JoNel Aleccia

A former Airway Heights Correctional Center worker who suffered a traumatic head injury is suing the Washington state Department of Corrections, saying she shouldn't have been fired for having dementia. Carol Carver, 58, of Airway Heights, had complained to her supervisors she was distracted by fellow employees who entertained themselves by loudly mocking inmate mail, including ridiculing nude photographs and magazines sent to prisoners, state documents indicate. She was sent to a psychologist, who diagnosed her with dementia, which became the basis for her firing.

Supplies of prescription painkillers have increased exponentially since the late 1990s, when regulations governing their use were relaxed. In Washington, for instance, the volume of methadone distributed from manufacturers to hospitals and pharmacies grew by nearly 975 percent between 1997 and 2004, according to federal Drug Enforcement Administration statistics. Oxycodone supplies surged by nearly 600 percent, state researchers noted.

CHEWELAH – A 12-year-old brings hydrocodone tablets to a middle-school slumber party. A high-schooler steals methadone pills from her parents' medicine cabinet.

The new owner of the Skyway Cafe made no secret of his low opinion of Spokane health officials who charged him twice for a restaurant permit, then rebuffed his protests. On Thursday, however, John Melter said he was surprised at the receptivity of the Spokane Regional Health District board of directors and their decision to refund a $590 penalty.

Separate donors recently awarded $2.5 million to the University of Washington's Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine. Bill and Marilyn Conner of Kirkland recently gave $1.5 million to create an endowed chair in the UW Medicine center. The Conners, along with the late Richard McAbee, previously created the first endowed chair at the university, school officials said.

No one had to tell Chelcia Frelo and Kristen Moeller that it's more difficult for minors to buy tobacco in Spokane than it used to be. The two smokers waiting for a bus at Browne and Riverside on Wednesday said they're asked for identification regularly – and they've been legal for years.

So far, the phones have been mostly quiet at the Eastern Washington 211 call center, the last of eight state sites to start a nonemergency referral service that might one day rival 911. But that's expected to change today, when organizers launch Spokane's program that will provide comprehensive health and social service resources with a single call.

Collections from area Safeway stores recently raised $115,120 for the Deaconess and Valley Healthcare Foundation to help pay for expanded treatment for breast cancer. The funds will pay for a breast MR coil, special equipment for the area's only 3T medical resonance imaging scanner at the Spokane Advanced Imaging Institute, or SII. The equipment is expected to help detect breast cancer earlier and more accurately.

Reports of influenza remain scattered, but health officials in Eastern Washington and North Idaho said there's still time to ward off the worst of the flu season. About 500 doses of flu vaccine are available through the Spokane Regional Health District, and another 600 doses remain at regional offices of the Panhandle Health District, officials said. Another 100 doses of FluMist also are available in Spokane for children and teens.

A Spokane Regional Health District board member who voted to fire Dr. Kim Thorburn said he will have no problem supporting a resolution Wednesday praising her leadership as head of the state Board of Health. David Crump, who sits on both boards, said Monday that he saw no conflict in approving a farewell that lauds the ousted health officer's skills.

Kootenai County's first baby of 2007 made her mother wait – and then kept her awake until the wee hours of New Year's Day. But the debut of Kahlei Christine Brown at 4:10 a.m. Monday at Kootenai Medical Center was well worth the roller-coaster, said Cassandra Brown, 30, of Coeur d'Alene.

What will it take to slow the spread of childhood obesity in Spokane and beyond? Only about three years, $1.3 million and the cooperation of up to 5,000 local middle-schoolers and their families – at least according to Washington State University researchers who've received a federal grant to tackle the problem.

A Coeur d'Alene cardiologist who suffered a heart attack while making medical rounds Tuesday said he was grateful for the skill of his colleagues and the creation of Kootenai Medical Center's North Idaho Heart Center. Dr. James Pataky, 56, had a stent implanted within 21 minutes of the midday episode, said Lisa Johnson, KMC spokeswoman. His heart was shocked back into rhythm by his friends and co-workers Dr. Ronald Fritz and Dr. Kevin Kavanaugh.

Fired health officer Dr. Kim Thorburn plans to protest claims that she failed to communicate adequately with Spokane Regional Health District Board members. The board will meet today in a special session to consider Thorburn's written rebuttal to accusations that she didn't return e-mails and phone calls or seek to improve battered relations with the board.