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Jonathan Martin

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News >  Nation/World

Lawsuit Alleges Harassment Of Russians Federal Action Accuses Apartment Owners, Managers Of Housing Discrimination

The owners and managers of a Browne's Addition apartment complex waged a systematic campaign to rid the building of 14 Russian families, according to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. attorney general. The suit is the nation's first federal housing discrimination complaint based on allegedly unfair treatment of Russians, said Joan Magagna, the top lawyer in the department's Civil Rights Division. It names Western and Colleene Williams, the Seattle owners of the Park Arms Apartments, their property management business and managers Tracy Clark and Doug Johnson.
News >  Nation/World

From Welfare To Work Giving Birth To Ambition Having A Child Forced Teen To Think About Future

1. Mother's helpers. Teen mother Julie Noble meets with tutor Roberta Depner to discuss goals. The birth of her son has pushed Noble to make changes. She intends to get her GED and attend beauty school. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review 2. Julie Noble plays with 6-week-old Skylar after his morning bath. 3. With Skylar bundled close, Julie Noble tries to wring the most out of her $20 voucher from DSHS for school supplies. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review
News >  Nation/World

Workfirst Trims 9,000 From Welfare Rolls

Washington's welfare rolls are shrinking so fast that goals for 1999 have nearly been met. More than 9,000 families - enough to fill the city of Wenatchee - have left the dole since the get-to-work program became law last April.
News >  Spokane

More Workers Use Food Bank High Apartment Rents, Low Wages Force Full-Time Employees To Seek Free Food

Rising housing costs and low wages are pushing more of Spokane's working poor to emergency food banks. A sampling of the 13,000 people helped monthly by the Spokane Food Bank found more are relying on free food despite working full time. Twenty percent reported holding down full-time jobs, up from 8 percent in 1991. More than a third of those surveyed said low or stagnant income drove them to the food bank.
News >  Spokane

Woman Gets 20 Years For Rape ‘Senseless Cruelty’ Of Crimes Prompts Judge To Nearly Double Normal Maximum Sentence

Eunice Eickhoff enjoyed a dozen happy years as the common-law wife of a New Jersey gas station attendant. Their relationship ended formally Thursday when Eickhoff was sentenced to 20 years in prison for torturing and raping the man with a broomstick. Spokane County Superior Court Judge Greg Sypolt banned contact between the two for life, calling the crimes acts of "deliberate and senseless cruelty."
News >  Spokane

Study Attacks Child Care Subsidy Researchers Say Quality May Suffer As A Result

Low state subsidies put good-quality child care out of reach for working-poor families, University of Washington researchers said. As a result, hundreds of thousands of poor kids could be left a step behind their wealthier peers, said researchers Richard Brandon and Carol Naito of the UW Graduate School of Public Affairs. They predict sweeping changes to the state-supported child care system will create a two-tiered system - innovative, safe centers for children of paying parents, and stripped-down versions that scrimp on staff and training for children of poor parents.
News >  Spokane

Locke Makes Plea For Welfare Hiring Thousands May Seek Jobs When Reforms Kick In

Hiring workers from the public dole is an altruistic deed, Spokane business leaders were told Monday. Calling upon the "civic and moral activism" of the business community, Gov. Gary Locke asked the skeptical and curious crowd to set aside politics and personal gain. "To make WorkFirst work, we must balance market forces with moral forces," Locke said.
News >  Spokane

Shelter For Teen Moms To Close Federal Grant Not Renewed For Voa’s Transitional Living Center

On the way out "I've been late for everything today," said Ginny McElfresh, 17, after a hectic first week of school at SFCC. Her son, Josh, 16 months, had a cold and couldn't go to his normal day care and McElfresh had to hustle to find her new classes. They are among the last residents in VOA's Transitional Living Center. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review
News >  Nation/World

Activists Push ‘Living Wage’ Of $8.25 An Hour Petitions Passed Urging Spokane To Write Increase Into Law

