Bloglander

ON INLANDER.COM

FILM: The Spokane International Film Festival kicks off tonight with its opening gala and a screening of Rich Cowan's The Basket.

SPORTS: The Zags are still undefeated after crushing San Diego (79-43) last night, and are chasing a No. 1 ranking.

THEATER: Stage Left Theater delivers a production of Disgraced, a Pulitzer-winning play tackling race and religion through some brilliant dialogue.

IN OTHER NEWS

A really yuge meeting
Today, Trump will meet with Theresa May, Britain's prime minister, in his first meeting as president with a foreign leader. On the other hand, the president of Mexico canceled his scheduled meeting with Trump next week, probably because he's not paying for that (expletive expletive) wall. (BBC, The New York Times)

Anti-abortion march
Marchers at today's anti-abortion march in D.C., March for Life, are probably stepping around the confetti and abandoned signs still there from last week's inauguration and Women's March. The march has happened every year since the Roe v. Wade decision (legalizing abortion) in 1973; Vice President Mike Pence is expected to speak. (CNN)

Spokane police standoff
Details about the Spokane Police's nine-hour standoff with a wanted fugitive are still coming out this morning; acting on a tip, the department's Patrol Anti-Crime Team found the man at a house in the 2100 block of east Cataldo around midnight last night, and the standoff ended sometime this morning. (KXLY)

A large cardboard zero, representing the number of times Gonzaga (21-0, 9-0 WCC) has lost so far this season, has been floating around the student section for the past several home games. Tonight there was a large cardboard one numeral in the Kennel Club as well, not in case Gonzaga lost, but because of where the Zags are headed.

On Tuesday night, No 1. Villanova, No. 2 Kansas and No. 4 Kentucky all lost. And with that, the way was paved for No. 3 Gonzaga to ascend to the top of the college basketball rankings for the first time since they earned the top stop at the end of the 2013 season.

With a 79-43 win over San Diego (10-11, 3-8 WCC) Thursday night, Gonzaga moved a step closer to that number one spot.

This is a San Diego team that, despite its record, can really score. On January 14 the Toreros put up 88 points in a victory over BYU. Gonzaga held them to less than half that number.

“That’s not an anomaly,” head coach Mark Few said of the Zags’ defensive performance. “That’s what we set out to do.”

Few’s right, even though defense is historically an Achilles’ heel for his teams. San Diego managed a paltry 0.66 points per possession Thursday, which this season is more the norm than the exception for teams playing the Zags. Gonzaga ranks fifth in the nation in defensive efficiency by holding teams to just 0.89 points per possession.

Nigel Williams-Goss led all scorers Thursday with 25 points. Johnathan Williams recorded his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds. University High product Brett Bailey, who leads the Toreros in scoring this season (17.4 ppg), did not have a happy homecoming. The senior forward managed just 5 points in his final collegiate trip to Spokane.

Gonzaga jumped on the Toreros early with a backwards but effective style of offense that has become almost typical of this team.

Przemek Karnowski, the 7-foot-1 center, dished out four assists over the first 10 minutes while Williams-Goss, the point guard, scored at will and connected on his first seven shots. The scoring column of the box score doesn’t look as balanced as we’re used to with the Zags, but the balance of skill at all positions was very clear on the floor.

It’s the kind of balance and skill that top teams have. And should the Zags win Saturday at Pepperdine, that top team will more than likely be them.

The ups and downs of the leadership of the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture have been well documented, from the firing of its former executive director Forrest Rodgers nearly a year ago, to its hiring of an interim director who happened to be married to a then-board member — and was a former U.S. ambassador to boot.

Now, the MAC has apparently found its permanent replacement for Rodgers in Wesley P. Jessup, who the board of trustees announced Thursday as the museum's new executive director, effective March 1.

Jessup's background includes working with a Native American corporation in his home state of Alaska to develop a cultural center in the Bering Straits region, working with tribal leaders from 20 communities there. In a press release announcing his hiring, Jessup said that experience has him excited about working with the MAC's extensive collection of Native American artifacts.

"I look forward to working with local tribal leaders and the museum staff to ensure that this world-class collection of of more than 22,000 artifacts, photographs and documents from the Plateau Indian tribes continues to not only be preserved, but also utilized to educate people about this region's rich Native American culture," Jessup said.

