Spokane Transit board still ironing out details in CEO search
Delivering an update Thursday, STA Board Chair Al French said the search firm initially contracted to help find the transit agency’s new chief executive has dropped out. French said it’s because the firm thinks it’s too risky to make job candidates public.
How much the public and STA employees can be involved in the search process – and even what they would be allowed to know – have been points of disagreement between two groups on the board.
French and Spokane Valley Mayor Pam Haley have expressed a preference for keeping the process small and firmly within the board’s hands. Spokane city representatives Zack Zappone, Paul Dillon and Kitty Klitzke have said more voices should be added, at least in the form of a public meet-and-greet with finalists for the CEO position.
Spokane Transit is now reaching out to other Washington public transit bodies to find out how their searches were carried out. French says the executive search committee will meet next month to review that information and report back to the full board with recommendations.
Whoever is selected will succeed current STA chief executive Susan Meyer, who plans to retire at the end of this year.
Idaho election officials seek to reassure voters about security
Secretary of State Phil McGrane said this week that Idaho voting machines are safe from cyberattacks.
“We have some very commonsense measures in place here in Idaho that should give people confidence when it comes to the elections,” he said. “We haven't been connected to the internet in terms of our voting equipment that counts the ballots.”
McGrane said most jurisdictions keep a paper record of votes for potential recounts.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency director Jen Easterly said claims of election interference are misleading.
“I do not think that that is a real threat at all,” Easterly told Boise State Public Radio. “But I think we have to recognize that our foreign adversaries may attempt to make Americans believe that.”
Easterly said she’s more concerned about potential physical violence at polling places.
“There have been threats of harassment. There have been threats of violence to election officials and their families, unfortunately, across the nation,” she said.
Easterly said her agency is carrying out active shooter and de-escalation training for poll workers ahead of November’s election.
Okanogan environmental group reaches settlement in water pollution suit
The Okanogan Highlands Alliance says it has reached an agreement that will require mine operators to pay for pollution they released into streams near Oroville.
The group filed suit under the Clean Water Act four years ago. Their lawsuit alleged mining companies Crown Resources and Kinross Gold USA violated their discharge permits for the Buckhorn Mine. A discharge permit sets limits on pollutants that can be released into water and sets monitoring and reporting requirements.
The underground mine closed in 2017, but state officials alleged contaminants continued to seep from the mine, including aluminum, ammonia, arsenic, lead and nitrates.
Two years ago, Crown Resources acknowledged more than 3,500 monthly violations of its discharge permit had occurred between February 2015 and July 2022.
The settlement agreement filed in court requires the mining companies to pay $3 million to support conservation projects in the Okanogan River valley above its junction with the Columbia River. It also ensures Crown Resources will meet with the Okanogan Highlands Alliance to share data and information.
U.S. Forest Service cuts back on summer jobs
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) won’t be hiring temporary seasonal workers next summer, as it faces a tight budget for the coming year.
In a typical year, USFS would hire more than a thousand people to work in national forests in Washington and Oregon. They fill numerous roles, including building trails, conducting archaeological surveys and doing engineering work.
But budget constraints have put that on hold. It’s a move the public could begin to notice when warm weather returns.
USFS Chief Randy Moore shared the news with staff in a briefing earlier this week.
“We just can't get the same amount of work done with fewer employees. So in other words, we’re going to do what we can with what we have. We’re not going to try to do everything that’s expected of us with less people,” he said.
The agency has also rescinded some of the job offers it’s made, and it is limiting decisions around permanent staff positions. But it will continue to hire temporary workers who fight fires.
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Reporting was contributed by Brandon Hollingsworth, Jamie Geary and Courtney Sherwood.