Spokane-based Greater Spokane Inc. is launching a preliminary study to determine if area voters would support a port district.

Mentioned during the recent GSI annual meeting, the idea of a port district has resurfaced several times among proponents who say it can help economic development.

GSI CEO and President Rich Hadley said on Friday that the group will likely create a task force from area officials and business leaders to study the idea.

 In 1982 Spokane business leaders put a port district to voters and saw it defeated resoundingly, 4-to-1 against.

State law allows counties and government bodies to form a port district and raise funds through taxes. Port districts can be formed anywhere regardless of proximity to water or an airport.

Hadley said Spokane leaders met with officials from Benton County and Moses Lake, both of which have used port districts to boost economic activity.

Moses Lake used its district in 1998 to enlist a large expansion by Genie Industries, which makes construction equipment. Genie built a manufacturing plant there after port officials spent $2.5 million renovating a former airplane hangar for the company's use.

Districts can focus on adding infrastructure to attract businesses or help existing firms expand. That can range from building new roads to adding utility lines, Hadley said. They also serve as marketing arms, encouraging new investment.

Spokane and Yakima are the only two Washington counties to not have a port district, he added.

In 2000 area officials studied the port district idea but shelved it when interest and momentum behindg the idea lagged.

MOSES LAKE, Wash. (AP) — The Grant County sheriff's office says deputies who responded to a report of a disturbance Wednesday night found a man on the ground in the Larson Housing area near Moses Lake with a gunshot wound to the chest.

Northwest MedStar, the air-transport medical service, is setting up a permanent base in Moses Lake.

For the past two summers the service has operated a helicopter day base about nine miles north of Moses Lake through an agreement with Grant County Fire District 5.

The decision by nonprofit INHS establishes a fulltime base, with a registered nurse, respiratory therapist, pilot and mechanic. They will handle emergency responses and assist in transports between regional hospitals.

 A permanent hangar will be constructed later this year to house the helicopter.

 The full-time base provides more direct air transport services and decreased response time for north central Washington, said an INHS press release.

A serial bank robber dubbed “the Bad Hair Bandit” is believed to have robbed a bank in Moses Lake on Tuesday.

 A wigged woman matching the description of the robber thought to be responsible for 14 bank robberies since December entered Sterling Savings Bank and demanded money but did not display a weapon, according to the Associated Press.  A picture from a February robbery is at left.

The method matches that of the Bad Hair Bandit, who police believed robbed Chase Bank on Francis Avenue in Spokane last month after robbing banks in Ellensburg and Moses Lake in late April.

The FBI believes the same woman may have also robbed two Banner Bank locations in Spokane last summer.

Enjoy a slide show of photos from the 14-bank robbery spree above.

Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for tips that lead to her capture. Anyone with information should call at 1-800-222-TIPS or submit tips online. Tipsters don't have to leave their name to collect a reward but should leave a code name or number.

SEATTLE — The companies planning to build a parts plant for lightweight BMW cars have selected a site at Moses Lake in central Washington because of the availability of hydroelectric power, The Associated Press reports.

The decision by SGL Group and BMW AG was announced today at a news conference in Seattle.

Gov. Chris Gregoire worked to land the factory. Its $100 million initial investment will create 80 jobs.

The carbon fiber parts made at the plant will be used in BMW’s upcoming Megacity electric vehicle. The urban car is set to be launched before 2015. It will be assembled in Leipzig, Germany.