Orion Donovan Smith

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News >  Local Government

As historic smoke blankets the East Coast, Northwest leaders hope Congress will wake up to the wildfire threat

UPDATED: Thu., June 8, 2023

WASHINGTON – The nation’s capital woke up Thursday to the impact of catastrophic wildfires – perhaps in more ways than one – as smoke from nearly 10 million acres ablaze in Canada blanketed the East Coast.

News >  Health

No staff cuts at Spokane VA due to budget deficit, regional director says after visiting Mann-Grandstaff

Thu., June 8, 2023

WASHINGTON – After visiting Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center at the end of May, the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Northwest regional director assured staff that the Spokane hospital won’t cut its workforce as a result of a multimillion-dollar budget deficit.

News >  Nation/World

Pullman sixth-grader ties for 12th in National Spelling Bee

UPDATED: Fri., June 2, 2023

OXON HILL, Md. – By the time the confetti fell Thursday night and Dev Shah was crowned winner of the 95th Scripps National Spelling Bee, the eighth-grader from Florida had vanquished an impressive slate of words that showed just how far the event’s organizers have gone to stump the nation’s best spellers.

News >  ID Government

House passes compromise deal to raise debt limit, despite opposition from Northwest lawmakers in both parties

UPDATED: Wed., May 31, 2023

WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill to raise the nation’s borrowing limit and end the threat of economic disaster – which the House’s Republican majority used to extract concessions from Democrats to limit federal spending – despite Northwest lawmakers from both parties opposing the compromise.

Spelling champs from Pullman, Coeur d’Alene headed to National Spelling Bee

UPDATED: Mon., May 29, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Two champion spellers from the Inland Northwest are set to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which begins on Tuesday just outside the nation’s capital.

News >  ID Government

Bipartisan bill to help tribes and counties manage wildfire risk on federal land as ‘good neighbors’ gains momentum in Congress

Sun., May 28, 2023

WASHINGTON – Tribes and counties could keep revenue from timber projects on federal lands under a bill that’s gaining momentum in the House of Representatives, after several Washington Democrats backed legislation first introduced by two Idaho Republicans.

News >  Military

VA expands Veterans Legacy Memorial website for Memorial Day

UPDATED: Thu., May 25, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – To mark Memorial Day, the Department of Veterans Affairs has expanded an online directory honoring military veterans, adding profiles for those interred at Arlington National Cemetery and 26 other cemeteries managed by the Defense Department.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

House passes bill backed by McMorris Rodgers, Biden to crack down on fentanyl

UPDATED: Thu., May 25, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House of Representatives on Thursday passed legislation to permanently classify fentanyl and similar synthetic opioids among the most dangerous drugs, as Republicans and several Northwest Democrats approved a bill backed by President Joe Biden.

News >  Local Government

VA secretary says Spokane VA’s budget won’t suffer as result of flawed records system

UPDATED: Wed., May 24, 2023

WASHINGTON – The secretary of veterans affairs on Wednesday pledged to look into reports that Spokane’s VA medical center could be forced to cut staff due to a budget deficit caused largely by a flawed computer system, but he stopped short of pledging not to reduce the hospital’s workforce.

News >  Local Government

Veterans set off on cross-country bike tour from D.C. to Washington state

Sun., May 21, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A half-dozen veterans gathered with their supporters outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday before setting out on a cross-country bicycle trip that will take them through the Inland Northwest and end at the Pacific on the Olympic Peninsula.

News >  Health

Spokane VA director warns budget trouble caused by computer system is forcing staff cuts

UPDATED: Sun., May 21, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A projected $35 million budget deficit at Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center caused largely by the use of a flawed computer system is forcing the Spokane hospital to reduce its staff, according to an internal email, despite the ongoing effects of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ decision to test the system there.

News >  Health

VA, Oracle Cerner agree on modified contract for troubled computer system tested in Spokane

Wed., May 17, 2023

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs on Tuesday announced it renegotiated its $10 billion contract with the tech giant Oracle to adopt the company’s Cerner electronic health record system in the nation’s VA hospitals and clinics, indicating that the troubled computer system will remain in use in the Inland Northwest for at least the next year.

News >  Auto

Backed by former auto shop owner, ‘right-to-repair’ bills pick up steam in Congress, statehouses

UPDATED: Sat., May 13, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A bipartisan movement advocating Americans’ right to repair their own phones, cars and tractors is gaining momentum in state legislatures across the country – and now in Congress, too.

