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Join thousands of patriots in Olympia on Thursday January 14 at 12:00 noon. The Tea Party and 912 Spokane have coordinated resources and reserved charter buses for $60.00 per seat on January 14, 2010. Loading begins at 4:00 AM, departure at 5:00 AM, same day round trip to Olympia. We will announce the departure area later. A minimum of 38 passengers are required to pay for the bus. You will receive a full refund if we do not have enough. Please have your reservations in and paid for by January 5. 2010. If you can car pool, email at theresa.theteapartyofspokane@gmail.com....

In the Spokane area, there appears to be a very high stakes confrontation between CEO's of two competing local hospitals. Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center’s chief executive charged Rockwood Clinic’s leaders with bad-faith dealings and ethical lapses the day after Rockwood stunned Spokane’s medical community by announcing it would align with Sacred Heart’s main rival. “It is clear to us that the interim leadership of Rockwood is leading the Rockwood physicians down a very dangerous path fueled purely by profit motive,” said Sacred Heart CEO Dr. Andrew Agwunobi. Rockwood will be purchased by Community Health Systems Inc., which bought Sacred...

Community Colleges of Spokane and Spokane Falls Community College officials agreed to a court order Thursday that settles a lawsuit filed after they attempted to unconstitutionally silence the pro-life message of a student group. SFCC officials threatened student Beth Sheeran, represented by attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund, and other members of a Christian student group with disciplinary measures, including expulsion, if they chose to hold a pro-life event on campus because the information they were sharing with other students was deemed “discriminatory” and did not include a pro-abortion viewpoint. The agreed-upon order eliminates or revises the problematic policies and...

Note: Photo and videos included. COEUR D'ALENE -- The Aryan Nations is experiencing an unwanted resurgence in North Idaho. SNIPPET: "However, a man named Paul Mullet claims he is going to bring the racist organization back." SNIPPET: "Mullet says he moved here from Ohio five months ago because North Idaho is the "last stand" for the Aryan Nations movement. Mullet says he's in the process of buying a large amount of land in the area." SNIPPET: "Monday's distribution of racist material in Spokane Valley's Trentwood neighborhood was the latest in a series of similar incidents. Aryan Nations literature has also...

SNIPPET: "SPOKANE -- Police are continuing to investigate an explosion that hit a northside neighborhood early Sunday morning. The explosion happened near the intersection of Eloika and A Street leaving one home damaged and neighbors' yards littered with debris from the bomb." SNIPPET: "Whatever the device was it was strong enough to blow out the windows and tear away the eaves on the house as well as blow out Angel Garcia's basement window next door." SNIPPET: "Spokane Police say a witness saw somebody run up to the house and then run away. A few seconds later the house was rocked...

29th Annual Veterans Wheelchair Games Scheduled for Spokane July 6, 2009 WASHINGTON -- A wide range of disabilities cannot stop more than 500 of America’s greatest wheelchair athletes, all U.S. military Veterans who will begin competition at the 29th National Veterans Wheelchair Games being held July 13-18 in Spokane, Wash. “President Obama recently said that caring for Veterans and their families is a matter of honor as a nation,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “The National Veterans Wheelchair Games highlight our nation’s commitment to our wounded heroes. The Games also allow those Veterans to teach us all...

Pictures of Spokane Wa. tea party. Estimated one thousand plus "Extremists" attend!

SPOKANE - Spokane is having a problem with too many ground squirrels at the Finch Arboretum So the Parks and Recreation department is going to use a special machine to detonate some of the 100 to 150 rodents that are tearing up the grounds. The machine is called the Rodenator Pro. It pumps propane and oxygen into the tunnels of squirrels, then sends an electric spark that causes an explosion. The shock waves kill the squirrels and collapse their tunnels. The parks department says the Rodenator is a humane way to kill the squirrels. But it warns area residents that...

<p>So the Parks and Recreation department is going to use a special machine to detonate some of the 100 to 150 rodents that are tearing up the grounds.</p> <p>The machine is called the Rodenator Pro. It pumps propane and oxygen into the tunnels of squirrels, then sends an electric spark that causes an explosion. The shock waves kill the squirrels and collapse their tunnels.</p>

The problems facing Spokane's Shriners Hospital for Children are daunting: too few patients, high costs, falling donations. It's a troublesome scenario that has put the hospital on the short list for closure as its parent organization staggers from massive investment losses that threaten to wipe out one of the best-known philanthropic organizations of the past century. "Either we close six hospitals now, or we might have to close all 22 in a matter of five to six years," national Shriners board Chairman Ralph Semb said last week. "Our entire system is at stake. There's no easy fix," he said. The...

