HERE

Spokane police officers Jake Jensen, Danny Lesser and Adam Valdez have been placed on paid administrative leave for their involvement in a shooting that resulted in the death of 21-year-old homicide suspect Justin Cairns. (S-R) 

Spokane City Council voted 4-3 opposing lawsuits against groups who want to put anti-lobbying and community bill of rights initiatives on the ballot. (S-R) 

Volume 2013 is in 10 days! Get your tickets. What are you waiting for? (Inlander) 

THERE

The death toll from the tornado in Moore, Okla. is up to 24, including nine children. Visit www.redcross.org or text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross’ disaster relief efforts in Moore. (ABC) 

Guatemala’s highest court has thrown out the genocide conviction of former dictator Efrain Rios Montt. Ten days earlier, Rios Montt was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity for his role in killing 1,771 indigenous Mayans during a decades-long civil war. The high court ordered that his trial restart. (Global Post) 

Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek has died from cancer at the age of 74. (CNN)

NEVER NUDE

The fourth season of “Arrested Development” premieres on Netflix this Sunday. Here are some GIFs to celebrate.

VOLUME COUNTDOWN: 10 DAYS

Let me say this much: If you’re not excited about Spokane’s local music scene right now, then prepare to be changed as you read about our 2013 Bands to Watch (all of which are playing shows this year at Volume — which is in just 10 DAYS! You have your tickets, right?)

For the past four years, we’ve assembled a committee of people who are deeply invested in local music to search for the most interesting bands in the area. We cram in a room, geek out about the bands we love, fight about the ones we don’t, take a break for a month, reconvene, fight more and, in the end, pick the five Bands to Watch. You can read about them here, and see them all this year at Volume, our two-day music festival.

And though we picked five artists from very different genres this year, there’s something similar about them all: They’re all very serious about what they do. They’re not sugar-coating their art for anyone. They’re dark and honest. Bold. They’re all risky — bands you’re not going to ever hear on the radio. They’re thinkers and artists — not crowd-pleasers.

Maybe that’s because the world isn’t this happy-go-lucky place right now. And this the music of real people living, loving and surviving in that world today.

This year's Bands to Watch are:

Psychic Rites, a "neon doom disco" band from Moscow that makes terror fun.

Ian Miles, a songwriter who incites his audiences to scream and stomp and go nuts when he plays.

Hooves, a local instrumental outfit that makes you feel as much as you hear.

66beat, a snarling, sassy, no-bullshit local two-piece punk outfit.

Lilac Linguistics, a hip-hop collective of young rappers who are making Spokane's new rap sound

It’s well-established that the tilt-shift timelapse technique can make any old city look like an adorable miniature version of itself. But even when you know that, and even if you’ve seen a billion of these, you have to see just how adorable Spokane’s Lilac Festival Armed Forces Torchlight Parade looks in this video by Josh Frost:

The tiny bands! The little twirling cheerleaders! Check out the motorcycles at the 1 minute mark and the Deloreans at 5:12.

For a more traditional view of the parade, here is a set of photos by Inlander photographer Young Kwak.

Those still doubting the old Ridpath building will find new life may want to start believing. 

A few weeks ago, developer Ron Wells says, he found financing to go ahead with the project. For now, he still remains a little secretive: He says he has two competing offers for financing the project and doesn't want to say what who they are until he's ready. 

"It looks like construction will probably start in September," Wells says. Meanwhile, Wells says the details of his plan for the building, which originally were for a variety of small downtown apartments, may be changing. He isn't yet ready to talk specifics.

"I think that we will be ready to make a firm definitive announcement on what the final solution is [in] two or three weeks," Wells says. "There’s still a few moving pieces we need to figure out first."

It's going to be a long night at City Hall. 

Tonight, along with talk of ombudsman powers and adult bookstores, the council will hold two hearings on citizen initiatives that have pitted "let the voters decide" arguments against council concerns that the initiatives are unconstitutional and could attract expensive lawsuits if passed. The council requested an outside legal review, which concluded the city could mount a pre-election legal challenge against the measures to block them from going to a public vote. Tonight, council members will vote on resolutions requesting that the mayor pursue such a lawsuit.

