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

FRIDAY, DEC. 28, 2012

Weekend Wild Card -- 12.29-30.12 31 

I saw "Les Miserables" during my Christmas vacay -- and, yes, it's every bit as good as they say it is. I may take in "The Hobbit" and the latest Bond movie before returning to work on Wednesday. I appreciate the usual swell job that…

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Gonzaga 94, Baylor 87 

Kevin Pangos made seven 3-pointers and scored 31 points to lead No. 13 Gonzaga past Baylor 94-87 on Friday night.Kelly Olynyk added 21 points, Elias Harris had 17 and Gary Bell Jr. added 12 for the Bulldogs (12-1), who shot 52 percent from the field…

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Winter home: Cody Mooney, visiting from Loveland, Colo., tosses his 17-month-old daughter Willow in the air as snow geese take flight behind them Thursday in the Skagit Valley near La Conner, Wash. Bird watchers took advantage of a day without rain Thursday to gaze at some of the tens of thousands of snow geese that spend the winter near the mouth of the Skagit River. The geese migrate from their mating grounds in Alaska and Siberia in late November to spend the winter in wetlands and farm fields of northwest Washington. (Associated Press)

Parting Shot: Bird's eye view 

Cody Mooney, visiting from Loveland, Colo., tosses his 17-month-old daughter Willow in the air as snow geese take flight behind them Thursday in the Skagit Valley near La Conner, Wash. Bird watchers took advantage of a day without rain Thursday to gaze at some of…

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TGIF Wild Card 12.28.12 22 

And so a short work week ends followed by a gloriously long weekend. I'm taking a page from DFO's book and will be taking a couple week's off from SR deadlines to finish my book War Bonds: Love Stories from the Greatest Generation. It will…

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Taylor Kitsch in “John Carter,” definitely Disney’s low moment of 2012.

Worst movies of 2012 

Taylor Kitsch in “John Carter,” definitely Disney’s low moment of 2012 They could have fed a Third World nation, or poured money into cancer research, or tried saving those polar bears stuck on itty-bitty ice floes. But no-o-o-o-o, Hollywood had better things to do with…

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Smile! You're on drunk driver camera 

Smile, you’re on drunk driver camera. In an effort to increase accountability for those with a history of driving while intoxicated, all alcohol ignition interlocks in Washington will be equipped with a camera starting Jan. 1. The camera will snap a photo every time the…

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Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, left, and Anne Hathaway as Fantine in a scene from “Les Miserables.”

Viva Le Mis 12 

Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, left, and Anne Hathaway as Fantine in a scene from “Les Miserables.” To transform the much-beloved “Les Miserables” from stage to screen, Director Tom Hooper had find a way to maintain and amplify the emotional power of the original words…

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Crapo won't fight DUI charge 

WASHINGTON (AP) — A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Michael Crapo says he won’t fight charges of drunken driving when he appears in court in January. That’s according to a spokesman, who says Crapo has consulted an attorney. Crapo registered a higher blood alcohol level in…

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Gookin: McEuen improperly planned 89 

In the comments section The Govenor asks Dan Gookin: I have one for Dan Gookin: Is the spending on the project to date under or over budget? The story really never addresses that point. I would like to know, is McEuen overbudget right now? Gookin…

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Worst way to spend embezzled funds 

A former secretary at a New York City high school is facing $9,000 in fines for inappropriately spending public dollars, mostly on fast food and "dozens of visits to McDonald's," according to the New York Daily News. Kappry Vera resigned from Manhattan's Urban Assembly School…

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U.S. shuts embassy in Africa 

WASHINGTON – The State Department has closed its embassy in the Central African Republic and ordered the ambassador and his diplomatic team to leave the country as rebels there continue to advance and violence escalates, U.S. officials said Thursday. A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Todd…

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WA basic wage rises 14 

The minimum wage in Washington will go up to $9.19 an hour on Jan. 1, keeping the state ahead of all others and nearly $2 above the federal minimum wage of $7.25. Idaho’s minimum wage will remain unchanged at $7.25 an hour, which is just…

