Eastern Washington has changed both the time and location of the football scrimmage it plans to stage today.
The scrimmage, the second of fall camp, will be held at Gonzaga Prep High School instead of Woodward Field and will start at 2:30 p.m. instead of 10:30 a.m.
You can get more details, along with some quotes from head coach Beau Baldwin, here, and be to check back Friday evening for a post-scrimmage story.
Search giant Google will dip its toes into the electronic medical records of Spokane.
The company, based in Mountain View, Calif., is a partner with the entity that manages electronci records for area hospitals, Inland Northwest Health Services.
The INHS-Google deal is part of a three-part pilot test funded through the state Health Care Authority.
The tests will try to answer whether individual medical records kept in "record banks" under the control of each person will result in improved health care.
Searchers found the body of missing Coeur 
d'Alene woodcutter Daniel E. Varner, 54, was found at 2 p.m. today near Forest Service Road 202 near Deception Creek. Varner reportedly left his Coeur d’ Alene home to cut firewood in the Coeur d’ Alene National Forest Saturday. Varner was found near his vehicle. The cause of his death is under investigation. The Kootenai County Sheriff's Department will provide more details when they become available.
I was driving to the Spokane Valley just as the huge thunderstorm appeared. I should have been smart and parked underneath the I-90 overpass as I saw a police motorcycle -- and several cars -- do.
Instead, I got off the freeway at Argonne, but for the last few minutes of my drive toward the Argonne exit, I was driving on instinct alone. It was impossible to see. I scooted into a parking lot and parked close to a huge truck, shielding one side of my car from the hail. It was cartoon hail. Huge. I thought my car would be dented. In addition, lots of lightning. After about five minutes, it passed. I drove by a gas station. Cars had crammed themselves underneath the overhangs above the gas pumps. Eerie.
In journalism world, we often write about how weather surprised people. Flooding their streets, their homes, whisking them away in hurricanes and tornadoes.
The weather between noon and 1 p.m. here wasn't that strong, but it showed the vulnerability we all have to the weather that hits, unannounced.
Anyone else out there get caught in the worst of it?
New owners hope to reopen McGlades on the road to Green Bluff Sept. 9.New owners plan to reopen McGlades Bistro & Wine Bar, at the corner of Yale and Day-Mt. Spokane roads, where many drivers turn off to visit the collection of farms, early next month — more than a year after the last owners shut it down amid controversy about expansion of the business.
And the future of McGlades remains unclear in the face of ongoing litigation over the use of the property.
Now owned by Triple Charged LLC, the roughly 4,400-square-foot bistro will offer specialty items – like sauces, candies and breads – a menu of sit-down and take-and-bake foods and a drive-through espresso lane, said Summer Goetz, a former manager who is now a co-owner. Owners also plan wine-tasting events and dinners that will draw customers.
“We’ll be similar in concept to what they had before,” Goetz said. “We’ll be specializing in Northwest wines and microbrews.”
I don’t know if you’ve had the chance to read Spokesman-Review staff writer Betsy Z. Russell’s reflections – Reporter’s Notebook: Shaken by the Duncan Case -- but it’s very powerful.
I’ve been thinking about her, S-R reporter Meghann Cuniff, the jury, Steve Groene and so many others who have had to spend time in that courtroom listening and experiencing all the grisly evidence.
Here’s what Betsy wrote last week:
"...It is impossible not to be shaken by the horrific details of the Duncan case. It reaches the core of something every parent holds deep inside: the desire to protect and raise our children to live their own happy lives. As a parent, I know that when I first looked into the beautiful face of my newborn child, everything changed. Life's priorities rearranged, and this amazing, miraculous little person who had come into the world took an indelible place in my heart. That feeling only strengthened when my son was born three years later. …
“…It's not just parents -- the crimes involved in this case violate something central we all feel as human beings that must be wired into our very nature to enable us to survive as a human race: the sense that innocent children are not to be harmed.
“That's part of the reason why it's so important to cover this case, even when the tale is a terrible one.”
I tried to avoid reading the stories at first, but inevitably, Bill Morlin’s story, “Spokane music school among sites Duncan tracked via GPS,” drew me in. It was too close to home, literally and figuratively. Kindermusik is less than half a mile away from my house and my preschool-age son attended the school for several years.