One of the initiatives is a Community Bill of Rights, brought for the third time by Envision Spokane, expanding neighborhood rights and environmental protections. The other, crafted by Spokane Moves to Amend the Constitution, would outlaw private lobbying (corporations' employees talking to city officials about legislation) and corporate contributions to local campaigns.

All of the City Council members have expressed opposition to both of the initiatives based on their content and scope, arguing they're aimed at things the city doesn't have the right to change.

"There's a real fervor out there and frustration with how campaigns are financed. I get it," Councilman Mike Allen told members of Spokane Moves to Amend the Constitution when the council voted to send the initiatives to the county auditor to verify the signatures. "But you've got to challenge it at the right level. The city is not the right level."

Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin said she supported a legal review because she worries about how much the city will have to spend defending these laws if they pass and then face legal challenge.

Initiative guru Tim Eyman will also be in town for a 2 pm press conference and to testify in support of Envision Spokane at the council meeting. He's pushing one of his efforts this fall, Initiative 517, which would require that any state or local initiative that garners enough signatures go to a vote regardless of government legal objections.

HERE

Spokane City Council will hold hearings tonight on two controversial citizens initiatives. One would expand neighborhood rights and environmental protection. The other would outlaw private lobbying and corporate contributions to local campaigns. (Inlander) 

After searching a Browne's Addition apartment on Saturday, the FBI still has not made any arrests concerning a pair of letters tainted with ricin. (S-R)

A drunk woman plowed through the side of a Coeur d'Alene IHOP on Sunday morning. No word on whether she ordered the Pick-A-Pancake Combo or classic Two x Two x Two. (KHQ)

Today’s the last day to register for Hoopfest. Get on it, kids! (KXLY)

THERE

Tornados touched down in the Midwest, killing two in Oklahoma. (USA Today)

Someone in Zephyrhills, Fla. is now $590 million richer. (NBC)

Yahoo has agreed to buy Tumblr for a cool billion. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has promised “not to screw it up.” #LeanIn (NY Times)

STRAIGHT SPITTIN’

This summer, Washington state will allow underage undergrads at three community colleges to taste wine for class — as long as they don’t swallow. (Seattle Times) 

This weekend the Society of Professional Journalists announced awards for Region 10 — Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Alaska — for all content published in 2012. The Inlander competes in the alternative weeklies category along with papers like the Willamette Week, Seattle Weekly and Missoula Independent.

Here is the whole list of Region 10 winners, and here are the stories that placed in various categories:

Government and Politics Reporting:

Homeland Droneland by Joe O’Sullivan

Arts Reporting:

Communal Vibe by Tiffany Harms

Lifestyles Reporting:

American Beauty by Leah Sottile

Personalities Reporting:

Holy War on Women by Leah Sottile

Business Reporting:

The Meat Grinder by Daniel Walters

Sports Reporting:

Big Football by Mike Bookey

Special Section:

Dining Out, edited by Mike Bookey

VOLUME COUNTDOWN: 11 DAYS

It's that exciting time of year when we announce The Inlander's annual Bands to Watch: the bands that we choose each year (with the help of a committee of amazing local music people) that are the most interesting, groundbreaking, on-the-cusp-of-something-awesome bands in the region.

We'll reveal who those bands are on Wednesday this week, but for now, we thought we'd recap some of the past Bands to Watch — who you can catch this year at Volume 2013.

All the way back in 2005, we named our first set of "Buzzworthy" bands — a moniker we changed later to "Bands to Watch" because it sounded like a dated title. That year, we chose youngsters Belt of Vapor — a band that's still very much a part of the local scene today. The angular three-piece rock outfit is much older now, but just hosted a record release show for its third full-length album a couple weeks back at the Bing Crosby Theater. Check them out opening for Kinski this year at Volume, on Saturday, June 1, at 11 pm at Red Room Lounge.

In 2009, we named the project of brothers Chris and Mike Masalm — then called Please Draw In Me — one of the Inlander's most Buzzworthy bands. The two-piece band took the scene by storm with its fusion of crazy video game music, frenetic drums and keyboards. The band changed its name not long after — to Bandit Train — and have continued to hold it down in the Spokane rock scene. Also, we love when their Mom and Dad come out to their shows. They'll rock the Blue Spark stage at Volume on Friday, May 31 at 11 pm.

