Tuesday, February 19, 2013

In the news, Tuesday, February 19, 2013


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MON 18      INDEX      WED 20
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from The Spokesman-Review

Hecla reopens Lucky Friday mine after year’s closure
More than $30 million spent on improvements, safety upgrades

Scientists begin to study meteor fragments
Dozens of pieces recovered in Russia

Spokane music venue punished following shootings
Police suspend license of Knitting Factory

Hall a vital part of music scene
That depends on your definition of "vital." - C. S.

Inslee calls for vote on abortion measure
Measure would require most insurers in the state to pay for abortions

Proposed pot tax faces criticism
Opponents argue medicinal stores should be protected from sales tax

Public to fund Jeffreys’ case
Embattled developer declared eligible for public defender

Students seek more state tuition help
Day’s events in Olympia include rally, meeting with lawmakers

Tax takes bite out of cookie dough
Girl Scouts ask Idaho lawmakers for a break

Health care reform may increase cost of insurance

Colville tribes earn environmental award
Ex-mayor of Quincy also gets recognition from Sierra Club

Climate conflict: Less snow, more blizzards
Global warming likely leads to weather extremes, studies find

Hip implants fail more in women

U.N. calls for trials on Syrian atrocities
Report blames both sides for war crimes

Karzai limits NATO strikes
Experts say ban could hamper troops, embolden Taliban

Islamic radicals behind attack
Seven foreign workers kidnapped in Nigeria

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In brief:  From Wire Reports:

Colorado House OKs some limits on guns

DENVER – Limits on the size of ammunition magazines and universal background checks passed the Colorado House on Monday, during a second day of emotional debates that has drawn attention from the White House as lawmakers try to address recent mass shootings.

The bills were among four that the Democrat-controlled House passed amid strong resistance from Republicans, who were joined by a few Democrats to make some of the votes close.

The proposed ammunition restrictions limit magazines to 15 rounds for firearms, and eight for shotguns. Three Democrats joined all Republicans voting no on the bill, but the proposal passed 34-31.

The House also approved a bill requiring background checks on all gun purchases.

The Senate still needs to consider the proposals.


Myanmarese saved from sinking boat

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka’s navy says it has rescued 32 Myanmar nationals whose wooden vessel began sinking while making a perilous journey to Australia.

A navy statement says the rescue was made about 250 nautical miles off the island’s eastern coast on Saturday. Those rescued are being treated for acute dehydration.

The group comprising 31 adult males and a boy had been at sea without food for 21 days when the navy rescued them after being informed by a local fishing boat.

Survivors have told local newspapers that there were 130 passengers at the beginning of the journey and 98 died on the way and their bodies were dumped to sea.

They said they were planning to go to Australia after their attempt to enter Malaysia failed.


Two charged in brutal ‘witch’ killing

SYDNEY – Papua New Guinea police have charged two people with the grisly killing of a woman who was tortured and burned alive in front of hundreds of people after being accused of witchcraft.

Janet Ware and Andrew Watea were charged with murder over the slaying of Kepari Leniata, a 20-year-old mother, earlier this month.

The two charged Monday were among more than 40 people who were detained last week in connection with Leniata’s slaying. The others were eventually released due to lack of evidence, but police said more arrests are expected.


Guard sentenced in teddy bear drop

MINSK, Belarus – A Belarusian court has handed out a two-year prison sentence to a border guard who failed to protect the ex-Soviet nation from foreign teddy bears.

Belarus Supreme Court said Monday the guard has been convicted of failure to report an intrusion of a light plane that dropped hundreds of teddy bears decked out in parachutes and slogans supporting human rights over the tightly controlled country of 10 million. The court wouldn’t give his name or rank.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, dubbed “Europe’s last dictator” in the West, already sacked several top defense officials over the July 4 incident, in which two Swedish advertising agency employees piloted a light plane into Belarus’ heavily guarded airspace.


Lawmakers pushing state gas tax hike

OLYMPIA – House Transportation Committee Chair Judy Clibborn said Monday she will seek a 10-cent-per-gallon increase to the state’s gas tax.

The proposed tax hike will be a part of a broader transportation revenue package that the Mercer Island lawmaker and several of her Democratic colleagues on the House Transportation Committee plan to unveil Wednesday.

A gas tax increase would likely face its stiffest resistance in the state Senate, which is controlled by Republicans and two Democrats who crossed the aisle to join them. However, Senate Majority Leader Rodney Tom, D-Medina, said last month that he would support a gas-tax hike.

Washington’s gas tax is 37.5 cents per gallon, which is among the highest in the country.


Idaho bill prohibits tax on tribal lands

BOISE – The Idaho House’s tax committee was unanimous Monday in backing a bill to clarify that tribe-owned land within Idaho Indian reservations is not subject to local county property taxation.

