Today's headlines:
- A Spokane renewable energy company is betting that rising fuel prices will get business owners to shift their fleets from gas to electrical.
- Oregon wildfire survivors are asking the state Supreme Court to take up their case against utility giant PacifiCorp.
- The Spokane Zephyr broke club records in their last regular season game. But it wasn't enough to clinch a playoff spot.
- Spokane is planning for intensified growth around its transit corridors.
- An SPR News partner wins a prestigious award.
Plus, when beavers build dams, they help create habitat for other species. But when they build near humans, those dams aren’t always appreciated. Rachel Sun from Northwest Public Broadcasting reports on how some humans are trying to strike a balance between their needs and the beavers’.
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Trial begins today in federal court for three people arrested for protesting the actions of federal immigration agents in Spokane last year. They are Jac Archer, Justice Forrall and Bajun Mavalwalla, Senior. They were among several people arrested for trying to stop the detention of two Venezuelan men who were in the U.S. legally. They are charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer. The others either had charges dropped or pled guilty and were sentenced.
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Spokane is planning for intensified growth around its transit corridors.
SPR’s Eliza Billingham has more.
20260518_Growth_VCR
A proposed future land use map shows a bright yellow grid.
It’s highlighting some of Spokane’s arterial streets and avenues—like Division, Monroe, Francis, Wellesley and 29th.
Those are where the plan commission is recommending changing zoning to allow for more moderate to high density housing.
The commission also recommends permanently eliminating height restrictions in the downtown core.
A future land use map is part of the formal process of updating the city’s comprehensive plan, which guides where and how urban development happens.
Spokane City Council is set to vote tonight on whether to adopt the commission’s recommended version of the map.
I’m Eliza Billingham, reporting.
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Two Navy fighter planes collided at an airshow yesterday and triggered a lockdown of Mountain Home Air Force Base in southern Idaho.
Witnesses say they immediately saw four parachutes emerge as the planes fell to Earth and a plume of smoke came from the crash.
Commander Amelia Umayam, a spokeswoman for Naval Air Forces, said in a statement the four crew members aboard the planes were from Whidbey Island, Washington. They all safely evacuated and immediately treated by medical professionals.
An officer on the scene said the fire from the crash was extinguished within a few hours.
The rest of the air show was immediately cancelled and the base was locked down. Officials say it took four and a half hours for the thousands of attendees to evacuate.
The Gunfighters show has been a popular, free public event at Mountain Home since 2003, but this was the first show since 2018.
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Washington state health officials say they are investigating two separate cases of hantavirus exposure. One is related to the cruise ship outbreak where three King County residents were potentially exposed. None are showing symptoms, but they’ve been encouraged to quarantine for up to six weeks. The CDC says another three Washington residents were on the same flight home as two of the King County residents and could have been exposed.
In the second case, health officials in Chelan and Douglas counties report a confirmed case of a different strain on the hantavirus. They say that may have been transmitted by a mouse that’s carrying the virus. They say it’s not related to the King County cases. State officials say the risk of transmitting either of those hantaviruses to others is very low.
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A Spokane renewable energy company is betting that rising fuel prices will get business owners to consider shifting their fleets from gas to electrical.
Zero Emissions Northwest and Avista are launching a pilot program that will allow companies to test electric vehicles for two to four weeks. David Funk is the president of Zero Emissions Northwest.
“So we provide a vehicle, we provide the charging expertise, we collect data during the rental period. So at the end of the rental period, that fleet owner will understand how this truck or this SUV will operate within their business operations and how much money they could save. If you drive a lot, you'll save more. If you drive less, you'll save less," he said.
Avista will host an event for businesses interested in learning more about electric vehicles. That will be June 4 at Avista. You’ll need to register online to attend.
We’ll have more on this during this week’s Inland Journal, Thursday at 12:30 on SPR News.
Zero Emissions Northwest is a financial supporter of Spokane Public Radio, but we cover it like we cover every other business.
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Today is the 46th anniversary of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. It’s a reminder of the day when the southwestern Washington volcano sent ash tens of thousands of feet into the sky. The prevailing winds blew it east and northeast. Throughout the morning the skies blackened and ash fell. Travel on Interstate 90 became difficult. Spokane and much of eastern Washington received a few inches. In the end, 57 people died, many in the area around the mountain. In Spokane, school was cancelled for about two weeks and there were worries about whether the ash was harmful to human health. There have been a few minor eruptions in the years since, but the mountain has generally been quiet.
