Wednesday, September 27, 2017
After a months-long process that stirred controversy among local Republicans, Gov. Jay Inslee has chosen Mary Kuney to be the next Spokane County commissioner.
Kuney, the county's chief deputy auditor, was among three candidates chosen by the Spokane County Republican Party to fill the open seat vacated by Shelly O'Quinn, who resigned in June. County Treasurer Rob Chase was the first choice of the Spokane GOP precinct committee officers, Kuney the second, and John Guarisco, a marketing consultant, was the third choice.
Kuney, in a statement, said she was "humbled and honored" to be appointed to the county commission.
"I'd like to thank all the people in Spokane County who sent in letters on my behalf, as well as the many elected officials who endorsed me for the appointment," Kuney says. "I would also like to thank the Governor and his staff for acting quickly."
The choice was only sent to Gov. Inslee after the two current commissioners, Al French and Josh Kerns, were unable to decide on one out of the three candidates. Local Republican Party members have said that Kerns preferred Rob Chase, but French preferred Kuney.
In announcing that no decision would be reached by the commissioners earlier this month, French said that libertarian-leaning members of the local Republican Party tried to strong-arm French into voting for Chase. Some criticized French for not picking the top choice of the Republican PCOs, though French responded by pointing out that nowhere in the state constitution does it mandate that he was required to pick the top choice.
"Since we began this process back in July, it has been long and arduous," French said in a statement. "Mary is going to be hitting the ground running. I know she's up for the challenge, and I look forward to working with her to get the business of the county done."
Kerns said all three were "great candidates." He says that Kuney's background as a certified public accountant will help the county, which is facing a budget shortfall for 2018.
"I anticipate having a great working relationship with Mary as we continue working on behalf of the citizens of Spokane County," Kerns said.
Tags: Spokane County Commission , Mary Kuney , Josh Kerns , Al French , Jay Inslee , News , Image
We're not big enough, educated enough or connected enough
"Hey Amazon," the Spokesman-Review asks this morning, "Why not us?"
We can answer that. The Spokesman-Review story — about Spokane joining the crowd of cities begging Amazon to locate its second headquarters in their city — discusses some of the reasons that Spokane would be a "long shot" pick for the tech behemoth.
But it also dedicates a big chunk of its front page to bragging about five reasons Spokane could be a great choice, including the World's Fair we held 43 years ago.
True, there are plenty of reasons why Spokane can be attractive to certain types of big companies, especially in the aerospace industry. We have a direct rail line to Seattle. We have a low cost of living. Until recently, we were both near nature and near perfect. We have heart, hustle, spunk, gumption, and not one but three Red Robin dining establishments.
But Amazon isn't just looking for a place with gorgeous views and a garbage-eating goat sculpture that actually eats garbage. It has some specific requirements. And unless it's willing to overlook those requirements, Spokane doesn't have a chance.
Amazon wants a region with more than a million people.
This one is explicit. Even if you include Coeur d'Alene, the Combined Metropolitan Statistical Area of our region, at just over 710,000 people, doesn't even crack three-quarters of what Amazon is asking for. If you only look at Spokane County, we're barely half a million.
Amazon wants a diverse population.
According to the census, Spokane and Spokane Valley are
Tags: Business , Amazon , headquarters , Spokane , Spokesman-Review , GSI , reality , News , Image
Schools in the Reardan-Edwall School District were locked down briefly last week after a student posted on social media a picture of himself holding an assault rifle with a comment that he was "ready to gun down some bitches," according to the district superintendent.
"Obviously, we took it seriously," Morgan says.
The posts did not make any direct threats against specific students. Someone reported it through the district's anonymous tip line the next day, and the school was locked down for a few hours. Morgan says when the school principal confronted the student, he refused to talk and ran out of the building. Police arrived and detained the student within 20 minutes.
Police found no weapons at the school. Reardan Police Chief Gary Redmond says the student was detained and interviewed. He has not been charged with any crime, and his name has not been made public. Redmond says the investigation is ongoing.
The school lock-down occurred eight days after a deadly shooting at Freeman High School, where a student shot and killed one student and injured three others, authorities say.