SPOKANE, Wash. - Two Washington state girls took their plea straight to President Obama after their dad was laid off from his job. The two mailed a letter to the president at the White House after watching their father, Henry, struggle to find a new job. Now they're about to lose their home. It's a simple letter - asking for help. "My name is Lilian Deck and my sister and I live in Spokane," the girls' letter begins. "We would like to ask you a question - where is the help you promised in your campaign?"

It seems that folks in Spokane Washington are dealing in the latest of illegal substances…………….. dishwashing soap. A recent law passed in Spokane County prohibits the sale of dish soap containing phosphates as part of an effort to reduce water pollution. The problem is that the eco-friendly detergents do not perform as well as their counterparts. Many people were shocked to find that products like Seventh Generation, Ecover and Trader Joe’s left their dishes encrusted with food, smeared with grease and too gross to use without rewashing them by hand. The culprit was hard water, which is mineral-rich and resistant...

SPOKANE, Wash. – The quest for squeaky-clean dishes has turned some law-abiding people in Spokane into dishwater-detergent smugglers. They are bringing Cascade or Electrasol in from out of state because the eco-friendly varieties required under Washington state law don't work as well. Spokane County became the launch pad last July for the nation's strictest ban on dishwasher detergent made with phosphates, a measure aimed at reducing water pollution. The ban will be expanded statewide in July 2010, the same time similar laws take effect in several other states.

SPOKANE, Wash. -- The quest for squeaky-clean dishes has turned some law-abiding people in Spokane into dishwater-detergent smugglers. They are bringing Cascade or Electrasol in from out of state because the eco-friendly varieties required under Washington state law don't work as well. Spokane County became the launch pad last July for the nation's strictest ban on dishwasher detergent made with phosphates, a measure aimed at reducing water pollution. The ban will be expanded statewide in July 2010, the same time similar laws take effect in several other states. But it's not easy to get sparkling dishes when you go green....

A lot of priests know their way around a kitchen, but the Washington Post this week profiled one who is turning it into his own little apostolate. Take a look: Mass had been over only a few minutes and the Rev. Leo Patalinghug had already traded his green and gold robe for an apron, his priest's collar poking out over the top. He was chopping onions with the speed and flair of a celebrity chef --which he is. Sort of. The unusual cooking demonstration occurred on a recent afternoon at a Catholic bookstore in downtown Washington. About two dozen people...

Pentagon Makes Fighting Extremism Top Priority Seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Pentagon on Thursday officially named "the long war" against global extremism as its top priority and pledged to avert any conventional military threat from China or Russia through dialogue. The Defense Department, in a new national defense strategy, also emphasized the need to subordinate military operations to "soft power" initiatives to undermine Islamist militancy by promoting economic, political and social development in vulnerable corners of the world. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he hoped the change would help establish permanent institutional support for counterinsurgency skills...

SPOKANE, Wash. — New wildfires pushed by strong winds burned three homes in a wooded area of suburban Spokane Valley late Thursday, and other homes were being evacuated. KREM-TV video showed three houses in flames in the Dishman Hills area, where winds reported gusted as high as 50 miles per hour.

1. Bring in a couple of major companies and make Spokane their headquarters. Let's get a major industry base here. Service sector jobs alone won't cut it. 2. A downtown grocery store. 3. Get STA to run their buses during late evenings. 4. Food stalls downtown (Not just hot dogs!) 5. Still keep on Trader Joe's about getting a store here. 6. Some neighborhoods set aside for diversity (alternative lifestyles and ethnicities). 7. More nightclubs and bars. Bring in more bands to come into Spokane and not just to do shows at The Big Easy (The Big Easy sicks!) 8....

Thrown Object Knocks Out Santa   Dec 19 12:31 PM US/Eastern   SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - A man dressed as Santa Claus was knocked unconscious by a thrown object that hit his face while he was riding on the back of a truck decorated as a sleigh. Kevin Smith says he never saw what hit him Saturday. Whatever it was, it broke his nose and gave him a concussion and two black eyes. "One second I was up there waving to people, and the next minute I wasn't," Smith said. He was taking part in Santa Run, sponsored by...

SPOKANE -- The cross is coming off the official patch worn by Spokane Police Department chaplains after a federal lawsuit prompted changes inside the police chaplains office. The removal of the cross stems from a lawsuit filed against the city last year by a senior police volunteer who argued it was unconstitutional to have a cross on an official City of Spokane insignia. The federal lawsuit, filed by Ray Ideaus, said the patch was illegal and the department's requirement that chaplains adhere to the Judeo / Christian ethic was also unconstitutional because government cannot favor one religion over another. So...

