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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Jonathan Brunt

Jonathan Brunt

Current Position: Asst. Managing Editor (Govt)

Jonathan Brunt joined The Spokesman-Review in 2004. He is the government editor. He previously was a reporter who covered Spokane City Hall, Spokane County government and public safety.

Email
jonathanb@spokesman.com
Phone
(509) 459-5442

All Stories

News >  Spokane

First Kids’ Night Out a hit

The final hours of 2005 in Spokane were counted down by the pounding of drums by hundreds of kids. The city's newest percussionists swarmed downtown streets and sidewalks with their parents Saturday after making and decorating their instruments at Kids' Night Out.
News >  Spokane

Pair burned in natural gas explosion

The owners of a heating and air conditioning business were burned Friday morning in an explosion fueled by a natural gas leak, the Spokane Fire Department reported. The leak was in an underground Avista natural gas line, and the fuel drifted through the ground and into an office at Cougar Mechanical, 3818 E. Joseph Ave., said Spokane fire investigator Lt. Chris Phillips in a telephone recording.
News >  Spokane

Fallout of meth use goes down to the roots

Just before seven teeth were yanked from his mouth, Airway Heights Corrections Center inmate Delvin Denison explained how a fresh start in his mouth could help him with a fresh start in life. "I want false teeth because I'm done with dope," Denison, 42, said in the prison's dentist office. "It's embarrassing going to apply for a job with teeth like this."
News >  Spokane

Home for the holidays

After a year crushing rocks in Iraq to make roads, Sgt. Bradley Christenson arrived home Wednesday to the hugs of his wife and three sons. "It wouldn't be Christmas without dad," said Bradley's wife, Jeanie Christenson. "I'm just very grateful for them to be home safe and sound."
News >  Spokane

Cold reality faces smokers at 25 feet

At 8:30 p.m. Thursday, the Mayfair was empty and bartender Mark Roberton was contemplating an early close. "If I'm not paying the power bill and they're not coming, what's the point of staying open?" Roberton asked.
News >  Spokane

GOP backs Walker for sheriff

Spokane Valley Police Chief Cal Walker won a lopsided Republican Party vote this week in his bid to become the next sheriff. Spokane County Republican Party precinct committee officers voted Wednesday on their preferences for who the next sheriff should be.
News >  Spokane

Witness-tampering alleged in homicide case

Two members of a defense team representing a Spokane man accused in the 1984 killing of a store clerk in Utah were arrested Tuesday and accused of tampering with witnesses. Salt Lake City attorney Richard P. Mauro, 46, and investigator Theodore T. Cilwick, 51, are representing Wade Garrett Maughan, 50.
News >  Spokane

6-year-old boy gravely injured in shooting

A 6-year-old boy was clinging to life late Tuesday after he was shot in the head at a northern Spokane County home. The boy's 11-year-old brother called medics to 4115 E. Eloika Lake Road about 5:15 p.m., Spokane County Sheriff's spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said in a press release.
News >  Spokane

Reserve police officer honored for service

Years before he caught people breaking the law as a Spokane reserve police officer, John R. Case was doing it as a citizen. Case was honored this month for volunteering as an officer for 20 years, a tenure unprecedented in recent times.
News >  Spokane

Bicyclists arrested during protest

About 10 bicyclists were arrested Friday night after their group delayed traffic in downtown Spokane. Officers swarmed the bikers on Main Avenue near Wall Street soon after 5 p.m. and demanded that they lie on the ground.
News >  Spokane

Trying frying? Be careful

As more Thanksgiving cooks plop their turkeys in hot oil instead of the oven, fire departments are warning folks that the process requires extra attention. "It's a phenomenon that all the fire departments are having to deal with," said Brian Schaeffer, assistant chief of the Spokane Fire Department.
News >  Spokane

Slaying suspect in custody

The teen accused of killing a mother, her son and trying to kill her husband in a South Hill home was arrested Saturday evening in a parked car just as a SWAT team was ready to storm his home about three miles away. Travis Robert Ault, 18, was arrested without incident about 6:10 p.m. on Richard Allen Court on Spokane's lower South Hill after a woman called police and told them she was heading there with Ault, said Lt. Scott Stephens, Spokane police major crimes and SWAT commander.
News >  Spokane