The stories continue to haunt me, but I keep reading. I appreciate the way The Spokesman has presented the news in layers – I read the stories in the paper and excerpts from the blog, but I made a conscious decision not to click on the links to photos, transcripts of testimonies and other evidence that make me want to scream and keep me up late at night.
When I started working for newspapers in 1995, one of the first stories I wrote involved the murder of a 10-year-old boy. I was able to stay relatively calm back then and also in subsequent years when I had to cover crime and breaking news. But when my son was born, I lost my protective armor. Even news of a missing child would bring tears to my eyes. I could no longer do my job with the same degree of toughness that I thought I had.
That’s why I admire Betsy Russell even more. Her work through this Duncan trial has made me aware of how vulnerable our kids can be. Her words have often led me to get up, walk away from my computer and hold my kids even closer.
How about you? Are you keeping up on the Duncan trial? Did you find that becoming a parent made you more sensitive to all the pain and suffering in the world?
In an effort to take advantage of the latest in Internet wizardry, Dino Rossi has come up with a new "network" in which like-minded supporters can keep in touch.
Think of it as Dino does Facebook and MySpace.
When prosecutors opened their case for executing Joseph Duncan, they said they’d call approximately 90 witnesses in the first, “eligibility” phase. But that phase has now ended with only 41 witnesses called, some of them several times. Prosecutors apparently decided that they could present all the necessary evidence without calling as many witnesses, and they’ve closed their powerful and disturbing case. Tomorrow, closing arguments will wrap it up, and help jurors see how each of the individual pieces of evidence they saw fit together into a full picture. But Judge Lodge told the jurors that the closing arguments – from both sides – are not evidence. They’re merely to help them interpret the evidence. He told the jurors to decide the case solely on the evidence presented, including sworn testimony, exhibits submitted into evidence, and stipulations on facts upon which both sides have formally agreed.
The Food and Drug Administration persisted again last week that small amounts of the bisphenol A chemical that seep into plastic food containers aren't a threat to adults or infants.
The FDA ruled bisphenol A, or BPA, safe previsously, yet addressed the issue again after the federal National Toxicology Program was worried about BPA's effect on children and infants.
Now the FDA adds that further research is to be excersised to comprehend how, or if BPA affects, or harms humans.
Adding to the mess, President Bush recently signed a law banning permanently 3 types of phthalates, a chemical used for softening plastics in children's toys and childcare products. Some types of phthalates are even being used today in modern electronics, like Apple's iPhone and iPod.
The law bans temporarily 3 other types of phthalates that need further research.
What do you think?
-Do you think we depend on plastic too much as a culture?
-Who's to blame for the potentially harmful substances being out on the market?
-What are your other thoughts?
Good afternoon, Netizens...
It was the little thunderstorm who thought it could-- and did!
A fast-moving thunderstorm just ripped through parts of Spokane in the last half hour. What made the storm of particular interest is that it hailed so much the streets near Montgomery in the Spokane Valley were WHITE, as if it had snowed.
Nothing like strange summer weather, I say.
Dave
The Olympic Games in Beijing, which have clearly become one of the highlights of the summer for viewers, sports fans and even non-sports folks, are getting massive coverage in America’s newspapers.
A review of Thursday’s front pages shows a clear split on how the stories are being played. East Coast papers that featured the Olympics on the cover focused on the incredible sprinter, Usain Bolt, while the West Coast papers that had the games on the cover went the volleyball route with photos of the bikini-clad Americans.
Today's story on the Joseph Edward Duncan III sentencing proceedings should go to page A1 or B1, some editors said, but they agreed that all Duncan coverage will come with a disclaimer for explicit content.
Editor Steve Smith and assistant managing editor Carla Savalli suggest giving Duncan a more prominent story spot, because of how widely read these stories are (This is also backed by statistics of online viewer count). Features editor Ken Paulman brings up the other point: "I think there's also a lot of fatigue" about the Duncan case too, he said.
• ADVISORIES: Expect an advisory message for explicit content in Duncan content from now on: This applies to the print version, to Twitter's sidebar (individual posts cannot be advisoried) and to online blog posts and news stories.
