Bloglander

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Zoe Underground

Zoe Underground on the Washington State University campus, located in the basement of a building where the walls are papered with vintage student newspapers.

Earlier this week, Zoe Underground in Pullman got an abrupt April 30 eviction notice from its spot in the basement of an historic building on the Washington State University campus. It turns out the building, long used as an interfaith community center, is being sold to the university — and the eviction news caused enough of a stir that WSU quickly said it would honor the original lease agreements that go through the end of the year. The reprieve probably doesn’t mean Zoe will stay put, though, since the owner is already looking for a new location. It’s a popular spot for students and faculty, but it’s worth stopping by for the underground newspapers from the student unrest days in the 1960s and ’70s that paper the back hallway from its time as a student activism hub.

Also in Pullman, Artfully Yours Bakery — which specializes in gluten- and allergen-free baked goods — is leaving its Main Street location for a new spot at Gladish Community Center.

And, one more WSU note — Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe, which is rarely open on weekends except for football game days, decided to be open from 1 to 4 pm this Saturday because a prospective student day happened to align with Springfest.

Spokane Cheesecakes has been open in its new location at 1420 E. Sprague since December, but they’re now celebrating a formal grand opening on Saturday. Stop by for samples and enter the drawing for a large cheesecake.

Remember that coffee stand that was vandalized with racist graffiti? And then it turned out to be sabotage from one of the owners? Well, it’s now reopening with entirely new ownership and a new name, 509 Grind.

A new coffee spot in Coeur d’Alene, Fuel Espresso, is opening May 3 with coffee from Sandpoint-based Evans Brothers.

Also in Coeur d’Alene, Paragon Brewing is set to open later in May, as is Theodore’s Fine Dining inside the historic Roosevelt Inn.

Manito Tap House is the state’s only four-star green restaurant certified by the Green Restaurant Association, which got them a mention on the Daily Meal’s list of the nation’s greenest restaurants.

Finally, so many options if you feel like drinking some beer this weekend:

• No-Li is hosting a small-batch beer festival on Saturday.

• Lantern Tap House is continuing its anniversary festivities by featuring Iron Goat’s Head Butt IPA barrel-aged with Dry Fly gin barrels.

• The Buy Local Moscow BrewFest is happening Friday evening at the 1912 Center, with beverages from Paradise Creek Brewery, River City Brewing, Trickster Brewing and Whiskey Barrel Cider of Pullman.

• Any IPA at River City Brewing is just $2 a pint through the end of April.

• Plus, read about Girls’ Pint Out upcoming outings in this week’s Entree newsletter.

New York Times

I say "fan" because a) being a Mariners fan is to subject oneself to the sort of heartache that can only result from the type of play Seattle's low-scoring, injury-prone team gives us and b) the study uses Facebook "likes" as its sole source of information. Believe it or not, there are people who don't like their favorite baseball team's Facebook page. Also, some fans don't even use Facebook.

Regardless, the map gives us an awesome county-by-county look into the baseball allegiances of our nation. As it turns out, a lot of people like the Yankees, which is disheartening. It's fine to like the Yankees if you're from the greater New York area or your parents or grandparents were Yankee fans, but for the 14 percent of Facebook users in Gallatin County, Montana, who make the Yankees that county's favorite club? No, not cool. I often liken this to watching Rocky IV and cheering for Ivan Drago.

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New York Times

Here in Spokane County, 43 percent of Facebook users prefer the Mariners. The Red Sox came in second, followed by, you guessed it, the Yankees. If you really zoom in, you can see how each zip code identifies.

Play around with that map. It's pretty fun. What you notice about this immediately is that the Mariners' Nation is remarkably large in geographical terms. But that's not that useful for the franchise because cows and evergreen trees don't watch baseball.

Also, the Mariners (no longer on a losing streak, BTW!) play the Yankees in New York for a three game series starting on Tuesday.

Newly released surveillance footage from the parking lot of the local Salvation Army shelter offers a new, but limited, look at the moments leading to the fatal officer-involved shooting of 40-year-old Danny Jones last August.

Jones can be seen pulling into the lot in a red Dodge pickup truck (00:20 in video) as two officers quickly pull in behind him shortly after 6 am on Aug. 22, 2013. Spokane Police Department officers emerge from those vehicles with guns drawn (00:28) as more than a dozen officers converge on the location.

Jones

Investigators released the video to the Inlander and other media outlets today. The footage includes multiple angles of the confrontation, though the motion-detection video has gaps and only takes an image every two seconds. The footage also lacks audio and is obstructed in some cases.

Jones pulls the red truck forward and backward as one patrol car pulls up to box in the truck (00:45). Another patrol car then pulls up against the front right fender as the truck appears to lurch backward into the other patrol car behind it (00:53). As the vehicle pulls forward again, officers later report, they feared Jones would crash into the building or run over a fellow officer when they opened fire.

