Friday, January 22, 2016

Posted By on Fri, Jan 22, 2016 at 2:58 PM

click to enlarge THIS WEEKEND IN MUSIC: Hey Marseilles, Outcold at the Viking and Lil’ Flip
There are a lot of white guys in west-sider indie folk-pop act Hey Marseilles.
TONIGHT
Hey Marseilles, a veteran presence in the Northwest music scene, is known for its brainy, baroque take on indie folk-pop. The group has been making music together for nearly a decade, but with a new creative direction and new ambition fueling the release of a new self-titled album on Feb. 5, this year is shaping up to be a rebirth of sorts for Hey Marseilles, says freelancer Ben Salmon. Expect to hear quite a few of the new tunes at the band’s upcoming Spokane show tonight at the Bartlett starting at 8 pm. The show is $15 at the door.

Tags: , ,

Posted By on Fri, Jan 22, 2016 at 1:37 PM

click to enlarge A new WSU cultural center will be named after late president Elson Floyd
Young Kwak
Elson Floyd died of cancer at 59.

Washington State University unveiled designs this week for a new cultural center named after Elson Floyd, who died from complications related to colon cancer last year at the age of 59.

The 16,000-square-foot building, located near the intersection of NE Stadium Way and SE Spokane Street on the Pullman campus, will contain a living room for gatherings and performances connected to four "knowledge rooms" intended to educate people about underrepresented populations in the state, according to the school. There will also be a kitchen, a gallery, a meditation pavilion and offices for the school's diversity education program. 

“President Floyd wanted a state-of-the-art building different from others that clearly communicates that WSU embraces diversity in a serious way,” J. Manuel Acevedo, director of WSU's office of multicultural student services, said in a press release.

Construction on the project will begin this spring. The university expects it to be completed by summer 2017. WSU has already announced that its Spokane medical school would be named the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine.
click to enlarge A new WSU cultural center will be named after late president Elson Floyd
Washington State University
Rendering of WSU's cultural center

Tags: , , ,

Posted By on Fri, Jan 22, 2016 at 1:25 PM

click to enlarge The Palomino will re-open Saturday following a shooting outside the venue
Young Kwak
The Palomino plans to focus on larger events moving forward.

Early Monday morning, an Eastern Washington University student was fatally shot outside the Palomino in north Spokane. After being closed all week, owner Marc Fechter says the business will reopen Saturday for a birthday party music event that is open to the public.

Fechter wasn’t there Sunday night for the All Black Everything party, which brought in close to 500 people, but says he couldn’t be more proud of how his team handled the horrific situation. At this time, the suspects involved in the shooting of 21-year-old Eduardo Villagomez have not been caught.

“We’re really hoping they find who did this,” Fechter says. “It’s a tragedy what happened. Everything went great inside the venue. There was not one issue inside, everyone was having fun.”

The shooting occurred outside, after the venue had closed at 2 am and people were headed out to their cars. Villagomez died in the hospital after being shot.  

Fechter says he and general manager Wendy Jordan have received overwhelming support from the community, with people telling them to persevere. However, they chose to close their doors this week to reflect on how to proceed.

“We’re just trying to make a positive event center for the community where we can showcase music and art,” he says. “Obviously, something like this, you never want to see this happen.”

Fechter says the venue will maintain their high standard of security — using metal detectors, wanding, checking purses and making sure everyone is safe inside.

Saturday’s event begins at 8 pm. The next big concert is country musician Keith Anderson Jan. 31. Fechter says they plan to focus on events going forward, rather than being open Wed.-Sun. weekly. 

Spokane police are advising anyone with information about the incident to call Crime Check at 456-2233.

Tags: , , , , ,

Posted By on Fri, Jan 22, 2016 at 1:11 PM

After Facebook post, Verduin could lose his seat on the Plan Commission
Karen Stratton

Appointing and reappointing citizens willing to serve on various boards and commissions that help shape policy at City Hall is a process that typically glides through city council. But a paid Facebook post from a member of the Plan Commission could imperil his reappointment.

The day after city council passed a controversial ordinance mandating that most employers in Spokane offer their employees paid time off to deal with illness or domestic violence, Evan Verduin, the owner of an architectural design company who unsuccessfully ran against Councilwoman Karen Stratton last year, took to his campaign’s Facebook page with a post declaring that “Spokane City Council Member Lies to the Voters.” The post went on to express disgust that the measure was passed without additional study and outreach to businesses as had been promised.

“Regardless of whether or not you support paid sick time, we should all be SICK and TIRED of deceitful politicians,” reads the post, which has been taken down. “I respectfully ask that Karen CALL IN SICK for the rest of her term. We don’t need further contamination.”

The sick-leave ordinance, a priority of Council President Ben Stuckart since last year, was an issue during last year’s city council elections. Candidates backed by Mayor David Condon, which included Verduin and LaVerne Biel, opposed the ordinance. Stratton, who had the backing of Stuckart, supported the ordinance but expressed reservations about its potential impact on business and the lack of outreach in support of it.