• CHOICE:We understand that stories like this will turn many people away, Smith said. People can also choose not to read this coverage, Savalli said, but it's better to make the information available. Editors can think of a small handful of regional cases that people would have this much readership, namely Kevin Coe, Robert Yates and Ruby Ridge - the Duncan case being a particularly heinous crime.
PROCESS: In the first of two phases in the sentencing trial, witness testimony and cross-examination occur, and the jury decides whether Duncan should put to death or imprisoned for life. If they choose death, it goes to another phase before he can actually be given death. The second phase is for the government to present more factors and victim impact statements, while Duncan would have the opportunity to present evidence of mental illness or other relevant history if he wishes. In total, the jury will also consider variables like whether the victim(s) was particularly vulnerable, and whether there was vicious intent. More details at Betsy Z. Russell's blog
<» Betsy Z. Russell was on the radio show just now:
This was during the court recess for lunch. Just a handful of onlookers and court personnel and media were present for the video. Courtroom had been cleared. Steve Groene gestured at the onlookers to leave, Russell is saying on the radio with Rebecca Mack, 790 KJRB. Jurors pressed tissue over their mouths, she said. What about you, Mack asked Russell, how are you doing?
"I'm a little shaken but I'm ok. There were no outbursts in the courtroom. The judge did advise everybody in the courtroom... to keep their emotions in check."
But why was it necessary to show the video? To show the eerie comparison of level of violence in both cases, Russell said, and that the video was the best possible way - for lack of a better phrase - to illustrate that. There was another witness, an adult male, who testified about being a victim to Duncan in 1980, Russell said.
» Steve Smith on Mack's show:
There is no such thing as good taste in this grotesque case, Smith said, but the goal of the S-R in this case is to "report what's happening in the courtroom so that citizens can decide for themselves whether justice is done in this case." Namely, because "if they do give him the death penalty there will be no question as to why" and vice versa. The notion of open court classifies people in the media as equal to the public - Journalists have no special privileges that the public does not.
"We don't want to repulse our online readers - our online readers - our followers on Twitter...We have determined that we will not provide great detail," Smith said on the air.
There has been impact on the journalists as well - One reporter said it was one of the worst things he has ever seen, according to S-R reporter Meghann M. Cuniff.
The graphic, 40-minute video of Joseph Duncan torturing 9-year-old Dylan Groene was shown to the jury in open court beginning about 10 a.m. Anyone who wished to be in the courtroom could be, and the same rules applied regarding entrances and exits: in before Judge Lodge sits down, and once you leave you can't come back until a break.
Along with closing the courtroom to the public, Steve Groene had wanted to limit media presence to just one reporter to represent all outlets, but Lodge allowed all reporters with credentials inside. Most who've been covering the trial daily chose to go inside.
Groene stood outside the courtroom lamenting the decision. The audio feed to the media room was shut off, and, at Groene's request, the windows to the courtroom were blocked. Several security guards stood in front of the closed courtroom doors.
Groene said several times that, after the video is shown, everyone in the courtroom who wasn't essential to the court proceedings should be arrested for viewing child pornography. He was heard calling his lawyer to inquire about how he could make a citizen's arrest.
"I want this to go out, that there are people who chose to be in the courtroom who have nothing to do with anything," Groene said.
He asked a woman who appears to be his court liaison if there was any type of screening done on those who went in to determine if they were sex offenders. When she said probably not, he said he'd make a point of doing so himself.
At one point, Groene thanked a sketch artist sitting on a pew outside the courtroom for not going in for the video. She told him that everyone empathizes with him but that she doesn't appreciate his use of profanity. He angrily replied that he lives in USA and can say what he wants. FBI and US Marshals approached, and the two separated. Groene later apologized.
Before the courtroom doors closed, Groene angrily gestured to a row of onlookers to leave the courtroom. They didn't.
I'm a Master Food Preserver.
I got my certification exam back in the mail yesterday. I took classes this spring, along with 25 plus other area farmers, educators and others through the Washington State University Extension service to become a food safety advisor/master food preserver.
The ten weeks of classes culiminate in one huge test (it's open book/open notes). Instructor Lizann Powers-Hammond said her 9-year-old daughter helped her with the tests (so you'll notice I got a whole bunch of stickers for my effort.)
