Monday, August 17, 2015

Posted By on Mon, Aug 17, 2015 at 8:46 AM


HERE


Clearwater Complex fires claim nearly 30 homes. (KXLY) Breakdown of all the fires in the Inland Northwest here. (Spokesman-Review)

Exposed: what it’s really like to work at Amazon. (New York Times) And CEO Jeff Bezos has responded. (CNN)

Pacific Steel and Recycling has confirmed that one of the workers hospitalized after the release of chlorine gas last week has died. (KHQ)

THERE

Obama tells Chinese they need to send their covert agents operating in the United States back home. (New York Times)

Twelve people were killed this morning when an apparent bomb-rigged motorcycle exploded in a busy commercial area in Bangkok. (Washington Post)

Morgan Freeman’s granddaughter was murdered, allegedly by her boyfriend. (BBC)

IN BEAR NEWS
A bear tried to enter through the kitty door at one Schweitzer home. (KREM) 

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Friday, August 14, 2015

Posted By on Fri, Aug 14, 2015 at 4:05 PM

Author Cheryl Strayed helps honor local YWCA Women of Achievement in Oct.
Northwest author Cheryl Strayed comes to the YWCA Women of Achievement luncheon in October.

Cheryl Strayed
— reeling from divorce, heroin addiction and her mother’s death — once hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and then wrote a best-selling book about her experiences, which later became a film starring Reese Witherspoon. October 1, she comes to the YWCA’s Women of Achievement luncheon as the keynote speaker and to help celebrate the six winners of the YWCA Woman of Achievement Award, which has honored local women for 33 years.

Selected by committee from a slew of nominations from people in the community, the winners are all inspirational, high-achieving females in their respective fields.

And the 2015 Women of Achievement Awards go to:

• Arts & Culture, Louise Kodis — a nationally recognized artist, Kodis’ permanent art installations can be found all over Spokane

• Business & Industry, Janet Schmidlkofer — CEO of the Spokane Valley-based K&N Electric, which builds cranes for hydroelectric dams and repairs large industrial electric motors

• Carl J. Maxey Racial and Social Justice, Jo Ann Kauffman — President of Kauffman & Associates, a professional services firms that provides strategic assistance for organizations and government agencies that work with American Indian, Alaska Native and other diverse populations

• Community Enhancement, Marty Dickinson — Executive Vice President at Umpqua Bank and sits on the Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation board

• Education, Asa Bradley — Physics Professors at Spokane Falls Community College and a published author who also holds a MFA in Creative Writing from Eastern Washington University

• Science, Technology, and Environment, Peg Currie — Chief Nursing Officer at Providence Health Care, overseeing six hospitals and 2,700 nurses

The event runs from 11:30 am-1:30 pm. Tickets are $125 for individuals – with proceeds benefiting the YWCA of Spokane, which among many things works to raise awareness of domestic abuse in the community. For an extra $15 you can purchase a personalized autography copy of Wild. 

Anyone wanting to catch up with Strayed's work before she arrives in town, should also check out her advice book Tiny Beautiful Things. It may just change you. 

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Posted By on Fri, Aug 14, 2015 at 2:20 PM


In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the landmark Citizens United ruling that drastically altered the country’s electoral landscape, allowing corporations to give unlimited sums to political campaigns. It also gave rise to “super PACs,” which became an essential part of the 2012 and now the 2016 presidential races.

David Cobb, a Texas lawyer and activist who ran on the Green Party line for president in 2004, says the only way to get the unprecedented about of money out of politics is a constitutional amendment that spells out out that money is not speech and corporations aren’t people.

Cobb, a national spokesperson for the Move to Amend campaign, will be speaking in Spokane on Tuesday. He spoke with the Inlander about how the time is ripe for change, how Donald Trump’s rise signals positive developments for American politics, where Bernie Sanders falls short and why he’s optimistic about his seemingly quixotic goal.

Inlander: Why is it a problem that corporations have constitutional rights?
Cobb: Let’s start with the recognition that constitutional rights are tremendously important. A constitutional right is a barrier, a shield, where we say government can come no further. The political process can’t infringe on an individual right to express themselves, how they choose to worship or assemble. Our human rights are premised on the inherent worth of the individual and that collective society cannot infringe on our liberty. Let me be really clear, Move to Amend is a staunch defender of constitutional rights.

A corporation is an artificial entity; it is created under the corporate code because it exists for a limited reason. That’s why it’s a limited liability corporation. You are providing a legal mechanism for their owners to not be responsible for what they do. That’s a privilege, not a right, and that privilege is only given under appropriate circumstances. The founders limited corporations to a certain length of time and what they could and couldn’t do. They said a corporation had to be beneficial to the public.

When a corporation claims constitutional rights, they are going to court and claiming that some local, state or federal law is violating the corporation’s constitutional rights. Our whole point is that only human beings have constitutional rights. Artificial entities created under law only have privilege not inherent rights.

