Region in brief: Motorcyclist dies in crash on I-90 near Liberty Lake
A Coeur d’Alene man was killed in an overnight motorcycle accident along Interstate 90 near Liberty Lake that went undiscovered until an hour after daybreak Monday.
Thomas P. Spencer, 25, was found dead about 7 a.m. near his wrecked 2006 Honda motorcycle.
Washington State Patrol troopers said a semi driver spotted the wreckage in a field near the Appleway on-ramp, just west of Liberty Lake. A trooper who was sent to the scene discovered the body, according to a patrol dispatcher.
Investigators said Spencer was riding east on the freeway and failed to negotiate a turn to the left. His motorcycle left the roadway and struck a wire fence, power box and post. He was thrown from the vehicle; the motorcycle came to rest in a field.
Spencer was wearing a helmet.
Pullman motorist, 51, dies in head-on collision
A Pullman man died in a head-on collision on U.S. Highway 95 near Worley about 6:30 a.m. Monday, state troopers reported.
Michael A. Pritiken, 51, was killed when the 1997 Honda Accord he was driving collided with a 2004 Pontiac Vibe driven by Jodi E. Skantel, 47, of Coeur d’Alene, according to Idaho State Police.
Both motorists were wearing seat belts. State police were investigating the crash.
Wildfire risk prompts limits on BLM activities, fires
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has restricted use of off-highway vehicles and banned fires and smoking on BLM-administered land in Eastern Washington because of growing wildfire risk.
The “regulated fire closure” began Monday in Spokane, Lincoln, Adams, Whitman, Grant, Douglas, Okanogan, Franklin, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Kittitas, Yakima and Klickitat counties.
Operating any type of motorized vehicle off developed roadways is prohibited.
Off-highway vehicle and all-terrain vehicle use will be allowed in the Juniper Dunes area northeast of Pasco, but no camp fires are allowed.
Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire or stove fire, including charcoal briquette fire, also is banned.
Smoking while traveling in timber, brush or grass areas is prohibited, except in vehicles on roads, cleared areas at least three feet in diameter, or on boats on rivers and lakes.
Use of fireworks is prohibited everywhere.
EPA to propose changes in hazardous waste laws
BOISE – Hardrock mining companies could face new federal rules to set aside money to clean up pollution.
Earlier this year, a federal judge ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to address the issue after groups including the Sierra Club and Idaho Conservation League sued in U.S. District Court.
They contended the EPA’s failure to develop financial assurance requirements in accordance with three-decade-old provisions of the Superfund cleanup law was exposing the environment to “unremediated releases of hazardous substances.”
The groups praised EPA’s announcement Monday that it planned to propose new rules by 2011, calling this “a first step in closing a loophole in hazardous waste laws.”
Mining companies could fight EPA efforts, however, on grounds such requirements will dent profits and because they already fall under other state and federal cleanup requirements.
Search suspended for man who jumped from ferry
SEATTLE – Authorities have suspended their search for a person missing from a Washington State Ferry headed to Whidbey Island.
State Patrol Sgt. Trent Cain says they have video footage of a man jumping off the vessel.
The State Patrol is working with the family of the owner of an unclaimed vehicle found on a ferry to confirm his identity.
The unclaimed vehicle was discovered at about 12:44 a.m. Monday aboard the ferry Cathlamet, while the ferry was docked at the Clinton terminal on Whidbey Island.
Coast Guard Lt. Beth Roscoe says a water and air search was conducted for about four hours in the Puget Sound between Mukilteo and Clinton. Searchers did not find anyone in the water.
No other details about the man have been released.
Seattle mayor to meet Obama for policy talk
SEATTLE – Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is in Washington, D.C., to meet with President Barack Obama and some of his Cabinet to talk about national policy on urban areas.
The meeting is hosted by the White House Office of Urban Affairs and the Domestic Policy Council.
Nickels is sharing his experiences as mayor of Seattle and president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
20 Idaho districts declare financial emergencies
BOISE – The Idaho teachers union says 20 school districts have declared financial emergencies under a new state law allowing them to cut teacher pay, hours and contract length.
Union spokeswoman Gayle Moore says most of the districts have settled negotiations with teachers and are writing budgets for the next school year, but not all have finalized new contracts.
The law was approved by the 2009 Legislature to give districts options when making cuts in the recession.
Moore says a number of the districts that declared financial emergencies under the new law negotiated lower pay for teachers and froze or reduced salary increases based on years of experience in the classroom.
At least one district increased out-of-pocket health insurance costs.