Bloglander

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Jacob Greif

You know those old ratty jeans that used to be new? Now they have holes and stains everywhere? That was our Visual Arts Tour map. We run coverage of the Visual arts tour twice a year and we always end up running the same ratty old map. So, digging through our archives for the 20th Anniversary issue, Lisa Waananen came across a early map that we used to run — illustrated by Ivan Munk — and it inspired us to throw out our old ratty jeans and try something new.

I reached out to Jacob Greif to see if he could take a crack at a new map — and he came back with pure awesomeness. All of Spokane's landmark buildings have been painstakingly recreated on this new map, but you won't be able to see the full thing until next week's issue (Feb. 13) hits the stands. Here is just a small taste.

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Jacob Greif

Detail from new Visual Arts Tour map debuting in the Feb. 13 issue.

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Ivan Munk

Visual Arts Tour map circa 2001

HERE

Meet the real “Bette in Spokane,” who was mentioned in Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers' nationally televised address Wednesday. (S-R) Here’s how the Internet reacted to her five minutes of fame. (Inlander)

A couple from Post Falls has been sentenced to three months for their involvement in the death of a 2-year-old foster child. (KXLY)

THERE

According to a new report by the Commerce Department, the American economy grew 3.2 percent at the end of 2013. (NYT)

Indiana Jones would not be able to handle this well and neither would we: 400 snakes were found inside a Los Angeles-area home yesterday. (LAT)

Finally, Congress has passed the long-overdue farm bill. (CT)

MUSIC

Oh yes, the times they are a changin’, Pope Francis is on the cover of the newest issue of Rolling Stone. (RS)

SEAHAWKS

Washington Eastsiders are some of the biggest Seahawks fans out there. No, not bandwagon fans, people who have been there since the beginning. (Inlander)

Get a sneak peek of the Super Bowl commercials here. (SP-I)

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After the president's State of the Union Address last night, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers gave the opposition party’s traditional response. She spoke about her kids and growing up in Kettle Falls, and reiterated the standard Republican criticisms of the Afforable Care Act. She mentioned Sgt. Jacob Hess of Spokane, a marine who died last month in Afghanistan. While speaking about health care, she also said she’d received a letter from “Bette in Spokane” about her insurance premium going up $700.

In total, she mentioned Spokane twice — and the Internet blew up with people confused about why she was talking about Spokane so much.

It's not clear which ones are meant to be funny. Short answer for the rest of you: This is her district. But at least a few people learned how to pronounce Spokane correctly. Here’s her full response text and video.

HERE

I had to look at my weather app to confirm it, but indeed it is snowing today — and may continue to do so through tomorrow. (S-R)

A majority of North Idaho College's board of trustees voted yesterday to oppose state legislation that would allow firearms on college campuses. (CDAP)

THERE

Go back to Canada! Justin Bieber haters get enough signatures to potentially have his visa revoked? (Politico)

President Obama’s State of the Union Address last night was, as usual, a bit long but touched on the items he’d like to fix this year. Bottom line: expect more executive orders. See the full transcript of the speech here. (DailyBeast)

Washington’s own Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers then delivered the official Republican response. (WaPo)

MUSIC

Chewelah's own bluesman Allen Stone gets signed to Capitol Records. (Inlander)

SEAHAWKS

The Super Bowl is now only four days away — so prepare yourself for the Seahawk fervor to only increase on this blog and everywhere else.

Let's get you started with the best son in the world giving his mom tickets to the Super Bowl.

A scene from Different Drummers, shot and produced in Spokane.

Different Drummers has hit No. 1 this weekend at River Park Square's AMC 20 for the third week in a row. The film is locally written, produced, and directed by Don Caron and Lyle Hatcher.

Caron says they've seen people returning to see it again and again, bringing friends and family along. "The first weekend we thought it was just because the film had such strong local ties, but it's gone way beyond that," he says in a press release.

The year is 1965 and Lyle Hatcher is struggling. With both boundless energy and endless optimism, fourth-grader Hatcher has penchant for stirring about trouble and a chronic need for attention. David Dahlke is his well-behaved, patient antithesis, and is also, incidentally, confined to a wheelchair with muscular dystrophy. The two fourth-graders become unlikely friends, as Dahlke rises to whatever challenge Hatcher brings to the table. The film stars local actor Brayden Tucker, who won Best Young Actor for his role as Hatcher at the WorldFest Houston International Film Festival, as well as Ethan Reed McKay from Portland.

Some additional notes from the directors to put the success of Different Drummers into perspective…

1. This weekend, ticket sales nearly doubled blockbuster hits like Lone Survivor, American Hustle, Ride Along, Jack Ryan, and Frozen.

