Becky Kramer

A Canadian company can’t be held responsible for air pollution that drifted across the border into Washington, members of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said in a recent ruling.

Duane Hagadone wants the city of Coeur d’Alene to annex his Blackwell Island properties, which would allow expansion of the Marina Yacht Club and Cedar’s Floating Restaurant.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game planned to acquire a 1,000-acre former horse ranch along the Coeur d’Alene River through a land swap, but opposition to the trade killed the deal.

An oil train derailment in downtown Spokane would pose “extreme challenges” for emergency responders, a city consultant testified last week at a state hearing. They could be dealing with fire, the threat of exploding tank cars and the evacuation of tens of thousands of people simultaneously.

Avista Utilities will start installing 272 free charging systems in Washington customers’ homes and workplaces and in public areas this month. The two-year pilot program will help the utility gather information about electric cars and energy use.

Julie Dalsaso launched her kayak from Blackwell Island on Monday afternoon, using the brief paddling excursion on the Spokane River to demonstrate the value of a small piece of public waterfront. The land where she parked her vehicle and carried her kayak down an embankment is the old U.S. Highway 95 right of way, where a bridge once crossed the river. The city of Coeur d’Alene owns the 1.83-acre parcel. But the land has been identified as “surplus,” and could be sold to help pay for a $1.65 million remodeling project at City Hall.

Seven candidates are vying for the position of Washington’s public lands commissioner. It’s the top job at the state Department of Natural Resources, which manages 5.6 million acres of state lands.

An environmental trust set up during Asarco Inc.’s bankruptcy is among the largest of its kind in the nation. The trust is expected to pay for 30 to 40 years worth of Superfund cleanup in the Coeur d’Alene Basin.

Jim Boyd, a noted singer-songwriter and chairman of the Colville Tribes, has died. He was 60.

Paddlers from the Colville, Coeur d’Alene, Spokane, Kootenai and Kalispel tribes arrived in dugout canoes at Kettle Falls on Friday after making journeys similar to the trips their ancestors might have taken around the summer solstice to fish for salmon at the historic fishing spot.

A dozen years ago, Bob Sievers changed the way he farms 2,700 acres of highly erodible land in Washington’s Palouse region. Direct seeding cuts down on soil erosion and protects water quality.

Hangman Creek’s muddy water contributes to water-quality issues in the Spokane River; new efforts are underway to clean up the creek.

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe began a 100-plus mile journey in a dug-out canoe Tuesday. Tribal members will paddle the length of the Lake Coeur d’Alene, down part of the Spokane River and out to the Columbia, where they’ll meet other tribes at Kettle Falls, an ancient fishing site.

Native shrubs will become the front line for keeping phosphorous out of Fernan Lake. The erosion control project aims to improve water quality in the lake east of Coeur d’Alene, which has had blue-green algae outbreaks in recent years.

A proposed coal-export terminal in Southwest Washington could eventually bring 16 more trains through Spokane each day.

Hecla Mining Company plans to buy a major silver deposit in Northwest Montana that for decades drawn the interest of speculators and the ire of conservationists.