In 2010, our judges were charmed by the rap stylings of "the first lady of Spokane hip-hop," one Jaeda Glasgow. Since winning the title, Jaeda has continually toured — supporting a variety of acts, but most notably, '90s hip-hop tycoon Abstract Rude. She'll play Volume with a full band this year — an outfit called the Half Zodiac — on Friday, May 31 at 8 pm at the Red Room Lounge.

We also highlighted the unconventional, smoky-voiced and grufff subject matter of local singer/songwriter Matthew Winters in 2010. Winters has continued to pair his guitar with a variety of other musicians under the moniker Team Growl — who plays Volume this year on Saturday, June 1, at 8 pm at Boots Bakery & Lounge.

2010 was the first year our judges were wooed by a heavy band — and it took the totally insane, chaotic, caffeinated hardcore band FAUS to do it. The band has replaced its singer since then, but still deliver the same brand of angular guitar work and face meltery. FAUS plays Carr's Corner at Volume on Saturday, June 1, at 9 pm.

In 2011, the Bands to Watch committee was hypnotized by one local artist name Dan Ocean — a guy who hadn't played any shows, but who was known as the beatmaster behind many local emcees. After winning the BTW title, Ocean adopted a more cryptic name — BLVCK CEILING — and found his career blowing up. He says he still ships CDs and  his signature cultish t-shirts to fans around the world today. He'll perform at Red Room Lounge at 11:30 pm on Friday, May 31 as a part of Volume, and earlier that evening with his DJ outfit, Brothers ov Midnite, at 7 pm.

After a storied music career in other states, Marshall McLean and his band Horse Thieves snatched up the attention of locals with their folksy outlaw ballads. The band fizzled, but McLean found renewed vigor in partnering with local slide guitarist Jamie Frost and drummer Caleb Ingersoll. The band plays Volume on Saturday, June 1, at Blue Spark at 10 pm.

Last year's Bands to Watch — a part of our first Volume festival — not only grabbed the attention of Spokane, but also of fans in the Seattle area. Terrible Buttons, a local seven-piece horror folk outfit, has found much success in other cities, but continues to call Spokane its home base. The band plays Club 412 at Volume on Saturday, June 1, at 11 pm.

BBBBandits took a BTW title last year, but also is the first surf-guitar influenced band to make the roster. Superfans (or should I say SSSSuperfans?) citywide are still pining for the band to release a record or a fancy tshirt. Maybe this year at Volume? They play Merlyn's on Saturday, June 1 at 8:30 pm.

Mirror Mirror, the longtime band name of Jason Campbell, seems to have the amazing ability to seduce Spokane every time it plays. In the past year the band has undergone a series of lineup changes, but plans to play Volume again this year. Catch them at Mootsy's on Saturday, May 31 at 11:30 pm.

Last, but hardly the least, hardcore/metal outfit Losing Skin continues to reinvent its sound and has become a favorite at west-side hardcore festivus Rain Fest. They'll play there again this year over Memorial Day weekend, and will scoot on back this way in time to kick the audience in the face with their sound at Volume on Saturday, June 1 at 8 pm at Carr's Corner. 

The 2013 Armed Forces Torchlight Parade featured 204 different entrants, winding through downtown Spokane on Saturday evening. The parade, a tribute to the military and service members, attracts an estimated 150,000 spectators.

(Photos by Young Kwak) 

A color guard marches. 

Members of the 92nd Mission Support Group, based at Fairchild Air Force Base, march.

The Lewis and Clark High School marching band performs. 

The Spokane Lilac Festival royal court watches the parade.

Members of the Rogers High School marching band prepare to march. 

Members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart wave at spectators. 

(Left to right) United States Air Force Captain Marc Austin, Captain Ashly Barnes and Staff  Sergeant Jonathan Allessie hold images of three Fairchild Air Force Base KC-135 crew members killed when their aircraft crashed in Kyrgystan. The lost crew members were Captain Mark T. Voss, Captain Victoria A. Pickney and Technical Sergeant Mackey, III.

Ron Newton stands as service members from Fairchild Air Force Base pass. 

A Pearl Harbor survivor waves at spectators. 

Members of the Spokane Tribe of Indians march.

Members of the Wellpinit High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps march. 

Spokane Interstate Rodeo Queen Macy LaValley waves at spectators. 

Photos of service members lost during World War II are carried. 

A member of the 336th Training Group, based at Fairchild Air Force Base, high fives spectators.

