In brief: Trial against city, police chief under way

The trial began Wednesday in a lawsuit against the city of Spokane and Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick by a detective fired in the midst of a messy divorce.

Jay Mehring alleges he was wrongfully terminated and defamed in 2007 when Kirkpatrick heard reports that he’d threatened to burn down his wife’s house.

Kirkpatrick, who is sitting at the defendant’s table for the trial, announced Mehring’s arrest in a press conference.

 A jury acquitted him of felony harassment, and he was reinstated with the police department. He’s on paid administrative leave.

Bob Dunn is representing Mehring in the case, which continues with testimony today before Spokane County Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor.

Emailed traffic infraction notice a virus in disguise

A Spokane resident reported to police that a malicious email claiming to be a traffic infraction led to virus damage to the victim’s computer.

Police said on Wednesday that residents should be wary of all unsolicited emails, but even more wary of one that claims to be a notice of a traffic infraction.

In that case, the email led the victim to a pair of web links, including what appeared to be a video link, which then downloaded a disabling virus, police said.

City red-light photo enforcement infractions are sent by U.S. mail.

Shoshone County will dedicate water plant

The Central Shoshone County Water District’s new water filtration plant will be dedicated at 1:30 p.m. today in Enaville, Idaho.

The $12 million project included financing from the federal government’s economic stimulus program. The new plant was designed by J-U-B Engineers and recently won an award from the American Water Works Association.

Officials from the Central Shoshone Water District Board, the Environmental Protection Agency and Idaho Department of Environmental Quality will speak. An open house will follow.

The plant is located at 259 Bear Creek Road, about 1.5 miles north of the Kingston exit on Interstate 90. Members of the public who want to attend should park near the South Fork Coeur d’Alene Bridge and ride a shuttle that will be provided to the plant.

Regulators considering more rain runoff rules

SEATTLE – Washington cities and counties have occasionally turned to eco-friendly strategies to keep rain from carrying grease, metals and other toxic pollutants into rivers, lakes and Puget Sound.

But low-impact methods such as rain gardens and cisterns may soon be a requirement every time someone builds a new development or redevelops property in Western Washington.

State environmental regulators are releasing draft rules Wednesday spelling out exactly how governments should incorporate the strategies to control polluted runoff that can harm fish and water quality.

The state was ordered to do so by the state Pollution Control Hearings Board after environmentalists sued. The board mandated low-impact methods for the most populous areas in Western Washington. It also said the state needed to do more to ensure low-impact methods were used in smaller cities in the region.

Couple sentenced in forced servitude case

TACOMA – A Micronesian couple living in Longview, Wash., have been sentenced to prison for forcing an 18-year-old woman from Micronesia to work for them without pay.

U.S. District Judge Robert Bryan sentenced 28-year-old Edk Kenit on Wednesday to more than three years and gave 30-year-old Choimina Lukas a sentence of nearly two years.

They pleaded guilty last summer to compelled servitude.

The two admitted they recruited the woman in March 2010 to care for their three children and forced her to cook and clean seven days a week without pay. They also forced her to get a job at a chicken processing plant and took her wages. The servitude lasted nearly a year before the victim escaped in February.