Washington Senate approves supplemental budget

By Doug Nadvornick, Spokane Public Radio

The Washington state Senate today (Friday) approved a supplemental budget that spends some of the state’s million-and-a-half dollars in surplus tax revenue.

Last year the legislature approved a budget that has the state spending about 26-billion dollars between 2005 and 2007. The budget approved Friday adds about 600-million more.

Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown says the economy is strong, providing the state with enough tax money to replace funding for programs that have been cut during the last few years.

“You got to go back at least four years to tell the true story of this budget,” Brown said. “And, believe me, I know because four years ago, I stood here and we cut a billion dollars. And we cut it from human services and we cut it from education and we cut it from seniors and we cut it from the developmentally disabled. We did that because we had to. And in this budget, we are able to make some gains in all these areas.”

The senator from Spokane rebutted charges from Republicans that aggressive spending this year will put the state in poor fiscal position next year. Brown says this supplemental budget puts about 950-million dollars into various state reserve accounts, about a third of that into the state pension system.

Brown’s side prevailed, 26-to-19, with Democrats providing all the votes. Vancouver Republican Joe Zarelli says supplemental budgets are meant to fix immediate needs. He says this goes far beyond that.

“And Mr. President, what we do in this is that we try to buy everything that we haven’t been able to buy, that delayed gratification that we haven’t been able to experience for the last several years, all comes to fruition in a supplemental budget.”

The budget offers and extends tax breaks for aerospace, timber and some agriculture-related businesses.
Democrats in the state House plan to produce their own budget next week.

Ex-mayor combative during Thursday news conference

By John Vlahovich
Spokane Public Radio

It was a pugnacious ex-Spokane mayor Jim West who faced the TV cameras and newspaper reporters Thursday afternoon, shortly after learning that the U.S. Justice Department does not plan to file charges against him.

The former Spokane mayor, recalled from office over allegations of improperly offering jobs and other favors for sex, began by praising the FBI agents for the thoroughness of their investigation.

West said he understood why voters had recalled him, considering the barrage of publicity that began with a Spokesman-Review newspaper expose. He also forgave recall campaign leader Shannon Sullivan, saying she had relied on the newspaper for her information.

But Jim West had much harsher words for the Spokesman-Review, particularly its allegations that years ago, while a youth leader, West had preyed on young boys.

“The allegations alleging that I had sexual activities with boys were completely unfounded, and actually the most damaging to me personally,” West said. It cut me to the quick. It destroyed my reputation.

“I think the Spokesman-Review owes me a personal apology. I think Karen Dorn Steele and Bill Morlin both owe me personal apologies, and Steven Smith as well,” said West.

West was talking about the two reporters who broke the story and the Spokesman-Review editor. West said he intends to press forward with a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper.

The former mayor said he felt fine, and he looked the part. Although still on chemotherapy for his colon cancer, West’s hair is growing back, which he says baffles his physicians.

“In fact, two weeks ago I did a cat scan and the CAT scan saw that the two tumors on my liver are shrinking. The report three months ago was that they were shrinking by 25 to 30 percent and the report two weeks ago was that they continue to shrink. So, I’m feeling good,” West said.

The former mayor also pledged to continue in public life here in Spokane and he would not rule out again running for political office. Before being elected mayor in 2003, West served as Republican majority leader of the Washington Senate.

Health officials prepare for flu pandemic

By Doug Nadvornick, Spokane Public Radio

Spokane Regional Health District officials are already preparing the community response to an Avian flu pandemic, if one ever emerges here.

Health Officer Dr. Kim Thorburn Wednesday held the first in a series of community meetings at the health district building.

Thorburn knows the H-5-N-1 Avian flu strain might never arrive in the Inland Northwest, but then, maybe it will. If it does, she says it will take a community-wide effort to handle all of the potential problems. Representatives of police agencies, hospitals and schools have joined Thorburn to start planning now before the virus hits.

Thorburn says she plans to hold quarterly meetings with community leaders.

“And our hope is that we will set up today subcommittees of these various sectors that will come together. We’ll work to coordinate the subcommittees and we will come out of this with better community preparation to deal with a pandemic, should it occur.”