Travis, left, and Leslie Rathe clap as the 336th Training Group, based at Fairchild Air Force Base, pass. 

Six-year-old Ali Evans, right, sits on her father Rendel's shoulders as a member of the Spokane Renaissance Fair, left, high fives 4-year-old Alyssa Riek, sitting on her mother Cheyenne's shoulders. 

13-year-old-Brycen Southerly, left, and 14-year-old Patrick Lynch watch from a sky walk.

The Ferris High School marching band performs. 

The Heritage High School marching band performs.

The Portland Royal Rosarians tip their hats.

The Pacific Northwest Delorean Club passes spectators.  

Six-year-old Nydia Lara blows bubbles.   

Federal agents in tactical gear and haz-mat suits descended on an apartment building in Browne's Addition this morning as part of an ongoing investigation into two threatening letters containing traces of the poison ricin that were intercepted earlier this week.

FBI spokeswoman Ayn Dietrich confirmed federal investigators with the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspector Service were executing a search warrant related to the letters near the corner of Oak Street and First Avenue. Investigators say the "threatening letters" were first intercepted Tuesday. 

Dietrich did not expect to be able to release additional details on the investigation. She described the scene at the search as a "fluid" situation and could not confirm whether anyone had been detained in the case.

"It's an ongoing investigation," she says.

FBI tactical officers in camouflage gear huddled outside the clinker brick building on First Avenue at about 7:30 a.m. Several federal investigators also entered the building in white haz-mat suits and gas masks.

Federal officials say the haz-mat suits are a common precaution for collecting evidence that may involve contaminants. 

The American Postal Workers Union announced the discovery of the letters earlier this week. They reported one letter was addressed to a federal judge in Spokane while the other was addressed to the downtown Spokane Post Office.

The letters tested positive for traces of deadly ricin poison, the union reported, but no injuries have been announced.

Neighbors reported they had noticed law enforcement-looking individuals sitting in vehicles, "staking out" the block in recent days.

The Spokane Police Department, including Chief Frank Straub, had officers securing the area and cooperating with the search. Officers had blocked off the area with patrol cars and yellow police tape.

Photos by Jacob Jones]]>

Hey, Food and Wine, what about a most delicious-looking tiny cakes list? Photo by Young Kwak

It’s been a full year since Clover opened near Gonzaga, with an emphasis on seasonal food and specialty cocktails, and the restaurant got a nice first birthday gift of recognition from Food & Wine — a spot on the Top 100 New American Bars list in the magazine’s Cocktails 2013 book.

And that’s just for the cocktails. Clover just switched over to this summer’s seasonal menu and opened the patio, and we still can’t get over the orangesicle cake we featured for Spokane Restaurant Week back in February.

Clover may be new, but we’ve been listening to co-owner Paul Harrington’s cocktail knowledge for quite some time now. For a trip down memory lane, here’s a story from 2001 of a rather nightmarish cocktail tour of Spokane, complete with a pre-Mad Men Old Fashioned, a trip to the Ridpath and a list of cocktails “for the new millennium.”

Cat people generally believe that anything with pointy ears, whiskers, a tail, fur and that utters "meow" is cute, it's just programmed into our brains. At the same time, cat people are fascinated by the fiercest and most majestic big cats: lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards, jaguars, ocelots, lynx, cougars — the list goes one.

It still astounds me at times, though, to discover yet another species in the feline family that is lesser known but so cute your mind almost explodes. A margay? Oh gawd, make the cuteness stop. A caracal? Total badass ear tufts. A Black-footed cat? Shut up! An oncilla? I can't handle it. 

You get the idea. Now let us introduce you to these wild cuties. Just don't get any ideas into your head — wild animals are not pets, at least not these little kitties.

Oncilla

This tiny wild thing lives in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America, and is similar to the margay and the ocelot, but is smaller, weighing between 3 and 6 1/2 lbs. Other names for the oncilla are little spotted cat, tigrillo, cunaguaro or tiger cat. They are currently listed as vulnerable on the conservation status list, which is one degree away from being endangered.  

Margay

The margay is closely related to the ocelot and the oncilla, but slightly larger than both its relatives, weighing 5.7 to 9 lbs. They're skillful climbers, and spend the majority of their lives in the rainforest trees of southern Mexico and down into northern South America. This wildcat species is listed as near threatened mostly because they're hunted for their fur. (Not cool.)

