Bloglander

If you haven't checked it out yet, 900 Horses, an interactive chalk mural located right in the Spokane Tribal Gathering Place in front of City Hall, is still on display throughout the weekend. 

The mural is a commemoration for the horrific mass slaughtering of horses in in 1858 by Colonel George Wright. Wright ordered U.S. Army Troops to slaughter anywhere between 800 and 1,000 horses to intimidate the local indigenous tribes. 

Now, 157 years later, Seattle artist Ryan Feddersen has created an interactive art project to encourage the public to take a second look at the social and cultural historic events of the local community. Fedderson has traced 900 horses on the ground in the plaza with the intention that the public will fill them in. Those interested in participating in the community mural can visit the white tent next to the plaza to pick up liquid chalk and brushes to paint a horse of their own. 

The mural will be on display through Sunday, so stop by when you can. It could be there for a few more weeks, but any sort of rain could wash it away! 

What are you doing at midnight Tuesday? You should be out ringing in the new fiscal year. Meanwhile, the Washington state government might be shutting down. If the legislature can't get the whole budget thing figured out by June 30 — they've had six months so far to do it and haven't — the state government could shut down July 1.

If that happens, more than half of the state's 50,000 employees will be on indefinite stay-home status. All the more reason for end-of-fiscal year debauchery Tuesday night, because, you know, no work the next day for 26,000 people that normally work. State agencies have been prepping for weeks to keep the shutdown from being too much of a disaster. Here are a few of the major shake up areas:

Prison Problems: The Department of Corrections' Jeremy Barclay has been busy making contingency plans for the impending shutdown. "Community corrections will shut down the 30th, it will be suspended," says Barclay. "A lot of our educational programming, those would be suspended." Work programs, too.

Barclay says they won't be cutting inmates loose or anything, though. "It's important that we keep those sentenced to our care away from the public, they will remain," says Barclay. But sex offenders who are currently on round-the-clock GPS monitoring will cease to be monitored. They'll still technically have their monitoring equipment, it's just that the actual monitoring won't be happening 24 hours a day anymore. Aside from that, the gist of the effect on corrections is that prisoners will remain locked up but their days will get more monotonous.

Fish: Fish hatcheries — home to millions of salmon, trout and steelhead who rely on the Department of Fish and Wildlife to feed them — are slated to close. Millions of hatchery fish are equivalent to even more millions of dollars. Salmon and other endangered fish would continue to be cared for.

Fishing and hunting: Planning to go kill some animals or fish and don't have your license yet? Get it before the shutdown — the Department of Fish and Wildlife won't be issuing licenses or Discover Passes until it ends. Of course, enforcement of hunting and fishing rules not related to endangered and protected species will also be on hold, so license scofflaws are unlikely to be ticketed. 

Although it's illegal to buy, sell and shoot fireworks in most of Spokane County (including within city limits), there are some places where it's allowed. With the Fourth of July around the corner, here's a handy guide for where and when you can buy 'em and where you can shoot 'em, along with some safety tips and injury statistics from 2014. 
 
According to state law, fireworks can be sold starting June 28 (this Sunday) from noon to 11 pm. From the 29th through the Fourth of July, you can buy them from 9 am to 9 pm, but some cities have passed ordinances and set stricter rules. The complete list of Washington cities that allow the sale and discharge of fireworks can be found here. See below for those nearby: 

Deer Park has the least restrictive sales and discharge rules in Spokane County: starting June 28, you can buy fireworks from noon to 10 pm. Then from the 29th until July 3 you can buy them from 9 am to 10 pm, but you can shoot them off within Deer Park city limits until July 1. You have until the July 4 to empty your stash, otherwise you have to wait till next year. 

Airway Heights and Medical Lake are the only other two cities within Spokane County that allow firework sale and discharge. Both cities only allow them to be shot off on the Fourth — Airway Heights from 9 am to midnight, Medical Lake from 9 am to 11 pm. 

Neighboring Stevens and Ferry Counties just north of Spokane allow sale and discharge according to state law, save a few cities. Same goes for Lincoln County, west of Spokane.

Last year the State Fire Marshal's Office documented 432 firework-related injuries and fires. Most of them occurred on the Fourth of July. Property damage totaled $320,240 in 2014 alone, about half of which was to residential property.

"With summer weather conditions continuing to be warm and dry this summer, vegetation is extremely susceptible to fire," says Deputy State Fire Marshal Lysandra Davis. "A small fire can easily get out of control in these conditions." 

A few tips from the State Fire Marshal's Office:

• Keep a bucket of water or hose nearby. 
  
  
• Don't get drunk or high and shoot off fireworks. 
  
  
• Always set fireworks off outdoors on a driveway or sidewalk. 
  
