Stories by Thomas Clouse for the Spokesman-Review

News > Spokane

Stevens County sheriff vows to ignore voter-approved Initiative 1639

UPDATED: Fri., Feb. 1, 2019

Stevens County Sheriff Brad Manke said on Friday that he will not enforce Initiative 1639, which brings sweeping changes for gun purchases, storage and background checks.

News > Spokane

Knezovich refuses to join ‘grandstanding’ sheriffs in opposition to new gun laws

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 31, 2019

Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich has a message to those who want him to publicly refuse to enforce Washington’s new restrictive gun law: Don’t tread on me.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Two more Isenberg daughters plead guilty in Coeur d’Alene to receiving stolen funds

UPDATED: Wed., Jan. 30, 2019

Two more daughters of Laurcene “Lori” Isenberg, in addition to those who were sentenced in federal court Tuesday in Coeur d’Alene, have pleaded guilty receiving thousands of dollars that Isenberg stole from the North Idaho Housing Coalition.

News > Spokane

Spokane Police name two officers who shot knife-wielding man on Jan. 23

Tue., Jan. 29, 2019

The Spokane Police Department on Tuesday named Tyler Fisher and Jordan Orrell as the officers who shot and killed Dwight D. Steward on Jan. 23 after he reportedly refused commands to drop two knives he was holding.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Lori Isenberg pleads guilty in Coeur d’Alene to embezzling housing funds

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 29, 2019

A Coeur d’Alene woman, who remains under investigation for the suspicious death her husband from last February, pleaded guilty Tuesday to embezzling more than a half million dollars from the North Idaho Housing Coalition.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Collision kills longtime Albertsons employee who brought joy to others

UPDATED: Mon., Jan. 28, 2019

Andrew Vathis rode a three-wheel bicycle. He sacked groceries. His smile changed lives.

News > Spokane

WSP investigates two fatal crashes south of Spokane on Friday

UPDATED: Fri., Jan. 25, 2019

The Washington State Patrol responded to two fatal collisions Friday, including one that continues keep both southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 195 closed near Spangle.

News > Spokane

Washington Attorney General sues LuLaRoe clothing seller as ‘pyramid scheme’

UPDATED: Fri., Jan. 25, 2019

The Washington attorney general filed a lawsuit Friday alleging that clothing marketer LuLaRoe, and its business model which uses “fashion consultants,” is actually a pyramid scheme used to defraud those persons it recruits to sell the clothing.

News > Spokane

City and VA officials partner in event to support Spokane’s homeless

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 24, 2019

Spokane’s homeless will be asked Saturday to come to church.

News > Spokane

NIC officials refuse to explain reasons for firing wrestling coach

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 24, 2019

North Idaho College officials won’t explain why late in the season they would fire a three-time national champion coach of a wrestling team that is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation.

News > Idaho

Monday morning crash near Ponderay kills 2-year-old Sandpoint girl

UPDATED: Mon., Jan. 21, 2019

A 2-year-old Sandpoint girl was killed Monday morning in a collision on State Highway 200 about three miles east of Ponderay, Idaho.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Confrontation in north Spokane leads to drive-by shooting arrests

UPDATED: Mon., Jan. 21, 2019

Spokane police arrested two men accused of participating in a drive-by shooting early Sunday in north Spokane.

News > Spokane

Thousands turn out for Spokane march honoring MLK

UPDATED: Mon., Jan. 21, 2019

Two-and-a-half-year-old Aveline Jones plodded in her yellow shoes, pink pants and black coat with her hand firmly in her mother’s grasp Monday as they joined about 3,000 other marchers to celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

News > Spokane

Ron Wells pleads not guilty to federal charges stemming from insurance claims

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 17, 2019

Spokane developer Ron Wells appeared in federal court this week and pleaded not guilty to charges that he was involved in a $6 million scheme to defraud insurance companies through a series of staged collisions.

News > Spokane

$30 million water lawsuit over Spokane water bills plows forward

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 17, 2019

A $30 million lawsuit challenging the way Spokane charges county residents for city water is coming to a utility bill near you.

News > Spokane

Former Spokane chef sentenced to 20 years for enticing minors for sex acts

UPDATED: Fri., Jan. 11, 2019

A longtime Spokane chef has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on federal charges that he enticed two girls, ages 13 and 15, into making explicit videos and tried to do the same with a third. The girls live in Las Vegas, Atlanta and Houston.

News > Spokane

United flight out of Spokane strikes bird diverts to Seattle

UPDATED: Fri., Jan. 11, 2019

A United Airlines jet that took off Friday morning from Spokane struck a bird and then faced visibility problems at the airport that prompted the pilots to divert to Seattle, an airport spokesman said.

News > Washington

Former Tonasket officer says mayor asked him to change name because ‘Jose’ sounded too Hispanic

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 10, 2019

The city of Tonasket has disbanded its police department and a City Council member has called for the mayor to step down after an officer came forward with allegations that the mayor instructed him start using the name “Joseph” because “Jose” sounded “too Hispanic.”

Sports > Area sports

Sources: Pat Whitcomb fired as North Idaho wrestling coach amid academic integrity investigation

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 8, 2019

According to multiple sources, North Idaho College has fired the longtime wrestling coach Pat Whitcomb following an external review that found possible violations of academic integrity within the athletics Department.

News > Spokane

Spokane Police charge third suspect in fatal drive-by shooting from July

Mon., Jan. 7, 2019

A Pierce County juvenile, who was linked by witnesses and fingerprints to a fatal drive-by shooting that occurred last summer in Spokane, appeared in court on Monday on the charge of first-degree murder.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Mead teacher charged with sexual misconduct with student remains on payroll

Sun., Jan. 6, 2019

A Mead High School teacher, who is charged with felony sexual misconduct with one of his students, remains on the school district’s payroll and will likely receive a full year’s worth of salary before his case goes to trial later this year.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Adult film actress from Post Falls pleads not guilty to murder-for-hire charges

UPDATED: Wed., Jan. 2, 2019

An adult film actress from Post Falls made her first appearance in federal court in Coeur d’Alene on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty charges that she tried to hire someone to kill another person.

News > Spokane

Lynn Everson provides safety and support through needle exchange program

Sun., Dec. 30, 2018

For the past three decades, Lynn Everson has greeted society’s outcasts with a cookie, a clean needle and a welcome ear.

News > Weather

Snow hits Spokane and North Idaho just as commuters head home for weekend

UPDATED: Fri., Dec. 28, 2018

A winter storm will bring snow accumulations throughout the Spokane and North Idaho region and is expected to hit just as commuters head home from work Friday afternoon.

News > Spokane

Ready for Grandma duty: Superior Court Judge Clark retires after 25-year run on the bench

Fri., Dec. 28, 2018

All 4 feet 11 inches of Superior Court Judge Ellen Kalama Clark, including her thick-soled tennis shoes, walked around the corner one early morning at the Spokane County Courthouse and encountered a group of juvenile boys outside of Juvenile Court.

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