Commuting Winners Will Be Honored At Event

Standouts in the effort to reduce employee commute trips and preserve air quality will be honored at an awards luncheon this week.

“Way to Go Awards” will be presented to more than 70 private and public employers from throughout Spokane County during the event at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Cavanaughs Inn at the Park.

The honors are bestowed on employers who promote alternatives to solo commuting, including car-pooling, transit, walking, bicycling and van-pooling. A 1991 law requires major employers to develop, implement and maintain trip-reduction programs.

The goal of the state’s Commute Trip Reduction Law is to reduce single-occupant vehicles and/or vehicle miles traveled by employees to a major work site by 35 percent after 12 years.

Locally, 40 Spokane-area employers met their goals last year, while another 23 made significant progress. Since the CTR program began in 1993, there has been a 13 percent countywide reduction in solo commuting and a 12 percent decrease in daily vehicle miles traveled, officials say.

For information about Wednesday’s event, call 477-7169.

In other events this week:

Monday

Martin Luther King Jr. Day. U.S. government offices, banks and financial markets will be closed.

Wednesday

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission holds a hearing on Avista Corp.’s request to sell its 15 percent stake in a Centralia, Wash., coal-fired power plant at 9:30 a.m. at 472 W. Washington in Boise. For information, call (208) 334-0330 or (208) 388-3800.

* U.S. Commerce Department reports housing starts for December; Federal Reserve releases latest survey of regional economic conditions.

Thursday

The Spokane Public Facilities District will meet with city and county officials from noon to 2 p.m. at the Champions Room in the Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon, to consider the district’s possible role in a proposed convention center expansion project. For information, call 624-1393.

* The Washington State Employees Credit Union presents a free class on “Women and Investing” at 6:30 p.m. at the Medical Lake City Hall. To register, call 532-8617, ext. 303, or register online at httb://www.wastatecu.org.

* The Spokane Home Builders Association holds a general meeting at 6 p.m. at the DoubleTree Hotel City Center. For information, call 532-4990.

* U.S. Labor Department reports producer price index for December; Commerce reports international trade for November.

This sidebar appeared with the story: ON THE SHELF Heading to Home

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