In brief: Reward offered in Planned Parenthood arson

The Arson Alarm Foundation and NW Insurance Council are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of those responsible for the Sept. 4 arson of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Pullman.

Pullman police announced the reward in a news release Thursday and encouraged people with information to call the department’s arson tip line at (509) 334-2249. Tips may also be submitted online.

The fire started early last Friday after a flammable object was thrown through the window of the Pullman clinic, police said.

Private forests reopened to public

Inland Empire Paper Co. and Potlatch Corp. have reopened more than 900,000 acres closed to public access since early July because of fire danger.

Both companies announced the reopenings Wednesday.

Both companies charge a fee and require vehicles to have a permit for accessing their lands.

Potlatch has 791,000 acres of forestland in Idaho available for public access for recreation purposes from the St. Maries area south to the Payette Valley.

IEP, owned by the Cowles Co., which also owns The Spokesman-Review, manages 117,000 acres of timberland in northeastern Washington and North Idaho. Only foot traffic is allowed at this time, the company said.

Grizzly bear seen along CdA River

A rare grizzly bear sighting has been confirmed up the Coeur d’Alene River about 9 miles north of Enaville, Idaho, officials say in a warning, especially to hunters. 

Grizzlies can be attracted by elk calls.

While black bears are legal game, grizzly bears are federally protected.

Although Idaho Fish and Game officials were not immediately available for comment, the bear apparently is wearing a collar that helped them identify its origin. “Fish and Game said this collared bear was from the Cabinet Mountains of Montana,” Shoshone County Sheriff Mitch Alexander said in a post on Facebook. “Be careful out there, this is now the third grizzly in our area in the last few years that I have personal knowledge of.”

Hearings scheduled on Avista increases

Two public hearings are scheduled next week on Avista’s request to raise rates for electric and natural gas customers in Washington.

The Spokane utility has proposed raising base rates for electricity by 6.7 percent and natural gas by 6.9 percent. The three-member Utilities and Transportation Commission will make a decision on the proposal by early next year.

The public hearings are:

• 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Spokane City Council chambers, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.

• Noon Wednesday, Spokane Valley City Council chambers, 11707 E Sprague Ave.

Comment may also be submitted online at www.utc.wa.gov/ comment; by email at comment@utc.wa.gov; by phone at 1-888-333-WUTC (9882); or by mail: P.O. Box 47250 Olympia, WA, 98504.