Rusty-spotted cat

This next cutie is the cat family's smallest member! They weigh in at a petite 2-3 1/2 lbs. Rusty-spotted cats are only found in India and Sri Lanka, and are listed as vulnerable due to continued habitat loss.  

Black-footed cat

Like its relative the Rusty-spotted cat, this feline is very tiny, and is the smallest of the African cats. It lives mostly in Southern Africa, and is named, clearly, for their black paw pads and feet. Listed as vulnerable, the Black-footed cat weighs between 3 and 5.4 lbs.  

Sand cat

This next species is the only cat that lives in a true desert environment, in North Africa and southwest and central Asia. They're listed as near threatened, and are able to live in the hot desert because of the thick fur protecting their feet and a high tolerance for extreme temperatures. These cats are on the small side, weighing between 3-7 lbs. 

Caracal

Known as the desert lynx, the caracal slightly resembles a cougar, but is distinct with long black tufts of fur extending from its ears. This cat lives mostly in Africa, central Asia and into India. Its conservation status is listed as least concern (phew!). These cats are on the bigger side, weighing between 15-44 lbs.

Serval

Last but not least is the lanky, big-earred African serval. Also known as a "tiger bush cat," the serval is closely related to the caracal. These native African cats are the tallest of all cats, and are widely found throughout the continent, south of the Sahara Desert. They're listed under "least concern" for conservation status. The serval is a medium-sized cat, weighing between 15 and 40 lbs.

HERE

The Washington State Liquor Control Board yesterday released a 46-page set of rules for marijuana growers. (Inlander)

A group from the National Guard Civil Support team is coming to Spokane to investigate two letters laced with ricin that were discovered earlier this week. (KXLY)

Fairchild Air Force Base plans to hold a memorial on May 28 at the INB Performing Arts Center for the three airmen who were killed in a KC-135 tanker crash earlier this month in Kyrgyzstan. (KXLY) 

THERE

A Boise man was arrested yesterday on federal terrorism charges. (S-R)

Following the NBA Board of Governors' vote on Wednesday not to allow the Sacramento Kings to relocate to Seattle, the city's major announced today that an agreement has been reached between the team's owners and another group that's proposed to buy it. (Seattle Times)  

A florist in the Tri-Cities who's being sued by the state for refusing to provide wedding flowers to a same-sex couple has filed a countersuit. (KREM) We first told you about this issue here.  

ELSEWHERE

Revised definitions of the mental disorders ADHD and autism in the American Psychiatric Association's newly-updated Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders are receiving some heated criticism. (WaPo)

WTF?: Disney World is looking into reports that rich people visiting the park are paying disabled people to hold their place in line. (CNN) 

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Lentil is the cutest dog in the universe. We love him. 

I’ve been regularly watching TV for less than decade.

But in that time, I’ve seen fingers broken, kneecaps shot, a hand shot, an earlobe sliced with a knife, a cheek held against a red-hot oven element, needles driven up finger tips, bamboo driven under fingernails, skin shocked with a lamp cord and covered in corrosive chemicals, veins injected with painful drugs, heads shoved under water and in a barrel of motor oil.

I’ve seen a man tased repeatedly until his heart stops. I’ve seen a woman dunked in a bathtub with electrical equipment. I’ve seen people beaten with fists, whips, chains and a phonebook.

A hardening resin is poured down one man’s throat on one show, while on another the hero takes a wet towel and threatens to shove it down someone’s esophagus to rip out of his stomach lining. I’ve seen a single scene were an unarmed man was beaten, choked, twisted with a plier, slashed with a knife and burned with a blowtorch. (That’s by a “good guy.”) I’ve seen people subjected to belt sanders, defibrillation paddles and sensory deprivation chambers. I’ve seen a whole lot of waterboarding.

I’ve a barrel heated up so the rats inside dig through the chest cavity, I’ve seen a finger being meticulously skinned. In the last week alone, I’ve seen a gleeful woman spattered with blood as she drills into a man's thigh, and – if the scene hadn’t cut away at the last moment (for, you know, decency) would have nearly seen a castration.

