Bloglander

HERE

Rand Paul, one of the characters in this year's presidential primary series, spoke in Spokane last night. (Spokesman-Review)

Negotiations with the local teachers union are rocky. (Spokesman-Review)

The life of the late WSU president Elson Floyd is remembered. (Spokesman-Review)

With all the smoke, indoor hotel stays have become popular in the region. They have a pool and cable! (KREM)

THERE

The on-air killing of two TV journalists by a former colleague left the nation horrified. (New York Times)

A bunch of migrants have been found dead in a truck in Austria. (Washington Post)

In which Homeland Security busts a website of a radical ring of, well, gay escorts. (The Atlantic) 

CHARISMATIC MONSTER THEATER (AND OTHERS)

Five TV shows they will never stop making (NPR)

Welcome back to Weed Wednesday, your weekly dose of pot news. Wondering what this is about? Click. Looking for our previous marijuana coverage? Click. Got a question or tip? Email me at jaket@inlander.com

Earlier this month, Dan Rush, the director of the United Food and Commercial Workers' national medical cannabis and hemp division, was indicted on allegations that he violated labor law by improperly colluding with a marijuana grower all while lining his pockets. The indictment is significant because Rush has led the union’s efforts to organize workers in the nascent cannabis industry in California, which have extended to Eastern Washington.

SF Weekly reports that the union swiftly distanced itself from Rush, who was nicknamed “Superman” for his unionization efforts. After the news broke, Isaac Curtis, who is organizing Eastern Washington cannabis workers, called up the Inlander to stress that Rush is a separate figure from his affiliate, which he insists is free of corruption.

“This guy in California was writing toothless neutrality agreements,” says Curtis, referring to arrangements employers enter into to ensure they won’t attempt to influence unionization efforts.

Curtis says that his unionization efforts were put on pause after the news broke, but will resume shortly. Currently he’s in negotiation with the Herbal Connection Spokane, The Happy Collective and JD's Collective Garden –– all medical dispensaries that could be shuttered next year as a result of the state’s reform of marijuana laws.

“This campaign is about the employees,” says Curtis. “That’s our agenda.”

The city of Spokane will not challenge the Worker Bill of Rights ballot initiative, ensuring that the sweeping and controversial measure will appear on the November ballot.

The Worker Bill of Rights is the fourth initiative from Envision Spokane, now operating under Envision Worker Rights, to qualify for the ballot. It would grant new protections and rights to workers in Spokane, a prospect that has the business community worried.

Earlier this month, the city challenged the initiative in court, pointing to a hearing examiner opinion that found that one provision in the initiative was legally flawed and possibly unconstitutional.

Envision prevailed in the court case, with the city retaining the right to appeal the judge’s decision.

However, Brian Coddington, city spokesperson, confirmed that it will not appeal.

“Asking a judge for clarity on the legal flaw identified by the hearing examiner was done as a protection of the citizen initiative process as outlined by City ordinance,” he wrote in a statement to the Inlander. “The judge provided additional information that voters can weigh as they make their decisions.”

Kai Huschke, Envision campaign coordinator, said in a statement, “It was the right call not to appeal, and with the corporate legal circus now complete, it's full speed ahead with the Worker Bill of Rights campaign. Spokane deserves a raise.”

HERE

The air was slightly better in Spokane Tuesday. Better, of course, being a relative term. (Spokesman-Review)

In one innovative way to save structures in Idaho from fire, the Forest Service has wrapped them in foil. (KREM)

When firefighters are out fighting fires, what happens to the families left at home? (KXLY)


THERE

Trump temporarily ejects a Univision reporter from one of his events, despite the fact that doing so may alienate Hispanic voters. (New York Times)

Wanna get mad? This company cheating lead-poisoned poor blacks out of massive amounts of settlement money will make you mad. (Washington Post)

One judge's order in Ferguson is having a drastic impact on Ferguson's municipal courts. (The Atlantic)


Finance 101

Want to understand why the stock market's been so screwy this week? Slate is here to help. (Slate)

The fire department will resume its Alternative Response Unit program, which sends smaller sport-utility vehicles to non-life-threatening medical calls, as a result of the city finalizing an agreement with the local firefighters union.

Standing with Fire Chief Bobby Williams and Don Waller, president of the local firefighters union, at Fire Station No. 1 in downtown Spokane yesterday, Mayor David Condon announced a sweeping deal between the union and the city that would allow the program to move forward while also resolving other lingering issues.

“Today is a major step forward for medical service in our community,” said Condon. “We are maximizing resources by sending the right people to the right place at the right time."

Nearly 90 percent of the 35,000 annual calls for service to the fire department are medical in nature. The idea behind the ARU program is that most of these calls can be addressed more efficiently with smaller SUVs rather than larger gas-guzzling firetrucks and engines.

The new agreement was prompted by an ordinance passed by Spokane City Council last month that mandated that the ARUs be staffed by two firefighters. The new ordinance was drafted to address concerns that a single firefighter could potentially be ill-equipped for some medical emergencies and could be unsafe if confronted by a violent individual.

Speaking at the press conference, Waller said that he hoped the agreement would set a new tone for relations between the city and the union. The agreement, which still needs a few more signatures from union officials before it’s a done deal, also resolves a legal dispute between the union and the city over the hiring of Mike Lopez, who was appointed assistant director of integrated medical services.

Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart praised the agreement and said that it was council’s ordinance that paved the way for an overarching agreement.

“That’s our job as a policymakers is to force actions sometimes,” he said. 

Washington state health officials better pick up the pace if they're going to meet the January deadline for reducing wait times for court-ordered mental health competency evaluations and restoration.  

