In brief: Pinehurst woman in serious condition
Pinehurst, Idaho, resident Vera A. Kincheloe, 56, remained in serious condition Sunday evening as the result of a two-pickup crash.
Kincheloe was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Saturday morning after her truck was struck head-on near Medimont, Idaho, southeast of Coeur d’Alene.
The Idaho State Police said Kincheloe pulled into the path of an oncoming truck while attempting a left turn on state Highway 3. The driver and a passenger in the other vehicle suffered minor injuries.
Ruling on anti-union laws expected soon
BOISE – A judge could rule this week on whether Idaho’s newest anti-union laws should be stalled until a lawsuit plays out in federal court.
The laws, intended to weaken the power of labor organizations in Idaho, were passed during the 2011 legislative session and are set to go into effect July 1. But two building and construction unions have sued in Boise’s U.S. District Court, saying the laws are unconstitutional because the state is attempting to pre-empt matters already governed by Congress.
Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill heard arguments on a motion for a preliminary injunction last week.
The first law prohibits “project labor agreements” that require contractors to forge pacts with unionized workers as a condition of winning a government construction job. The second new law prohibits unions from using dues to subsidize member wages to help union-shop contractors win projects.
Police cite vendors at Tacoma Hempfest
TACOMA – Organizers of the Hempfest celebration in Tacoma are upset after police hired to provide security for the event cited about a dozen vendors for selling drug paraphernalia.
Organizer Mike Byers told the Seattle Times that the vendors were offering glass pipes, bongs and other “tobacco-consumption products” when they were cited Saturday. Douglas Hiatt, attorney for the pro-marijuana legalization group Sensible Washington, says Seattle police don’t issue similar citations at the larger Hempfest event there.
Tacoma police Capt. Jim Howatson told the News Tribune that city permits for the event specified that no paraphernalia was allowed.