Two slain in house on South Hill

Two people were found shot to death Friday in a South Hill home, and the suspect remained at large despite an intensive search of the area and in downtown Spokane. The suspect was identified as Travis Ault, born in 1988, said Sgt. Brad Arleth.
News >  Spokane

Upsize the turkey; Santa’s in town

To the sound of trumpets, bells, and cheering good little boys and girls, Santa Claus descended the River Park Square escalator under the glare of a spotlight and proclaimed the Christmas season officially open. "You know what it's sounding like?" he asked. "It's sounding like Christmas."
News >  Spokane

Child hospitalized in near-drowning

A 4-year-old boy was in serious condition Thursday evening after almost drowning in a bathtub in the East Central neighborhood. Police are investigating, and found marijuana in the home, said Spokane police spokesman Dick Cottam.
News >  Spokane

Airport board seeks porn e-mail inquiry

An investigation has been launched into a pornographic video sent to some Spokane International Airport employees from the e-mail account of the airport police chief. The airport board decided at a closed session on Wednesday to hire an independent investigator to examine the case, said David Brukardt, board chairman.
News >  Spokane

Woman jailed on arson charge

A woman who tried to stop Spokane firefighters from entering her burning home has been arrested and accused of setting it ablaze. Lorri Lyn Serben, 38, was living at a home at 2607 E. Pacific Ave. on Sept. 23 when it caught fire.
News >  Spokane

Cyclist hurt in pickup collision

A bicyclist was injured Thursday evening when he was struck by a pickup in Spokane's West Central neighborhood. The 43-year-old man riding the BMX bike did not have a helmet or brakes and appeared to have been at fault, said Spokane Police Sgt. Joe Walker. Officers also smelled alcohol on his breath.
News >  Spokane

String theory

The yo-yo is the new panacea, if you listen to the folks who competed Saturday in the first Inland Empire Yo-Yo Challenge. It cures, they say – among other things – boredom, stress, obesity, shyness, diarrhea … well, maybe not diarrhea.
News >  Spokane

Driver held after hitting pedestrian

A pedestrian died Thursday after she was struck by a car on the South Hill. The driver, Elizabeth M. Van Zandt, 47, was arrested and booked into jail on a count of vehicular homicide, Spokane police spokesman Dick Cottam said in a press release.
News >  Spokane

Suspect faces more charges of stealing

Prosecutors have filed two dozen additional charges against a woman accused of stealing $25,000 from accounts she managed at a business that cared for people with disabilities. Christina Ann Davis, 36, was the financial manager of Midstream Inc., which provided in-home care to 26 people in the Spokane area. The company lost state certification and went out of business in June after allegations against Davis came to light.
News >  Spokane

Family loses all 5 kids in crash

All five children from a Chewelah family were killed Tuesday afternoon when two pickup trucks collided head-on in a crash that emergency responders described as "brutal" and "horrific." Their father, Jeffrey Schrock, 38, was taken by helicopter to Sacred Heart Medical Center where he was listed in critical condition. The driver of the other pickup, Deer Park resident Clifford Helm, 55, also was taken to Sacred Heart, where he was undergoing surgery Tuesday night and was expected to live.
News >  Spokane

Blaze can’t keep ‘Oliver!’ off stage

Despite losing its sets, props and costumes in a warehouse fire Thursday, Spokane's Christian Youth Theater is standing by the bedrock rule of entertainment: The show must go on. "Oliver!" will open Friday at the Metropolitan Performing Arts Center thanks to a massive volunteer effort and donations from area schools, theater companies and other groups.
News >  Spokane

Bicyclists tie up traffic in rush hour

A group of bicyclists protesting society's dependence on cars created traffic headaches during Friday afternoon's rush hour in downtown Spokane. After a half-hour ride during which they would not allow motorists to pass, police forced the protesters to stop and gave about 10 of them $46 citations for being pedestrians in the roadway. At least two were briefly handcuffed.