John Stucke

Today’s nursing school graduates continue to find good jobs even as the economy stumbles along and the uncertainty of health care reform looms. Anne Hirsch, senior associate dean of the WSU College of Nursing and a director of the Washington Center for Nursing, says the types of jobs are changing and colleges are struggling to turn out enough graduates to fill the open jobs across the state. Q.Are there jobs for today’s nursing school graduates?

Tony Lamanna has taken a break from fighting crime in Hillyard to take on something tougher: a rare form of plasma cancer threatening his life. The disease, a multiple myeloma called light chain deposition disease, remains somewhat of a mystery to oncologists. These cancer cells gather in the plasma in bone marrow and interfere with the body’s ability to manufacture blood.

An ambulance company with operations in 28 states has moved into Spokane. Rural/Metro Corp. has hired 30 people to staff two ambulances. Although the company does not yet have any contracts, local company officials expect to quickly find business.

College students and their families are filling out their financial aid applications this month in hopes of receiving grants and low-interest student loans – a once-daunting process. Shannon Flynn, the associate director of financial aid and scholarships at Eastern Washington University, says times have changed and most students receive financial help.

A year that began in pain has turned around for one of Spokane’s most spectacular residents. Broken teeth and infections had turned Zamba into 700 pounds of moody cat. There were moments when the male lion would act friendly, even exhibiting a tender side. And then sometimes he would be just plain nasty, recalled Mike Wyche, who runs Cat Tales Zoological Park north of Spokane.

Greg Isensee has had some tough luck. There was the time he was mistaken for a turkey and shot from 42 feet away. There still are enough steel pellets embedded in him to set off a metal detector.

These are the places where the fragility of life is on full display. Dozens of babies born months early, too little and too weak to breastfeed, their tiny lungs unable to capture ample oxygen, rest and grow inside special hospital bassinets. Their parents dream of the day when they can bring them home from these neonatal intensive care units, called NICUs.

The Scotts Co., one of the world’s largest lawn-care companies best known for its Miracle-Gro fertilizer, has reneged on contracts worth millions of dollars to Eastern Washington and Idaho farmers. The action has erupted into a tangle of lawsuits and counterclaims and put more than 100 Kentucky bluegrass farmers in a financial pinch as bank loans and other bills come due. The farmers accuse Ohio-based Scotts of corporate bully tactics, including the threat of protracted litigation that could drag on for months or even years to wear down poorer-financed farmers.

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center is delivering defibrillators to area high schools after a spike in the incidence of cardiac arrest among young people and adults. Installing the devices was a routine task for maintenance workers at most schools, but at Northwest Christian High School the work was a difficult reminder.

Turkey is on the menu this week, and Karen Killinger, a food safety specialist at Washington State University, offers a few tips to keep Thanksgiving celebrants fat and happy rather than sick and miserable. Q.Do you stuff your turkey?

A couple of West Central convenience stores will begin stocking healthier food choices, giving customers the option to buy apples instead of candy bars, and vegetables and whole grain breads instead of doughnuts and potato chips. It’s part of an effort to spur better eating habits and curb obesity and diabetes rates in one of Spokane’s poorest neighborhoods.

Deaconess Medical Center once again will treat children with influenza, pneumonia and other serious illnesses, reversing a decision five years ago to close its pediatric unit. “All of the employees are very excited to be able to care for children again,” said Ann Seaburg, who directs women’s and children’s service for the hospital.