Northwest News

Boise continues to deal with the presence of a mountain lion. A police officer spotted the animal in the city Friday morning.  It was the fourth cougar sighting in the area this week. Today’s sighting was the first by law enforcement. It was consistent with others in that it occurred near the Boise River.

The issue of pay raises for public employees is quickly becoming an issue in Washington’s race for governor. There’s much to debate including: a cost of living increase for teachers, a dollar-an-hour pay hike for unionized homecare workers, and an end to a 3 percent pay cut for state workers.

At the last governor’s debate, Republican Rob McKenna attacked Democrat Jay Inslee’s record as a state lawmaker in the early 1990s.

Public health officials in the Northwest are raising concerns about a relatively new type of synthetic marijuana that’s been linked to a series of kidney failure cases in the region.

Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn has asked for an additional four-point-one-billion dollars for basic education in his biennial budget proposal. Ann Dornfeld reports.