Light smoke rises when officers open fire (00:58) just after 6:11 am. Officers fired at least 19 shots with at least seven rounds striking Jones, killing him soon after. Investigative records indicate at least one bullet struck an SPD vehicle caught in the crossfire.

The Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office recently cleared the SPD officers of any wrongdoing in the shooting. Read the entire decision memo here.

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Listen to one of Dale Miler's songs at the end of this post.

As the 40th anniversary of Expo ’74 approaches, we’ve been poring through over old photos, memorabelia and news coverage from the time. We’ll have more in print in the coming weeks, but print just can’t capture one amazing part of Expo — the music.

The ambition and importance of Expo is clear when you start looking at the music performers who came to town that summer: Harry Belafonte, Ray Charles, the Carpenters, Chicago, John Denver, Merle Haggard, Diana Ross, Up With People and dozens more. But there were also a few songs written about Expo, each one now like an audio time capsule of Spokane’s shining moment.

Here a few that we’ve been passing around the office. (And, yes, getting stuck in our heads a little.) Would any local bands like to cover these? Because that would be amazing.

1. A promotional jingle.

“Take a ride over the faaalls … Come join the fun, magic and muuuusic!” Start at 0:45 in this old TV segment that includes the vintage commercial.

2. A song for teaching people how to pronounce our fair city’s name.

“You can’t in Santa Fe, they just nervous and run away. But you can, yes you can, in Spokane. ... You can in Spokaaaaane! You can in Spokaaaaane! At the fair in Spokaaaaane!”

Listen to a clip here, and read an interview with Bob Bellows about how it came about from a slogan the city council put on pins. Songwriter Reg Fulton died last October.

3. A folksy song about our fresh new environment.

“Spokane will show the world how we’re cleaning up the land, your water and fresh air from sea to sea. We’re trying to make the land a better for all to live. We’ll teach the world about ecology.” The song, from Dale Miller’s record with two Expo songs, is featured in this new video made by Business Talks producer Barrett Rossie. Here's also an interview with Miller.

HERE

Bouncer shot in leg during shooting at Lion's Lair bar in downtown Spokane. (KXLY)

A fire in Coeur d'Alene this morning temporarily shut down Highway 95 as crews contained fire. (KREM)

Spokane Valley man arrested for allegedly terrorizing 12-year-old boy with chainsaw and other abuse. (S-R)

Air Force officially chooses Kansas base over Fairchild for new tankers. (Inlander)

THERE

Military disputes Associated Press report on status of release negotiations for American prisoner of war Bowe Bergdahl of Idaho. (Idaho Statesman)

New Oregon company selling breast milk. (Oregonian)

ELSEWHERE

Ukraine forces clash as Russia launches military drills along border. (NYTimes)

Three Americans killed by Afghan policeman in Kabul. (BBC)

Lost Andy Warhol art found on newly rediscovered floppy disks from 1985. (WaPost)

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Young Kwak photo

Goats at Heron Pond Farms

With the city’s new urban agriculture rules in place, the Washington State University Spokane County Extension is offering the first set of classes required for residents who hope to keep backyard farm animals.

With the passage of the new ordinance, chickens and small animals, like goats and miniature pigs, will be allowed inside city limits. These types of courses are required for all animal-keeping except chickens.

The first classes offered will focus specifically on keeping goats in urban environments and cover the following:

• breed selection and purchasing
  
• goats’ social requirements
  
• shelter and fencing
  
• basic health care
  
• feed and hay requirements
  
• manure and odor control
  
• breeding cycle and buck selection
  
• milking and safe milk handling
  

Hopeful goat-keepers can take the class either Thursday, May 8, or Thursday, May 22, from 6:30 to 9 pm at the WSU Spokane Extension (222 N Havana). The cost is $20 per family at the same address. Register online here or mail checks to the WSU Spokane Extension at 222 N Havana, Spokane, WA, 99202.

Questions? Call the Extension office at 477‐2173.

Fairchild Air Force Base has finally and officially lost its chance to serve as home base of operations for the first active-duty fleet of new KC-46A refueling tankers as military officials confirmed previous decisions to house the fleet of 36 aircraft at McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas.

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Boeing

The new KC-46A will operate out of McConnell AFB in Kansas.

Military officials announced the decision in a news release this afternoon, ending a lengthy process in which Fairchild was named one of four final candidates for the new refueling operations. McConnell was announced as the leading choice in May of 2013.

Some local officials had hoped the Environmental Impact process and additional reviews might open the door for Fairchild to regain favor, but the news release states McConnell had a number of personnel and construction cost advantages.