SPOKANE, Wash. - They made a list, but they should have checked it twice. In a December newsletter to the families of elementary school students, Spokane Public Schools' list of "important dates" didn't include Christmas. Hanukkah, Human Rights Day, winter break, the Islamic holy day Eid al-Adha, first day of winter and Kwanzaa all made the list. But no Christmas. "It was absolutely an error of omission," district spokeswoman Terren Roloff said. "In our efforts to be inclusive, we missed the obvious." The omission drew complaints from some parents that in an age of political correctness, Christians are being overlooked...

OLYMPIA, Washington: A Republican state legislator resigned Wednesday amid revelations that he had sex with a man he met at a pornographic video store while in Spokane on a party retreat. The move comes days after state Rep. Richard Curtis insisted to his local newspaper that he was not gay and that sex was not involved in what he said was an extortion attempt by a man last week.But in police reports, Curtis alleges he was being extorted by a man he had sex with in a Spokane hotel room. The other man contends Curtis reneged on a promise to...

Topic: Memos Sent to Romenesko Date/Time: 8/3/2007 3:26:58 PM Title: Spokesman-Review deals with budget problems Posted By: Jim Romenesko All of the above holds the promise of closing the gap between this year's budget and the dismal performance against budget to date. It does not address the publisher's longer term concern for rising costs against flat or declining revenue. Let me make this clear once again so there is no confusion: Our staff will be smaller this time next year. My guess is we'll be down anywhere from 8 to 12 positions. My goal is to achieve this reduction through...

SPOKANE, Wash. (CNS) -- There are several paths within the journey that has brought 15 women religious into communion with the Catholic Church: care, compassion, interaction and, most certainly, prayer. Even technology played a part. But one of the key turning points in the journey was watching the moving funeral liturgy for Pope John Paul II. Two former members of the schismatic community at Mount St. Michael in north Spokane discussed their return to the Catholic Church in an interview with Inland Register, Spokane diocesan newspaper, at their new home at Immaculate Heart Retreat Center in Spokane. The Mount St....

SPOKANE -- A baby found locked in a hot car in North Spokane Thursday night is recovering, but uninjured. Employee spotted baby 'all wet, red, not crying' inside SUV An employee at the Grocery Outlet spotted the inside the sweltering SUV around 6:00 p.m. She advised the store to make an announcement over the intercom, advising customers there was a baby locked in a car. The employee told KREM 2 News, "nobody came up for like, 10 minutes." Employees confronted the woman when she finally spoke to them; they say she told them, "Oh my God, I forgot I had...

In the Inland Northwest, it was a Fourth of July to celebrate freedom – or clash over the freedoms Americans have. Under the Clocktower in Spokane’s Riverfront Park, 17 people protesting police brutality were arrested about 6:45 p.m. as people gathered in the park for Neighbor Day and the annual firework displays. Officers charged the group, which included self-proclaimed anarchists and other teens and young adults, after ordering them to disperse. One arrest was after what police say was an assault on an officer. Protesters dispute that.

Lewis is suspected of barging his way into a Shari’s restaurant and trying to drag a waitress to a his loaner Chevy Corvette while sexually assaulting her in the process. He’s also accused of punching out a senior citizen who tried to stop the incident and then ramming a police car during a short chase that ended in his apprehension. Once finally in custody Herman shouted to police that he was God and officers had no authority to arrest him. While in custody he also told police he was living a double life enjoying crack cocaine and prostitutes. Lewis refused...

SPOKANE, Wash. -- A man sought in a pornography raid at what turned out to be the wrong house is now in custody, and Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie D. Knezovich says the conduct of deputies in the search will be reviewed. A "very cooperative, very embarrassed and very contrite" Robert M. Sherman, 42, was arrested Wednesday for investigation of telephone harassment involving about 30 obscene calls - mostly voicemail messages - to women studying at Whitworth College, sheriff's Sgt. R. David Reagan wrote in a news release. Following the arrest, investigators learned "that Sherman began calling Whitworth students after calling...

SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Spokane County Jail has stopped providing dozens of copies of Spokane's daily newspaper for inmates, ending a decades-long practice after the jailers union complained the newspaper poses a "security risk."

White construction worker sues Colville tribe 5/18/2006, 12:00 a.m. PT The Associated Press    SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A white construction worker is suing two Colville tribal corporations, contending that racial slurs by American Indian co-workers caused him to quit his job.Tribal attorneys say that Christopher Wright's employer, as a tribal entity, is entitled to sovereign immunity and cannot be sued in state court.Arguments in the case were heard Tuesday before the state Supreme Court in Olympia. It is the first time in more than 25 years that the high court has heard a tribal sovereign immunity case. A...