So says the monitor appointed by U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman back in April. Pechman issued a permanent injunction to the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, ordering them to reduce wait times to seven days for competency evaluation and restoration of mentally ill defendants. Pechman ruled that the amount of time those defendants are waiting in jails is unconstitutional. DSHS later appealed part of that ruling.

DSHS has until January to comply with the seven-day waitlist time limit. Currently, the average wait time for evaluation at Eastern State Hospital is 60 days or longer and 12 to 15 days at Western State Hospital, according to information provided to the court from the respective facilities. According to the most recent waiting list, the longest wait time for a bed at Eastern State Hospital is 120 days, the longest wait for an evaluation is 144 days.

In her first quarterly report, Danna Mauch, an expert in public health systems appointed to monitor the department's progress, found that the state is in danger of missing the 2016 deadline despite steps they've already taken.

So far, DSHS has passed a Biennial Budget totaling $40.9 million that allows for 90 more beds and 13 more forensic evaluators between both facilities. Western will get eight more evaluators and 45 more beds; Eastern will get five more evaluators and 15 more beds, according to the budget.

In July, the state made offers to 12 evaluators, and eight accepted positions at Western State Hospital, but no one wanted to work on the east side of the state. After speaking with department officials about the possibility of emergency hiring, they said the plan was for evaluators from Western State to fill in the gaps until they can hire new people. 

Western State Hospital added 10 new beds in June 2015 and plans to add five more in September. Eastern State Hospital will add 15 beds by November.

However, the court orders for competency services continue to pile up and give Mauch cause for concern that DSHS won't meet the deadline. An incomplete figure from April 2015 indicates there were 336 competency cases, 918 in May and 1,486 in June. She is also concerned the steps taken so far do nothing to improve the situation for those currently waiting. 

"The critical conditions in the jails suggest that interim urgent measures to clear backlogs are in order," she writes.  

HERE

Soon, Spokane may have  police ombudsman again, at long last. (Spokesman-Review)

Jerry Dicker has purchased the Montvale hotel. (Spokesman-Review)

71 firefighters from Australia and New Zealand have arrived in the Northwest to fight wildfires. (KXLY)

A fearsome attack submarine now bears the name... "USS Idaho." (CDA Press)

THERE

Working on a swift timetable, ISIS has sped up the destruction of priceless artifacts and pieces of history in Syria. (New York Times)

US stocks are great again (but it's still pretty rough in China.) (Washington Post)

The Trump v. Jeb battle is raging full force. (New York Times)

NOT TALKING ABOUT THE MATT DILLON CRASH

Does it really matter if we call a collision a "crash" or an "accident"? (Mother Jones)

The Kennel should get ready to howl, as one of the hottest standup comics working today is coming to town. 

It's not every standup comedian who can take his act to arenas and have it translate as well as clubs or theaters, but the diminutive Kevin Hart — arguably the biggest comic on the planet right now — is doing just that on his current What Now? Tour. On Sept. 9, he'll bring the tour to Gonzaga's McCarthey Athletic Center. Tickets are on sale now via TicketsWest.com. 

Those tickets won't come cheap; they're $95.92 a pop, plus a $15 service charge. That's a grand total of $110.92. Yowza. 

You have to be pretty damn popular to ask for that sort of coin for one ticket, but there aren't many comics out there with the kind of hot streak Hart is enjoying. When he's not filling arenas with standup fans, he's starring in feature films like The Wedding Ringer, Get Hard and Ride Along, a $100 million blockbuster that has a sequel coming in 2016. None of them are exactly Oscar bait, but they generally make money, and largely do it on the strength of Hart's presence.  

Here's a bit of Hart doing standup: 

As we barrel toward the end of August, and the beginning of another school year for many, it behooves us all to take advantage of the last gasps of summer. And yes, that smoke-filled air puts a cramp in the possibilities, but let's hope it's gone soon. Otherwise, stick to the indoor adventures for the next few days. 

Here are some fine options for the week ahead: 

Monday, Aug. 24

WORDS | Jamie Bianchini spent eight years riding a tandem bike all over the world, to 81 countries, leaving the backseat empty for strangers to hop on and join the fun. He wrote a book about his adventure called A Bicycle Built for Two Billion, and he'll talk about his experiences tonight at Rocket Market at 7 pm. It's free to all. 

Tuesday, Aug. 25

FILM/MUSIC EVENTS | The newly opened Spark Center in Kendall Yards is hosting A Night of Performance and Film Tuesday night. First, local singer Heather Simmons will perform some of Nina Simone's songs, then there will be a screening of the excellent documentary, What Happened, Miss Simone? Here's a look at the film's trailer: 

MUSIC EVENTS | Members of the Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre tackle the Disney songbook for the Disney Concert by the Lake. 

Last week we wrote about a Spokane Valley deputy's success rate when identifying drivers under the influence of marijuana. According to the deputy's own records (which he provided to the Spokane County Public Defenders Office, who shared them with the Inlander), he's wrong about half of the times he requests a blood draw from those he suspects are too stoned to drive. 

Deputy Todd Miller says the Public Defenders Office and the Inlander interpreted his stats incorrectly, arguing that he's correct in closer to 80 percent of the cases. 

As the article explains, the issue hinges on Washington state's per se limit for a marijuana DUI, which is 5 nanograms per milliliter of active THC in the blood (as opposed on inactive or "carboxy" THC, the stuff that sticks around in your fat cells). A per se limit is the point at which the law says "Yep, you're too high. You get a DUI." However, it is possible to be convicted of a DUI if you have less than 5 ng in your blood. The officer just has to prove you were too impaired to drive based on a standard field sobriety test. 

But one lawyer in Seattle is arguing that 5 ng per se limit is a violation of the 14th Amendment's guarantee of due process. The per se limit established in the statute that legalized recreational marijuana in 2012, David Iannotti argues, is too vague for people to know if they're breaking the law.