In brief: WSU places latest tuition cap at 7 percent
Washington State University students will pay 7 percent more for tuition in each of the next two academic years, the school’s regents decided Friday.
The increase was the maximum approved by the Legislature in the recently concluded session. The 7 percent cap will be in place through 2016-17.
In-state tuition for undergraduates will be $5,812 for 2007-08, WSU said.
The new tuition caps aren’t much different from the typical annual increases of recent years, which have roughly doubled the rate of growth of family income in Washington.
But lawmakers wanted to prevent further escalation and also attempted to guarantee more state funding in the future.
– Shawn Vestal
Spokane
Civil Service Commission picks new member
Yvonne Lopez-Morton, chairwoman of the state Commission on Hispanic Affairs, was appointed Friday to the Spokane County Civil Service Commission.
She replaces John R. Shagen, whom county commissioners declined to reappoint in January after he voted to overturn Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich’s firing of a detective who exposed himself to a woman working at an espresso stand.
Lopez-Morton, who runs Spokane Public Schools’ “Safe Schools, Healthy Students” program, told county commissioners she thought Knezovich made the right decision. The other finalist for the position, Inland Northwest Health Services supervisor Nancy Vorhees, said news accounts led her to believe Detective Joe Mastel was properly reinstated for lack of due process.
County Commissioner Bonnie Mager called for Lopez-Martin to be appointed, saying Vorhees’ comment gave her “a little bit of heartburn.” Commissioner Todd Mielke favored Vorhees because she has more management experience.
Commissioner Mark Richard tipped the balance by noting Lopez-Morton would bring both gender and ethnic diversity to the Civil Service Commission.
– John Craig
Adams County
Fire at illegal dump site damaging air quality
A smoky fire at an illegal dump site southeast of Othello may cause irritation for those with respiratory problems, Adams County Health Department officials warned Friday.
“Our main concern is that nearby residents are aware that the air quality, due to the fire, is poor,” Adams County Environmental Health Director Brent Stenson said. “Residents in the path of the smoke with any type of respiratory problems should limit their exposure.”
The health department said in a news release that the buried garbage includes plastic tubs, fiberglass items, refrigerators and freezers.
Chief Clyde Fought of Adams County Fire District No. 5, which is fighting the blaze, said fires involving plastics and other flammable materials can burn for a long time. How the fire started Thursday night and what caused it are under investigation, he said.
Adams County officials learned of the illegal dumpsite in 2003 and ordered the former owner and the operator to stop dumping waste there.
– Associated Press