Hearing to consider Kinkade homes
The Kootenai County Commission will hold a public hearing Thursday on a proposal to build seven homes that replicate Thomas Kinkade sketches of English cottages.
The commission will tour the site off Timothy Lane on Friday before making a final decision.
The Gates of Coeur d’Alene project would be the second housing development for Kinkade, a best-selling California artist known for soft-focused landscapes.
HST Group signed a licensing agreement to build a Kinkade-themed development on nearly 24 acres overlooking Lake Coeur d’Alene.
In June, a county hearing examiner recommended approval of the project. County planning staff says work on the steep hillside could pose aesthetic and slope stability problems. The county also questions whether proposed stormwater controls would work on the slope.
The 10 a.m. hearing is at the Kootenai County Administration Building, 451 Government Way. For more information, call (208) 446-1070.
– Erica Curless
Spokane
Two arrested after chase in stolen car
Two people were arrested Tuesday morning when a stolen BMW ran onto a lawn, with Spokane Police in pursuit.
The chase began downtown about 5:15 a.m. and ended a few minutes later on a lawn at the corner of Fairview Avenue and Cedar Street, according to Cpl. Tom Lee.
Police had been looking for the 1988 sedan, which was reported stolen Monday in northeast Spokane. It may have been involved in an overnight robbery, Lee said. A man leaving a restaurant at Sprague Avenue and Altamont Street about 11 p.m. was robbed of his wallet, and witnesses told police the suspect got away in the BMW that later crashed.
The robbery was still under investigation Tuesday, and no charges had been filed.
Lee said the man driving the car when it crashed, 30-year-old Alfred H. Jordan, was booked into jail on suspicion of first-degree possession of stolen property and attempting to elude police. The passenger, 18-year-old Crystal A. Russell, was booked on suspicion of possession of crack cocaine.
– John Craig