In brief: KAYU, DirecTV settle dispute, resume broadcasting Fox

A nine-week contract dispute that left DirecTV customers in Spokane and North Idaho without programs from the local Fox affiliate ended Thursday.

A spokesman for DirecTV said Northwest Broadcasting, the owner of KAYU-TV, resumed providing the station’s programs to the satellite service around 5 p.m.

The dispute left subscribers to DirecTV without KAYU’s Fox programs since Aug. 13.

The delayed outcome stemmed from a request by DirecTV that it be given a “most favored” clause that would have given it a contractual advantage. Northwest Broadcasting said DirecTV did not require that of its competitors.

The DirecTV spokesman declined to disclose the terms of the final contract.

Tom Sowa

Avista’s natural gas rates to be lowered Thursday

Avista Utilities will lower its natural gas rates on Thursday, part of a regular adjustment based on the wholesale cost of gas, according to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission.

The average residential customer using 68 therms will see a reduction of 4.3 percent, or $2.58 a month, for a revised bill of $58.18, a news release said.

“More than half to about two-thirds of a customer’s monthly bill is attributable to the cost of natural gas, on which the company is not allowed to earn a profit,” the release said.

The rate adjustment based on wholesale costs is separate from Avista’s general rate request before the commission.

Staff report

Man denies that groin, meth are his following his arrest

Spokane Valley sheriff’s deputies say they found methamphetamine in a man’s groin area after he was caught burglarizing a tire store, but the man denied ownership of both the drugs and the groin.

Deputies responded to Les Schwab Tires at 15911 E. Sprague Ave. Wednesday about 2 a.m. K-9 Brax and his handler found 45-year-old Kenneth Hooper inside, according to sheriff’s Deputy Craig Chamberlin. Hooper was taken into custody without incident.

Upon searching Hooper, deputies found two golf-ball-size bags of what appeared to be methamphetamine stashed in his groin area, but Hooper told the deputy it was not his groin and he had no idea where the drugs came from.

Hooper was booked into Spokane County Jail on charges of second-degree burglary and possession of a controlled substance.

Chelsea Bannach

Corn maze sponsors report that thieves stole diesel fuel

Sponsors of a corn maze near Stateline reported $500 in diesel fuel stolen from five rented generator light towers.

Jeffrey Dunn, owner of Northwest Creative Solutions, the sponsor of the Incredible Corn Maze at 3405 N. Beck Road, told the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office that about 100 gallons of fuel was taken from the generators between Oct. 17 and Oct. 19.

Three separate mazes set up across 12 acres are open today through Sunday as well as on Halloween night.

Staff report