Bloglander

Continuing efforts to develop stronger police ties to Spokane neighborhoods, Police Chief Frank Straub announced Monday a new decentralized community policing structure that moves captains and detectives out into three specific geographic "police service areas."

Straub has previously discussed shifting the SPD to a precinct-based enforcement model that embeds supervisors and investigators in localized patrol districts. With the opening of a downtown substation earlier this year, Straub made his first steps in that direction. He recently assigned Capt. Judith Carl to oversee that station full-time.

In a news conference Monday, Straub announced his plans to assign two other captains to northern and southern policing areas. Detectives and Neighborhood Conditions Officers will also receive assignments to those regularly work those areas.

"This gives us the ability to be there and to really address crime issues, to address community issues and to really insert ourselves and become engaged," Straub says. "We need to be engaged at the grassroots level."

Neighborhood-level captains, detectives and officers will, for now, work out of local COPS shops, partnering with existing Neighborhood Conditions Officers and volunteers to monitor community concerns. Captains will be accountable to the neighborhoods and residents they serve.

"That police captain, in essence, will become a mini-police chief for the north, for the downtown and the south," Straub says. "So as you have issues, you don't have to go find Frank Straub, you can go and find your police captain, who has authority to coordinate resources from the whole department."

Straub indicated Capt. Keith Cummings, who now oversees Patrol operations, would take over the northern district, which encompasses neighborhoods north of the Spokane River. Cummings will oversee four NCOs and two detectives, split evenly between northwest and northeast neighborhoods.

Capt. David Richards, who now heads Patrol administration, will oversee the southern district, covering the South Hill and other neighborhoods. He will likely work out of the 29th Avenue COPS shop with two NCOs and a detective.

The new neighborhood assignments represent at least the second major department restructuring in the past year. The "police service areas" also reflect the CompStat policing model Straub has introduced in hopes of holding commanders accountable for crime trends and making more strategic patrol decisions.

Decentralizing the department has been a consistent goal since Straub took over the SPD last fall. He has made a number of significant operational changes and command staff replacements during his first year.

For now, Straub says working out of the COPS shops provides some initial flexibility for officers to start working more closely with the community without rushing to purchase new buildings. The chief says he hopes to work toward establishing physical locations for the precinct facilities by 2015. He says getting officers out into the community is a first step.

"We're moving resources out into the neighborhoods, getting a feel for where we could theoretically locate, probably in 2015, physical precincts," he says, later adding, "We're going to do this in stages. We're going to test the waters."

Straub says the new effort replicates a similar Community Policing Division at the Tacoma Police Department. That program also assigns officers to specific geographic neighborhoods throughout the city.

Mayor David Condon echoed the importance of having police officers engaged at the neighborhood level. He praised the results of the downtown police substation. Both Condon and Straub reinforced that the department would need the additional officers included in the mayor's proposed budget to implement a successful precinct system. 

"We've talked a lot about community policing," he says. "We've continued to go down that path."

AROUND HERE

The U.S. is moving troops out of Kyrgyzstan, where Fairchild-based crews have refueled for missions over Afghanistan since the start of the war there. (SR)

One man is in custody after a SWAT standoff in North Spokane. (KHQ)

The Coeur d'Alene Press wants to know where the "ghosts, spirits and demons" live in your neighborhood. (CdA Press)

Support is falling for Initiative 522. (Inlander)

Check out the latest rendering of Walt Worthy's convention center hotel from Inland Northwest Business Watch.



ELSEWHERE

A Nevada middle school student wounded two students and killed a teacher and himself in a shooting yesterday. Another student says the boy was bullied. (CNN)

In the latest layer of surveillance/security, the TSA may look you up before you fly. (NYT)

The online Obamacare marketplace, HealthCare.gov, showed signs it wasn't ready for heavy traffic, but the administration rolled it out anyway. (WaPo)

Back in September, the odds were looking good for Initiative 522. Seattle pollster Stuart Elway put support for the measure, which would require labeling of foods made with genetically modified ingredients, at an impressive 66 percent. A poll in June had showed similar results.

But now, in the latest poll released today, that lead has fallen to 46 percent. With 42 percent saying no, the difference is within the margin of error of 5 percentage points.

The game-changer? Campaign advertising.

The No on 522 campaign, funded by big agribusiness companies and food manufacturers, has been outspending proponents, and it shows.

