In brief: Rural broadband access gets boost
Idaho Gov. Jim Risch has awarded $4.9 million to four companies for extending broadband access to up to 50,000 new users in rural communities.
Verizon will receive $452,000 to serve nearly 8,000 potential broadband subscribers in the Silver Valley and the communities of Athol, Bayview and Harrison. The remaining grant money was divided among three companies serving other areas of the state.
The companies must match each grant with cash. State officials said the grants will enable companies to provide affordable broadband service to rural communities by reducing the up-front cost of delivery.
“These projects will raise the quality of life for residents of rural Idaho and make their communities more attractive for business development,” said Commerce & Labor Director Roger Madsen.
Post Falls
Reward seeks tips on auto burglaries
Secret Witness of Kootenai County is offering a $200 reward for information leading to the arrest of suspects in a series of auto burglaries in Post Falls.
Post Falls police responded to more than a dozen auto burglaries June 25 and 26, according to a press release.
Items stolen included CD player faceplates, baseball equipment, a GPS system, DVD players, CDs and DVDs, cameras and sunglasses.
A witness described the suspects as three white males ages 17 to 21 – one with shaggy blond hair – and a white female about 17 years old. The female was approximately 5-foot-8 and wore her hair up.
The witness said the suspects were driving a green car, possibly a Dodge or Plymouth.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Secret Witness at (208) 667-2111 or toll-free at (866) 667-2111. Callers don’t have to leave their name; they can use a code name or number to be eligible for the reward.
Moscow, Idaho
Fire burns outside Moscow hotel
A fire that started just outside the Best Western University Inn on Monday prompted evacuation of the hotel, but no injuries were reported.
The fire destroyed about 80 feet of bushes, melted the grills of three cars, and blackened the bricks and windows on the west side of the hotel, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News reported.
There was minimal interior damage to the hotel, Fire Chief Don Strong said.
The fire started about 3:15 p.m. and was put out by 3:40 p.m., Strong said.
Its cause was not immediately known and no damage estimate was available.
University Inn officials did not immediately return calls to the Associated Press on Monday.
The hotel is near the University of Idaho, police Lt. Dave Lehmitz said.
Patrols focus on U.S. 95 side streets
The Idaho State Police and local law enforcement will be patrolling U.S. Highway 95 this week to make sure that drivers aren’t violating laws pertaining to side streets.
Highway traffic has the right of way over traffic from streets leading onto the highway. Vehicles are also prohibited from blocking the highway’s medians.
Fines for violating either of these two laws are $62.
Seattle
West suffering kidney problems
Former Spokane Mayor Jim West is in a Seattle hospital with life-threatening complications after recent surgery.
West, who has been treated for cancer since 2003, had surgery at University of Washington hospital in Seattle last Tuesday and developed post-operative complications involving his kidneys, said Bill Etter, an attorney who represented West during last year’s recall.
West underwent three rounds of chemotherapy after he was diagnosed with colon cancer in early 2003, while he was in the state Senate. Doctors said the cancer spread to his liver, and removed portions of that organ, but that he tolerated the chemotherapy well. He won the mayor’s race that fall and underwent more chemotherapy before taking office.
He had a third round of chemotherapy in 2005, during the recall campaign that resulted in his ouster last December.
Everett
Girl held after baby found in trash bag
A Snohomish County Superior Court judge set bail at $50,000 Monday for a 17-year-old girl who police say left her newborn in a black plastic garbage bag in nearby Marysville.
The girl, whose name has not been released, was being held at the Denny Juvenile Justice Center in Everett and could face a charge of abandoning a dependent person. The Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office has until Wednesday to file charges.
Neighbors heard the baby crying Saturday night and found it, bloody and apparently no more than a few hours old, beside a retaining pond in Marysville, just across a cul-de-sac from where the teen lives with relatives.
The child had a mild case of hypothermia and was taken to Providence Everett Medical Center, Fire Battalion Chief Scott Goodale said Sunday. Hospital officials would not release information on the baby’s condition.
Police followed droplets of blood to the teen’s home, where they arrested her. She was released from a hospital early Monday before being transferred to the juvenile justice center.
From staff and wire reports