Search the Archives

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s Friday. I think. This time of year, with gray days that all look alike, it can be hard to remember. But the calendar on my phone assures me it is, so we have an assignment. Look ahead to the weekend in sports. That’s easy. Especially this week. One event looms over everything.

One year ago, Gonzaga Prep left Mat Classic 36 with two medalists and a 19th place finish in the 4A boys team standings.

PORTLAND – Eastern Washington took control in the second quarter and had little trouble putting away one of the bottom teams in the Big Sky, breezing to an 81-63 win over Portland State on Thursday at Viking Pavilion.

It seemed only appropriate that the Gonzaga/Oregon State women’s basketball showdown went to overtime Thursday.

STOCKTON, Calif. – Washington State suffered one of its worst losses in a season that’s not been short on ugly defeats, falling 65-53 to West Coast Conference also-ran Pacific on Thursday night at Alex G. Spanos Center.

Putting together a complete defensive effort has been an elusive goal for the Eastern Washington men’s basketball team this season, but it was one the Eagles came close to achieving Thursday night against the Big Sky-leading Portland State Vikings.

Europe is ready to get back to work with the United States, wary, frustrated and knowing it can’t trust an ally it’s relied on for decades.

The line of hungry Washington State University students and faculty numbered more than 50 well before Jeremy Tamsen had finished unloading his boxes of apples.

The toll and wreckage left behind by record rainfall in Western Washington last month is coming into clearer view, with damages ticking upward alongside a growing uncertainty for the years ahead, public officials from across King County say.

OLYMPIA – Washington lawmakers so far appear unconcerned about President Trump’s latest threat to withhold federal funding from jurisdictions that restrict local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement efforts.

A local production supervisor was caught off guard when a friend from the East Coast called him to wish him congratulations early Thursday morning.

After watching Ernest Jones IV pull in an interception and force a fumble in the divisional-round playoff win over San Francisco, an awareness struck: This guy’s performance has been absolutely Wagnerian.

A judge sentenced a former Spokane Tribe of Indians employee to a year in prison on Wednesday for embezzling funds.Tawhnee W. Colvin, of Davenport, Washington, was an assistant director of the Spokane Tribe of Indians’ Department of Health and Human Services and Division of Child and Family Services had access to the tribe’s bank account. She stole more than $100,000 from the tribe, and continued to do so after she was fired in October 2023, the Eastern District of Washington U.S. Attorney's office said in a previous news release.The account she was stealing from had funds used for the care of children in need who were in temporary custody of the tribe.Colvin was sentenced to one year and one day in prison with five years of probation, the Spokane Tribe said in a news release. She also must pay back the money she stole."The Spokane Tribe thanks the men and women of our law enforcement community for their diligence and hard work in prosecuting this case in the pursuit of justice," the release said.

A vehicle from a Spokane County nonprofit that supports law enforcement hit a pedestrian crossing the street on Thursday morning after running a red light in Spokane Valley.

The United States remains in a multiyear trend of falling rates of homicides and other crimes in cities nationwide, ushering in a period of relative safety that rivals the years before the pandemic, according to a Washington Post analysis of data from more than 100 police departments.

John L. “Jack” Smith delivered a full-throated defense of his investigation into President Donald Trump on Thursday, telling the House Judiciary Committee he stands by his decisions as special counsel and “took actions based on the facts and the law.”

A GRIP ON SPORTS • There are people I know, and know well, who are already ripping their fingernails apart due to what’s coming Sunday afternoon in Seattle. That seems like an eternity to me. Too long, at least, to spend too much time on the NFC title game today. Instead, let’s take a quick look at everything else happening, shall we? And leave the weekend to the weekend.

A new lawsuit alleges Zillow used its monopoly power to charge high referral fees and pressured agents to channel homebuyers into its lending business.

Spokane Public Radio and KSPS-PBS abruptly lost all of their federal funding Jan. 5 following the dissolution of the national Corporation for Public Broadcasting, but Washington lawmakers aim to restore the revenue for local outlets.

Contrary to what social media trends might imply, the #Trad-Wife movement has been around for ages. Aspiring to fit oneself into a traditional female role has been the burden of countless fictional characters of the past, such as Emma from Jane Austen’s novel of the same name, written more than 200 years ago.

PULLMAN – As the second half of Washington State’s latest contest unfolded, a road test against San Diego on Wednesday night, the Cougars began to score with ease.

PULLMAN – In September, when the gates open and the concession stands whir into action and the lights flip on at Gesa Field, Washington State fans won’t just be experiencing the beginning of the Kirby Moore era.

After some six months since the search began, the East Valley School District board Thursday selected four finalists for the soon-to-be open superintendent position in the school district.

OLYMPIA – Former Secretary of State Sam Reed and current Secretary of State Steve Hobbs differ in many ways.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has asked President Donald Trump for a major disaster declaration along with $21.3 million in individual assistance for people whose homes were damaged in December’s catastrophic flooding.

OLYMPIA – As lawmakers pursue bills to zero in on affordability issues gripping households across the state, a Democratic measure in the Legislature seeks to curb the financial strain of medical expenses by proposing to eliminate interest charges on new and unpaid medical debt incurred in Washington.

Government officials may not examine electronic devices seized from a Washington Post reporter until litigation stemming from the search of her home is settled, a federal judge in Virginia ruled Wednesday.

Hackers gained access to the company that provides Spokane County’s emergency alert notifications system last November as part of a larger cyberattack that hampered local governments and first responders across the country.

When the Big Sky’s preseason men’s basketball polls were released in October, it was no great surprise to see Portland State sitting at No. 2.

For a wounded Gonzaga team, uneventful West Coast Conference victories are about the best thing you can ask for these days.

The Washington State track and field and cross country coaches associations combined Hall of Fame induction ceremony is Friday and two longtime Greater Spokane League coaches will be inducted.

Washington State women’s basketball coach Kamie Ethridge will long remember her team’s 2024-25 season-ending loss to North Dakota State.

When Oregon State and Washington State joined the West Coast Conference for two seasons as associate members, it created an opportunity for new rivalries to develop.

Government officials may not examine electronic devices seized from a Washington Post reporter until litigation stemming from the search of her home is settled, a federal judge in Virginia ruled Wednesday.

As current and former colleagues of newly appointed Washington Supreme Court Justice Colleen Melody spoke during her swearing-in ceremony Wednesday, they came to the same conclusion: she was among the most skilled legal minds with whom they have ever worked.

Gonzaga’s first two baskets came from Adam Miller in the middle of the lane off of dribble penetration and a fastbreak layup after Pepperdine’s first field goal. It was a sign of things to come as the eighth-ranked Zags lean on new scoring avenues and scoring options without bigs Graham Ike and Braden Huff.

There are countless ways to measure success with the transfer portal. Leaning into the raw number of departures and arrivals is not one of them.

Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin on Wednesday announced a plan to deploy 5,408 satellites in space for a communications network that will serve data centers, governments and businesses, jumping into a satellite constellation market dominated by Elon Musk's SpaceX.