Susan Orlean to give lecture

Acclaimed author and journalist Susan Orlean will be in Coeur d’Alene on Friday for the North Idaho Distinguished Humanities Lecture.

Orlean has contributed to The New Yorker since 1987 and is a former contributing editor at “Rolling Stone” and “Vogue,” where she wrote on music and fashion.

She has written several books, including “The Orchid Thief,” a 1999 narrative about orchid poachers in Florida that inspired the movie “Adaptation” starring Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep.

The Idaho Humanities Council has brought top historians and authors to Boise since 1997 and began sponsoring annual events in Coeur d’Alene in 2004. Last year, novelist Ivan Doig spoke.

The 7:30 p.m. lecture and dinner is at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.

General tickets are $40 and benefactor tickets are $100, including close-in seating and a private reception with Orlean.

Buy tickets at www.idahohumanities.org or call (888) 345-5346.

– Erica Curless

AIDS coalition sets wine stomp

The North Idaho AIDS Coalition will have a benefit wine stomp Sunday in Coeur d’Alene.

The nonprofit organization that provides AIDS/HIV case management, education and prevention services gets funding from federal, state and private grants in addition to individual donations.

This year, federal budget cuts caused the group to lose a grant that provided money for client services, according to an NIAC press release. Yet the organization’s client numbers didn’t go down. NIAC serves 46 clients, not including their partners and children, in the five North Idaho counties.

Proceeds from the wine stomp at the Lake City Senior Center, 1916 N. Lakewood Drive, will help fund the group’s work. The event is from 3 to 7 p.m.

Tickets are $35 and space is limited. To RSVP, call NIAC at (208) 665-1448. Tickets also are available at the Long Ear on Fourth Street.

– Erica Curless

Spirit Lake

Avista schedules power outage

About 1,300 Avista customers in and around Spirit Lake were scheduled for a disruption in electrical service today from 2 to 5 a.m. so crews could perform upgrades to a substation.

Avista is doubling the capacity of its substation at 10th Avenue and Washington in Spirit Lake in order to meet projected customer growth in the area over the next 10 years.

A second outage is planned in November to finish the $400,000 project.

For more information, go to www.avistacorp.com.

– From staff reports