Reports of "special access" between Spokane Police Chief Craig Meidl and a group of commercial property owners have drawn polarized reactions. While a number of community organizations say Meidl should resign, Spokane's mayor and other conservatives say they support him. Twenty-one community organizations — including Spokane Community Against Racism and the Spokane NAACP — signed a petition last week calling for Meidl's resignation, arguing that he used "his office unethically to provide direction and material support to those he considers his political allies." On the other side, more than 1,000 people signed a counter-petition denouncing "anti-police" groups and proclaiming their support for the chief. Mayor Nadine Woodward, however, said last week that Meidl was simply collaborating with downtown business owners to improve public safety, which she appreciates. Lori Kinnear and other progressive City Council members have criticized Meidl's relationship with the business owners but stopped short of calling for a resignation. For his part, Meidl says he won't resign. (NATE SANFORD)
GUARDS BEHIND BARS
Jail and prison guards who abuse their power over inmates will face more time behind bars themselves thanks to a new law introduced by Washington state Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, and unanimously passed by the Legislature. Gov. Jay Inslee last week signed "Kimberly Bender's law," which increases the punishment for guards who have inappropriate sexual contact with the inmates they're supervising. The law increases custodial sexual misconduct in the first and second degrees to a class B and class C felony respectively, with guards facing from six months in jail to more than nine years in prison depending on the severity of the crime. "Like all the other people we entrust to administer justice, corrections officers must be held to a high standard, especially considering the unique level of authority they have over people in custody," Padden says. The law was inspired by a 23-year-old Quileute tribal member who died by suicide in her jail cell after officials said they couldn't substantiate her claims against a guard who was later found guilty of sexual misconduct with four other women. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)
BAWDY BOOK BAN
In the age of smartphones and widespread internet pornography, Idaho lawmakers turned their concerns to what they saw as a truly pernicious source of "harmful and obscene material" for minors — libraries. The final bill, which passed with only Republican votes, bans libraries from allowing anyone under 18 from accessing books or pictures deemed to be "harmful to minors." That includes anything "appealing to the prurient interests of minors." It allows any minor — or minor's parent — to bring forward a lawsuit to claim $2,500 from the school or library district to blame. The bill does, however, include exceptions for works with "serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value for minors." Or as state Sen. Scott Herndon wrote on Twitter, "The Bible and Michelangelo are fine." The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression in a statement said that while the bill contained more precise protections than similar bills across the country, libraries could "decide simply to remove books as a prophylactic measure." For example: sex-ed books describing prophylactic measures. (DANIEL WALTERS)
