Bloglander

JJ Wandler knows that music counts for a lot in a bar or dining experience. A place that doesn't pay attention to the sound floating through the airwaves could lose customers. I know I've vowed to never return to a place after having Bon Jovi spoil what was otherwise a perfectly fine outing. 

Wandler, co-owner of Garageland, has personally curated a playlist of 8,000 or so songs to provide the soundtrack for visitors to the bar/restaurant/record store/thrift shop, and that playlist makes Garageland the kind of place where it's easy to hunker down for a drink or two. The tunes don't pump so loud they drown out conversation, but they hit on old favorites enough to enhance a beer or one of Garageland's craft cocktails named for classic punk tunes (try the Blank Generation and thank me later). More than once on a recent Happy Hour trip I stopped mid-conversation to zone in on the subtle sounds: "Hey, the Stones' 'Rocks Off! Cool!" or "Hmm, is that the Jesus and Mary Chain? Love it." 

Combine the tunes with ever-changing original artwork, the funky everyday decor like the static-y TV set and old fridges holding cans of brew and the chance to do a little vinyl or clothes shopping and you have a Happy Hour unlike any other in town. 

Garageland's Happy Hour is $1 off every alcoholic beverage and goes from 4-6 pm every Monday-Friday and all day on Sundays. Additionally, Monday is half-off the bar's considerable selection of absinthe, including two made right here in Washington, Pacifique and Marteau. In the next few weeks, Wandler says they'll be adding some Happy Hour food items, with discount prices on burgers, salads and fries alongside the drinks. Stay tuned for that. 

To learn more about Happy Hours around the Inland Northwest, visit Inlander.com on your phone and download our Drinkspotter app, or  simply visit this page. 

The Spokane Valley City Council majority forced out city manager Mike Jackson Tuesday night, saying the move was “in the best interest of the city.”

That was about all the explanation they gave, however. Former mayors, city council members and the sheriff all spoke in support of Jackson before the decision was made, but they had no sway. In a 4-3 vote, Councilmen Ed Pace, Arne Woodard, Sam Wood and Mayor Rod Higgins outnumbered three councilmen who fervently objected to the move: Dean Grafos, Chuck Hafner and Bill Gothman.

Jackson was the city’s parks director when Spokane Valley incorporated in 2003. He then spent three years as deputy city manager before becoming city manager in 2010. He was told late last week that he would be fired, and he is now on paid leave until his contract is terminated, which can be no later than March 30.

Prior to the regular council meeting, the council held a special session and motioned to ask for Jackson’s resignation. More than a dozen people spoke in the public comment period, and all but one asked the council to reconsider. Former mayor Tom Towey said he wished Jackson the best and expressed concern about the city losing “one of the best city managers we could ever hope for.”

After logging in this morning to check your Facebook news feed, you may have noticed something different about all the posts. Today, the social media giant rolled out some major changes to the "like" button system, allowing all users the option to choose from five other responses — branded as Facebook Reactions — that go beyond the site's ubiquitous "thumbs up" icon.

In a post about the rollout, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg explains that these options are the company's response to the long-requested "dislike" button that would allow users to appropriately react to the not-so-positive news inundating their feeds.

"Liking" a post is still the default option. To choose one of the new "Reaction" icons — a heart and smiley emojis shown laughing, surprised, sad and angry — simply hover over (on desktop; for mobile do a long press) the "like" button to select from a pop-up menu.

Now that users can do more than simply hit that "like" button to mindlessly react to a post, will people actually take the time to click and select the appropriate emoji? Moreover, will media outlets (especially considering it's election season...) be victims of angry-face spamming? We shall see.

In the meantime, The Verge published this snarky "how to" guide on using the new Facebook Reactions. Also, Mashable has a helpful overview of how to find the new feature if it's not yet showing up on your feed.

The rapper is all slick hair and black clothes. He combines quick, narcissistic flows with catchy, vapid hooks. He is especially popular with the young ladies. And April 7, G-Eazy comes to the Spokane Arena as part of his When It's Dark Out Spring 2016 Tour; his December-released album aptly has the same name.

Selling out every show so far this year, G-Eazy, aka Gerald Earl Gillum, is seemingly taking the world by storm. The 26-year-old’s Spokane show will be at the Star Theatre at Spokane Arena, meaning only one side of the arena is open for seating, making the concert far more intimate (an aspect of the Spokane Arena its bookers should take more advantage of with other cool shows).

The Oakland-based rapper has been a staple at various music festivals throughout the last couple years, with two albums doing well on the Billboard Charts. His latest single “Me, Myself, and I,” is currently killing it on iTunes and Spotify (150 million-plus plays).

