Bloglander

Spokane City Council’s last meeting of the year was a marathon session that lasted over four hours and brought out the largest group of people the city’s legislative body had seen all year.

The council's agenda touched on a beautification project, a pilot program meant to deter speeders in school zones and an ordinance intended to use the city’s economic clout to boost the number of skilled workers in the area.

It was this ordinance, accompanied by two others meant to steer city procurements and contracts to local businesses, that filled council chambers with people who largely urged its passage.

The ordinance mandated that 15 percent of all labor hours on city public work projects be done by apprentice labor. Spearheaded by City Council President Ben Stuckart, the ordinance is meant to address the shortage of skilled labor contractors are facing in the Spokane area and across the state. Speaking before the crowded council chambers, Stuckart said that the shortage will worsen as construction projects pick up significantly in coming years. 

“We, as a participant in the market, have to do something,” said Stuckart, who pointed to about a dozen other schools or government entities in Washington that have similar requirements. He also mentioned a slew of multi-million dollar projects the city had planned in coming years, which, under the ordinance, could be used as an incubator for new skilled workers.

The ordinance, starting July of next year, will require 5 percent of all labor hours on all city projects to be done by apprentices, who will get on-the-job training for in-demand professions. That requirement would steadily rise to 15 percent by 2017. The ordinance allows these requirements to be waived under some circumstances, but contractors who don’t meet it could face fines.

The ordinance was amended by Councilwoman Amber Waldref with provisions meant to encourage contractors to hire local labor (particularly minorities, women and people from economically distressed areas).

Stuckart said that in drafting the ordinance he made multiple modifications to address the concerns of contractors, to no avail. Several contractors showed up to testify that the measure was too punitive and imposed unrealistic requirements on an industry still struggling to recover from the Great Recession.

“For our organization, it will not work,” an owner of a small construction company solemnly told the council.

But the majority of the nearly 40 people who testified were in support of the ordinance and included many individuals from the Spokane Alliance, a coalition of religious and labor groups focused on economic issues. A parade of current and past apprentices came before the council to tell stories of how apprenticeship programs gave them second opportunities after plans of college didn't work out.

Councilman Mike Allen noted that his father probably would have fit in with the apprentices testifying in support of the ordinance, but he still couldn’t support placing a new requirement on businesses. Councilman Mike Fagan expressed concerns that the ordinance would “steamroll” local businesses.

“Again, I ask, why is OK to make this mandatory?” he asked. “Why is this OK to attach a penalty?”

Although the ordinance passed 5-2, Spokane Mayor David Condon has concerns about it as well. In a letter to Stuckart, he wrote that the ordinance should be reworked to better take into account the concerns of all stakeholders and to broaden its focus to creating more family-wage jobs in the area.

In addition to passing the apprenticeship ordinance, the council also voted to shuffle money from existing funds and direct them toward the $800,000 revitalization of the Division Street Gateway, a heavily used entry point to the city that sees 28,000 pass through it each day. Although Fagan questioned if it was a good use of funds and George McGrath, who spoke against nearly everything the council did during each public comment period, called it a “hair-brained scheme to make Spokane's entry way beautiful on Division Street,” the measure passed.

Additionally, the council voted to set up a pilot program meant to deter speeding at Finch and Longfellow elementary schools. Sponsored by Councilman Jon Snyder, the measure, beginning next year, will set up speed zone cameras that will take a picture of speeding drivers and send them a ticket in the mail.

You might be tempted to buy your friends or loved ones some new music or videos just in time for the holidays. Before you do, let us help you separate the worthy from the waste of money with our Tuesday Taste. 

