In brief: Coast Guard OKs St. Joe jet boat race

The U.S. Coast Guard has issued a permit to allow the Race the Joe jet boat race this weekend on the St. Joe River near St. Maries.

The race was in jeopardy over concerns raised about its impact on wildlife, but those issues have been addressed, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter said Tuesday.

Initially the Coast Guard said it could not conduct an environmental analysis of the race’s impact on protected bald eagles and bull trout in time to issue a permit for the event. But the agency expedited its review after Otter, Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo, and U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador all penned a letter to Coast Guard Rear Adm. Keith Taylor in Seattle asking him to use his authority to allow the race to go on as planned.

CdA schools host family health fair

A health fair Monday night is geared toward Coeur d’Alene students in grades 6 through 12 and their families.

The Coeur d’Alene School District health fair will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Woodland Middle School, 2101 W. Ste. Michelle Drive, off of West Kathleen Avenue.

Health and safety professionals will be on hand in the areas of medicine, nutrition, fitness, sports, health insurance, makeup and hygiene, law enforcement and violence prevention.

Immunizations will be administered to students accompanied by their parents and who bring their immunization records. The school district nutrition services department will sell dinner and other concessions.

Murder suspect pleads not guilty

Joshua Tillery pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder charges Tuesday.

Bond was set at $1 million for Tillery, 33, who is charged with shooting and killing 33-year-old Devon Mack in north Spokane on May 3.

The court appearance was Tillery’s first time before a judge for this case, as he called in sick to previous appearances.

Police found Tillery, also known as Danger, hiding at a home at 2012 N. Ruby St. five days after the shooting. He was arrested without incident.

Mack died of a gunshot wound after a reported argument at a home at 4508 N. Lincoln St. According to court documents, witnesses stated Tillery may have been trying to pistol-whip Mack when the gun went off.

Two men arrested in drive-by shooting

Two suspected gunmen are in custody in connection with last week’s drive-by shooting that wounded a 4-year-old child near Othello, Wash.

Felipe Michael Garza and Cesar Chavez-Serna, both 19, are facing five counts of first-degree drive-by shooting and are being held at the Adams County Jail in Ritzville, according to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office. They were arrested Monday.

A brown Nissan sedan matching the description of the vehicle from which gunmen opened fire Friday evening on a family in a Cadillac was seized during the arrests.

The child suffered bullet fragment wounds to the head but the skull wasn’t penetrated, authorities said. Four other family members in the Cadillac were unhurt.

Proposals sought for Mann center

Spokane city officials are seeking proposals from would-be developers wanting to convert the Joe E. Mann Army Reserve Center in Hillyard.

The building has been declared military surplus after the Defense Department relocated the U.S. Army Reserve unit to Fairchild Air Force Base.

City Council President Ben Stuckart and David Steele of the city’s Asset Management Group will host a mandatory session May 23 at City Hall for any groups or parties interested in submitting offers. The submission deadline is July 15.

Because the property is owned by the federal government, Stuckart said, guidelines give preference to proposals “demonstrating strong positive impact on the local economy and on the public’s safety.”

The city has been named the local entity that must vet the eventual buyer of the building.

Questions about how to make a submission and what criteria will be used should be directed to Steele at (509) 625-6064 or dsteele@ spokanecity.org.

The city of Spokane’s four golf courses could have new names under a proposal announced Tuesday to sell naming rights in exchange for “significant capital investment” in the facilities.

“Over time the courses have matured and require significant capital investment to protect their future as premier public golf courses in the Greater Spokane Region,” the city said in a news release Tuesday.

The four courses are Indian Canyon, The Creek at Qualchan, Downriver and Esmeralda. Last year, 144,000 rounds of golf were played on the courses, the release said.

Right now, Spokane’s Parks and Recreation department is seeking “expressions of interest” in naming rights, not formal proposals.

Expressions of interest are due at Spokane City Hall by June 11 at 5 p.m.