Last fall, she says health district officials conducted a mass vaccination exercise at the Fairgrounds, to practice in case flu vaccines are available.

Thorburn says health officials will also communicate with the public about how families can prepare themselves for a possible pandemic.

Something new on the mountain - airboarding

By Tom Banse
Northwest News Network

I'm hurtling down the mountain on what looks like a big, puffy sled. It's different the Yankee Flyer I grew up with because this one you can turn with the handles. And if you get going too fast, you can do a somersault like I did...or pivot and skid to a stop like a skier.

If the Winter Olympics are giving you fantasies about plunging downhill head first in daredevil style, we have a way to approximate the feeling without shelling out for a trip to Turin. It involves a sleek, inflatable sled and a cooperative ski resort. In the Northwest, there's Schweitzer Mountain in north Idaho...and the Hoodoo Ski Area in Oregon's central Cascades.

"You can throw it in the sled category, but really it's not a sled. They're starting to now have their own category out there: bodyboards for snow," says Teri Smith who provided free introductory rides at Hoodoo on a recent Saturday.

A Swiss snowboarder invented the Airboard as a way to stay on the slopes while recovering from ripped tendons. In the U-S it remains an eye-catching novelty. Over and over, the demo rep answers "what is that?" next to her pile of gray Airboards.

Snowboarder Shane Bjornsted decides to try out the new toy, egged on by a friend. Smith issues the tall fellow a mandatory helmet and sends him and his buddies to the top of the slalom course.

"I was surprised that Hoodoo was letting people do it, actually,” says Bjornsted. “But it looks likes fun. Hopefully it's not as dangerous as it looks."

One by one, the Salem, Oregon man and his friends take a short running start and flop headfirst onto the course. They quickly get the hang of carving turns by shifting weight or dragging a foot.

At the bottom, Bjornsted says it was a fun change of pace he might try again. But his friend, whose idea this was, is unimpressed.

The American distributor claims airboarding is catching on faster than snowboarding did in its early years. A few Northwest ski areas embrace the new ride. But it's unwelcome elsewhere, just like back in the days when snowboarders were considered out-of-control menaces. The Airboard company won over Hoodoo ski area general manager Matthew McFarland.

"So they brought me a sled that they claimed was super maneuverable. People do that all the time,” he says. “ ‘Oh, we have this sled that's so maneuverable. It's the best thing in the world. You can stop it on a dime. Will you let it on the hill?' I always tell them, 'I'd love to test it.' And then it never works. Luckily, to my surprise, the Airboard worked."

Hoodoo is a smaller ski area that's willing to try new things to appeal to all ages and abilities. McFarland says he's frequently asked if high performance sledding is the next big thing. He's skeptical.

"People love it. But with resorts being tentative toward letting people do it everywhere, it's hard to sell,” McFarland says. “Hard to tell people to go out and pay 280 dollars to buy an airboard when you can't go use it anywhere."

At least if you want a lift ride. Schweitzer in Idaho allows airboards, but during night skiing only in a designated area for safety reasons. Hoodoo is the only U-S resort to give the low-to-the-ground riders full mountain access. McFarland knows of no incidents or accidents involving Airboards at his uncrowded mountain.

Later this month (2/25), another Hoodoo manager will try to defend his American speed record on an Airboard. The pace to beat plunging downhill is 62 miles per hour.

Caregivers want more money in Washington budget

By Elizabeth Wynne Johnson
Northwest News Network

Advocates for nursing home residents and workers are making appearances around Washington state this week, trying to raise awareness about the lack of funding for long term care.

In Washington state, Medicaid is paying like it’s 1999. That’s bad for folks who find themselves living in one of the state’s 200-plus nursing homes or long-term care facilities.

Washington’s Medicaid reimbursement rates haven’t changed in seven years. But costs are up for everything from prescription drugs to labor. Dozens of facilities have gone bankrupt and closed their doors. The ones that are left are struggling, says Adam Glickman, a spokesman for the union that represents long-term care workers.