Such lands hadn’t been taxed in Idaho for a century due to the state constitution’s provision declaring that the state “forever disclaim(s) all right and title” to tribal lands, but some counties around the state started sending tax bills to tribes in 2006. The bill adds tribes to the section of state law noting that government property isn’t subject to local property tax.

Last week, the Kootenai County Commission voted unanimously to cancel the back property taxes it had assessed against the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s reservation lands.

The bill now moves to the full House; to become law, it must pass both there and in the Senate and receive the governor’s signature.


Battle lines drawn over Otter tax plan

BOISE – Cities, counties and school boards are opposed to the governor’s proposal to dump Idaho’s $140 million personal property tax paid by businesses, drawing a battle line on one of the Legislature’s marquee upcoming issues.

In a letter to Gov. Butch Otter obtained by the Associated Press on Monday, the Idaho Association of Counties, the Association of Idaho Cities and the Idaho School Boards Association objected to the measure, which could shift about $40 million of the tax burden to other taxpayers, including homeowners.

The three groups also said the proposal to eliminate the tax by 2020 creates an “untenable burden” on Idaho’s general fund, because the state must come up with $90 million in replacement funding for local governments, according to the proposal.

In his Jan. 7 State of the State speech, Otter cited doing away with the tax on everything from power transmission lines to desks and computers as a keystone of the 2013 session. Companies including Idaho Power Co., the state’s biggest utility, and semiconductor maker Micron Technology Inc. say the tax hurts the state’s business climate.


NYC spent $20.6 million, saved more in bus strike

NEW YORK – The city spent roughly $20.6 million in transit cards, taxis and gas mileage to get tens of thousands of stranded students to school during the monthlong bus strike, but some still didn’t get there at all, schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said Monday.

The 7,700 or so bus routes that serve the nation’s largest school district will resume Wednesday following midwinter recess, but routes for non-public schools will start today, Walcott said. The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 ended its walkout on Friday evening after union leaders were assured by prospective New York City mayoral candidates that their concerns about job protection would be heard after this year’s election. They went on strike Jan. 16.

Walcott estimated the city saved $80 million because it wasn’t paying bus companies during the strike, which started over job protection issues. Local 1181 of the ATU wanted the city to include protections for current employees in future contracts with bus companies, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg said a court ruling prohibited the city from doing so.

Just 152,000 of New York City’s 1.1 million public schoolchildren ride yellow school buses, but many are disabled or have no other easy way to get to school.

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Audit proves golden
U.S. gold in New York tests at high purity level

Bolivia nationalizes another foreign firm
Spanish company operated nation’s three main airports

Reader’s Digest parent files for Chapter 11 again

Secretary of Interior will face challenges
Commentary from the Los Angeles Times

Obama’s makeshift agenda
Mona Charen

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Prep Boys Basketball

2B Subregional

Northwest Christian 78,  Lind-Ritzville/Sprague 73:  Austin Friedly hit a 15-footer in the final minute, and Nick Kiourkas added two free throws as Northwest Christian bested Lind-Ritzville/Sprague 78-73 in overtime on Monday night at Whitman College to claim the No. 3 seed in the 2B Subregional boys basketball tournament.

NWC (18-10) will play Riverside Christian at Sunnyside on Saturday when the round of 16 begins the State 2B tournament. As the subregional No. 4 seed, LRS (20-8) plays Bear Creek at Mountlake Terrace.

Friedly finished with 20 points and Kiourkas 19.

Dylan Hartz rallied LRS in the fourth quarter to force OT, hitting four of his five 3-pointers and 14 of his game-high 21 points.

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The hearts of bears and men
WSU researchers find clues in grizzlies’ tickers that could help fight cardiovascular disease
Adrian Rogers      The Spokesman-Review

Don’t let bed-wetting cause nightmares
Dr. Alisa Hideg

Pradaxa has some risks, advantages
Anthony L. Komaroff      Universal Uclick

Weighing ED drugs’ effects on hearing
Joe Graedon M.S.      peoplespharmacy.com

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from The Wenatchee World

Yahoo! powering down Wenatchee plant, sending work to its Quincy site

Tilting the American melting pot
By Esther Cepeda      Washington Post Writers Group

My classmate, the robot
Allergies keep student at home, but technology keeps him in the classroom

Voters drive GOP’s no compromise

Deadlocked on budget, with time running out
But are dire warnings of chaos if cuts take effect to be believed?

Some like it hot ... really hot
[Food] By Noelle Carter      Los Angeles Times

Get ready for the upcoming weed season
By Bonnie Orr      Master Gardener

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This 1908 photo shows the Wenatchee Commercial Club exhibit which captured the district prize at the National Apple Show in Spokane. David Gellatly Sr. arranged the award-winning exhibit. The prize was $500 and a silver cup from the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. Other winners included Mike Horan who took first on the carload exhibit.

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from YouTube

SIX MILLION JEWS 1915-1938 HD
10 newspapers from 1915-1938 before the Holocaust even happened.

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