Around here
Robber found in bushes (KHQ)
Our gondola got hot so we shut it down (KREM)
Sandpoint: the next Silicon Valley? (Daily Bee)
Elsewhere
Ron Paul, acts of God, threaten GOP convention (NYT)
Taliban kill 17 in Afghanistan in series of attacks (WashPo)
The tale behind the indomitable Venus & Serena Williams (NYT)
Something's Gotta Give
Tags: morning briefing , venus and serena williams , gondola shuts down , silicon valley , sandpoint , ron paul threatens gop convention , 17 killed in afghanistan , taliban attacks , News , Video
Around here
Gunmen arrested in downtown Spokane (KREM)
McMorris Rodgers gets her town hall on (SR)
Drunken ambassador hits & runs in Spokane Valley (KXLY)
Around there
Shooting outside Empire State Building: NYT, Daily News, WSJ
No hope in dope: Lance Armstrong banned, stripped of titles (ST)
Do ladies rage the road more than bros? (Jezebel)
ESB shooting
Tags: morning briefing , ryan crocker dui , empire state building shooting , mcmorris rodgers town hall , lance armstrong droping , lady road rage , downtown spokane gunmen , News , Video
Here
Frank Straub is new police chief, not sure how cops feel about that
Man who stole a Cheney cop's gun to trade for meth arrested (KHQ)
History of an Idaho shitshow (Boise Statesman)
Elsewhere
Obama, Romney grasp for your vote in different ways (WashPo)
Surfing in Oregon (ST)
What did Moby Dick author find in Jerulsalem?
Soul balm
Tags: morning briefing , spokane police chief , frank straub , cheney cop stolen gun , pam lowe idaho , obama , romney , surfing in oregon , melville in jerulsalem , red hot chili peppers , morning brief , News , Video
San Francisco Police Captain Daniel Mahoney, one of two finalists for the job of Spokane police chief, confirmed this morning that Spokane Mayor David Condon did not offer him the job.
That leaves one finalist: Indianapolis Public Safety Director Frank Straub.
"I cannot confirm anything," city spokeswoman Marlene Feist replied when asked if Straub was the new chief. The city has a press conference scheduled for this afternoon to announce the pick, she says.
Earlier this month, Condon narrowed down the candidates for the job from four finalists to two, then visited both San Francisco and Indianapolis. Though there was grumbling from some law enforcement officers tasked with vetting the candidates, Condon announced that he was comfortable with either Straub or Mahoney leading the department.
In an interview with The Inlander on Tuesday morning, Condon reiterated that he would announce the new chief by the end of the month. Mahoney says that the mayor called him later that day and told him that he wouldn't get the job.
Mahoney says he plans to stay with SFPD, though he may apply for other jobs in the future.
For more City Hall Eyeball choice eyeballness, stare at this.
Tags: spokane police , chief search , city hall eyeball , spokane police chief , frank straub , daniel mahoney , indianapolis police department , News , Image
Around here
WSU screwing up its financial aid (SR)
Senate hopeful swears at journo, apologizes, takes it back (KRM)
Coldwater Creek exec pleads guilty to grand theft (Daily Bee)
Around there
Tacoma gorilla kept in store kicks the bucket (ST)
Guy goes from Bible-thumpin' pastor to committed atheist (NYT)
Why you shouldn't fret of the end of the world (Wired)
This will only hurt for a minute
Tags: morning briefing , wsu financial aid , morning brief , coldwater creek , michael baumbartner cursing , tacoma gorilla , pastor becomes atheist , end of the world , News , Video
Here
GOP chief says Shea photo should go (SR)
Spokane City Council says panhandlers must go (KREM)
Firefighters battle Cheney fires (KXLY)
Elsewhere
Oregon SG says marijuana law needs to be clarified (Oregonian)
Facebook's ambitions crash into harsh realities (NYT)
Ethiopian president, controversial and powerful, dies (Guardian)
On the road with Syrian rebels
Tags: morning brief , The Lions of Tawhid , matt shea photos , panhandling law in spokane , oregon marijuana , syrian rebels , cheney fires , News , Video
Most luck has been bad for the Spokane School district’s budgets. In this era of recession and budget cuts, they expected it.
