In brief: Officials offer free naturalization help

The Spokane field office of the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services is conducting an information session today for immigrants wishing to understand the naturalization process.

Immigration officers will conduct a mock naturalization interview and offer sample questions from the new naturalization test.

The event begins at 10:30 a.m. at the North Spokane Library, 44 E. Hawthorne Road, Spokane.

Staff reports

Hoopfest registration deadline looming

Yes, it’s still more than a month until Hoopfest. No, you can’t wait much longer to sign up.

Registration for the world’s largest three-on-three street basketball tournament is open until midnight on May 17, as long as space is still available, organizers say.

The tournament, which last year drew more than 6,700 teams, has been expanded to allow for growth, executive director Rick Steltenpohl said in a news release. But that’s no guarantee it won’t fill up.

There are three ways to enter:

•Online, at www.spokanehoopfest.net.

•In person, at the Hoopfest office, 601 W. Riverside, Suite 206.

•Pick up an entry form at any Yoke’s Fresh Markets or Brucchi’s restaurant.

Hoopfest 2010 is scheduled for the weekend of June 26-27.

Staff reports

Native American events planned

About 150 Native American elders and youths from more than 50 tribes and Alaskan villages are gathering in Spokane this week for a Native Aspirations conference on violence, bullying and suicide.

The program provides training and assistance for Native communities, said Iris PrettyPaint, of Kauffman & Associates Inc., a Spokane- based, Native-owned firm that coordinates the project for the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Conference participants will be guests today at a powwow sponsored by the Eastern Washington University American Indian Student Association at Reese Court Pavilion on the Cheney campus. The powwow is open to the public at 1 p.m.

Staff reports

States considering higher wolf kills

BILLINGS – Hunters in Montana could be allowed to kill nearly three times as many gray wolves this fall compared to last year, under a proposal by state wildlife officials.

Wolves in neighboring Idaho also face a potentially higher quota. Hunters there could be allowed to use traps, electronic calls and, in some regions, bait to increase their odds of a successful kill.

Associated Press