Tags: Reardan , Reardan-Edwall School District , online threats , Freeman High School , school shooting , Marcus Morgan , News , Image
The STA Plaza? The new STCU building? Iron Goat Brewing? HDG's headquarters?
There already are awards for the best Spokane architecture, and awards for the best Spokane landscaping design. But what about where the interior, exterior and landscaping designs all interact with the surrounding area, transforming the property into something gorgeous and iconic?
That's what the Mayor’s Urban Design Awards are all about. The awards have been running biannually for the past decade.
"Two years ago, the Spokane Tribal Gathering place won the Mayor’s Urban Design award," says Omar Akkari, an
But don't think the choice is just being left up to the snobby elites in their ivory towers. Voting has opened for the "People's Choice" award: Pick from seven options, ranging from the updated STA Plaza to Iron Goat Brewing's building.
In previous years, the People's Choice award has gone to the Saranac Commons, Martin Luther King Jr. Way, the Bissinger Building Remodel & Addition, the Fox Theater, and the Ben Burr Building.
You can vote online here, or vote in person at River Park Square until Oct. 6.
But wait: Before you vote, the city of Spokane wants you to take into account the "qualities of good design."
Ask yourselves questions about each building:
Does it appeal to our "intellect, emotions, senses and spirit?" Does it provide for public safety, by taking into account lighting, visibility, and pedestrian access? Does it clearly show which parts of the property are public and which are private? Can it be used for a wide array of activities? Is it designed for pedestrians first, cyclists second and cars last? Is it accessible to everyone, no matter their age or ability? Does it create a strong sense of "place," something that gives the community happiness and meaning? Is it easy to navigate and find your way around in? Is it good for the environment?
Then, and only then, pick from
Tags: STA Plaza , STCU , Iron Goat Brewing , WSU Spokane , Spokane Teaching Health Clinic , Pharmaceutical & Biomedical Science Building , HDG Architecture , ALSC Architects , Mayor's Urban Design Awards , News , Arts & Culture , Image
A couple of new concert announcements came down the pike that should please fans of '80s/'90s-era rock and country.
Garth Brooks, one of the biggest names in the country game during his commercial heyday, is playing Spokane Arena on Nov. 11. Tickets go on sale Friday, Oct. 6, and they are ONLY available by visiting this website or by calling 844-442-7842. Tickets will NOT be for sale at the arena box office, fans can only buy eight tickets at a time, and ALL tickets, no matter the location in the arena, will cost $74.98 — and that includes all the fees and service charges. Trisha Yearwood will open the show.
How big was Brooks in the '90s? According to the Recording Industry Association of America, he's the best-selling solo artist of all time in the United States, having sold more than 148 million albums. He essentially retired from recording and touring in 2001 to focus on his family, but he's been a best-selling touring act since hitting the road again in 2009 — first for a lengthy residency in Las Vegas, and then back on tour in 2014. This will be his first Spokane concert since 1998.
Night Ranger blew up from FM radio staples to MTV mainstays thanks to "Sister Christian" and a slew of follow-up hits, and they'll be headlining the Northern Quest Resort & Casino pavilion stage on Jan. 18, 2018.
Tickets for Night Ranger are $35, $45 and $65 and go on sale this Saturday, Sept. 30, at 8:30 am via the Northern Quest website, at the casino box office or by calling 509-481-2800.
Tags: Garth Brooks , Spokane Arena , Night Ranger , Northern Quest Resort & Casino , Music , Image
ON INLANDER.COM
The power of the pen
Washington poet laureate Tod Marshall, a Spokane native, took a metaphorical knee in a Seattle Times column, ripping President Trump for his continuing attacks on NFL players exercising their First Amendment rights.
Another one bites the (coal) dust
The Washington State Department of Ecology denied a crucial water quality permit to a massive coal terminal in Longview that would result in 16 trains a day through Spokane.
In search of solutions
Spokane City Council wanted your solutions to homelessness: Here they are.
IN OTHER NEWS
West Nile virus is here
The first instances of West Nile virus have been reported in Washington — specifically, two cases in Spokane County. The disease is commonly spread through mosquito bites. (Spokane Public Radio)
• From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: What you need to know about West Nile virus.
