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Amy Cannata

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News >  Voices

Post Falls plans budget

Post Falls department heads are seeking about $3 million in additional personnel, operating expenses and equipment in next year's budget, but with tax revenue predicted to remain flat many of those requests are likely to be denied. The Post Falls City Council will hear presentations Tuesday from the department heads at a public budget workshop at Post Falls Police headquarters.
News >  Voices

Primary to decide District 3 contested races

Idaho Legislative District 3's two contested races will be decided in the Republican primary because no Democrats are running for office. Republican James W. Clark faces no opposition in his re-election campaign for the District 3 state representative.
News >  Voices

Two challenge senator in District 2 primary

Four sessions into her duties as Second District Idaho State Senator, Joyce Broadsword is facing not one, but two challengers in the Republican primary. Broadsword, who represents the sprawling Second District from her home in Cocolalla, won the seat herself back in 2004 when she defeated the Democratic incumbent.
News >  Voices

In support of caffeine

Sometimes you just have to get that caffeine fix. And a little thing like a bad economy isn't going to stop you. Large coffee chains like Starbucks are feeling the pinch as some people cutback on their discretionary spending to save money, but local espresso shops say that their loyal clientele continues to come in for that daily latte or 16-ounce mocha.
News >  Voices

ALA air report incomplete for Kootenai County

A new American Lung Association report on the state of the nation's air does little to clear the air on the topic in Kootenai County because local monitoring efforts don't match up with the national criteria used to craft the study. The State of the Air Report didn't grade the county because monitoring for ozone hadn't been done for the required three years, and because the American Lung Association could not get data on particulate monitoring in the county from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
News >  Voices

Judge rules on elected office eligibility

The tiny town of Huetter has been stalled for months, unable to complete some routine business because it lacked an official quorum of city officials as a dispute raged over whether the 20-something mayor and council member elected in November were eligible to hold office. Meetings were canceled because not enough council members were present. Others disintegrated as the warring factions argued over who was in charge.
News >  Idaho

Women at work

Karen Thurston closely monitored construction of her custom home a couple of years ago, but she didn't take part in the actual building. So Thurston broke new personal ground Wednesday as she wielded a hammer to build a Habitat for Humanity of North Idaho home. Thurston was one of dozens of women (and men) who participated in the Post Falls Habitat Women Build.
News >  Voices

Fifth-grader organizes Post Falls walking tour

POST FALLS – Sometimes the best lessons come from unexpected places. Post Falls residents will soon be learning more about their city's past, thanks to the efforts of an enterprising Ponderosa Elementary School student.
News >  Voices

Audio tour highlights history

COEUR d'ALENE – Did you know that Fort Sherman used to flood with some regularity, or that steamships were keys to the success of early mining in the area? Ever heard of the Desert Hotel which burned down in 1972? It stood where the Bonsai Bistro is now located.
News >  Voices

County, cities sign agreement on future prairie growth

Development on the Rathdrum Prairie has the potential to serve Kootenai County's growing population, but planners warn it could threaten water resources and create traffic gridlock if it is not properly managed. Local officials have agreed in principle that they need to work together to plan for future development on the Rathdrum Prairie, but it will be up to city and county staffs to iron out the details about how to codify that cooperation.
News >  Voices

Investigating online crime

POST FALLS – When a Post Falls runaway was in trouble last month, police knew right where to find her – on her MySpace page. Post Falls police were able to use information about when and where she was logging onto the online social networking site to track the teen to a computer at a public library in Spokane.
News >  Voices

Rathdrum asphalt plant proposed

Plans for a Rathdrum asphalt plant are creating an uproar on the prairie where the proposed operation's neighbors say they are worried about noise, possible health impacts and damage to their property values. "My biggest concerns are the health issues that would be caused by the asphalt plant and the additional mining," said Tiny Wilson, who lives in the nearby Stepping Stones neighborhood.
News >  Voices

Second Wal-Mart coming to Post Falls

A new Wal-Mart is coming to the Pointe at Post Falls, but other future tenants of the sprawling development remain unannounced. The Foursquare Properties project's success is central to funding a new freeway interchange at Beck Road, but the city will not see any tax benefit from the retail development until 2023.
News >  Voices

