Eli Francovich

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News >  Spokane

Criticized federal grant program helped turn around Spokane’s Rogers High School

UPDATED: Fri., April 7, 2017

In 2011 Rogers High School’s four-year graduation rate hovered around 50 percent. Rogers students’ reading, writing and math scores were 10 to 20 percentage points lower than state averages.

News >  Idaho

Thousands of gallons of raw sewage seeped into Hayden Lake

UPDATED: Thu., April 6, 2017

Thousands of pounds of raw sewage seeped into Hayden Lake after a sewer service connection failed.

News >  Spokane

Spokane-area Jehovah’s Witnesses wait anxiously for Russian court ruling

UPDATED: Thu., April 6, 2017

Spokane-area Jehovah’s Witnesses waited anxiously for a Russian court ruling on whether the church in Russia will be labeled an extremist organization, Wednesday.

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News >  Spokane

Long abandoned Otis Hotel may be developed as apartment building

UPDATED: Tue., April 4, 2017

After years of false starts the Otis Hotel may finally have a buyer as an Oregon poker player offers renovation plans to turn the building into apartments.

News >  Spokane

Low-graduation rates among Marshallese students prompt study in Spokane Public Schools

Tue., April 4, 2017

Spokane Public Schools received a five-year grant to study its Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students’ academic success. The four-year graduation rate for Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, of which Marshallese students are a subgroup, was 51.4 percent.

News >  Spokane

Beloved Deer Park teacher who started as bus driver retiring four decades later

UPDATED: Wed., March 29, 2017

Forty one years later, Kylene Davis still remembers her first school bus ride. The then 5-year-old kindergartener waited nervously for the bus to pick her up. When the doors opened she was, “greeted by a friendly face.”

News >  Spokane

Sharkey out as Ferris football coach following allegations he exposed himself to players

UPDATED: Tue., March 28, 2017

Spokane Public School administrators did not renew Ferris High School Football coach Jim Sharkey’s coaching contract.

News >  Spokane

Spokane-area Jehovah’s Witnesses protesting Russian decision to label group an extremist organization

UPDATED: Tue., March 28, 2017

Spokane-area Jehovah’s Witnesses are mailing letters to Russian government officials, including President Vladimir Putin, in protest of an attempt to label the Russian arm of their church an extremist organization.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Gonzaga student’s dramatic video (narrated by Christopher Walken) compiles Zags’ tournament successes, ‘heartbreaks’

UPDATED: Mon., March 27, 2017

A Gonzaga student made this video compilation of some Gonzaga’s greatest tournament successes and failures.

News >  Business

Spokane’s second climbing gym set to open Tuesday

UPDATED: Mon., March 27, 2017

Spokane’s second climbing gym, the Bloc Yard Bouldering Gym, will open 10 a.m. Tuesday.

News >  Spokane

Community Colleges of Spokane to offer classes at WSU in Pullman

UPDATED: Fri., March 24, 2017

The Community Colleges of Spokane will start offering classes on the Washington State University campus starting April 3.

News >  Spokane

Spokane Public Schools approves new use-of-force, campus safety policy

UPDATED: Thu., March 23, 2017

The Spokane Public Schools board of directors approved a campus safety policy that creates stricter use-of-force guidelines and requires quarterly data reporting.

News >  Spokane

Americans of all political stripes are stressed out regarding the future of the country

Thu., March 23, 2017

Two-thirds of Americans say they are stressed about the future of the nation, according to an

News >  Spokane

Ferris football coach accused of exposing himself to players being investigated in Shoshone County

UPDATED: Tue., March 21, 2017

The Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office is investigating allegations that Ferris High School coach Jim Sharkey exposed himself to players at a leadership camp last summer.

News >  Spokane

This time of year, the ‘soul’ of the Spokane river returns – its ‘fast water’ offering a look into the past

Sat., March 18, 2017

When Barry Moses stares at the roiling spring waters of the Spokane River, especially near the dams, he sees what he calls “a shadow of the history of how things used to be.” In Spokane Salish, the language traditionally spoken by the Spokane Tribe, the river was known as the “place of fast water.” Over the years, dams up and down the river have slowed that fast-moving water. But during the spring run-off, the pace quickens.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

Flooding forces evacuation of Stevens County fire station

UPDATED: Fri., March 17, 2017

A swollen creek forced the evacuation of a rural Stevens County fire station Wednesday night.

News >  Spokane

Flood waters inch closer to homes along Williams Lake, Little Spokane River

UPDATED: Fri., March 17, 2017

Rain, melting snow and saturated soil have all combined to create flooding problems for residents across the Inland Northwest.

News >  Spokane

Coeur d’Alene officials weigh possible sale of land next to Tubbs Hill

UPDATED: Wed., March 15, 2017

The Coeur d’Alene urban renewal district, ignite cda, postponed a decision that would sell a small piece of land on the north side of Tubbs Hill, Wednesday.

News >  Spokane

State, Spokane County declare state of emergency following warmer weather, rain

UPDATED: Wed., March 15, 2017

Spokane County declared a state of emergency Wednesday afternoon as warm weather combined with rain washed out roads and overflowed streams leading to a number of road closures.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Watch party tips for Gonzaga game

UPDATED: Wed., March 15, 2017

It’s March Madness and the No. 1-seed Gonzaga Bulldogs tip off Thursday at ... 11 a.m.

News >  Spokane

Space is calling her: Engineer camp tinkers with young woman’s dreams

UPDATED: Wed., March 15, 2017

When Grace Kim was in middle school, she had no desire to be an engineer. Instead, she wanted to be an artist, or maybe a librarian.

News >  Spokane

Coeur d’Alene voters overwhelmingly approve $68 million school bond, levy

UPDATED: Tue., March 14, 2017

The Coeur d’Alene School district took a risk this year, asking voters to approve a bond and levy totaling $68 million. It was a risk that paid off.

News >  Spokane

Spokane Public Schools board appoints Michael Wiser to vacant seat

UPDATED: Tue., March 14, 2017

The Spokane Public Schools board of directors voted unanimously to appoint Michael Wiser to a vacant seat, Tuesday night.

News >  Spokane

Alarmed by Trump’s environmental policies, Inslee champions wildfire prevention

UPDATED: Wed., March 15, 2017

Washington’s governor says he’s concerned about President Donald Trump’s stated intention of slashing the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget as well as EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s skepticism about the cause of climate change.

News >  Education

Police arresting far fewer students after Spokane schools change discipline polices

Sat., March 11, 2017

A change in Spokane Public Schools approach toward student discipline has led to a drastic reduction in the number of students arrested. As of Feb. 28 district officers had arrested 58 students, compared to 467 at the same time last year.