That’s just a selection from a few TV shows — Lost, 24, Game of Thrones, Alias, Prison Break, Scandal and the Shield. I’ve never watched The Sopranos or Homeland — both shows which, presumably, feature a quite a bit of torture. (I’m also only four episodes into Downton Abbey, so if the Dowager Countess ends up using sharper implements than her wit to protect the estate, I haven’t yet seen it.)

As the United States debated the ethics and effectiveness of torture (or “enhanced interrogation,” if your kids are around) over the past decade, it’s been a crucial debate. So it’s unsurprising out television shows have chosen to draw from that debate, and it’s unsurprising that activists have condemned (or praised) the cavalier way that TV gets its torture on.

But today, I’m not going to retread the ground of what torture does to our country, or our national security, or our soul.

Today, I’m upset about what it’s done to our television shows.

I can choose not to see Saw or Hostel, but if a torture scene is the part of a larger narrative I’ve invested a 100 hours in, they’re harder to avoid. They can be violent, they’re stomach turning, they’re genuinely gross.

And worse, with very rare exceptions, these moments of torture are the weakest on the show.

I think of graphic violence the same way I think of a dirty joke told in mixed company — the dirtier it is, the funnier it has to be to justify. In the case of stomach-rending (sometimes literally) violence it should be extremely compelling, illuminating, or tense — it should drive the plot forward, or reveal interesting aspects of depths of character.

But torture rarely does. Instead, torture scenes are usually dramatically inert.

Consider how, in a perfectly symbolic way, most of them have the poor tortured soul literally tied to a chair. He’s not going anyway. Often, that’s the purpose the scene serves in the narrative: To stall the story, to kill time.

On 24 — a show often trapped by its real-time format — a torture scene gave a character something to do for an episode, without necessarily bringing Jack Bauer closer to the bomb/virus/weapon/season finale. On Game of Thrones, repeated torture scenes kept Theon employed as a regular cast member until he could appear up in the later seasons based on later books.

Hence the formula: The threatening monologue from the torturer, the reveal of torture implements, pleading or defiance from the victim, a whirring or a blade or a crackle of electricity or a swing of a fist, a bloodcurling scream —cut to commercial.

Occasionally the writers like to show off their sadistic creativity — here’s my awesome idea for inflicting pain upon the human body. But believe me, I’ve walked through a Torture in the Middle Ages exhibit in a museum in Russia — modern TV writers can’t hope to match history. It’s been done.

Sometimes, of course, torture is supposed to act as a critique against it. It’s supposed to show the tough choices of the War on Terror or the War Against The Criminal Element. It’s supposed to show the degradation it inflicts, not just upon the tortured, but the torturer.

But this rarely happens.

Most of the time, torture is practically shrugged off as a bad-boy quirk, like wearing leather jackets or drinking from a flask or using the B-word. “Oh, you!” The show says, “Did you cut off the victim’s toes again, you silly goose!”

On 24, Jack Bauer’s a loose cannon, but dammit Chief, he gets results. On Scandal, Huck has clearly been mentally altered by torturing and being tortured — but his colleagues basically continue to treat him like a big ol’ teddy bear with a lingering waterboarding habit instead of an actual monster. (The Shield was a thankful exception — its greatest feat was showing how truly poisonous Vic Mackey was to everyone around him.)

Other times, torture feels like sadism for sadism's sake, the succession of the weekly “And now, back to your regularly scheduled Theon Greyjoy mutilation session!” torture scenes on Game of Thrones so far only tell us two things: 1) This guy’s pretty evil. 2) Sucks to be Theon.

Game of Thrones already had (at least!) two psychopaths before the latest torturer was introduced. So far, this new guy doesn’t add much.  

But here’s the biggest problem: It’s not hard to make someone feel pain. Anyone who’s ever slammed their fingers in a car door knows that great amounts of agony can be inflicted extremely easily. When the Manly Man just grits away all the pain, it doesn’t seem realistic, and when the torturer gives up a secret location of a bomb, it doesn’t feel earned. (Absurdly, the torture victim rarely ever lies which is my go-to plan if I’m ever tortured.)  

It’s absurd to treat torture like a Vulcan Mind-Meld, something that if you do it just right will automatically get the truth.