County asks for more deputies

The number of serious crimes reported to the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department last year grew by more than 10 percent even as the department's staffing levels continue to lag behind other state law enforcement agencies. "Group A" offenses, including crimes like murder, manslaughter, rape, assault, kidnapping, extortion and drug charges, grew by 10.5 percent in 2007, said Undersheriff Tad Leach. Total calls for service grew by almost 18 percent compared to 2006.
News >  Voices

Health District may ban tobacco completely on campus

Panhandle Health District buildings are currently smoke-free and employees and visitors cannot smoke within 20 feet of doorways, but the campuses themselves look to be headed toward a complete tobacco ban. Allowing smoking anywhere on the district's campuses is not in keeping with its mission to promote public health, said Director Jeanne Bock.
News >  Voices

Silverwood improves wastewater system

Silverwood Theme Park's new wastewater system is designed to help the aquifer in two ways: protect it from contaminants and cut back on the amount of water the park needs to pump to operate. The $1.5 million facility at the corner of Highway 95 and Brunner Road is a step up from the park's current system of septic tanks and drainfields.
News >  Voices

Post Falls to begin Spokane Street project

POST FALLS – A major Post Falls north-south route will shut down in part early next month when the city's Street Department begins work to rebuild a portion of Spokane Street on the north side of town. The portion of Spokane Street between 16th and Poleline Avenues is currently a mess of misaligned curbs and sidewalks that present a challenge for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists.
News >  Voices

Protecting the past

Vandals did their best earlier this month to destroy historical artifacts at Rathdrum's 1890 jail. They spray-painted photos, tore dresses and left behind anarchist literature. Still, what mattered most to members of the Rathdrum/Westwood Historical Society was that the former Kootenai County Jail itself remained structurally unharmed so that their restoration efforts could continue. The group has a $600,000 Millennium Fund grant to return the 118-year-old downtown building to its original state over the next five years.
News >  Voices

Goose returns to roost at UI-CdA

She sports University of Idaho silver and black and never misses homecoming … except her homecoming is in March. Ima Vandal, a Canadian goose, is back roosting outside UI-Coeur d'Alene Dean Jack Dawson's second-story office. It's her sixth year carefully tending her nest under Dawson's watchful eye.
News >  Voices

Sandpoint vision

The vision calls for a pedestrian-friendly community, filled with bike paths, parks and stunning views of undeveloped areas surrounding town. The draft plan is the product of more than a year of public input which involved numerous public meetings, outreach at shopping enters and the Bonner County Fair, said Laura Bry, a citizen member of the comprehensive plan steering committee.
News >  Voices

Tenants facing uncertainty

Marian Tounsel hoped that she could retire at the El Rancho Mobile Home Park. Three years ago, she decorated the outside with smiling wooden orange flowers and moved in with her family and small dog.
News >  Idaho

Citylink ridership keeps growing

As Citylink ridership continues to skyrocket, the system is growing out of its existing setup and expanding both facilities and services. Over the next few months the bus service will build a new maintenance facility and headquarters, buy new buses and begin picking up people with mobility issues at their homes.
News >  Voices

Adopt-A-Street waits for kickstart

POST FALLS – Post Falls' new Adopt-A-Street program is having a little trouble getting out of first gear, but organizers and participants are hopeful that more streets will soon benefit from volunteer trash pickup. So far just one group has signed on to adopt a street, although two others have expressed interest.
News >  Voices

Landing marina nears completion

POST FALLS – From Spokane Street it's hard to tell what's going on at Post Falls Landing, but down the hill from the project's gates work has been under way on finishing up the marina and the site of a new waterfront condominium building. The 142-slip marina is slated to open any day, said Post Falls Landing developer Harry Green. Parked on its end will be a new $75,000 Kootenai County Fire and Rescue boat paid for by the development.
News >  Spokane

Attendees look to get their thumbs green

Hail, wind and thunder were the featured players Sunday outside the Spokane Convention Center. Inside, people milled about the Spokane Home and Garden Show, daydreaming about landscaping, decks and other projects best suited to warmer weather. Eager gardeners examined seed packets, talked about lawn treatments and stared longingly at the greenhouse displayed by Solar Gem Greenhouses, of Tacoma, images of tomatoes and cucumbers dancing in their heads.