In brief: Felts science event for kids postponed

An open house at Felts Field that was being planned for Saturday to teach children about science and engineering has been postponed.

The event was being organized by the Honor Point Military & Aerospace Museum at Felts Field in conjunction with the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

Officials with the museum said the event, billed as an extraterrestrial and robotics experience, will be held later this year.

YWCA: Soda ad depicts violence

A local nonprofit that helps vulnerable women has severed ties with PepsiCo Inc., saying a recent Mountain Dew ad makes light of domestic violence.

The video depicts a bruised woman on crutches trying to pick a suspect from a police lineup of black men and a goat. The goat tells the woman: “Snitches get stitches, fool.”

Regina Malveaux, executive director of the YWCA of Spokane, said she believes the commercial is racist and makes light of domestic violence. The nonprofit removed three Pepsi machines from its Spokane office at 930 N. Monroe St., Malveaux said. The machines are owned by a third-party vendor.

“Everybody makes mistakes, but these kinds of images are so destructive that it really is incumbent upon us to take a stand with our dollars,” Malveaux said.

PepsiCo partnered with Californian rapper Tyler, the Creator, who will perform at the Knitting Factory in Spokane tonight, to create the commercial.

The company pulled the ad last week. In a statement released to the AdWeek website, PepsiCo said, “We understand how this video could be perceived by some as offensive, and we apologize to those who were offended.”

Man arrested after Spokane shooting

A domestic violence incident between a woman and her ex-boyfriend appears to have led to a man being shot Monday night.

A Spokane police officer heard a gunshot while patrolling the West Central neighborhood about 8:30 p.m. and found a man who had been shot in the leg.

The victim, identified as Derrick Arias in court records, told police he was shot near the 1200 block of North Cochran Street. A man pointed a gun at a woman, but instead shot Arias among a crowd of people, records say.

Billy J. Wessels was arrested nearby later that night on suspicion of shooting Arias. He also is accused of threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend moments before the shooting.

The woman told authorities she broke up with Wessels last week and that he had been verbally and physically abusive toward her. Earlier Monday evening he came to her home and pushed her off the porch, she said. Her sister tackled Wessels, but he punched her in the face, she told officers.

She said she heard a gunshot before seeing Wessels holding a pistol and Arias wounded. When police arrested Wessels, he told them his ex-girlfriend’s sister tried to stab him.

Wessels is jailed at Spokane County Jail with a $100,000 bond.

Inslee signs law on accountability

OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee has signed a measure that enhances the state’s K-12 school accountability system.

The bill signed Tuesday gives state school officials more say about transforming the lowest-achieving schools. Under the measure, if schools fail to improve, the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction would come in to try to turn around the school. The school could ultimately be shuttered if it doesn’t improve.

The state teachers union opposed the bill because of a provision that may allow districts to reopen contract negotiations to help with school transformation.

The new law builds on an existing school accountability system that the Legislature, OSPI and the state Board of Education have been working on for years.