Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Posted By on Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 1:51 PM



Perhaps you're like me and it's taken a week or so for it to really sink in that the little Jesuit school in little ol' (but still not desolate and crumbling) Spokane, Washington, played in the NCAA championship game. Further putting the school and city on the map — and hopefully to rest how to pronounce either name — Gonzaga achieved something monumental in being one of the final two of 68 out of 351.

In recognition of this historical moment, online T-shirt design company Breaking T is selling two Gonzaga-oriented shirts: one literally putting the city and school on a map, and the other reclassifying the Zags' label from "Mid-Major" to "Major." Breaking T is producing these shirts along with SB Nation's Gonzaga-focused blog The Slipper Still Fits as a fun way to cap off a historic season.

The shirts retail for $24 each, and are offered in unisex size "vintage heather" navy-blue tees.

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Posted By on Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 1:16 PM

click to enlarge The Fox announces summer concerts from big names: Lightfoot, Lovett, Alpert, Etheridge
Melissa Etheridge will perform at the Fox Theater on Aug. 4.

And the summer concert announcements keep rolling in. The Fox Theater has just announced four big shows in June, July and August, all featuring artists who have played the Inland Northwest before.

Unless otherwise noted, tickets for these events go on sale at midnight through TicketsWest.

June 11, Gordon Lightfoot: The Canadian singer-songwriter was a staple of '70s soft rock radio, racking up Top 10 hits with easygoing tunes like "Sundown," "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and "If You Could Read My Mind." Lightfoot last performed in Spokane in 2013 (he was also a performer at Expo '74), and he returns following the debut of a new single titled "Plans of My Own," his first original release since 2004. Tickets run from $36 to $101, and they go on sale at 10 am on Fri, April 13.

July 14, Lyle Lovett and His Large Band: The last time Lovett was in town, he was performing with just an acoustic guitar and fellow Texan Robert Earl Keen. This time, he'll have his so-called Large Band in tow, which should make for a rollicking, high-energy evening of old-school country, swing and Americana songs. Tickets range from $40 to $85.

July 27, Herb Alpert and Lani Hall: One of the most famous and bestselling trumpeters in history, Alpert is perhaps best known for founding the Tijuana Brass, whose 1965 album Whipped Cream and Other Delights is a landmark of instrumental jazz. Alpert frequently performs with his wife Lani Hall, a renowned vocalist and an original member of Sérgio Mendes' bossa nova group Brasil '66, and the set list for their upcoming Spokane concert will feature classics from both of their esteemed careers. Tickets are $38 and $48.

Aug. 4, Melissa Etheridge: Dabbling in blues-rock, folk and country sounds, Etheridge, with her commanding voice and virtuosic guitar skills, was one of the defining voices of the mid-'90s singer-songwriter boom. She'll hit the Fox in August — she last played here in 2015 on a co-headlining tour with Joan Jett and Blondie — bringing along hits like "I'm the Only One," "Come to My Window" and "Like the Way I Do." Tickets will run you $48 to $85.

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Posted By on Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 12:53 PM

Months after winning re-election, Shelly O'Quinn says she's leaving the Spokane County Board of Commissioners
Young Kwak
Shelly O'Quinn is taking a job as CEO of the Inland Northwest Community Foundation.

Not long ago, Shelly O'Quinn was running for a second term on the Spokane County Board of Commissioners. She said she was excited for the opportunity to serve another four years, and saw an opportunity to continue changing the culture of county government, save taxpayers money and push for criminal justice reform.

But now, five months after she soundly defeated challenger Andrew Biviano to keep her seat, O'Quinn has announced she is leaving the board. She has accepted a job as Chief Executive Officer of the Inland Northwest Community Foundation, effective in June.

"I will tell you, the hardest part of leaving the county is leaving the work that I'm working on," O'Quinn tells the Inlander. "It was a difficult decision, from the perspective that I absolutely love my job with the county."

She says she would not have left for any organization other than the Inland Northwest Community Foundation, a nonprofit corporation where she previously worked in 2007-08 as a senior program officer. She says she fundamentally believes in the work the foundation does, including its support for local projects like Priority Spokane, which works to stabilize lives of homeless or at-risk children.

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Posted By on Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 11:14 AM

click to enlarge Is this the homeless shelter of the future?
Courtesy WSU School of Design + Construction
Washington State University students pose with part of a prototype homeless shelter they're making for a design competition put on by the Spokane chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Could a bendable, foldable shelter that can transform to meet different needs throughout the day help people who are homeless in Spokane?

Students from Washington State University's school of design and construction hope so.

