In brief: H1N1 case confirmed in North Idaho

One woman, and possibly seven other people visiting Bonner and Boundary counties, has tested positive for the H1N1 virus, commonly known as the swine flu.

The woman, in her 20s, had been visiting North Idaho since early last week, said Panhandle Health District officials.

A state lab in Boise confirmed Thursday that the woman tested positive for the virus. Over the weekend, seven more group members tested positive and had their results sent to the state lab, officials said. Those results are expected this week.

Health district officials did not say what the group was doing in the area or where they were from.

Oregon reported its first H1N1-related death Monday. Officials there said a woman who had multiple underlying health conditions has died from the illness, according to the Associated Press.

City to pay family of teen killed by truck

The Spokane City Council on Monday agreed in a unanimous vote to pay $1.9 million to the family and estate of a Colbert teenager struck and killed by a city recycling truck in 2007.

The city’s insurance company will pay about $900,000 of the claim.

Andrew S. Rosell, 16, was walking across Nevada Street at Magnesium Avenue the afternoon of May 8, 2007, when he was hit by the truck, which was turning onto Nevada.

The driver of the city truck was fined for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.

The city’s portion will come out of a fund set aside to settle legal claims and lawsuits.

Council unanimously approves bike plan

It could get easier to travel Spokane on two wheels.

The Spokane City Council on Monday voted 5-0 for a new bike plan, which suggests numerous improvements to make roads more bicycle-friendly.

A vote had been delayed a few weeks because some officials said they wanted to be sure the proposal didn’t lock the city into certain bike routes or spending. The final version includes language that stresses that the concepts can be modified. The new guide replaces one that was first developed in the 1970s.

“Substantively, we have a plan that is workable,” said Dr. Bob Lutz, who leads the city’s Bicycle Advisory Board, after Monday’s vote. “Before, we had a map and some very nondescript language.”

Laundry room fire forces hotel evacuation

A laundry-room fire early Monday forced the evacuation of most of the guests at a Red Lion hotel in Spokane.

Firefighters responded to a fire alarm at the Red Lion Hotel at the Park, 303 W. North River Drive, at about 2:30 a.m., according to a Spokane Fire Department news release. When crews arrived, firefighters initially smelled smoke but could not see a blaze.

After finding a fire in the laundry room on the hotel’s lower level, firefighters and the hotel’s sprinkler system speedily extinguished the fire, according to the release. Thirty-one firefighters responded.

The blaze caused an estimated $2,500 in damages. No injuries were reported.