Bloglander

Welcome to The Fuzz, featuring a rundown of law enforcement-related news from Eastern Washington, North Idaho and elsewhere throughout the Pacific Northwest.

This week: a conversation about use of force reform, murder charges in domestic violence-related death, a backlog of heroin tests in Idaho, and one Freeman High thief pleaded guilty.

1. Spokane police ombudsman and police chief to re-evaluate use of force policy
Police ombudsman Bart Logue and SPD Chief Craig Meidl announced last week that they intend to consider changes to the department's use of force policy.

One fatal shooting in particular has lingered in the back of Logue's mind. In April 2016, officers fixed their guns on a man outside the House of Charity shelter. The man held a knife to his chest and pleaded with officers to kill him.

The man was killed by police gunfire, and the officers were cleared of criminal charges and internal policy violations. But during internal reviews, one officer, who fired a rifle, told investigators that he aimed for the man's head.

Thanks to some stellar D in Salt Lake City and another horrid road trip for UW, Washington State took control of the Pac-12 North over the weekend, while Eastern Washington and Whitworth both won as well. Let's break down the weekend's football action:


COUGS GET DEFENSIVE AT UTAH
With Luke Falk setting the Pac-12's all-time record for touchdown passes and the Cougar defense forcing seven turnovers, Washington State cruised to a win at Utah on Saturday in a game that wasn't really as close as the final 33-25 score.

Falk will get the headlines for setting the record in his home state — he threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns — but the real story of the game was defensive tackle Hercules Mata'afa. He was seemingly everywhere in the Utah backfield, tallying three sacks and countless disruptions.

Gonzaga struck a familiar balance of old and new in the team’s 97-69 opening night victory over Texas Southern on Friday at the Kennel.

The upperclassmen in the starting lineup led the team statistically. Junior point guard Josh Perkins scored a team-high 20 points, hitting six of 10 shots from three-point range. Senior forward Johnathan Williams contributed 16 points and eight rebounds, while fellow senior and strong defender Silas Melson played a solid all-around game, with 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals .

Despite those numbers from Gonzaga’s trio of veterans, it was freshman Corey Kispert’s 10-point performance, in an all-around solid collegiate debut, that stands out the most. Not that Gonzaga’s youngest players stepping in and shining from day one is anything new.

“He’s somebody physically that is ready to walk right up there,” Bulldogs head coach Mark Few said of Kispert.

Standing 6-foot-6 and weighing 215 pounds, Kispert is a menace on the wing, capable of draining threes or driving to slam home dunks. For a guy just out of high school, his game is about as complete as they come, though that’s become quite common.

It's been one year.

Even in that relatively short amount of time, it's difficult to keep up with the daily — at times hourly — stream of gaffes, bungles, leaks, tweets and reversals in Obama-era policies pouring out of the Trump administration.

In an attempt to track the pieces of Trump-related news most relevant to Washington state, we're keeping a running tally of each time Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson sues the Trump administration.

We're at 24 so far;  some of which were initiated by Ferguson's office and others where he's joined lawsuits filed in other states.

In May, the Boston Globe reported that Trump had been sued 134 times since his inauguration — "nearly three times the number of his three predecessors in their early months combined."

Washington's challenges run the gamut including the travel ban (versions 1, 2 and 3), the transgender military ban and attempts to roll back environmental protections.

Also making appearances: ceiling fans, portable air conditioners, the ozone layer, greenhouse gases, birth control and student loans.

Here we go:

1) The original travel ban lawsuit, Jan. 30, 2017
Lawsuit: Washington v. Trump filed less than one month into Trump's presidency and challenged the constitutionality of the president's executive order on immigration. The order would have temporarily restricted entry into the United States for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, as well as bans on refugees.
Outcome: Judge James Robart's decision to temporarily stop Trump's executive order from taking effect was upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in February. Rather than appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Trump administration retracted the order.
Other states involved: Minnesota, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Oregon.

ON INLANDER.COM

FOOD: Maryhill Winery's new tasting room in Kendall Yards (Hey, neighbor!) opens next weekend. Check out Chey Scott's inside scoop, plus some interesting Thanksgiving recipes.

NEWS: Did you know that bees are brought from all over the country (including here) to help pollinate California almonds? Or that there are bee thieves?!


IN OTHER NEWS

Earthquake kills more than 400 in Iran & Iraq
A 7.3-magnitude quake on the Iran-Iraq border Sunday night destroyed buildings, killed more than 400, and injured thousands. (New York Times)

Spokane police arrest truck driver accused of striking, killing woman
Spokane police have arrested the driver of a pickup truck accused of hitting and killing a woman at East Holland Avenue and North Colton Street on Saturday night, then fleeing the scene. (Spokesman-Review)

Freedom of speech... or nah
The Supreme Court announced it will hear three First Amendment cases at the start of next year, the Washington Post reports, including a California case regarding whether the state is legally requiring crisis pregnancy centers, which typically push women to keep pregnancies, to also provide information on the state's contraception and abortion services.

