Officials to review ‘remade’ ballots

Spokane County elections workers will check a sample of some 200 ballots that had to be “remade” because of problems with the way they were marked or handled by voters.

But the county canvassing board on Monday rejected a request by state House Republicans to review more than 7,000 remade ballots in the 6th Legislative District, where Democratic challenger John Driscoll leads John Ahern by 63 votes.

Election workers reserved 200 remade ballots countywide, including 50 from the 6th District, and that batch will be compared to the original ballots this morning. If that comparison shows any discrepancies, the board could order a comparison of all 6th District ballots, which would take about five days.

Spokane

Council approves property tax boost

Property taxes in the city of Spokane will rise by 1 percent next year.

The Spokane City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve the maximum property tax increase allowed under state law without a public vote.

Although the total amount raised for city services will increase by 1 percent without considering new construction, the extra amount paid by individual residents will vary depending on changes in their property values.

Mayor Mary Verner has presented a balanced budget for 2009 that includes the increase.

Whitman County

Spokane Valley man dies in crash

John R. Jangula died in a two-vehicle collision Monday morning near Rosalia.

The 22-year-old Spokane Valley man was a backseat passenger in a Cadillac Eldorado when it collided with a 1-ton Ford truck about 7:25 a.m. on U.S. Highway 195, according to a Washington State Patrol news release. Three others in the car suffered injuries and were treated at the scene.

Troopers determined the Cadillac was southbound when its driver crossed into the oncoming lane, authorities said. The crash remains under investigation.

Kootenai County

Customers to lose power Wednesday

Kootenai Electric Cooperative customers on the west side of Lake Coeur d’Alene will experience a power outage Wednesday.

The planned outage, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., will allow KEC to work on transmission lines. Nearly 1,400 customers living south of Dower Road and north of Bennion Road will be affected.