The new hire has also worked at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, the Pasadena Museum of California Art and, most recently, as the director of the Longmont Museum and Cultural Center in Colorado, where he led a $4.6 million fundraising campaign for a new auditorium, and developed programs and exhibits that more than doubled the museum's attendance, according to the MAC's statement.

Jessup received his M.A. in Art History and Museum Studies at City University of New York, attended the Getty Museum Leadership Institute, where he received his Arts Management Certificate.

The "single greatest cause of wrongful convictions" in death penalty cases, according to supporters of a bill sponsored by Sen Mike Padden (R-Spokane Valley)?

Courtroom testimony from confidential informants and other witnesses promised something in return for their statements.

The bill (SB 5038) requires prosecutors to hand over to criminal defendants information about witnesses who've been incentivized to testify — either through leniency for crimes or money. The bill passed out of the Senate Law and Justice Committee unanimously.

Specifically, prosecutors must reveal informant witnesses' criminal history, including pending charges, all benefits informants have received or will receive in exchange for their testimony and details about the "substance, time and place" supporting informants' statements, among others.

In essence, the bill would codify what is known as the Brady rule, which stems from a 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case, as it applies to informant testimony. The rule requires prosecutors to provide criminal defendants with all evidence that could point to their innocence or that could discredit state witnesses.

ON INLANDER.COM

• NEWS: Washington State University plans to admit more international students to compete with top schools. But will that hurt in-state students?

• MUSIC: A new Smithsonian project paying tribute to Woody Guthrie's Pacific Northwest songs features some of the region's best musicians.

• FOOD: Izumi Sushi goes modern to bring unique fish and authentic Asian cuisine to the South Hill.

IN OTHER NEWS:

• Donald Trump signed an order yesterday directing the Department of Homeland Security to start building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico using existing taxpayer money to pay for it. Trump also ordered cuts to federal funding for "sanctuary cities." He is soon expected to sign orders blocking refugees from war-torn Syria from entering the country and suspend visas for people from some majority Muslim countries. (Seattle Times, Vox)

• How will Trump's policies impact people in the Inland Northwest? (Spokesman Review)

• Westside burglars, known as the "Rock Smash Burglary Crew," swiped an estimated $3 million from 100 homes since April — including, detectives believe, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez's home. One of the three was reportedly wearing Hernandez's watch when he was arrested. (Seattle Times)

• A Spokane woman found a "White Lives Matter More" sign stuck into the snow in her front yard after she returned from marching in Washington D.C. Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime. (KXLY)

• A woman who spent a decade as "maiden" and a cultish sex slave is suing the leaders of the River Road Fellowship cult. Lindsay Tornambe and nine other girls ages 12 to 19 were "sacrificed" by their parents to become concubines for cult leader Victor Barnard. Barnard is currently in prison after pleading guilty to sexual assault. (Spokesman Review)

Not crazy about the snow?
After months of dealing with the white stuff, you may think you know snow. But here are some little-known facts. Pay attention to number 19.

Small Steps Lead to Big Things InHealth's own life coach columnist, Dr. Robert Maurer, reported a milestone recently. His book, One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way, made it onto Google's Top 100 books of year for 2016. So what is the Kaizen way?

Here's how Maurer explains it in the book's preface: "Contrary to popular opinion, change — whether personal or in in business — doesn’t have to be agonizingly painful. Nor must it happen only as the result of scare tactics employed to shock ourselves — or our colleagues — into meaningful action. The pages you are about to read will shatter the math that change is hard…This book will show you how to harness the power of kaizen: using small steps to accomplish large goals.”

Gridiron in the Classroom
The NFL is teaming up with the American Heart Association and Discovery Education to offer a "virtual fieldtrip" on January 31 for kids in American classrooms. The 60-minute, live-streamed class will feature NFL players and a cardiologist who will demonstrate the "science behind cardio and strength exercises that NFL players use throughout the season to stay fit and active." It's free!

ON INLANDER.COM

Civic Duty
The Spokane Civic Theater's lineup is out.

Good for What Ales Ya
Spokane Symphony and No Li are teaming up.

#OscarsSoDiverse
Dan Nailen breaks down the Oscars for us.

