Scott Maben

Kootenai County’s unemployment rate fell to 6 percent last month. That is nearly as low as in summer 2008, when the Great Recession was beginning to grip the Northwest. The February rate dropped from 6.4 percent in January and was nearly 2 percentage points lower than one year ago.

Kootenai County’s unemployment rate fell to 6 percent last month. That is nearly as low as in the summer of 2008, when the Great Recession was beginning to grip the Northwest.

The Washington attorney general’s office is pushing for more regulatory review of natural gas purchases by Avista and other utilities, saying hedging strategies are costing ratepayers. The Public Counsel Division of the AG’s office says Avista lost $11.9 million from November 2008 to October 2012 as a result of locking in prices for future gas purchases to avoid market fluctuation.

Federal mine safety officials will not impose tighter enforcement on the Lucky Friday Mine in Shoshone County after Hecla Mining Co. demonstrated it has made safety improvements there. The Mine Safety and Health Administration warned Hecla last November that the company might be issued a notice of a “potential pattern of violations of mandatory health or safety standards.” The agency said the company would be subject to enhanced enforcement unless it reduced the rate of “significant and substantial” violations at the Lucky Friday in Mullan, Idaho.

The previous owners of Conkling Marina & Resort on Lake Coeur d’Alene reclaimed the property in a public auction Monday afternoon. Tom Kirkpatrick and other family members who operated the resort east of Worley from 2002 to 2007 took back the 16-acre site with a credit bid of $2.4 million – about $1 million below what they estimate they are owed, including legal fees, deferred interest and taxes. There were no other bidders.

Federal officials want suggestions for small-scale cleanup projects in the lower Coeur d’Alene River Basin, which is contaminated by toxic metals from more than a century of hard-rock mining in the upper reaches of the watershed. The Environmental Protection Agency will pick some pilot projects to do next year that could shape how large-scale cleanup happens one day in the lower basin, which stretches from Enaville down to Harrison on Lake Coeur d’Alene and includes the picturesque Chain Lakes.

The previous owners of Conkling Marina & Resort on Lake Coeur d’Alene reclaimed the property in a public auction today.

The Coeur d’Alene School Board is accused of religious discrimination, fiscal irresponsibility and ethics lapses in a grievance filed Thursday by a group of Coeur d’Alene and Hayden residents. The 20-page complaint, supported by a petition signed by more than 100 residents, was prompted by the board’s controversial decision at the start of the school year to eliminate the Primary Years Programme at Hayden Meadows Elementary School.

The Coeur d’Alene School Board is accused of religious discrimination, fiscal irresponsibility and violations of ethics and Idaho’s open meetings law in a grievance filed Thursday by a group of Coeur d’Alene and Hayden residents.

Coeur d’Alene voters said yes Tuesday to extending a tax levy that the school district leans on heavily in a period of dwindling state support for education. “I’m pretty happy,” Coeur d’Alene School District Superintendent Hazel Bauman said. “It’s absolutely a wonderful blessing to have a community so supportive.”

Dylan P. Paschall said the last time he saw Luke Anana-Kuewa, the teenager was alive. That was nearly one year ago, after authorities say an evening of drinking rum and smoking marijuana turned into a violent clash on the bank of the icy Mill Pond at Spirit Lake.

Coeur d’Alene voters said yes Tuesday to extending a tax levy that the school district leans on more heavily in a period of dwindling state support for education.

The Coeur d’Alene school board said Monday it will crack down on bullying in schools and work to change the culture that nurtures the conduct. The board directed administrators to form a task force to size up the scope of the problem and recommend solutions.

When it comes to paying workers as little as possible, Idaho ranks first in the nation. The state has the highest percentage of minimum-wage workers of any state, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics.