Chad Sokol

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News >  Spokane

Airway Heights Corrections Center to take overflow of prisoners with COVID-19 if cases surge

Sat., May 9, 2020

The Airway Heights Corrections Center is being outfitted as one of two “regional care facilities” that will treat inmates diagnosed with COVID-19 if there is a spike in the number of cases within the state prison system. A spokesperson said the Airway Heights facility will have about 30 beds and “should be operational in the coming weeks.”

News >  Spokane

WSU model has helped hospitals prepare for COVID-19 locally and abroad

UPDATED: Wed., May 6, 2020

The tool calculates how many gloves, gowns, masks and ventilators might be needed over the coming weeks or months – and shows whether a facility might be burdened beyond capacity.

News >  Spokane

County by county, Washington epidemiologists track earliest symptoms of COVID-19

Wed., May 6, 2020

State health officials and Gov. Jay Inslee are relying on myriad data points to determine when to lift the stay-home order or allow counties to proceed to the next phase of reopening the economy and society.

News >  Education

EWU announces plans for fall quarter; university presidents discuss COVID-19 impacts

Tue., May 5, 2020

In what they described as an “online first, maximum flexibility” approach, EWU administrators said they will maintain the ability to switch between online and in-person formats as the coronavirus situation improves or declines.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

Spokane police arrest 3 men suspected of stealing cars over weekend

Mon., May 4, 2020

Deven Rohus, Jesse Judge and Nicholas Anderson, all in their 20s, were arrested in three separate incidents and have been released from jail, police said.

News >  Spokane

Spokane police confirm 3 victims in Cannon Park shooting; no arrests as of Monday

UPDATED: Mon., May 4, 2020

The shooting occurred shortly before 4 p.m. Sunday in Cannon Park in the West Central neighborhood.

News >  Spokane

Man convicted for son-in-law’s murder in Spokane Valley dies in prison at 89

UPDATED: Sat., May 2, 2020

Morris “Mel” Goldberg and his ex-wife, JoAnn Peterson, were convicted of first-degree murder for the Nov. 18, 1991 killing of Peter Zeihen. Peterson shot Zeihen in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun outside his Spokane Valley apartment. Goldberg helped plot the attack and drove the getaway car.

News >  Education

WSU picks new provost while lawyers review treatment of predecessor

UPDATED: Fri., May 1, 2020

Elizabeth Chilton will start the job on Aug. 1, reporting directly to WSU President Kirk Schulz. She holds a doctorate in anthropology and is currently the dean of the Harpur College of Arts and Sciences at Binghamton University in New York.

News >  Idaho

Idaho student leaders denounce anti-transgender laws

UPDATED: Wed., April 29, 2020

“These bills have no constitutional or scientific basis and are negatively targeting a community that already faces a host of hurdles and discrimination based on who they are,” the students wrote. “The bills are unnecessary, potentially expensive, and may produce various legal repercussions.”

News >  Education

WSU, Gonzaga, Whitworth plan to reopen campuses this fall

UPDATED: Tue., April 28, 2020

Colleges and universities in the Inland Northwest are making tentative plans to resume face-to-face instruction after spring courses were moved online due to COVID-19.

News >  Spokane

Second Harvest drive-thru events provide 1,700 families with boxes of food

UPDATED: Tue., April 28, 2020

Skyrocketing unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic has left many in the Spokane area unable to buy enough groceries for their families, and local food banks are planning for years of increased demand for assistance.

News >  Spokane

Gusty winds to give way to sunny Tuesday in Spokane

UPDATED: Mon., April 27, 2020

Parts of North Idaho and Eastern Washington, including Spokane’s South Hill, were bombarded by wind gusts reaching 45 mph on Monday afternoon.

News >  Spokane

Washington DOC sues federal government over chemicals that tainted food from Airway Heights prison

UPDATED: Sat., April 25, 2020

It’s the latest in a wave of lawsuits against the United States and manufacturers of aqueous film-forming foam, a toxic fire retardant that was used at Fairchild Air Force and other military installations for some 45 years.

