Good news: As of April 10, Spokane County is no longer experiencing an outbreak of the potentially deadly diarrhea-inducing bacterial infection called shigella. The Spokane Regional Health District detected the first case of shigella in October and declared an outbreak on Nov. 20. Lack of access to sanitary facilities is a major factor in spreading the illness, and it has primarily affected Spokane's homeless community. Shigella can cause diarrhea, bloody stool, stomach pain and other issues that result in hospitalization. Spokane County typically sees three to 23 cases a year, but over the course of the outbreak, the health district identified 201 cases. Of those, 45% resulted in hospitalization. In a message announcing the end of the outbreak, the health district said Spokane may still see occasional cases going forward, and that another outbreak can be declared if cases increase again. "The community's collective effort was vital in stopping this outbreak," the health district's message said. "This outbreak further demonstrates the necessity of access to public restrooms and sanitation to protect the public's health." (NATE SANFORD)
BREAKING BEAR
Bear Lake Regional Park, tucked just outside Chattaroy, is closed for 2024 — and that's a good thing. With $1.4 million in federal grant money and $2 million in local matching funds, the Spokane County park will get an extensive renovation. Last week, Spokane County Parks, Recreation and Golf began construction on the shoreline improvement, which will include three new fishing piers, a gravel boat launch ramp for nonmotorized boats and updates to the park's restrooms. The renovation will also include paving the dirt parking lot and potholed road to the park, the Spokesman-Review reported. The project is scheduled to be finished in 2025 and is supported by the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy, the Riverside School District and three organizations dedicated to disabled veterans — the Inland Northwest Disabled Veterans Sports Association, the Northwest Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Blinded Veterans Association. (COLTON RASANEN)
SPOKANE SPAMBOT
Last month, social media users on X (formerly Twitter) began noticing that a spam account designed to sell subscriptions to an adult entertainment website was flooding the replies to tweets that mention "Spokane" with bizarre, humanlike takes on local politics that were generated by artificial intelligence. It turns out the account, with the first name "Dakota," was part of an army of largely identical spambots injecting AI-generated hot takes into local politics across the country. Dozens of real people — including Idaho state Sen. Scott Herndon — have confused the accounts for real people and started arguing with them about politics. The operation's ability to sow political discord raises interesting questions about the future of AI and politics. The "Spokane" Dakota account was suspended earlier this month — possibly the result of direct intervention from Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown, who wrote on X that she had reported it. "The mishmash of views and hashtags would have been amusing if it wasn't such a disturbing representation of political discourse on social media," Brown wrote. Read more here. (NATE SANFORD) ♦