MUSIC

D'Angelo and the Vanguard, Black Messiah. With a gap between albums that would make Axl Rose blush, D'Angelo is finally back on the scene with new music, and people are pretty excited about it. At one point — around 1995 when his debut Voodoo took the world by storm — he was considered the baddest man in R&B and neo-soul. Will people still care about him in 2014? They probably should, judging by the sound of this one called "Really Love." I recommend you skip the first 1:30 of intro to get to the goods: 

The Kinks, The Anthology 1964-1971. The Brit-pop pioneers are criminally under-appreciated, and this five-disc set of their early years is a great introduction to a band who should be held in the same esteem of the Beatles, the Stones and the Who. They wrote "You Really Got Me," dammit! And this great tune: 

Charli XCX, Sucker.  The British star's sophomore album brings a bit of rock riffage to the mix that matches well with her snotty attitude, a nice contrast to the princess-like propriety of Ms. Swift's brand of pop. If you're looking for something for a young pop music fan, this can work: 

MOVIES & TV

The mainstream releases that will garner most of the attention of less-discerning film fans this week include the latest Woody Allen flick, Magic in the Moonlight, which got raked over pretty good by critics for its hard to believe chemistry (or lack thereof) between the 54-year-old Colin Firth and 26-year-old Emma Stone. Bad Woody can be very bad. The Maze Runner is another wannabe dystopian-future teen flick, so if you haven't had your fill of those yet, go to town. And, of course, there's the reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles out on vid today, but the less said about that, the better. 

If you're looking for something with a bit more to offer, though, consider these flicks: 

The Skeleton Twins features long-time Saturday Night Live co-stars Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, but this story of estranged twins forced into a reunion offers more drama than you might expect, along with some laughs. You might never look at Hader as merely "Stefon" anymore. Here's the trailer: 

This Is Where I Leave You is a slam-dunk on paper. Based on a best-selling novel by Jonathan Tropper, it stars an unbelievable cast including Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda and Adam Driver. The actual film isn't all that it could have been, often leaving its cast with too little to do, but there are moments when it lives up to its potential — particularly when Driver is on screen. Here's a look: 

At a town hall on Monday evening, Gov. Jay Inslee announced his plan to pump $2.3 billion into public K-12 schools, colleges and teacher workforce training in the next biennium. 

Inslee's education plan would fulfill the state Supreme Court's McCleary mandate to fully fund basic education a year earlier than the court-set deadline; freeze college tuition increases for two years; and restore teachers' cost-of-living pay raises. You read his full plan here. 

What his plan doesn't do is cover the full cost of the voter-approved class-size reduction initiative, which comes at an estimated $2 billion price tag. Instead, his proposal dedicates $448 million in new spending to reduce K-3 class sizes, as required by the court's McCleary decision.  

"What we've decided here is that we cannot fully fund [the class size initiative] in this first biennium, so what we've chosen to do is fully-fund the K-3 portion of that this biennium," David Schumacher, director of the state's Office of Fiscal Management, told KPLU. "There's just simply not enough money available."

There's no word yet on where or how the governor expects to get the money to pay for his plan. He'll release his entire budget proposal on Thursday. 

The Inlander has a slew of event listings for your perusal at all times, as well as Staff Picks carefully chosen by our savvy professionals. If you don't have time to look through all of them, we can help.

Here are some highlights for Tuesday, Dec. 16: 

DJ/DANCE | Whether you're a hardcore goth kid or merely curious about the burgeoning local EDM scene after reading our story about it in the latest Inlander, you should consider heading to The Hop! Tuesday for Elektro Grave presents: KrampasNacht. 

LIVE BANDS | The Colourflies are celebrating the release of their new album Kid Tested Mother Approved with a show at The Big Dipper Tuesday. 

WORDS | Author Stephanie McKenzie drops by Auntie's Tuesday night for a reading and discussion of her poetry, and her research into gender dynamics of the Caribbean. 

FILM | The Garland's Totally Tubular Tuesday selection o' the day? The classic Muppet Christmas Carol, starring the amazing Michael Caine as Scrooge in a role he was born to play. Gonzo, Kermit, Piggy and assorted muppet rats co-star. Here's a look: 

HERE

Eastern State Hospital got hit with a contempt ruling and some serious fines for the delays in its inmate evaluations. (Inlander)

Spokane's recently departed Catholic bishop is denying he orchestrated a smear campaign against the diocese's old lawyers. (S-R)

The suspect in a Lapwei, Idaho, shooting escaped from police custody Monday. (KHQ)

