Jennifer Pignolet

David Apperson sat on the edge of a sofa Tuesday afternoon, his hands folded and his eyes fighting back tears. He looked at the 8-year-old boy playing on the floor in front of him and asked him to translate between him and the boy’s mother, Loanmy Triana, a Cuban refugee.

Friday’s graduation may have been simple – red velvet cake, punch and the signing of certificates – but it was a victory for the six certified nursing assistant students and their instructors who a week ago weren’t sure the class would be able to finish. After completing the required 100 classroom hours for the program, the students were about to begin their 50 hours of clinical work when the staff at the American Institute for Medical Careers told them the state had shut down their program.

Susan Franklin knows exactly how many miles she can continue driving her car after her gas light illuminates. Unable to afford filling up her tank regularly, she’s pushed the car to its fuel limit on more than one occasion. As a single mother diagnosed with breast cancer this summer, the 47-year-old substitute teacher doesn’t have many people she can rely on for rides to her appointments.

It took just one collective inhale from the group of middle-aged men for Katie Scanlon to realize she wasn’t going to be able to stick to her original plan. The yoga veteran was out of her element – and so were the men on the mats in front of her.

Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder once wrote a song titled “Go” about his pickup truck. Maybe he can tweak it a bit for his firetruck. A gift from actor Sean Penn to his longtime friend Vedder, the fully-restored 1927 American La France firetruck is now a fixture at the Ferry County Auto and Truck Museum, about 100 miles northwest of Spokane.

A storm whipping the West Coast is causing high winds and rain in Eastern Washington. Ron Miller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Spokane, said the wet, blustery weather is expected to continue through Wednesday, but Thanksgiving should be dry.

Every once in a while, a customer at Saad’s Shoe Repair will drop off a pair of shoes to be fixed and forget to pick them up. Most of the forgotten pairs eventually get donated to local churches or other charities.

Stanek’s Nursery on the South Hill will close early next year, just one year shy of the family business’s 100th birthday. A letter from owner Tim Stanek, posted on the nursery’s website, cites a land dispute with Spokane’s Parks and Recreation Department as the reason for the closing.

Freida Owens always knew she had good neighbors. She found out just how good on Sunday when her neighbor’s 13-year-old daughter and a friend heard fire alarms coming from Owens’ East Decatur Avenue home and noticed a man staying at the house hadn’t evacuated.

It may not say so on the calendar, but winter is here. While most areas only saw 1 to 3 inches of snow, the region’s first winter event blanketed a few areas in the Inland Northwest with up to 6 inches of snow Thursday through Friday.

The greenest grass in town can now be found along Sprague Avenue in Spokane Valley. With the majority of a $1.2 million stormwater project between Thierman and Park roads near completion, the aesthetic aspects of the project are now under way.

Despite what the Bob Marley posters might suggest, John Kim’s family business is all about tobacco. Cigars and hookahs. Cigarettes and lighters. Pipes shaped like dolphins, horses and motorcycles, ranging in price from $5 to $500.

The Inland Northwest’s congressional delegation remained intact Tuesday, with incumbents coasting to victories in early returns. On the Washington side, voters gave new terms to Democratic U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and Republican U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, of Spokane.

With white walls and desks full of computers, the nondescript room on the fifth floor of the Lincoln Building in downtown Spokane doesn’t particularly reflect its importance. It’s only used a few times a year, but one night every four years the room becomes the epicenter of history in the making.

PLUMMER, Idaho – Gary Leva joked that employee productivity would drop with the opening of the new Benewah Medical Center. With its rooftop gardens, open atrium and sweeping mountain views, it’s easy to see how the CEO might worry his professionals could get lost in the landscape.

BONNERS FERRY – When agents from the federal Food and Drug Administration knocked on the door of Nadine Scharf’s North Idaho sprout-growing business last summer, she had no problem letting them nose around the facility. She didn’t mind the 400-plus samples they took on two different occasions. She didn’t protest when they asked her to explain her cleaning procedures.

A man who calls himself Ziggy leans against his bumper-stickered Dodge Stratus sedan, anchoring a stage light between his body and the roof of the car. He gazes up at the light’s path and tries to steady the equipment as the words “OCCUPY SPOKANE” in white lettering dance across the top of the Wells Fargo Center in downtown Spokane.

The suspect in Saturday’s shooting in Coeur d’Alene has been identified as Christian Nicholas Buquet, also known as Christian Nicholas Mallon, 19, of Hayden. Buquet was shot and killed by police Saturday after he shot another man and then fired a gun at officers and civilians as he drove through Coeur d’Alene, authorities said.

The suspect in Saturday’s shooting in Coeur d’Alene has been identified as Christian Nicholas Buquet, also known as Christian Nicholas Mallon, 19, of Hayden, Idaho.