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Posted By on Fri, Aug 14, 2015 at 1:45 PM

Rep. Matt Shea, Infowars react to (and distort) Knezovich's comments in this week's Inlander cover
No, the sheriff did not compare constitutionalists to ISIS.

Rep. Matt Shea, Infowars react to (and distort) Knezovich's comments in this week's Inlander cover
My conversation with Infowars reporter Mikael Thalen where I make it very clear Knezovich is not comparing all constitutionalists to ISIS.
A big part of this week's cover story is Knezovich's frustration with Infowars and his complaint that they cut out important context to comments a deputy made when discussing the heavy duty MRAP vehicle. In the full video that caused a firestorm about the MRAP, for example, a deputy clearly said it was unconstitutional to turn it against his own citizens. But Infowars didn't include that bit in their initial story about the video, focusing only on a deputy's comments explaining that heavy armor could be necessary because of "constitutionalists" stockpiling weapons and ammunitions. (For more on why the deputy may have said that, read this post.)

Infowars reporter Mikael Thalen contacted me on Facebook recently, I was very, very clear that, in his comment, Knezovich was only speaking about people who wish for a revolution in this country, and will lie to get it. Not just anyone who critiques the government. He does worry that anti-government rhetoric, like the kind from Rep. Matt Shea, may inflame those revolutionary types. 

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Posted By on Fri, Aug 14, 2015 at 1:08 PM


FRIDAY

Throw whatever you thought you knew about Blackwater Prophet out the window. The local rockers, buzzing for a couple of years now, started to take their three-piece gig seriously before they were named a 2014 Inlander Band to Watch. With a new album titled Ghost, the crew has left their dirty, sludgy quality behind in favor of clear-as-night, bluesy rock ‘n’ roll. “Dig My Hole in the Ground,” the last track on the eight-song disc, pulls even further away from their usual image — mostly acoustic guitars pair perfectly with Garrett Zanol’s heart-wrenching vocals. Check them and the new record out tonight at the Bartlett starting at 8 pm with openers Spirit Animals and Bullets & Balloons. $10 at the door.

Since releasing their stormy and spaced-out album Something Supernatural last October, Pennsylvania hard rockers Crobot have been in constant motion. There are plans to set sail on Motörhead’s Motörboat cruise next month and they’re about to launch a brand-new beer, Something SupernaturAle from North Carolina’s Double Barley Brewery, which pairs well with their recent Drunk as Shit tour. This weekend, the wild four-piece plays the free, 29th-ever GA’s Too Broke to Rock series at the Knitting Factory, which starts at 7 pm. Expect Brandon Yeagley’s high-powered vocals to hit your chest cavity hard with songs like “Legend of the Spaceborne Killer,” along with new material.

The Festival at Sandpoint continues tonight with the double folk bill of Devil Makes Three and Trampled By Turtles. The show is sure to be a stompin’ good time and prove that folk music can still be cool.The show starts at 7:30 pm. 

Also starting tonight — The Gentlemen of the Road stopover tour stops in Walla Walla with amazing headliners Foo Fighters, a plugged-in Mumford and Sons, Dawes, Jenny Lewis, the Flaming Lewis and more. Look out for our review of the event come Monday and highlights throughout the weekend. It truly is a once in a lifetime event.

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Posted By on Fri, Aug 14, 2015 at 12:36 PM

click to enlarge A brief history of skateboarding in Spokane
Vince Zimmer in his office at Alpine Haus Marina

The demolition of the Under the Freeway Skatepark last week leaves Spokane skaters with two options for public skateparks: Hillyard and Joe Albi in the Dwight Merkel Sports Complex. In the winter, local skaters say, they'll probably resort to shredding in parking garages because UTF was the only covered park in town. 

When the city finally decided to flatten the beloved skatepark under I-90, it was but a phantom of its former glory. Scores of skaters of all ages showed up the weekend before its demise to show their support and to skate the poorly designed park one last time. Older skaters also came to show their support. 

Josh Yandell, owner of Pistole Boardshop, says he used to skip a lot of class at nearby Lewis and Clark High School to skate at UTF. That was before the city installed ramps in the late '90s. Instead, Yandell says, they skated on old washers and dryers, cars and ramps they built themselves. (Check out part of the video screened at UTF Skatepark the Saturday before the demolition. Courtesy of Justin Marko).

But skating in Spokane started way before UTF, according to Vince Zimmer, who owns the Alpine Haus. Here is his story: 

Weeks before Zimmer first opened the Alpine Haus at its original location in Lincoln Heights in 1976, two young kids smushed their faces against the store's front window. They were looking at the skateboards on display.

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Posted By on Fri, Aug 14, 2015 at 9:40 AM


Envision Spokane’s Worker Bill of Rights campaign was handed a victory by Spokane Superior Court Judge Salvatore Cozza, who denied an attempt by Mayor David Condon to keep the the sweeping measure off the November ballot. However, Envision Spokane, operating under an offshoot Envision Worker Rights, could still see its ballot measure blocked.

