Wednesday, January 24, 2018
The woman didn't think anyone would believe her. She says that's why she began to secretly record the supervisor of her court-ordered work crew commenting on her breasts, her intimate relationship with her husband and her "sex appeal."
"What he said is enough to make Trump blush," says Brendan Kidd, the Spokane attorney representing R.B.
The claim also accuses Stevens County District Court Administrator Nadine Borders of trying to cover up the harassment by telling the head of another department to investigate the allegations, but to "keep this between us."
Finally, the claim says that Stevens County District Court Judge Gina Tveit — who presided over the DUI case that landed R.B. on the work crew in the first place — overstepped her judicial objectivity and retaliated against R.B. for reporting the harassment.
Tveit denies that she retaliated against R.B. or that she overstepped her role, but declined to comment further.
Borders says via email that "the actual facts are significantly different than what has been stated in the tort claim," but also declined to elaborate due to the potential lawsuit.
Tags: News , Stevens County , Gina Tveit , Tim Rasmussen , Brendan Kidd , sexual harassment , Image
ON INLANDER.COM
Tackling teen pregnancy
Spokane County teens get pregnant at a higher rate than the rest of the state, but health officials say better education in schools could help.
Radical change through... bathroom design?
Toilets on a carousel? Or facing each other in an open-air circle? Artist Keenan Bennett explores how the bathrooms once used as meeting places for gay men could again break social boundaries, with a new interactive art installation inspired in part by Riverfront Park.
IN OTHER NEWS
Systematic abuse
Over multiple days, more than 160 women shared their stories of abuse by Lawrence Nassar, once a doctor for U.S. gymnasts and athletes, as a Michigan judge and Nassar himself listened to their stories at his sentencing hearing. Here are their words, compiled by the New York Times.
Milky, not milk
Spokane schools have pulled a whole batch of milk cartons from lunchrooms after multiple students opened chocolate milk containers to find a milky substance that school officials believed to be cleaning solution that the manufacturer would normally flush between filling regular and chocolate milk containers, the Spokesman-Review reports.
Twins have different chances of US citizenship
A gay couple in Los Angeles is fighting for their kid's rights in court after the government denied citizenship to one of their twin boys, while granting it for the other, because one son has his Israeli father's DNA, while the other has his American father's DNA, the Guardian reports.
Tags: spokane , school , milk , nassar , abuse , citizenship , News , Image
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Keenan Bennett's project is a radical exploration of sexuality through bathroom design
Let's be clear: the design team in charge of the Riverfront Park redevelopment isn't actually considering any dramatically redesigned bathrooms at Riverfront Park by, say, tearing down the walls, having the toilets facing each other, or putting all the toilets on a carousel.
Keenan Bennett, artist behind "Future Defecations: Riverfront Park Public Restroom Planning Forum," isn't an official architect involved with the park's project.
Instead, the Philadelphia-based artist-in-residence
He wants to explore how restrooms, once a haven for spontaneous encounters between gay men, could, with the right design, again become boundary-breaking social spaces. And he's doing that through an interactive art installation that opens on Tuesday, Jan. 30, from 5-8 pm at the Richmond Art Collective.
A slew of concert announcements hit the ol' inbox today. Let's break it down:
Former Tonight Show host and long-time standup Jay Leno is coming to Northern Quest Resort & Casino for two shows on May 6, one at 4 pm and one at 7 pm. Tickets for Leno go on sale this Saturday, Jan. 27, at 9 am via northernquest.com and the venue box office. Tickets are $59, $69 and $89.
Sergio Mendes, the man who took bossa nova and samba to the American mainstream with Brazilian-flavored covers of pop hits in the '60s and continued mining the winning slinky sounds for decades since, is coming to Spokane.
Sergio Mendes will play the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox on June 12. Tickets range from $42 to $75 and go on sale Thursday, Feb. 1, at 12:01 am via the Fox Theater box office and TicketsWest outlets. I, for one, can go for a little of this scene:
In July, jam-band fave Phish set up camp for three days at The Gorge. The quartet will headline the mid-Washington venue from July 20-22, and their online ticket request system is off and rolling right here, and will end Feb. 5. General public on-sale starts Feb. 8. Tickets are $75 for a single show, or $200 for a three-show pass.
In August, Texas rabble-rouser Shakey Graves returns to Spokane for a gig at The Knitting Factory. Graves and Jose Gonzalez and the Brite Lites will play on Aug. 26; tickets are $35 in advance and go on sale Friday, Jan. 26, at 10 am through the Knitting Factory website. Here's a bit of Shakey's style:
ON INLANDER.COM
NEWS: Here's what polls actually say about whether Idaho supports a health-care expansion.
SPORTS: Should Zags fans be worried following the team's 74-71 defeat to Saint Mary's?
IN OTHER NEWS
Ice ribbon fallout
City officials are in "shock and a daze," says Councilman Mike Fagan, after a woman died from an injury sustained on the Riverfront Park ice ribbon. (Spokesman-Review)
Tsunami
Forecasters issues a tsunami warning for Alaska and Canadian west coasts following an earthquake, but they have since canceled the warning. (CNN)
Oscar time
The 2018 Oscar nominations were released today, with "The Shape of Water" leading with 13 nominations including best picture. (Hollywood Reporter)
Making his way up
Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigator of Russia's meddling in the election, interviewed Attorney General Jeff Sessions for "several hours" last week. (New York Times)
Shutdown shut down
The government shutdown ended after Democrats agreed to trust the word of Majority leader Mitch McConnell, who said he'd address the status of "dreamers." (Washington Post)
Tags: jeff sessions , shutdown , tsunami , ice ribbon , spokane , oscars , News , Image
Monday, January 22, 2018
Idahoans want better and broader health care coverage in the state — but not if you mention "Obamacare"
This week, we have a story about the health-care gap in Idaho, where low-income citizens who don't qualify for Medicaid actually make too little money to qualify for the Affordable Care Act's health-care subsidies.