I'd done canning over the years, but the classes really helped me understand the whys about canning and food safety. Now I know which shortcuts are OK and which can be deadly.
Next Wednesday's paper will have the last story in our canning series on tomatoes and salsas. Thanks for staying tuned. After that we'll be back to our regular programming.
After an afternoon of phone calls and emails with political consultants, campaign managers, etc., it's nothing but day-after sunshine and candies.
Everyone I talked to claimed to be happy -- usually very happy -- with the results. Incumbents said challengers fell short of expectations, and challengers said incumbents should have done better.
"It is clear we are on track for victory," said a memo from Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Randy Dorn, who so far has gotten 31 percent of the vote in a six-way race.
Across the way, incumbent superintendent Terry Bergeson's campaign was equally pleased with her 36 percent. "By every honest analysis, Dorn suffered a crushing defeat last night," is how campaign guy Alex Hays saw the results. "I was amazed at how well it was for us."
At Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland's campaign, Todd Myers was "very pleased" with Sutherland's near-tie with Democratic challenger Peter Goldmark. "Four years ago we got 41 percent in the primary," Myers noted. And Sutherland polled about 5 points better than gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi, he said, a fact not meant to knock Rossi but to suggest that Democratic turnout was higher in the primary.
Goldmark's campaign: equally happy. "We're the challenger," said campaign manager Heather Melton. "We've come a long way."
And attorney general? Incumbent Rob McKenna, with 56 percent, called last night to say how pleased he was. Challenger John Ladenburg "is throwing a lot of punches, but he's not landing them," McKenna said.
The Ladenburg campaign's take, with its 44 percent? "The results are good," said campaign manager David Sawyer. "We're at 45 percent without doing a thing. We have nowhere to go but up."
Home from camping, we are kickin' it on the couch watching men's diving. Out Australian Matthew Mitcham will be competing later in the week and I'm wondering now if I'll be able to take watching his 10-meter platform performance. I think I'll have to make the mute button my friend.
Cynthia Potter, one of the diving commentators for NBC, is driving me bananas. She rarely has anything kind to say about the athletes and to us fans, she explains things like how the springboard works as if we are dunces.
The only reason to keep the sound up would be to hear Potter's color man talk about Mitcham. I'm curious if he would mention anything about the young diver coming out and the subsequent international attention for the one of only 10 openly gay athletes in these Olympic Games.
Friday is set to be a big movie day in Spokane. Counting “The Rocker,” which opens Wednesday, eight new movies will be playing on the day heading into the weekend.
Besides the mainstream offerings – “The Rocker,” “Death Race,” “The House Bunny” and “The Longshots” – four films play to more exclusive audiences.
“Hamlet 2” is an edgy comedy that stars Steve Coogan as a wannabe actor who, having taken a job teaching drama at an Arizona high school, responds to the school principal’s threats to cancel the program by writing and directing a stage production that features a time machine and pairs Hamlet with – uh, Jesus.
The other three films are AMC Select choices. “American Teen” is a documentary focusing on teens attending an Indiana high school. “Henry Poole Is Here” stars Luke Wilson as an alcoholic man whose life changes when a stain on the side of his house takes on the appearance of … Jesus?
Does anyone detect a theme here?
The final film, “Bottle Shock,” isn’t a documentary, but it is based on real events involving the 1976 wine tasting that brought international fame to the California wine industry. The film’s editor, Dan O’Brien, is a 1988 graduate of Coeur d’Alene High School.
So … lots to see. My suggestion: Go and see something.
Below: Alan Rickman, shown here at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival with Sigourney Weaver, stars in the film “Bottle Shock.”
Photo by Associated Press
I caught up with Wilco’s bassist John Stirratt while the alt-country band was taking some downtime between shows.
Wilco’s albums have an unpredictable quality. Where one album could take a more esoteric, experimental approach, another, such as last year’s "Sky Blue Sky," could play more to traditional roots.
Stirratt, the only original member of Wilco besides chief songwriter Jeff Tweedy, said a new album is in the works, but just in the infancy stages of writing and there’s no telling which direction it will take.
Here’s some excerpts from a brief interview I had with Stirratt by telephone.
IJ: How’s the new album coming along? Has the songwriting process changed much over time?