Last week, the city of Spokane filed a lawsuit challenging the Worker Bill of Rights initiative, which had qualified for the November ballot, arguing that the measure, which would grant sweeping protections to workers, was unconstitutional and would harm the municipal government. Specifically, the lawsuit argued that a provision seeking to subordinate corporate rights to the people’s was so legally flawed that it should keep the entire measure off the ballot.

Michael Ryan, an attorney representing the city, told the judge that the lawsuit was not entered into lightly before citing a city legal opinion issued last spring that questioned the legal viability of the initiative.

“The city is here to protect the integrity of its initiative process and to prevent voter confusion,” he told the judge. “When an invalid initiative appears on the ballot, the entire initiative process is harmed.”

Ryan went on to argue that the Worker Bill of Rights would unconstitutionally deny corporations access to the courts and that the measure was outside the scope of the initiative process.

Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin, the attorney for Envision, responded that Spokane City Council needed to first sign off on Condon’s legal challenge, and that the mayor lacked legal standing in the case. He also argued that initiative could only be kept off the ballot under very limited circumstances.

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Posted By on Fri, Aug 14, 2015 at 7:57 AM


HERE

A Spokane man was arrested for having sex with three dogs and a horse, and filming it. (KXLY)

Douglas County is getting a grant to preserve plants that are much-needed habitat for sage grouse. (KREM)

Male exotic dancers have cost a Post Falls club its license after the Idaho State Police caught wind of the Magic Mike-like actiivities. (CdA Press)

THERE

Secretary of State John Kerry oversaw the official reopening ceremony of the U.S. embassy in Cuba, which including a raising of an American flag over the building. (New York Times)

Facebook rescinded an internship from a guy who exposed a privacy flaw in the site's Messenger app. The kid goes to Harvard, so he'll probably be fine, but still. (Washington Post)

The Colorado Court of Appeals rejected a bakery's efforts to deny making cakes for gay folks. (The Atlantic)

STRAIGHT OUTTA THE PAST

The new N.W.A. bio-flick Straight Outta Compton is out, and it's inspiring a lot of think pieces on the "world's most dangerous group." (BBC)

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Thursday, August 13, 2015

Posted By on Thu, Aug 13, 2015 at 4:55 PM

This week's cover story has a lot of accusations being thrown around: It has Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich warning that "folks that want to overthrow the government," accusing a local state Rep. Matt Shea of "preaching hate and falsehood," of getting elected based on fear. He doesn't call Shea terrorist or a white supremacist, but he does warn that anti-government rhetoric could inspire anti-government violence. 

It also has a state representative predicting government collapse, accusing the sheriff of lacking integrity, and saying things like "I'm going to submit today, that the Southern Poverty Law Center — and the sheriff that backs them — is the most dangerous organization in this country."

There's the challenge. How do you communicate that that on a cover? We wanted an illustration that would capture both the way the sheriff sees himself and the way that his critics see him.

So we commissioned an illustration by artist Jeff Drew, and photoshopped Knezovich's head on (it's larger than life to show that it's an artist's rendering, not a staged photograph). It shows the sheriff standing on a big, mean-looking snake atop a pile of the "Don't Tread on Me" Gadsden Flags. (It isn't the original Gadsden Flag used in the American Revolution, mind you. The green grass at the bottom of the flag show's it's a later version.) It symbolizes a number of things: 

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Posted By on Thu, Aug 13, 2015 at 3:09 PM


It's the second weekend of the Festival at Sandpoint (Thursday can be considered part of the weekend if you work it right) and first up is Lake Street Dive, originally out of Boston.

When you first experience this act, it's easy to get distracted by Rachael Price's intoxicating vocals. She has this smoky, bluesy, Motown quality — check out the group's Jackson 5 cover below — that is such a breath of fresh air in today's  vocal soundscape. But the rest of the four-piece is just as superb, with  trumpet/guitar Mike Olson playing swoon-worthy licks, bassist Bridget Kearney slapping' hard on the upright and drummer Mike Calabrese keeping the party going with his beats. 

Nine years in the making, the up and coming band has performed on late-night TV, high-end music festivals, toured Europe and even made the Inlander's best album lists last year. Their show starts at 7:30 pm tonight at War Memorial Field in Sandpoint. The Ballroom Thieves open. 

The rest of the glorious festival weekend includes performance by Devil Makes Three, Trampled By Turtles, Wilco and the Spokane Symphony.Check out our Festival at Sandpoint preview here. 

Here are three awesome reasons why you'll want to catch them: 

1. "Bad Self Portraits"


2. "I Want Your Back"


3. "Rich Girl" 


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33 Artists Market @ The Pergola Event Center

Sat., July 26, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
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