High temperatures peaking
across Washington
SEATTLE - Southwest Washington flirted with triple-digit heat on Wednesday as Kelso hit 99 degrees and Vancouver set a record for the day at 97.
National Weather Service meteorologist Danny Mercer said Vancouver's high bested the previous record of 96, set in 1951.
At Hoquiam on the Washington coast, the high of 89 broke an Aug. 19 record of 84, set in 1967.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport hit 87, one degree shy of a record.
In Eastern Washington, Walla Walla and Hanford hit 100 degrees while several other cities were in the high 90s.
The Weather Service expects Western Washington to cool off today, with highs from the mid 70s to upper 80s.
In Eastern Washington, a heat advisory is in effect until later today with temperatures forecast as high as 102.
A little cooling is expected across the state by the weekend.
Simplot signs pact over
Smoky Canyon cleanup
BOISE - Fertilizer maker J.R. Simplot Co. signed a pact with the U.S. Forest Service and other government agencies to figure out how best to clean up pollution at one of its open pit phosphate mines in southeastern Idaho.
Studies show selenium and other pollution from the Smoky Canyon Mine, where initial digging began in 1984. The mine is under federal Superfund authority, has been steadily increasing since an investigation six years ago.
The agreement requires Simplot do a remedial investigation, then come up with alternatives to keep selenium out of springs, vegetation and the Salt River downstream in Wyoming.
Selenium poisoning has killed hundreds of livestock near other mines in the region, including 18 cattle earlier this month.
Simplot didn't have an estimate for possible costs associated with eventual cleanup here.
Luna vows to oppose fee
for getting cheaper bonds
BOISE - Public schools chief Tom Luna has vowed to fight a move by an Idaho state investment fund to start charging fees to districts that apply for state bond guarantees that help reduce their interest rates.
The Idaho Endowment Fund Investment Board has decided to charge districts up to $1,000 for an application to get a state guarantee, plus another 0.05 percent of the total loan, the Spokesman-Review reported Wednesday.
For instance, on a $20 million bond, such fees could run $15,000 - about 0.075 percent of the total.
Luna said Idaho public schools are under financial duress and shouldn't have to pay even a minimal fee to qualify for cheaper interest rates on their bonds.
He's aiming to get the 2010 Legislature to intervene.
Married couple killed in
Boise crosswalk collision
BOISE - A married couple in their 70s died in a morning collision with a car that apparently struck them as they were using a crosswalk.
Wednesday's accident occurred just east of Idaho's downtown on East Parkcenter Boulevard, on a route favored by commuters from subdivisions near the Boise River.
The names of the couple haven't been released, and Boise Police officers say the accident is still under investigation.
A 58-year-old man driving westbound in the 4-door Honda sport utility vehicle that killed the couple hasn't been cited.
His name also hasn't been released.
Woman arrested in security
probe, Idaho Lottery says
BOISE - The Idaho Lottery says a single person has been arrested during an undercover investigation of stores that dispense tickets, part of efforts to ensure the integrity of the games.
The investigation of 130 of 900 Lottery retailers in 50 cities showed about 99 percent met all of the security criteria. Only two stores didn't; the probe is continuing at one of them, located in Rathdrum.
At the other, a Stinker Store in Idaho Falls, former employee Shawna McKelley was arrested after she kept a decoy high-tier winning ticket she believed was worth more than $100,000.
After taking the ticket to Lottery headquarters, she was met by detectives and apprehended.
McKelley has been charged in 7th District Court with felony presentation of an illegally obtained Lottery ticket and could face a five-year prison sentence and $25,000 fine.
From wire service reports