THERE

Idaho beer distributors are trying to shut down 10 Barrel Brewing Co.'s Boise brewpub after the company's sale to Anheuser-Busch. (Idaho Statesman)

A former Boise St. Bronco Girl and Idaho rodeo queen is going to jail for embezzling. Giddy-up! (KREM)

The heroic cafe manager in the Sydney hostage standoff was a WSU alum. (Seattle Times)

ELSEWHERE

The Taliban killed 141 in a school assault in Pakistan, most of them children (AP)

New York Magazine's story about a $72 million-earning teenage stock trader turned out to be bogus. (Washington Post)

Vox takes a look at predictions about millennials from a 2000 book you might recall from our recent cover story on The Selfie Generation. (Inlander)

Challenging the state’s mental health priorities, a Spokane County judge last week issued the first contempt of court ruling against an Eastern Washington psychiatric hospital for failing to conduct timely evaluations of several jailed defendants awaiting trial, fining the hospital $200 for each day of delay for each defendant.

Judge Salvatore Cozza ruled Friday that Eastern State Hospital had willfully violated multiple orders by not conducting competency evaluations, or even scheduling them, within court-established deadlines. Cozza notes that several Seattle-area courts have issued similar rulings as backlogs have increased.

“We are clearly in a situation where individuals are languishing [in jail] way too long,” Cozza says during the hearing Friday afternoon. “Their cases are getting backed up and we really are getting into an intolerable situation.”

State law calls for jailed defendants to undergo mental health evaluations within seven days, but wait times often average more than a month. Cozza faults state lawmakers and administrators for setting such deadlines without the staffing and budgetary support to meet them, leaving defendants caught in limbo.

“There have been conscious decisions … that have created this problem,” Cozza says. “This is not something that snuck up on decision makers without warning. This has been coming for a long time.”

Mental health advocates have repeatedly asked for stronger enforcement of deadlines on competency evaluations. Some defendants have served more time awaiting evaluation than they would face upon conviction of their alleged crimes, upward of six months in some cases.

In December of 2013, 25-year-old Amanda Cook killed herself in the Spokane County Jail after waiting several weeks beyond the state deadline for an evaluation.

Whether it's catching up around the water cooler on a Monday, or making small-talk with coworkers at your office Christmas party, you need to be conversant in the latest sports news. That's where Monday Morning Placekicker comes in. Check it out: 

EAGLES END SEASON IN BRUTAL FASHION
Everything was set up for Eastern Washington to make a run to at least the Final Four this season. They won the Big Sky despite missing an injured Vernon Adams, Jr., for a few games. The star QB returned in time to lead the team to a win over rival Montana in the regular season, then again against the Griz at home in the Eagles' first playoff game. 

Hosting Illinois State on Saturday, the Eagles saw their season come to an abrupt end at the hands of a superior offense. The Redbirds racked up 59 points and 542 yards and held on to the ball for nearly 37 minutes. It's pretty hard for Adams to do his thing if he's on the bench, but that's where he was most of the day. EWU did run up more than 500 yards and 46 points themselves, but three turnovers (compared to none) did them in. 

Adams will be back for one more year, so there's no reason to expect EWU to dive in the Big Sky standings any time soon. The big question is whether they can keep coach Beau Baldwin. And even bigger — can ANY of the Big Sky teams keep up with their counterparts in the playoffs anymore? Been a few years since the Eagles title. 

While the season might be over, we still suggest you check out our awesome photo gallery from Saturday's game. 

ON THE UPSIDE FOR EWU SPORTS
The Eagles' men's hoops team already has one signature road win this season, taking out the Hoosiers in Indiana. Sunday, they nearly got another in Seattle against the No. 17 UW Huskies, falling 81-77. The Eagles took a 12-point lead into halftime, and battled to hold off the Huskies' comeback throughout the second half. UW didn't take the lead until just 1:27 was left in the game. After starting the game hot from outside, the Eagles were just 4-for-17 from 3 in the second half, and that did them in. The team has another crack at a Pac-12 team coming up at Cal before the Big Sky season opens. At this point, EWU is clearly a frontrunner for the conference title and a potential NCAA bid. 

