Bloglander

For the last two years, administrators at House of Charity have thought they would need to close down their sleep program — one of the few places homeless men could legally sleep indoors during the summer. But each time, the program found a way to survive. Catholic Charities found a new grant or funding stream, or some new donor generously stepped up.

They didn’t think history would repeat itself this year.

Earlier this week, Assistant Director Jerry Schwab told The Inlander that this time, for sure, it was closing on May 1st.

“We’ve passed the point of no return,” Schwab had said. “This time it’s kind of like, ‘OK, we need to be honest with the community — this is not going to be solved through $20,000 to $50,000.’” Government funding that used to go to shelters, he says, has now been diverted to permanent housing.

They had already made the decision, already told their employees they had been furloughed. But Schwab didn’t expect what happened next: two donations that, combined, blew their previous $20,000 and $50,000 donations out of the water.

Two people had died. One had placed Catholic Charities in her or his will, the other actually specified House of Charity.

“It wasn’t until earlier this week, there was the first inkling that there might be these gifts coming forward,” says Gene DiRe, associate director for Catholic Charities

In total, he says, the two donations exceed $100,000. For now — and that’s the constant refrain, “for now” — the summer program will remain open.

Still, Schwab says he and his staff have been frustrated by the trend the last few years. “We felt incredibly yo-yoed with what we were going through,” Schwab says. 

DiRe says stabilizing the long-term financial situation is a discussion already underway.

“Our board of directors is already working on a plan for the agency and its services, to determine which services can be sustained on a long term basis,” DiRe says. “As they look at that, the sleeping program has become part of that study.”

Around Town

Tutu turmoil — He fought apartheid, stopped an angry mob from killing a man, and yet he's still too controversial to speak at Gonzaga? For some, the answer is yes. (SR)

Post Falls tragedy — A man who went missing earlier this week was found dead in Post Falls. (KREM)

Funnel cloud on the Palouse — Weather event or University of Idaho mad-scientist experiment? The world may never know. (KXLY)

Out There

If The Inlander were a TV station, we'd post this article on our Facebook and watch the flames fly (CS Monitor)

Brinksmanship in the Himalayas (NY Times)

In East Africa, what was once a civil war now is an international conflict (Washington Post)

Spokane County voters went to the ballot box (er ... mailbox) yesterday to weigh in on Measure 1, a proposal to extend a hotel/motel and sales tax in order to install more seats in the Spokane Arena and fund improvements of the convention center and the Centennial Trail. (Read our story about this.)

As of Wednesday afternoon, with only 200 ballots left to count (which represents about 0.2 percent of the total ballots received), the measure was passing 56-44 percent. 

Here's a precinct-by-precinct breakdown of how it got that way (purple precincts rejected the measure, orange ones approved it, and gray ones were tied):

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Hypnic jerk...

We've figured out how to build flying robots and throw particles at each other, so you'd think that, by now, we would have figured out something as elementary as why humans sleep.

But we haven't. At least not entirely.

Which is why WSU just got a $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the topic. Sleep scientist Jonathan Wisor will spend the next four years trying to illuminate just one dark corner of the mystery: why the brain's use of glucose plummets while we're sleeping.

From the university:

Glucose is used as an energy source by the body. The brain uses it to fuel its electrical activity, a metabolically demanding process that accounts for as much as 25 percent of the body's glucose use, even though the brain only represents about 5 percent of body mass.

Preliminary data collected by Wisor show that it's the slow-wave phase of sleep—also known as deep sleep—that is responsible for the brain's decrease in glucose metabolism.

"During slow-wave sleep, all of the neurons go through transient periods where they are completely inactive - they're not discharging electrical activity," says Wisor, an assistant professor with the WWAMI medical education program in Spokane who also has research ties with the WSU Sleep and Performance Research Center and the Department of Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology and Physiology (VCAPP) in the College of Veterinary Medicine. "We're trying to determine what it is about sleep that reduces the demand for glucose relative to the waking brain."

Fascinating stuff, but will it solve the real sleep mystery — why I wake up so hungry when I eat right before going to bed?

Read about another WSU sleep study, in which scientists try to figure out why we make such bad decisions when we're tired.

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Around Town

Measure 1 passing — Y'all done went and paid for an expanded convention center and arena. (SR)

Clam country — Asian clams in North Idaho? The world is indeed flat. (Daily Bee)

How Valley people date — "Hey honey, how 'bout you and me gaze deep into each other's eyes while we steal the wheels off this Jeep Cherokee. Real shag wagon here." (KXLY)

Out There

So, about those hearts and minds (LA Times)

Investigators looking for Colombian prostitutes (Seattle Times)

Coal is king — in Oregon (NY Times)

Spokane County Commissioner Mark Richard says he never wanted to become acareer politician.

