In brief: Judge dismisses suit against Nonini

A 1st District Court judge dismissed a lawsuit Wednesday against Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Post Falls, for allegedly lying about his opponent’s stance on abortion and gay marriage in the 2004 election.

Judge John Luster dismissed the case because it was filed after the statute of limitations had run out.

Constitution Party candidate Rose Johnson, of Hauser, filed the libel lawsuit in November, claiming Nonini mailed thousands of yellow postcards to voters just days before the election. She alleged that the mailers included “untrue, deceptive, false and misleading” information about her political beliefs.

The card didn’t identify Johnson or Nonini’s Democratic challenger by name. Instead, it referred to Nonini’s “opponents” and claims that they supported abortion and “same-sex lifestyles.”

Johnson ran with a “pro-life, pro-God and pro-guns” philosophy. She claims Nonini knew this and that’s why his last-minute mailing was libelous.

Johnson said Thursday she plans to file a motion for reconsideration. She said that the judge thought the case had merit but that technically he had to dismiss it because the statute of limitations ran out.

Nonini argued the case never had merit.

Sweet event to aid Women’s Center

“Champagne, Cheesecake, Cabernet & Chocolate,” a benefit for the Women’s Center and the Soroptimist Children’s Center, will be held June 9, 7 to 10 p.m., at The White House, 805 E. Sherman Ave., in Coeur d’Alene.

The event will include dessert, wines and appetizers; live and silent auctions, including an all-expense-paid trip for two to Europe; a raffle; fly-fishing and professional golf demonstrations; and a brief talk on domestic violence by U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho. State Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, also will attend.

The cost is $40 a person or $300 for groups of eight or more.

The Women’s Center serves hundreds of women and children affected by domestic violence. It provides counseling, guidance and other services.

The Soroptimist Children’s Center last year counseled more than 600 children whose lives were affected by violence in their homes.

The Women’s Center is the umbrella organization for the Women’s Emergency Shelter and the Soroptimist Children’s Center. The emergency shelter housed more than 60 women and 45 children last year and provided services such as legal counsel, food, clothing and basic financial assistance.

For information, call Shirley Thagard, (208) 772-2786, or Anne Chatfield, (208) 664-9303.

Benefit tonight for pastor in coma

A benefit will be held tonight for Dave Miller, a Post Falls youth pastor, and his wife and three children. Miller sustained a skull fracture when he was kicked in the head while playing in a May 21 soccer game. He remains in a coma.

Friends organized the benefit to help the family with medical bills. It will be held at Coeur d’Alene Cellars, 3890 N. Schreiber Way, from 6 to 9 p.m. It will include live music, raffles, door prizes, appetizers and beverages. Cost is $5 per person.

Donations also can be made to the Dave Miller Family Fund at any U.S. Bank branch.

For information, call Patricia Smith, (208) 659-3144, or Charissa McCoy, (208) 660-3245.

Boise

New college to get $10 million gift

A private foundation said Thursday it will give $10 million to kick-start a new community college that voters in southwestern Idaho approved last week.

The JA and Kathryn Albertson Foundation, which focuses on supporting education, is giving the money to the College of Western Idaho so classes at the two-year academic and trade school can start by January.

The school, which will be Idaho’s third community college after North Idaho College and the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, won 68 percent support from voters last Tuesday.

The vote created a taxing district to help pay for the school, though the final cost to property owners is still being calculated. The Idaho Legislature this year also approved $5 million in state money to help start the school.

The new school will be located in Nampa at the site of Boise State University’s satellite campus.

Seattle

Obama to stump in Emerald City

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama kicks off his Seattle campaign today at a rally with thousands of paying supporters and a more elite event to keep him among the top candidates collecting Washington money.

The freshman Illinois senator will speak at the WaMu Theater in the Qwest Field Event Center at 5:30 p.m., with as many as 5,000 people expected. Tickets are $25, $50 and $100, depending on seats. Admission is free for those 16 and younger.

Later in the evening, at the Seattle Westin, supporters will pay $2,300 to get close enough to get a photograph taken with the candidate.

Eugene, Ore.

Two arsonists receive sentences

A federal judge on Thursday sentenced two women to prison for their roles in a string of arsons around the West that caused more than $40 million in damage over a five-year period.

Suzanne Savoie and Kendall Tankersley were the fifth and sixth of 10 radical environmentalists to be sentenced in U.S. District Court in Eugene after they pleaded guilty to arson and conspiracy charges. All were members of an underground cell of the Earth Liberation Front known as “The Family.”

U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken sentenced Savoie to four years and three months in federal prison. In order to recognize Savoie’s cooperation with investigators, Aiken imposed a sentence that was eight months less than the proposed sentence in a plea bargain. Aiken also noted that Savoie left the group in 2001 and has committed no crimes since then.

Savoie was convicted of participating in two arsons, the first at Superior Lumber Co. in Glendale in January 2001, and the second at the Jefferson Poplar Farm in Clatskanie in May 2001.

Tankersley’s three-year, 10-month sentence is five months less than she agreed to when she pleaded guilty for an arson at the U.S. Forest Industry’s office in Medford in 1998. Aiken said the less severe sentence was in recognition that Tankersley left the group immediately after the arson and cooperated fully when arrested.

Spokane

Child car laws in effect today

New Washington state laws on child passengers take effect today.

Children 13 years old and younger must ride in the back seat of vehicles, said Spokane police Officer Teresa Fuller. Also, children under the age of 8, unless they are at least 4 feet 9 inches tall, must use a child restraint system, such as a booster seat.

Fuller said going with the height requirement is the safest option. Seat belts are designed for people who are at least 4-foot-9.

Public safety representatives will be conducting a free car seat check clinic 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday in Nine Mile Falls at The Outpost supermarket and deli on Highway 291, Fuller said. Police officers will be there to answer questions parents have, as well as inspect the safety of their children’s car seats.

From staff and wire reports