Natural gas leak closes four movie theaters
A natural gas leak prompted an evacuation of four movie theaters at NorthTown Mall on Friday afternoon.
Officials believe a heating unit failed to ignite some gas, and it was sucked through an air intake into three theaters, said Battalion Chief Joel Fielder of the Spokane Fire Department.
Three theaters were occupied when fire crews were called out at 1:20 p.m. There was a smell of natural gas, and hazardous- materials crews detected a low amount of gas in at least one of the theaters, Fielder said.
Firefighters checked on the roof and in the theaters, trying to isolate which natural gas heating unit was apparently leaking, Fielder said. Two Avista Utilities crews also responded.
“It’s kind of coordinated between turning the unit on the roof and having our crews in the theater doing detection,” Fielder said.
The theaters reopened by late afternoon.
– Nick Eaton
Coeur d’Alene
City Council advised against banning dogs
The Coeur d’Alene City Council is being advised by legal counsel not to ban certain breeds of “dangerous” dogs from the city, according to Deputy City Attorney Warren Wilson.
Banning up to a dozen different breeds was one option Wilson presented to city officials following a highly publicized pit bull attack earlier this year. The suggestion of a breed ban was met with protests from a local dog club and several dog owners.
Among the dogs that may have been banned: pit bulls, Rottweilers, Presa Canarios, Akitas, Alaskan malamutes, chow chows, Doberman pinschers, German shepherds, Siberian huskies, Staffordshire bull terriers and wolf hybrids.
Critics questioned who would be in charge of identifying the dogs’ breeds and what would happen in the case of mixed-breed canines.
Wilson said the city’s General Services Committee meets at 4 p.m. Monday and will be asked to advise the full council against considering a breed ban.
– Taryn Hecker
Spokane
Slavic culture festival to be held in Hillyard
The community is invited to learn about Slavic culture at the Slavic Harvest Festival from 1 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Andrew Rypien Field in Hillyard.
The festival, sponsored by the Washington State University Extension Office, is an expansion of the annual Slavic Health Fair, according to Tatyana Bistrevsky, event coordinator.
In addition to health screening, this year’s event will include music, dancing and games as well as fresh produce raised in the Slavic Community Gardens. Gardening is among the many programs offered by the extension office, which conducts workshops to help acculturate immigrants from the former Soviet republics.
“Now it’s time to harvest,” said Bistrevsky, a Ukrainian immigrant, “so we decided to highlight Russian culture to the general public.”
She said there are an estimated 28,000 Russian-speaking immigrants in the Spokane area.
The Slavic Harvest Festival will be at the south end of Rypien Field at the corner of Liberty Avenue and Lacey Street.
– Kevin Graman