And so, today, at a press conference near the county courthouse, beside hiswife and a dozen county workers, he announced that he will not run for a thirdterm this fall.

Richard says he just made the decision recently but has been considering itfor the past few months.

He says he has been proud of the strides the county has made in the last eightyears — serving youth, prisoners, and moving toward more respectfulcity-county collaboration.

“Today we see civility, respect, and dignity,” he says.

While serving on the board of county commissioners beside the conservativeTodd Mielke and the more liberal Bonnie Mager several years ago, Richard servedas a swing vote on several issues, including the expensivepurchase of the Spokane County Raceway and the decision to use conservationfutures funds to buy the YMCA building.

He regrets neither decision. In fact, at the press conference he lambastedthe media for how he feels they unfairly portrayed the racetrack issue.

That’s not to say he doesn’t regret a vote or two. He believes that he votedto improperly rezone some light industrial areas in the West Plains ascommercial. As a result, the nearby Fairchild Air Force Base is facingencroachment issues.

More recently, Richard was the lone voice of skepticism over placing ameasure to fund a regional animal control facility on the ballot this fall.Indeed, the measure failed to get the required number of votes.

“I don’t think I’ve ever stood up and said, ‘Neener, neener,'" Richardsays, when asked if he feels vindicated on the issue. Now, he says he’s pleasedat the new direction for animal control, which may allow the county to be ableto build a new facility without paying any taxpayer funds.

No, he isn’t sure what he wants to do next — but it isn’t to run for apolitical seat. He’s had several conversations — and heard rumors — about whomay be vying to replace him in November (Commissioner Todd Mielke's seat is also up for grabs), but he won’t elaborate on those names. And will heendorse any of those candidates?

“I may, if the right candidate comes along,” Richard says.

Around Town

Gay marriage tabled — After hours of debate, the Spokane City Council voted to table a resolution in support of same-sex marriage, putting off the issue indefinitely. (SR)

Police flee Post Falls — Post Falls is apparently not the best paying gig if you're a police officer. (CDA Press)

You are not as good a swimmer as you think — Particularly when the police are chasing you. (KREM)

Out There

Seattle's altweekly "The Stranger" won a Pulitzer yesterday (Seattle Times)

Meanwhile, a jumbo jet flew a space shuttle over the Capitol (LA Times)

And John Boehner says Mitt Romney is the Republican to beat Obama (NY Times)

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Rocky Treppiedi has been fired from his role as assistant city attorney, effective today, according to a press release issued by city spokeswoman Marlene Feist.

The statement reads:

Since you have all been following this issue very closely over the last several months, I am writing to tell you that City Attorney Nancy Isserlis has determined that Assistant City Attorney Rocky Treppiedi will no longer be employed by the City of Spokane. The change is effective today.

The Mayor is providing this statement: “My Division Directors are empowered to develop the teams they need to effectively serve the citizens of the City of Spokane,” says Mayor David Condon. “I support Nancy in her decision today.” 

Treppiedi began working in the city attorney's office in 1981, taking a three-year break between 2000 and 2003. Until this year, he acted as the legal adviser to the police department. But he has come under scrutiny for his role in the city's handling of the death of Otto Zehm.

During his campaign for mayor, David Condon released a statement saying he believed Treppiedi should be fired. Despite the statement, Treppiedi continued to litigate cases involving the police department, apparently until he was fired.

Around Town

Gang charges gone — Bonner County prosecutors, acting on a ruling by the Idaho Supreme Court, dismissed gang-recruitment charges against five Sandpoint men. (Daily Bee)

Flame out — Spokane Fire Department investigators put the cuffs on a 13-year-old boy accused of lighting his own house on fire. (KXLY)

Oh, it's on now — A lieutenant firefighter jumps into the already-crowded race against Idaho House Rep. Phil Hart (R-Athol).

Out There

New TV show: Dancing with Mitt Romney. This week's special guest? Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Washington Post)

It's springtime for the Taliban in Afghanistan. Winter for the United States and NATO? (CS Monitor)

Norway killer claims self defense (SF Gate)

Spokane Public Schools has narrowed down their search for the next superintendent to the last two applicants. One, Shelley Redinger, just spent a year as a superintendent in Spotsylvania, Virginia, and the other Alexander Apostle, was superintendent in Missoula, Montana for the past four years.

Tonight and tomorrow, community members will have a chance to grill the candidates on their dark pasts, their pedagogical quirks, and whether they still remember how to do elementary-style long division.

 The schedule follows.

Wednesday, April 11, 5:30 - 6:30 pm at Sacajawea Middle School (401 E. 33rd Avenue) to meet with Dr. Shelley Redinger.

Thursday, April 12, 5:30 - 6:30 pm at Glover Middle School (2404 W. Longfellow Avenue) to meet with Dr. Alexander Apostle.