ZAGS BACK ON TRACK
A week after the heartbreaking overtime road loss to Pac 12 favorite Arizona, Gonzaga packed up and headed on the road again for a showdown with a legendary basketball power also from the Pac 12, UCLA. 

Unlike the back and forth, wire-to-wire barn burner in Tucson, Saturday's matchup with the Bruins in Westwood was pretty one-sided, with the Zags exerting their size and deep bench on Steve Alford's club from the get-go. They were up 11 at the half, ended up winning by 13, and showcased Kyle Wiltjer and Byron Wesley, both of whom ended up with more than 20 points. Both teams hit nine three-pointers, but the Zags shot 59 percent from the field on the night, while holding UCLA to 42 percent. That's all you really need to know. 

Tonight, Gonzaga is back in action in Spokane, matching up with a 1-7 Texas Southern team that should be a gimme before the team goes to Seattle to face Cal Poly on Saturday. In other words, the Zags are a Top 10 team — No. 8 in the latest AP poll, to be exact — heading into the conference season, and looking like a team ready to roll into March with a high seed in the NCAA tourney as long as everyone stays healthy. 

The most exciting part of the game was having ESPN's Dick Vitale on the call, making his first visit to UCLA in 15 years. You might consider his style over-the-top, but he's still a PTPer in the announcing game, and hearing him sing the praises of Gonzaga coaches, players and program while they mopped the floor in the House that Wooden Built was pretty damn cool. 

SEAHAWKS POISED FOR A RUN
Sunday's game against the 49ers wasn't quite as dominating as the beat-down the Seahawks put on San Fran back on Thanksgiving, but the 17-7 win knocked the Niners out of playoff eligibility, so it was particularly sweet. And the Hawks have the look of a team ready to make a serious run in the playoffs to defend their Super Bowl crown. 

The D? Utterly dominating right now. They've only given up 27 points total over the past four games. That's just freaky-good in the NFL, as Grantland duly noted. The offense? Not exactly lighting it up, but Marshawn is Beasting again, Wilson continues to be scary-efficient, and last year's squad wasn't exactly scoring at a furious pace before Seattle crushed the Donkeys in the Super Bowl. The schedule looks good, too, as this week's opponent, the division-leading Arizona Cardinals, have to face the Seahawks with either their third- or fourth-string quarterback behind center. That should go well for them. If the Seahawks win the division, they'll host at least one home game, and with a little help from the Cowboys, Packers and Lions — help in the form of losing — Seattle could suddenly find themselves with home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. 

Happy Monday, folks. Glad to see you survived the weekend. Now let's talk about getting out and about today — we have a lot of event listings on the Inlander website for you to check out, as well as carefully culled Staff Picks. 

Here are a few highlights for Monday, Dec. 15: 

LIVE BANDS | Well, I wouldn't exactly call the intense band led by former Pantera screamer Phil Anselmo "soothing," but if you're into swampy, blues-based metal that's a might less proggy than his old band, the Knitting Factory show tonight featuring Down along with Orange Goblin, Bl'Ast and King Parrot could be for you. Here's a taste of down: 

WORDS | Competitive performance poetry in December? Wonder if I could win the cash prize with my dramatic interpretation of The Grinch. Or a spoken-word version of Down's greatest hits. Anyway, tonight The Bartlett is hosting the Spokane Poetry Slam. 

COMMUNITY | Head on over to River Park Square and find the Community Memorial Tree, sponsored by Hospice of Spokane. You can help decorate the tree for free through Dec. 21. 

The last Spokane City Council meeting of the year will be held tonight, a week before Christmas. It won’t include any presents for the council’s conservative minority and will have a lump of coal for one council member.

Included in the council’s packed Monday night agenda is a vote on an ordinance that will mandate that contractors for public works projects worth over $350,000 hire apprentice labor. If passed, the ordinance will require beginning next year that 5 percent of all labor hours on public works projects be done by apprentices. That requirement, which can be waived under some circumstances, will rise to 15 percent in 2017.