  
• Don't shoot fireworks at other people. 
  
  
• Don't try to re-light a dud.
  
  
• Don't try to make your own. 

HERE

Hey, have you heard? It's going to be insanely hot this weekend. Here's everything you need to know about staying cool. (Inlander)

The Washington state budget negotiations are coming down to the wire as a shutdown looms if lawmakers don't strike a deal by the end of June. (Spokesman-Review)

So, how are those anti-prostitution signs working out on Sprague? (Inlander)

The heat isn't the only thing causing all the fires around Spokane. (KREM)

THERE

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on gay marriage, making equal rights actually mean equal rights throughout the country. (New York Times)

Anti-vaxxers in California are going to be facing some of the toughest mandatory-vaccination laws in the country soon. (Washington Post)

Terrorists killed 27 people, mostly tourists, on a Tunisia beach. (BBC)

Hide yo' kids, hide yo' self — from the sun's ungodly heat, that is — 'cause it's going to be pretty unbearably hot this weekend, and into next week. Pretty shitty timing considering it's HOOPFEST, and IRONMAN weekend, arguably the biggest outdoor sports weekend of the year for the Inland Northwest.

Let's also not forget that all of Washington state was declared in a drought back in May, due to non-existent snowpack levels in the mountains, which now means many Northwest streams and rivers are at all-time flow lows. 

To combat the weekend heat, Ironman organizations have moved the start time of the race up a half-hour, from 6 am to 5:30 am. Plus, there are many places to escape the heat-radiating asphalt in downtown Spokane if you're heading to Hoopfest.

The Spokane Convention Center hosts Spokane Fanfest, offering free access to the center's restrooms and tables (you can also pay to rent a table or a room). Food trucks, a beer garden and live music round out the weekend event, open Friday through Sunday.

Meanwhile, the downtown branch of Inland Northwest Bank (INB) is also opening its doors to the public as a place to cool off between games, but note that you do need to pick up a ticket to gain entry from an INB location before the event. Tickets are only available on a first-come, first-served basis since space is limited. The hospitality area is offering free food, beverages, massages, a kid's area and athlete warm-up zone.

This heat. Ugh.

We in the Inland Northwest are fine with the humidity-free temps swirling around 90 degrees F. But when the thermometer pushes well over 100, as it’s predicted to do this weekend just in time for the Ironman Coeur d’Alene triathalon competition and Hoopfest, we don't quite know how to handle it.

So we've compiled a list of 10 songs to keep your spirits up, in spite of the heat. Feel free to listen to this while eating popsicles and sitting in a ice water-filled kiddie pool. 

10. Fleet Foxes, “Sun It Rises”
This Seattle folk act’s beautiful whiney crooning is perfect for the beginning of a hot, hot day.

9. The Lovin’ Spoonful, “Summer in the City”
It’s no wonder this song topped the Billboard charts back in 1966, it’s just so damn catchy. Plus, the words: “All around, people looking half dead / Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head,” describe this weekend perfectly.

8. Violent Femmes, “Blister in the Sun”
It’s fine that this song isn’t really about the sunshine or the heat at all. Listen anyway, and relive all the other times you got this song stuck in your head.

Around the world, sex workers are charging less per hour for their services than they were a decade ago, according to an analysis by the Economist. Last year the Economist compiled 190,000 sex-worker profiles from review forums. They found that the average price per hour for sex had fallen from $340 in 2006 to $260 in 2014. Street-walking prostitutes typically charge a lot less for their services and their customers don’t rate them on persnickety review sites, so they would likely not be included in the average. The Spokane Police Department's ongoing enforcement efforts along East Sprague allow a peek at what sex sells for locally:

Officer Caitlyn Anderson was working decoy duty May 8. "My duties were to pose as a prostitute working the area in front of Pete's Auto and being available for any potential customers," writes Anderson in her incident report. At 8:40 pm a man pedaled by on a bicycle.
"You working?" the guy on the bike asked.
Anderson ignored him; he came closer.
"How much for a BJ?"
"What?" said Anderson.
"I'll give you $5 for a blow job."
Anderson agreed to meet him in the alley and signaled for the backup team to take the bicycle-riding cheapskate into custody.

An hour later, Officer Marie Rosenthal was pretending to be a prostitute in front of Pete's Auto when a Ford Mustang cruised by, slow. The driver nodded at Rosenthal, circled the block and stopped in the middle of the road. Rosenthal walked over to the car.
"You want a date?" she asked.
He did.
"I opened the passenger door and asked him if he wanted a blow job or were we going around the world," writes Rosenthal in her report.
"A hundred fifty for a BJ," said the driver. He then refused her invitation to meet in the alley and sped away to be taken into custody.

