Doug Clark

She tied a yellow ribbon round the old street sign. Although green at fighting city hall, she pleaded her case to bureaucrats who patronized her and made empty promises. Now Patti Lauber sees red whenever she gazes out her office window and counts the daily motorcade of befuddled wrong-way drivers who think they still can travel north on Division from Sharp.

Ray Blowers sits in his sea of ashtrays, wondering if anyone will come forth to buy his collection. Photo by Doug Clark/The Spokesman-Review

"I think I've got a crop failure," says Spokesman-Review columnist Doug Clark, who tried a miracle cure for baldness that promised new hair growth within about 20 minutes. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

John Cage refuses to give up on snow and his Christmas decorations. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Two handguns, a 9mm and a 7mm semiautomatic, lie loaded and holstered on the table. Two bolt-action rifles lean against a wall. Three hard men sit within reach of their weapons. They sip coffee, smoke cigarettes and exchange war stories about the more memorable suspects they outfoxed and took to jail:

Two little girls snatched during a walk to the candy store. One found dead hours later, her body hidden under a pile of smoldering pine needles. The other still missing. A prime suspect fingered by police.

"I don't like living by the rules. I like things my way." - Kevin Boot, accused killer of Felicia Reese Word just in from the big house: Kevin Boot's murder trial may be months away, but a welcoming committee already is looking forward to the smirking punk's arrival at the state penitentiary in Walla Walla.

The Halls of Bare Mountain are known as good Samaritans by the residents of this small, rustic community north of Spokane. After the father of a Riverside High School athlete was mortally injured in a car wreck, Debbie Hall was first in line to start a benefit drive for the griefstricken family.

Until Spokane cops hauled him in on 14 counts, R.J. Mulvey was probably one of the city's most accomplished 13-year-old burglars. Alex De La Pena was a car thief at age 11, stuffing coats and cushions under his butt until he could see over the dashboard enough to drive the hot wheels away.

Bud Wood and his ostrich burger. Photo by Doug Clark/The Spokesman-Review

Kevin Boot's "arrogant smirk" has enraged many readers. File/The Spokesman-Review

Don Rogers's dog, Wally, admires a bronze bust of Elvis that the Spokane artist will unveil today in Gaceland. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Danny Hamilton was one of those rock stars whose work far eclipsed his name. You can't tune in an oldies radio station for very long without hearing Hamilton's 1971 hit that has become a standard: Don't pull your love out on me baby.

Hasson

He strangled and slashed the throat of an elderly Sunnyside woman and buried the gasoline-soaked remains in her own flower bed.