“Everyone agrees that there is a skilled worker shortage that’s here now and is going to get worse in the future,” say City Council President Ben Stuckart, who points to a survey of Washington state contractors who’ve had a hard time finding qualified workers.

Stuckart says the city has half a billion dollars worth of public work projects lined up. The ordinance, he says, will use the city’s heft to help incubate new skilled workers, which are in high demand for both public and private projects.

“We have a vested interest in making sure that we have a skilled workforce to meet that demand,” says Stuckart, who expects the ordinance to pass on a 5-2 vote.

If it somehow doesn’t, there will be at least one administration employee with not much to do. In November, the City Council passed a budget that included a $60,000 salary for a compliance officer to oversee the yet-to-be-passed ordinance.

Councilman Mike Fagan says that while he’s supportive of having more apprentices, he views this ordinance as an overreach.
“Basically, what we are going to do is ram this apprenticeship program down the throats of people that will be employing these people,” he says. “We will be biting the hand that feeds us.”

Fagan says that the construction industry hasn’t entirely rebounded from the recession and this mandate won’t help.

Cheryl Stewart, the managing director of the Inland Northwest Association of General Contractors, opposes the ordinance as well. She agrees that there is a shortage of skilled workers, but she says that ordinance will just make it more difficult for the industry to manage its workforce and some contractors will avoid city projects.

“We all want the same things,” says Stewart, who blames the worker shortage on not enough people being steered toward construction professions. “Instead of mandating and punishing, [the City Council] should be incentivizing and encouraging.”

Fagan also doesn’t care for the politics he says are driving this ordinance.

“We know that there is an outside special interest called Fuse Washington is driving this train,” says Fagan, referring to a Seattle-based progressive advocacy organization.

Melissa Carpenter, the president for the Spokane Alliance, a coalition that supports the ordinance, says that there were a few people from Fuse Washington involved in the campaign, but she says it’s being driven by people in Spokane.

To that end, she says that supporters of the ordinance will be packing the council chambers on Monday.

While this ordinance is likely to be the biggest thing on the council’s agenda, it’s also notable what’s absent.

The council was originally slated to consider a pair of measures from Fagan related to how the mayor’s salary is set. The mayor’s salary is currently set by a clause in the city’s charter, which the council has complained results in overgenerous compensation. Fagan’s measures would have created a ballot proposition, which, if passed, would task the city’s Salary Review Commission with setting the mayor’s salary. He had hoped to get the proposition on the February special election ballot, which he says would have allowed enough time after its passage to apply the changes to the next budget cycle.

However, he said it was taken off the agenda by Stuckart at the request of the school district, which has a levy on the February ballot.

Stuckart defends the decision.

“We were asked by another taxing authority not to put this on the same ballot,” he says. “It’s a respect issue when they don’t want something on their tax ballot.”

He says that different issues bring out different voters, and “schools get 20 percent of funding from local levy, and we don’t ever want to be in position where it fails because we had something on the ballot.”

Now, the proposition likely won’t be considered by voters until August, and Fagan suspects there won’t be any changes to how the mayor’s salary is set until 2017.

“The question that should be asked by the public is: Who does the council work for?” says Fagan. “Does it work for the school district?”

HERE 

CdA police are looking for a runaway teen, who disappeared Sunday night with no shoes or coat. (UPDATE: Teen was found safe and sound on Sherman Ave). (KXLY)

Merry Christmas! A Spokane company is laying off 45 workers just in time for the holidays. (KHQ)

A look into Spokane's long-term transportation plans. (S-R)

THERE

Seattle police are looking for a few good hackers as they deal with sensitive video issues. (Seattle Times)

Need a kidney transplant and living in Idaho? It could be a while. (Idaho Statesman)

A Portland demonstrator was hit by a car while taking part in a "Black Lives Matter" protest, and then charged for being in the street.
(Oregonian)

ELSEWHERE

A Sydney hostage standoff came to an end when police raided the place. (New York Times)

Turkey has started mass arrests of journalists, and the country's president doesn't want to hear any bitching about it. (BBC)

Elizabeth Warren is NOT running for president. According to Elizabeth Warren. (CNN)