The poll also asked whether voters had seen campaign ads, and people who saw ads for only one side were far more likely to be leaning that direction. (About half the people surveyed had seen ads for both sides, and were about evenly split on how they would vote.)

And specific campaign talking points are clearly getting through. When supporters were asked an open-ended question about their main reason for voting for the iniative, almost 70 percent gave a variation on the “right to know” what they are eating. Those against the measure most frequently said it was not needed, poorly written or that food costs would rise.

Does this all sound familiar? Almost the exact same scenario played out in California last year, when the almost identical Prop. 37 ultimately failed after months of leading in the polls. In our cover story last month on the GMO debate, Stacy Malkan, the former media director for the defeated Yes on Prop. 37, was clear about what made the difference:

“Forty-five million dollars of deceptive and misleading information raining on the heads of California voters almost every minute of the day at some point,” she told the Inlander.

Boosted by millions of dollars from Monsanto and big business, labeling opponents in California raised more than $45 million — five times as much as the supporters.

Compared to California, the pro-labeling camp in Washington is not as dramatically outmatched — the Yes on 522 campaign has raised more than $6 million, and other pro-labeling groups have raised an additional $1.2 million. But the No on 522 campaign has raised more than $17 million and — perhaps more critically — has more cash on hand going into the final weeks of campaigning.

Congratulations, weekend over-parkers and/or cheapskates. The city's $1.5 million new parking meter technology hit a snag late last week, resulting in lax enforcement of downtown meters through today.

The first wave of the new "smart" (card-friendly) meters — 200 of them — hit the streets in early September. Last Thursday, a parking enforcement officer realized some of the new meters were not accepting dollar coins like they're supposed to. In response, Dave Steele, who's overseeing the switch to the new meters at the city, "asked the guys to go real soft on ticketing" those meters in case drivers tried to pay with dollar coins and couldn't. In the meantime, the meters were still taking other coins and credit cards, but the city lost any money it would have made off those parking tickets it didn't write.

Steele says the glitch is in the meter's software and came after the company behind the software programmed them to accept Canadian coins. He says the company identified the problem Friday and will install the fix "after hours" tonight.

The hiccup comes as the city prepares to install another 600 of these meters over the next month and eventually roll out new payment software that will let you pay any meter from your smart phone and, the city hopes, help meter maids give out more tickets. 

Speaking of dollar coins, who even wants to use them? According to the federal government, basically no one.

It’s official; yet another Spokane live music venue has bit the dust. The all-ages venue The Center, has been sold, owner KC Crawford confirmed today. All upcoming shows have either been moved to new locations or canceled.

“I wasn’t able to make enough money to make it worth my while,” Crawford says.

Crawford was not forthcoming with who the new owners would be. But says he believes they will reopen the venue in a months time after a remodel as a bar/music venue.

Rumblings came last week, when it was announced last Thursday’s Red Fang show would be moved to The Hop!.

In speaking to The Center’s music promoter, Quinn Tanzer last Wednesday, he said the 500-capacity venue was closed for good. Crawford later said this was not the case and that he was trying to keep it afloat. Later that day a Facebook post claimed the place closed. The post was taken down hours later.

Although the Facebook post said the closing was due to the owner’s health issues, Crawford says that while he does have a broken leg, that wasn’t the case.

“It just made sense to let it go,” he says.

Crawford and Tanzer say they plan to separately continue promoting and bringing in music to the area, just not at their own location.

The venue had been open since the beginning of the year. In a preview interview with the Inlander, shortly before The Center’s opening, Tanzer admitted he had concerns about the place that was so far away from the downtown area but that he still had hope.

“I give it six months and this place will be awesome,” he said.

AROUND HERE

As the economy rebounds, Spokane is a renters' market. (SR)

A 5-year-old girl is dead after she, her mother and her brother were hit by a car while crossing the street Friday night. (KXLY)

The Idaho Court of Appeals upheld a ruling stripping parental rights from a women who spent six to eight hours a day playing World of Warcraft instead of caring for her children. (CdA Press)

ELSEWHERE

Same-sex couples in New Jersey said "I do" today, and Gov. Chris Christie now says the state will drop its challenge to same-sex marriage in the state. (NYT)

HealthCare.gov is still struggling, prompting the Obama administration to bring in a bunch of computer experts to try to fix it. (WashPo)

Fighting in Syria continues to drive refugees out of the country, squeezing already poor towns and cities in nearby countries. (AlJazeera)

GMO labeling Initiative 522 is already making Washington state history as one of the most expensive initiative fights ever, thanks to a heavy influx of cash from deep-pocketed biochemical corporations and food and beverage companies dedicated to defeating the measure.

