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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Jennifer Pignolet

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

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News >  Spokane

EV teacher receives Spokane’s 100th transplant

Whether it was the balloons or the lively rendition of “Happy Birthday,” it was impossible to miss the party room on the seventh floor of Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center on Wednesday morning. It was East Valley High School math teacher Roger Jamison’s birthday. Or rather, his stem cell birthday.
News >  Spokane

Man shot by police had criminal record

The man killed early Tuesday in a police chase had a history of eluding and assaulting officers. But why Jacob I. Dorfman, 52, led officers on a chaotic race through a South Hill neighborhood, crashing through fences and tearing across manicured yards in a Jeep Grand Cherokee remains a mystery. Dorfman is believed to be the same man who a short time earlier had paced shirtless around a nearby intersection screaming and shooting a pistol, prompting nervous neighbors to call 911 about 1:20 a.m.

News >  Health

With aging, active clientele, physical therapists in demand

One of Brian Cronin’s physical therapy clients is in her 80s and is still skiing. Another is middle-aged, recovering from a water skiing injury. Another is a middle-school-age girl with Olympic gymnast dreams. Cronin is the co-owner of U-District Physical Therapy, which started eight years ago, focused on sports-related therapy for high school and college athletes. With an aging, yet increasingly active population, Cronin has seen his business and the physical therapy industry expand.
News >  Spokane

President’s gun control plan gets mixed reactions in region

According to local gun distributors, the only benefit of President Barack Obama’s attempts at gun control is that guns are flying off the shelves. “If he was looking for a way to completely deplete the stock of firearms in the country, he’s succeeded,” one Spokane Valley gun store owner said.
News >  Spokane

Vandals rampage throughout church

Pastor Nick Hawkins showed up to church Sunday morning to anything but a peaceful sanctuary. Doors were kicked in. Glass was scattered everywhere. Fire extinguishers had been sprayed all over the walls and floor. Music equipment was drenched in soda.
News >  Health

Eastern State Hospital expects reaccreditation

An unsecured karaoke machine caused Eastern State Hospital to lose its accreditation last month, according to a report released by the Washington Department of Social and Health Services. The suspension of the Medical Lake psychiatric hospital’s accreditation came a month after one patient strangled another patient in November. The report stemmed from a routine inspection of the hospital, but it took the homicide into account.
News >  Spokane

Flu on rise in area after East hit hard

As influenza sweeps the nation, local health officials are bracing for the season’s peak to hit the Inland Northwest. While most of the nation is seeing elevated flu activity, the western part of the country is only now starting to see notable outbreaks. Washington is among 16 states with moderate flu activity levels. Five states, including Idaho, have had low activity levels.
News >  Spokane

Magazine ranks Spokane third-gayest city

The nation’s largest gay rights magazine has ranked Spokane as the third-gayest city in the nation. Two other Washington cities made the top five, including Seattle at No. 5 and Tacoma leading the way as the gayest city in the nation.
News >  Spokane

Laptop theft proves costly

Hospice of North Idaho will pay $50,000 as part of a settlement with the federal government regarding a stolen laptop computer that contained patient information. Amanda Miller, a spokeswoman for the hospice in Hayden, said there is no evidence patient information was lifted from the computer and used. The breach, however, violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
News >  Health

Hospital accreditation at risk

Eastern State Hospital’s accreditation has been suspended after a patient strangled another patient last month. The nation’s foremost medical accreditation organization, The Joint Commission, determined last week that the hospital for the mentally ill in Medical Lake allowed patients too much access to items that could be used for strangulation.
News >  Spokane

Overnight fire strikes home in Spokane

One side of Kathleen and Charles Hagy’s west Spokane home looked just like a house should on the afternoon of Christmas Eve: intact with an inch of snow glistening in the sun. The other half – boarded up with a tarp covering the roof – reflected the horror the family endured after the home caught fire early Monday morning.
News >  Spokane

Mt. Spokane lodge grows for visitors

A new addition to Mt. Spokane’s ski lodge is giving powder hounds a new place to kick it between runs and the nonprofit business an opportunity to stay competitive in a region saturated with slopes. The 3,000-square-foot space, spread out over two floors, features renovated garage and rental areas and a 100-seat lunch spot attached to the existing cafeteria.
News >  Health

Pertussis death prompts warning

The Spokane Regional Health District is reminding everyone to get a pertussis vaccine along with a flu shot after a King County infant died from whooping cough last week. Health district spokeswoman Kim Papich said the death was the first in the state this year due to pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, which is still at an epidemic level.
News >  Health

Changes at Sacred Heart will expedite emergency care

Eastern Washington’s major trauma hospital is set to open a new emergency room designed to cut wait times for patients. The $18.6 million project at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center includes a new, separate children’s emergency center with 17 beds, along with six other beds for children and adults with psychiatric emergencies. The existing ER has been remodeled to better handle the flood of patients seeking care.
News >  Spokane

Pearl Harbor survivors feel a duty to share memories of infamous day

A group of local men and women are on a mission to make sure no one ever forgets what happened Dec. 7, 1941. In that spirit, eight of the region’s remaining Pearl Harbor survivors took to Riverfront Park on Friday to commemorate those lost when the Japanese attacked the Hawaii naval base 71 years ago.
News >  Spokane

Two bodies found four blocks apart

Police are investigating two suspicious deaths, one of a man in an alley and another a woman in a house, reported Friday just four blocks apart in the West Central Neighborhood. Capt. Dave Richards of the Spokane Police Department’s investigations unit said there is “nothing to indicate (the cases) are related.”
News >  Spokane

License to wed

After waiting months, years and even decades, the last few hours and minutes of anticipation were joyful. The dozen or so same-sex couples who were among the first to receive marriage licenses in Spokane County on Thursday spent their time in line taking pictures and chatting about families, love stories and wedding plans.
News >  Spokane

Mother recalls devastating house fire

Jessica Hammond remembers just about everything from Tuesday morning. How they needed to escape the thick smoke, but her fiance couldn’t fit through the small window in their basement-level bedroom.