Inlander 02/14/2019

APARTMENT:

EDITOR’S NOTE

People love stories about LOVE, about those powerful connections that reshape us, about that moment when you finally realize that everything that came before — the pain, the heartbreak, the drinking alone — was simply prologue to this new chapter, the one that actually gives meaning and dimension to the whole thing.

Before we find love, we imagine how it should be: pretty, perfect, cinematic, a nice clean story for grandma and our children yet to be born. But in reality, as you’ll see in this week’s cover story (page 22), love is messy. It might strike on a stroll to the dumpster, during an epic rap battle waged in the hallways of high school or when the two of you simultaneously order a Beef ’n Cheddar at Arby’s. Yes, indeed, love is messy, but it’s always a great story.

— JACOB H. FRIES, Editor

INLANDER

SPOKANE

• EASTERN WASHINGTON

• NORTH IDAHO

1227 WEST SUMMIT PARKWAY, SPOKANE, WA 99201 PHONE: 509-325-0634 | EMAIL: INFO@INLANDER.COM

• INLANDER.COM

is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. All contents of this newspaper are protected by United States copyright law. © 2019, Inland Publications, Inc.

COMMENT

STAFF DIRECTORY

PHONE: 509-325-0634

Ted S. McGregor Jr. (tedm@inlander.com)

PUBLISHER

J. Jeremy McGregor (x224)

GENERAL MANAGER

EDITORIAL

Jacob H. Fries (x261) EDITOR

Dan Nailen (x239)

MANAGING EDITOR/ARTS & CULTURE

Chey Scott (x225)

FOOD & LISTINGS EDITOR

Nathan Weinbender (x250)

FILM & MUSIC EDITOR

Derek Harrison (x248)

ART DIRECTOR

Quinn Welsch (x279)

COPY EDITOR

Wilson Criscione (x282), Josh Kelety (x237), Daniel Walters (x263), Samantha Wohlfeil (x234)

STAFF WRITERS

Young Kwak

PHOTOGRAPHER

Caleb Walsh

ILLUSTRATOR

Amy Alkon, Josh Bell, John Grollmus, E.J. Iannelli, Bob Legasa, Samuel Ligon, Chelsea Martin, Nick Pontarolo, John T. Reuter, Alex Sakariassen, Ben Salmon, Carrie Scozzaro

CONTRIBUTORS

Arcelia Martin INTERN

ADVERTISING SALES

Kristi Gotzian (x215)

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

Carolyn Padgham-Walker (x214), Emily Walden (x260)

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Autumn Adrian (x251), Mary Bookey (x216), Jeanne Inman (x235), Claire Price (x217), Wanda Tashoff (x222)

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Kristina Smith (x223)

MARKETING DIRECTOR

PRODUCTION & SUPPORT

Wayne Hunt (x232)

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Ali Blackwood (x228)

CREATIVE LEAD

Derrick King (x238), Tom Stover (x265)

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

Justin Hynes (x226)

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER

Camille Awbrey (x212), Andrea Lorentz (x242)

ADVERTISING SUPPORT

OPERATIONS

Dee Ann Cook (x211)

BUSINESS

WHAT WAS YOUR WORST OR WEIRDEST DATE ?

ANDY HOLM

I went to sushi, and I was really excited to take this guy to sushi, and he had one California roll, hated it, and refused to eat anything else and made us leave and go get pizza. And I love sushi.

Did the relationship work out? No.

BRANDON DEAN

Jeez, there are so many. My worst date would be, it was just a hang out. And I went and she had invited other guys over, too. Like, told me they were her guy friends and then I found out that they were just meeting her. So I left.

STEVE GIBBS

The gal I was on the date with was just talking on her phone the whole time. It didn’t last very long and after about 10 minutes I was like, alright.

Were you at a restaurant?

No, we were at the movies, waiting for it to start. I remember just sitting in the movie theater waiting for it to start and thinking she doesn’t want anything to do with me, so I left.

RUSSELL RUBBERT

Probably going out to dinner for the first time is the weirdest. Just because it’s awkward. Have any of the first dates worked out? No, I’m super picky so it doesn’t ever really work out.

NICOLE COPE

I would say my worst date was a prom I went to and my date had to be home by 10 o’clock. So I ended up with my husband-now and his date, and I was the the third wheel. So, lots of fun.

Well it worked out then!

It worked out. I mean, I got him.

INTERVIEWS BY ARCELIA MARTIN 2/7/19, RIVER PARK SQUARE

Scrap? Get Cash

At Their Peril

Savvy politicians know this: Ignoring the will of voters is dangerous

BY JOHN T. REUTER

In the long run, it has never been a great political strategy to ignore the voters. Sure, temporary power can be gained through suppression, intimidation and parliamentary manipulation, but eventually, to paraphrase Jurassic Park, democracy finds a way.

Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t to argue for mindless, mob populism.

Kootenai Urgent Care

Engaging with voters doesn’t necessarily mean always doing what they want. Sometimes it’s the job of leaders to challenge us to do better — to pick an argument with us about how we might look beyond our narrow, short-term interests and fears to build a better world for all of us.

That said, what it does mean is taking a long, deep examination before countering the voters’ will and never trying to avoid their judgment.

This, of course, isn’t just a matter of political

strategy, but morality. In a democracy, as the recently passed, legendary and longest-serving member of Congress John Dingell pointed out, politicians don’t have power; rather they hold power in trust for the people.

I’m disturbed then by the approach taken by too many, mostly Republican politicians nationally and, to my great sadness, too often lately in my beloved Idaho.

After voters defied lawmakers in 2012 by overturning at the ballot box the so-called education reforms labeled the “Luna Laws,” Idaho Republican lawmakers tightened the requirements to take an initiative to the voters. The require-

SAY WHAT? DO SOMETHING!

WHY LIBERALISM FAILED: University of Notre Dame Professor of Political Science Patrick J. Deneen explores how the pursuit of individual liberty engenders depersonalization, political alienation and enormous income inequality — factors that can lead to liberalism’s destruction. Free and open to the public. Wed, Feb. 20 from 7-8:30 pm. Gonzaga University, 502 E. Boone Ave. gonzaga.edu (313-6095)

“Arts and poetry are the ways in which we’re more fully in our moments as we live them.”

Jonathan Johnson, an English professor at Eastern Washington University, speaking about the value of poetry. Locally, Mead High School has been selected to participate in a study measuring student outcomes for kids involved in the Poetry Out Loud program. Find that story on page 20.

ments essentially made it either require a fortune or extraordinary grassroots effort to put a measure in front of the voters.

Nevertheless, voters managed to put forward two ballot measures last year. One, through a tremendous fortune, was to legalize slot machines at racing tracks. The money wasn’t enough to convince voters (particularly with countering wealthy opponents). A second, though, to expand Medicaid, which made it on the ballot through extraordinary grassroots activism, was approved overwhelmingly.

Some lawmakers are now considering rolling back the voters’ will, adding costly requirements that gut the intention of the initiative. But they aren’t stopping there.

Send

Idaho has long had some of the best voting laws in the nation. In part, this is due to another voter-approved initiative that requires a redistricting committee evenly split between the two major parties. This requires bipartisan support to determine how lawmakers’ districts are drawn and largely eliminated gerrymandering in Idaho.

Now, some Republicans in the Idaho House are proposing a constitutional amendment to stack the redistricting committee in their favor and allow lines to be drawn based on partisanship rather than good public policy. Fortunately, the Idaho Constitution requires this change to go back to the voters, where despite their attempts to lean into the tribal politics of our age, I suspect the architects of this subversion won’t find a receptive electorate.

It’s unfortunately nothing new for politicians to wage war on their constituents. Under monarchies, dictatorships and fictional democracies, like Russia, the government’s power relies more on fear than the freely expressed will of the People.

But I believe history suggests there is truth to that American principle, however flawed at its introduction, that the natural order is for people to be free and self-governed. Generations after the substance of that decree was drafted in the Declaration of Independence by a slave-owning Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King Jr. correctly observed, “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”

It’s worth noting that Jefferson and his fellow Founding Fathers didn’t trust the people either, a huge group of which they denied even the basic humanity of, blocking African-Americans, indigenous people and all women from voting. In fact, they even created a Senate that was insulated from the small crowd of white, male landowners they didn’t disenfranchise.

History has made clear judgments about this imperfect beginning. So let’s move into our future quicker and stop these regressive attempts to muzzle voters. Let’s continue to progress towards a nation where every voice is heard and every vote is counted. n

John T. Reuter, a former Sandpoint City Councilman, studied at the College of Idaho and currently resides in Seattle. He has been active in protecting the environment, expanding LGBT rights and Idaho’s Republican Party politics.

FROM THE VAULT

FEB. 12, 2009: We profiled Spokane native Todd Carmichael, who had trekked across Antarctica to the South Pole, setting a world speed record by crossing the distance in 39 days, 7 hours and 49 minutes. He lost 42 pounds and spent a fair amount of time hallucinating. Think about that when you complain about having to shovel your sidewalk this week.

Q&A WENDY LEVY

One woman’s efforts to advocate for the arts through innovation and collaboration

BY DAN NAILEN

When Wendy Levy moved to Spokane from the Bay Area nearly two years ago, she brought the home base of the Alliance for Media Arts + Culture. As executive director and sole full-time employee of the arts advocacy group formed in 1980, that was her prerogative.