But to do that, the waivers first have to be approved by a conservative legislature, skeptical of government health care.
Wayne Hoffman, president of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, an influential libertarian activist group, argued that government-run health care continues to poll very poorly in Idaho. He wants the Idaho coverage gap to actually be bigger.
But Lauren Necochea, director of Idaho Voices For Children, argues that assessment is wrong — that Idahoans consistently support state action to close the health care gap.
So who's right?
Tags: Idaho , Health Care , Medicaid , Wayne Hoffman , polling , Idaho Freedom Foundatiojn , News , Image
It’s always those pesky Saint Mary’s Gaels, isn’t it?
Since the West Coast Conference added the BYU Cougars back in 2011, which brought a third good team into the league, Gonzaga has compiled a record of 115 wins to just 13 losses against conference foes. Five of those losses have come against BYU and five, including Thursday’s 74-71 defeat in the Kennel, have come against Saint Mary’s.
Over the six full seasons since BYU joined, only Saint Mary’s has proven to be a legitimate challenger to Gonzaga at the top of the league. In 2016, despite Gonzaga losing both regular season match-ups with Saint Mary’s, the teams finished with identical 15-3 records and shared the regular season crown.
Back in 2012 Saint Mary’s managed to claim both the regular season title outright and defeat Gonzaga in Las Vegas for the conference tournament title. That snapped what was then the second-longest streak of consecutive conference titles in NCAA Division I history; Gonzaga had won 11 straight, second only to the John Wooden-coached UCLA teams of the 1960s and '70s which won 13 straight in the Pac-12 (then known as the Pac 8).
Maybe Mark Few, who owns the highest winning percentage among active college coaches, is only susceptible to Australians. Be it Matthew Dellavedova and his giant mouthguard back in 2012 or big Jock Landale, who totaled 26 points and 12 rebounds on Thursday, this season.
Whether it’s some Australian fever, or just the fact that Randy Bennett’s Saint Mary’s Gaels are actually really good, this rivalry has added some drama to the otherwise monotonous, season-long accumulation of wins that we’ve come to expect from the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
And, it’s not really been all that bad for Gonzaga. Historically, at least. The Zags have gone 13-5 against Saint Mary’s since 2011.
But it could end up hurting them this year. Looking ahead to the NCAA Tournament, Thursday’s result will certainly cost the Zags when it comes to where they are seeded. Saint Mary’s is really good, but Gonzaga shouldn’t have lost to the Gaels at home.
Tags: gonzaga , zags , saint mary's , bulldogs , Sports , Image
ON INLANDER.COM
CMR's Women's March Message
Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers wasn't able to attend Sunday's Spokane Women's Persistence March (where there were more than a few signs and shouts calling for her to be ousted from office and supporting Lisa Brown, her Democratic opponent) but she did prepare a video statement that could have played at the rally in the Convention Center if organizers had allowed it (they didn't). Here's what she had to say.
Moderate insight
Hear the thinking that got Eric Agnew inspired to run as a moderate in the race against CMR, though he just announced he's suspending his campaign.
Tags: news , shutdown , forged , ice ribbon , spokane , women's march , persistence , CMR , Image
Sunday, January 21, 2018
If you're in need of something fun to do, check out event listings and Staff Picks. Here are some highlights of the week ahead:
Monday, Jan. 22
MUSIC | Dry Erase is band blending members from Oakland and Berlin to create some glitchy art-rock. They'll be joined at Baby Bar by Peru Resh and Stares. Great way to start off the week.
FILM | Lucky Palouse residents can hit the Palouse Cult Film Revival tonight for a screening of legendarily bad flick The Room. Seeing it with a crowd is the way to go.
Tuesday, Jan. 23
COMMUNITY | In this corner, it's some Rogers High students. And in THIS corner, it's a couple of local judges. It's a verbal showdown at Rhetoric in the Ring IV, the annual fundraiser for Rogers High debate.
MUSIC | It's Northwest of Nashville time again, so get ready to get a hoedown on at The Bartlett, with Jenny Anne Mannan, Laddie Ray Melvin, Bitter Oak, Justin Landis and Liz Rognes.
Tags: What's Up? , Image , Video
Friday, January 19, 2018
SUPPORT SECOND HARVEST & PREVIEW INLANDER RESTAURANT WEEK
Although the sixth annual Inlander Restaurant Week doesn’t officially start until February 22 (running until March 3), local food lovers can get a sneak peak of a few featured menu items, and the menus themselves, during a special preview of the annual 10-day culinary celebration.
First Bite, benefiting Restaurant Week’s designated charity Second Harvest Inland Northwest, is happening for the second time in 2018 on the evening of Thursday, Feb. 1, at Barrister Winery’s downtown Spokane location.
In addition to samplings of a menu items (we've seen the list — it's good) from seven of this year's participating restaurants, along with artisan cheeses from select Dairy Farmers of Washington creameries, guests of the event will be the first to see the official list of all restaurants participating in this year’s Restaurant Week, and can browse the more than 100 three-course menus for all of those restaurants across the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area.
Tickets ($31/person; ages 21+) for the event are on sale now, and will be limited in number, so make sure to buy yours early if you intend to go. All proceeds from the event support Second Harvest’s work to provide healthy food to families across the region. Entry include one glass of wine from Barrister; guests will also enjoy live music throughout the evening by local musician Kyle Richard.
Tags: Entree , Indaba , Fleet Feet Sports , Solace Mead and Cider , Twilight Ciderworks , Hierophant Meadery , Ruins , Stella's Cafe , Tony Brown , Burger Issue , Food , Image