News

Nomination of Spokane County judge to federal bench advances to full Senate vote after Feinstein’s return

UPDATED: Thu., May 11, 2023

WASHINGTON – The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced the nomination of a Spokane County Superior Court judge to the federal bench after the return of an ailing senator whose long absence from Congress had delayed the move.

News >  Local Government

Bipartisan, Cantwell-backed rail safety bill informed by Spokane officials advances to Senate floor

UPDATED: Thu., May 11, 2023

WASHINGTON – The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Wednesday advanced a bipartisan rail safety bill that was informed by officials in Spokane and prompted by the February derailment that left a plume of toxic chemicals over East Palestine, Ohio.

News >  WA Government

‘Not a functioning system’: Hearing examines pharmacy problems in VA computer system tested in Spokane

UPDATED: Tue., May 9, 2023

WASHINGTON – House lawmakers grilled Department of Veterans Affairs officials and Oracle executives during a hearing Tuesday regarding problems with the pharmacy features of a computer system that has been tested in Spokane and across the Inland Northwest.

News >  Washington

Bloomsday participation rebounds to 32,000 after pandemic-era downturn

UPDATED: Mon., May 8, 2023

Catie Marlin, 5, and brother David, 7, dressed as Pikachu and the Mandarlorian, encourage runners along Summit Boulevard.

News >  Local Government

Patty Murray is no stranger to debt limit standoffs, but she says this one is different

UPDATED: Tue., May 9, 2023

"When you're under that duress," Murray said, referring to the looming June 1 deadline, "you can make some really bad decisions. Nobody in this country wants to be spending Memorial Day weekend wondering which crash we're going to go into here, so I really hope that there is an adult in the room from the Republican side that stands up."

News >  Local Government

McMorris Rodgers bill would require VA hospitals to hold regular town hall meetings

Fri., May 5, 2023

WASHINGTON – Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers on Friday will introduce legislation to require the Department of Veterans Affairs to hold quarterly town hall meetings at each of the nation’s 171 VA hospitals.

News >  ID Government

As more Republicans embrace congressional earmarks, North Idaho remains an exception

UPDATED: Thu., May 4, 2023

WASHINGTON – Two years after congressional Democrats ended a decadelong moratorium on earmarks, a growing number of the Republicans who now control the House have embraced the revamped system of federal grants to fund local projects across the country, including in Eastern Washington.

News >  Local Government

Vital computer system goes down at Spokane VA and military hospitals nationwide

UPDATED: Wed., April 26, 2023

WASHINGTON – A vital computer system used at Spokane’s VA medical center, Fairchild Air Force Base and military hospitals across the country went down for several hours on Tuesday, just as the troubled system faces greater scrutiny from Congress.

News >  Local Government

McMorris Rodgers calls for VA to scrap troubled computer system tied to harming Inland Northwest veterans

UPDATED: Tue., April 25, 2023

WASHINGTON – In a move that could impact veterans across the Northwest, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers on Tuesday called for the Department of Veterans Affairs to scrap a troubled computer system that has been linked to delayed care and patient harm since the VA started testing it in Spokane in 2020.

News >  Health

VA’s decision to keep troubled computer system in Spokane amid halt elsewhere met with mix of praise, anger

Sun., April 23, 2023

WASHINGTON – Friday’s decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs to stop the deployment of a flawed computer system while continuing to use it in the Inland Northwest was met with a mix of praise from Congress and frustration from the system’s critics.

News >  Health

Despite ‘full stop’ on flawed health record system, VA will keep using it in Spokane and Walla Walla

UPDATED: Fri., April 21, 2023

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs on Friday announced it would halt future deployments of a troubled computer system linked to patient harm and delayed care, but said the system would remain in use in Spokane and across the Inland Northwest as part of a “reset” aimed at making it safe to launch elsewhere.

News >  WA Government

Feinstein’s absence from Senate leaves Spokane judge’s confirmation in limbo

UPDATED: Wed., April 19, 2023

WASHINGTON – The extended absence of the Senate’s oldest member has delayed the confirmation of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees, including a Spokane County judge, and resurfaced uncomfortable questions about when aging and ailing lawmakers should retire.