Chad Sokol

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News >  Spokane

Man charged with stabbing girlfriend near Colbert

UPDATED: Tue., March 19, 2019

A 40-year-old man was arrested Monday night after allegedly admitting to detectives he had stabbed his girlfriend in the leg during an argument at a home near Colbert. Aaron J. Lahde was booked into the Spokane County Jail early Tuesday on a first-degree assault charge.

News >  Spokane

Spokane car dealership offering $2,000 reward for tips on stolen vehicles

Mon., March 18, 2019

ClickIt Auto & RV, off U.S. Highway 395 in the Wandermere area, said thieves broke into the dealership’s offices, stealing four computers and the keys to a number of vehicles.

News >  Spokane

North Idaho College launches commercial trucking program

UPDATED: Mon., March 18, 2019

The school’s partnership with Drive509 enables students to meet commercial driver’s license requirements in both Washington and Idaho, according to a news release.

News >  Spokane

Spokane man charged with abusing infant, causing potentially life-threatening injuries

UPDATED: Mon., March 18, 2019

A 24-year-old man was jailed early Monday on suspicion of abusing his 2-month-old baby and causing potentially life-threatening injuries, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

News >  Spokane

Gonzaga, EWU team up to develop law programs

Sat., March 9, 2019

The partnership, announced Friday, aims to establish a program that would enable students to earn their bachelor’s and law degrees in six years instead of the usual seven.

News >  Spokane

SFCC has new president after two nationwide searches

UPDATED: Fri., March 8, 2019

Kimberlee Messina, interim vice president of instruction at Clovis Community College in Fresno, California, will take the helm of Spokane Falls Community College in June.

News >  Spokane

Spokane’s Columbia Surgical Specialists paid nearly $15,000 in a ransomware attack that compromised patient data

UPDATED: Thu., March 7, 2019

The practice said it “believes that no data was acquired, disclosed or used” without authorization, though patient records were exposed during the attack.

News >  Spokane

Spokane police investigating assault of prosecuting intern in Public Safety Building restroom

UPDATED: Thu., March 7, 2019

Spokane police say an intern in the city prosecutor’s office was assaulted Tuesday morning in a women’s restroom in the Public Safety Building.

News >  WA Government

Gun dealers must follow gun control initiative, Inslee and Ferguson warn

UPDATED: Thu., March 7, 2019

Washington gun dealers will be required to conduct enhanced background checks when selling semi-automatic rifles starting July 1, even if they disagree with the initiative that requires them, Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson warned today.

News >  Spokane

Auditors: Washington jails could release 4,700 inmates, save millions through pretrial services

UPDATED: Thu., March 7, 2019

The state auditor’s office found roughly one-third of Washington’s jail inmates are candidates for pretrial services such as electronic monitoring, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and texts and phone calls that remind people of court dates.

News >  Spokane

Road crews battle giant snowdrifts on state Highway 27

UPDATED: Wed., March 6, 2019

In a hard-fought victory over Mother Nature, road crews removed enough snow and ice to reopen a stretch of state Highway 27 north of Latah on Tuesday.

News >  Spokane

Kootenai County detectives want to interview friends of Larry Isenberg

UPDATED: Mon., March 4, 2019

Isenberg’s body was found in Lake Coeur d’Alene in March 2018 with lethal levels of diphenhydramine, a drug commonly sold under the brand name Benadryl. His wife, Laurcene “Lori” Isenberg, is a suspect in his death.

News >  Education

Records detail fight at Ferris High School that led to resource officer’s resignation

Sun., March 3, 2019

It all started over a tattoo and a pair of sneakers. Records released this past week by Spokane Public Schools reveal what started the Jan. 24 altercation that prompted a lockdown at Ferris High School, injured three staff members, raised questions about the hiring of a school resource officer and fueled concerns about implicit racial bias.

News >  Spokane

Man survives being hit by train on Mission Avenue

UPDATED: Fri., March 1, 2019

The man was wearing headphones and seemed oblivious to the approaching train, a witness said.

News >  Spokane

Springdale marshal accused of lying to investigators about turbulent car chase

Fri., March 1, 2019

Todd M. Schauls, 36, was hired as town marshal – Springdale’s sole law enforcement officer – in early 2018 but never completed basic training for a Washington state law enforcement certification.

News >  Washington

State audit finds Stevens County misspent $121,000 in homelessness funds

Thu., Feb. 28, 2019

The state auditor’s office published its findings in a report on Feb. 21, saying the flood payment constituted an “unallowable gift of public funds” and the other payment relied on a misinterpretation of the state constitution.

News >  Spokane

Lawsuit challenges state law expanding Spokane County Commission from three to five members

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 27, 2019

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Spokane County Superior Court. Plaintiffs include the county as well as Commissioner Al French, former Commissioner John Roskelley and the Washington State Association of Counties.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

Deputies respond to back-to-back DUI incidents on Bigelow Gulch Road

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 27, 2019

A man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence Monday evening after crashing his pickup truck into a ditch along Bigelow Gulch Road. When the vehicle was removed and the road reopened, sheriff’s deputies learned of a second intoxicated driver who was unconscious in a car sitting 100 yards down the road.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

Michael ‘Topher’ Clark, ex-pot smuggler who inspired movie ‘Kid Cannabis,’ killed in Hayden shooting

UPDATED: Mon., Feb. 25, 2019

Michael “Topher” Clark – who gained notoriety in the early 2000s for his role in a Canadian marijuana smuggling ring that inspired the film “Kid Cannabis” – has been identified as the victim of Sunday’s fatal shooting in Hayden.

News >  Spokane

CDC to study chemical exposure at Fairchild Air Force Base, seven other military installations

UPDATED: Fri., Feb. 22, 2019

Fairchild Air Force Base is one of eight U.S. military installations where federal scientists will study human exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the toxic man-made chemicals that have contaminated West Plains water supplies.

News >  Education

Gonzaga University to host anti-porn conference on Saturday

UPDATED: Fri., Feb. 22, 2019

“I am now convinced that pornography is a public health crisis,” said Dr. Alfonso Oliva, who organized the conference.

News >  Spokane

Spokane’s Windsong School disputes claims of negligence, bullying of students

UPDATED: Fri., Feb. 22, 2019

A lawsuit accuses a private school in Spokane of bullying kindergartners, encouraging them to bully each other and evoking “negative karma from past lives” to justify it all. Administrators at Windsong School have spent more than a year fighting the allegations, which they say are part of a smear campaign by disgruntled parents.

News >  Spokane

Omak man, 23, arrested for alleged threats against Washington sheriffs

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 20, 2019

Authorities on Wednesday arrested a 23-year-old Omak man who allegedly made Facebook posts threatening to kill law enforcement officers, including Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich.

News >  Spokane

Cleanup begins at site of Spokane Valley paint store destroyed by fire

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 20, 2019

A spokeswoman for the state Department of Ecology said there is no indication that pollutants from the store or fire have gotten into the water table, which sits about 90 feet underground. “We’re quite confident that nothing has escaped into the groundwater,” she said.

News >  Spokane

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in Spokane by Wednesday evening; even more in Pullman, Coeur d’Alene

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 20, 2019

The National Weather Service said Spokane will get 3 to 4 inches of snow between 10 a.m. Tuesday and 4 p.m. Wednesday, while Coeur d’Alene will get 4 to 6 inches and Pullman will get 6 to 8 inches.