Italia Trattoria chef and co-owner Anna Vogel is a 2018 James Beard Award semifinalist.
ITALIA TRATTORIA CHEF ANNA VOGEL NAMED A JAMES BEARD AWARD SEMIFINALIST
For the fourth year in a row, a Spokane chef has been named as a semifinalist for the prestigious James Beard Awards, an annual honor bestowed by the NYC-based James Beard Foundation.
Chef Anna Vogel, who co-owns the Browne's Addition restaurant Italia Trattoria with Bethe Bowman, was named a semifinalist for the Beard Awards' Best Chef: Northwest category, one perennially dominated by chefs based in Portland and Seattle.
Vogel's culinary resume includes past stints in major global cities: Sydney, Boston, New York and Seattle. She opened Italia Trattoria, which offers seasonal dishes rooted in Italian cuisine and features Northwest flavors and ingredients, with Bowman back in 2010. Since then, the restaurant has established a respectable local following and a reputation as one of the best fine-dining spots in the area.
Subsequently over the past three years, Inland Northwest chefs who've been named James Beard Award semifinalists for the Best Chef: Northwest category include Jeremy Hansen, in 2015; Adam Hegsted, in 2016; and Laurent Zirotti, in 2017.
Shattered ceilings
Paulette Jordan would be the first woman elected governor of Idaho, the first Democrat to hold the office since 1995 and the first Native American governor in the country. But that's not why she's running.
Young Kwak Photo
The Power 2 The Poetry group came together through a love of words, dedication to social justice.
'If I don't make it, I love you and I appreciate everything you did for me'
A student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School texted that to her mother as a man fired rounds into her classmates and teachers. (New York Times)
A football coach reportedly jumped in front of the bullets to save students. He later died of gunshot wounds. (Miami Herald)
A total of 17 people are dead, other are wounded, and police have arrested the suspected gunman, a 19-year-old former student at the school, Nikolas Cruz. He is charged with 17 counts of murder and will appear in court later today. (Sun Sentinel)
Natalie Schepman of the folk trio Joseph will host the Bartlett's BASE Songwriter Workshop on Thursday.
Ever thought about writing your own music, but didn't have any idea where to start?
For the last few weeks, the Bartlett has been hosting the BASE songwriting workshop, a short series that's bringing in established musicians to explain inspiration and craft to a small group of enrolled students. Those courses are then followed by intimate, acoustic concerts that are open to the public.
Think of it as a TED Talk by way of MTV Unplugged.
"Our guest artists have been coming in and sharing during the class portion of things," says musician Scott Ingersoll, who got the series off the ground. "We do an interview back and forth, talking about how they got started ... then they break down one or two of their songs. The evening portion is a behind-the-scenes storyteller showcase."
"They’re able to get more into the nitty gritty of the process than at a regular show."
Ingersoll, who performs around town as Scott Ryan, says he first tried out this concept a few summers ago, and it generated some interest. But having since been awarded a grant from Spokane Arts, he opened enrollment earlier this year, and the three classes quickly reached capacity. Ingersoll says about 35 participants signed up for all three workshops, and they range from high school students to adults.
Gonzaga students and Spokane community members participate in a Dance for Parkinson's class at Gonzaga's dance studio Saturday, Feb. 10.
For more than an hour Saturday morning, community members with Parkinson's danced with their loved ones, friends, and students, as they do every week as part of the Dance for Parkinson's class at Gonzaga's dance studio.
Parkinson's Disease is an incurable disorder that affects the central nervous system, but it can be helped with medication, and more research is showing dance and music can help reduce the effects of common symptoms such as tremors, stiffness, freezing, or loss of balance.
The accessible class eases participants through movements targeted at each part of the body, with participants spending much of the class in chairs, then moving to standing routines by the end of the hour.
Spokane voters overwhelmingly supported schools last night
By a wide margin, voters in the city of Spokane approved a Spokane Public Schools levy that supports basic education and activities. Voters also approved bond projects in Central Valley and Mead that will pay for new schools.
According to results from yesterday's special election, just under 73 percent of voters approved the Spokane Public Schools levy, which only needed more than 50 percent to pass. The levy will tack on $1.50 per 1,000 of assessed property value to property taxes 2019. It's a much lower rate than the rate of $3.77 per 1,000 of the previous levy.
That's because the Washington state legislature boosted state funding last year for basic education while capping the amount school districts can raise in levies. Essentially, it meant property taxes for levies at local school districts decrease, while state property taxes increase — though, combined, taxpayers in Spokane will pay less than before.
This week's new releases: Marvel's Black Panther, and some other titles you might end up seeing because Black Panther is sold out.
BLACK PANTHER (3 stars)
Marvel’s latest is set in the nation of Wakanda, where its new king T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) must face warring factions who want to usurp the throne. Our critic Eric D. Snider says that it’s more serious-minded than typical superhero fare, full of nobility and purpose without sacrificing fun and charm. Rated PG-13.
