Amy Cannata

Breathe in. Blooming flowers, freshly mown grass, hot asphalt – they're the smells of spring.

With mounds of dirt and no fence to guard against curious, playful children, an unsecured construction site can lend itself to potential dangers. Jesse McNerney, like other boys in his north Spokane neighborhood, couldn't resist the temptation of fresh dirt across the street from his home on East Vanetta Street.

Ever wonder what happened to that suitcase the airline lost? Chances are the airline paid you a few hundred dollars to $3,000, depending on the value of your bag's contents, and then sold your lost luggage to an Alabama clearinghouse.

At least two children were removed from a home Wednesday when officers raided two drug businesses operated by family members. Spokane police detectives turned two children over to Child Protective Services after arresting their parents and seizing two pounds of marijuana from their north Spokane home.

Freeway babies are becoming commonplace in Seattle, but Spokane has also seen a number of babies born on the road or along the side of the road when mothers didn't make it to the hospital. Hospitals and local fire departments don't track statistics on the subject, but one Spokane Valley firefighter vividly recalls delivering a baby as he zoomed down Interstate 90.

Jerome Alford, the transient shot to death by police Saturday, started showing up to the House of Charity late last summer. He rarely stayed overnight but came almost every day to eat, shower, pick up mail and read.

Twelve University of Idaho students thought they'd find some scares early Monday at an abandoned Colfax hospital. Instead, they'll be haunted by their arrests.

An 82-year-old woman is recovering at Deaconess Medical Center after Spokane police removed her Tuesday evening from the squalid living conditions provided by her son. David Remington (also known as David Nagy), 52, has been charged with first-degree criminal mistreatment for keeping his malnourished and dehydrated mother confined to a bed soaked with her own urine.

Drinking alcohol is the leading cause of DUIs in Washington state, but law enforcement officers are becoming increasingly concerned with DUIs connected to the use or abuse of prescription drugs. Though such cases amount to only about 5 percent of DUI arrests in Spokane County, the number of prescription drug-related DUIs has been rising even as other DUI numbers drop, said Washington State Patrol Trooper Troy Corkins.

No question that cell phones and other mobile devices can be big distractions on the road. Still, all the talk about banning text messaging while driving and prohibiting driver cell phone use ignores one key truth: Cell phones can also save lives.

A Bayview homeowner shot the tire and radiator of a pickup Tuesday evening as the driver repeatedly drove over and damaged the man's yard, fence and other property. Kootenai County sheriff's deputies responded to an 8:30 p.m. call from residents who said that someone was driving through their yard at 35220 N. Collins Road.

Summer Lytle was killed by "homicidal violence," Spokane County's medical examiner said Tuesday. Dr. Sally Aiken said she will continue to examine the body of the 4-year-old girl to pinpoint the exact cause of her death Saturday.

Major Government Way construction begins this week in Hayden, and it will likely cause drivers grief until mid-fall. Starting Wednesday, the Idaho Transportation Department is rebuilding a mile of the roadway between Honeysuckle and Miles avenues.

It was an unpleasant surprise. Joan Durkoop just wanted to get to work when she ran into construction on Freya Street.

College basketball fans are intimately familiar with the intricate process of seeding the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. Which teams will be ranked at each level and where they will be sent are the topics of frenzied discussions in sports bars and Internet chat rooms almost as soon as the basketball season begins. Bracketologists' predictions will be proven right or wrong on Sunday, when the NCAA announces the 65-team tournament lineup.

"Thorny" wasn't in the best position for crash testing. Perched on top of an old Honda, he flew high into the air Wednesday morning when the Spokane County Sheriff's Office ran an old Cadillac into his vehicle for a crash analysis course.