JS: “We’re collecting songs but nothing has really taken shape yet. We have a lot of raw material and basic forms. The process hasn’t changed so far. For me personally, there is a lot of talk, more sort of post-production overdubbing touches. We might make it more dancey, or less linear and achieve that in other ways. There is so much talent in this band, we can analyze songs so much that that approach is different than just playing in a room. We take our time and see what happens, keeping in mind everything is totally hypothetical at this point.”
IJ: “Sky Blue Sky” was regarded as a sellout album by some critics. Did that surprise you?
JS: “It seems like there will always be someone who is disappointed with every record we make. Luckily more people were entertained than disappointed. But if that’s a sellout album then we must be morons; it’s a pretty lame sellout attempt. The record is moody. This kind of thing doesn’t really explode in the public eye. Maybe if we had got Timbaland to produce it or something…”
IJ: Some critics call Wilco “the American Radiohead” because of the artistic autonomy you all seem to possess. What do you think of that?
JS: “There are a number of bands who work in complete freedom at the indie level. The bigger you are, the harder it is to do that. I’m glad people think we have that autonomy and I’m happy that we can do that, but I wouldn’t make that comparison musically. The main thing is that we’ve had an audience for a long time. Names are bigger than labels. The Radiohead brand name is bigger than every label. It’s proven that if you have the people’s ear that’s bigger than the industry.”
IJ: What is the Autumn Defense project like for you compared to Wilco?
JS: “Autumn Defense is something I started with Patrick (Sansone) from Wilco. That’s how he ended up in Wilco. There are more similarities than differences. There is still some compromise, it’s very collaborative. I still write songs but I see them from point A to B, whereas in Wilco I contribute parts here and there.”
IJ: How about Laurie and John (the project with your twin sister)?
JS: "We’ve both been in bands forever but we’ve never been able to record together. One winter we had nothing to do so we said, ‘Let’s make a record.’ Autumn Defense played on that record."
IJ: I was listening to some of Wilco's live show streams recently and it seems like Glenn (Kotche) is going just nuts on the drums. What's up with the live show these days?
JS: “We’ve been together for a while. We have a lot of control over the dynamics indoors. Patrick is adding a lot of Mellotron for atmosphere. Glenn has his outbursts here and there, that’s for sure."
IJ: Since you’re the only original member besides Tweedy, can you talk about how you’ve seen the Wilco evolve?
JS: "There have been so many episodes but the one constant is Jeff’s songs and voice and guitar. We did these shows in Chicago where we played the band’s entire catalog over five nights and it was funny to go back and visit every part of the band’s history – all the different colors and personalities that came through. Some of the sessions for those records had a lot of stuff that was really well orchestrated. The last record was based around a lot of riffs and free associations. Some of that stuff could be re-arranged, that would be kind of fun. But I also like working from scratch and Jeff’s got so much material."
IJ: What’s in your iPod?
JS: "The Bonzo Dog Band. And Fleet Foxes. That guy has that great husky falsetto."
Wilco appears Thursday at the INB Performing Arts Center with Seattle’s Fleet Foxes. Tickets are $29 through TicketsWest.
Around noon, we finally came to the mouth of the canyon, exiting by way of a deep wash much like the one on the other side of the mountains. Walking out onto the alkali flats of another little saline valley, we saw that it was a little like Death Valley, but not nearly so deep or desolate or long. In this little desert basin Lewis hoped to locate the Jayhawkers’ beaten trail before the winds and blowing sand obscured it altogether.
I took the Vocabpower word quiz in the Today section, um, today, and had no idea what the final word meant.
If you read reporter John Stucke's story on fluoride Sunday, you know it's still a very divided issue in Spokane...you're either for it, or against it. There doesn't seem to be much of a middle ground.
Anti-fluoride activists show up at Regional Health District meetings, and claim fluoride is "a sisnister chemical additive."
Then you have those people who feel we need as much fluoride in our water as we can get. Proponents of adding fluoride to our water say "the lack of fluoridation in Spokane and Coeur d' Alene discriminates against the poor...especially children whose parents don't encourage good dental hygiene."
And here's something to chew on, the number of children throughout the county with dental decay rose from 49 percent to 62 percent between 2000 and 2005, according to the Spokane health district.
