Brothers given long prison terms
Two brothers convicted of distributing crack cocaine received lengthy prison sentences when they appeared Wednesday in Spokane before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Justin Quackenbush.
Julius Lewis, 22, was sentenced to 180 months in prison and his brother, Titus Lewis, 21, was sentenced to 143 months.
In October, both men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.
Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration made undercover crack cocaine purchases – ranging in size from 4 to 5ounces – from the brothers in November and December 2005, and again on Jan. 20, authorities said.
They were arrested on March 21 when the DEA agents arranged to purchase an additional 9 ounces of crack cocaine from the pair.
School officials will take calls
Officials with Spokane Public Schools will take questions during the district’s live call-in television broadcast tonight.
Superintendent Brian Benzel, school board President Christie Querna, Vice President Garret Daggett and Director Rocky Treppiedi will answer education-related questions from the public during “Educating Spokane” on KSPS, Spokane’s public television channel.
The hourlong program, which is broadcast four times a year on Channel 7, starts at 7 p.m.
The phone number to call to ask questions during the show is (509) 354-7711.
Washington
Rights board’s work honored
The state Human Rights Commission has been honored for its implementation of Washington’s new sexual orientation and gender identification protections against discrimination.
Seattle’s Ingersoll Gender Center presented the commission with the Judith Botzer Award for its work since the protections were added to the Washington Law Against Discrimination on Jan. 31.
The Ingersoll Gender Center has supported and advocated for transgendered people since it was founded by Botzer in 1977.
The center specifically cited the Human Rights Commission for publishing the nation’s first “self-assessment checklist,” which employers or others can use to evaluate compliance with civil rights related to sexual orientation or gender identity.
The checklist can be found online at the commission’s Web site, www.hum.wa.gov.