But now, the recession has left the Spokane School district with $47.9 million in undesignated school bond money. Mark Anderson, Associate Superintendent, says that $16 million of that money can be spent on an addition to North Central High School’s science building, updating aging rooms and bringing far-flung science classrooms into one location. The district plans to use another $5.4 million to replace an old wing of Mullan Road Elementary.
Both those projects had been planned to be included in upcoming bond measures, but now, Spokane Public Schools can get started early.
It all has to do with the fluctuation in construction prices, Anderson explains. Back in 2008, when the Spokane School District was calculating how much to request for the 2009 school bond, construction costs were sky-high. The frenzy of the housing boom meant construction firms could take their pick of projects, allowing them to essentially name their price. Oil prices were booming, driven by ongoing trouble in the Middle East and the reluctance of OPEC to further open the taps. Oil’s a crucial ingredient in construction materials and the shipping cost of construction materials.
But then came the crash. As the economy shuddered to a crawl, consumption fell. Oil prices fell as well, dragged down by the collapse in consumer demand.
With the real estate bubble burst, with recently-built sprawling developments sputtering toward foreclosure, construction firms struggled to find any work at all. The costs of both labor and materials for a school building suddenly became a lot cheaper.
Yet, in 2009, even as other bonds in other districts failed amid recession, Spokane Public Schools managed to pass it.
“We have found that the prices we were getting the bids for our projects were far under [what we expected],” Anderson says.
Anderson says it would have been difficult to return the money to the taxpayer.
“ We’re going to have to do these projects anyway,” Anderson says. “Why not do it at a time when costs are good?”
Spokane Public Schools trustees will consider approving the two additional projects at this Wednesday’s board meeting.
Inland Northwest
Man climbs out of gondola, dies (KREM)
Drive-by shooting in West Central (KHQ)
Ruby Ridge, 20 years later (CdA Press)
Beyond the pale
GOP candidate: legitimate rape rarely gets women pregnant (NYT)
Burma ends direct censorship of media (ST)
What would you do with more free time? (NYT)
Follow the light
Tags: morning briefing , man falls from gondola , silver mountain , light through water , ruby ridge 20th anniversary , censorship in burma , free time , blogs , News , Video
Around here
Does this mean we can't have sex in school anymore? (SR)
Does this mean we can't burn school buses either? (KXLY)
Man, it's been a tough time for traditional institutions (KREM)
Around elsewhere
Pussy Riot sentenced for Russian rebellion (WashPo)
U.S. reliance on Saudi oil growing again (NYT)
Is there a limit on how tall buildings can get? (The Atlantic)
JAMIROQUAI WILL BREAK YOU
Tags: morning briefing , pussy riot , hate crimes , sex in school , morning brief , skyscrapers , jamiroquai , school bus burned , News , Video
Spokane Valley Rep. Matt Shea must be feeling pretty low about "the media."
Shea -- the same guy who pulled a gun on another driver in an apparent road rage incident and took photos of himself standing in his opponent's driveway -- has blocked multiple reporters from following his Twitter account. Arts Editor Mike Bookey and reporters Daniel Walters, Chris Stein and myself have all been shunned from following or communicating with Shea on Twitter. Seriously, what did @Bookeyblender ever do to Shea?
But it's not just us. Spokesman-Review columnist Shawn Vestal also says he's been blocked -- and that Shea posted correspondence with Vestal to the legislator's blog.
The Twitter blocking is only the latest talk-to-the-hand by the conservative legislator. He hasn't responded to a request for comment by The Inlander on any story we've called him for in 2012. (Daniel Walters did, however, speak to him in person during a February Ron Paul event).
Perhaps Shea is tweaked that The Inlander ran a June 2011 story based on a survey of 900 lobbyists that ranked him one of the worst lawmakers in the region. Walters says Shea was unhappy about a story regarding the lawmaker and his wife, but to our knowledge we didn't write that one. It may have been a piece by The Stranger that mentioned his divorce and restraining order filed on Shea by his ex-wife.
In private correspondence, a legislative aide for Shea told Chris Stein that Shea doesn't feel like he's been treated "fairly or respectfully" by us.
Nonetheless, a whole host of other politicians have been willing to talk to The Inlander, even when we've ruffled their feathers.
So if you're out there, Rep. Matt Shea, we'd love to sit down and start over. Come and we'll have a chat and you can vent. In fact, we'll post your responses -- completely unedited, if you want -- on our blog.
Tags: politics , matt shea , #waelex , elections , spokane valley , the inlander , News