Week in Review
Nine years ago, amid widespread opposition, biologists released 15 wolves in Idaho, hoping to restore a species that was officially extinct in the state. Now, biologists estimate, about 400 wolves roam Idaho. That’s enough, says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to consider the species recovered and turn over its management by spring to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. “It’s good news for wolves and wolf recovery,” a federal wolf recovery expert told the Associated Press last week. Yet the Idaho Legislature in 2001 passed a resolution calling for the “immediate removal of all wolves from the state.” The state still officially opposes wolf recovery, but has reluctantly agreed to manage them in a way that ensures the survival of at least 15 packs. There are no resident wolf packs in Washington, and plans to reintroduce the animals to the state were dropped when President Bush was elected.
MONDAY
U.S. taxpayers are paying millions to improve a highway in northeastern Washington that will help a Canadian company. The state describes the improvements to state Route 31 as economic development because it supports 151 jobs at Teck Cominco Ltd.‘s new mine near Metaline Falls, Wash. Concentrates from the mine are trucked to Cominco’s smelter in Trail, B.C. That smelter is responsible for much of the pollution in Lake Roosevelt, the reservoir behind Grand Coulee Dam.
“ Two-thirds of voters in a recent scientific survey wish Washington had a different form of primary election. The state for 70 years had a primary in which any voter could vote for any candidate. That was ruled unconstitutional, and was replaced with a primary in which voters must pick a party. An initiative on the November ballot would modify the system to meet the court’s concerns while allowing votes for any candidate.
TUESDAY
Congressional contenders Don Barbieri and Cathy McMorris say they want a clean fight but can’t control outside groups that are weighing in on the election. Republican and Democratic congressional committees both have launched local attack ads. “We will do whatever she needs to win,” said a national Republican campaigner.
“ Robert Howard, a 2001 graduate of Colfax (Wash.) High School, pleaded guilty during a court-martial last month to murdering his murdering his 28-day-old son. The Navy medical corpsman said he sat on the baby’s chest to silence him while Howard played a video game. Residents were stunned in Colfax, where one teacher remembered Howard as “caring and considerate.”
“ John Roskelley is serving his final days as a Spokane County commissioner. He starts an appointment to the Eastern Washington Growth Management Hearings Board on Friday, so is resigning from the commission effective Thursday. Voters will pick Roskelley’s successor in November.
“ An exchange student from Mexico was 26 days late arriving at a Spokane school because Homeland Security laws made his reentry into the United States difficult. Alberto Estrada, 14, is the first foreign student to attend St. Charles Catholic School since the 2001 terrorist attacks.
“ The Spokane City Council rejected a “water quality assurance” ordinance by a 5-2 vote. The ordinance, which would have required U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of anything added to city water, was backed by fluoridation opponents.
WEDNESDAY
Patrick O’Donnell, who was ordained in the Spokane Roman Catholic Diocese in 1971, admitted in depositions to molesting boys before leaving the priesthood in 1985, but not all 25 who have filed lawsuits against him. O’Donnell said he was fondled as a seminarian by another Spokane priest.
“ Public health agencies in the Inland Northwest are planning flu-shot clinics, targeting high-risk groups first. Last year, the agencies gave a record number of influenza vaccinations amid reports of child deaths in other states. It’s too early to know whether this will be a bad flu season.
“ Spokane is getting $2.29 million from the federal government to help remove hazardous lead from the homes of poor children. The city doesn’t have reliable data on the number of children with dangerously high blood-lead levels, but Spokane has a lot of pre-1940s housing that likely has lead-based paint.
“ Spokane Mayor Jim West is back in Spokane after undergoing follow-up cancer surgery in Seattle. Doctors removed a section of liver where they had previously discovered a lesion. No new cancer was found, West said, and his prognosis is good.
“ Some participants were delighted, and others disappointed, when they had classic toys appraised by experts at a Toy Roadshow in Coeur d’Alene. One man sold his 1920s-era fire truck for $400. But others received relatively modest appraisals for boxes of dolls, lunchboxes and other items. “It was just a big bust,” one woman said.
THURSDAY
The U.S. Army Reserve’s 659th Engineer Company has received orders to deploy to Iraq. Members of the Spokane-based construction unit are experts in quarrying and paving.
“ Two men were charged in the 1987 murder of a Spokane woman. Tina E. Phillips was found stabbed to death that September in Grant Park. The men charged with her murder attended a party with her that night and allegedly intended to rob her of drugs and money.
“ A judge has thrown out an attempt by a citizens’ group to recall the mayor of Millwood. The group blames Mayor Jeanne Batson, whose term expires next year, for the demise of the town’s independent fire department and allege that she used town equipment in her re-election campaign, among other things.
“ Spokane Valley police are going to start giving out warnings to drivers who stop on the railroad tracks when traffic lights turn red at Appleway Boulevard and Dishman-Mica Road in the Spokane Valley. The Federal Railroad Administration says the situation is dangerous.
FRIDAY
The man who blew through a Spokane intersection and killed an Idaho girl two years ago will likely have his prison term reduced because of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that only juries, not judges, can weigh aggravating factors used to justify above-standard sentences. A judge sentenced Abdulwahab Al-Jazairy to nearly twice the standard maximum of 41 months for vehicular homicide and vehicular assault.
“ After 14 months as CEO of the troubled Empire Health Services, Garman Lutz has resigned. The nonprofit organization operates Deaconess Medical Center and Valley Hospital and Medical Center, which lost $7.5 million the first half of this year and eliminated 150 jobs.
“ Eleven school districts are suing Washington state saying it does not provide enough money for the required services for special education students. Spokane Public Schools and Riverside School District are part of the coalition.
“ County elections offices across Washington are being deluged with voter registration applications, as political parties and groups try to beat the deadline for mail-in registration. The Whitman County elections supervisor described the situation as “controlled chaos.”
COMING UP
A recently approved sales tax hike for criminal justice isn’t likely to put more cops on the street. Read about the issue Monday, in The Spokesman-Review.