In brief: Trespassers collecting antlers face sanctions

OLYMPIA – Going onto private property to collect antlers will soon carry extra sanctions.

A bill signed Friday by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee means people who trespass to collect antler “sheds” and other animal parts will get more than a citation; law enforcement officials also will confiscate the ill-gotten gains.

Rep. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, sponsored the bill after a constituent along the Grande Ronde River reported problems with people using their dogs to chase elk back and forth from state property onto private land until the elk lost their antlers in contact with trees or brush. The dogs’ owners would then trespass onto the landowner’s property to retrieve the antlers.

A good pair of antlers can fetch up to $3,000 in some Asian countries, where they sometimes are sought as an aphrodisiac, Schmick said. They can also bring a good price for use in decorating and furniture-making.

Jim Camden

STA Prop 1 failing by less than 1 percent

The latest count of ballots from Tuesday’s special election showed that Spokane Transit Authority’s Proposition 1 is failing by less than a percentage point.

So far, the county election staff has counted 38,036 in favor of the measure and 38,629 against. That works out to 49.6 percent in favor. There are only a few hundred ballots left to count, not enough to change the outcome.

Proposition 1 sought to impose an additional sales tax of 0.3 percent to raise $270 million for maintaining and improving transit service over 10 years.

An additional 626 ballots were counted Friday. Some of those need signature verification on ballot return envelopes that were not signed by the voters.

Mike Prager

CdA attorney named 1st District judge

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has named Coeur d’Alene attorney Cynthia K.C. Meyer a state 1st District judge.

“I am confident that she will approach her new duties with the same well-reasoned, thoughtful demeanor that exemplified her tenure as a member of the Idaho State Bar,” Otter said in a statement announcing the appointment Friday.

Meyer has practiced law in Utah and Idaho since 1987. She’s a graduate of the College of Idaho and the University of Utah College of Law. Her appointment is effective immediately.

She’s replacing Judge Benjamin Simpson, who is retiring after 15 years on the bench.  

Meyer was among four finalists for the judgeship.

Betsy Z. Russell