The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
56°F
Current Conditions
Clear sky
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Doug Clark

This individual is no longer an employee with The Spokesman-Review.

All Stories

News >  Spokane

Fascinating characters leave at stupefying rate

Barbara Walters, ABC TV’s age-defying news mummy, took to the airwaves Wednesday night to give us “The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009.” (Columnist’s note: Because of the glacial nature of newsprint, I am writing this hours before the above show is supposed to air. So if we go to war or, say, a new Tiger Woods bimbo comes forth to pre-empt the Walters special, please ignore the rest of today’s lament.)
News >  Spokane

Soon-to-be Spokanites should know the facts

Let me be the first to welcome all those West Plains dwellers who are destined to become Spokanites thanks to the city’s biggest land grab since 1907. Excuse me. I meant biggest annexation.
News >  Spokane

To the thin blue line: Thank you

Everybody knows that wearing a badge can be hazardous to your health. The pitfalls of police work, after all, have been the go-to grist for myriad movies and half the shows on TV.
News >  Spokane

Keeping the earth spotless takes effort

I’m standing in a checkout line at a Post Falls supermarket, watching a nice lady ring up the glossy green boxes of Cascade dishwasher soap that I put in my cart. Ding. Ding. Ding …
News >  Spokane

T-Day with a man of convictions

Sorry. I don’t see letting T-Baby out of the slammer on T-Day as such a bad thing. I’m talking about Terrence A. “T-Baby” Kinard, of course.
News >  Spokane

Convalescence costly for fan of news, pie

I got my left knee scoped last week, which explains why my column was more absent than appreciative reviews for the movie “Amelia.” Scoping is a very common procedure for athletes. Mine, for example, was to surgically remove some torn cartilage that occurred from years and years of sprinting into the kitchen for pie.
Doug Clark
Opinion >  Column

Doug Clark: Backsliding WSP earns B.S. badge

In the wake of an embarrassing scandal where eight troopers tried to use bogus diplomas to get raises in pay, the Washington State Patrol has unveiled a new motto. “WSP – We’re in a Trooper Stupor!”
News >  Spokane

Burning dollars, not rubber

Wouldn’t it be great to have your own time machine and be able to prevent some of our biggest blunders from happening? For example, I’d set my Wayback Machine to April 2008.
News >  Spokane

When official voices obfuscate, a little translation clarifies

Once again, doubt is being raised about the “official” facts regarding Otto Zehm, the mentally ill janitor who died following a violent 2006 encounter with cops in a Spokane convenience store. The issue this time is over the city’s position that Zehm was said to be acting like he was on drugs.
News >  Spokane

Spookane horrors on display all year

I can’t believe how popular Halloween is getting. Seriously. Some people spend even more on fake cobwebs and rubber bats than I drop on Jack Daniels to get me through Christmas.
News >  Spokane

Yanks for the memories, fellow Pinstripe lovers

I took the winners of my Pinstripe Passion contest to lunch Monday at the Spokane Club, where we were treated to good food and a flash of unexpected baseball magic. Get this. As we were finishing our grub, Game 3 of the American League Championship Series came on the big screen in front of our table in the lounge.
News >  Spokane

Vote by mail just doesn’t stir passion

Ballots for the Nov. 3 general election were mailed out the other day. All across Spokane County, voters have now received their ballots and carefully put them aside in a safe place where they will be forgotten until Nov. 4.
Doug Clark
Opinion >  Column

Doug Clark: Police chief is suddenly America’s most wanted

I’m weighing the merits of chocolate vs. white cake in a South Hill Safeway store Sunday when a stranger walks up and tells me he’s a big fan, so right away I know he’s not a cop. The guy’s next sentence confirms this. He asks why I haven’t yet written a column about the possibility of our pixie police chief saying Anne Voyage to Spokaloo.
Doug Clark
Opinion >  Column

Doug Clark: DSHS report on Paul escape an exercise in lameness

Friday found me in a downtown office watching state health officials unveil their report on how homicidal maniac Phillip A. Paul managed to escape two weeks ago while on a mental hospital outing to the Spokane County Interstate Fair. Sure, I could have caught this yawn and phony show on the tube at home.