Bloglander

Ever desired to see two local artists really beat the crap out of each other? Well, friend, you're in luck. 

In conjunction with their exhibition, "Escalation" (read our story about it here), visual artists Scott Kolbo and Lance Sinemma will suit up tomorrow night and beat the hell out of each other with big "letterpress boxing gloves." It's the end-cap to the month-long showing, where viewers got to vote for which "side" would win. You'll see tonight who that is. 

It all goes down Saturday night at 5:30 pm at the Saranac Art Projects (25 W. Main Ave.). It'll look something like this: 

Escalation from Scott Kolbo on Vimeo.

The Sensible Spokane Alliance is collecting signatures in an effort to make marijuana the lowest police priority and bar local officials from cooperating with federal agents to investigate and prosecute adult marijuana offenses.

“It would lower the priority of law enforcement towards marijuana to the very bottom of all crimes,” says Sensible Spokane Alliance chair Ian Moody. “If this were to become a law, it would make it so that local law enforcement could not assist federal officers in investigations towards local marijuana use.”

The alliance has been collecting signatures for the last three weeks from Spokane County. Petitions for registered voters in Spokane Valley and Cheney will begin circulating on Monday, April 2. If enough signatures are gathered from Spokane, Spokane Valley and Cheney, the issue will be put on official ballots.

“Our petition is related to directly legalizing marijuana, but as of now medical marijuana is the only marijuana legal, so this law would help people who need that resource,” says Moody.

According to Sensible Spokane Alliance, lowering police priority on marijuana will stop wasting law enforcement resources, free up jail space for violent criminals, protect the Fourth Amendment Right to Privacy, and end racial, cultural, and economic disparities.

They argue that marijuana is safer than alcohol and tobacco and that adults should have legal access to safer recreation. According to Moody, the goal is for marijuana to be taxed, thus spurring economic growth.

“If marijuana is legalized in Washington, our goal is to protect the community and the rights for the people if discrimination persists or if the federal government doesn’t respect the state’s laws,” says Moody. “We think that adults could make intelligent decisions, and with regulations, marijuana can be used responsibly by legal adults.”

Cheney must turn out 840 signatures by June 23 to place a measure on the November 2012 general election ballot. Spokane must gather 4,070 signatures by March 6, 2013, to place a measure on the November 2013 general election ballot, and Spokane Valley requires 10,000 signatures by October 2, 2012, to place a measure on a 2013 special election ballot.

"It’s all a piece of a big messy puzzle and we are just trying to do our part as locals to push for the next steps on a state and then a federal level,” says Moody. “Marijuana should be brought off the black market and regulated.”

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TONIGHT!

The Flying Spiders take over the Blue Spark tonight with Portland-based dream-pop band, Point Juncture WA and Octoninjitsu FreeForce. 9 pm. $5. Gotta be 21.

An amazing lineup tonight at Mootsy's, including local rockers Myth Ship, garage rockers White Mystery and the punchy, punk rock sounds of the Coathangers — who we profiled this week. Check them out at 10 pm. $7. Gotta be 21.

SATURDAY!

Beloved longtime local swing masters, 6 Foot Swing, throw a massive and sure-to-be-swanky CD Release show tomorrow at the A Club. $10; $22-$27 for VIP seating. Gotta be 21. Read about them here.

Dude! Kansas is playing tomorrow at WSU! Carry on My Wayward Son! 8 pm. $30-$40. Beasley Coliseum. All-ages.

The Dead Winter Carpenters, a California Americana band that's passed through here more than a few times, kicks off a two day residency at the Red Room Tomorrow. They'll play Saturday night with locals Folkinception, and again on Sunday night there with Terrible Buttons. Shows start each night at 8 pm. $7. Gotta be 21.

SUNDAY!

Puerto Rico’s Los Vigilantes reinforce that — as cheesy as it sounds — music transcends culture. I’d argue that it’s impossible to not dance to this band, even if you’re the type who pronounces the double-L in “tortilla” like a honky. Los Vigilantes has emerged from the garage punk scene of San Juan, Puerto Rico, with a sound that hearkens back to the early days of rock ’n’ roll. Doo-wop vocals back up nearly every song, with lots of tra-la-la-la-las. 9 pm at the Baby Bar. Free. Gotta be 21. 

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In lieu of assigning detectives to investigate property crimes, Spokane Police will use cameras, patrol officers and crime analysis to foil thieves, they announced this morning.

"We are taking a data-driven, analytical approach to our work on property crimes to deliver results that will improve the safety of our citizens," Chief Scott Stephens told a press conference.

The city's property crimes unit was disbanded last year, though the police continued to respond to calls about the crimes. David Condon, in his run for mayor, vowed to craft a response to burglaries and car prowlings within his first 100 days in office.

Police will keep tabs on repeat offenders, analyze crime data to spot emerging trends, and focus resources on parts of the city that are most affected by crime, says Major Frank Scalise.

Stephens says 50 percent of crime in the city takes place in about 6 percent of neighborhood blocks.

Officers will also use cameras that can read license plates and employ special teams of patrol officers to analyze data and better target offenders, Scalise says.

According to police data, burglaries and vehicle thefts peaked last November and have been on the decline as of February. Vehicle prowling also peaked in November and was on the decline, but has since been increasing, according to the data.