Great drama works by playing different powers against each other. Whether we’re talking the kings of Game of Thrones or the hicks of Justified, factions play their hands, and other factions counter. They may rely on wit or alliances or a quick draw or massive armies or jury-rigged weapons or a box full of rattlesnakes — but there’s almost always a way to counter. A brute threatens a dwarf? The dwarf uses his clever words and his family reputation to talk his way out. A rich man threatens to use the law to crush a poor man? The poor man breaks into the rich man’s home and threatens to kills his family.

Dutch talking a confession out of a suspect on The Shield was always so much more interesting than Mackey beating him out of it.

When a man’s tied to a chair being burned or cut or shocked, there’s rarely an interesting interplay — there’s too much power imbalance. Instead, they just scream, and we grimace and yawn.

You won't find very much local food at Fred Meyer, Safeway or Walmart. This week, staff writer Heidi Groover explores the lack of accessibility to locally produced food and the people who are trying to change that. 

The photos below are from Heron Pond Farms, just south of 57th Ave., which produces different varieties of goat cheese. Their goudas, cheddars and tower mountain cheeses are distributed to local restaurants and the Main Market.

(Photos by Young Kwak)

Heron Pond Farms co-owner Lorie Arnold pets her goats.

Arnold walks with her goats.

Arnold: "You're not going to get anything more local than right here."

Goats munch on hay at Heron Pond Farms.

Goats eat hay at Heron Pond Farms.

Arnold waters her goats.

Arnold pets one of her goats.

Arnold holds some barley, used as goat feed.

Farm Assistant Ian Case milks a goat by hand.

Case escorts goats back outside after milking them.

Case prepares to pour fresh goat milk into containers.

Case pours fresh goat milk into a container.

Arnold looks at a fresh batch of goat cheese.

The farm produces several varieties including Truffle Tower, top, Tower Mountain, middle, and Cheddar. Not pictured are Gouda, Black Gouda and Beer Soaked Gouda.

The moviegoers have spoken!

(And then we checked for availability, etc. etc.)

And we are happy to finally announce that the June 19 Suds & Cinema movie will be... drumroll, please... Office Space!

Thanks for voting, everyone. Spaceballs took a close second, and the others put up a good fight, too. Once it gets to be June we'll be doing ticket giveaways on Facebook, so keep an eye out for that. Now get the hell away from your computer/smartphone and go enjoy this almost-sunny Friday, OK?

VOLUME COUNTDOWN: 14 DAYS

Yep, just two weeks until Volume 2013 takes over downtown Spokane and changes your life forever. If you haven't seen the schedule, you can check it out now on the Volume website. And you're gonna want to nab some tickets, too — those puppies aren't unlimited.

Because she's awesome, listings editor Chey Scott has assembled a list of a bunch of the regional artists who are playing Volume this year — which you can subscribe to if you're a Spotify user. There's the ground-shaking beats of Portland witchstep band Bruxa, the kooky musings of the Hoot Hoots, and even some music by locals like Cathedral Pearls and Nude Pop. Check it out online here and start planning your Volume weekend.

The 6th Annual Inland Northwest Robotics Expo, hosted by West Valley High School, featured 170 elementary and middle school competitors on 31 different teams, with demonstrations by high school teams. 

At each competition, teams, students from around the region navigated robots through obstacle courses, both remotely and autonomously.

"It's about connecting kids with things they are interested about," says Brad Liberg, the career and technical education director for West Valley School District. "The main goal is to further STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics] education at all our school districts." 

According to a 2011 Department of Commerce report, STEM occupations are projected to grow by 17 percent between 2008 and 2019. Non-STEM jobs are projected to grow by 9.8 percent.

West Valley High School robotics mentor and engineering teacher Eric Groshoff says, "It supplements academics with the relevant." 

The competition area is photographed during the Inland Northwest Robotics Exposition.

Liberty Lake Elementary School 3rd graders Ansel Lapier, left, and Spencer Bringhurst assemble their robot, during the 1st Lego League competition.

Freeman Elementary School 5th grader William Russell checks his robot before 1st Lego League competition.

Wilson Elementary School 4th grader Thomas Schermerhor, center, prepares his robot for an obstacle course as teammates Brendan O'Rourk, left, and Mishelle Koston look on, during the 1st Lego League competition.

2nd Second-grader William Holland demonstrates his windmill robot as part of the Jr. 1st Lego League competition.

Horizon Middle School 8th grader Michael Sampson prepares to test his robot before MINDS-i competition.

