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Opinion > Column

Getting There: How should Spokane County’s transportation system grow?

Mon., Aug. 2, 2021

Some predict that computing will reach a singularity in 2045, as computers become smarter than humans. Meanwhile, local transportation planners are looking at that year and prioritizing what work will need to be done to accommodate a rapidly growing population.

Opinion > Column

100 years ago in the Inland Northwest: A slew of people died in the area’s lakes and rivers, but one victim didn’t drown

Sun., Aug. 1, 2021

The area’s lakes and rivers claimed seven victims, but at least one was actually the victim of foul play.

Opinion > Column

Shawn Vestal: Police were called six times in two days on mentally ill man; the sixth proved fatal

Sun., Aug. 1, 2021

In the two days before Ethan Murray was shot to death by a Spokane County deputy, he had been contacted by local city and county officers on six separate occasions.

Opinion > Column

Spin Control: Social media ads: Less negative, more polarizing than TV?

Sat., July 31, 2021

If you use Facebook, and about two-thirds of Americans do based on current estimates, you may have noticed plenty of political ads as the campaigns heated up last year.

Opinion > Column

100 years ago in Spokane: Two bootleggers were caught running a ‘neighborly moonshine industry’ that was on the rise

Sat., July 31, 2021

A “neighborly moonshine industry” was producing more than 20 gallons of “cawn likker” (corn liquor) in northeast Spokane, until police raided it.

Opinion > Column

Shawn Vestal: McMorris Rodgers sheds crocodile tears over vaccine confidence

UPDATED: Fri., July 30, 2021

If Cathy McMorris Rodgers were sincerely concerned about a lack of confidence in the vaccines, she would do something real about it and forgo the anti-government fear-mongering and craven bootlicking about Operation Warp Speed that she spouted this week.

Opinion > Column

100 years ago in Spokane: Driving was becoming more popular, and the county had the numbers to prove it

Fri., July 30, 2021

One local statistic showed exactly how fast the auto had become the county’s predominant method of transportation.

Opinion > Column

Front Porch: Life as she knew it did not come to an end

Thu., July 29, 2021

I am loosening, ever so slightly, my iron-fisted grip over control of my kitchen.

Opinion > Column

100 years ago in Spokane: A booze runner was facing a federal trial related to whisky, but not in the way you think

Thu., July 29, 2021

Mike Foley, alleged booze runner, was facing trial in federal court – but not for bootlegging.

Opinion > Column

Sue Lani Madsen: Following Seattle money to Spokane

Thu., July 29, 2021

Running a successful political campaign at any level requires money. Preferably local money, but it’s not surprising to find statewide and national organizations interested in the council races in Washington’s second largest city.

Opinion > Column

Shawn Vestal: WSU should stick to its guns on Rolovich’s shots

Wed., July 28, 2021

Maybe Wazzu ought to make Nick Rolovich do all of his coaching remotely.

Opinion > Column

100 years ago in Spokane: Rumors of a growing local Ku Klux Klan chapter swirled, but members claimed the group was misunderstood

Wed., July 28, 2021

Spokane police received confidential tips the Ku Klux Klan was organizing in Spokane and had already recruited 100 men.

Opinion > Column

Getting There: Can a 6-lane I-90 and $1.5 billion prevent gridlock in 300,000-person Kootenai County?

Mon., July 26, 2021

It's safe to say people aren't moving in droves to North Idaho because they want to sit in gridlocked traffic.

Opinion > Column

Faith and Values: To write great stories, we must look beyond ourselves

Mon., July 26, 2021

Great stories free us. Great stories move us to imagine beyond our petty self-preoccupations, beyond our living circumstances, beyond our destructive biases.

Opinion > Column

100 years ago in Spokane: Police raided the women’s section of the jail and ‘made a big haul’ of cigarettes and drugs

Sun., July 25, 2021

Police raided the women’s section of the Spokane City Jail and “made a big haul of tobacco, cigarettes, matches” and even a small amount of “hop” (cocaine) and some hypodermic needles.

Opinion > Column

100 years ago in Spokane: A toddler walked into the Spokane police headquarters and demanded a teddy bear

Sat., July 24, 2021

A 3-year-old boy toddled into the Spokane police headquarters. There, he answered every query with two words: “Teddy bear!”

Opinion > Column

100 years ago in Washington: Women in hospitality wanted at least $18 a week, and there was more jitney trouble in the city

Fri., July 23, 2021

A vital labor issue was being debated in Olympia: the minimum wage for women working in hotels, lodging houses and restaurants.

Opinion > Column

Front Porch: Readers share their reading memories

Thu., July 22, 2021

In my previous column, I wondered if a love of literacy was hardwired in our family DNA. All four of my sons are book lovers like me. I invited readers to share their bookish memories, and it seems that many of you also caught the reading bug young and have no desire to be cured.

Opinion > Column

100 years ago in Spokane: A man was suspected of killing a taxi driver, and possibly a restaurateur months earlier

Thu., July 22, 2021

Spokane police arrested William “Fat Patterson” Houser in connection with the murder of Spokane taxi driver Lee Slater.

Opinion > Column

Sue Lani Madsen: Immutable characteristics that matter

Thu., July 22, 2021

School board elections are usually sleepy events with one or two candidates, and in some districts they still are. But virtual school in 2020 put parents physically in the classroom as partners in learning and inspired some to get involved at a systemic level. This year has drawn an unusually high number of competitive races, with parents driven to action by debates over divisive curriculum and dissatisfaction with decisions delaying school re-opening.

Latest Stories

Getting There: How should Spokane County’s transportation system grow?

100 years ago in the Inland Northwest: A slew of people died in the area’s lakes and rivers, but one victim didn’t drown

Shawn Vestal: Police were called six times in two days on mentally ill man; the sixth proved fatal

Spin Control: Social media ads: Less negative, more polarizing than TV?

100 years ago in Spokane: Two bootleggers were caught running a ‘neighborly moonshine industry’ that was on the rise

Shawn Vestal: McMorris Rodgers sheds crocodile tears over vaccine confidence

100 years ago in Spokane: Driving was becoming more popular, and the county had the numbers to prove it

Front Porch: Life as she knew it did not come to an end

100 years ago in Spokane: A booze runner was facing a federal trial related to whisky, but not in the way you think

Sue Lani Madsen: Following Seattle money to Spokane

Shawn Vestal: WSU should stick to its guns on Rolovich’s shots

100 years ago in Spokane: Rumors of a growing local Ku Klux Klan chapter swirled, but members claimed the group was misunderstood

Getting There: Can a 6-lane I-90 and $1.5 billion prevent gridlock in 300,000-person Kootenai County?

Faith and Values: To write great stories, we must look beyond ourselves

100 years ago in Spokane: Police raided the women’s section of the jail and ‘made a big haul’ of cigarettes and drugs

100 years ago in Spokane: A toddler walked into the Spokane police headquarters and demanded a teddy bear

100 years ago in Washington: Women in hospitality wanted at least $18 a week, and there was more jitney trouble in the city

Front Porch: Readers share their reading memories

100 years ago in Spokane: A man was suspected of killing a taxi driver, and possibly a restaurateur months earlier

Sue Lani Madsen: Immutable characteristics that matter

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