John Stucke

Dozens of bald eagles have returned to Lake Coeur d’Alene to feed on spawning kokanee. The annual show put on by the regal fishers draws thousands of birdwatchers and thrills hundreds of area students who take a field trip to the lake and climb aboard boats for an educational tour. There’s one person on the lake who has probably helped more people understand this recovered species more than any other: Elizabeth Paragamian, wildlife education specialist for the Bureau of Land Management. She recently won a Gold Award for Excellence in Interpretation or Environmental Education, given by the National Association for Interpretation, for her work speaking with 125,000 people each year. She has what many would say is a dream job. She talked Friday as she prepared to lead an eagle-watching boat tour for students. Q.How can people best catch that iconic image of an eagle grabbing a fish out of the lake?

Hospitals won’t endorse sweeping federal health care reforms until they are assured that greater numbers of people will be insured and that the costs of broadening coverage don’t cut their budgets too deeply, said Richard Umbdenstock, president and chief executive of the American Hospital Association. Umbdenstock left Spokane several years ago as a senior executive of Providence Health and Services to lead the AHA, which lobbies on behalf of 5,000 U.S. hospitals. He told a crowd gathered Monday at the Spokane Club that the AHA seeks a nonprofit-based insurance option that would cover most of the 50 million uninsured people in the U.S.

Shoppers by the thousands shrugged off spending worries in the wee hours Friday and grabbed discounted merchandise ranging from big-screen televisions to socks. The holiday shopping spree started earlier this year as some retailers – driven by fears of tight-fisted consumers – tried to lure shoppers on Thanksgiving Day.

Shoppers by the thousands shrugged off spending worries in the wee morning hours this and grabbed discounted merchandise ranging from big-screen televisions to socks.

Rami Amaro is betting on an experimental stem cell transplant treatment to fight off multiple sclerosis. It’s a risky – and expensive – procedure that the Hayden woman hopes will stop the degenerative effects of MS, a disease that affects brain function. Though she has undergone conventional treatments and is taking interferon shots every other day, Amaro has accepted – and has convinced her husband and four children – that a more radical approach is needed if she is to live the life she envisioned for herself.

Donna Blomberg calls herself ornery. She needed that attribute this fall to thwart an attempt by collection agencies to make her pay several hundred dollars for a couple of chiropractic adjustments she received years ago.

His brain began to atrophy. His blood thickened and his muscles shrank. And then his heart began to fail.