Region in brief: Alcohol may have had role in crash
An 18-year-old Rathdrum man may be facing drunken driving charges after driving his van into a home near state Highway 53 and Trails End Road on Tuesday.
Scott T. Brown was eastbound about 2:45 p.m., when authorities say he lost control of his van and it left the roadway. The vehicle struck the front steps of a residence, causing minor damage, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department said.
Brown was taken to Kootenai Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Authorities believe alcohol was a factor in the crash, and charges are pending.
Boy to speak on plight of homeless
A 12-year-old advocate for the homeless will be the keynote speaker Friday at the 25th annual Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls school districts’ fifth-grade program commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Zach Bonner of Florida has received national attention for his volunteer work highlighting the plight of the 1.5 million homeless children in the United States. He has walked thousands of miles to raise thousands of dollars for the homeless, accompanied by his mother. He also formed a foundation that collects school supplies and toys to distribute to homeless children.
The King Day program is held at North Idaho College and has two sessions – one at 9:30 a.m., the other at noon. The sponsors are the NIC Human Equality Club, the two school districts and the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations.
A short video showcasing Bonner’s work will be shown at the task force’s annual gala at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the Parkside Towers Event Center, 601 E. Front Ave., Coeur d’Alene.
For more information, or tickets to the gala, call (208) 765-3932.
Rape investigation dropped
SEATTLE – Federal prosecutors closed a two-year rape investigation of magician David Copperfield on Tuesday without filing charges, and police in nearby Bellevue say his accuser made a false sexual assault claim against another man last month.
The end of the federal investigation came in a brief court filing by Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Roe. The U.S. attorney’s office in Seattle declined to discuss its reasons, but in a written statement, spokeswoman Emily Langlie said that generally, investigations may be closed without charges if prosecutors determine there is no federal jurisdiction, no federal laws were broken, or that it would be impossible to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Neither the investigation, nor its termination, should be perceived as a comment on guilt or innocence,” the statement said.
The woman who made the complaint, a 23-year-old fashion model, waitress and former Miss Washington contestant, said in a related civil lawsuit against Copperfield that she met him when he pulled her out of the crowd and onto the stage during a performance in Kennewick. She was later invited to visit his private island in the Bahamas in July 2007.
The woman claimed that once she arrived, Copperfield, whose real name is David Kotkin, sexually assaulted her, in one instance holding her head under water to coerce her.
“She is disappointed, but it wasn’t completely unexpected given the jurisdictional issue of prosecuting him here for something that happened on his private island,” said Rebecca Roe, a lawyer for the woman.
The illusionist’s lawyers, Angelo Calfo and Patty Eakes, previously said he denied the allegations and called the lawsuit “extortion for money, plain and simple,” but they had no immediate comment on the prosecutors’ decision.
Senator wants ‘at-risk’ kids to hope
SEATTLE – Decades ago, poor children became known as “disadvantaged” to soften the stigma of poverty. Then they were “at-risk.” Now, a Washington lawmaker wants to replace those euphemisms with a new one: “at hope.”
Democratic Sen. Rosa Franklin says negative labels are hurting kids’ chances for success and she’s not a bit concerned that people will be confused by her proposed rewrite of the 54 places in state law where words like “at risk” and “disadvantaged” are used.
The bill has gotten a warm welcome among fellow lawmakers, state officials and advocacy groups.
“We really put too many negatives on our kids,” says Franklin, who is the state Senate’s president pro tem. “We need to come up with positive terms.”
Republican Rep. Glenn Anderson disagrees, saying the potential cost of getting the bill from idea to printing – an average of $3,500 – is too much. And besides, he says, he is insulted more by the idea of the bill than what he called the political correctness it represents.
“It’s not the label, it’s the people who show up to help (children) that make the difference,” he said. “What helps is a smart, well-structured program that has funding and credibility.”