Newsbriefs

Gift sale planned

“Collective Goods” will be holding a book and gift sale in the Coulee Medical Center lobby area on Wednesday, April 18, from 10-6. There will be gifts for Mother’s Day and graduation, as well as a large assortment of books for all occasions.

IRS warns of “IRS Refunds” scams

As the tax filing season comes to a close, thieves are stepping up their efforts, warned the Internal Revenue Service and the Security Summit partners on Monday. The Security Summit, a partnership between the IRS, state tax agencies and the tax industry, continues to take steps to combat tax-related identity theft.

The “IRS Refunds” scam is a common tactic used by cybercriminals to trick people into opening a link or attachment associated with an email. This link takes people to a fake page where thieves try to steal personally identifiable information, such as Social Security numbers.

Often these links or attachments also secretly download malware that can perform many functions, such as giving the thief control of the computer or tracking keystrokes to determine other sensitive passwords or critical data.

The IRS does not randomly contact taxpayers or tax professionals via email, including asking people to confirm their tax refund information. The IRS initiates most contacts through regular mail delivered by the United States Postal Service.

The tax filing deadline is April 17.

NPS to host open house in Spokane on Lake Roosevelt accessibility

Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area will hold a public open house April 30 in Spokane to gather public input on the park’s Draft Accessibility Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan. National Park Service staff will be on hand to answer questions about the plan, the planning process, and general park accessibility as well as collect your perspectives on the draft plan.

The gathering to critique plans to make the park more compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act will last from 2 to 4 p.m. at St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute, Meeting Room 200, 711 S. Cowley Street in Spokane.

An accessibility self-evaluation and transition plan provides direction for parks as they modify existing services, activities, and programs in park areas. This is intended to help parks remove physical and programmatic barriers and improve the accessibility at the park for all visitors.