Mike Prager

The Rev. Greg Boyle speaks during a forum on gangs. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Ministers trying to tackle the problem of youth gangs in Spokane hope to learn something from their big-city brethren this weekend. The Rev. Greg Boyle, a Jesuit priest from the gang-infested barrios of East Los Angeles, is a featured speaker for the second Youth Violence and Gang Conference in Spokane on Saturday. He also will appear at two related events.

Budget trouble at Eastern Washington University hasn't stopped the president from handing out handsome raises to top staff. The university's senior administrators now earn more cash than their counterparts at the state's other regional universities. The pay disparity grew when EWU President Mark Drummond awarded big increases to top staffers in 1994 and 1995.

Gonzaga Law School Dean John Clute announces reward offer Friday. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Gonzaga University President Bernard Coughlin on Wednesday declared a zero-tolerance policy on bigotry in the wake of racial harassment on campus. In a memo to students and faculty, Coughlin restated the university's commitment to racial diversity after black law students received harassing letters for the third time in a year.

It's not often a linguistics scholar gets international media attention. Professor Grant Smith of Eastern Washington University is getting his share for predicting that Bill Clinton will beat Bob Dole this fall based on the sound of their names. A Feb. 17 story in The Spokesman-Review reported Smith's prediction and his theory that candidate names influence undecided voters. Clinton's name sounds more presidential, he said.

Connie Grytdal gets a reaction of modesty from Brian Williams after the ceremony. Williams helped save Grytdal after she was seriously injured in a car accident. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

The latest target of racism at Gonzaga University said he isn't backing down to campus bigots. "No one is going to stop me from doing what I want to do," said Paul Taulton, a senior who graduates in May. "They don't want to see African-Americans be successful. They are mad because we are going to be successful," he said Tuesday.

About 200 senior citizens showed up Monday for a daylong educational conference at Spokane Community College, but the turnout may be too small to keep the program going next year. Organizers of the second annual spring conference had hoped to get 350 seniors enrolled at a cost of $12 each. Those who attended took part in a series of workshops and lectures intended to help seniors live more interesting and healthy lives.

Two more racial incidents were reported at Gonzaga University over the weekend after three black law students were targeted by a racist letter last Friday. On Sunday night, campus security and Spokane police escorted a man off campus and threatened to arrest him for trespassing after he yelled racial slurs outside the Foley Center library.

State Sen. Nita Rinehart, a Democratic candidate for governor, went back to college Tuesday. On a tour at Spokane Falls Community College, she saw for herself how technology is changing the way students learn.

If you believe long-range weather outlooks, the sometimes brutal winter of 1995-96 should give way to a kinder, gentler spring. The National Weather Service is calling for above-normal temperatures, but also higher-than-normal rainfall in April, May and possibly June. At the same time, the outlook for June, July and August suggests a normal summer with warm, dry days.

Isabelle Green shows an example of a new EWU vanity license plate. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

A Spokane woman found dead in her South Hill apartment Thursday was last seen alive by co-workers who left her place early that morning, police said Friday. Her traumatized body was found at about 5 p.m. after she failed to show up for work at a downtown McDonald's restaurant. Police identified the victim as Danielle Jean Shinaver, 25.

Anita Utley believes well water, which keeps her fish alive, is also good enough for pupils at the school. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

FROM FOR THE RECORD (Thursday, March 14, 1996): Whitworth College won the 1960 national baseball championship. A story in Wednesday's Spokesman-Review incorrectly said Whitworth won a football title. Whitworth College's Nate Williams came a long way to see his team lose to Albertson College of Idaho in overtime Tuesday night. See sports story, C1. Photo by Idaho Press-Tribune

Taking flight Tundra swans take off from Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge south of Cheney. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Day-care teacher Nelda Bankhead plays with children Tuesday at the Cheney facility. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

A suite treat Jamie Newcomb, right, slaps a high-five on a friend while watching a game Friday from the private box of Spilker Masonry Co. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Azure skies, milder temperatures and the fact that the calendar says March might be a recipe for spring-like weather most years. Not this time, said forecasters at the National Weather Service.

Spokane community colleges aren't used to this sort of generosity, but when the giver is Bill Gates, well, it computes. The colleges announced Tuesday they are getting nearly $1.3 million in software and technical support from Microsoft Corp. The largest donation ever to the Community Colleges of Spokane, it is part of a $10 million gift from Microsoft to community colleges statewide.

From For the record (February 23, 1996): Eastern Washington University students Matthew Rabey, 20, Anthony Hundt, 22, and Atom Duszynski, 20, were cited by police for misdemeanor alcohol violations on campus Feb. 10 and released at the scene. A story in The Spokesman-Review on Thursday did not indicate the trio was released.

A lick of spring over the weekend lured Inland Northwest folks out of their homes and into their yards. But the past week of spring-like weather, capped by Sunday's high of 51 degrees, is heading south.

Linguistics scholar Grant Smith believes the sound of a candidate's name can decide close elections. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review