In brief: Three VP positions trimmed at WSU

PULLMAN – Washington State University is eliminating three of nine vice president positions in a reorganization driven primarily by budget forces.

Spokesman Darin Watkins said there will be no faculty or staff job losses as a result of the change.

Watkins told the Moscow-Pullman Daily News the university will see immediate savings of $700,000 to $900,000.

He notes that the university this week was asked to prepare for budget cuts of anywhere between 4 percent and 7 percent. WSU is working through a $13.5 million reduction in state funding, which comes on top of a $54 million reduction it absorbed last spring.

WSU President Elson Floyd plans to discuss the reorganization at a public forum Monday.

Associated Press

The union representing nurses and health care workers at Deaconess Medical Center and Valley Hospital has overwhelmingly ratified a contract with the hospitals’ owner, Community Health Systems.

The agreement comes after an 11th-hour settlement averted a one-day strike by the Services Employees International Union on Wednesday. It includes annual wage increases of 2 to 3 percent for all job classes for up to three years.

SEIU represents 570 technical and service workers at Deaconess and 500 nurses, technical and services workers at Valley Hospital. It also is anticipated that eight charges of unfair labor practice against Community Health Systems will be resolved, according to a union statement.

John Stucke

Rainbow Gathering to be held in region

A Rainbow Gathering is planned for the Colville National Forest late this month and into early September, the U.S. Forest Service said Friday.

The counterculture “Rainbow Family of Living Light” assemblies on national forest land date to 1972. The loose-knit community promotes peace, love, nonviolence and environmentalism, and shuns consumerism and commercialism.

Colville forest officials estimate anywhere from 300 to 1,500 people will show up for the regional gathering in the Newport Ranger District, in Pend Oreille County.

The Forest Service said it’s working with Rainbow members to pick the best location and to work on issues such as parking, sanitation and protecting natural resources.

Scott Maben