In brief: Chillier weather in forecast

Cold northern air is expected to move into the Inland Northwest on Thursday, bringing lows in the lower teens and highs in the mid-20s.

The cold air could be accompanied by a small risk of snow and by northeast winds of 10 to 20 mph, with gusts to 30 mph.

Forecasters said the cold should ease slowly Saturday through Tuesday, when a 20 percent chance of snow continues in the forecast.

Traffic delays likely downtown

Main Avenue from Monroe Street to Lincoln Street will be reduced by one lane today from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., said a spokeswoman for the city of Spokane.

A tree company will be working on trees along the sidewalk at 1002 W. Main Ave. Signs will be in place, and motorists should anticipate delays.

Trial date set for ex-fire crew boss

A March 26 trial date has been set for a former U.S. Forest Service crew boss charged with involuntary manslaughter and lying to federal investigators in the 2001 deaths of four firefighters.

Ellreese Daniels welcomes the trial to clear his name, Tina Hunt, a federal public defender, said after not guilty pleas were entered Tuesday on behalf of her client.

A federal grand jury indicted Daniels, 46, of Leavenworth, on four counts of involuntary manslaughter and seven counts of making material false statements stemming from his role as a fire crew boss in the Thirtymile fire in Okanogan County in July 2001.

Four firefighters died when flames trapped the crew and two civilians in the Chewuch River Canyon.

Moscow, Idaho

Towels probable cause of sauna fire

A weekend fire in the sauna at the University of Idaho’s physical education building was likely caused by people placing wet towels on the sauna’s heater to dry them, fire officials said Tuesday.

The Saturday morning fire in the women’s locker room caused an estimated $100,000 in damage, according to the Moscow Fire Department. Investigators interviewed people who used the sauna and found that it was a common practice to dry wet towels on the sauna heater. They also found that the fire started in the area of the heater.

The investigation is continuing, but the Fire Department said towels on the heater now appear to be the most likely cause of the fire.

SEATTLE

Seattle liable in WTO protests

A federal jury on Tuesday found the city of Seattle liable for the unlawful arrests of about 175 protesters during World Trade Organization demonstrations in 1999.

But the jury also ruled that the city did not violate the protesters’ free speech rights, and a lawyer for the city argued that the mixed verdict showed that the jurors were confused by their instructions. He said the city will move to dismiss the case on those grounds.

Barring that challenge or any immediate appeal, the class-action lawsuit will move to a damages phase in which a judge or jury will determine how much to pay each plaintiff. Seattle has already paid about $800,000 in more than a dozen WTO lawsuits and claims, and if the damages fall in line with those cases, the total the city pays could be in the millions.

The trial stemmed from the mass arrest of protesters at a downtown park Dec. 1, 1999, where they were sitting and singing patriotic anthems.