Bloglander

HERE

Public record requests (including from the Inlander) have resulted in finally getting answers for why Planning Director Scott Chesney was ousted.  (SR)

A bunch of county residents are looking at a 10 percent garbage hike. (SR)

So here's what happened when we passed that privatizing-liquor bill. (KREM)

A trial is set in the murder of Delbert Belton (KXLY)

THERE

More revelations on what may, or may not, have happened in the alleged UVA rape story. (WP)

The Sony hack reveals the best crossover idea. (WSJ)

More good news for Wall Street, in a massive spending bill set to do basically everything. (WP)

READING ASSIGNMENTS

The Atlantic's big list of books to read. (The Atlantic)

While the Zags faltered late in route to a disappointing overtime loss to Arizona on Saturday, the team made it abundantly clear that it will remain in the national conversation all season. They hope to keep rising in the polls with a win tonight against cross-region rival Washington State at the Spokane Arena. That game is at 8 pm on ESPNU (in case you didn't get a ticket to the sold-out contest).

But you need more than a good team to hook a national audience, which brings us to a subject where Gonzaga is historically weak: nicknames. Think about it, the last time Gonzaga had a national superstar was Adam Morrison, aka the ‘Stache. But there just aren’t any good nicknames attached to any current Bulldog players. Let’s change that. Grantland’s Mark Titus already came out of the box strong last week, suggesting the tandem of Poland’s Przemek Karnowski and Lithuania’s Domantas Sabonis be called the “Low Bloc.” But here are five suggestions for individual players.

5. Przemek Karnowski — The Karnovore
Feed The Karnovore the ball in the post, and watch him devour his prey (undersized opponents). The Karnovore is a mountain of a man (clearly that he not one to skip meals, nor should he) and he deserves a nickname that national audiences and announcers can really sink their teeth into. The nickname value is heightened further because so many people can’t say his actual name (looking at you, Dan Dakich). This needs to happen. It’s too perfect. 

4. Byron Wesley — The Trojan Horse
The former USC Trojan seemed to appear unexpectedly out of nowhere, but it’s other teams that should beware. Wesley might not look the fearsome foe with a slightly atypical game that centers on his driving bank shots, but when unleashed, the Zags can ride his offensive attack to victory. Just look at the game versus St. John’s. When it looked like there might be trouble for the Gonzaga army late in the game and the reliable soldiers (Pangos and Bell) weren’t coming though, The Trojan Horse emerged from his relatively quiet state and attacked the rim with a seasoned ferocity that the foes simply couldn’t properly prepare to stop. Now about that airballed free throw...

3. Connor Griffin — Not Mike Hart
As in:
Mom or dad walks into the room near the end of the game.
“Oh, is that Mike Hart? Is he still on the team? I always love his hustle.”
“No, that’s Not Mike Hart.”
"You sure?"
"Yes."
Note: Mike Hart is a graduate assistant coach on the team this year, so there's a chance your mom or dad could actually see him on TV.

2. Gary Bell Jr. — GB3
I operate under the belief that at least 20 percent of the popularity of Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (at least before his career went in the tank), was because everyone loves saying “RG3.” It’s simple, easy to understand, and rolls off the tongue. “But Gary Bell is a Jr., not a III!” Correct. But what shot is Gary Bell’s specialty (especially now that he’s shooting them aggressively)? The 3-pointer. Plus, GB3 triples the alluring long "e" vowel sound that’s only doubled in RG3. Come on people, this one’s awesome and takes no effort.

1. Rem Bakamus — The REM Cycle
Mark Few doesn’t like putting his end of the bench guys in the game. Even with a 19-point lead at home with 2:30 left in the second half of this week’s Southeastern Louisiana game, the only guy not in the rotation to get minutes was Connor Griffin (for 1 minute). But when benchwarmer Rem Bakamus checks in, the game “enters The REM Cycle” and fans officially know it’s over. They can turn off their TVs and go to bed to dream about another Zags victory.

Feel free to share your own Gonzaga nickname suggestions in the comments.

All photos by Ryan Sullivan.

There's this thing called Suds and Cinema that we do here at the Inlander. If you don't know about it, this should bring you up to speed. But briefly put, we bring a movie — typically one you've seen or your friends have been telling you to see for years — and then add a local brewery to the mix, making for a night of beer and laughs that has become a force unto itself in its brief year-and-a-half existence.

Coming off a schwing-tastic screening of Wayne's World, we thought we'd let you guys pick the film for the January 21 edition of the series. Here are five finalists the Suds and Cinema Brain Trust has presented for your choosing.

