In brief: Fernan Lake health advisory lifted
A health advisory for Fernan Lake near Coeur d’Alene was lifted Tuesday by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and Panhandle Health District.
The advisory was issued July 8 because of the high concentrations of blue-green algae in the water. The algae can produce toxins harmful to humans.
The concentrations have since fallen, and swimming and other water activities can safely resume in the lake, officials said.
Restrictions on domestic water supply use also were lifted.
CdA man gets 5 years after child porn plea
A 39-year-old Coeur d’Alene man was sentenced to five years in federal prison Monday after pleading guilty to possessing child pornography.
Wade T. Weingart’s computer was tracked by federal authorities beginning in July 2012, when investigators tracked more than 60 videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit acts being shared through a peer-to-peer network on Weingart’s computer. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also imposed a probation period of five years and restitution of $3,000 to a minor in his sentence, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Idaho.
According to the terms of a plea agreement, Weingart will have to register as a sex offender and his access to the Internet, as well as areas where children might be present, will be restricted.
Police seek personal watercraft operator
Bonner County officials are looking for a young man who slammed his personal watercraft into a ski boat on Lake Pend Oreille nearly three weeks ago.
The hit-and-run happened about 3:45 p.m. July 3 just east of Sandpoint near Contest Point, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
The black-and-green watercraft operated by a young man, possibly in his early 20s, T-boned the 20-foot Chaparral boat, which was floating with the two occupants having lunch. They were uninjured, but the personal watercraft operator was struck in the chest from the collision’s impact, witnesses said.
He had a tan and short dark hair and wore square sunglasses. He apparently was accompanied by a second personal watercraft, possibly a red-and-white Honda, also driven by a male, officials said. Both men took off eastward after the collision, which significantly damaged the ski boat, the sheriff’s office said.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Detective Sgt. Gary Johnston at (208) 263-8417 ext. 3049, or email sheriff@bonnerso.org. Anonymous tips are accepted at (208) 255-2677.
State: Woman filed bogus disability claims
A Spokane business owner has been charged with first-degree theft after allegedly taking $101,000 in disability benefits while still working.
Mistie S. Crosby, 52, filed a claim after she said she hurt her back, neck and shoulder in September 2010 while working at the now-closed Sunset Junction nightclub, according to a news release from the Department of Labor and Industries. She received $59,000 in wage replacement benefits and $42,000 in medical and vocational benefits through early 2013.
Crosby regularly filled out forms stating she wasn’t working and wasn’t capable of working, the news release said. An investigation showed that Crosby was working at the Lascelle Motel and an apartment complex while she was receiving benefits.
Crosby reportedly told investigators that she co-owned the defunct nightclub, the motel and the apartment complex with her husband, Labor and Industries said. She had not previously disclosed her ownership of the business where she was injured.
Worker’s compensation insurance is required for employees but optional for business owners. Crosby never signed up for the insurance, Labor and Industries said.
Seattle minimum wage won’t go to vote
SEATTLE – There won’t be a referendum this fall on Seattle’s $15 per hour minimum wage law.
The Seattle Times reports that King County Elections said Tuesday that two referendum attempts failed to submit enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.
One effort by business group Forward Seattle submitted 18,929 signatures, but only 14,818 were valid. The other referendum, by Save Our Choice, submitted 455 valid signatures.
The measures needed 16,510 signatures to make the ballot.
The Seattle City Council voted unanimously in June to gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. The plan gives businesses with more than 500 employees nationally at least three years to phase in the increase – four if they provide health insurance. Smaller employers get seven years.