So, are you for or against fluoridation? We can start that conversation here...or continue it "On the Record with Rebecca Mack" Monday morning at 11a.m. Call us with your opinion at 232-0790.
-dan
The new, expanded Unity in the Community event in Riverfront Park drew thousands of people to the Cultural Village and performance stage. There was a spirit of friendship in the air as Pacific Islanders, Turkish people and African Americans shared dances with each other and laughed at each other's foibles.
Photography by Jesse Tinsley
By Amy
Imagine a shopping mall contributing a portion of every sale to a charitable cause. When it comes to shopping online, it’s not as far-fetched as you might think.
Charitable shopping-mall sites are cropping up all over the Internet, bringing nonprofit organizations and philanthropic supporters together through Web consumerism.
Charity shopping malls encourage buyers to purchase items from selected retailers through their sites, reserving a percentage of the item’s cost for the mall site while passing on a portion of that percentage to a charity of the shopper’s choice.
Kay's Teriyaki Plus, one of the long-time staples of the North Side teriyaki scene, reopened earlier this summer after finishing repairs to its fire-damaged location on East Francis Avenue (for more on East Francis restaurants, check out this week's column on the blossoming International Row).
To the delight of the at-capacity midday crowd, Kay's lunch buffet is back and churning out the chow mein and chicken.
Tom Bowers/The Spokesman-Review
Though everything is decent buffet fare, a few dishes stand out above the rest.
The Coconut Chicken, served fried in almond chicken-style but with a sweet, creamy coconut sauce, offered surprisingly good flavor, as did the Spicy Chicken, tossed with mixed veggies.
The standard Teriyaki Sauce is fine - a bit on the salty side - but I'd recommend skipping it and going for the bright red, peppery Spicy Sauce (it stands out at 3 o'clock on the pictured plate).
And if they have Bulgogi on the line when you go, make sure to give it a whirl. Kay's version of the salty-sweet Korean beef dish definitely is worth a try. And possibly a return trip or two.
My apologies if this is the wrong direction for my question; I couldn't find a way to email the reporter direct, and actually my purpose isn't to criticize her.
My serious question: do newspapers no longer have copy editors? As the media for conveyance changes more to electronic, will proofing be left entirely to spell checkers?
Is there a way to guard against sad blunders like this one in Ms. Cunniff's story:
“'He and I sat out there and balled for a half an hour,” she said. “I told him he’d win, but he said, ‘No, there’s no winning.’”
Florine Dooley
You are one of several readers who've called or emailed about our unfortunate mistake this morning in the story about the death of former Hayden Lake police chief Jason Felton. We're very embarrassed by this mistake. There's simply no excuse for it. It's offensive to the family and to readers. And it makes us look stupid.
We do have copy editors on duty every night. Those editors read every story we publish. They improve many stories with their careful editing and they prevent many mistakes from getting in the paper. Obviously, we missed this one. The word we should have used was "bawled."
Penmanship, letter writing – talk about old school. Does anybody still practice these ancient art forms?
Besides those folks in the county jail or the convalescent center, I have only been able to come up with one small sliver of society that persists in this archaic form of communication: kids at summer camp.
A Matter of Opinion: Editorial board inner workings
Ask the Editors: We answer questions from readers
Community Comment: Readers take on Spokane issues
Daily Briefing: editor meetings and newsroom news
Eye on Boise: Betsy Russell covers the Capitol
Eye on Olympia: Rich Roesler covers the Capitol
The Fresh Sheet: Recipes, cooking tips and food finds
Hard 7: Rebecca Mack on politics
Here's The Dirt: Parker Howell on growth and development
Huckleberries Online: North Idaho news, gossip
Movies & More: A Dan Webster joint
News Diary: Gary Graham on the media
On The Air: Launching the Spokesman Radio project
Out On The Town: Jill Wagner writes about LGBT issues for 7
Parents' Council: The job of raising kids
Sound Wave: Som Jordan on local music
Spin Control: Jim Camden on politics
Sportslink: Zags, Cougs, Chiefs, preps - latest on local sports
Taste of the Town: Tom Bowers eats and drinks
TXT: Covering life online
Valley of the Shadow: Author John Soennichsen blogs a novel
Video Journal: A giant audiovisual buffet
Vox Box: Online companion to student newspaper