“Now that the election season is over, the City Council has voted to enact the sick leave ordinance without additional study,” reads Verduin’s Facebook post. “There was no additional outreach to local businesses, no contact with business associations, and a total disregard of dozens of scientific studies that prove legislation like this harms those most for whom it is intended to help. Karen Stratton and wanted this legislation passes, and they delayed the vote prior to election to mislead the voters of Spokane. Shame on you Karen!”

“I don’t like being called a liar by someone who only sees the story only from his perspective,” says Stratton, who introduced three amendments to the ordinance intended to lessen its impact on businesses. Stratton says she’s been open about where she’s stood on the ordinance the entire time and has reached out to businesses.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Posted By on Fri, Jan 22, 2016 at 10:34 AM

click to enlarge City leaders answer 'some' of City Council's questions regarding police precinct move
Mitch Ryals Photo
The new Spokane police precinct at the Intermodal Transit Center

Surprised by the decision to relocate the Spokane police downtown precinct, and skeptical of the explanation that it would save money, members of City Council submitted a list of seven questions to city and police leaders earlier this month.

They asked for a cost benefit analysis to support the decision. They asked who was involved in the decision, and they asked for “hard numbers showing real savings.” Simply put, they wanted to know: How will this move reduce crime? How will it save the city money? Who made this decision to move the precinct from its storefront space next to the STA Plaza to the Intermodal Center?

In documents provided to City Council and reporters yesterday, city and police leaders explained that the decision was not made solely to save money, though that originally was touted as a benefit.

“It’s an incomplete response,” says City Council President Ben Stuckart. “I’m looking for more dollars and cents, and ‘how much did we spend and continue to spend, and how does this make budgetary sense?’”

Stuckart, along with Councilman Mike Fagan, submitted the questions. Here’s a breakdown:

• Asked to provide crime data to show more calls for service near the Intermodal Center (and who conducted the analysis), city and police leaders provided none. Instead, documents explain that “the [Spokane Transit Authority] lease expired at the end of December 2015, and the Intermodal remodel was completed. This left the City in a position where one of the facilities was going to remain vacant, Peyton or Intermodal.”

That statement is not entirely correct.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Posted By on Fri, Jan 22, 2016 at 10:08 AM

Beginning Tuesday, January 26, the religious satire The Book of Mormon musical opens at the INB Performing Arts Center and runs until Sunday, January 31, with a pre-show lottery making a limited number of tickets available at $25 dollars apiece. Dubbed by the New York Times as “the best musical of the century,” the show’s national lottery policy has drawn as many as 800 entries at some performances.

With regular tickets ranging from $45 to $155, don’t grab your bike — run to the Performing Arts Center where you can enter the lottery two and half hours before the show. You must be present and have valid I.D. to purchase tickets when winners are later drawn. Fingers crossed.

Cunningham and Elder Price (one of which hasn’t even read the Book of Mormon) travel to a village in Uganda to convert its people, only to find an uninterested society afflicted with AIDS, violence, poverty. The mismatched, tie-clad pair fuses expectation and comedic twists with such darling spontaneity that since the critically acclaimed Broadway premier in 2011, the show has continued its productions across the nation in high demand.

Featuring book, music, and lyrics by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone, The Book of Mormon joins a long line of success for its authors. Parker and Stone are the creators of the animated series South Park, while Lopez is the co-creator of smash musical comedy Avenue Q.

Expect to be entertained, perhaps even converted into a musical aficionado. Either way, you'll be dazzled with Broadway walking home.


Tags: , ,

Posted By on Fri, Jan 22, 2016 at 9:40 AM

On Inlander.com

• The deadline to apply to replace Councilman Jon Snyder, who resigned to take a job in Olympia, has come and gone. Here’s who applied.

• Many a time has someone claimed to have cleaned up the mess at the Ridpath hotel. Has that problem been solved?

Intermodal police precinct opens
The Spokane Police Department officially moved its downtown precinct to a facility already owned by the city. The controversial move has been a source of concern for the business community, but city officials say it makes sense financially and police presence won’t suffer.

Anti-tax initiative struck down
A King County judge has ruled that Tim Eyman’s latest initiative, which passed in November, that would have either slashed the state sales tax or restricted legislators ability to raise taxes, is unconstitutional.

The Uber for weed?
Some Washington lawmakers say it’s time to try out allowing marijuana businesses to deliver their products to consumers.

Cop sentenced for rape
An Oklahoma cop convicted of sexually preying on poor women has effectively been given a life sentence

East Coast braces for storm
Officials across eastern states are preparing for the biggest storm yet this winter.

