Spokane group defends its negative ads in county commission campaign
A Spokane political action committee says its negative television ads against County Commissioner Al French are factual and not defamatory, as French claims.
French’s attorney, Mark Lamb, has asked local TV stations and cable companies to pull the ads produced by Citizens for Labor and Liberty or face slander lawsuits.
One ad implies French is responsible for health issues that developed after chemicals used in firefighting foam were discovered to have contaminated the water in wells on the West Plains. It further states French blocked attempts to study and mitigate the problem.
Jeff DeBray, the eastern Washington director for FUSE Washington, which funded the ads, defended their accuracy.
“It’s about accountability and so we’re going to do everything we can to hold these folks accountable when that trust is broken," he said.
The group’s ads are meant to benefit French’s opponent, Democrat Molly Marshall. Marshall says she has nothing to do with them.
French’s attorney, Mark Lamb, accuses FUSE Washington, the Spokane organization and a few others of illegally interfering in the county commission race. He has asked the state Public Disclosure Commission to hold an emergency hearing to consider whether the campaign contributions that fund the ads are illegal.
Residency questions raised in north Idaho state Senate race
Some North Idaho voters say the residency requirements for state legislature candidates are not strong enough.
Earlier this month, voters raised concerns that District 2's state senator, Republican Phil Hart, seems to be living at his business in Hayden in District 3, not his listed address in Kellogg.
Kellogg’s city clerk has confirmed there is not an occupancy permit on file for Hart’s Kellogg address, which has been under construction for years.
Still, the Idaho Secretary of State’s elections office says by presenting his driver’s license with the District 2 address, Hart has met Idaho’s eligibility requirements to represent the district.
Evan Koch, one of the voters who originally requested an investigation, said he had no idea that was the only proof of residency needed to run.
"I'm rather dismayed. I think that Mr. Hart may have adhered to the letter of the law, but he is not adhering to the spirit of the law," Koch told SPR News. "He doesn't live, for all practical purposes, in Shoshone County. And for that reason, he doesn't adequately represent the people of Shoshone County."
Deborah Rose is a Republican from District 2.
“That's a loophole in that law that I believe needs to be fixed, because it allows abuse, it allows people to take advantage of the situation and run in districts that they actually don't live in," she said.
After the election, Rose said she plans to reach out to state legislators to do something about the state law.
In 2018, Hart was ruled ineligible to run for the statehouse in District 7 on residency grounds.
He previously gained notoriety for his attempt to overturn federal income taxes and illegally cutting trees from state school endowment land to build a house in Athol.
Now, he faces a Democratic challenger in this November’s election.
Hart did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
UW and EWU to train more dentists for rural practice in Spokane
The University of Washington and Eastern Washington University are expanding their dental education partnership in Spokane.
Dr. Frank Roberts is the director of the Regional Initiatives in Dental Education, or RIDE, program in Spokane. It trains students for dental careers in rural and underserved communities.
He says the program will double the number of first-year dental students who will train in Spokane, from 8 to 16. It also plans to add a second year of instruction in Spokane.
“Second year is very heavy on simulation, so they’re doing the fillings and crowns and bridges and dentures and all that on manikins during the second year. We needed a facility to do that to be able to pull that off in Spokane," he said.
That facility will occupy a now-empty floor in the medical education building the UW School of Medicine shares with Gonzaga on Gonzaga’s campus. Plans are underway to develop the space with a goal of getting the students in there next fall.
Roberts says RIDE students do rotations in clinics and offices throughout small towns and cities eastern and central Washington. He says doubling the number of students will allow the university to also provide clinical opportunities in rural western Washington.
New essential health insurance benefits in Washington
Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler says health insurance plans offered in the state will need to include a few new benefits.
Providers will be required to cover the costs of human milk for infants in hospitals, if the baby is unable to nurse or mothers aren’t able to produce enough maternal milk. The plans are also required to cover hearing exams or hearing aids in each ear every three years. The new requirement also covers artificial insemination when done in a woman’s body, not in a lab.
Kreidler says the new changes will take effect at the start of 2026.
Deadline today to secure Idaho absentee ballots
Idaho voters have until the end of the day today to request absentee ballots for the election that is now 11 days away. State election officials say you can do that through the Secretary of State’s website. Absentee ballots must be returned by 8 pm on Election Night. Residents have until the end of the day next Friday, November 1, to vote early, in areas where that is allowed.
Cantwell talks fentanyl bill, rail investments on Spokane visit
Washington US Senator Maria Cantwell made two stops in Spokane yesterday.
At one, she joined Spokane officials — including County Sheriff John Nowels and Police Chief Kevin Hall —for a press conference focused on her proposed legislation to fight the fentanyl crisis, which Nowels and Hall have both endorsed.
Some of the provisions in Cantwell’s new bill include boosting state, local, and tribal local law enforcement resources and increasing inspections at ports of entry.
She also announced a series of investments in Washington’s rail infrastructure.
A total of 115 million dollars are going to various rail projects around the state, including rehabilitation of the Palouse River and Coulee City Railroad, a proposed project on this line between Chewelah and British Columbia, and improvements on a stretch of the Columbia Basin Railroad.
Mixed housing development on the West Plains ready for tenants
Spokane community leaders yesterday celebrated the opening of a 67-unit mixed income housing development in Airway Heights.
The Highland Village Phase II project includes 16 single-family homes built by Habitat for Humanity and 51 apartments developed by Community Frameworks. The apartments will be ready for move in later this fall. The houses are expected to be ready in December.
More phases are planned for Highland Village during the next couple of years.
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell says $12.5 million, about 60% of the cost of Phase II, was funded by the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit.
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Reporting contributed by Doug Nadvornick and Owen Henderson.