In brief: Urban forest advocate picked for Park Board

An advocate for improving the city’s urban forest has been nominated by Mayor Mary Verner to serve on the Spokane Park Board.

Verner’s pick, Susan M. Ross Traver, is the secretary for a citizens board that advises the Park Board’s Urban Forestry Committee.

The Park Board has the final say on park spending and policy. The City Charter also gives the board authority over trees along roads and on other public property.

“I can bring a different voice concerning that issue,” Ross Traver said in a phone interview. She added: “It’s not the only thing I’m interested in.”

Ross Traver, 54, is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel. She moved to Spokane 2002 and is a board member of Spokane Preservation Advocates.

If the City Council approves the pick, Ross Traver will replace Larry Stanley, whose term expired earlier this year. Ross Traver said the council likely will vote on her nomination July 12.

Jonathan Brunt

ISP to issue citations faster via ‘e-ticketing’

The Idaho State Police will be a lot faster at issuing traffic citations starting Thursday.

A new “e-ticketing” system purchased with a $900,000 Federal Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant will allow for faster, more accurate tickets electronically sent to the courts and to the ISP’s databases, a news release said.

Troopers issuing citations will use handheld barcode scanners to enter driver’s license and vehicle registration information. The trooper then can select from dropdown lists of violation codes and location identifiers, the release said. The ticket can be printed on site.

“The entire process of completing citations will go from a 5-minute process to one that takes less than a minute,” said Capt. Eric Dayley of the ISP. In addition, he said, “the court clerks will no longer have to decipher officers’ handwriting or citations where the copy did not come through clearly.”

From staff reports