Jessica Robinson

Across the Northwest, students are wrapping up their school year. By the time Idaho high school students return in the fall, their classrooms will be on their way to becoming wireless hotspots. The Idaho Department of Education is preparing to spend more than $2 million to put high-speed wireless Internet in all public high schools.

It's part of what Idaho education officials like to call the “21st Century Classroom.” They're asking for bids over the summer on a contract to have WiFi up and running across the state by March 2014.

Even if you've never visited a jail, you probably have a pretty clear image of what inmate visitation is like – a shatterproof glass barrier, two people sitting on either side, speaking into telephones.

But that's changing in some parts of the Northwest. More and more county jails are switching to privately operated video conferencing systems. Sort of like Skype, for inmates. But these systems have technical difficulties and come with costs for the inmates’ families.

Delayed visits

Sarah Palin returns to the Northwest Saturday – though for a much more modest venue than the former vice presidential candidate has had in the past. Palin will give the commencement speech to the Class of 2013 in a high school gym in tiny Republic, Wash.

It came about through social media. On a lark, the senior class of Republic High School, home of the Tigers, decided to see if they could land the conservative star. The class president – a huge Sarah Palin fan – led a lobbying effort via Facebook, Twitter, and the old fashioned way – a letter to Palin's parents.

Federal authorities believe the Spokane man accused of sending a ricin-laced letter to a federal judge may have also sent similar poisoned letters to the president, the CIA and Fairchild Air Force Base.

Idaho's conflicting views on gay rights is playing out in the northern part of the state. A committee in Coeur d'Alene Tuesday advanced an anti-discrimination ordinance. Meanwhile the sheriff of the same county is threatening to drop a Boy Scout charter because the group voted to allow gay members.

The 38-year-old man accused of sending ricin-laced letters to a federal judge and the Spokane post office had an active social media presence. But his online profiles contain no hints at a grudge toward the federal government. This was also not his first run-in with the law. Jessica Robinson reports.

Officials at Fairchild Air Force Base say their role in the military's Asia-Pacific operations will not change anytime soon. That's despite the Pentagon Wednesday opting not to locate the next generation of Air Force refueling tankers at the base outside of Spokane, Wash. Jessica Robinson reports.

People living near Fairchild Air Force Base say they’re not worried by news they won’t get a brand new fleet of Boeing-built Air Force refueling tankers. The Air Force made the announcement Wednesday following a process that pitted Spokane against other other communities around the country.

McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas got the nod to be the first to house the new KC-46A refueling tankers. That dismayed Washington Sen. Patty Murray, who said she would press top Pentagon officials for an explanation.

A tragedy in Wenatchee, Wash., is prompting educators there to bring back a high school aquatics program. Starting this fall, high school freshmen in the central Washington city will have to demonstrate they know how to swim.

Formal swimming lessons in Wenatchee had gone by the wayside, as is frequently the case lately in public schools. But the Wenatchee school board is now reversing course.

In November 2011, a freshman named Antonio Reyes drowned in the high school swimming pool.

The FBI is trying to find the person who sent two threatening letters containing deadly ricin in Spokane. One of the letters was addressed to a federal judge.

It's back to work-as-usual at Spokane’s historic Post Office after the two letters made it into the mailstream here. Police say the discovery prompted an evacuation. Authorities don't believe any workers were exposed to the highly toxic substance, but they are remaining tight-lipped about the case.

Representatives from the FBI and local police declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.