In brief: Forecasted chill hangs back
Arctic air that had been forecast to move over the Inland Northwest on Thursday remained well to the east of the region, reducing the risk of single-digit temperatures for the early hours of today and again tonight, forecasters said.
Highs in the upper 20s are expected in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene while tonight’s low is forecasted to drop to 14 in both cities. After that, temperatures should rebound to near seasonal norms by Sunday when highs in the mid-30s are predicted.
Milder air moving into the region at higher elevations on Sunday could bring a 50 percent risk of rain or snow to Spokane and Coeur d’Alene and a 50 percent chance of snow in the mountainous areas of northeast Washington and North Idaho.
Cable work to close lanes near Deaconess
Cable work will close lanes on several streets near Deaconess Medical Center.
Fifth Avenue, from Jefferson to Howard streets, and Howard Street, from Fifth to Second avenues, will be affected.
One lane will be closed on each street from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays until Feb. 9. Parking near Deaconess will also be impacted.
Crews will detour traffic around the work. Expect delays.
Spokane Valley
Valley police searching for bank robber
Spokane Valley police were searching Thursday for a man who robbed the Sterling Savings Bank at 11205 E. Sprague Ave. about 1:35 p.m.
The robber displayed a note but no weapon. Bank employees believe he ran to a vehicle parked on the north side of Moffat Road, but they didn’t see the vehicle.
Police said they hope to hear from other witnesses who may have seen the getaway vehicle.
The robber was described as white, in his 50s, 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing 180 pounds and having short-cropped brown hair but no beard or mustache.
Police ask that anyone with information about the robbery call (509) 242-TIPS.
Athol
24-year-old pedestrian killed by train
Investigators say a pedestrian who was hit and killed by a train late Wednesday may have been trying to dodge it.
Jonathon Thompson, 24, was walking home from a local bar shortly before midnight with friend Christopher Nunnes when he went around the crossing gate at the BNSF tracks on Highway 54, according to Idaho State Police.
ISP said Thompson tried to jump in front of a northbound train and back out of the way when he was hit.
“Alcohol probably played a part in his decision-making in trying to dodge the train and that he was unable to do so,” ISP Cpl. Charlie Greear said Thursday. Greear said the train, weighing an estimated 12 million pounds, was traveling at 40 mph.
Thompson is the second pedestrian to be killed there in seven years.
In December 2000, 39-year-old Debra Forstrom was hit by a train at the Highway 54 crossing.
A local effort to eliminate at-grade railroad crossings between Spokane and Athol, called Bridging the Valley, will include building a highway underpass at this particular crossing in Athol. The Federal Railroad Administration ranks it as one of the four most dangerous crossings in Kootenai County.
Greear cautioned people not to go around crossing gates and to watch out for trains.
TACOMA
Shots fired nearby during Gregoire visit
Shots were fired about six blocks from Gov. Chris Gregoire while she was visiting Tacoma on Thursday afternoon, her staff said.
“We were never in any danger,” said spokesman Lars Erickson.
No one was injured and there was no indication the shots were related to the governor’s visit, said Detective Gretchen Ellis, a Tacoma police spokeswoman.
The State Patrol decided the governor should leave the area after the shots were fired, but Erickson said they had just finished their tour of a public housing development in the Salishan neighborhood at about 1:45 p.m. and were about to leave anyway.
The shooter, reportedly a man dressed in black, was seen walking into the woods in Swan Creek Park. He was not seen again despite a search of about 240 acres of the woods, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.
Boise
70 mph limits on Idaho freeways posed
Cars should go slower on Idaho freeways, and trucks should go faster, according to legislation introduced Thursday in a Senate committee.
Sen. Tim Corder, R-Mountain Home, who owns a trucking company, introduced a bill to lower Idaho’s top freeway speed for cars from 75 mph to 70, and to raise the top speed for trucks from 65 mph to 70. Corder said it’s safer for everyone if cars and trucks go the same speed.
“The fewer number of times that trucks and cars interact, the safer the roads are likely to be, the fewer number of accidents there are,” Corder told the Senate Transportation Committee.
Last year, Corder introduced a bill to raise truck speed limits to 75 but withdrew it after an outcry from safety advocates and others.
Helena
Bill supports future bear, wolf hunts
A Senate committee unanimously endorsed legislation Thursday that would allow the hunting of wolves and grizzly bears in Montana once the animals are removed from federal protections.
The bill by Sen. Joe Balyeat, R-Bozeman, drew no opposition in a Senate Fish and Game Committee hearing and is backed by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. It now goes to the Senate floor.