EARLY MAN The newest feature from Aardman Animation, the British studio behind Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run, is a slapstick comedy about soccer-playing cavemen. The voice cast includes Tom Hiddleston, Eddie Redmayne and Maisie Williams. Rated PG.
KXLY and KHQ — Actually The Same Person?
Hey, have you ever noticed how bitter rivals KXLY and KHQ put out a lot of the same clickbait-y non-local posts on Facebook? Here's why.
Colin Meloy's Kids?
The Descendants, not to be confused with the Decemberists, are coming to Spokane in October.
Giving Foam the Finger
Washington state might ban foam as a firefighting chemical.
In other news...
On a roll Rep. Timm Ormsby, who voted against Mike Padden's DUI bill last year, got drunk, got behind the wheel, rolled his jeep and was charged with a DUI. (Spokesman-Review)
How now, full city plow? Just when we thought we were out, old man winter drags us back in. Snow is back with a vengeance. (KXLY)
Never pay for porn
Trump's lawyer paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 out of his own pocket. Because that's just the kind of stand-up guy he is.
KHQ and KXLY are rivals — but both direct their readers to the same viral content site using the exact same Facebook posts
Pop quiz, hotshot: Which Spokane TV station, in the middle of the day on Feb. 10, posted a Facebook link to an article titled "Husband Gets Whole Town To Deliver 500 Roses to His Wife on Her Last Day of Chemotherapy," under the comment "This is so sweet"?
KHQ? Or rival KXLY?
Trick question. It's both. Same article. Same headline. Posted about the same time. And it isn't just a crazy coincidence. It's happened dozens of times.
KHQ and KXLY are rivals. They compete for scoops and ratings. KHQ is owned by the Cowles Company, the same company that owns the Spokesman-Review and the River Park Square shopping center. KXLY is owned by Morgan Murphy Media, based out of Wisconsin.
But both pump out a steady stream of identical links to identical stories on Facebook:
— Headline: "This Healthy 20-Year-Old Mom Of 2 Died From Fast-Acting Flu" (Facebook tease: "Scary—here are the symptoms to watch out for.")
— "Why Eggs May Be To Blame For This Year's Flu Vaccine Flop" ("This is interesting.")
— "Why People Are Calling This Animal 'The Most Beautiful Horse In The World" (“These horses are absolutely stunning.”)
— "Why you should NEVER leave your Child's Winter Coat On in The Car." (“This mistake could be the difference between your child’s life and death.”)
The rose-bearing husband, of course, wasn't from Spokane. The healthy mom who died suddenly wasn't from Spokane. The gorgeous horse wasn't a beautiful Spokane horse. In each case, you have to click to find that out. But that's not new.
Punk legends The Descendents are coming to Spokane for an October 4 show.
The Descendents are everything good about the "pop-punk" label that sadly later turned into a ton of bands without the sense of humor or songwriting chops the SoCal crew boasted in spades on legendary, pioneering punk albums like Milo Goes to College and I Don't Want to Grow Up.
On Oct. 4, the band will swing through Spokane for a show at the Knitting Factory. Tickets are $26 in advance, $30 day of show, and available starting Friday at 10 am through the usual outlets like the Knitting Factory website and box office.
Spawned from the same South L.A. scene as Black Flag and the Minutemen, The Descendents added an undeniable tunefulness to their songs of alienation and distaste for mediocrity. Their blend of punk energy, pop hooks and nerd-y obsessions made The Descendents an oft-cited, much-beloved band despite decades of inactivity dribbled between tours and albums that started arriving in the late '70s; since 1986, the quartet has consisted of Milo Aukerman, Karl Alvarez, Bill Stevenson and Stephen Egerton. Their latest album came out in 2016, and Hypercaffium Spazzinate was their first new set in 12 years, complete with all the energy their early works had.
Here's a taste of their latest, a tune called "Victim of Me:"
The bills, which would restrict per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS, in firefighting foam and food packaging, have changed slightly on their way through the process.
But both have already passed through their first chamber, and if approved by the other, they'd be the first bans of their kind in the country, says Ivy Sager-Rosenthal, communications director for Toxic-Free Future.
The food-packaging bill, HB 2658, would require a study of alternate materials that can be used for paper food wrappers and containers that need to be grease- or water-resistant, to be completed by 2020. A ban on the chemicals in food packaging could start in 2022. It passed the House 56-41, with one excused.
The second bill, SB 6413, would require companies to disclose if the chemicals are in equipment sold to firefighters starting in July 2018, and restrict the manufacture, sale and distribution of firefighting foam containing the materials starting in July 2020, except in places where federal law requires it, such as at airports. The engrossed substitute bill passed the Senate 39-8, with two excused. It's scheduled for a hearing in the House Committee on the Environment Thursday morning.