Mountainside Middle School 7th grader Erica Brooks, second from right, receives help from 16-year-old Mt. Spokane High School sophomore Ashley Unruh, second from the left, on a robot before MINDS-i competition. Looking on are teacher David Neale, left, and 7th grader Ali Jones.

North Pines Middle School 7th grader Brenden Kaiser attempts to navigate his robot on an obstacle course during the MINDS-i competition.

Shaw Middle School 8th graders Habeeb Sabir, left, and Jonathan Murray prepare their robot for MINDS-i competition.

Centennial Middle School 7th grader Kiarah Johansen drives her robot through an obstacle course during the MINDS-i competition.

Garry Middle School 7th grader Brandon Carvey, left, and 8th grader Cameron Bowerman place their robot and dropped action figure on a previous part of an obstacle course during the MINDS-i competition.

West Valley High School's team "Chuck" fire frisbees from their robot during a 1st Robotics demonstration.

Mead School District Director of Career and Technical Education judges tri-folds, submitted by each team to describe how their classroom learning has applied to robotics.

Photos by Young Kwak. A version of this story ran as a Photographer's Eye in the May 16 issue. 

The Washington State Liquor Control Board released their first pass at rules for marijuana growers, processors (who will package and label the product) and sellers today. Scroll down for the full PDF.

The rules outline the state's proposed process for licensing each, and offer a producer/processor license for people who want to grow, process, package and label their product. The rules call for background checks of applicants, a points system to determine whether a person has had too many convictions to qualify for a license (see page 7) and requirements for submitting operating plans — employee training, what products they'll handle, how they'll dispose of waste, etc. Production will be allowed in indoor greenhouses only, and the location rules written into I-502 will pertain. (See here.)

License applications will be $250, the annual fee for license renewal is $1,000 and the board will conduct random criminal history checks at renewal time. Applications will only be taken within 30 days of the day the rules take effect in August, but the board may reopen that later.

Each county will have a limit on the number of retail locations (exact numbers have yet to be announced) and the board will use a lottery if it gets more applications than retailers allowed. The rules also outline limits on serving sizes and requirements for everything from how to measure and test the quality of pot to labeling (see photo above), advertising, insurance, alarm and surveillance systems, record-keeping, taxes, disposing of marijuana waste and penalties for breaking the rules (i.e. $2,500 for a first-time offense of selling to a minor). 

The board is now taking comment on the rules (email rules@liq.wa.gov or write to Rules Coordinator, Liquor Control Board, P.O. Box 43080, Olympia, WA 98504-3080 by June 10) and plans to hold public hearings on them in July before they're implemented in August. Voters passed Initiative 502 in November, which legalized small amounts of recreational marijuana, grown and sold under a state regulatory system, and set a Dec. 1, 2013, deadline for the board to have its rules and regulations ready to begin issuing licenses.

The full rules:

HERE

Lab tests have indicated the presence of the hazardous material ricin on two letters — one addressed to the downtown Spokane Post Office and the other to a federal judge here. Both letters were mailed on Tuesday. (KHQ) 

Two men died this morning after an SPD officer-involved shooting that began in an area of North Spokane, followed by a second incident when officers continued their pursuit of a believed suspect in Nine Mile Falls. (S-R)

Spokane police raided Lonnie's Garage, a South Perry District business, yesterday after investigating reports of illegal drug sales taking place at the business, located across the street from an elementary school. (KXLY)

A 10-year-old boy who plotted to attack his classmates at Fort Colville Elementary School has been sentenced to 3-5 years in custody. (KXLY) 

THERE

A deadly mile-wide tornado that touched down yesterday in North Texas — southwest of Dallas-Fort Worth — has killed six people so far and injured many others, leveling homes and buildings. (NYT)

The acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Steven Miller, announced his resignation yesterday amid controversy over the IRS's alleged deliberate targeting of conservative groups. (CNN)

Meanwhile, President Obama is scheduled today to answer questions from reporters about the IRS controversy, as well as inquiries about internal government emails regarding last year's attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya. (NYT)

Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev left a message about his motives for the attack, scribbled on the inside of the boat where he was discovered hiding when taken into custody. (CNN) 

GRAB BAG 

British soccer star David Beckham has announced his retirement from the sport at the end of the season. (CNN)