Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Considering Spoon has been playing and recording for 24 years, the Austin-based band has probably reached its zenith, popularity-wise. It's hard to imagine some sort of bigger commercial breakthrough coming down the line for the angular art-rockers, especially in a pop-music environment where guitars are almost criminal.
It's a damn shame, though, that more people aren't privy to the wonders of leader Britt Daniel and his merry cohorts' brand of dance-floor-ready rock 'n' roll. Don't get me wrong; Spoon packed the Knitting Factory pretty full Monday night, and they have a dedicated fanbase, thanks to their regular appearances on the festival circuit and catalog of excellent albums like Girls Can Tell (2001), Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007) and this year's beauty, Hot Thoughts.
As I was standing on the Knitting Factory floor just in front of the stage, surrounded with moving, grooving fans ranging from young dudes in Primus shirts to twentysomething women dancing in circles to middle-aged cats like myself doing the Old Rock Guy headbob — all joyfully enjoying "Got Nuffin" or "Don't You Evah" or the tasty new jam "Can I Set Next To You" — all I kept thinking was, "These guys should be huge!"
Tags: Music , Spoon , Knitting Factory , Image
Jud Heathcote was a coaching powerhouse, winning a national title in 1979 at Michigan State after directing his Magic Johnson-led Spartans to a championship win against Larry Bird and Indiana State in one of the best March Madness finales ever.
Heathcote moved to Spokane upon his retirement and often attended Gonzaga games between watching his old Spartans on TV. Heathcote died Monday at 90, and Inlander publisher Ted McGregor Jr. shared a story he wrote for the paper years ago.
This story was originally published on March 26, 2009, under the headline "Jud and the Juggernaut":
The way Jud Heathcote tells it, today marks the 30th anniversary of the day America tuned in to see his green blazer and trademark comb-over. “The reason that game was the most watched ever,” Heathcote deadpans, “was that everyone wanted to see me coach.”
“That game” was the NCAA championship game of March 26, 1979 — and his Michigan State Spartans won it. Oh, and it featured a couple guys you may have heard of — the Spartans’ sophomore sensation Magic Johnson and Indiana State’s Larry Bird, who had led his underdog Sycamores to a 33-0 record up to that point.
The game stands out for a few reasons: For one, it remains the highest-rated game ever televised in the history of basketball. And what came next was huge, too: As Heathcote puts it, “Magic and Larry probably saved professional basketball — the NBA was really declining when they came along.”
Tags: Sports , Jud Heathcote , Michigan State , Spartans , NCAA Tournament , Image
Accurate information, and getting it quickly, is essential for emergency first responders. The Spokane Fire Department is working to bolster both with its new drone program.
Nearly a year after Spokane City Council gave the OK for the city's fire department to use the unmanned aircraft, the program is getting off the ground.
The fire department already has three drones that cost about $1,150 each, and is waiting for a fourth, which comes with a $9,000 price tag, says Lt. Todd Powell, the drone program manager.
Altogether, the department has spent $27,898.27 on drones, cameras, batteries and other accessories, according to city spokesman Brian Coddington.
The department has launched its drones in only a few real-life emergency situations so far this year, but 10 firefighters are currently trained and licensed to fly them through the Federal Aviation Administration.
"The whole point of the drone program is so we have another way to collect information to make more informed decisions," Powell says, adding that the aircraft will give responders invaluable information quicker and without putting lives at risk.
Tags: Spokane Fire Department , drones , News , Image
ON INLANDER.COM
NEWS: Eastern Washington University has partnered with Microsoft for a new data analytics degree program.
NEWS: An associate of President Trump boasted in 2015 that a Moscow business deal would "get Donald elected." (via New York Times)
IN OTHER NEWS
A diet for downtown
Spokane City Council OK'd the latest trend in transportation these days: a "road diet" on Main Avenue that would cut the road to two lanes but feature a separated bike lane and expanded sidewalk. (Spokesman-Review)
Teens kill man during argument
An 18- and a 19-year-old killed a man in Airway Heights who was trying to break up an argument between the two teens. They've been arrested for second-degree murder. (KXLY)
Uhh... sorry?
Officers in Kootenai County walked up to a man's house and arrested him for burglary in front of his 16-year-old son. Only one problem: They had the wrong guy. Kootenai County prosecutors have admitted they mixed up the paperwork; the wrongly accused man doesn't feel any better. (KREM)
Testing the limits
North Korea launched another missile yesterday, this time directly over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean, prompting alerts and sirens in Japan before the missile flew over the country. (Washington Post)
Trump to Texas
President Trump is traveling to Texas to see the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey, which has dropped more than 30 inches of rain in some parts of the state and forced hundreds of people to be rescued. (Associated Press)
Tags: Morning Briefing , road diet , downtown Spokane , Main Avenue , Airway Heights , killing , Kootenai County , arrest , President Trump , Hurricane Harvey , Texas , North Korea , missile , Japan , News , Image
Monday, August 28, 2017
School officials say the collaboration is unique in American higher education
Eastern Washington University has announced a collaboration with Microsoft on a data analytics degree program that the school says is unlike any other in the country.