“McConnell was selected as the first main operating base for the KC-46A Pegasus because it has the lowest military construction costs and is located in a region of high air refueling receiver demand,” the release states. “McConnell AFB already has 44 KC-135 refueling aircraft assigned; replacing those aircraft with 36 KC-46A aircraft will require the lowest manpower adjustments of the candidate installations.”

A secondary base, Altus AFB in Oklahoma, will serve as the Air Force’s formal training site. Air Force officials report both bases will receive aircraft starting in fiscal year 2016.

Fairchild, which operates 35 of the current KC-135 refueling tankers, would have cost nearly $37 million more, according to early estimates. Fairchild officials says the local base remains dedicated to its mission using its existing tankers.

“Fairchild will continue to operate and execute the refueling mission with our current tanker fleet,” Col. Brian Newberry says in a news release.

KC-46A Final Decision by inlanderweb

Hydroelectric and navigational dams have for decades shaped the waterways of Washington state. Many people find the immense structures awe-inspiring feats of human engineering while others consider them hideous crimes against nature. For those looking to learn more about the legacy and impact of our dams, the new documentary DamNation offers an engaging, scenic exploration of the national issue with much of the film dedicated to the Northwest.

Highlights of the documentary focus on the removal of the Glines Canyon Dam on the Olympic Peninsula in 2011, the largest project of its kind at the time. But other sections of the film take on Columbia River dams and multiple dams along the Snake River.

The 90-minute film follows the historical arc of dam construction to what appears to be a shift back toward re-opening many waterways. The film does not hide its sympathies for the anti-dam movement, but also incorporates interviews with dam supporters and power officials. Here's a dam-related FAQ from the film's website.

The film is showing 7 pm tonight at the Lincoln Center. Doors open at 6 pm. Tickets cost $10. A question-and-answer session with filmmakers will be held after the showing. 

HERE

Proposed Spokane city ordinance would add gender identity and military status to discrimination protections in municipal code. (KXLY)

Some light snow across small areas of the Inland Northwest this morning. (KREM)

Spokane adopts the Ponderosa pine as the official city tree. (Inlander)

Local book lovers distributing free copies of Sherman Alexie book recently banned from Idaho district curriculum. Will give out copies to students starting this evening. (ID Ed News)

THERE

Obama meets with families and rescuers in Oso during tour of landslide destruction. (Everett Herald)

Oil traffic through Northwest carries inherent risks. (Seattle Times)

Missoula to build new housing for homeless with mental illness, HIV/AIDS. (Missoulian)

ELSEWHERE

NYPD’s social media campaign, #MyNYPD, immediately and predictably backfires. (WaPost)

Justice Department expands early release program, opening door to clemency for thousands of drug offenders. (NYT)

Investigators evaluating debris washed up on Australian coast for potential ties to missing MH370 flight. (BBC)

30/30 Project

Today, Ryan Lewis launched an Indiegogo campaign to jumpstart the 30/30 Project, a funding network to build and run health care centers around the world.

But let’s step back: Back before Ryan Lewis was half of the Grammy-winning, fur-coat-wearing, world-famous Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, he was just a kid growing up on the South Hill in Spokane. And his tight-knit, middle-class Christian family had a struggle that set them apart from other South Hill families: His mother, Julie Lewis, was HIV-positive.

The cause was a blood transfusion in 1984, a time when the stigma of HIV and AIDS made it something the family didn’t share for years after the diagnosis. In our cover story about Ryan Lewis last year, he spoke candidly about growing up with that perspective.

“I think it really just opened up the door, as a kid, to life experiences that most of my friends didn’t know anything about,” Lewis says. “On one hand, you could look at it as a really hard, shitty life thing; on the other hand, she’s been healthy for years. I didn’t get it, my sisters didn’t get it, my dad didn’t get it. It could’ve been a totally different thing. I could not be here. And she could not be here. But she is.”

And it’s out of that experience that Lewis and his family are taking on the 30/30 Project in partnership with Macklemore and Construction for Change, a Seattle-based nonprofit. In the campaign message, Lewis says:

Thanks to advanced medicine and healthcare available here in the U.S., my mom has lived despite her odds.

To honor the thirty years my mom has been a survivor, our family is raising funds to build health centers worldwide that will stand strong for at least thirty years.

The campaign launched today and has already raised more than $14,000 of the $100,000 goal. Its first project is a health center in Malawi, where a high percentage of the population is HIV-positive, and additional centers are tentatively planned for Kenya and Uganda. In each location, the 30/30 Project is working with an established nonprofit already involved with delivering health care services.

Rewards for donating start at $5 for getting a selfie posted to the 30/30 website — the modern equivalent of a donor wall? — and include levels for T-shirts ($35), handmade bracelets ($100), VIP concert tickets and more. After the three signed set lists for $250 were immediately claimed, they added a few more for $300.

Check out the campaign and video here.