You have until next Wednesday (12/17) to get your votes in and we'll announce the winner shortly thereafter.

If you'd like to lobby for your film of choice, please do some in the comment section. We welcome informed debate, but please don't ask us to show Porky's. It's not gonna happen.

Happy humpday, people! It's all downhill to the weekend from here, so check out our extensive event listings and Staff Picks and get yourself out of the house today. 

If you don't have time to look around, here are some highlights for Wednesday, Dec. 10: 

MUSIC EVENTS & CONCERTS | The Singing Nuns Christmas Concerts are annual treats from the sisters of St. Michael's Convent in Spokane, and today marks the first of a two-day stay at The Bing for their "King of Kings" show. 

LIVE BANDS | Talk about old school, San Fran thrash pioneers Exodus have been going for more than three decades, and they're dropping by The Hop! Wednesday, where they will be joined by Cold Blooded and Xingaia. Read our story about Exodus from the latest Inlander, and then head to The Hop! for some serious pit action. Here's a vid from the band's latest:

ETC | Spokane Folklore Society's weekly contra dance featuring live tunes from the River City Ramblers goes down Wednesday at the Women's Club of Spokane. 

HERE
A former Washington State Representative Brian Sullivan was shot and killed in Alaska. (SR)

Spokane Valley is pretty darn libertarian. Just not, in any sense of the word, when it comes to marijuana. 
 
Spokane brought you Craig T. Nelson, Bing Crosby, and this guy, architect of the U.S. torture policy. (Vice)

THERE

No, the torture report says, torture did not help catch Bin Laden. (NYT)

Whoever would have expected the CIA, of all agencies, to lie? (WP)

A big loophole for political party spending slips into the final pages of a doorstopper of a spending bill. (WP)

OFF THE RAILS
 
This is the type of video that can be made with video game editing programs these days:

It recently popped up on our Facebook feed that Spokane has made another "top U.S. city" listicle. This time, we've landed at the No. 7 spot on a list of 10 "Underrated cities that deserve some love," falling ahead of Baltimore, Newark and... Austin, Texas. 

We're not sure what the criteria for this list was other than just some blogger's personal opinion. The list was posted on Resignation Media's blog The Chive, which pegs itself as "the best lifestyle brand in the world." Basically, all you need to know is that it's just another one of those viral-repost, click-bait-y websites. 

The blog author got a few things wrong, though: 

"Eight hometown breweries, 36 bars, and Washington’s first craft liquor distillery, Spokane is definitely a place to add to your list. Surrounded by beautiful Washington forests, you can find yourself white water rafting, golfing, hiking, touring breweries, and taking the charlift to the top of the mountains all in the same day. A beautiful spot with an awesome nightlife, and a heavy emphasis on local, craft alcoholic beverages, Spokane is totally worth a visit."

According to our tally, based on the most recent compilation in the Inlander's 2014 Annual Manual, the Spokane area in general (including Spokane Valley and Airway Heights) has WAY more than eight breweries. According to that list, there's nearly twice that many, at 15, just in Spokane County, and at least another 10 more located throughout the Inland Northwest region, including Sandpoint, Moscow/Pullman and Coeur d'Alene.

Also, after on a quick search of the Inlander's massive database of restaurants, we found more than 68 locations tagged with the word "bar" in downtown Spokane alone, which includes restaurants with full bars, clubs, and most other alcohol-serving establishments.  

But hey, it's always cool when Spokane is rightly recognized for its awesomeness, and gets lumped in with cities much bigger than us. It means we're catching people's attention. Good job, Spokane. 

Doug Benson loves movies and visiting Spokane

So we don’t know for sure that Doug Benson loves visiting Spokane but he is hitting up the Knitting Factory January 9 to do standup comedy — unfortunately not a Doug Loves Movies podcast taping.

Benson is the sort of dude whose Twitter account explains: “If you can't stand the tweet, unfollow the kitchen.” That should give you an insight into his type of humor. The comedian was seen on Last Comic Standing and starred in the all-important documentary Super High Me. But he’s most well known in hipster circles for his podcast Doug Loves Movies, which tapes often at Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles. The podcast invites artists and comedians of all walks to the stage and features the best game ever, the Leonard Maltin Game, where players are asked to guess a film by the number of stars and brief explanation given by movie critic Leonard Maltin. (Pro tip: Buy a Leonard Maltin Movie Guide book and play this game with friends … so fun).

His other weekly, yet more ridiculous, podcast is Getting Doug with High. Which, like his standup, talks a lot about smoking marijuana. 

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at sp.knittingfactory.com.


