In brief: Sales tax renewal on April 28 ballot
Spokane County voters will be asked to renew a sales tax used for juvenile justice programs and jails on the April 28 ballot.
Spokane County Commissioners Todd Mielke and Shelly O’Quinn voted Tuesday to put the measure on the ballot. Commissioner Al French, who spoke at a meeting last month against putting the measure on the April ballot, was absent.
The tax of one-tenth of 1 percent was first passed by voters in 1995 and was renewed in 1998, 2003 and 2008. If voters approve the measure on the April ballot, the tax will continue through December 31, 2025.
The tax will be spent to operate and maintain the Juvenile Detention facilities, the Spokane County Jail and the Geiger Corrections Center.
Man jailed in crash of stolen truck
A man is in the Spokane County Jail after he allegedly drove a stolen truck through Corbin Park and crashed into two trees Saturday evening.
An examination at the scene showed that the truck hit the curb at Stevens and Park Place and then hit a tree just south of Park Place, according to court records. The truck went through the park at high speed before hitting a second tree near Waverly Place.
The 2002 Ford F-250 had been reported stolen in February.
The driver left the vehicle, but witnesses were able to tell police which direction he went. Police located a man who fit the description of the driver and arrested him after a foot chase. Officers believed the man was high on methamphetamines, according to court documents.
Daniel B. Barber, 22, is facing charges of possession of a stolen motor vehicle, driving under the influence, making a false statement to police, reckless driving and driving with a suspended license.
Kettle Falls group will remain out of jail
The defendants found guilty of growing between 50 and 100 marijuana plants on their land near Kettle Falls, Washington, will remain out of custody ahead of a sentencing hearing scheduled for June, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas O. Rice ruled Tuesday.
Rhonda Firestack-Harvey, Rolland Gregg and Michelle Gregg were convicted by a jury earlier this month of manufacturing a controlled substance. A sentencing hearing is tentatively scheduled for June 10 in Spokane.
Prosecutors had asked Rice to rule by Wednesday whether he would jail the members of the family pending their sentencing hearing. A fourth defendant, Jason Zucker, is scheduled to be sentenced a week later. Zucker pleaded guilty to manufacturing more than 100 marijuana plants and told jurors at trial he provided the initial 75 plants that were used to start a grow operation on Firestack-Harvey’s property in Stevens County in spring 2011. Prosecutors have recommended Zucker serve 16 months in prison.
Larry Harvey, the patriarch of the family, was dismissed from the case before trial after being diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer.
No holding phone, driving under bill
OLYMPIA – Drivers could get a ticket for holding their cellphones on Washington roads, if a bill that the Senate passed Tuesday becomes law.
Sponsored by Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, the bill would bar drivers from sending or receiving any information without a hands-free device. After some debate about personal liberties and public safety, it passed on a 35-14 vote. Supporters said distracted driving is as dangerous as drunken driving.
Current law says drivers can’t hold phones to their ears. The bill would prohibit them from holding phones at all – even if they are set to “speaker phone.” The new law would cover holding a cellphone at stoplights, but pulling over to the side of the road to use the phone would not be an infraction.
Breaking the law could result in a ticket of up to $209, and second-time offenders could pay double that. Half of the ticket money would go into the state’s Highway Safety Fund. Infractions for cellphone use would appear on driving records, unlike today, but employers and insurance companies wouldn’t see first-time violations.
The bill is headed to the House, where it could get a hearing in the coming weeks.