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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Shawn Vestal

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Opinion >  Column

Shawn Vestal: Nethercutt looks back on his time as a ‘giant killer’

George Nethercutt’s victory over Tom Foley in 1994 was a stunner, and presaged a wave of Republican victories across the country. Now, his successor, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, faces the biggest challenge of her political career so far from Democrat Lisa Brown, and a lot of people are looking for parallels in the two races.
News >  Health

Preventing teen suicide: How to help

Teens often turn to their peers when thoughts of suicide cross their minds, but everyone has a role to play. Here are some of the warning signs to look out for, and ways you can play a positive role.
Opinion >  Column

Shawn Vestal: King coverage seems to be a yearly write-up, but the truth on race is deeper

Walter Kendricks remembers that he was at a Boy Scouts meeting in Lorain, Ohio, when he heard. Otis Manning recalls his mother hearing the news in their Seattle home, on radio or television, and bursting into tears. Amos Atkinson Jr. was at practice for his high school track team in the Los Angeles area. Donnie Stone was returning from school in Coulee Dam to find his mom watching the news on their black-and-white TV.
Opinion >  Column

Shawn Vestal: South Hill homeowner files lawsuit to remove racist restrictions in property documents

Alex May, a 34-year-old software developer who grew up in Spokane, moved back to town last fall with his wife and family. They bought a home in the Comstock neighborhood. When they were signing the documents to close the sale, they came across the covenant attached to the home’s deed – and their signing agent pointed out that one of the covenants provisions was no longer legally valid: a whites-only provision.
Opinion >  Column

Shawn Vestal: Surely Spokane needs a better name for new bridge

The names proposed for Spokane’s new bridge – with the exception of a proposal to use Salish for “Spokane Way,” – are dispiriting illustrations of how a government committee can smother creativity with consensus, stripping away personality, individuality and local color so thoroughly that everyone can finally agree not to care about it at all.
Opinion >  Column

Shawn Vestal: A feeling of the future in the lights of downtown Spokane

Spokane’s evenings have sure gotten a lot more colorful. The Steam Plant towers blaze nightly. The Grand Hotel and the Fox and the old Masonic Temple glow in changing hues. Hospitals went red to highlight heart disease; snowflakes and hearts and thank-yous are projected onto downtown buildings and the Clocktower.