In brief: Inslee eyes boost for campaign fund

OLYMPIA – State campaign finance laws may allow Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee to gain a $1 million fundraising advantage by tapping cash he raised in previous election cycles.

His campaign’s interpretation has been informally approved by the state’s Public Disclosure Commission. It would essentially let Inslee ask supporters of his past congressional campaigns to roll their donations forward to his current campaign – without any limits. Inslee could then ask those donors for additional money that would be subject to the state’s campaign finance limits for the 2012 election cycle.

Republican candidate Rob McKenna’s campaign characterized the money as simply “illegal” and argued that Inslee’s past campaign money should remain in his federal campaign account.

Candidates in Washington’s last gubernatorial campaign each raised and spent more than $10 million.

Potato acreage grows 8 percent

BOISE – Federal farm officials say the number of Idaho acres devoted to potatoes this year is 8 percent higher than a year ago.

Figures compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture show spuds have been planted in 320,000 acres, compared to 295,000 acres in 2010.

The Idaho Business Review reports the increase is being driven by strong prices and a boost in acres contracted by potato processors.

The higher planting in Idaho mirrors an increase by spud growers nationally. The government reports potato plantings are up an estimated 6 percent overall.

Despite stronger prices for spuds, potato growers are dealing with higher production costs. Southern Idaho Potato Cooperative President Doug Gross says profits for growers this year will be reduced slightly by higher costs for fuel and fertilizer.

Teen who sued city is arrested

SEATTLE – A teenager who filed a federal lawsuit against Seattle after being kicked by a police officer last year – an incident seen widely on video – was arrested Friday night on a gun charge.

Dvontaveous Hoston, 18, was arrested in downtown Seattle after Metro Transit officers say they broke up a fight near a bus stop, and witnesses told them Hoston had flashed a handgun.

They tracked him down about a block away and found a loaded gun hidden in his waistband, police said.

Hoston was booked into King County jail for investigation of being a felon with a handgun, said King County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart.

Hoston’s lawsuit claims Hoston was the victim of an unjustified and excessive assault last October by Seattle police officer James Lee, who mistook him for a suspected drug dealer and could be seen kicking Hoston on the ground in a surveillance video.

Hoston was charged with first-degree attempted robbery in connection with the October incident, but was later acquitted in King County Superior Court. In February he filed a claim seeking $450,000 from the city, saying he was the victim of “unjustified and excessive force.”

Tourism jobs off about 10 percent

BOISE – Idaho Department of Labor officials say Idaho’s tourism industry lost about 10 percent of its jobs between 2007 and 2010.

Regional economist John Van Dyke told the Idaho Business Review that about 50 tourism-related companies went out of business during that time.

State officials say more than 25 percent of all tourism employment is at restaurants and bars that have been hit hard by the economic downturn.

Another 20 percent of tourism jobs are in the accommodation industry that includes hotels, campgrounds and RV parks.

Swiss visitors burn feet on sand

BRUNEAU, Idaho – A father and his 7-year-old son visiting Idaho from Switzerland suffered second-degree burns on their feet after hiking across sand dunes in Bruneau Dunes State Park in southwestern Idaho, authorities said.

Park Ranger Steve Russell said the father and son on Wednesday morning started climbing in the shade on the north side of a sand dune.

Russell said the father and son took off their shoes before reaching the south side of the dune that is exposed to the sun. He said their feet started to get too hot and the father picked up his son.

Russell said another family heard them calling for help and gave them water to soak their feet before emergency responders arrived and took them to a hospital.