Bloglander

Apple anticipation You doubted us when we told you an Apple store was coming to Spokane. You scoffed! But indeed, Apple has requested permits to replace the late, great Eddie Bauer store. (SR)

Days of the condo The condo craze from 2006 is still doling out consequences. The Riverstone development in Coeur d'Alene saw the construction of 128 condos, but 58 remain vacant. Twenty of those will be put up for auction next week. (KXLY)

For twenty-way ties, they use a Dungeons and Dragons die Republican Committeeman for Precinct 8 normally wouldn't be worth writing about. Except this race ended in an exact tie — 123 to 123. The result? A coin flip. (CdA Press)

They know how to fly, but landing is another matter A flight from Oakland, Calif., to Spokane on Southwest Airlines took nine hours. The reason? The flight crew wasn't experienced enough to use the instrumentation required to land in Spokane, so they flew to Seattle, landed, flew back to Spokane, flew back to Seattle, and then landed in Spokane with a crew that knew what they were doing. (KREM)

Do tell The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which allowed the military to fire gays if they revealed their sexuality (and which even the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff asked be repealed) has been a subject of intense debate since 1993. But now, the House has voted to allow its repeal. (NYT)

I can see a few hours into the future, and that's what it looks like. (Except the Knitting Factory doesn't allow pyrotechics. But still, I envision AWESOMENESS.)

Be there tonight at 7 pm, when doors open for Volume! We've given away a crapload of tickets, but the thing is free and you don't need a ticket if you want to get in. Just show up and we'll let people in until the place is full. Bring all your friends. Wear your gorilla costume. Or dress like a ho. Really, just come on over and have fun. 

All five Bands to Watch will play (Matthew Winters, Space Opera 77, Jaeda, Ze Krau, FAUS) and Koreshakti, Pasties & Paddles and the PJAMRs will all give special performances.

We'll see you at the show! Woo!

Today's the big day — Volume, our music extravaganza celebrating our five Bands to Watch, takes place tonight at the Knitting Factory. 

In addition to the bands, we'll also have live performances by three amazing local groups: Koreshakti Tribal Fusion, Pasties & Paddles, and the P-JAMRS Marching Band.

Koreshakti has been up and running under the careful direction of Nicole Richardson for only a short time — but they've seen a massive amount of interest from Spokane. You can check out Nicole and other Koreshakti dancers tonight on the Knit's stage. Play the video below for a preview of what they can do:

Pasties & Paddles is Spokane's one and only burlesque performance troupe. They throw once-a-month shows at the Lion's Lair (and Irv's, in the past), mixing dance, comedy and performance art together for pretty unforgettable performances. They've thrown geek-themed shows, Marie Antoinette-style parties, transformed their stage into a speakeasy... really, there's nothing this group won't try onstage. ---

And lastly, but hardly least, the PJAMRS Marching Band (that stands for Peace and Justice Activist Musical Rascals of Spokane) will start its march at the Baby Bar tonight right before 8 pm. Join them in their march from there to the Knitting Factory stage.

Doors are at 7 pm, and we're thinking you should probably get there shortly thereafter.

City Hall officials responded quickly Thursday morning after learning that a rerun of Monday's tense City Council meeting, dominated by testimony of law enforcement misconduct and calls for greater powers for the police ombudsman, suddenly cut off just as the testimony began.

Alert City Cable 5 viewer John Olsen began sending out e-mails at 6:41 this morning noting that the Wednesday evening rebroadcast of the council meeting suddenly switched to soothing music and a scroll of civic events in the middle of testimony from social justice activist Marianne Torres. Torres was the third of 23 people to testify Monday, urging City Council members to adopt an ordinance that expands the investigative and reporting authority of the almost-year-old Office of Police Ombudsman, the civilian overseer of police conduct.

This has become a tense enough issue that harsh words have been exchanged and accusations made of various skullduggeries and of kow-towing to police unions. Olsen reflected the suspicious atmosphere when he wrote: ---

"There likely is a 'cover story' for why that part of the city council meeting was not repeated, but it looks and feels pretty icky and controlled....ie   someone did not want that testimony to be readily available to the citizens."

Councilman Jon Snyder responded to Olsen's e-mail by 7:22 am, calling the glitch "disconcerting" and promising to immediately look into it.

By 9:09 am city spokeswoman Marlene Feist responded that, thanks to Olsen's catch, a problem with the server was discovered. An extra re-run of the council meeting — the entire riveting three hours and 40 minutes of it — has been added at 6 pm Friday.