Tags: ,

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Posted By on Thu, Jan 21, 2016 at 4:47 PM


Twenty-one people have applied for the Spokane City Council seat Jon Snyder vacated to take a job with the governor in Olympia, a list that includes gadflies, failed candidates, City Hall insiders and others.

Snyder’s last day on council was Jan. 12 and applications to fill out his term were due Jan. 19. City council members will select their top five candidates by Jan. 27. They’ll be reviewed a council committee of three members to select the top candidates who will be interviewed by the full council. On Feb. 8, they’ll select the new council member to represent the district that encompasses most of south Spokane. 

Here is everyone who applied.

Randy J. McGlenn II
An information technology professional who ran for state legislature in 2014 as a Libertarian.

George McGrath
An unsuccessful City Council candidate. He shows up to most council meetings to berate the liberal orientation of the city’s legislative body. He especially hates bike lanes and speaks about abortion in graphic detail during the council’s open forum. He infamously coined the phrase “Bridge to Hookerville” to describe a pedestrian bridge in a part of town that has struggled with prostitution. He’s been forcibly removed from council meetings.

Blaine Stum
As the current chair of the Spokane Human Rights Commission, Stum has raised concerns about police militarization, criminalization of homelessness, the recently passed sick leave ordinance and other issues. He was previously the legislative assistant for Snyder, and currently does work in LGBTQIA cultural sensitivity training and chairs the public policy committee for the Inland Northwest Business Alliance.

John Waite
The owner of Merlyn’s Comics and Games, Waite has run unsuccessfully for council three times, most recently last year.

Rae-Lynn Barden
Former legislative assistant for Councilman Mike Allen, who was considered part of the council’s conservative minority who chose not to run for reelection. She’s also the chair of the Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Council.

Todd Beyreuther
An assistant research professor of architecture at Washington State University.

Breean L. Beggs
A civil rights attorney who represented the family of Otto Zehm, who was killed by Spokane police. Beggs unsuccessfully ran for county prosecutor. Currently represents the police ombudsman commission.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Posted By on Thu, Jan 21, 2016 at 3:16 PM

The many times someone has claimed the Ridpath mess has nearly been solved
A Ridpath diverged on a city block... and I— I took the one that meandered in circles and never seemed to go anywhere

This week, we have a story about Brian Main, a local businessman who severed his ties with con-artist Greg Jeffreys only to start to try work with Erick Hansen, who is currently on trial for fraud. Main suggested I talk to a number of businessmen who got really, really screwed by Jeffreys involvement with the shuttered Ridpath Hotel. They would testify to his honesty. 

One of them, former NFL linebacker James Darling, says that Main is basically the only guy he trusts who was involved in the Ridpath. 

"The rest of the people who have to do with this shit, don’t listen to them," Darling says. "Anybody that tries to buy the Ridpath, until they’ve actually bought, is full of shit. That’s just my opinion."

That sort of cynicism makes sense. Time and time again, parties involved with the Ridpath have made promises that the hotel's resurrection was just around the corner, only to find increasing delays. 

Yesterday, KHQ reported that "on Wednesday afternoon, Spokane developer Ron Wells told Invest Northwest Anchor Sean Owsley that he is moving forward with his planned renovation of the Ridpath Hotel." A group involving self-appointed Ridpath savior Stephen Antonetti, who wants to turn the property back into a hotel, had missed the deadline to pay for their winning bid to purchase a major share of the hotel from bankruptcy. That put Wells' group back into play. He just had to go to the bankruptcy hearing in Las Vegas to sort things out. 

Tags: , ,

Posted By on Thu, Jan 21, 2016 at 9:45 AM

Sexual misconduct in SPD, zombie training before slayings in CdA and the first full-time female assistant coach in the NFL
Officer Chris Conrath hooked up with a woman he met responding to a domestic violence call

ON INLANDER.COM 

'Use and Abuse': A third incident involving sexual misconduct within the Spokane Police Department intensifies calls for a culture audit.

• Just how effective is the city's ethics commission

IN OTHER NEWS: 

• A teenager whose car was hit by a Spokane police officer is charged with a DUI. Officer Seth Killian told superiors after the crash: "I screwed up, man." (Spokesman-Review)

• "Zombie training preceded slayings"
Tina Samuel testified that her son, Eldon Samuel III, learned how to prepare for a "zombie apocalypse" and how to kill zombies from his father, Eldon Samuel Jr. The 16-year-old Samuel III is on trial for murder in the slayings of his father and 13-year-old autistic brother. (Spokesman-Review)

• Residents in Flint, Michigan complained for months about the quality of their water, but Gov. Rick Snyder's administration initially ignored cries for help from the majority poor, African-American town, according to nearly 300 pages of emails released recently. 

Kathryn Smith was hired by the Buffalo Bills as the first female full-time NFL assistant coach. 

Tags: ,

Moonshine: Artisan Night Market @ Commellini Estate

Wednesdays, 5:30-10 p.m. Continues through Aug. 27
  • or