“Inadequate funding contributes to low wages and benefits for workers, high turnover and a difficulty in nursing homes to be able to find enough staff to provide quality care,” says Glickman.

That’s what Jewell Day sees as activities director at a long-term care facility near Spokane. As Day puts it, most people who come to nursing homes don’t want to be there. Without enough staff to draw out the residents and give them things to do, he says it’s a pretty bleak existence.

“We’ll peek our head in the door and say, hey we’ve got bingo going on … do you want to come down? And they tend to light up. And that brings color into their world,” says Day.

Day spoke at one of several media events this week, aimed at raising public awareness about the funding issue. He was joined by 76 year old Isaac “Bud” Henson. Henson lives in a long-term care facility and gets around in a wheelchair. He says he’s noticed the cutbacks in staff, and doesn’t want to lose the shopping trips, the bingo games, and the performances that spice up the day.

“We like the activities as they are now, if fact we’d like to do more of them. And if they take the funding away, there’s no place else to cut. Activities is not a necessity, but they sure make it a lot nicer,” says Henson.

Washington’s nursing home funding situation is unique in the Northwest. In Idaho and Oregon, Medicaid reimbursement rates keep pace with inflation.

Advocates are asking for $10 to $14 million in additional funding. The Washington state Senate put out a proposed budget this week that would increase the amount by six million. It’s a start, say activitists, but they’re hoping to see that number go higher before the budget is finalized.

Tree compromise - LID could widen planting strip

By John Vlahovich
Spokane Public Radio

Spokane officials are offering a compromise in the controversy over trees scheduled for removal when South Bernard Street is repaved this year. Their plan would cost adjacent property owners money. It might also cost them part of their front yards. But it would give them their curbside trees.

Mayor Dennis Hession is promoting creation of a local improvement district to augment the city street repaving project. Money from the LID, a special property tax, would pay to widen the curbside planting strip so that new trees could be planted after Bernard is rebuilt.

City engineers say existing trees along Bernard will not survive the street renovation. Assuming they’re right, new city councilman Rob Crow says widening the planting strips via an LID makes sense. He admits this approach would come at a cost to property owners.

“In this case it’s going to involve the directly impacted residents to perhaps even give up some of their property to accommodate this,” says Crow. “Do I think that’s worth it? You bet. If it were my property, would I? You bet,” he adds.

The LID idea surfaced during the city council’s debate over the trees Monday night. Council members Brad Stark and Mary Verner unsuccessfully urged their colleagues to call on the city administration to rethink the tree removal. Stark says the issue goes beyond Bernard Street.

“If we let this happen to the Bernard Street trees, what’s going to happen next year and the years beyond that when we work on Grand Street?” Stark asked rhetorically “Let’s take it further. What about Indian Trail, Addison and Wall Street and Garland and Monroe and Market and all these beloved arterials?”

Verner wanted all street project designs to be reviewed by a variety of committees – ranging from the planning commission to the bicycle advisory group – before being finalized.

But other council members saw Stark and Verner second-guessing the city engineering staff, the citizen’s street advisory committee, even Spokane voters.

City councilman Al French said, “This latest bond issue, I believe, passed because staff was very specific about what they were going to do, what streets they were going to pave, when they were going to pave them, and the council was responsive in creating the citizens street advisory committee to be able to provide the oversight.

“I’m not in a position to where I feel comfortable violating that agreement with the taxpayer,” French added.

People can discuss Mayor Hession’s local improvement district concept with him and other officials February 22^nd at an open house on the Bernard Street project. The event will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the downtown library.

Debate topic: How much population growth to expect

By John Vlahovich
Spokane Public Radio

When it comes to estimating population and job growth, elected officials from Spokane County communities don’t want to be too optimistic, nor do they want to be too pessimistic. They prefer growth estimates done by a consulting firm hired by the Spokane Regional Transportation Commission, not those from state government forecasters.

Intermountain Demographics, hired by the area’s transportation planning agency, predicts Spokane County will grow by 122,000 people between now and 2030.

That’s 95,000 fewer than Washington’s Office of Financial Management forecasts for Spokane County in the same period.