2. Different Drummers did five times the ticket sales of new studio blockbuster, I, Frankenstein.

Because of its success, Different Drummers will be opening at Wandermere Village Centre Cinemas on Friday, Feb. 7.

The Spokane Homeless Coalition hosted Homeless Connect today, an annual event that provides homeless and low-income people in our community with important resources. About a hundred people gathered at the Salvation Army, where service providers offered free medical screenings, housing services, healthcare sign-ups, haircuts, and a warm meal.

Here are a few snapshots from the day's activities. 

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Clarke Humphrey

Visitors enjoy pizza and chicken soup with rice. Water, soda and coffee were also provided.

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Clarke Humphrey

Erica Newton mans a table for Molina Healthcare, which offers medical insurance for low-income families. At Homeless Connect, Newton helped people sign up for health insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid. "We're just here to help them out, give them goodies and connect them with other resources," she says.

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Clarke Humphrey

Aretha Redthunder signs her newborn son up for insurance with Molina Healthcare. At just two weeks old, he's Redthunder's fifth child. The oldest is 19. While she was signing up, Redthunder was invited to a baby shower, hosted by Molina, for mothers who've given birth in the last six months. Mothers can bring their babies to the shower where they'll receive diapers and bottles and few other things to make their lives a little easier.

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A woman can never have too many products, whether it's shampoo, deodorant, or toothpaste, Chontae Lockett says. She also appreciates the access to new coats, thick blankets and warm socks.

"There are people out there who care, and who take time out of their day to help us," she says. "And it's fun. 

Lockett worries that there are so many homeless people in Spokane because there aren't enough shelters or low-income housing units for them, and she wonders why the condemned and out-of-use buildings in the area aren't used to help people stay off the streets.

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Clarke Humphrey

Lockett speaks with Yvonne Levno at the table for the Parent-Child Assistance Program, which helps mothers build and maintain healthy family lives and works to prevent alcohol and drug exposure of children before birth.

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Clarke Humphrey

Washington State University nursing students Christina Marsh, left, and Stephanie Bekhazi check Jesse Wharton's blood pressure. A group of WSU students spent the day checking blood pressure and blood sugar to screen for diabetes and other health conditions. They also gave out clean, warm socks.

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Clarke Humphrey

Students from the Paul Mitchell School in Spokane give haircuts to visitors.

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Clarke Humphrey

Savannah Mackey, a student at Paul Mitchell School in Spokane, gives Hector Ortiz a haircut in the Salvation Army gymnasium.

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Clarke Humphrey

Andrew Gasper is a homeless vet. But he won't be homeless for very long. "I get a place next week," he says. "The VA is finding me a place because I qualify for housing. I never used my benefits so I finally swallowed my pride and went in there. I found out I don't have to be homeless anymore." Gasper had been couch surfing, but recently has been spending nights in an apartment he renovates during the day.

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Clarke Humphrey

Amerigroup outreach representative Lauren Warrick, left, talks with Misty Rupp, right, about safe link phones and extended minutes through Amerigroup. Rupp is part of a three-month homeless shelter program that provides her family — her husband and three sons — with a place to live. Their last day in the program is Friday. "This is incredible," she says. "I'm so grateful that all these people have gotten together here to help because a lot of people come to the Salvation Army, so this is a perfect location for this. How can we not be successful with everything these people have offered?"

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We haven’t seen a single drink special or festive cupcake for tonight’s big televised event, but that doesn’t mean the State of the Union Address isn’t going to be awesome. Well, OK, most people have pretty low expectations for excitement or surprises this year, even as far as presidential speeches go.

But you will feel like a better citizen if you bother to listen, and here are a few specific things to watch for this evening. If you get all the way to the end there is a cute baby photo.

7. What gets said about health care

Last year, President Obama didn’t spend much time talking about health care, except to say that slowing the growth of health care costs is important for tackling long-term debt. With the rocky rollout of Healthcare.gov this year, will Obama talk about it directly?

6. Minimum wage and income inequality

Democrats in Congress have been pushing to increase the federal minimum wage — flat at $7.25 since 2009 — and extend long-term benefits for the unemployed. President Obama plans to sign an executive order setting the minimum wage for federal contractors at $10.10 — an action meant to show he’s willing to go around Congress if he has to. Despite rumors to the contrary, Obama has issued fewer executive orders than any other president in a century — most analysts expect all these issues to be a major theme of tonight’s speech.

5. The guest list

President Reagan started the tradition of inviting a few honored guests to attend the speech. On this year’s list are two survivors of the Boston Marathon attack, the fire chief of tornado-ravaged Moore, Okla., and NBA player Jason Collins, who revealed he is gay in a Sports Illustrated story last spring. Two other guests may hint at education and innovation themes in the speech: Washington D.C.’s teacher of the year and a 16-year-old Intel intern who showed off his marshallow cannon at the White House Science Fair several years ago.