HERE

Jardín de Infancia
Spokane Public Schools is looking to do a language-immersion kindergarten. (Spokesman-Review)

The Bing Crosby of Torturers
CIA documents reveal just how torturery the two torture psychologists (from Spokane!) were. (Spokesman-Review)

But The Parking Situation Sucks
Downtown living is booming, despite the terrible parking situation. (Spokesman-Review)

THERE

Return of the "Rigged!"
Trump can't believe he lost the popular vote, so he's claiming the election he won was rigged, as illegal voters decided to flood into places like California, a move that would never have any impact on the election. Now, he wants an investigation into voter fraud, despite having no evidence of any of it happening. (New York Times)

Hitting the Wall
Trump still seems into that whole build-a-wall thing. (Washington Post)

Black Sites Matter
Nostalgic for the Bush years, Trump is considering restarting the ol' secret black site prisons and torture programs. (Washington Post)

The Spokane Civic Theatre just hit mid-season, with six productions to go on its 2016-17 schedule — including this weekend's opening of the popular contemporary drama Vanya and Sonia and Mash and Spike — but its leaders are already looking ahead to the 71st season this fall.

At an announcement party Friday, the Civic announced the shows it'll be staging in 2017-18. As usual, the season starts out with bang via a big production of a classic musical; this year it's going to be West Side Story. For the holidays, A Christmas Story is 2017's pick, while the season finale next spring is set to be the romantic-comedy musical Hello Dolly! Other mostly contemporary choices fill out the rest of the season, on the main stage and in the intimate Firth J. Chew studio theater, including the dramatic Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Here's the full list:

Main Stage
West Side Story, Sept. 22-Oct. 15
A Christmas Story, Nov. 17-Dec. 17
Cactus Flower, Jan. 12-28, 2018
10 Nights in Barroom, Feb. 16-March 4, 2018
Dial M for Murder, March 23-April 8, 2017
Hello Dolly!, May 18-June 10, 2018

Studio Theater
Psycho Beach Party, Oct. 13-Nov. 5
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Jan. 19-Feb. 11, 2018
2.0 (TwoPoint_Oh), March 2-25, 2018
Misalliance, April 27-May 20, 2018

Season tickets go on sale March 1, with single tickets on sale July 5.

There shouldn't be any need in 2017 to point out that a delicious beer is just as classy a quaff as champagne, wine or craft cocktails. But if you still question such things, consider the collaboration between the Spokane Symphony and No-Li Brewhouse as proof-positive that beer drinkers and Beethoven lovers do, indeed, mix.

On March 10, the two Spokane institutions are teaming up for Symphony Special: Beethoven and Brews, where the night's concert conducted by Jorge Luis Uzcategui and featuring "greatest hits" by the beer-loving German composer is preceded by a beer garden at the Fox, featuring $3 drafts of No-Li's beer. The concert starts at 7:30 pm, and the beer garden opens at 6 pm. You do the math on how many beers are appropriate before the light-hearted show that also includes some comedy from the folks at Blue Door Theatre. Tickets to the show range from $18 to $43.

To celebrate the collaboration, No-Li is brewing up a special "Beethoven Golden Ale," bottling just 660 total bottles of the 22-ounce beers to help get the word out on the March show. You'll be able to get a bottle of the goods starting Feb. 16 and local Rosauer's, Yoke's, Rocket Market and Total Wine & More outlets. Here's a look at the label to look out for: 

While you were obsessing over the new president's latest actions or Gonzaga's big win last night and move up to No. 3 in the polls, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scientists released the list of Academy Award nominees this morning.

As mandated by law whenever she makes a film, Meryl Streep is among the nominees up for Best Actress, and after the #OscarsSoWhite controversy last year over the lack of African-American nominees, this year there are a record six nominations for black actors in acting categories (Denzel Washington for Fences, Mahershala Ali for Moonlight, Ruth Negga for Loving, Viola Davis for Fences, Naomie Harris for Moonlight, Octavia Spencer for Hidden Figures). Nothing gets Hollywood moving, apparently, faster than some bad PR.

Among the Best Picture nominees are several still playing in Spokane, including Moonlight, Hidden Figures, Fences, La La Land, Lion, Hacksaw Ridge and Manchester by the Sea; the other nominees in the category are movies that already played here and moved on, but keep an eye out for return engagements now that the nominations are out for Hell or High Water and Arrival.

Of local interest: Viggo Mortensen earned a Best Actor nomination for the Washington-shot Captain Fantastic. And the Spokane NAACP is hosting a fundraiser screening of Best Documentary Feature film I Am Not Your Negro as a fundraiser for the Black Lens newspaper on Feb. 21 at the Magic Lantern.

For a full list of this year's Oscar nominations, go right here.