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When “The Sound of Music” came out, going to the movies was more of an event.20th Century Fox (20th Century Fox / The Spokesman-Review)

The Sound of Music 

The INB Performing Arts Center will once again come alive with the sound of music. And Inland Northwest fans are invited to sing along. “The Sound of Music Sing-a-Long” returns to town at 7 p.m. Saturday, complete with a “Bag of Musical Moments” – props…

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A woman rides the escalator past a giant holiday ornament at the CambridgeSide Galleria mall in Cambridge, Mass., Monday, Dec. 24, 2012. Although fresh data on the holiday shopping season is expected in coming days, early figures point to a ho-hum season for retailers despite last-ditch efforts to lure shoppers over the final weekend before Christmas. And with concerns about the economy and the looming �fiscal cliff� weighing on the minds of already cautious shoppers, analyst say stores will need to offer �once in a lifetime� blowouts to clear out inventory. (Michael Dwyer / Associated Press)

Consumers nervous 

A woman rides the escalator past a giant holiday ornament at the CambridgeSide Galleria mall in Cambridge, Mass., Monday, Dec. 24, 2012. Although fresh data on the holiday shopping season is expected in coming days, early figures point to a ho-hum season for retailers despite…

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Hospice of N. Idaho fined $50,000 

HAYDEN - Hospice of North Idaho settled with the federal government and agreed to pay $50,000 because of a stolen laptop it lost containing patient information. Hospice settled with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services'office of civil rights, which will receive the funds.…

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Hospital accreditation at risk

Eastern State Hospital’s accreditation has been suspended after a patient strangled another patient last month. The nation’s foremost medical accreditation organization, The Joint Commission, determined last week that the hospital for the mentally ill in Medical Lake allowed patients too much access to items that…

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A clean break-in 

Chicago – A 26-year-old woman came home on Christmas night to find a man she had never seen before folding her laundry and cleaning her apartment in Chicago’s Irving Park neighborhood, police said. A judge set bail at $125,000 Wednesday for Paul Edge. Edge, 58,…

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In this Jan. 12, 1991 file photo, Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf stands at ease with his tank troops during Operation Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia. 
 (AP Photo)

Stormin' Norman dies 

In this Jan. 12, 1991 file photo, Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf stands at ease with his tank troops during Operation Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia. WASHINGTON (AP) — Retired Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who topped an illustrious military career by commanding the U.S.-led international coalition…

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McEuen Field photographed from Parkside Towers on Feb. 4, 2011. Proposed plans for McEuen include removing the baseball fields and closing the Third Street boat ramp.  (Kathy Plonka)

McEuen plan grows- so does price 92 

McEuen Field photographed from Parkside Towers on Feb. 4, 2011. COEUR d'ALENE - The McEuen Park designers want the city to add previously cut amenities to the park design, saying the scaled-down version has lost the project's original focus: Creating a one-of-a-kind public destination. The…

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Woman killed by train in Sandpoint  13 

A train struck and killed a 28-year-old woman walking along the railroad tracks in Sandpoint early Thursday morning, according to an Idaho State Police news release. Police identified the woman as Erin M. Likkel of Huntsville, Ala. A Burlington Northern Sante Fe train employee spotted…

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Coeur d'Alene Tribe elder Cliff SiJohn announced the arrival of Scotland's Royal Dornoch Golf Club during the opening ceremony of the Circling Raven/Royal Dornoch Challenge at the golf course in Worley in 2005.  (Kathy Plonka)

Coeur d'Alene Tribe elder dies

Coeur d'Alene Tribe elder Cliff SiJohn announced the arrival of Scotland's Royal Dornoch Golf Club during the opening ceremony of the Circling Raven/Royal Dornoch Challenge at the golf course in Worley in 2005. Clifford J. SiJohn, a Coeur d’Alene Tribe elder active in preserving the…

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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.