More than a dozen students in their third-year architecture studio have spent months designing and making models of shelters that are meant to be functional as well as easy on the eyes as part of the Spokane chapter of the American Institute of Architects' Homeless Shelter Design Competition.

The basic guidelines: design a safe, secure, portable shelter that could be built for under $1,000; is easy to mass-produce; and can protect someone from all the types of extreme weather Spokane gets. It can have a maximum footprint of 25 square feet, and should be no more than 6 feet tall. 
click to enlarge Is this the homeless shelter of the future?
Courtesy WSU School of Design + Construction

The students will find out whose design the judges like most between 5:30 and 7:30 pm on April 27, at the third annual Student Design Awards at the Montvale Event Center.

Then their designs, including one full-sized prototype the class has been working on together, will be displayed from April 29 through May 13 at River Park Square.

"The goal is for this to be used by citizens, by homeless people in Spokane, and for it to be accepted by the citizens, because if it's not accepted by citizens in Spokane, we're not doing our job," says Abigail Shane, a third-year architecture student at WSU.

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Posted By on Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 9:40 AM


ON INLANDER.COM


NEWS: Just as fast as it was here, a key part of the 24/7 shelter system in Spokane could have to close, leaving hundreds of people with nowhere to go, because the system doesn't have enough money to keep operating. 
click to enlarge Idaho grocery tax will stay, 24/7 shelter in Spokane might not, and morning headlines
House of Charity

NEWS: Do you think you know a better way to plow snow? Spokane wants to hear from you. Really.

IN OTHER NEWS

No sanctuary — or shutdown
President Donald Trump's main budget official, Mick Mulvaney, is pushing to include language that would restrict federal funding for sanctuary cities — those cities that have said they won't enforce federal immigration law — in a budget bill that would avoid a government shutdown, Politico reports. (Politico)

Idaho grocery tax will stay
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter vetoed a repeal of the state's grocery tax, again, but let a road repair package stand, the Idaho Statesman reports. (Statesman)

Important investigations
On Monday, the 2017 Pulitzer Prizes were announced, and among the winners were investigations into opioid abuse and overdose deaths, evictions of poor minorities, sexual assault on a university campus, and a government-led killing campaign against drug dealers and users. See the full list and read some of last year's best reporting here.

Putin on the delay
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had to wait most of the day to see if he'd get to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who did eventually sit down with him Wednesday to talk about Syrian-government-led chemical attacks that may have been launched from a base where Russian troops are, the New York Times reports. Putin reportedly denied that charge and said it was made up to create conflict. (NYT)

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Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Posted By on Tue, Apr 11, 2017 at 6:27 PM

click to enlarge Speed the plow: Spokane wants your bright ideas about how to improve snowplowing (2)
Spokane city survey
As the city looks to rejigger its street plowing policies, they want to hear what you care about most.

OK, smart guy. If you have so many opinions about Spokane's snowplowing process,  why don't you come up with some better ideas? No, seriously. The city wants to hear your thoughts on snowplowing.

Of course, with the sun shining and the birds of spring twittering, it's easy to forget about the dark, days of Spokane snowfall a few months ago. If you need to jog your memory, here's an Inlander story, about the community frustrations with the street department over snowplowing that preceded the ouster of the department's former director.

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Posted By on Tue, Apr 11, 2017 at 11:16 AM

click to enlarge Hundreds will have no place to sleep after Spokane's 24-7 homeless shelter runs out of money
Time is running out on the House of Charity.

A round-the-clock shelter for people who are homeless in the area will end in less than a month.

By May 1, the House of Charity shelter will run out of money to provide a safe place to sleep for hundreds of men and women.

"Well over 200 homeless men and women who have been getting 24/7 sheltering will be forced to return to the streets of the City, the County and Spokane Valley," according to a news release from Catholic Charities, the nonprofit that runs HOC.

In January 2017, House of Charity expanded its overnight sleeping capacity to women, couples who didn't want to separate and animals (they historically only housed adult men). The extra capacity was bolstered by a surge of funds from the city of Spokane, Downtown Spokane Partnership and other businesses that donated money to fill the shelter's budget gap. But that money has run out.

Currently, there is no clear sense for how many hours per day House of Charity will be open,
or how and when the shelter will provide daily meals.

The shelter will continue providing overnight beds for 109 adult men.

Despite the setback, Catholic Charities is working toward building low-income apartments in the area. Three 50-unit buildings have gone up recently, and two more are under construction. Funds for those projects are still secured, Catholic Charities says in a statement.