Peoria man pleads guilty in diploma mill case Latest News more>> Truck pulling horse trailer full of illegals crashes SPOKANE, Wash. An Arizonan has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors for his role in a gigantic diploma mill operation. Richard John Novak pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Spokane, Washington, to conspiracy and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Novak, who formerly lived in Spokane and now lives in Peoria, could face up to ten years in prison and (m) millions of dollars in fines. Novak is the second person to reach a plea agreement with the Justice Department...

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Fans of No. 5 Gonzaga have been asked to stop yelling "Brokeback Mountain" at opposing players. The reference to the recent movie about homosexual cowboys was chanted by some fans during Monday's game against Saint Mary's, and is apparently intended to suggest an opposing player is gay. The chants were the subject of several classroom discussions over the past week, and the faculty advisers for the Kennel Club booster group urged students this week to avoid "inappropriate chants" during the Bulldogs' Saturday game against Stanford, which was nationally televised on ESPN. "We implore the students of the...

SPOKANE — Mayor Jim West was recalled from office Tuesday in a special election prompted by news accounts that he offered City Hall jobs and perks to young men he met in a gay Internet chat room.In the city's first all-mail election, 38,718, or 65 percent, voted "yes" for recall, while 20,681, or 35 percent, voted to retain West, 54, who became the city's first elected chief executive to be ousted before his term expired.Just more than half of the 110,000 ballots mailed to voters in the city were counted in the first batch of results released Tuesday night."I...

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) A tally of mail-in votes shows Mayor James E. West has been recalled from office over allegations he used his office computer to woo young gay men over the Internet.

SPOKANE -- It was a day of reckoning for Spokane Mayor Jim West. The preliminary results of the historic mayor recall election as posted by the Spokane County Elections Office show "Yes" votes as 38,718 or 65% to 20,681 "No" votes. The "No" votes equaled 35% of the vote total. It has been a long road for all involved in the recall election. The scandal broke seven months ago when the Spokesman-Review published their investigative report on the mayor....

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Mayor Jim West faces recall Tuesday over a sex-tinged abuse-of-office charge that he offered a City Hall internship to an 18-year-old he met in a gay chat room. But the young man West offered a job - allegedly in anticipation of sex - never existed. The Gay.com profile West knew as "motobrock" was a ruse The Spokesman-Review used to track the mayor's online activities. West has acknowledged having relationships with young men but has denied doing anything illegal.

RITZVILLE, Wash. - A judge on Thursday granted a newspaper's request to make public gay-themed material from Spokane Mayor James E. West's City Hall laptop computer, but placed restrictions on the release of images from a gay-oriented Web site. Judge Richard Miller ordered the release of an index showing the dates and times West used the computer to access Gay.com and other Web sites. But the judge said the Web addresses of member profiles West viewed on the site's dating service would be obscured, and images on the mayor's hard drive would not be released, to protect the privacy of...

Spokane Mayor Jim West's city-owned computer contains 1,800 files, at least half of them photos, that he doesn't want the public to see, according to new court filings. "From what I've been told by a city attorney, the mayor's computer contains pornographic pictures and probably very sexually descriptive correspondence with people he met on chat lines with his City Hall computer," City Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers told The Spokesman-Review for a Saturday report. West declined to comment Friday on his decision to challenge release of the files. The files apparently include photos of young men the mayor met on gay Web...

Spokane, Wash. (AP) -- Organizers of an effort to recall Mayor James E. West because of a sex scandal delivered more than 17,000 petition signatures to election officials Wednesday. If 12,567 are valid, the recall can go to a special vote-by-mail election ballot Nov. 29. The Spokane County auditor must wait five days before counting the signatures. The petitions were delivered by Shannon Sullivan, a political novice who led the campaign, and attorney Jerry Davis, who beat West's attorneys in a state Supreme Court fight to allow the effort to go forward.

Spokane County Prosecutors are hoping to convict a suspected burglar who allegedly left his naked victim smeared with chocolate frosting. The homeowner had met Michael Kay earlier in the day while the two were drinking beer together. The victim had just been fired and eventually went inside, closed his front door and passed out on the bed. Kay is accused of breaking into the residence several hours later, rummaging through the kitchen and then smearing the sleeping resident with frosting. Kay then allegedly opened the man's dog pen hoping his pets would go after the desert topping. Kay's defense attorney...

