Ecology draft plan available Monday

A draft Washington Department of Ecology plan to reduce water temperatures and keep bacteria and sediment out of the Little Spokane River near Oldtown will be available for public review and comment from Monday through Nov. 23.

The water quality improvement plan outlines ways to reduce pollution to levels that meet standards.

The Little Spokane River watershed is a 700-square-mile drainage area in northeast Washington, and includes 24 square miles in Idaho south of Oldtown. The river discharges into Lake Spokane just downstream of Nine Mile Dam.

The report is available at: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/1110075.html

Libraries add

online branch

Libraries in the Cooperative Information Network have added a new online "branch" providing downloadable digital books and audiobooks available 24-hours a day.

This new service, powered by OverDrive, is free for patrons with a resident library card. Patrons can browse the available books by visiting their library's website where they will be directed to the "CIN Digital Downloads" page. Users will need to install free software on their computers or wireless-equipped reading devices.

The system is compatible with most popular devices including Kindle, iPad, iPod, Nook and others.

The checkout time for digitally downloaded items will be up to two weeks. As with library books, only one copy of a digital item may be checked out at a time.

"We've been working on getting eBook content into the hands of our users for the past several years," Coeur d'Alene Public Library Director Bette Ammon said. "The partnership with the Library Network has made it happen."

For more information visit a participating library or its website.