Briefly

Power restored to 53,000 eastern Idaho customers

IDAHO FALLS - Rocky Mountain Power officials said electricity has been restored to more than 53,000 customers in southeastern Idaho.

Earlier Wednesday, a technical problem at one of the utility's substations near Firth caused an outage that affected customers across the region.

Spokesman David Eskelsen said the company was required to disrupt service to about 49,000 Idaho customers shortly after 5 a.m. Wednesday. Additionally, Bonneville Power asked the Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative to cut power to half of its customers in the Teton, Island Park and West Yellowstone, Mont., areas.

Many schools affected by the outage were closed as was the Idaho Falls Senior Center. Warming shelters were opened in Rexburg, Rigby, Ammon and Idaho Falls.

Fall River asked customers to continue conserving energy so the region wouldn't face rolling blackouts.

Police: $648,000 worth of wine stolen from Seattle shop

SEATTLE - Police have arrested one of two suspects who stole about $648,000 worth of wine from a Seattle wine shop and then tried to torch the building to cover their tracks.

The pair broke into Esquin Wine Merchants early Nov. 29 and began painting over the security cameras. Police said the "odious oenophiles" spent the next 13 hours carting off 200 cases of wine from the shop and its 450 privately rented, climate-controlled storage lockers.

When they were done, police said, they cut two gas lines and tried unsuccessfully to set them alight. A building manager later called 911 after smelling the fumes.

Investigators said the suspects missed one security camera, and wine shop staff recognized them as having previously rented a storage locker.

Police arrested one of the men Monday night. They're still looking for the second suspect - and the wine.

Montana man charged after accidentally shooting fellow hunter

KALISPELL, Mont. - A 48-year-old northwestern Montana man who accidentally shot a Colorado hunter in the leg last month was charged with negligent endangerment.

Mike Wagner of Libby made an initial appearance Tuesday in Justice Court in Lincoln County. Fish, Wildlife and Parks has also cited Wagner with two more misdemeanors for hunting from a public highway and failure to obtain landowner permission before following a wounded mule deer buck onto private property on Nov. 16.

The shooting victim, 60-year-old John Cleveland, was struck in the thigh. He was treated in Montana before returning to Colorado, where he remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition. He faces several operations to repair the damage to his leg.

Cleveland was not wearing hunter orange when he was shot. FWP said he will not be charged.

Man found hiding in Port Angeles school cafeteria

PORT ANGELES, Wash. - A worker at a Port Angeles elementary school found a man hiding behind a cart in a cafeteria closet.

Roosevelt Elementary School was locked down briefly Tuesday while officials responded.

The man left the building and was arrested by a deputy on the school campus, the Peninsula Daily News reported.

The 20-year-old was booked into jail for investigation of criminal trespass and possession of drug paraphernalia - syringes.

Workers at two Spokane hospitals conduct one-day strike

SPOKANE - Some workers at Deaconess Medical Center and Valley Hospital in Spokane hit the picket lines Wednesday for a one-day strike in their ongoing contract dispute.

The walkout involving about 1,100 union health care workers started at 6 a.m.

Both hospitals are owned by Tennessee-based Community Health Systems. It said temporary workers who are licensed and credentialed will maintained services during the walkout.

One of the issues in the labor dispute is hospital staffing levels.

Renton man charged with murder in Seattle trail death

SEATTLE - A Renton man has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of a woman whose body was found on a Seattle biking trail.

King County prosecutors said 32-year-old Uriel Boyd shot 26-year-old Jowanna Gooden in the head in a dispute over damage to his car. Boyd told investigators it was an accident.

A passer-by found the body Oct. 4 on the Burke-Gilman trail near the Lake Washington Ship Canal.

Boyd was charged Wednesday. He is jailed on $1 million bail for his Dec. 16 arraignment in Seattle.

Associated Press