Starting this fall, EWU will begin offering courses from Microsoft's data science program to seniors in the school's College of Business and Public Administration. The Microsoft program, called Microsoft Professional Program, is typically offered only online. The new collaboration with EWU means that students can earn a professional distinction certificate in data science from Microsoft, along with a Bachelor of Science in data analytics from EWU.
"We're the only institution in the entire United States that has the Microsoft Professional Program in data science integrated into a B.S. degree," says Scott Gordon, EWU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Data science is a rapidly growing field used in a variety of business and industry sectors — "everything from higher education, to banking, to the insurance industry," Gordon says. By 2018, there will be a shortage of 1.5 million managers and analysts who will know how to use big data effectively, according to the McKinsey Global Institute, a private-sector think tank.
Gordon says he doesn't have to look far to point to an example of big data at work. EWU, fittingly, saw the need for this partnership with Microsoft as part of its process of analyzing large amounts of data regarding the optimal sequences of courses students should take in order to be successful.
"Most decisions now rely on the ability to take big data and make sense out of them, and understand the science behind them," Gordon says.
Tags: Eastern Washington University , Microsoft , data science , data analytics , Bachelor of Science , News , Image
ON INLANDER.COM
NEWS: Construction has been halted on a new behavioral health building at the Mann-Grandstaff Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Spokane after excavation work uncovered soil that was different than expected.
NEWS: Northwest Spokane's Excelsior Youth Center will get new roofing with help from a grant of more than $200,000.
NEWS: With the "immigration status" Proposition 1 tossed from the November ballot, read about what really constitutes a "sanctuary city."
NEWS: "If I had my wish and I could change one dynamic for the community today, for this community, it would be restricting the government's ability to take your driver's license away," Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich says. "You take away a driver's license, you take away a person's ability to be successful, to get a job."
WHAT'S UP? Looking for something to do this week? Try Guns N' Roses, Spoon, Pig Out in the Park, Fall Fest and First Friday, for starters.
IN OTHER NEWS
Harrowing days following Harvey
Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 storm on Friday; by Sunday, at least five people had been reported dead in East Texas, with many others fighting to get to safety as floodwater turned Houston freeways into rivers and trapped people in vehicles and homes. Houston's hospitals are also becoming victims of the storm. (New York Times)
A reporter in Houston spotted a truck driver stuck in the flood. She was able to flag down police who saved his life live on TV. Holy crap. pic.twitter.com/v2nNjxJ12P
— Jessie 🇰🇪 (@JMKTV) August 27, 2017
No more 'no vouchers accepted' in Spokane
Starting in September, Spokane landlords won't be able to say they don't accept vouchers as a source of income for tenant rent, but that doesn't mean they have to rent to people with vouchers if they don't meet other requirements, the Spokesman-Review's Rachel Alexander reports.
Pardon me, Mr. President
As the nation's attention was largely turned toward the impending storm about to hit Texas, President Trump pardoned former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Friday night for crimes that used "state power toward racist ends," James Fallows writes for The Atlantic.
Tags: news , Hurricane Harvey , President Trump , Joe Arpaio , vouchers , Spokane , Mann-Grandstaff , VA , Excelsior Youth Center , sanctuary city , Ozzie Knezovich , suspended license , Image
Sunday, August 27, 2017
The end of August already? How'd that happen? Snow will be flying any day now. Better get out and about while you can, using our handy event listings and Staff Picks as your guide. Here are some highlights of the week ahead:
Monday, Aug. 28
MUSIC | One of the most consistently great live bands you'll ever see comes back through in the form of Austin indie rockers Spoon, headlining the Knitting Factory. They'll be joined by rising stars White Reaper, who we interviewed in the latest issue. What a double bill! Here's a little sample from Spoon:
Tuesday, Aug. 29
FILM | The Garland Theater's Summer Camp film series comes to a close with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Terry Gilliam's solid attempt at taking Hunter Thompson's classic book to the silver screen. Benicio Del Toro and Johnny Depp are both in fine form.
MUSIC | If hip-hop is your thing, be sure to head to The Pin! for Mark Battles, headlining a gig that also includes Young Neves and Lee Haze.
Wednesday, Aug. 30
FESTIVAL | It's that time of year again. Time to Pig Out in the Park! It runs through Labor Day.
WORDS | Best-selling mystery author Louise Penny swings by Spokane for a talk and reading from her brand-new novel, Glass Houses. It's happening at The Bing, and it's free if you buy her book from Auntie's, or $5 without buying a copy.
