In brief: Laws cover burning, livestock inspection

OLYMPIA – Washington state is raising fees for field burning and tightening rules for inspecting imported livestock.

A pair of bills that passed the Legislature with wide margins were signed into law Monday by Gov. Chris Gregoire. The state is raising the permit fee for field burning from $2.50 per acre to $3.75. It will also charge $1 per ton to orchardists for a permit to burn piles of trees.

Under current law, imported livestock that lack certificates showing they meet state health requirements have three days to be inspected at a feed lot or slaughter plant. The new law cuts that to 12 hours and allows the state Department of Agriculture to enter property to inspect the records of imported livestock.

Jim Camden

Tax exemptions OK’d for Kendall Yards

The eventual owners of 279 proposed residences in Kendall Yards will not have to pay property taxes on the new townhouses, condos and apartments for 12 years.

The Spokane City Council on Monday voted 5-0 to accept Greenstone Corp.’s application for multifamily tax exemptions on the portion of Kendall Yards west of Maple Street. Kendall Yards is a 78-acre development west of Monroe Street, just north of the Spokane River. Greenstone estimates that 68 percent of the 279 units will be aimed at families that earn 120 percent or less of the median income in Spokane County.

The exemption program is aimed at encouraging residential growth in several neighborhood centers.

Jonathan Brunt

Smoke detector wakes sleeping man

A Post Falls man escaped his burning home early Monday after finding fire behind a closed bedroom door.

Seth Weisenbach told firefighters that he was awakened by a smoke alarm about 5:15 a.m. and found that the fire was in another bedroom at 204 W. 13th St.

Fifteen firefighters with Kootenai Fire and Rescue extinguished the blaze, which caused extensive damage, said Jim Lyon, public information officer for Kootenai Fire and Rescue. Lyon said a dog was rescued from the home.

Homeowner Liz Weisenbach told firefighters she was at work when the fire started. The cause was under investigation.

Lyon said the smoke detector, which had been installed by the fire agency, allowed Seth Weisenbach to get out in time.

Mike Prager

Drunken driver acquitted of homicide

A Ferry County man who was drunk during a highway crash last fall was not responsible for the death of the other driver, a jury recently decided.

John H. Clifford was acquitted of vehicular homicide but convicted of drunken driving for an Oct. 2 crash on state Highway 21 north of Malo, Wash. The 9:20 p.m. crash killed Arthur M. Voges, 49, of Malo.

Investigators said Clifford’s 1993 Isuzu Rodeo crossed the centerline, but Clifford, who was 66 at the time of the crash, told jurors it was Voges who had crossed.

Clifford, also of Malo, will be sentenced for drunken driving on Friday.

Meghann M. Cuniff