In brief: Warrant check ruling upheld
A Spokane police officer had a right to ask the name of a man suspected of illegal camping, but not to check for warrants against him, according to the state Court of Appeals.
The court ruled last week that Spokane County Superior Court Judge Linda Tompkins correctly threw out a cocaine-possession charge against Daniel Joe Lawrence, 27, in October on grounds that police Officer Brenda Yates had no right to do a records check on Lawrence.
Yates was helping evict occupants from an illegal campsite on city park land along the Spokane River in May 2004 when she asked Lawrence and others in a tent to identify themselves. A records check revealed a state Department of Corrections order to detain Lawrence, and Yates reportedly found cocaine on him while arresting him on the Corrections Department warrant.
Illegal camping is a civil infraction, for which Yates could detain Lawrence just long enough to identify and cite him, a three-judge appellate panel ruled. The judges distinguished civil infractions from traffic infractions – for which officers are allowed to do background checks.
Division reduced to one lane
Division Street will be reduced to one lane between Trent Avenue and Cataldo Avenue today.
The lane closures will start at 9 a.m. and last until 3 p.m. as crews from Potelco Corp. lay aerial fiber lines.
Traffic may also be stopped at times near Cataldo Avenue.
Expect delays.
Classes resume in most districts
A sign that the holiday season is officially over may be the yellow school buses crowding area roads.
Classes in most of Spokane County’s public school districts resumed Tuesday after two weeks of winter break. Among those returning today are students at Central Valley, East Valley, West Valley, Freeman and Riverside schools. Students in the Nine Mile School District go back Thursday.
Benzel to chat with public online
Spokane Public Schools Superintendent Brian Benzel will host his monthly online chat with the community today from noon to 1 p.m.
To submit a question, visit the district’s Web site at www.spokaneschools.org and click on “Chat with the Superintendent.” Questions can be posted anytime.
Transcripts from previous chats – held the first Wednesday of the month – are also available on the district Web site.
ORLANDO, Fla.
Rare nickel goes unsold at auction
A rare nickel, owned by a Spokane man and thought to be worth about $5 million, didn’t fetch a cent at auction Tuesday.
The coin was one of five known 1913 Liberty Head nickels. New York-based Stack’s Rare Coin Galleries showed the nickel, which was struck clandestinely at the Philadelphia mint after its design was retired.
Bidding started at $4.5 million, but no one made an offer for it.
“But we aren’t disappointed. We’ve very happy to still own the coin,” said Laura Sperber, of Legend Numismatics New Jersey. She is also a minority owner of the nickel.
Sperber said someone at the auction was interested in the nickel and asked to meet with owners next week.
Last year, the same coin was sold in New Hampshire for $4.15 million to Spokane resident, Bruce Morelan, a lifelong collector of coins.