Guinea pigs for gas tax replacement?
Washington state is still looking for about 1,000 volunteers to test a new method of taxing people to pay for roads (eventually by miles driven, rather than gallons of gas purchased); they want people from both rural and urban areas, with low and high gas mileage, the Yakima Herald reports.

A bevy of good times await when you peruse our event listings and Staff Picks, so you should totally do that. But if you don't have time, here are some highlights of the week ahead:

Monday, Nov. 13

FOOD | You don't want to watch sausage making, generally speaking, but doing it yourself? Hell, yes! Delicious sausage is the result! You can take a sausage-making class tonight at Second Harvest.

Tuesday, Nov. 14

THEATER | Join star Jamie Farr and see Tuesdays With Morrie at the INB tonight. He's Klinger from M*A*S*H, people; show some respect!

UPDATE: With the Apple Cup at Husky Stadium looming in two weeks, the Cougars came up with their most impressive road performance this season on Saturday, defeating Utah 33-25 in Salt Lake City as Luke Falk threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Tavares Martin Jr., a 1-yard TD to Kyle Sweet — the 117th of his career, breaking the Pac-12 record set by USC's Matt Barkley from 2009 to 2012 — and a 6-yard TD to Isaiah Johnson-Mack, and Erik Powell kicked field goals of 44, 32, 28 and 33 yards.

Falk threw 69 passes, completing 40 (10 to Martin) for 311 yards, boosting his career total to 14,124 yards, eighth all-time in NCAA Division I; his 118 TD passes ranks 10th. WSU's defense, led by DT Hercules Mata'afa (8 tackles, 5 for loss, 3 sacks) forced seven turnovers and picked off Utes QB Tyler Huntley three times. Utah scored on Matt Gay's 56-yard field goal, Zack Moss' 2- and 1-yard runs, and Huntley's 12-yard pass to Raelon Singleton.

Cougars senior LB Isaac Dotson returned to his starting position, playing for the first time since leaving the Oct. 7 game at Oregon injured; another senior LB, Dylan Hanser, left the game in the second quarter with an undisclosed injury and did not return.


Luke Falk sat out his junior year of football at Logan (Utah) High School after transferring back to his hometown from a school in Southern California, and as a result was lightly recruited as a senior, drawing interest only from Cornell, Idaho and Wyoming.

Instead, he opted for Washington State — which offered him only a chance to walk on — intrigued by the possibility of playing in Mike Leach's high-powered Air Raid offense. He stepped in on the first day of November 2014 after Connor Halliday's season- (and career-) ending broken leg against USC and started the final three games, throwing a whopping 241 passes and completing 152 of them, for a dozen touchdowns; the job has been his ever since.

Neither Falk nor the Cougars regret his decision: In last Saturday's stirring, come-from behind 24-21 victory over Stanford, then leading the Pac-12 North Division, he threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner late in the fourth quarter in his final home game. He now holds the Pac-12 record for career passing yards (13,801) and with 115 touchdown passes, needs two to surpass USC's Matt Barkley for the conference record. 

Through a Pac-12 scheduling quirk, Falk has never quarterbacked the Cougars in his home state; that changes Saturday afternoon (2:30 pm; Pac-12 Network, KXLY 920 AM), when No. 19 Washington State (now 9-2, 6-2 Pac-12), seeking its ninth victory and still in contention for the North Division title, travels to Salt Lake City to face Utah. The Cougars have been anything but road warriors lately, dropping their past two games away from Pullman by a combined score of 95-40.

MARYHILL WINERY OPENS KENDALL YARDS SPOT NEXT WEEKEND

Just in time for the start of the holiday season, a new downtown Spokane tasting room for the Goldendale, Washington-based Maryhill Winery hosts its grand opening next weekend, Nov. 18-19.

Overlooking the Spokane River, the new tasting room is located at 1030 W. Summit Pkwy. (between Spa Paradiso and Nectar Beer and Wine), and starting next Saturday will be open daily from noon to 8 pm. Maryhill’s Spokane home — its first and only satellite location — encompasses a new, 5,000-square-foot space that’s been under construction for the better part of this year.

The award-winning winery is owned by Spokane natives Craig and Vicki Leuthold, who decided to open the Spokane location to meet increased demand for their products. Founded in 1999, opening two years later in 2001, Maryhill is one of Washington state’s largest wineries, producing more than 80,000 cases a year.

“While we’re deeply tied to the Columbia River Gorge, we’re also very rooted in our hometown of Spokane,” Craig Leuthold says. “We feel right at home at Kendall Yards, and designed our tasting room to fit in with this beautiful community. Our tasting room is an inviting and relaxing place to experience our award-winning wines.”

Maryhill Wine Club members will now be able to pick up their cases at the Spokane location, which also will regularly host wine club events, as well as public and private gatherings. The upcoming grand opening weekend celebration will feature the first of many live concerts at the venue, with music by singer-songwriter Matt Brown both evenings. Come spring, the winery’s gorge-facing balcony will be yet another scenic location for visitors to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Spokane River and the downtown skyline. The tasting room also plans to serve small plates featuring local ingredients.