SPOKANE -- It's been a year of staggering news for a region that likes to bill itself as a good place to raise a family. The Spokane area seems awash in pedophiles. Local residents were already reeling from months of revelations about pedophile Catholic priests when a judge ruled last week that individual parishes, parochial schools and other church property may be sold to pay off victims and their lawyers. This spring, the local newspaper reported that Mayor Jim West used the Internet to seek dates with young men and allegedly molested boys as a sheriff's deputy decades ago. West...

Diocese to appeal court decision that parishes can be liquidated; claims breach of church/state separation Spokane, Aug. 30, 2005 (CNA) - Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane, Washington has announced that his diocese will appeal a federal court ruling which, on Friday, declared all parishes in the diocese assets which can be liquidated to pay for claims by alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests. Bishop Skylstad, who also holds the post of president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement released from Eastern Europe, where he is currently traveling, that"The court's decision has national consequences.” “Its...

SPOKANE, Wash. &#8212; A federal bankruptcy judge ruled today that all the parish churches, parochial schools and other property of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane can be liquidated to pay victims of sexual abuse by priests. The decision, expected to have ramifications for dioceses across the nation, was a defeat for Spokane Bishop William Skylstad, who had argued that he did not control individual parishes and thus they were not available to cover settlement costs. "It is not a violation of the First Amendment to apply federal bankruptcy law to identify and define property of the bankruptcy estate even though...

Bankruptcy judge rules parish assets available to victims The Associated Press   SPOKANE, Wash. — A federal bankruptcy judge ruled today that all the parish churches, parochial schools and other property of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane can be liquidated to pay victims of sexual abuse by priests. The decision, expected to have ramifications for dioceses across the nation, was a defeat for Spokane Bishop William Skylstad, who had argued that he did not control individual parishes and thus they were not available to cover settlement costs. "It is not a violation of the First Amendment to apply federal...

SPOKANE — Nationally syndicated radio talk-show host Laurie Roth was seriously injured while riding a motorcycle that collided with a deer, the Washington State Patrol reports. Roth was in serious condition today at Sacred Heart Medical Center, where she was airlifted after the crash yesterday near the entrance to Mount Spokane State Park about 15 miles northeast of Spokane. She was wearing a helmet, but had head injuries, Trooper Jeff Sevigney said. The conservative Roth, 45, is host of "The Laurie Roth Show," which is produced in Spokane and heard on about 40 stations nationwide. She was riding a 1980...

Nationally syndicated talk-show host Laurie Roth was critically injured in a motorcycle crash on highway 206 Thursday near Mount Spokane High School. Roth, who lives in the Spokane area and is heard locally on AM 590, hit a deer while riding her motorcycle just before 4 p.m. She was airlifted to Sacred Heart Medical Center, where Thursday night she remained in critical condition. State Troopers say Roth was wearing her helmet at the time of the accident.

Spokane -- A personal computer and related records were seized in an FBI search of embattled Mayor James E. West's home as part of a federal investigation into public corruption allegations, The Spokesman-Review reported Friday on its Web page. West, who is fighting allegations that he used his office to offer City Hall jobs to young men he met in a gay online chat room, was present with an attorney when FBI agents searched his West Spokane home July 26, the newspaper reported. West and his attorneys could not be immediately reached for comment Friday afternoon. The warrant is based...

SPOKANE, Wash. -- After a panel of legal experts and scholars resigned, the Spokane City Council voted to take over an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse of power against Mayor James E. West. The unanimous 7-0 vote came after the fifth and final member of an independent commission resigned Monday, saying "Spokane continues to burn while the mayor fiddles." The council, which previously voted to ask West to resign, will hire a lawyer or human resources expert to review whether the mayor's hiring practices and use of e-mail to seek personal relationships violated city policies. West, a...

SPOKANE, Wash. - Lawyers for Mayor James E. West, accused of offering city jobs to men he met in a gay online chat room, are appealing a judge's ruling allowing a recall petition drive to proceed. West, former state Senate leader and opponent of gay rights, has denied any criminal or unethical conduct and has rejected calls to resign. "The citizens of Spokane deserve to know why I have decided to appeal," West wrote in a letter submitted to The Spokesman-Review newspaper. "Simply put, it is because the charges are false, and the ballot statement they would vote on was...

SPOKANE, Wash. -- People wrote vicious messages to Mayor James E. West after a newspaper outed him as a closeted homosexual with a fondness for young men, according to a first batch of e-mails released by the mayor's office on Tuesday. More than 2,000 pages of e-mails to and from West's office were released after news organizations made public records requests. Many more pages will be released in coming weeks after they are cleared by the city attorney. A scan of the e-mails released Tuesday showed that most were relatively routine, until The Spokesman-Review on May 5 began a series...