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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

FRIDAY, DEC. 31, 2010

New Year's Eve 2000. (Molly Quinn / The Spokesman-Review)

Parting Shot: Auld Lang Huh? 

New Year's Eve is one of those love-it-or-hate-it holidays. But no matter how you feel about celebrating, odds are you're going to hear "Auld Lang Syne" at least 500 times. There is no escape. Naturally, Web searches on the song pop like champagne corks on…

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New Year's Eve Wild Card 10 

Light blogging ahead. I've got to get my house ready for tomorrow's Festival of Eating Leftover Christmas Crap. That's right. My Norwegian sister-in-law hosts the Festival of Strange Norwegian Meats and I host the New Year's Day Leftover Extravaganza. But first I have to clean…

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City of Spokane snow plows clear 6 inches of new snow from 37th Avenue at Regal Street Monday, Jan. 5, 2009.  (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)

Plowing through 

It’s 6 o’clock on Wednesday night, and it’s dumping snow. If you’re smart, you’re getting off the roads about now. But the crew inside the small shop in Spokane Valley – perusing maps and keeping an eye on the Weather Channel – is getting ready…

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Charlie Sheen’s late-night hookup was the result, he said, of an allergic reaction.

2010 Hollywood Sleaze-o-rama 

Charlie Sheen’s late-night hookup was the result, he said, of an allergic reaction. If 2010 made you feel like you wanted to hide in a closet and bury yourself under all the coats, then you were probably just trying to escape the storm of sleaze…

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Jets fined $100,000 

The NFL has fined the New York Jets $100,000 for the Week 14 incident against the Miami Dolphins in which strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi tripped cornerback Nolan Carroll(notes) during a punt return. Alosi was fined $25,000 by the team and suspended indefinitely soon…

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Fake pot banned 

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington state pharmacy board has voted to adopt a rule that would ban the sale and possession of synthetic marijuana. The board's emergency rule would mirror new Federal Drug Enforcement Administration rules banning five chemicals used to make synthetic marijuana.…

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My Two Cents: In Praise of Larry Spencer 29 

He's the guy with the mullet that Huck's Online regulars ridicule religiously. He's got whacky conspiracy theories, has had his own legal troubles and no one seems to know what he does for a living. He makes claims of insider knowlege of senatorial bribery but…

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Murkowski

It's official 

JUNEAU, Alaska – Sen. Lisa Murkowski was officially named the winner of Alaska’s U.S. Senate race Thursday, following a period of legal fights and limbo that lasted longer than the write-in campaign she waged to keep her job. Gov. Sean Parnell and Lt. Gov. Mead…

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In other embezzling news 

COEUR d'ALENE - A Bonner County woman who embezzled from the founders of a humanitarian relief organization that helps AIDS victims in Africa was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison on Thursday. April Leigh Mathews, 40, will have to pay $109,486 in restitution as…

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Oprah Winfrey will end her daytime television show in May.

The Oprah Network 12 

After three years of planning, delays and management misfires, OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network finally arrives Saturday, the biggest launch of a cable channel in more than decade. Industry observers are eager to see whether the celebrity who can unleash consumer trends can leverage the…

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Trying to revive the ride 

Public transportation officials in North Idaho are working with the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners to revive a recently discontinued bus service primarily used by seniors and people with disabilities. However, commissioners emphasized in a Thursday news conference that there will be no interruption in…

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Kootenai County's new plan 

Kootenai County commissioners on Thursday approved a comprehensive plan that’s been four years in the making. Updating the 16-year-old plan began in the fall of 2006 and involved hundreds of meetings, with input from developers, environmentalists, mayors, state agencies and ordinary citizens. Commissioner Rick Currie…

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President Barack Obama talks to reporters after his meeting with Democratic congressional leaders on a year-end bipartisan agreement to extend expiring tax cuts Monday in Washington. (J. Applewhite / Associated Press)

Obama's approval rating lower 24 

LOS ANGELES – Despite a strong showing during the lame-duck session of Congress, President Barack Obama closes out his second year in office with a slightly lower approval rating than at the end of 2009, according to a Gallup tracking poll. The poll released Thursday…

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Polar Bear Plunge participants dash into Lake Coeur d’Alene in celebration of New Year’s Day.

Polar Plunging 

COEUR d'ALENE - Planning to jump into Lake Coeur d'Alene on Saturday? Climatologist Cliff Harris has some advice for you. "Wear a fur bikini." Because it's going to be cold. Very cold. The Polar Bear Plunge is once again set for its traditional time and…

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Washington’s Nate Fellner, right, celebrates his first-half interception against Nebraska with teammate Cort Dennison.   (Associated Press)

It's a Husky Holiday Bowl 

SAN DIEGO — Jake Locker bounced back from an injury and scored on a 25-yard run in the third quarter, and tailback Chris Polk ran for 177 yards and a score to help the Washington Huskies to a 19-7 win over the listless No. 17…

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THURSDAY, DEC. 30, 2010

A man  prepares to climb to safety after fire department rescuers threw a rope down to him   near the underside of the Monroe Street Bridge on Wednesday.  (Jesse Tinsley)

Parting Shot: Chilly Rescue 

A man prepares to climb to safety after fire department rescuers threw a rope down to him near the underside of the Monroe Street Bridge on Wednesday. Spokane rescue crews used a car from the Riverfront Park Skyride to bring a man up from the…

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Wild Card 12.30.10 15 

Things got a little wild west-ish on the blog yesterday. Politics makes strange blogfellows and all that. Anyhow, today is a fresh snowy slate-- for most of us. I've got a busy day ahead what with less than 48 hours left to fufill my 2010…

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New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, second from left, speaks Tuesday at a press conference on child pornography. Associated Press
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

Former auto industry czar settles with Cuomo 

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former Obama administration auto industry czar Steven Rattner agreed to pay $10 million to resolve lawsuits by New York's attorney general over kickbacks allegedly paid to do business with the state's pension fund. Rattner is…

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Rooney Mara  and Jesse Eisenberg star in “The Social Network.”

Top 5 best and worst movies of 2010 12 

Rooney Mara and Jesse Eisenberg star in “The Social Network.” DENVER, Colo. -- It was the best of movies, it was the worst of movies, and Movies in Toto is here to tally both lists for your consideration. The good news is three of the…

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O'Donnell: Accusations are 'thug' tactics 13 

WASHINGTON – Failed U.S. Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell said Thursday that accusations she misspent campaign funds are politically motivated and stoked by disgruntled former campaign workers. The Delaware Republican appeared on several network morning shows to defend herself a day after The Associated Press reported…

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Peanuts and peanut products are included in a host of unexpected foods, including everything from candy to chili to egg rolls.  (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

Food allergies on the rise 13 

It seems that food allergies are more prevalent today than ever. It’s commonplace for food labels to warn that their products may have come in contact with nuts and for preschools to ban nuts of any kind. Indeed food allergies are on the rise in…

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Former Israeli president convicted of rape

JERUSALEM – Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav was convicted of rape Thursday, a dramatic fall from grace for a man who rose from humble beginnings to become a symbol of achievement for the nation's Jewish underclass. The disgraced politician, who had rejected a plea bargain…

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Huckleberries Online

D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.




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