In brief: Pregnant smokers focus of program

The number of pregnant smokers continues to trouble state health officials, who announced new tobacco cessation services in the week before Mother’s Day.

In all, about 8,700 babies are born each year in Washington to smoking mothers, including about 1,080 babies in Spokane.

Smoking increases the chances of delivering a low-birthweight or premature baby. Smoking also increases the likelihood of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

About 18 percent of pregnant women in Spokane County smoke.

The DOH’s telephone service to help women quit smoking is (800) QUIT-NOW, and in Spanish, (877) 2NO-FUME.

Landlord to pay lead-paint penalty

A Spokane landlord has agreed to pay a $4,000 penalty to settle allegations that he failed to disclose lead paint to his tenants and their children.

In a news release, the EPA said William Henson’s single-family rental house was built prior to the 1978 ban on the sale of lead-based paint.

Attempts to reach Henson were unsuccessful.

Lead is toxic and poisons children every day, according to the EPA.

Landlords, building owners and property management companies are compelled by law to tell people about existing lead-paint risks and how to protect children.

Elevated lead in the blood of children 6 and younger can lead to anemia, behavioral problems, learning disabilities, brain damage and, in some cases, death.

Homes built prior to 1950 are considered the most likely places for lead paint contamination, especially if the old paint is allowed to chip and peel. Remediation for lead paint typically involves painting over the old paint to seal the lead beneath a safe coating.

EPA and HUD also have established a “Tips and Complaints” hotline (800-424-LEAD) for anyone seeking information about lead-based paint, lead poisoning, or for individuals who wish to report any alleged violations of the disclosure rule.

Coeur d’Alene

BLM objects to Cougar Bay dock

North Idaho Marine is asking the state for permission to create a commercial dock storage area in Cougar Bay but the U.S. Bureau of Land Management objects to any more use of the waterway near downtown Coeur d’Alene.

The company wants 5 to 9 acres of water surface in the southeast end of the bay to store docks, especially during winter when the lake level is low.

Another company already has a dock storage area nearby.

The Idaho Department of Lands will have a public hearing on the proposal in June or July.

For years Cougar Bay has been used to corral and store logs going to sawmills on the shoreline.

In a letter to the department, BLM Field Manager Eric Thomson wrote that the agency “strongly objects” to the request and “we do not feel that any additional uses of the water body in this regard should be granted either.” Kootenai Environmental Alliance also objects. North Idaho Marine and North Idaho Maritime General Manager John Condon wasn’t available for comment.

Stevenson, Wash.

Coast Guard abandons search

The Coast Guard has suspended its search for three tribal fishermen missing since their boat capsized in the Columbia River this week.

The three members of the Yakama Nation left on the fishing trip Tuesday night and were expected to return Wednesday morning, but they never showed up. Searchers found their vessel near Stevenson, in Skamania County.

Teams searched a 72-mile stretch of the river, from east of the Bonneville Dam to the Wind River, but did not find the men, whose names have not been released. The effort was called off Thursday afternoon.

Yakima

Ex-seminarian faces child porn charges

A federal immigration judge has decided a former seminarian charged with viewing child pornography can be released to face charges in Oregon.

Juan Jose GonzDalez Rios was charged in March with viewing child pornography while studying to be a priest in Oregon. He is set to be arraigned on those charges on June 5.

A native of Jalisco, Mexico, GonzDalez immigrated to the United States more than 15 years ago. He was working at the St. Peter Retreat Center in Cowiche under a religious visa, but it expired in 2005.

GonzDalez spent about four years at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon but was dismissed in February 2003 after the seminary reported the pornography allegations to Mount Angel police.

Seattle

Duwamish suing for recognition

The Duwamish tribe – the tribe of Chief Seattle – is suing the federal government for recognition.

The suit filed Wednesday in federal court in Seattle asks the court to reverse a Bureau of Indian Affairs decision seven years ago that the tribe had gone extinct.

The tribe says it has about 500 members. It received federal recognition at the end of the Clinton administration only to have the decision reversed in 2001 by the Bush administration.

Arlington, Wash.

State DNR buying tree farm

The state Department of Natural Resources is buying a 985-acre tree farm near Arlington to protect the timberland from development.

When the $4 million deal closes, the land will be become part of the state school trust holdings. Timber sales help pay for school construction.

In announcing the deal this week with the Bear Creek Tree Farm, Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland said Washington is losing its working forests to housing developments and other uses at an alarming rate.