Lucinda Williams rocks hard country

Lucinda Williams, 61, sounds kind of drunk when she sings, but in a super cool way. She brings her brand of rockin’ country to the Bing Crosby Theater Valentine’s Day (which is also the day Portland Cello Project comes to town. Good luck deciding which show to attend).

Williams’ first album Ramblin’ was released in 1979, but it took until the late-1990s for her to find mainstream success. Since then she’s been named America’s Best Songwriter by Time magazine and has won multiple Grammys. 

Tickets start at $39 and go on sale Friday at TicketsWest outlets. 

It's the honest truth: No-Li Brewhouse took home the #1 People's Choice award at the Seattle Winter Beer Fest held at Hangar 30 in Magnuson Park over the weekend. 

More than 50 breweries were on hand serving more than 130 beers, all competing for the attention of thirsty and discerning beer drinkers — you can find a complete list of the breweries on hand right here.

No-Li Brewhouse came out on top of three consecutive sessions at the festival, serving up Big Bang Barley Wine, Aksel (barrel-aged on cherries) and Rise & Grind, a vanilla and chocolate-infused brew. "It's a humbling experience to win the People's Choice among so many fantastic Washington breweries," said No-Li's Seattle sales rep Jordan Kowalsky. "With our beer being from Spokane, it's truly amazing to have so much support from Seattle."

The new honors come on the heels of being named #1 Craft Brewery at the Inland NW Craft Brewers Festival and winning #1 IPA at the Washington IPA Festival. 

Read more about No-Li in our profile of the company from 2013. 

When she grew tired of throwing on boring sweats on her way to work after exercising, former Spokane resident Danielle Hatch — now in Houston — began taking the comfy materials found in workout clothes and creatively piecing them together.

Georgie Wear products cater to a demographic of active women who don't feel the need to get all dolled up to transition from sweating it out at the gym to the rest of their daily activities. With backgrounds in fitness and art — she's a former member of Saranac Art Projects — Hatch gathered inspiration from her varying interests. Partnering with her husband, the idea for Georgie won the Rice University Jones School Owl Tank Business Plan Competition this year. 

Like many modern entrepreneurs, Hatch and business partner Meikel Reece — friends since they were co-captains of their high school volleyball team — are using Kickstarter to raise $20,000. If they meet their goal, that money will go to a first run of Georgie clothing and an e-commerce site.

Based on the size of their pledge, backers of Georgie Wear on Kickstarter will have the option to pre-order products, such as various skirts and dresses. 

Every week the entertainment biz drops a batch of new music and videos on the masses, and every week we help you decide what's worth your time, and what's best left behind. Let's do this. 

MUSIC

The Smashing Pumpkins, Monuments to an Elegy. With Billy Corgan the only remaining original member, we continue to learn that he was really the only Pumpkin that ever mattered. Monuments sounds exactly like what you'd expect a new Smashing Pumpkins album to sound like — old Smashing Pumpkins, but not as good. Still, if you love the band, this nine-song set makes for a decent addition. You can hear new tune "Tiberius" right here: 

Cracker, Berkeley to Bakersfield. It's a double album that collects the original Cracker lineup for the first time in 20 years on the Berkeley half (the rock half), while delving into the rootsy country and Americana that founders David Lowery and Johnny Hickman have dabbled in through the years on the Bakersfield disc. Here's a live vid a fan shot of "King of Bakersfield:"

Ghostface Killah, 36 Seasons. As a member of the Wu-Tang, he deserves some blame for their middling recent release. As a solo artist, Ghostface Killah remains a remarkably consistent hip-hop force, and this one proves that point yet again. Here's a tune called "The Battlefield:"

MOVIES & TV

Obviously the biggest DVD release of the week is Guardians of the Galaxy, the winning sci-fi comedy that raked in serious coin this year while successfully straddling the line between action and slapstick. Even the soundtrack turned some young people who aren't old enough to know better into fans of garbage '70s soft rock hits. Chances are you've already seen that one, so perhaps you should give some of these smaller new releases a try: 

Calvary stars the brilliant Brendan Gleeson (The Guard) as a good priest in a small Irish town — but not good enough to keep one of his parishioners from threatening to kill him during a visit to the confession booth. It's more dark than comedy, but watching Gleeson do his thing is a treat — he just won a British Independent Film Award for this role. Here's a look: 

Frank was a Sundance hit, and it's inspired by a hard-to-believe true story of musician/comedian Chris Sievey, who created a character named Frank Sidebottom to lead a band with an unpronounceable name. The schtick, both in real life and the movie, is that Frank (played by Michael Fassbender) walks around his everyday life and performs wearing a large papier-mâché head. Take a look: