In brief: CdA plans hearing on street vacations

The Coeur d’Alene City Council will hold a public hearing Tuesday evening on businessman Duane Hagadone’s request to vacate portions of two downtown streets for a second hotel tower at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.

A preliminary design shows a narrow tower rising 19 stories above Front Avenue and over a portion of Hagadone Hospitality Corp.’s Resort Plaza Shops.

Hagadone Hospitality is asking the city to vacate a portion of Front Avenue between Second and Third streets and Second Street south of Sherman Avenue.

The City Council meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the community room of the Coeur d’Alene Library, 702 E. Front Ave.

Inspectors target invasive mussels

TWIN FALLS, Idaho – State agricultural officials have opened inspection stations along Idaho’s borders for the summer to catch invasive mussels found on incoming boats.

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture has opened 20 stations to prevent invasive species and aquatic weeds from entering the state, the Times-News reported. Particularly, the state is concerned with stopping quagga and zebra mussels.

“All of Idaho’s water bodies have tested negative for these species, but they have been found in waters of other Western states and are causing economic and environmental harm in other regions of the country,” Agriculture Director Celia Gould said in a news release.

Zebra and quagga mussels are prolific breeders and attach themselves to surfaces, fouling freshwater ecosystems and clogging intake pipes that draw from infested water.

The inspection stations will be open until Labor Day weekend. Vehicles carrying boats – including nonmotorized watercraft – must stop for inspection as they enter the state.