HERE

Adrian Dominguez officially resigned from the Police Ombudsman Commission Wednesday, but he did not go quietly. (Inlander)

A Sprague teenager pleaded guilty to kidnapping a local toddler. (Spokesman-Review)

The Ironman Coeur d'Alene triathlon is moving to August next year, and there will be a new triathlon in its traditional weekend. (Inlander)

Hoopfest released its brackets for 2015. (KREM)

THERE

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, once again, rejecting the argument of a conservative group that only people in states who set up their own health care exchanges should get federal subsidies for health care. (Washington Post)

President Obama teamed up with Republicans to get the trade legislation he wanted, but at what cost? (New York Times)

Ben Affleck took down another franchise—this time his performance got PBS's Finding Your Roots suspended. (BBC)

The Boston Marathon bomber was sentenced to death Wednesday, and finally spoke to his victims. (CNN)

Ironman officials announced today that they are moving their Ironman Coeur d’Alene triathlon to late August next year. At first you may think the move is to avoid things like the ridiculous heat participants will face this year (which forced them to bump up the race times), but it turns out there are other reasons. They aren’t, in fact, running away from June weather because they are introducing an entirely new triathlon, Ironman 70.3, in the regular time slot.

Ironman 70.3 will take place on June 26, 2016. This race gives a wider audience a chance to participate because it’s only one loop of each discipline instead of two like the original Ironman race — meaning the new triathlon is half the distance of the existing Ironman. Another plus is that 70.3 CdA is the same course as the original, so athletes can train for Ironman CdA by participating in the added triathlon.

Another reason to move Ironman Coeur d’Alene to the new date of August 21, 2016, is that organizers hope Lake Coeur d'Alene will warm up throughout the months prior to the race day. As Ironman athletes have to swim two whole loops in the chilly lake, this change is sure to be a welcomed one when those loops come in August instead of June.  

For those of you who like to be ahead of schedule, general registration will open on Monday, June 29, for Ironman Coeur d’Alene and Monday, July 6, for IRONMAN 70.3 Coeur d’Alene.

Also announced was the extension of Ironman Coeur d’Alene through 2020.

Tomorrow, the City Council will hold a special session to consider the recent resignation of Adrian Dominguez from the Office of the Police Ombudsman Commission. His resignation is the third departure of the five member committee, after Kevin Berkompas and Rachel Dolezal, to come after a scathing investigation found several commission members had behaved in harassing and destructive ways. 

Adrian Dominguez, an epidemiologist with the Spokane Regional Health District who once led the writing of this huge report, was singled out several times in the report. He was accused of breaking open public meeting requirements:

Comm’r Conklin informed us that Comm’r Dominguez contacted her on May 5 in order to ensure she would be voting for the 360 Degree Evaluation proposal that was on the agenda for that evening. Comm’r Conklin advised Comm’r Dominguez wished to obtain Comm’r Conklin’s support for the proposal because he was unable to attend the meeting, but wanted to be assured there would be three affirmative votes. Without Comm’r Dominguez’ third vote the proposal could not be passed. Comm’r Conklin stated it appeared that the Named Commissioners had agreed to support the proposal before it was presented to Comm’r Conklin and Comm’r Richter at the May 5 meeting.

In particular, Dominguez was singled out for his "unprofessional" treatment of the complainant over her failure to put the reimbursement of his travel expenses ahead of other Office of the Police Ombudsman business. The clash between the two, witnesses said, became heated. 

One email from Dominguez to the whistleblower rambled angrily: 

Yes I do have a problem with your choice to put other OPO business before paperwork you received on a Friday, thus pushing it to be completed on the following Monday or Tuesday (as you cannot recall which day it was ... I'm going with Tuesday). I still have yet to received [sic] check. Again you don't seem to not [sic] acknowledge my frustration. Yes there is a lack of communication. If you did not have time to do the paperwork then you should have said so. Again, you don't seem to understand this. I don't need to talk to anyone. What's done is done, however I did not know you reported to Theresa Sanders or Tim Szambelan. So is what I'm hearing [sic], if we have a problem we need to talk with Theresa Sanders or Tim Szambelan? I will be talking with Rachel and Kevin about this matter. This process is not working and needs to be resolved.

He was also accused of bias against police officers and of using OPO resources inappropriately. 

[The complainant] reports Comm’r Dominguez began having office hours in the OPO while he was on administrative leave from the Spokane Regional Health District. Although Comm’r Dominguez insisted he was not there to “babysit” ...  his practice was to come to the OPO for several hours at time, set up his laptop and work on other matters. [The complainant] observed that on several occasions Comm’r Dominguez used the printer/copier in the OPO to make large numbers of copies for non-OPO business.