A handful of Spokane activists have a startling proposal to blunt poverty's sharp teeth: an $8.25 minimum wage. From its downtown office stocked with pamphlets about Guatemalan freedom fighters and deforestation, the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane is circulating petitions demanding the City Council set base pay at a "living wage." It's ridiculous, they say, for workers toiling all day to be limping along below the poverty line.
News >  Nation/World

Welfare Official Taps Rolls For Own Firm Subject Of Probe Says Hiring Practice Is Ethical

A Spokane welfare administrator is accused in whistleblower complaints of violating ethics law by using his position to ensure a steady supply of labor to his side business. Robert Absolor has hired at least nine welfare recipients off his north Spokane office's rolls for his 10-month-old janitorial company, according to informed sources and state records. The pipeline feeding J & B Unlimited is the target of a pair of whistleblower complaints, filed in April, that have triggered a Washington State Patrol investigation into "improper government conduct," said Absolor's supervisor, Bernard Nelson.
News >  Spokane

So Long, Summer Thousands Converge On Comstock For Food And Music

FOR THE RECORD (September 3, 1997): Incorrect identification: Kathy Hook, who attended the Labor Day concert by the Spokane Symphony Orchestra in Comstock Park, was misidentified in a photo caption on the cover of "The Region" section Tuesday. 1. Harmony in the park. Adelle O'Cain ponders a dragon that was part of "A Knight to Remember" dining entry at Monday's concert at Comstock Park. Photos by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review 2. Kathy Cook prepares her entry in the Alfresco Awards.
News >  Features

Not-So-Reticent Barenaked Ladies Enjoy Themselves

Barenaked Ladies Friday, Aug. 15, The Met Steven Page, the Barenaked Ladies' stout front man, told the audience early in the show that his zipper was down. The crowd, a bobbing, grinning full house, wanted intimacy from the goofy quintet. Barriers, however, can be good. They weren't to be found Friday, as the band welcomed the crowd into their world, a Nintendo-playing and beer-in-hand whirlwind of wit where potty humor is still funny and nothing is sacred.
News >  Spokane

Crimes Had ‘Evil Motivation,’ Judge Says Woman Gets 20-Year Sentence For Torture Of Onetime Friend

A 36-year-old woman was slapped with an exceptionally long sentence of 20 years Friday for her role in the rape and torture of a onetime friend. Spokane County Superior judge Greg Sypolt found Theresa Spickler-Bowe's crimes to have been committed with an "evil motivation" that demanded a punishment stiffer than the normal maximum of 12 years. Sypolt said the case reminded him of "something out of the Middle Ages and medieval torture devices."
News >  Nation/World

Locke Kicks Off Welfare Reform Spokane Restaurateurs Promise To Hire Willing, Capable Recipients

With a pat on the back and a kick in the rear, the state today begins telling more than 90,000 adult welfare recipients to scour "help wanted" ads. The Spokane business community, which soon will see 9,000 new job hunters, greeted the end of the 60-year-old public assistance guarantee Thursday with tempered enthusiasm. Restaurateurs marked the occasion with a pledge to hire willing and capable welfare recipients for the estimated 200 food service jobs open in Spokane.
News >  Nation/World

Living In The Pits Political Fight Over Housing Leaves Cherry Pickers In Squatters’ Camps

FOR THE RECORD: 7-29-97 Not state-licensed: The status of closed migrant worker camp in Royal City, Wash., was reported incorrectly in a story in Sunday's Spokesman-Review. The camp is not licensed by the state. 1. No land of plenty. Marco Rantonio and Efigenia Clemente would rather camp on public land during the cherry harvest than pay exorbitant rents in filthy, unsecure trailers. Above, beef is dried for dinner. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review 2. Carlos Mendoza is one of eight brothers who follows the harvest from orchard to orchard. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review 3. Elizabeth Negrete, 10, Yanette and Brenda Tapia, 7 and 9, do the dishes at a tent camp at Kyle Mathison Orchards in Wenatchee while their parents pick cherries. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review