News >  Washington

State Supreme Court refuses to order release of prisoners to ease crowding during epidemic

UPDATED: Thu., April 23, 2020

Washington Supreme Court wrestles with question of whether crowded prisons are unconstitutional during the COVID-19 epidemic

News >  Spokane

Rep. Matt Shea, initiative promoter Tim Eyman join protest of governor’s COVID-19 response

UPDATED: Thu., April 23, 2020

Spokane police did not arrest or attempt to disperse any of the protesters, whom the police department described as “peaceful and friendly.” Officers did recommend charges against a 52-year-old woman who allegedly threw eggs at protesters’ vehicles from the window of a fourth-floor apartment.

News >  Education

WSU, EWU begin making hand sanitizer to fight coronavirus

UPDATED: Wed., April 22, 2020

Washington State University and Eastern Washington University have begun producing alcohol-based hand sanitizer to meet increased hygiene needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

News >  Education

Washington, Idaho colleges to receive $281 million from federal stimulus package

UPDATED: Wed., April 22, 2020

At least half of that money will go directly to students in the form of emergency grants to help with tuition, child care, technology and other needs. Schools will have some discretion in how they spend the rest, although officials at several Eastern Washington institutions say they’re awaiting clarification from the U.S. Department of Education on what kinds of expenditures will be permitted.

News >  Spokane

Eastern State Hospital nurse dies of COVID-19

UPDATED: Mon., April 20, 2020

Esequiel “Zeke” Cisneros, who worked at the psychiatric facility in Medical Lake for more than 30 years, became critically ill after contracting the novel coronavirus and was treated in a local intensive care unit, his family said in an obituary published Sunday.

News >  Spokane

Pauline Flett, who revived Spokane Tribe’s Native language, dies at 93

Mon., April 20, 2020

“Virtually everything that exists in the Spokane language today, that’s ever been documented, has been a result of her work,” one member of the Spokane Tribe said. “If the Spokane language has any future at all, it’s indebted to Pauline Flett.”

News >  Spokane

Knezovich blasts Shea over plans to protest COVID-19 restrictions

UPDATED: Fri., April 17, 2020

“Shame on you,” the sheriff said, referring to the Spokane Valley lawmaker.

News >  Idaho

Vandals destroy tree memorializing Anne Frank in Coeur d’Alene park

UPDATED: Fri., April 17, 2020

A park maintenance crew discovered the tree in two pieces Wednesday morning, snapped near the base of the trunk. They believe it was vandalized the previous night and have filed a police report.

News >  Idaho

Idaho Rep. Heather Scott calls governor ‘Little Hitler,’ compares nonessential workers to Holocaust victims

UPDATED: Thu., April 16, 2020

Scott, a Republican whose district includes Bonner County, compared Gov. Brad Little’s shutdown orders to Nazi Germany during an hourlong Zoom interview with a Houston-based podcast host. She questioned the governor’s authority to decide who can and can’t continue working during the pandemic.

News >  Education

EWU moves spring commencement online due to COVID-19

UPDATED: Wed., April 15, 2020

“This year, unfortunately, the global pandemic has forced us all to reset gatherings, celebrations and holidays,” EWU President Mary Cullinan said in a statement Wednesday. “We can’t hold a traditional commencement ceremony this spring.”

News >  Education

EWU, Gonzaga program puts students on fast track to law degrees

UPDATED: Wed., April 15, 2020

Eastern Washington University has teamed with Gonzaga University’s School of Law to develop the 3+3 program, which allows students to earn their bachelor’s and law degrees in six years rather than the usual seven.

News >  Washington

Far-right politicians denounce government’s COVID-19 response in Washington, Idaho

Wed., April 15, 2020

The economic shutdowns and social distancing measures ordered by governors of both parties have drawn heated reactions from far-right officials across the Inland Northwest, including members of the so-called “patriot” movement spearheaded by Spokane Valley Rep. Matt Shea.