White House says "No!" to Puerto Rico
Despite requests from members of Congress, the Trump administration refused to waive nearly century-old shipping restrictions in order to get much-needed fuel and supplies to the 3.4 million Americans on hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, citing the island's damaged ports. (The Hill)
• The "very big ocean" between the U.S. mainland and Puerto Rico is no excuse for the lack of aid to the island, one week after it was struck by Hurricane Maria. (Washington Post)
• The New York Times examines the Jones Act, which bans shipping between coasts by any but U.S.-flagged vessels and was intended to make Alaska dependent on Seattle; it was named after its sponsor, a four-term Washington senator who died in office.
Moore wins in Alabama
Roy Moore, the "Ten Commandments Judge" who has twice been removed from the bench and has stated that "homosexual conduct should be illegal," won Alabama's GOP Senate runoff, defeating current Sen. Luther Strange, who was appointed to succeed longtime Sen. Jeff Sessions — now Attorney General — earlier this year. (Washington Post)
• In a state where President Trump won 62 percent of the vote last November, his support was no help to Strange, whose loss set the stage for a GOP civil war. (Washington Post)
• Trump, not known to delete his tweets, did just that last night after Strange lost. (The Hill)
DEA head to step down
Reportedly "dismayed" by President Trump's lack of respect for the law, Chuck Rosenberg, acting head of the Drug Enforcement Agency and a former federal prosecutor, will resign by the end of the week. (New York Times)
• Rosenberg was no friend of cannabis and those who used it, both recreationally and medicinally, but his replacement could be far more hostile. (Leafly)
Disloyalty oath at Interior?
In a speech before the National Petroleum Council, President Trump's Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, a former Montana congressman, asserted that 30 percent of Interior Department personnel are disloyal to President Trump and promised "huge" changes in the department. (Washington Post)
Trump invokes Tillman
Former Arizona Cardinals safety and Army Corporal Pat Tillman, who was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004, has become the latest partisan symbol in the battle over NFL players who kneel during the national anthem after to one of Trump's most recent tweets; his widow, Marie, isn't happy about it. (New York Times)
How 20th-century of them
Saudi Arabia's King Salman issued a decree that the kingdom would, for the first time, lift a ban on allowing women to drive. Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world to forbid women from driving; women who drive in public risk being arrested and fined. (BBC)
Twice the inanity
Twitter announced plans to test doubling the text limit of a post on its service, from 140 to 280 characters. (New York Times)
Tags: Morning Briefing , Tod Marshall , President Trump , Department of Ecology , coal terminal , Spokane City Council , West Nile virus , Puerto Rico , Alabama , Roy Moore , Ryan Zinke , Interior Department , Pat Tillman , Saudi Arabia , Twitter , News , Image
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Eastern Washington takes a considerable amount of pride in the fact that the state's poet laureate, Tod Marshall, is a Spokane resident and Gonzaga professor.
His term as poet laureate is in the home stretch as he nears the completion of two years scampering around the state, meeting with groups large and small, encouraging people to find the poet inside themselves and enjoy the words of their fellow Washingtonians.
Lest you think Marshall is a quiet academic type, content to wallow in the wonderful wordsmiths of yesteryear, you should maybe check out his column for the Seattle Times, published online Tuesday and in the major daily in Wednesday's edition.
In his column, titled "Let's all take a knee to stand for justice and to pray for a return to decency," Marshall delves into this weekend's hysterical public relations war between the current president and the professional football players who are daring to protest for the rights of black Americans and against police brutality. Marshall is particularly perturbed by the president's use of language to sow division in the country:
"The president devalues language, abuses truth and leeches the meaning from words. As Holocaust scholar Timothy Snyder reminds us, without agreed upon language there can be no shared truths. Without shared truths democracy fails.
"Further, without shared understanding of language, we cannot have honest and open conversations about race and social justice, about economic inequalities and health-care policy, about the history of discrimination in our country and the possible routes toward transcending mistreatment of any part of the population."
Marshall's term ends in early 2018, and no doubt he'll be heard from again on the state of the country — in poems or columns.
You can read the entire Seattle Times piece here.
