Amy Cannata

A Spokane man is accused of luring his wife into their garage to see a haunted house and then hanging her. Spokane police arrested 38-year-old Sean Allen Jennings late Tuesday night after the woman, who escaped death, reported the incident.

Two fires struck homes in northwest Spokane early Wednesday, including one at a West Central house that was hit by arson just a month ago. The family inside that home at 1907 W. Sharp Ave. made it out safely after two passers-by banged on the door about 3:30 a.m.

Brazen copper wire thieves working in full view of Interstate 90 traffic struck Washington State Department of Transportation conduit boxes four times in the past two weeks, knocking out power to electronic message boards and lights at ramps and rest areas near Snoqualmie Pass. Some thieves have been arrested, but others are still at large, said Transportation spokesman Mike Westbay. Repairs will likely cost about $50,000 in labor and materials.

A new era of highway billboards may have been quietly ushered in by the U.S. Department of Transportation last month when it issued a memorandum declaring that digital billboards comply with the Highway Beautification Act. The guidance memo didn't require public comment or hearings because DOT officials say it was only intended to clarify whether digital billboards violate the ban on "flashing and intermittent lights" on billboards contained in the act. Transportation officials decided digital billboards do not, so now it's up to states to determine whether they will allow them along interstates and federal highways.

A man accused of escaping from Geiger Corrections Center last week was arrested Thursday morning with his girlfriend during a traffic stop in Arizona. Roger Nordling broke out of Geiger a week ago, authorities said, but he and Deborah Barden already had marijuana seeds packed up and ready to sell.

When things go wrong on carnival rides, Washington state takes incident reports from the ride operator but doesn't investigate accidents itself. Two accidents at the Spokane County Interstate Fair last month generated reports. In one, a young man was injured and required staples to his head after cutting it on the Gravitron ride.

The Spokane Transit Authority Plaza has been a boon to riders seeking shelter while making their bus connections, but others consider it the bane of the public transportation authority. Some criticized its $20 million price tag when it was built in 1995. And some nearby business owners have complained that in addition to commuters it attracts others who harass people and vandalize property.

A garage fire Wednesday morning marked the latest in a series of suspicious fires that has plagued Spokane's West Central neighborhood in recent months. The fire, at 2615 W. Mallon Ave., was human-caused and is suspicious, said Assistant Chief Brian Schaeffer of the Spokane Fire Department.

Spokane animal lovers hopping mad about the weekend theft of a pet bunny rallied Tuesday with offers of reward money and replacement rabbits for the downtown preschool. Sugar Bunny was nabbed on Saturday evening by someone who left a pile of anti-circus fliers behind in the 8-year-old rabbit's cage at the Community Building Children's Center.

Okanogan County sheriff's deputies arrested two people on drug charges Monday, a week after one of them brought her son to the hospital with chemical burns. John W. McAlpine, 51, and Ashley J. Farrar, 21, were arrested at their home on 6 Airport Road outside Oroville. Both are charged with possession of methamphetamine.

A Monday morning fire burned the back side of a West Central neighborhood home, and its occupants and neighbors – and now fire investigators – are blaming an arsonist. The fire was started in a pile of household possessions stacked against the house and quickly grew as it ate through furniture and a mattress.

Horizon Air canceled more flights Thursday and today as it continues to inspect planes after similar ones experienced landing gear problems during flights in Europe. Systemwide, the Seattle-based airline canceled 154 flights Thursday and 121 for today, Horizon Air's media department confirmed. Alaska Airlines was scheduled to pick up some of those flights — 16 on Thursday and 18 on Friday. It's unclear whether any of those flights will be to or from Spokane.

Three children taken from their grandmother without permission were found safe early Friday in Spokane. They were found at an East Sprague women's and children's shelter with their mother, just hours after an Amber Alert was issued for them. Several women at the shelter recognized the children from television reports.