The meetings are also available online here, Feist notes. Click on “City Council Meetings” and select the May 24 meeting.

Just an idea: Maybe the city can add some Marmot-cams. Be cool to have live footage from some of the larger underground marmot colonies downtown. If folks are up late watching the city council on TV reruns,  who knows what else could be popular. I'm just saying.

NK not OK So South Korea accused its northerly neighbor of sinking one of its naval vessels. That made North Korea angry (it doesn't take much.) Now they continue to sever ties with their neighbor, including cutting the phone line installed between the two countries. Stay tuned. (NYT)

Green light Finally, all lanes between Couer d'Alene and Post Falls have been opened (though lanes will still be reduced between 8 pm and 5 am). Just in time for Memorial Day. (CdA Press)

New blood transfusions It's always a big deal when a sitting member of the legislature loses their seat in the primary. It's an even bigger deal for the Idaho GOP, where six members lost their seats. (SR)

The craigslist of charity The Spokane Neighborhood Action Program (SNAP) ran into some tough times when its budgets were cut. But they're improvising, putting up a new website (savetogether.org) that allows citizens to donate directly to people in need of help. (KXLY)

Bulk booze Costco wants to sell liquor, presumably in 56-packs. But right now, the state prohibits that. Now Costco — public citizens they are — has begun to collect signatures for Initiative 1100, which would open liquor-selling to all businesses, not just liquor stores.

Volume is tomorrow! Have you heard we're out of tickets? It's no biggie though — just show up anyway and muscle your way in. Doors open at 7 pm, extravaganza kicks off right at 8 o'clock. 

And today marks our last day of posting our videos of this year's Bands to Watch. Today's topic: FAUS. They're a local hardcore outfit that's got more energy and spunk than a Jack Russell Terrier with a sweet tooth. Check out our story on them here. The vid is below.

Choking up A Spokane County Detention deputy is purported to have choked an inmate. Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich says the video doesn't lie. But the deputy says that since the video was blurry and lacked sound, it didn't tell the whole story.  (KHQ)

Dino revenge? After months of Republican urging, Dino Rossi — two time failed gubernatorial candidate — has declared his intention to challenge Senator Patti Murray. (KXLY)

Bad news for the Daily Show Vaughn Ward, the Idaho Republican congressional candidate who appeared to have plagiarized a whole number of things — including a Barack Obama speech — has been beaten in the primary by the relatively unknown Raul Labrador (SR)

Hart land Idaho state senator Mike Jorgenson has already lost his primary race for a third term. The Republican primary winner was Steve Vick, a candidate urged into the race by the other Idaho District 3 state senator, Phil Hart. Hart is known for being a former member of the Constitutional Party, and for — at one time — refusing to pay his federal taxes as a matter of principle. (CDP)

You think you hate your workplace? A Taiwan electronics manufacturer that supplies Apple and Dell is under investigation. Why? Its workers keep committing suicide.  (NYT)

In an article aptly headlined "The Rage Machine," (5-24-10) right-wing Internet entrepreneur and Fox News darling Andrew Breitbart confides to New Yorker magazine staff writer Rebecca Mead, "I just feel like one of these Idaho guys saying, 'You're not taking my land,' — with a gun, on my porch."

Under further questioning, Breitbart reveals he has never gotten closer to Idaho than his browser when he was recently looking up properties in Coeur d'Alene, attracted by the Coeur d'Alene Resort golf course and perhaps fantasizing about a life of rugged Libertarian individualism — only with nice shoes and sand wedges.

"I saw the golf course there and it had a really cool island," he says in the article.

"You do not want to live there. I've been there," his friend, former MTV anchor Kurt Loder says.

Whew. Thank God for friends like Loder. Otherwise North Idaho would be more full of hot-air blowhards than it already is ... no thanks to Duane Hagadone and his golf course, with its much-touted floating green. If it's golf that attracts people like Breitbart to move here, then that game is indeed the devil's work.

Holy crap! We just gave away the last of the tickets we had at the Inlander office for Volume, our music extravaganza happening this Thursday at the Knitting Factory. All gone! Fresh out!

Fret not, however: You can still go to the show. You don't need a ticket to get in, and having one won't get you in before someone without a ticket. We're gonna open the doors and let people file in until the place fills up. And the Knitting Factory fits a lot of people.

But to catch all the action — the marching band and belly dancers and burlesque troupe and FIVE bands — you'd best be getting there when doors open at 7 pm. The show will start promptly at 8 pm.

Woo!