Region in brief: Car burglary suspect arrested
Police busted a suspected car burglar Friday morning after a Spokane resident called 911 to report a stranger in his vehicle.
Steven A. Soderstrom, 37, tried to run from police after providing a false name but was arrested near 2300 E. Sharp Ave., according to Spokane police. The man who called 911 identified Soderstrom as the man he saw in his vehicle about 7 a.m., and he identified a stereo Soderstrom had as one stolen from the vehicle.
Soderstrom had warrants for felony drug possession and for escape from community custody, according to police. He was booked into the Spokane County Jail on second-degree malicious mischief, possession of stolen property and obstructing a police officer.
Cheney
Commentator Snow to speak at EWU
Former White House spokesman and conservative commentator Tony Snow will speak at Eastern Washington University in April as part of the university’s Presidential Speakers Series.
Snow will discuss the presidential elections and political landscape, with emphasis on the news media and communications, EWU said.
Snow was a White House spokesman for almost a year and a half for President Bush, and he worked as a speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush. He’s also a well-known columnist and broadcaster who has regular stints as a guest host on Rush Limbaugh’s show and Fox News.
EWU’s annual speaker series began in 1998. Guests have included Nobel Prize recipient Lech Walesa, historian David McCullough and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Snow will speak at 1:30 p.m. April 22 at Reese Court in the EWU Pavilion. Admittance is free.
More information is available on the Web at www.ewu.edu/series.
Kootenai County
IRS drops part of case against Hart
The Internal Revenue Service has dismissed part of a federal case against a North Idaho lawmaker, no longer requiring him to divulge the names of people who bought his self-published book.
Yet the agency continues an ongoing audit of Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, who owes an estimated $90,000 in back taxes. Hart said Friday he provided the IRS with all the financial information it requested during the review.
Tuesday’s dismissal of the book portion of the case in U.S. District Court stems from an agreement reached in April. Instead of the book buyers’ names, Hart agreed to divulge the number of books he sold. In return, the IRS dropped the demand for names. Hart said providing the names would have violated his First Amendment and privacy rights.
Hart’s book is about his belief that Congress is wrongly interpreting the 16th Amendment, which gives the federal government the power to collect income taxes.
Hart stopped paying income tax in 1996 while he filed a lawsuit against the IRS to show that Congress was wrongly applying the 16th Amendment. In 2003, after losing the lawsuit and failing to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the issue, Hart resumed paying income taxes.
Snowstorm damage reports sought
Any Kootenai County business or homeowner whose property was damaged in January snowstorms is asked to report it to the county’s Office of Emergency Management.
The county commission and the governor are trying to calculate the damage so they can determine whether more assistance is needed. The emergency management office will ask for the type of damage, the estimated dollar amount and whether the owner is insured.
Last month Kootenai County and the cities of Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Hayden and Spirit Lake declared states of emergency with the intent to secure state assistance. Idaho Gov. Butch Otter also declared a disaster emergency for Bonner, Kootenai, Latah and Boundary counties.
To report damage in Kootenai County, call (208) 446-1775.
Draft growth plan up for comments
The public can comment on draft chapters of Kootenai County’s growth plan, which is being rewritten.
Copies of chapters that include topics on natural resources, economic development and transportation are available at the county planning office and on the county Web site. Residents also can submit comments online.
The comprehensive plan is a road map for how the county should grow in the next decade and which areas should remain rural.
Once the Kootenai County Planning and Zoning Commission finishes the rewrite, which has been under way for more than a year, it will have a public hearing. The Kootenai County Commission will approve the final draft.
The county is posting draft chapters as they are finished. The drafts are available at www.co.kootenai.id.us/ departments/planning/ newcompplan.asp. For more information, call (208) 446-1070.
Walla Walla
VA secretary will visit medical center
Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. James Peake will visit the VA medical center in Walla Walla on Tuesday.
Peake will be accompanied by Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers on a tour of the medical center serving more than 60,000 veterans in southeastern Washington, northeastern Oregon and western Idaho.
During a visit to Walla Walla in 2006, the previous VA secretary, James Nicholson, promised the community a new, state-of-the-art outpatient clinic to replace the aging veterans hospital, which was recommended for closure by a federal commission.