The No on 522 campaign's top donor is the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the nation's biggest grocery lobby. GMA has contributed a combined $7.2 million, but until today, hadn't revealed which of its members were bankrolling the opposition.

After Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit against GMA for violating campaign disclosure laws, this afternoon, the trade group finally released the names and contributions of 34 member companies that wrote checks to the anti-labeling campaign.

Among them are PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Nestle, which each donated more than $1 million. Many of the top donors are also the owners of popular organic (and therefore non-GMO) brands, such as General Mills (LaraBar, Cascadian Farm and Muir Glenn), Kellogg (Kashi, MorningStar Farms, Bear Naked) and ConAgra (Alexia Foods and Lightlife).

Here's the full list, per the Associated Press:

• PepsiCo, Inc.: $1,620,899
  
• Nestle USA, Inc.: $1,052,743
  
• The Coca-Cola Company: $1,047,332
  
• General Mills, Inc.: $598,819
  
• ConAgra Foods: $285,281
  
• Campbell Soup Company: $265,140
  
• The Hershey Company: $248,305
  
• The J.M. Smucker Company: $241,091
  
• Kellogg Company: $221,852
  
• Mondelez Global LLC: $144,895
  
• FlowersFoods, Inc.: $141,288
  
• Abbott Nutrition: $127,459
  
• Pinnacle Foods Group LLC: $120,846
  
• Dean Foods Company: $120,245
  
• McCormick & Company, Inc.: $102,208
  
• Land O'Lakes, lnc.: $99,803
  
• Cargill, Inc.: $98,601
  
• The Hillshire Brands Company: $97,398
  
• Bunge North America, Inc.: $94,993
  
• Bimbo Bakeries USA: $94,693
  
• Del Monte Foods Company: $86,576
  
• Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.: $55,313
  
• Hormel Foods Corporation: $52,908
  
• Bumble Bee Foods, LLC: $36,073
  
• Welch Foods, Inc.: $28,859
  
• Shearer's Foods, Inc.: $25,251
  
• Rich Products Corporation: $24,049
  
• Clement Pappas & Company, lInc.: $21,043
  
• Sunny Delight Beverages Company: $21,043
  
• Bush Brothers & Company: $16,233
  
• Knouse Foods Cooperative, Inc.: $14,429
  
• The Clorox Company: $12,024
  
• Bruce Foods Corporation: $3,006
  
• Moody Dunbar, Inc.: $1,804
  

We wrote this week about two increasingly testy races for Spokane City Council. Lots of money pouring in, attack ads hitting local TV, name-calling. That's politics, we guess?

To get a better grasp on who's behind all this, here's a breakdown of who's funding each candidate and the TV spots on the air so far. (All of the campaign finance information came from the state's Public Disclosure Commission. You can find candidates and every donor who supports them by visiting this site. Peruse the PACs here.)

CANDACE MUMM
Total raised: $82,776.80
Total spent: $54,146.94

Top donors: Mumm has gotten much of her support from unions, both local and statewide: elevator constructors, painters, carpenters, fire fighters, healthcare workers, teachers, county and city employees, truck drivers and the regional chapter of union federation AFL-CIO. (She points to this as broad support from Spokane's working class. Her opponent, Michael Cannon, says this means she'll be unable to make tough decisions about union contracts if she's on the council.) Also among those who've donated at least $900: the Spokane Tribe and Planned Parenthood Votes. (Donors can give up to $900 in the primary and another $900 for the general.)

Other local notables:

• Party support from the 6th Legislative District Democratic Committee ($200), the Third Legislative District Democrats ($250) and the Washington State Democratic Central Committee ($250). 
  