The differing forecasts could be a crucial factor in the future Spokane County urban growth area – that part of the county open to future home and business growth.

Two County Commissioners like the bigger numbers because they justify enlarging the growth area. County Commissioner Mark Richard, who formerly headed the local Homebuilders Association, holds the view that tight urban growth boundaries artificially limit people’s choices in housing and lot sizes.

Local city officials, however, see things differently.

Spokane City Councilman Al French argues too big a growth area encourages growth away from city centers. He says growth inside city limits brings the tax revenue needed by cash-strapped city budgets.

Spokane County’s Growth Management Steering Committee, made up mostly of elected city officials, has adopted the more conservative Intermountain Demographics forecast. But their recommendation is not binding on County Commissioners. They still have final say on growth area boundaries.

Washington House votes to limit phosphorus

By Doug Nadvornick
Spokane Public Radio

The Washington state House has voted to limit the amount of phosphorus in dishwasher detergents. The vote was 71-to-26.
The bill, which is pushed by Spokane area legislators, is seen as an easy way to reduce the phosphorus pollution in the Spokane River.Current state law allows dishwasher detergents to contain up to eight-point-seven percent phosphorus. The bill approved Tuesday would reduce the allowable limit to a half-percent.

Local officials say phosphorus promotes the growth of algae in the Spokane River, especially in the slackwater areas behind the Nine Mile Falls Dam. Spokane Representative Timm Ormsby says reducing phosphorus in dishwasher detergents is a one piece of the local plan to improve the quality of the river water.

“The effect of limiting, in this small way, the phosphorus content in dishwashing detergent gets us to a point where the end-of-the-pipe and septic tank introduction of phosphorus into waterways is at a manageable level and can meet Department of Ecology standards.”

Ormsby says the phosphorus limitation will bring water quality improvements to waterways in many areas of the state.

Critics say Spokane has admirable environmental goals, but that a statewide phosphorus limitation will bring inconveniences to people in places where there are no phosphorus problems.

And, says Representative Jim Buck from the northern Olympic Peninsula, limiting phosphorus counteracts a possible remedy to neutralize heavy metals pollution in the Idaho Panhandle.

“I find it kind of interesting that we would consider banning dishwashing detergent while the jury is still out on whether or not we’re going to cover hundreds of square miles with phosphorus to chelate out the heavy metals that are contaminating the area.”

The lower phosphorus levels would take effect in July, 2008.

The phosphorus bill now goes to the state Senate for consideration.

Washington Senate votes for biodiesel

By Doug Nadvornick, Spokane Public Radio

(We had help with this story from TV Washington)

The Washington Senate today (Monday) approved a bill requiring all diesel fuel sold in the state to contain at least two-percent biodiesel. The goal is to build demand for the crops needed to make biodiesel and encourage Washington farmers to grow them.

Several senators argue the state is trying to force the growth of a new industry.

Spokane Public Radio’s Doug Nadvornick reports.

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The creation of a biodiesel industry has been one of the highest priorities this session for legislative leaders like Pierce County Senator Marilyn Rasmussen.

“I hope that we send a message to our farmers, ‘you start growing it so we don’t have to buy the fuel for biodiesel from either the Midwest or Canada or somewhere else.”

Rasmussen, her fellow Democratic legislators and the governor say government can help create a demand for biodiesel. The bill approved Monday would require two-percent biodiesel by volume in all diesel fuels by late 2008 or perhaps before that, if the state Agriculture Department director says enough crops are grown in the state to satisfy the biodiesel mandate.

Republicans say they want to support the state’s efforts to create a biodiesel industry. But they say this bill may move too quickly for farmers who want to grow biodiesel crops. Northeastern Washington Senator Bob Morton says the market, not the state, should lead the way.

“We do not know that we’ll actually have the crop, nor do we know that we’ll have the processing needed to process the crop. It’s very serious that we could depend on farmers to grow when they have no guarantee their crop will be processed or even a processor established to do it.”

<> As yet, no one has built a biodiesel crushing plant in Washington, although several companies are exploring the idea.

Monday’s vote on the biodiesel bill was 27-20. A similar bill was approved in the state House last Friday.