Chad Sokol

A motorcyclist and a passenger remained hospitalized with serious injuries Monday after crashing their bike Saturday night in Spokane Valley.

Local leaders have set out again to determine whether Spokane County needs a new jail. This time, vocal community members and reform-minded criminal justice experts are pushing back against the idea, arguing the county should fundamentally reconsider its reliance on incarceration, especially for those awaiting trial. As talks continue, the history of local detention facilities might offer some valuable insights.

The two-hour forum, organized by the Spokane Riverkeeper, will begin at 6 p.m. April 17 in the Barbieri Courtroom at Gonzaga’s School of Law. It will be free and open to the public.

Dolezal, who changed her name to Nkechi Diallo in 2016, entered the diversion agreement March 25 in Spokane County Superior Court. She could still face a trial on the original charges if she fails to complete any part of the program, including the mandated community service hours and drug and alcohol tests.

The Washington Department of Ecology has awarded $15,000 to Spokane County’s parks department to plant native vegetation along Hangman Creek at the Hangman Valley Golf Course.

Billed as “one of the world’s leading interdisciplinary academic forums on hate, related social problems and ways to create socially just and inclusive communities,” the conference will run Tuesday evening through Thursday afternoon in Gonzaga’s Hemmingson Center.

Over the course of a decade, a former Spokane County employee stole more than $1.38 million in taxpayer money using dozens of relatives and acquaintances to cash checks for falsified liability claims, according to county officials and state auditors. The same woman, Rhonda S. Ackerman, 50, was recently accused in a civil lawsuit of stealing money from her mother, who has dementia, after assuming power of attorney over her bank and retirement accounts.

Don’t be alarmed if you spot patches of gray or pink fuzz on your front lawn. Instead, gardening experts recommend you grab a rake.

County Commissioner Mary Kuney, Auditor Vicky Dalton and Risk Management Director Steve Bartel are expected to discuss the findings of the investigation during a news conference Thursday morning.

Last week, the state Department of Corrections stopped testing for cannabis in prisoners just entering the system, as traces of the drug can remain in the body weeks after it is used. The department also is looking to contract with a private lab to redo tests for inmates who dispute they’ve taken drugs.

Four teenagers and a 20-year-old man were arrested Monday afternoon for allegedly rioting in downtown Spokane and assaulting two people with a skateboard and brass knuckles.

McClain was expected to participate in the history-making event on Friday with fellow NASA astronaut Christina Koch, but the agency said Monday that crew members had been reassigned, in part because of spacesuit availability on the International Space Station.

Christopher N. Luman, 56, lost consciousness and died shortly after a fistfight with one of his cellmates, Anthony J. Weber, in the early hours of Aug. 9.

Any good conspiracy theory is only strengthened by attempts to disprove it. So no one can fault Jimmy Kimmel for doubling down when confronted with evidence that Gonzaga University does, indeed, exist.

Ryan Thompson wrestled for NIC from 1996 to 1998, a school spokesman confirmed Friday.

Officer Michael S. Welch is accused of assaulting his girlfriend and nearly running her over while drunkenly backing his car out of a driveway on March 9.

The meeting, organized by the Spokane Community Against Racism, will take place Monday evening at Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church.

A new federal law aims to protect wildland firefighters by requiring agencies to outfit crews with GPS locators and deploy drones to scout out and map blazes. U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell joined Spokane fire and health experts to tout the legislation on Wednesday.

Police in Nampa, Idaho, issued and quickly canceled an Amber Alert on Wednesday, saying a woman and her 10-year-old daughter had been found in Cheney. The girl, who was initially considered endangered, was found unharmed, police said.

The attorney general’s office estimated the Washington State Patrol, which runs the state’s two crime laboratories, will be able to test about 1,150 kits with the grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.