In brief: Meeting will cover River District plans
A public meeting for Otis Orchards residents with questions about the River District development proposal at Liberty Lake is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday.
The meeting will be at the Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District office, 22510 E. Mission Ave., behind the Albertsons store at the corner of Mission and Country Vista Drive.
Jim Frank, chief executive of Greenstone Corp., called the meeting after several Otis Orchards residents told Spokane County commissioners at a May 15 public hearing that they feared urban development in their semirural area across the Spokane River from the 700-acre River District commercial and residential development.
Frank said he has no plan to develop any land north of the river, although some 300 acres of north bank land is included in existing and proposed districts to provide tax support for the south bank River District project. He said the north bank land was included for the sake of long-range sewer planning.
Most of the land in the tax-support districts, on both sides of the river, is owned by Centennial Properties, a subsidiary of Cowles Co., which also owns The Spokesman-Review.
– John Craig
Spokane
Child car safety laws now in effect
New 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.
– Jody Lawrence-Turner
MARYSVILLE, Wash.
Driver U-turns against I-5 traffic
A “confused” driver made two U-turns on Interstate 5, nearly causing two head-on crashes, then exited from the freeway before she could be stopped, state troopers said.
“I’m amazed; I’m stunned we didn’t have a fatal collision,” Washington State Patrol Trooper Kirk H. Rudeen said.
A license plate number provided by a witness led investigators to a 71-year-old woman who admitted responsibility, Rudeen said.
“She said she got confused,” he said.
Witnesses told troopers a tan Honda entered the northbound lanes of the state’s busiest freeway at 88th Street Northeast on Wednesday, then abruptly turned around and began driving south – against traffic.
About two-tenths of a mile farther, the Honda made another U-turn and headed north, exiting at 88th Street Northeast, where witnesses lost sight of it.
The driver was not arrested, but the patrol will recommend that she face charges and be required to retake a driver’s license examination, Rudeen said.
– Associated Press