In brief: Children hospitalized with virus symptoms
Spokane medical officials say seven children 10 years old or younger have been hospitalized in Spokane County with symptoms consistent with a previously rare illness that has spread rapidly across the United States this summer.
Officials stress that test results have not yet confirmed that the children contracted enterovirus D68. They also say that hospitalizations at this time of year from other strains of the virus are not uncommon.
The virus can cause mild coldlike symptoms, but officials say that this summer’s cases are unusually severe and can include serious breathing problems, especially for people who have respiratory conditions like asthma.
As of Friday, two children had been hospitalized in Spokane County with symptoms consistent with the virus. Both have been discharged. A sample was taken from one of the patients and sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the health district is awaiting results.
Over the weekend, two more children were hospitalized and discharged. Because they recovered, providers decided not to test samples, said Kim Papich, Spokane Regional Health District spokeswoman. On Monday, health officials learned of two more hospitalizations. Both remain in the hospital and tests have been ordered. One more hospitalization was confirmed by the district Tuesday. At least one child did not have an underlying respiratory condition.
County settles lawsuit alleging excessive force
Spokane County has settled a lawsuit alleging excessive force by members of the SWAT team during an arrest in February 2012.
An agreement that is pending approval by a court-appointed representative of children listed as plaintiffs would pay Erica Mugica $79,000, according to court records. Mugica alleged members of the SWAT team exploded a flash grenade in her bedroom as she and her 3-year-old daughter slept early in the morning on Valentine’s Day 2012. Law enforcement were arresting Victor Luna, Mugica’s boyfriend who was under investigation on suspicion of trafficking stolen property.
There is no timetable for when the settlement might be approved by the court official, county spokeswoman Martha Lou Wheatley-Billeter said.
Heather Yakely, attorney for the county, declined to comment on the settlement via email. Richard Wall, attorney for Mugica, said his client was happy with the agreement.
Mugica alleged that SWAT officers trained their assault rifles on the four children present, who ranged in age from 3 to 10, with red dots appearing on their clothes. SWAT members said they kept their weapons pointed at the ground.
Fourteenth Avenue open at Lincoln, Monroe
Fourteenth Avenue will be opened at the intersections with Lincoln and Monroe streets today, the city of Spokane announced in a news release. Cars will be able to cross Lincoln and Monroe on 14th, but Lincoln and Monroe will remain closed for construction from Seventh to 17th avenues.
Businesses in the area remain open and accessible, including Huckleberry’s Natural Market, Rosauers and Picabu Bistro. The construction project is expected to be complete in mid-October.
Couple who allegedly stabbed man wanted
Spokane police are looking for a couple they believe stabbed a man during a robbery late Monday.
The stabbing victim walked into the American Medical Response building on Monroe Street just after 10 p.m., according to a news release. He told police he was stabbed near the 1200 block of North Monroe Street as he and a woman walked down an alley with a bike and a suitcase. Another couple approached them, demanding their belongings, the victim said.
The couple grabbed the bike and suitcase and ran, the victim told police. He realized he’d been stabbed and walked to the nearby AMR building for treatment.
The stabbing victim was taken to the hospital with injuries not thought to be life-threatening, police said. Investigators are looking for the couple, described as a white man and white woman, both in their 20s. The man is described as 6 feet tall with a medium build. The woman was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.
Those with information about the incident are asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.
Officials identify man killed near Pateros
Officials have identified the man killed in a fight that turned deadly near Pateros, Washington, over the weekend as 28-year-old Jose L. Galeana-Palacios.
Four men have been booked into Okanogan County Jail facing second-degree murder charges in Galeana-Palacios’ death. They are Pateros residents Jose D. Jimenez-Hernandez, 42, Oscar Perez-Torres, 37, and Ramon Arrellano-Lopez, 45; and Jaime M. Salazar-Gomez, 38, of Orondo, Washington.
Investigators say the five men were “partying” near a pond at 270 Watson Draw Road when a fight broke out. Galeana-Palacios was killed, and the four men allegedly took his body to a boat launch on the Columbia River south of town, where authorities found it Sunday morning, according to a news release from Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers.
Rogers said the homicide does not appear to be gang- or drug-related. The four suspects were arrested early Monday.
Weather Service office hosting open house
The National Weather Service office in the Spokane area is bringing back its open house event on Saturday after taking last year off because of uncertainty about federal funding.
The staff at the local bureau started hosting open houses every other year starting in 2005.
In 2011, the kid-friendly event attracted about 500 people.
The event Saturday is set to run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the office, 2601 N. Rambo Road, northwest of Airway Heights.
The staff will show off the Doppler radar system, introduce some of the forecasters, send up weather balloons and offer tours.
The balloons will be launched at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
At 11:30 a.m., Nancy Taylor, a cooperative weather observer from Lacrosse, will be presented with the prestigious Jefferson award from the weather service.
Government retirees get cost-of-living increase
BOISE – State and local government retirees in Idaho will get their first cost-of-living increase in six years under a move approved Tuesday by the board of the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho.
With investment earnings in the PERSI fund soaring, the board approved 4 percent in cost-of-living adjustments: 2 percent to reflect this year’s increase in the consumer price index, and another, retroactive 2 percent to make up for some of what retirees lost over the past six years.
PERSI is the retirement program for thousands of state and local government employees in Idaho, including teachers and public safety officers.
Mager endorses Johnson in commissioner race
Former County Commissioner Bonnie Mager endorsed Democrat Mary Lou Johnson on Tuesday in her bid to unseat GOP incumbent Al French in the November election.
Mager, who finished third in the August primary as an independent, served as a Democrat on the commission from 2006 to 2010. She was unseated by French, a former Spokane City Council member, in the 2010 general election.
Johnson’s campaign announced the endorsement in an email Tuesday morning.
The incumbent defeated his Democratic challenger by just 222 votes in the primary, but Mager carried an additional 8,000 ballots and the general election is open to voters countywide while the primary included only ballots cast in the county’s third district. In the primary, fewer than 30,000 votes were cast; that number will likely quintuple in the general election.
Idaho schools get boost in endowment payout
BOISE – Idaho’s public schools will get a $1.5 million increase in their payout from the state’s endowment fund next year, the state Land Board decided Tuesday on a unanimous vote.
That’s a 4.7 percent increase, to $32.8 million. The boost comes as investment earnings in the state’s endowment fund have soared and timber revenues have been recovering.
School payouts had been largely stagnant in recent years. But new forecasts suggest they could rise more soon, endowment investment manager Larry Johnson told the Land Board.
In fiscal year 2017, the public school payout likely could rise to $39 million, Johnson said, and in fiscal 2018, to $44 million.