The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
35°F
Current Conditions
Overcast clouds
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now
Charles Apple

Charles Apple

Current Position: designer editor

Charles Apple joined The Spokesman-Review in 2019 as a design editor. He designs weekly Further Review pages that cover subjects such as the history of comics, William Shatner, Tiger Woods, autism spectrum disorder and even how to get your Spokesman-Review aboard the International Space Station. Apple has worked for papers across the nation, large and small. He is considered an informational graphics guru, winning countless international awards and his work consulting and training newsrooms around the world.

Email
charlesa@spokesman.com

All Stories

A&E >  Music

The stories behind the hits of Three Dog Night

Three Dog Night – fronted by vocalists Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron and Cory Wells – didn’t write any of their 21 Top 40 hit songs. Instead, the band excelled by tweaking and perfecting material written or performed by other artists.
A&E >  Books

The books of Paul Theroux

Paul Theroux – who the Daily Mail of London once called “the world’s most perceptive travel writer” – published his 52nd book on Tuesday, a novel set among the surf culture of Hawaii. Few have traveled the world as extensively as Theroux.
News >  Further Review

Fake news: When the news wasn’t

While the term “fake news” might be a recent invention, the concept itself is not. At various times throughout history, news reports have been manipulated, stolen or falsified for various reasons: to push a political agenda, to enrich the journalist or win respect among peers or just out of downright laziness. Here’s a look at nine times when the news – or the ethics behind the reporting – really was fake:
News >  Further Review

You’re fired: How Truman relieved MacArthur of command

Gen. Douglas MacArthur was a hero from two World Wars who had served as the supreme commander of the Allied forces in the Pacific. But after he was put in command of the Allied effort to liberate South Korea, MacArthur learned a difficult lesson: When you work for the president of the United States, you might disagree with him. But if you disagree with him publicly and repeatedly, be prepared to lose your job.
A&E >  Books

Everything’s Archie: Archie Comics adaptations

Twenty years ago this spring, the Archie comics spinoff movie “Josie and the Pussycats” was released in theaters. To this day, “Josie and the Pussycats” is the only big-screen release of characters from Archie Comics and one of the few comic book-related films that do not feature characters who wear capes. Here’s a look at other Archie Comics adaptations:
A&E >  Movies

The state of movies

2020 will go down in cinematic history as the year disaster flicks were replaced by a real life disaster: COVID-19. The pandemic did a real number on our movie consumption and our favorite theaters. Perhaps the industry will bounce back as major blockbusters are released as this year rolls on.
News >  Further Review

The games of summer: the Olympics

One hundred and twenty-five years ago, the modern Olympic movement began when 241 athletes from 13 European countries plus the United States gathered in Athens, Greece, for 10 days of competition, fellowship and a celebration of the spirit of athletics.
News >  Further Review

Tale of the tape: Gonzaga vs. Creighton

Today’s huge Sweet 16 matchup pairs off the undefeated, ferocious Gonzaga Bulldogs and the dainty little songbirds of Creighton University. We don’t need to talk much pregame smack, however. We’ll let the numbers do that.
A&E >  Books

The adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit”

Brace yourself for your “Do you feel old yet?” moment for today: Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” was released in theaters 20 years ago this December. Here’s a look at all the film and video adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s tales of elves and orcs, sorcerers, intrigue, vast armies and some mighty fancy jewelry.
News >  Further Review

A look at the types of coronavirus vaccines

Have you had your jab yet? Your Fauci ouchie? Your first or second dose of coronavirus vaccine? If not, don’t worry too much: Officials have bought more doses and are getting better at spreading them around the country. Here’s a look at the three vaccines being used now and a couple more that may be on the way.
News >  Further Review

The building of Grand Coulee Dam

When Woody Guthrie sang that the Grand Coulee Dam was the “biggest thing built by the hand of a man,” he wasn’t far off. One of the largest structures ever built, the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River stands 550 feet high and just under a mile wide and contains 12 million cubic yards of concrete. The project began generating power on this date, 80 years ago. Here’s how it came about:
News >  Further Review

What causes our seasons

In most of the U.S., our seasons mean the difference between roasting marshmallows over a campfire on a summer evening or shoveling snow for the umpteenth time even as more snow falls around you in the dead of winter. Perhaps it wouldn’t surprise you to learn that our seasons are a fluke of nature: The result of a colossal smashup in space, billions of years ago.
News >  Further Review

How ‘Arab Spring’ began

Ten years ago, a suicidal protest by a Tunisian street vendor set off a wave of anti-government protests across the Arab world. What came to be called “Arab Spring” resulted in changes in government in several countries, two changes of government in Egypt and sparked civil wars that have plagued Syria, Libya and Yemen ever since.
Sports

Perfect seasons over the past 50 years

Zero losses. Zero ties. Nothin’ but wins: The perfect season. Granted, Gonzaga isn’t done yet, but if the Zags can make it through the NCAA Tournament unscathed, they’ll become the first NCAA men’s basketball team to make it through an entire season with zero losses and zero ties since the Indiana Hoosiers did it in 1976.
News >  Further Review

History of the minimum wage in the United States

The government has been involved in minimum wage rules and legislation ever since President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Industrial Recovery Act into law on June 16, 1933. At times, the nation’s minimum wage has been set at something that seems reasonable for working-class folks. At other times, perhaps not quite so much.
News >  Further Review

A history of daylight saving time

Early Sunday, we’ll observe an annual ritual in which we disrupt our natural rhythm to get out of bed an hour earlier in the mornings – all in hopes of prolonging our exposure to the sun.
News >  Further Review

Celebrating the copy desk on National Proofreading Day

How better to celebrate today as National Proofreading Day than by telling you about The Spokesman-Review’s copy desk? These are the staffers responsible for proofreading the text we write, catching the typos we make, making sure all our facts line up and then squeezing everything onto the pages of your favorite morning newspaper.
News >  Further Review

Dams of the Northwest

There are more than 60 dams and up to 150 hydroelectric facilities in the quarter-million square miles that make up the Columbia River watershed. On average, there’s a dam every 72 miles of river. The Snake River alone has 20 dams. Our own Spokane River has seven.
News >  Further Review

Francis Scott Key writes the national anthem

Over the night of Sept. 13-14, 1814, lawyer and poet Francis Scott Key had a front-row seat to an enormous attack on the U.S. by the British navy. The British attack failed, inspiring Key to write the poem that would become the national anthem.
A&E >  Music

The birth of rock and roll

Seventy years ago, Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm band recorded what many music historians consider to be the first rock ‘n’ roll record: Turner’s composition, “Rocket 88” – an ode to a make of Oldsmobile popular among young people at the time.