Chad Sokol

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News >  Spokane

Murder suspect crashed into deputy’s car in Spokane Valley

UPDATED: Mon., Jan. 8, 2018

William Bost was arrested on suspicion of killing his wife early Saturday, hours after crashing into a deputy’s patrol car in Spokane Valley.

News >  Spokane

Police dog sniffs out Spokane Valley shoplifting suspect

UPDATED: Wed., Jan. 10, 2018

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office says deputies used a police dog to apprehend a woman who allegedly stole from a Shopko store in Spokane Valley, assaulted employees and then trespassed into a neighboring home to hide in a closet.

News >  Spokane

Trump administration to pull plug on legalized marijuana

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 4, 2018

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has rescinded the Obama-era policy that paved the way for states to legalize marijuana, creating new confusion about federal enforcement at a time when the recreational pot industry is flourishing across the country and a majority of Americans support legalization.

News >  Washington

With no permanent picks from Trump, Sessions appoints U.S. attorneys in Eastern Washington, 16 other districts

UPDATED: Wed., Jan. 3, 2018

Joseph Harrington will continue leading the federal prosecutor’s office in Spokane with a slight change to his job title – from “acting” to “interim” U.S. attorney.

News >  Spokane

Andrew Biviano steps down as chairman of Spokane County Democratic Party

UPDATED: Wed., Jan. 3, 2018

“I’m not leaving politics by any means,” Biviano said. “I needed to leave the chair position because I need to focus more on my day job as a civil rights lawyer. The party needs somebody who has more time to give in this really critical election.”

News >  Spokane

A year in review: 14 big stories of 2017

Sun., Dec. 31, 2017

No quick list could adequately sum up the awesome, horrifying, beautiful and frustrating events of 2017. But some stories stand out for their scale and impact on the city, the region and its residents’ lives.

News >  Spokane

With veto of City Council ordinance, Condon says campaign finance better left to the state

UPDATED: Fri., Dec. 29, 2017

The mayor said he supports certain efforts to curb the role of “dark money” in politics. But, he said, the issue is better managed at the state level, and the proposed ordinance would not stand up to constitutional challenges.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

Worker dies in fall at Clarkston-area lumber mill

UPDATED: Wed., Dec. 27, 2017

Local authorities reported Jeffrey M. Midstokke, 55, was working on a debarker machine at the Guy Bennett Lumber Co. mill when he fell on the morning of Dec. 20.

News >  Spokane

Mother, passerby in Otis Orchards house fire credited as hometown heroes

Wed., Dec. 27, 2017

If there were such a thing as a recipe for disaster, this was it. But Angel Fiorini and her three children made it out alive, thanks to her own heroic acts and those of a passerby, Matt Burson, who just happened to be a nurse and former firefighter.

News >  Spokane

Freeman High School teen Sam Strahan summoned courage when it mattered most

Wed., Dec. 27, 2017

No one can say what motivated Sam Strahan to face the shooter, rather than flee into a classroom as bullets whizzed down the hallway. While the carnage still is hard to fathom, it might have been worse if it weren’t for Sam’s final courageous act.

News >  Spokane

Twitter suspends James Allsup, WSU student and far-right provocateur

UPDATED: Tue., Dec. 26, 2017

First, Twitter came for his blue verification checkmark. Now, the social media site has suspended James Allsup, saying the controversial Washington State University student violated its terms of use.

News >  Spokane

University of Idaho students impose ban on Greek Row drinking parties

Thu., Dec. 21, 2017

The student-run organizations that oversee the University of Idaho’s Greek system have approved an indefinite ban on parties involving alcohol, following the lead of counterparts at Washington State University in an effort to curb binge drinking, hazing and sexual violence.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

Arson blaze caps a rough year for Moscow housing facility

UPDATED: Wed., Dec. 20, 2017

A suspected arsonist told police he was high on meth and hearing voices when he set fire to a transitional housing facility in Moscow, Idaho.

News >  Spokane

Development to resume in parched Little Spokane Watershed

Tue., Dec. 19, 2017

Spokane County will resume issuing construction permits in the Little Spokane Watershed, more than a year after permitting was stalled by a controversial court decision, state and county officials said in a news release Monday.

News >  Spokane

5 years after privatization, Washington liquor sales are up despite price increase

Wed., Dec. 13, 2017

Cross-border sales are one lasting effect of the privatization of liquor sales in Washington. More than six years after voters passed

News >  Education

Retention counselors, grad stipends spared in WSU budget

UPDATED: Fri., Dec. 8, 2017

Washington State University departments have found ways to keep retention counselors on the payroll and avoid cutting graduate research stipends, but some remain dissatisfied over the administration’s handling of a $30 million deficit.

News >  Local Government

Spokane County budget includes $400,000 cut for regional health district

UPDATED: Thu., Dec. 7, 2017

Some agencies and departments that receive funding from Spokane County avoided steep cuts in 2018. The Spokane County Regional Health District isn’t one of them.

News >  Education

SFCC names $18 million gym after longtime athletic director

Wed., Dec. 6, 2017

Spokane Falls Community College will name its $18 million athletic center after Maurice “Maury” Ray, a former coach and athletic director who spent more than three decades with the school.

News >  Spokane

For Medical Lake City Council candidate, recount confirms defeat and comes with hefty price

UPDATED: Wed., Dec. 6, 2017

A man who ran for the Medical Lake City Council this year will have to pay about $1,000 for a ballot recount that confirmed he lost the race.

News >  Spokane

Spokane County revamps sexual harassment policy

UPDATED: Tue., Dec. 5, 2017

All Spokane County employees will be required to undergo sexual harassment training under a policy adopted by the county commissioners on Tuesday.

News >  Spokane

A father’s choice: Phil Tyler wants to talk about his son’s suicide

Tue., Dec. 5, 2017

Devon Tyler liked to tug at his father’s heartstrings. “He would write cards for my birthday or Father’s Day or Christmas,” said Phil Tyler, a former Spokane County Jail deputy, “and he knew that Dad’s tough exterior was going to be melted away when I opened it and started reading it.”

News >  Spokane

How The Spokesman-Review covers suicide

Tue., Dec. 5, 2017

Suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death in the United States, killing more than twice as many people as homicides, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And yet the topic of suicide receives less media attention because it is deeply personal and often stigmatized. The Spokesman-Review typically does not report on individual suicide deaths.

News >  Spokane

Safety hazard in Wandermere Estates followed years of concerns about land erosion

Sat., Dec. 2, 2017

As the ground shifted and the foundation cracked, a home in the upscale Wandermere Estates neighborhood seemed perilously close to sliding off its perch into the golf course below.

News >  Spokane

Spokane County to charge extra $2 at waste transfer stations

UPDATED: Fri., Dec. 1, 2017

Spokane County’s waste transfer stations will begin charging a $2 surcharge to pay for state-mandated environmental education and outreach programs, hazardous waste disposal and recycling dropoffs.

News >  Spokane

Elegance on display: Downtown trees decked out for Christmas fundraiser

UPDATED: Fri., Dec. 1, 2017

You can decorate a tree with just about anything. That’s a lesson visitors might learn at this year’s Christmas Tree Elegance display in downtown Spokane. The festive event, which started Tuesday, is the culmination of months of work by volunteers, local businesses and other groups.