Kip Hill: Favorite stories of 2015
It’s hard to believe I’ve spent nearly three years in Spokane, writing for The Spokesman-Review. This town has become my adopted home, and I’m no longer shocked by any of the stories that find their way onto my desk, and then (hopefully) into the newspaper. Here are a few from 2015 that will stay with me, starting with a story made up of more than the written word.
1. The Spokesman-Review Podcast, debuted July 21
What began as a pitch to newspaper brass in early summer turned into a weekly endeavor I gladly share with colleague Nathan Weinbender. The show gives us an opportunity to share the behind-the-scenes stories of S-R coverage, and occasionally weigh in on the latest Adele album.
2. Family mourns victim of Pasco police shooting
The death of Antonio Zambrano-Montes in February came at a time when the nation’s focus was on deaths involving law enforcement. By the time photographer Tyler Tjomsland and I were called to travel to Pasco and tell the story of Zambrano-Montes, his family and the city where the shooting had taken place, the story was already a few weeks old. We fought issues of trust and our unfamiliarity with the community to tell this story.
3. ‘Partial victory’ for remaining Kettle Falls Five, as jurors acquit family of most charges
The courtroom is a crucible of conflict, pitting people against each other in a very real way that rarely exists so starkly in the outside world. When you throw a philosophical issue into the mix – like whether the federal government should step in to enforce its laws when they conflict with those of the state – and a moral issue – like whether marijuana should be legal – you’ve got a recipe for a compelling story.
4. Quirky world of ‘Night Vale’ podcast comes to the Bing Theater stage
When I look back on 2015, I’ll remember it partly as the year I was introduced to the subversive world of “Welcome to Night Vale.” Part “Twilight Zone,” part “NPR,” the show is a testament to the power of good writing, in all its forms. I had the chance to write a few pop culture pieces this year for Spokane 7, and interviewing Meg Bashwiner ahead of the live Night Vale show in Spokane was one of my favorite experiences doing so.
5. Spat deepens among Spokane County commissioners
The ongoing disharmony between Spokane County’s three sitting commissioners dominated my news cycle in 2015. This was one of the first stories this year that explored the fraying relationship, which would be followed by additional signs of discord during and after the November election, when voters defeated a proposal to increase their ranks by two.
6. Effort under way to restore jail’s ‘gallows gates’ at county courthouse
Any time I can run down to the archives of the S-R, I take it. The germ for this story came from Nostalgia magazine, which ran a piece announcing plans to restore the old gates from the Spokane County Jail yard to their old location just outside the old courthouse. Construction still hasn’t begun seven months on, but history buffs have a lot to look forward to.
7. Sister of man killed in crash with STA bus contests suicide determination
Occasionally, this job offers you a chance to heal. Gladys Shirey’s story was so terribly close to my own that it was tough reporting and writing it. But it all started with a public record – a determination of death as a suicide – that prompted a peak at the life of Thomas Samples.
8. Fire scorches Wenatchee neighborhood, destroys dozens of homes
Once again, Tyler and I found ourselves in the middle of an unfamiliar town, tracking a fire that burned the hills above Wenatchee. We monitored the fire on social media and when it seemed like the flames might threaten downtown, we mobilized and hit the central Washington city a few hours before daybreak. Tyler’s shoe-leather reporting got us up in the subdivision that was hit hardest by the destruction, and after several hours of banging our heads against the wall we had a story.