County native gets U.S. energy post
A Spokane County native and former aide to U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton was named this week to a spot on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
President Bush nominated Philip Moeller, who once served as Gorton’s senior assistant for electricity policy, to the board that licenses hydroelectric dams and controls many aspects of the power, natural gas and oil industries.
A White House spokesman said Moeller is originally from Freeman in southeast Spokane County.
The nomination drew praise from Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, at a time when the region and the administration are at odds over possible budget changes for the Bonneville Power Administration.
A spokeswoman for Murray described him as someone “who knows the region and has been around the issues for a very long time.”
Craig said in a press release that Moeller is “well-qualified, experienced and brings a wealth of knowledge to the table.”
– Jim Camden
Olympia
Not heavy lifting: Senate OKs bill
A bill to spare nurses and hospital workers from back injury as a result of lifting increasingly heavier patients was approved by the Washington state Legislature.
The Senate voted 48-0 on Wednesday to approve House Bill 1672, requiring hospitals to establish safe patient handling policies and committees to implement them.
The bill, approved by the House on Tuesday, also creates a tax credit for hospitals to encourage use of mechanical lifting equipment.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Steve Conway, D-Tacoma, said the measure will protect nurses, who have a 40 percent rate of back injury.
“It will reduce injuries and actually help in the recruitment of nurses,” Conway said.
Passage came after amendments were introduced that relieved hospitals of the immediate financial burden of purchasing lifting equipment.
Ultimately the bill won the support of the Washington State Hospital Association, as well as unions representing nurses and hospital workers.
– Kevin Graman
Days numbered for CdA gravel pit
Central Pre-Mix Concrete Co. will close its gravel pit at Seltice Way and Northwest Boulevard in the spring to make way for the expansion of the Riverstone mixed-use project.
Spokane-based Riverstone West LLC, developer of that portion of the project, bought the 80-acre site from Central Pre-Mix in the fall of 2003, the development company said in a press release Wednesday.
Central Pre-Mix has operated a gravel pit at the site for nearly 60 years.
Central Pre-Mix said it would move the operation to “an alternate site,” although it didn’t name that location. Central Pre-Mix President Mark Murphy couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday evening.
The release said, however, that no jobs would be lost due to the closure of the gravel pit in Coeur d’Alene because workers will be transferred to other Central Pre-Mix operations.
Riverstone West plans to build a 10-acre public park on part of the site, with a 6-acre manmade lake.
Most of the rest of the site will be developed with mixed-use buildings containing retail shops and restaurants on the first level and residential units on the second and third levels.
Construction is expected to start in early 2006 and take a year to complete.
– Addy Hatch