• Former County Commissioner and Democrat Bonnie Mager: $250
  
• Former Democratic State Rep. Dennis Dellwo: $225
  
• Democrat Rich Cowan, who challenged Cathy McMorris Rodgers last year: $200
  
• Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane Rev. Todd Eklof: $125
  
• Developer Ron Wells: $125
  
• Democratic State Sen. Andy Billig: $100
  
• Former mayor John Powers: $100
  
• City Council President Ben Stuckart and his wife Ann: $50 each
  
• Center for Justice Communications Director Tim Connor: $50
  

---

MICHAEL CANNON
Total raised: $59,398.19
Total spent: $45,840.51

Top donors: Cannon's big givers include the "Build East PAC," which is funded primarily by local construction firms; City Administrator Theresa Sanders and her husband Mark Smathers, who each donated $1800; the Spokane Homebuilders Association; and the Washington Association of Realtors. Cannon has also loaned himself $2,000 for the race.

Other local notables:

• Councilman Steve Salvatori: $590
  
• Avista: $545.75
  
• Mayor David Condon: $500
  
• Former Spokane City Councilman Steve Corker: $500
  
• Councilman Mike Allen: $150
  
• Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin and her husband Dave: $50 each
  
• Laverne Biel, who challenged Jon Snyder, but lost in the primary: $50
  
• Republican State Rep. Kevin Parker: $50
  

---

JON SNYDER
Total raised: $64,901.55
Total spent: $34,684.81

Top donors: Snyder, like Mumm, has seen broad support from unions among his top contributions: fire fighters, healthcare workers, county and city employees, truck drivers and the regional AFL-CIO group. Planned Parenthood's PAC also contributed $900.

Other local notables:

• Realtor Stephen Barbieri: $500
  
• Developer Gerry Dicker: $500
  
• Spokane Tribe: $500
  
• Democratic State Sen. Andy Billig: $500
  
• Former Mayor Mary Verner: $350
  
• Council President Ben Stuckart: $300
  
• Former State Senate Democratic Majority Leader Lisa Brown: $250
  
• Former Democratic state senator, who now works for the state Liquor Control Board, Chris Marr: $250
  
• Democratic State Rep. Marcus Riccelli: $250
  
• Developer Ron Wells: $250
  
• Dennis Delllwo: $175
  
• Former County Commissioner and Democrat Bonnie Mager: $125
  
• Rich Cowan: $100
  
• Merlyn's owner John Waite: $100
  
• Former councilman Richard Rush: $75
  
• Former Spokane County Commissioner and Democrat John Roskelley and his wife Joyce: $50 each
  
• Councilwoman Amber Waldref: $50
  

---

JOHN AHERN
Total raised: $22,911.84
Total spent: $16,926.42

Top donors: Ahern, who's raised less than half of Snyder's war chest, has seen $900 contributions from the National Association of Realtors and the Spokane Homebuilders Association.

Other local notables:

• House Republican Organizational Committee: $667.90
  
• Republican Party of Spokane: $100
  
• Spokane Entrepreneurial Center, owned by Councilman Steve Salvatori: $100
  
• Republican State Sen. Mike Padden: $50
  

And in the plenty-of-money-to-go-around category, local restaurant and pie mogul Vaughn Cyrus has given $1,000 each to Ahern, Mumm and Cannon.

Councilwoman AMBER WALDREF, who is running unopposed, has raised $30,800, with big contributions from Avista and unions like the healthcare workers, county and city employees, firefighters and the local AFL-CIO group.

PACS & TV ADS

One sign the races were getting ugly came when the PAC JOBS AND PROSPERITY FOR SPOKANE paid for an ad targeting Mumm and Snyder for their union support.

That group is funded by:

• Build East PAC, which gets most of its donations from local contractors
  
• Spokane Homebuilders (A representative from local development company Greenstone, which has given $2,000 to the Spokane Homebuilders PAC, criticized the negative ads at Monday's city council meeting, saying the company does not want to be associated with them.) 
  
• Inland Pacific Associated Builders and Contractors
  
• Eastern Washington PAC, for which Mayor David Condon helps fundraise and which is funded largely by auto auction company DAA Northwest and its president and vice president; Wanda Cowles, a member of the family that publishes the Spokesman Review; developer Gerry Dicker and his wife; and City Administrator Theresa Sanders and her husband.

Other groups are looking to sway the race in the other direction. The INLAND NORTHWEST LEADERSHIP PAC has given $900 each to Mumm, Snyder and Waldref.

Its contributors include:

• Former State Senate Democratic Majority Leader Lisa Brown: $500
  
• Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho CEO Karl Eastlund: $400
  
• Roast House: $300
  
• Spokane Tribe: $300
  
• The regional AFL-CIO group: $300
  
• River City Brewing owner Gage Stromberg: $300
  
• Washington State County and City Employees: $300
  
• Local civil rights attorney Breean Beggs: $250
  
• Democratic State Rep. Timm Ormsby: $100
  

CITIZENS FOR HONEST GOVERNMENT recently spent $20,000 to buy air time for an ad in support of Mumm and Snyder.

