Judge dismisses UI age bias suit
A judge in North Idaho has dismissed an age discrimination lawsuit a former University of Idaho employee filed against the school two years ago.
Isabel Bond, 75, sued the university in 2006 claiming she was pressured to retire from her job on the Moscow campus and given negative performance evaluations when she refused.
Bond worked at the university for 30 years with programs that provide financial assistance to low-income and first-generation college students.
Latah County District Judge Carl Kerrick ruled last week that Bond failed to show sufficient evidence of discriminatory conduct against her when she worked on the Moscow campus.
Kerrick also ruled that Bond was fired for legitimate reasons.
Auburn, Wash.
River too swift to recover car
The Green River near Auburn was still running too high and fast Sunday to allow rescuers another attempt at retrieving a car that is believed to be underwater with two boys inside.
The King County sheriff’s office says it may be Tuesday or Wednesday before the search can resume.
There’s been no sign of the boys – ages 2 and 13 – who were in the car when it went into the river Friday morning near Auburn.
The 16-year-old girl who was driving was able to escape and call for help.
The boys believed to be in the car have been identified by family members as 2-year-old Hunter Beaupre, a cousin of the girl driving the car, and 13-year-old Austin Fuda, a friend of the family.
Family members maintained a vigil along the riverbank through the weekend.
Idaho Falls, Idaho
Thousands given to gay marriage ban
Campaign finance reports show Idaho residents contributed more than $400,000 to a Web-based group working to pass a ban on gay marriage in California.
Campaign reports show dozens of Idaho residents sent donations of $10,000, $5,000 and $1,000 to ProtectMarriage.com, an online-based organization in favor of the ban.
In a statement, the group says it raised a total of about $40 million for its Yes on Proposition 8 campaign.
California voters narrowly passed Proposition 8 in the Nov. 4 election.
Election returns showed the measure won with 52 percent of the vote, with most precincts reporting.
The ballot proposition amends the California constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman.
Lewiston
Corps: Snake River may be slowing
The buildup of sediment on the bottom of the Snake River as it passes through North Idaho and Eastern Washington may be slowing, an official with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says.
The agency is drafting a plan to control the sediment buildup, alleviate flood risk and keep a viable shipping channel between the cities of Lewiston and Clarkston.
The accumulation of sediment where the river passes through Lewiston and Clarkston has long been on the upward trend, but there is some evidence that these levels may be flattening, said Carl Christiansen, the corps’ leader on the project.
The more sediment that piles up at the bottom of the river as it passes through the two cities, the more shallow the water will become and eventually flow faster, Christiansen said.
A faster-flowing stream means the sediments would be suspended in the water longer, passing through the Snake River in Lewiston and Clarkston and dropping to the bottom farther downstream, Christiansen said.
“It’s hypothetical,” Christiansen told the Lewiston Tribune. “We know there is a physical limit at some point. We just don’t know if we have reached it.”
But Tom Dechert, who coordinates the storm water program in Lewiston, said the theory that the sediment buildup is on the decline has little evidence to back it up and he’s not convinced the problem is going away.
Bellingham
Woman held after smashing bongs
An 18-year-old Bellingham woman has been arrested for investigation of obstructing a law enforcement officer after she grabbed two glass bongs off the back of a police car and smashed them in front of an officer.
Police say officers found the woman and three friends smoking marijuana in a car parked at a dead end Friday.
Police searched the car and found two glass bongs, plastic baggies, scales and more than 30 bags containing small amounts of marijuana.
Sgt. Mark Stokes said the driver of the car, a 17-year-old Bellingham resident, admitted to possessing the drugs and paraphernalia. While officers were preparing to cite the driver with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, Stokes said, the woman grabbed the bongs and started running. He said she smashed the bongs on the ground as an officer chased after her.
Stokes says the woman told police she wanted to help the driver, her friend, avoid a possession of paraphernalia charge, but the driver wasn’t going to be charged with that.
The woman was booked into the Whatcom County Jail.
Obama supporters’ cars vandalized
A vandal at Western Washington University in Bellingham slashed the tires of cars that had Obama or Obama-Biden stickers on them.
Sixteen vehicles were hit, including 15 with punctured tires, and campus police estimate damage in the thousands of dollars.
Some of the vehicles had “W” scratched on their doors. Campus police Chief Randy Stegmeier says he suspects that referred to President Bush.
Police believe the vandalism occurred between 4 and 8 p.m. on Thursday, two days after Barack Obama was elected president.
Port Angeles, Wash.
Hurricane Ridge road reopens
The newly repaired road to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park has officially reopened.
It was estimated the $12 million project would take two years to finish, but the reconstruction, repaving and storm damage repairs took just one construction season.
The 12-mile road from the Heart ’O The Hills park entrance to the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center Work was built in the late 1950s and last resurfaced in 1979.
Three sections of road damaged during a December 2007 storm were repaired, and conduits to carry utility lines to Hurricane Ridge were installed.
Hurricane Ridge begins its winter schedule on Nov. 21. Barring closures for bad weather, the road will be open from 9 a.m. to dusk Friday through Sunday until March 29.
For the holidays, it will remain open daily Dec. 19 through Jan. 4.