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One of the SPR News journalism partners has won a major national award.
Pullman-based FAVS News has won a top award in the Associated Church Press contest. That’s a competition for media outlets that write about religion.
FAVS News publisher Tracy Simmons bills her publication as a regional wire service. It provides stories for news outlets like ours that don’t have the expertise or resources to cover religion.
“I am super excited that publishers are realizing that religion news is valuable. You know, every paper used to have a religion section, and that's just not the case anymore. So I'm happy we can fill that void," she said.
Simmons says more than 270 FAVS News articles have been republished by outlets such as The Spokesman-Review and the Religion News Service, a national wire service.
FAVS News recently announced that it’s expanding its coverage from eastern Washington and north Idaho to include western Washington.
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When beavers build dams, they help create habitat for other species. But when they build near humans, those dams aren’t always appreciated.
Rachel Sun from Northwest Public Broadcasting reports on how some humans are trying to strike a balance between their needs and the beavers’.
20260518_Dealing with Beavers_FEATURE
[sound bed: songbirds]
A few miles south of Pullman, Washington, hobby farmer John Brown is showing me his property. We’re stopped beside a stream lined by poplar trees.
1BROWN: “ All these hybrid poplars that you see here ... were planted in the last 20 years or so. That, I think, may have been part of the reason that I attracted beavers.”
For over a decade, Brown says, he fought the beavers. The animals might be cute, but they also have a propensity for damaging trees. They can also threaten existing buildings and landscaping near waterways.
Brown points out one poplar tree that leans over a walking path because the beavers chewed through its roots. Then he points to rows of flowers nearby.
2BROWN: “This is a project, these are all daffodils … they follow every fence line, and I have lost probably 1,000 of those to beavers. They flooded, and daffodils couldn't tolerate the water.”
But, he says, about four years ago, his battle with the beavers changed.
3BROWN: “I was tearing out six dams a day up and down the stream, and I accidentally fell in the stream in January, and I said, ‘That's it. I'm not doing any more of this.’"
Brown is using a different approach. With the help of a local nonprofit, he installed something called a pond leveler. Those work by allowing water to quietly pass through a pipe that’s been installed in the dam.
Melissa Mackelvie is an assistant regional habitat program manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
She says the pond levelers ….
5MACKELVIE: … Allows enough flow to pass through that dam that we're able to abate some of the ponding that's occurring that's putting people's structures at risk.”
Pond levelers aren’t 100 percent foolproof. Sometimes sediment-heavy water or especially industrious beaver families can necessitate additions or added maintenance.
In Brown’s case, staff at a local nonprofit are helping install another leveler soon because the pond has been rising again.
Still, Mackelvie says, those pond levelers are often a more practical long-term solution than simply removing beavers and destroying dams.
6MACKELVIE: “When you are trapping — you have good habitat. And so, the habitat — there's gonna be beavers that move in … you’re probably gonna have, just, other ones move in, like a year later, six months later.”
Environmental groups say they’re still working to get people on board and familiar with the idea. Brown says some of his neighbors think he’s crazy — but the beavers aren’t all bad.
Brown’s pasture stays green in the summer thanks to the added water. And, there’s a lot more wildlife. Near the pond, there’s a constant thrum of calls from red-winged blackbirds, California quail, mallard ducks, ravens, kestrels, geese, and more.
[3-5 sec. pause for nat sound]
7BROWN: “If you stand out in the middle of one of these wheat fields, you're not gonna hear that.”
All in all, Brown says, he’s willing to put up with the hassle for the benefits those beavers create.
8BROWN: “ All the birds and things, they have a choice of the wheat fields or coming here with trees and water. I had three deer here yesterday. It's really nice.
[add more bird sound]
Reporting near Pullman, Washington, I’m Rachel Sun.
SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting was contributed by Eliza Billingham, Jaxon Holmes, Sasa Woodruff, Rachel Sun and Doug Nadvornick..
Doug Nadvornick hosted and produced this show. Eliza Billingham provides digital support.