Pre-sale tickets go on sale tomorrow, otherwise tickets officially can be purchased Friday at 10 am. Tickets are $29.50 and $39.50 and are available at the Spokane Arena, TicketsWest.com, or at 800-325-SEAT.

ON INLANDER.COM

Mixed Signals
• Spokane Arts wants to paint some more signal boxes in Downtown Spokane. 

Down By The River • Dan Nailen spends some time with some lady in a van. 

On Bespin, disintegrations are banned, but carbonite flash-freezing is allowed. 
• Bounty hunter rules vary widely state to state. 

Chef's Special 
• Tonight, watch movies about food. Hear chefs talk about food. Eat food. 

HERE

The Auditor Survives 
• The Democrat-controlled House has decided not to try to impeach the State Auditor, even though he, uh, has been accused of money laundering, possession of stolen money and filing false tax returns. (Spokesman-Review)

Stomach-turning
• Jury has to view videos of former VA doctor Craig Morgenstern allegedly sexually assaulting boys. (Spokesman-Review)

Sorry, Mr. Jackson
• The Spokane Valley City Council votes to oust its city manager. (Spokesman-Review)

THERE 

I Am Donald Trump, King of Kings. Look Upon My Works, Ye Conservatives, and Despair
• Donald Trump happens in Vegas. (Five Thirty Eight)

One reason the party may not be stopping Donald Trump? 
• Because the party thinks the party will stop Donald Trump. (Washington Post)

Password protected
• FBI would appreciate it if Apple would unlock nine more iPhones. (New York Times)

Local artists and designers, you've got less than a week to submit your work. But from what we know about most creative types, working under the pressure of a deadline isn't the worst option.

After debuting a series of local artists' designs on downtown traffic signal control boxes last year, Spokane Arts is seeking submissions for round two of the project, with a deadline of 5 pm next Monday, Feb. 29. 

Currently, 13 of the plain, gray metal boxes along Second Avenue are brightened by the presence of local artists' expressions. Installed last spring, the varying designs were printed on vinyl that wraps around the boxes housing the controls for intersection traffic signals.

For the second phase of the urban beautification project, 20 designs are to be chosen, and artists will get $100 per box for their efforts. Signal box art is set to brighten up the East Sprague Business District, the Garland Avenue Business District and a section of Third Avenue downtown.

A call for submissions specifies that qualifying artists must be from the Inland Northwest, and their work should follow the loose theme "Flash-back / Fast-forward: The chronicle of Spokane's history and industry." 

Artwork chosen for display on the boxes will be selected by March 8 by a five-person voting committee. Then, art is scheduled for install between April and June of this year. Complete details about design and submission specifications are listed in Spokane Arts' call for submissions.

Again, the project is being sponsored by STCU and is organized in partnership by Spokane Arts and the City of Spokane. The Spokane Parking Advisory Committee, overseen by the Downtown Spokane Partnership, is also sponsoring the project's next phase.

Last week, we wrote extensively about bounty hunters — quasi law enforcement agents with powers to search and seize outside due process restrictions. Many are armed to the teeth: pistols, rifles, Tasers, batons, pepper spray. Some have extensive training and clean criminal records, as required by state law. 

For some states, however, the there are little to no training or licensing requirements, leaving the industry to self-regulate.

In Washington state, for example, bounty hunters must be licensed with more than 40 hours of training, be at least 21 years old, graduate high school or have three years' experience in the bail bond industry, be a U.S. citizen and have no criminal convictions that "directly relate to their ability to perform the duties ... or that hinders public safety." The state also requires agents to renew their licenses annually with an additional eight hours of training. 

Idaho does not license bounty hunters at the state level. The only current requirement is state residency. Even convicted felons could be bounty hunters. The state does, however, sort of indirectly keep tabs on bounty hunters by holding the bondsmen responsible for recovery agents' mistakes. 

"I'm very careful about who I use as recovery agents," says Rulon Evans, the owner of A-Affordable Bail Bonds in Idaho. "I always vet them, make sure they're responsible and have some kind of law enforcement or military training. We're in the business to stay in business, so you don't just hire anybody out there, because you're liable." 

Eighteen other states have no statutes or administrative codes that require specific qualifications to arrest bail fugitives. 

To get you hungry and ramped up for Inlander Restaurant Week, which begins on Friday, we're turning our Suds and Cinema series into a hunger-inducing, beer-sipping (or chugging, if that's more your speed) celebration at the Overbluff Cellars Events Center in the Washington Cracker Building tomorrow (Wednesday) night.

