Mike Prager

Risks posed by rail shipments of coal and oil drew increased attention last week with a series of announcements involving expansion of energy markets in the region. Environmentalists issued a report estimating that fossil fuels could bring 82 trains a day through Spokane and Sandpoint a decade from now. BNSF Railway officials said those estimates are unsubstantiated.

Spokane County Clerk Thomas R. Fallquist is stepping down after nearly 32 years in office, he said Friday. The Republican clerk said he is leaving as of Monday due to a medical condition that prevents him from continuing in office.

Officials flipped the switch on a $47 million upgrade of Spokane County’s emergency communications system last weekend. For the first time, fire and law enforcement personnel will be able to communicate directly with each other, said Bob Lincoln, director of the Spokane Regional Emergency Communications System.

A little more than a year after Spokane celebrated its historic legacy by hosting a national preservation conference, Spokane’s own historic preservation program is being ground to a halt. The city-county Landmarks Commission that oversees historic listings and approves local tax incentives cannot take a vote because six of its 11 positions are vacant and county commissioners are withholding their approval of nominations to fill four of the vacancies. The Landmarks Commission needs at least seven members to constitute a voting quorum.

London Bowater, 7, is in the fight of her life, and her family is asking the Spokane community for help. London was diagnosed in 2011 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant to help her survive.

Cold and snowy will become wet and slushy well into next week as forecast heavy rains prompted a flood watch. An inch of rain or more could fall in Spokane by Monday, with more precipitation in North Idaho.

Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich is taking another run at closing a loophole in state law governing the firing of bad law enforcement officers. On Tuesday, he enlisted support of other sheriffs and police chiefs in the Inland Northwest in calling for a bill to give the Washington State Criminal Justice Commission greater authority to revoke the certification of law enforcement officers who lie or commit crimes.

The cold, snowy wind blowing across Green Bluff on Wednesday was about as far as you could get from wedded bliss on a warm summer night. Cold weather or not, Spokane’s three county commissioners marched through the snow on a special fact-finding mission.