Contributors include:

• Washington State Council of County and City Employees: $15,000
  
• IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters): $22,500
  
• AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees): $7,500
  
• Regional AFL-CIO group: $5,000
  
• Washington State Council of Firefighters Support Team: $5,000
  

(UPDATE Oct. 19: This showed up in my mailbox today, paid for by Citizens for Honest Government. Have you gotten any PAC-funded mailers? Send me a photo: [email protected])

The candidates have also produced their own ads, and those have been a little friendlier.

(Updated Oct. 25 to include Snyder's ad)

Sure, it's getting interesting, but we're still holding out for something this good.

It's election time, folks. Here's what you need to know:

Ballots are on their way now. Oct. 28 is was your last day to register in-person to vote (the Spokane County Elections office is at 1033 W. Gardner). Election Day is Nov. 5.

Here is a sample ballot. (Of course, you'll only see races taking place in the city or district in which you live.) Once you send your ballot off, track it here.

Candace Mumm and Michael Cannon are vying for the SPOKANE CITY COUNCIL seat representing northwest Spokane and being vacated by Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin. John Ahern is challenging Councilman Jon Snyder for his seat representing the South Hill, downtown and Browne's Addition. More on those races here. (Amber Waldref is also up for reelection, but is running unopposed.)

If you're still undecided, here are the debates KSPS hosted for each race.

Cannon vs. Mumm

Ahern vs. Snyder

The League of Women Voters' forums also hosted forums and you can find those videos by clicking  here, then on "other video programs" and "fall election forum." (Ahern didn't show for this one.)

Two staunch Republicans are fighting for a SEVENTH DISTRICT state Senate seat, representing the northeastern part of the state: Stevens, Ferry and Pend Oreille counties, plus parts of Spokane and Okanogan counties. Story here.

SPOKANE COUNTY Proposition 1 asks about taxes to fund the purchase of mobile home parks near Fairchild Air Force Base, which officials worry encroach on the base. Two STATEWIDE INITIATIVES are also on the ballot: 517 to change initiative laws and 522 to require labeling of genetically modified foods. Find a roundup of those issues here and our in-depth look at the GMO question here.

The COEUR D'ALENE MAYOR seat is open and that race is testy. More here. POST FALLS will also hire a new mayor, four seats are contested on the SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL, and a seat on the SPOKANE SCHOOL BOARD is in play. Read more about all three of those races right here.

After suffering a citation and fines over safety issues last fall, the state Department of Natural Resources has confirmed a second DNR work crew inmate from the Airway Heights Corrections Center has died while working in the woods of Stevens County — almost exactly one year after the program's first fatality.

Officials say 47-year-old Daniel J. Hall died Thursday afternoon while working to clear DNR-owned land south of Springdale following a recent timber harvest. Peter Lavallee, communications director for DNR, says several agencies are investigating the fatal incident. 

"We're looking into exactly what happened," Lavallee says. "The crew was working on an area where there had been a timber harvest and sale. ... The crew was preparing the land for an eventual replanting."

Prison officials say Hall was serving a sentence on drug and auto theft charges with his release scheduled for September of next year. He becomes the second Washington inmate to suffer a fatal injury in the history of the state's prison work crew program.

Another Airway Heights inmate, 22-year-old Danny Bergeson of Sedro-Wooley, was the first to be killed on Oct. 15, 2012. Described as a hard-working car enthusiast, Bergeson was also working on a DNR crew in Stevens County when a tree he was cutting down hit a power line and electrocuted him.

Officials with the state Department of Labor & Industries later cited the DNR with failing to provide proper supervision and training for workers. The DNR paid a $25,100 fine.  Read full citation here: 

In the wake of Bergeson's death, DNR officials temporarily closed the program and pledged to review their safety protocols. They later restarted the work crew program with a new emphasis on injury prevention and new requirements to discuss safety hazards before every project.

Lavallee says there has not been any move to again suspend the inmate work crew program at this point. He could not comment on the safety protocols surrounding Hall's death. 

Officials have released few details on the circumstances involved in Hall's death. The incident remains under investigation.