We'll be showing Chef, an indie gem directed by and starring Jon Favreau about a celebrity chef who leaves life in a restaurant to start his own gourmet food truck. We'll also have a panel discussion featuring Chef Jeremy Hansen of Sante, Chef Travis Dickinson from Clover and Greg Brandt, the co-owner and co-brewer of Iron Goat Brewing, whose beer is also featured at the event in 22-ounce bottles.

Also, we have a food truck, Tacos el Sol, to tie into the movie and Horizon Credit Union will be on hand giving out $5 vouchers to the truck for some lucky attendees. And for dessert, Brain Freeze Creamery, a familiar face at past Suds and Cinema, will be scooping up the cold stuff.

We open doors and begin serving beer at 6:30 pm and the panel discussion begins at 7:30 pm, with the movie to follow immediately after. Overbluff Cellars Event Center is located at 304 W. Pacific Avenue, in the space that houses the annual Terrain event. Here is additional event info.

Given some of the serious topics addressed, to some degree, over the course of The Lady in the Van — homelessness, religious oppression and mental illness, for starters — it's a wonder watching the film is such an enjoyable experience. Not to mention an uplifting one. 

Credit here goes mostly to Maggie Smith, the beloved British actress with an incredible range of facial expressions that she uses to convey the conflicted inner life of Margaret Shepherd, the title character of this "based on a true" story. 

Or perhaps her name is Mary? We're never quite sure for much of the film. Part of the appeal of The Lady in the Van is being privy to the mystery being worked on by playwright Alan Bennett (Alex Jennings) as he tries to learn about the woman he (sort of) befriends and (kind of) welcomes to live in his driveway — a relationship and living arrangement that eventually lasts more than 15 years.

The movie cleverly presents Bennett as two characters, the writer and his conscience, and the inner debate he has about treating the odd woman outside his flat as a human in need of help or merely a source for entertainment that will fill a new play is one we share as a viewing audience. Are we watching this woman who's clearly been beaten down by life as mere fodder for a laugh, or are we witness to the slow, steady disintegration of a person's dignity? 

Ultimately, it's a little bit of both. But Smith is so good, and the relationship between her and all those she comes in contact with so spirited, that we never feel Bennett's "guest" is being taken advantage of, even as we laugh at her odd predilection for painting everything yellow, or the faces people make when the scent of the van's interior makes its way out during one of her brief moments of throwing open the doors. 

As we slowly learn more about Margaret's past, the plight of her living situation seems all the more tragic. But The Lady in the Van never wallows in sadness for long thanks to a steady stream of subtle jokes and touches that are utterly charming, from Bennett's series of one night stands with actors from his plays to Margaret's occasional forays to a seaside town where she recaptures some of her childhood with merry-go-round rides and ice cream sundaes. 

Eventually, Bennett manages to track down Margaret's brother and unravel the questions that have gnawed at him for more than a decade, and the viewer through the movie's running time. It's a satisfying end for him, but not as satisfying as the surreal, Monty Python-esque coda to The Lady in the Van that borders on camp, but sends viewers home with a smile rather than any sadness at the lady's final night in the van. Even in death, the lady gets the last laugh, and the audience laughs along with her. 

The Lady in the Van manages to dodge being too sentimental — again, mostly thanks to Smith's performance — and delivers a surprisingly satisfying, simple tale. If you're in need of an antidote to comic-book blockbusters and mid-winter blahs, consider this a strong option. 

ON INLANDER.COM: 

• COUNTY: Nancy McLaughlin is the newest Spokane County Commissioner, replacing Todd Mielke. She was previously the Spokane County Republican Party's top pick out of three candidates to replace him. 
  
  
• MUSIC: Violent Femmes will play at the Knitting Factory on Tuesday, May 17. The band is releasing their first full-length album in 15 years. 
  

Zika virus in Washington 
The first case of Zika virus has been reported in Washington state, according to the state department of health. A Mason County man in his 20s recently traveled to the South Pacific before returning to Washington and testing positive for the virus.

Donkey kicks
Spokane Valley detectives arrested an alleged burglar who was caught on video donkey kicking a door. (KXLY)

Nevada caucuses
The Nevada caucuses today are the last chance for Republican candidates not named Donald Trump to slow his momentum before Super Tuesday. (New York Times)

Closing Guantanamo
President Obama delivered a plan Tuesday morning to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. (CNN) 

Replacing Scalia
Top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell says the party won't permit a vote on Obama's Supreme Court nominee to replace the late Antonin Scalia. (AP)