After nearly a year-long hiatus, one of the Inlander's long-running blog series is back. That's right, cat-loving ladies and gents: Cat Friday is back in the rotation, now on a monthly basis, from yours truly, the Inlander's resident cat-lady-in-chief. To keep the series fresh and new, we'll be posting installments on the second Friday of each month.

First up for the series' rebirth is a round-up of some of my personal favorite cat-stagrams you should be following right meow. Let's get started.

@smoothiethecat
Beyond my personal cat — the joy of my heart and life (along with her predecessor, and my family's dear little senior girl, Alice) — this cat named Smoothie is literally the top highlight of my cat obsessions. Every time I see a picture of this precious, emerald-eyed puffball my heart aches (I can't even handle the cute). Smoothie, a golden-shaded British Longhair born in April 2014, resides in the Netherlands and has been stealing hearts across the globe alongside her silver-haired friend Milkshake for several years now. Don't let this petit chat fool you with her wide, innocent eyes. Smoothie is often up to some seriously cute shenanigans, as revealed in her ultra-relatable photo captions like, "When you just want to work, but your cats have other plans" and "When someone tall sits in front of you at the cinema" and "When all the napping makes you feel exhausted." Honestly, if you're not equally mesmerized by the sheer beauty of this tiny, smooth-haired feline, you might need to re-evaluate some things. For a double dose of Smoothie sweetness, make sure to follow her on Facebook, too.

@omar_mainecoon
Earlier in 2017, this Australian gentle giant made the rounds in blog posts and stories across the internet, and we all marveled over his magnificence and sheer size. Headlines prompted his world record-holding potential as the longest cat ever with a span of 3 feet, 11 inches. Omar weighs in around 31 pounds. Maine Coons, one of the largest cat breeds, are known for their characteristic massive, fluffy paws (for walking in snowy and icy climates), jowly faces and prominent ear tufts. If the breed had a modern monarch, Omar would be its crowned king. Check out this photo of the stunning ginger boy next to his canine sister Penny, a little sheltie.

[@boltandkeel
Cat people everywhere often lament the fact that our furry companions tend to be less mobile outside the home as their canine counterparts. But not all cats hate to wear a harness, ride in the car, or even sleep in tents. British Columbia-based brothers Bolt and Keel have lived the adventurous lifestyle since kittenhood, traveling the most scenic wilderness landscapes by foot, canoe, kayak and even backpack with their two owners. It's a fitting lifestyle for two cats who were actually discovered abandoned as kittens in a remote area by their cat moms while out on a hike. After building up some serious numbers on their Instagram account, the kitties and their moms, Kayleen VanderRee and Danielle Gumbley, just released the book Bolt and Keel: The Wild Adventures of Two Rescued Cats, which chronicles their diverse outdoor adventures with the two brothers always in tow.

@mingusthepanther
It's canon that black cats are the preferred coat color of witches and other dark-minded beings, but Mingus the Panther brings an even more fitting trait to the "spooky" cat lore with his distinct vampire fangs. Residing in Stockholm, Sweden, this sleek, all-black Oriental shorthair is capturing hearts around the world with his delightful vampy overbite and goofy personality. Mingus, considered a senior cat at 15 years, is leash trained and enjoys traveling around the Swedish countryside with his mum. Make sure to watch some of his video clips with the volume up to hear his adorable raspy, rumbly vocalizations.

There's obviously plenty of just-as-adorable Instagram celebri-cats out there worth a follow, and trust me when I say I'm following A LOT of them — these four are simply some of my favorite discoveries in the past year or so. Which kitties make you smile when they pop up in your feed? Tell us on Twitter: @INCatFriday.

ON INLANDER.COM

Let's talk about sex ed, baby
Spokane Public Schools won't be adopting that controversial, Planned Parenthood-developed sex-ed curriculum after all, despite few objections being raised about anything regarding its content.


IN OTHER NEWS

Whither the "band kid?"
Why marching band programs have either been eliminated or scaled back at Spokane high schools. (Spokesman-Review)

Bye-bye, Bible Institute
Spokane's Moody Bible Institute will close at the end of the school year, due to financial challenges. (Spokesman-Review)

Mission: McMorris Rodgers
Despite never receiving more than 40.4 percent of the vote in the past decade against Spokane's U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Democrats will try to take her down next year.  (Spokesman-Review)

Middle-out
A Senate GOP tax plan would focus on the middle class instead of giving a major cut to corporations, a significant difference from the House version. (New York Times)

Bill Cosby is no role model
The New York Times brings the long-simmering allegations against Louis C.K. to light, as five women accuse him of super-creepy things. (New York Times)

Yet Moore sexual allegations
Alabama Republican U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore allegedly initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old when he was 32, which, from our elitist liberal perspective, is also super creepy.  (Washington Post)