4. Cliches and camera shots...

... and a whole list of other things, if you want to play this year’s all-new 2014 version of the State of the Union Drinking Game. (Realistically, do not attempt to play this game. But if you’re watching with a group of people, you can print out the rules, cut them up and make each person draw a few.) Greg Gutfeld of Fox News has also suggested his own more subjective version of a SOTU drinking game. “Every time he says ‘We could do better’ as he fails at everything… drink.”

3. The White House enhanced livestream

The State of the Union used to be simple — president talks, people watch on TV. But the White House knows that kids these days don’t necessarily have TVs, so there’s an “enhanced livestream” with share buttons, behind-the-scenes features and an official hashtag (#SOTU). If you’re wondering exactly what “enhanced” means, the White House has put together a demo reel of past presidents’ speeches with enhancement.

2. Gabby Giffords’ gun control ad

For traditional TV watchers: Former congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her gun control group will air an ad around the time of the speech, calling on Congress to support background checks and stop being afraid of the gun lobby. Giffords, who was critically injured during a mass shooting in Arizona several years ago, is testifying this week in Olympia in favor of two Washington state gun measures.

1. Cathy McMorris Rodgers in the spotlight

After the speech, Eastern Washington’s own Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers takes the spotlight for the Republicans’ official response. She’s the first woman to take on this role for the Republicans since Sen. Susan Collins of Maine in 2000 (who was paired with Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee). Republicans could use some help with women voters — Mitt Romney would have won in 2012 if not for all those women voting for Obama — so putting a high-ranking Republican woman out in front is a strategic move.

The Republican Party put out this little video to introduce people to McMorris Rodgers and her role as, in her words, a legislator and mom.

Will she give the Seahwaks a shoutout? Unlikely, but the constituents want it! Here, from her Instagram feed, she is preparing for the speech with baby Brynn:

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Instagram

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AllenStone.com

In more soul-singer Allen Stone news, the Chewelah native has been signed by one of the biggest record companies still in business today, Capitol Records. He was previously with ATO Records.

Currently, his tour schedule does not have the Washington son coming through Spokane, but he will be downtown Boise on Feb. 15 for a free show with the Goo Goo Dolls.

Earlier this month, Stone was named on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 music list. Read our post on that here.

This summer, Stone plans to release a new album. But in the meantime, he’s released a brand new single and music video, which was filmed at his cabin in Chewelah. Check it out!

Snoop Lion comes to WSU, Kenneth Goldsmith comes to Gonzaga and new research says gossip may be good for society.

U of I

Guns on campus: Following a week with two fatal shootings on college campuses, Idaho’s State Senate is considering a bill that would allow students, teachers and others to have guns on campus, though they’d still be prohibited in residence halls and dorms, stadiums and concert halls that seat more than 1,000 people. (Idaho Statesman)

North Idaho College

Coeur d’Alene language: Coeur d’Alene tribe linguist Raymond Brinkman is teaching a language course at NIC to introduce students to the Coeur d’Alene language. As of now, there are only two tribal members who grew up speaking the language. It’s taught in tribal schools and through classes on the reservation, and classes like the ones offered at NIC are helping to keep Coeur d’Alene alive. (SR)

Gonzaga

Poet lectures: On Feb. 10, Gonzaga’s English department is presenting a free lecture featuring the Museum of Modern Art’s first poet laureate, Kenneth Goldsmith. He’s read his poetry at the White House, been on “The Colbert Report” and will read from his latest book of poetry, Seven American Deaths and Disasters. (Gonzaga News Service)

Alice: A rendition of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is slated for a stage run beginning on Feb. 21. Creatively, the students are making the story their own by comparing Alice’s adventures to their own experiences at Gonzaga. Students have led everything from script writing to choreography to stage lighting. Tickets are on sale now. (Gonzaga News Service)

WSU

Grizzly bear: A 3-year-old grizzly named Lucy that had an MRI at WSU earlier this month died in a sanctuary in Montana. She suffered from two seizures this month and the sanctuary was still waiting for the results of her MRI when Lucy died. (SR)

Snoop Lion: The artist formerly known as Snoop Dogg will be headlining the Student Entertainment Board’s annual Springfest event. The Daily Evergreen posted on Facebook that Snoop Lion would open for the rap legend, not realizing that they are actually one and the same. (Daily Evergreen)

Wildcards: Stanford University and Princeton University

Tigers may become extinct: A few researchers from Princeton, home of the Tigers, published a paper predicting that Facebook may lose up to 80 percent of its users by 2017. Facebook came back and, using the same methodology as Princeton's researchers, predicted that Princeton won't even exist by 2021. Shots fired!

Read previous higher education news here.