Tags: What's Up? , Image , Video
Friday, August 25, 2017
Construction has been halted on a new building at the Mann-Grandstaff Veterans Affairs Medical Center that is planned to house intensive outpatient mental health and education space.
Crews working on the expansion to the existing mental health space found a vein of soil unlike the ground around it while excavating for the foundation. Because of that, more geotechnical research will be required before the work is resumed, according to a press release from the center.
For now, the site is exposed, and, based on the geotechnical results, the building may have to be redesigned to mitigate for the difference, says Bret Bowers, a spokesman for Mann-Grandstaff.
"Delays in construction projects aren’t uncommon in the construction world," Bowers says. "We didn’t foresee this, but we’re doing all we can to move past this setback and continue on."
The expansion would add a two-story building with room for mental health services, as well as educational space for medical residents who study through the VA.
About 100 mental health professionals currently help about 7,500 veterans a year at the center and its associated clinics, Bowers says.
The new building was designed to have a multipurpose room in the basement and educational space on the first floor. Even with the delay, which may depend on a new budget cycle, Bowers says the medical center will still continue teaching medical students, who currently rotate through the facility coming from dozens of universities.
"The VA has helped 70 percent of America’s doctors get their medical licenses," through some amount of training at VA hospitals, Bowers says. "Our education component is still ongoing."
Mike McLean at the Spokane Journal of Business originally broke the news regarding the building, citing Bowers as saying that the cost to redesign the "nearly $8 million" facility would put the project over budget.
Read more about the proposed facility in McLean's June 2016 report.
Tags: VA , Veterans Affairs , Mann-Grandstaff , mental health , behavioral health , News , Image
For at least the past eight months, water has dripped from a leaky roof at Spokane's Excelsior Youth Center into several strategically placed buckets.
Thanks to a $217,000 grant through the city's Community Development Block Grant Program, the youth center that specializes in treating foster kids with mental and behavioral health issues can now fix the leaks.
"Our proposal aimed to improve the quality of life for our residents who are abused and neglected children," Excelsior CEO Andrew Hill says in a prepared statement. "Repairing the damaged and leaking roofs will help protect the environment of engagement, comfort and trust we work hard to build with the youth we serve."
City staff visited the youth center and shelter — which the Inlander wrote about extensively in April — earlier this year to evaluate the extent of the problem, according to a news release from the city. Neighborhood councils then gave Excelsior, located in northwest Spokane's Indian Trail neighborhood, $10,000. The additional $217,000 will enable the shelter to fix the roof completely.
Excelsior is the state's largest Behavioral Rehabilitation Services facility.
"A primary goal of the [Community Housing and Human Services Department] is to make sure that the most vulnerable in our community have access to safe and stable housing," says Dawn Kinder, director of the CHHS Department, which oversees the block grant funds. "These repairs will ensure that young people receiving services and housing through Excelsior have just that."
The city's CHHS department has also been involved in the push for a 24/7 shelter model in Spokane, says city spokeswoman Julie Happy, as well as the 100 Youth 100 Day housing challenge — an effort to find homes for 100 young people between ages 13 and 24. The city exceeded its goal, finding homes for 102 youths by the end of the 100 days.
The city's CHHS department has about $3 million in Community Development Block Grant Program funds to give out annually.
Tags: Excelsior Youth Center , youth , City of Spokane. Community Development Block Grant Program , Community , Housing and Human Services Department , News , Image
Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich has had his fair share of frustrations with government policy over the years.
During a speech to graduates of the Head Start to the Construction Trades training program at the East Central Community Center on Thursday, he said that if he had a magic wand that could limit the government in one way, he'd choose to eliminate its ability to take away your drivers license for failing to pay tickets or fees.
"If I had my wish and I could change one dynamic for the community today, for this community, it would be restricting the government's ability to take your driver's license away," Knezovich says. "You take away a driver's license you take away a person's ability to be successful, to get a job."
Washington state has a long list of ways you can lose your license, many that have to do with reckless or inebriated driving. But you can also lose your driver's license for failing to appear in court, pay a traffic ticket or pay child support. (Even Seattle rap sensation Macklemore has had his license suspended because of an unpaid ticket.)
"Now, if you're out there getting DUIs and all that? I'm going to take your license away," Knezovich says. "If it's simply because you couldn't pay a fine? There's got to be a better way to get that money."
Many of the crowd of construction training graduates have had serious challenges in their lives, including long runs of unemployment, poverty, drug addiction, and criminal records. But Knezovich points out that the lack of a driver's license is a major barrier that many people have faced in trying to turn their lives around.
"You don't make people be successful by taking their only hope of being successful away," Knezovich says. "That's how you get to work. That's how you get to school. That's how the whole dynamic changes."
Tags: Ozzie Knezovich , driver's licenses , Center for Justice , Virla Spencer , News , Image
