Open-government panel seeks volunteers
The Washington Coalition for Open Government is seeking volunteers for a “citizen network” of people interested in open-government issues in Spokane and throughout the state.
The coalition’s board includes Ken Bunting, associate publisher of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Stacey Cowles, publisher of The Spokesman-Review, and Washington State Auditor Brian Sonntag. It also includes state legislators, attorneys, foundations, librarians and others interested in government accountability and access to information.
The coalition’s premise is that open government is in the interest of every citizen – not just the news media.
“We are looking for leaders in your community – regardless of political stripe – who are concerned about access and good government issues and would be capable organizers,” coalition President Michele Earl-Hubbard said in a recent letter to the state’s newspaper publishers.
Suggested names for the database should be sent to info@washingtoncog.org. They can also be phoned to (206) 782-0393 or faxed to (206) 623-4474.
– Karen Dorn Steele
Spokane
Woman at wheel faces assault charges
A 19-year-old Spokane woman has been arrested on suspicion of trying to run over her boyfriend and much of his family.
Tyesha Bracey was booked into jail late Wednesday afternoon on seven counts of attempted second-degree assault and one count of fourth-degree domestic assault.
Bracey allegedly slapped her boyfriend, Rashjel Cage, and scratched his neck while screaming about her cellular telephone. According to court documents, Bracey drove away from Cage’s apartment at 2714 E. Third Ave., threatening to return.
True to her word, witnesses told police, Bracey drove her Ford Taurus around the block and aimed it at Cage and others who had gathered on the apartment lawn. There were some close calls when the Taurus plowed through the lawn, and Bracey backed up and tried again several times, court documents allege.
Bracey and Cage have an infant child, who was in the car with Bracey, witnesses told police.
– John Craig
Armed men bind, rob elderly couple
Two armed men bound and robbed an elderly couple in north Spokane early Thursday morning, escaping with cash, jewelry and credit cards.
The 69-year-old woman eventually untied her 68-year-old husband, who then armed himself and began searching for the suspects with his car, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. The man refused deputies’ signals to stop, and they pursued the couple at a low speed. The man and his wife later pulled over, according to a Sheriff’s Office press release.
The suspects reportedly wore dark clothing with masks that covered their faces. The elderly couple were held at gunpoint in their beds and bound with a telephone cord. One suspect was described as 5-foot-7 and thin. The second suspect was shorter, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The couple thought both men were in their 30s.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at (509) 242-TIPS.
– Benjamin Shors