Tags: For Fun! , Comment , Tod Marshall , protest , Image
In the latest blow to what would be the largest coal terminal in North America, the Washington State Department of Ecology on Tuesday denied a needed water quality permit to Millennium Bulk Terminals.
Environmental groups and Ecology viewed the decision as essentially killing the project, which is one of the only major fossil fuel export operations still proposed for the state. However, the company has 30 days to appeal the decision.
The Longview terminal, more than five years into the permitting process, would ship up to 44 million metric tons of coal to Asia each year.
That coal would pass through Spokane on its way from Wyoming to the port in Western Washington, with eight loaded trains headed west and eight empty trains returning to the Powder River Basin every day.
The permit that Ecology denied Tuesday was needed under the federal Clean Water Act before the company could dredge more than 40 acres of the Columbia riverbed, fill 24 acres of wetland, and install a new trestle and docks.
In a statement, Ecology said the permit was denied because the terminal “would have caused significant and unavoidable harm to nine environmental areas: air quality, vehicle traffic, vessel traffic, rail capacity, rail safety, noise pollution, social and community resources, cultural resources, and tribal resources.”
Tags: coal , Longview , Millennium Bulk Terminals , coal terminal , coal train , Spokane , Washington , Department of Ecology , permit , denied , News , Image
When the city of Spokane laid down $150,000 in boulders near Interstate 90 and Bernard Street late last month, in part to discourage homeless people from camping in that area and leaving behind litter, the reaction was swift.
Many took to social media to condemn city leaders, with more than a few suggesting other ways that $150,000 could have been better spent.
So Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart invited concerned citizens to come share their solutions for homelessness. Dozens took him up on that offer at the Monday, Sept. 25 meeting, which was set aside as an open forum.
And while there was the airing of grievances, many offered fixes to problems:
Storage lockers for homeless people to keep their possessions in:
Stuckart mentioned he'd heard this suggestion from multiple people leading up to the forum Monday.
More medical access on-site at shelters to minimize fire calls:
Richie Andal, a man who's been living at the House of Charity shelter, told the council that since the boulders went in and moved people toward the nearby shelters, he thought there'd been more of a burden placed on the shelter. Specifically, he said it seemed like there'd been more fire department calls, with seven calls to the shelter on Friday last week.
Tags: homelessness , forum , solutions , Spokane , Spokane City Council , Ben Stuckart , homeless , housing , affordability , issues , News , Image
ON INLANDER.COM
MUSIC: Local punk bands fronted by women are united in solidarity and protest against a culture of sexual assault in the music scene.
NEWS: Cuts to teen pregnancy prevention programs will mean less education for thousands of Eastern Washington teens.
IN OTHER NEWS
Third candidate's a charm?
With Gov. Jay Inslee now picking the new Spokane County commissioner, the candidate thought to have the worst chance of being picked by the commission, marketing consultant John Guarisco, may get a renewed opportunity. (Spokesman-Review)
Health care repeal fails
The effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act fell apart on Monday, with Republicans again unable to find enough votes. Now, it doesn't look like they'll be able to deliver on one of President Trump's campaign promises any time this year. (New York Times)
'The hypocrisy is stunning"
Half a dozen White House advisers have used private email accounts for government business since President Trump has been in office. Trump spent months railing against a certain presidential candidate, bringing entire rallies to chant "Lock her up!" over the very same issue. (New York Times)
Take with a grain of salt
The FBI released new crime stats for 2016 yesterday, showing a decrease in violent crime and an increase in property crime over the previous year. But because the statistics are taken from a new reporting system, the numbers don't ultimately mean all that much. (KXLY)
Fraud, corruption charged in NCAA
The FBI arrested four assistant basketball coaches — from Arizona, Auburn, USC and Oklahoma State — for taking bribes to steer college stars toward certain sports agents and advisers. (Associated Press)
Oh, and North Korea thinks we've declared war
North Korea interpreted one of President Trump's tweets in which he said leader Kim Jong-un "won't be around much longer" as a declaration of war, and the country is actively boosting defenses in preparation for a potential attack. (Reuters)
Tags: Spokane , crime stats , private email , NCAA , college basketball , fraud , corruption , North Korea , President Trump , News , Image
