April 5, 2012 in Sports SEATTLE – Mariners pitching coach Carl Willis was walking to the ballpark one day on the road last season when he quizzed fellow coach Jeff Datz.

April 5, 2012 in Sports Mark Machtolf knows there are too many quality baseball teams in the West Coast Conference for his Gonzaga team to concern itself over three games this early in league play.

April 5, 2012 in Sports PULLMAN – After Washington State scrimmaged for the first time this spring, football coach Mike Leach lamented afterward that his receivers needed to be more physical. 2

April 5, 2012 in News A Spokane County Sheriff’s deputy arrested a man on a felony drug charge Wednesday after a routine traffic stop. The deputy stopped Larry Marquette, 43, failing to signal near Argonne … 7

April 5, 2012 in News Burglars ate beef sticks out of their victims’ pantry before making off with a load of loot worth thousands, Spokane Valley police said. The victims, who live on the 500 … 1

April 5, 2012 in News COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (AP) — Jay Sisson hasn’t complained about living in his vehicle for the past few years, he said, while he has scratched out a living as a … 2

April 5, 2012 in Sports Personnel changes are part of arena football nearly as much as high-motion receivers and dasherboards.

April 5, 2012 An unspecified number of cattle escaped when the trailer that was hauling them rolled on Interstate 90 today. 1

April 5, 2012 in News A jury deliberated only 35 minutes today before deciding retired firefighter Dave Batty was guilty of felony DUI. Batty, 56, was stopped for speeding on Jan. 6, 2011, at 11:30 … 17

April 5, 2012 in Nation/World CHICAGO — One child doesn’t talk, rocks rhythmically back and forth and stares at clothes spinning in the dryer. Another has no trouble talking but is obsessed with trains, methodically … 9

April 5, 2012 in News A Washington lawmaker has been drawing thousands of dollars in disability payments each year while leading efforts to eliminate benefits the state provides to others. Republican state Sen. Joseph Zarelli … 31

April 5, 2012 in Region BUFORD, Wyo. — A Wyoming town advertised as the smallest in the United States has sold at auction for $900,000. Buford is located between Cheyenne and Laramie in southeast Wyoming. … 5

April 5, 2012 in Region HELENA — Montana’s public schools will receive a $4.6 million increase in state funding for the 2012-13 school year under a settlement reached in a lawsuit filed by a coalition …

April 5, 2012 in Nation/World VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI denounced priests who have questioned church teaching on celibacy and ordaining women, saying Thursday they were disobeying his authority to try to impose their … 16

April 5, 2012 in Region KODIAK, Alaska — The U.S. Coast Guard plans to use cannon fire to sink a derelict Japanese ship dislodged by last year’s massive tsunami. The shrimping vessel, which has no … 7

April 5, 2012 in Business, Region The Tri-Cities in southeastern Washington was the nation’s fastest-growing metro area between 2010 and 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau said today. 7

April 5, 2012 in News CHENEY — The smell of marijuana led Eastern Washington University campus police to a dorm room where they say they found several hundred dollars in cash and other evidence two … 36

April 5, 2012 in Idaho, News One driver was injured and another was arrested at the scene of a weather-related crash on Interstate 90 in Post Falls late Wednesday afternoon.

April 5, 2012 in Nation/World on Page A1 MIAMI – The Pentagon on Wednesday cleared the way for a death penalty trial against five Guantanamo Bay captives charged with engineering the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Retired Navy … 4

April 5, 2012 in City on Page A1 OLYMPIA – With less than a week remaining in a special session designed to solve a billion-dollar budget problem, House Democrats pushed out a new state spending proposal and a … 2