to extract gold from ore can be done safely without damaging the environment.

YAKIMA

Lake Roosevelt drawdown appeal filed

Two environmental groups have filed an appeal with the state Pollution Control Hearings Board to prevent a drawdown of Lake Roosevelt, the reservoir behind Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River.

Columbia Riverkeeper and the Center for Environmental Law and Policy argue that the decision to draw down the reservoir fails to consider the effects of climate change on future stream flows and other factors that affect water availability.

“This is poor water policy,” said Patrick Williams, CELP staff attorney. “There’s lots of issues with it, but ultimately we’d like to see a different outcome than releasing this water from behind the dam.”

The drawdown stems from a 2006 bill approved by the Legislature to find new water supplies for growing communities in the region, improve water supplies during times of drought, and increase stream flows to help salmon survive late in summer.

Under the bill, Lake Roosevelt would be drawn down by as much as 132,500 acre-feet. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover 1 acre 1 foot deep, or about 325,850 gallons.

BOISE

Board of Education corrects procedures

Idaho Legislative Services auditors say the state Board of Education has complied with their recommendations to correct procedures that led to accounting troubles within the agency last year.

Legislative Services auditors confirmed in July that the state Board of Education illegally used $1.54 million from its fiscal year 2008 budget to pay testing bills from last year.

The issue was the focus of intense scrutiny during the 2008 Idaho Legislature after the Associated Press reported the illegal payment last January.

A new report Friday shows the board that oversees public education in Idaho has since complied with recommendations to use funds within the time frame they are appropriated by state law.

The report also shows the state Department of Education has complied with recommendations auditors made in July after finding $766,012 of a federal special education grant was used to pay salaries and wages without proper documentation.

CHEYENNE, Wyo.

Wolves may lose federal protection

In a move that sparked sharp criticism from environmental groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Friday announced that it once again is proposing a plan that could end federal protections for gray wolves in Montana and Idaho while leaving them in place in Wyoming.

The federal agency’s push comes after U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy of Montana last week signed an order reinstating federal protections for the wolves in all three states. Ruling in a lawsuit brought by a coalition of environmental groups, the judge this summer barred the Fish and Wildlife Service from turning wolf management over to the states.

Molloy ruled that Wyoming’s management plan in particular wouldn’t give wolves adequate protection. Wyoming has proposed that wolves be classified as predators that could be shot on sight in much of the state.

Friday’s announcement by the Fish and Wildlife Service says the agency will take public comments until Nov. 28 on the same proposed wolf delisting rule the agency released early last year. The agency says there are now more than 1,400 wolves in the three states.

Bruce Salzburg, Wyoming attorney general, said Friday the FWS’s proposed 2007 rule would allow removing federal protections for wolves only in Montana and Idaho. The rule would also allow lifting federal protections for wolves in Wyoming, but only if the federal agency ruled that Wyoming’s management plan was adequate.

 

From wire reports