"Without 24/7 sheltering, it is much more difficult to prepare our homeless population for the apartments that we are building for them," the news release reads. "There is also a profound financial, quality of life and human dignity cost to the region as we lose this resource."

More information will be available during a news conference scheduled for Thursday, April 13, at 11 am.

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Posted By on Tue, Apr 11, 2017 at 9:41 AM


ON INLANDER.COM


NEWS:
A man walked into a classroom at a San Bernardino, California, elementary school and shot his estranged wife along with two young students standing near her, before then shooting himself, police say. The man, woman, and an 8-year-old boy all died, and a 9-year-
click to enlarge Man sentenced to life for CdA road rage murder, United Airlines stirs outrage, and morning headlines
Would YOU fly United now after the airline's actions and its CEO's response?
old student is in stable condition.

NEWS: Libertarian conservatives in Idaho are furious at Gov. Butch Otter after he vetoed a cosmetology licensure bill and a civil forfeiture bill. 

MUSIC
: Keith Urban and Explosions in the Sky have scheduled local summer shows.

IN OTHER NEWS

Justice served
After a Coeur d'Alene resident, William "Bo" Kirk, flashed his lights at two men while driving in October, the men allegedly kidnapped and murdered him. One of those men was sentenced to life in prison on Monday. (Spokesman-Review)

Exposing explosive secrets
One of the many roads that have been washed out in the region revealed an extra surprise: dynamite. Two cases of dynamite were discovered near Bonners Ferry on Monday where a section of Myrtle Creek Road had been washed out. (KXLY)

PR nightmare
United Airlines is facing backlash for brutally dragging a man off of an overbooked flight, and now it's also facing backlash for its response to the backlash. CEO Oscar Munoz said it was an upsetting event "to all of us here at United" and apologized only for "having to re-accommodate these customers." This morning, United's stock price plummeted, costing the company a billion dollars in market cap value.

We're warning you
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has warned Russia to end its support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, asserting that his reign was "coming to an end."

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Monday, April 10, 2017

Posted By on Mon, Apr 10, 2017 at 5:11 PM


Gunfire in a San Bernardino, California, elementary school classroom today has left three people, including an 8-year-old student, dead in what police are calling a murder-suicide.

The boy, Jonathan Martinez, was airlifted along with another student to a hospital, where he succumbed to injuries. The second student, a 9-year-old who has not yet been identified, is in stable condition, the Associated Press reports.

Both students were reportedly standing near their teacher, 53-year-old Karen Elaine Smith, in a special needs classroom in North Park Elementary School when her estranged husband opened fire with a high-caliber revolver.

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"Governor Otter hasn't a Republican bone in his body," says Idaho State Rep. Vito Barbieri

Posted By on Mon, Apr 10, 2017 at 3:22 PM

click to enlarge Idaho libertarian conservatives furious about Otter's vetoes of licensing, civil forfeiture
Butch Otter's veto pen continues to rankle groups like the Idaho Freedom Foundation and the libertarian magazine Reason.

A very long time ago, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter ran as a libertarian conservative. But these days, a lot of libertarian-leaning conservatives view him with something closer to contempt.

"He had a real opportunity to demonstrate that he is on the side of liberty," says Wayne Hoffman, director of the Idaho Freedom Foundation. "He failed miserably."

The most recent outrage: Otter's vetoes of a cosmetology licensure bill and a civil forfeiture bill. Both are key issues for libertarians, who argue that requiring licenses for jobs like "barber" or "makeup artist" end up punishing entrepreneurs and newcomers, in order to artificially shield established businesses from would-be competition.

Meanwhile, when they look at civil forfeiture — where police can seize cash and other personal property without a conviction if they suspect it may be connected to certain crimes — they see serious due-process violations.

"Idaho Governor Flips Off Libertarians With Both Hands, Vetoes Asset Forfeiture AND Licensing Reforms," reads a headline at the libertarian Reason magazine. The subhead reads: "Is he trying to make libertarians angry, or is he just a puppet of special interests?"

North Idaho Rep. Vito Barbieri is not exactly a libertarian. (Here he is expounding on Islam a couple of years ago, for example.) But a recent Facebook post showed just how little respect some conservatives have for the Republican governor.

"Governor Otter hasn't a Republican bone in his body, acting more like a public school teacher bent on growing the Administrative State over public interests, than a Statesman with character, guts, and vision," Barbieri writes. "[Republicans in Name Only] like Otter put State needs first, Administrative bureaucrats second, and taxpayers last. It's too bad we have to wait two more years to put this self-proclaimed libertarian cowboy out to pasture."

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El Mercadito @ A.M. Cannon Park

Last Saturday of every month, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
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