The move started a little bumpy when swastika vandalism popped up around town a couple days after Levy arrived. “I’m both gay and Jewish, and I was like, ‘Where have I moved!?!’” Levy says. “But that happens in Oakland, too, and New York. Hate is everywhere you look. But it was really beautiful to see how the community came together around it. It felt really inclusive and lovely.”

Levy is a filmmaker herself and former consultant to the Sundance Institute, but at one point she realized that rather than focus on her own films, “my creative contribution was going to be as an advocate for artists everywhere.” So now she spends her time working with everyone from small community arts groups to big tech firms to help push the arts as a source of community engagement and improvement. The following interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

INLANDER: In a nutshell, what is the Alliance for Media Arts + Culture?

LEVY: We’re an organization of community-based media arts organizations, arts institutions and independent media makers. We’ve got thousands of members in 25 states and seven countries working together to grow the media arts field and deepen its impact … There’s four main things: Collaboration, innovation, strategic growth and cultural impact. Together, all of our programs speak to some aspect of that. Collaboration is wildly important … I would love to see an artist-in-residence at every science organization, every government.

As executive director, what’s your day-to-day like?

A lot of grant writing, program development, tending to the community and really identifying artists in the world who are also leaders and educators and teachers, because for any program we do in any city, we need those artists who can show up and that considers teaching and sharing and training and co-creating as part of their creative practice.

You recently got a $300,000 grant from the MacArthur Foundation. What does that help you do?

Operate. Just operate ... A $300,000 grant over two years from MacArthur is not tied to a specific program, it’s really a kind of “We believe in you. You have shown over the years to move programs into the world that have impact in communities.” All of our programs together have a leg up now. And a MacArthur Award is a big signal to other funders that they don’t have to worry about funding the Alliance because one of the more prestigious foundations in the world has said “You’re doing good work.”

Last year you started the Monday Movies series in Spokane. Why was a film series the way to first connect with the Spokane community?

For me, documentary films are by nature communitybuilding. Especially the kinds of films we show. They’re the authentic true stories of people’s lived experience in the world. If you’re Jewish in a non-Jewish place, if you’re black in a predominantly white community, your family story and your family archive … in some ways is an act of cultural expression, is an act of, sometimes, resistance. Because you’re not being mediated by the outside. You get to choose how you’re being photographed. You get to decide how your story is told. In Spokane, I’ve noticed it is in fact multicultural here, but often very divided. Folks of color and white folks don’t often go to the same cultural events, things are way more separated than I would love, so I’m really intentional in my life in seeking out other kinds of people.

It’s impressive to see all the places audiences will “visit” through this year’s films.

They open up your heart, and they do trigger some empathy, but in documentary right now, we want to move from empathy to solidarity with others, so it’s not just about tolerance of others, but really understanding their experience in the world, and their identity that’s different than yours. How do we keep hate from rising up? It’s by connecting around these stories. It’s so frickin’ important. n

The Alliance’s 2019 Monday Movies series starts Monday, Feb. 18, at 7 pm with a screening of Hale County This Morning, This Evening. Details on page 52.

Raise the bar this Valentine’s day with a gift card to La Rive Spa

Whether it’s a full body massage, a hydrating facial or the ultimate mani-pedi, your Valentine will fall in love with our world-class spa experience. The only thing you’ll have to worry about is topping yourself next year.

JESUS FOR THE WIN!

It is very uplifting to see religion and spirituality spread to empty storefronts, malls and a former Hooters location (“In Mysterious Ways,” 2/7/19). Also, I hadn’t realized millennials were not interested in boobs. Either way Jesus wins! The final score is Jesus won and boobs zero.

JAKE HOUBRICK Liberty Lake, Wash.

ABOVE THE LAW

LETTERS

Send comments to editor@inlander.com.

Imust admit, I’m a little bit confused. Why does law enforcement get to pick and choose what they enforce? Does that mean that I can decline a speeding ticket because I believe it’s unconstitutional? If sheriffs or anyone has a problem with I-1639, they don’t have the right to just say, “I don’t like it so I won’t abide by it.” If they think it’s unconstitutional, they should make their stance known, but they have no right to not enforce what the people of the state passed. If it’s really unconstitutional, then the courts will figure it out. Honestly, I think these people need to actually read the Constitution. Most have no idea what it actually says and the ones who do don’t know how to take into account that the Founding Fathers lived over 200 years ago. I even frequently run into people that think the Bill of Rights and the first 10 amendments are two different things. Is that why conservatives can be so anti-education? Afraid someone might learn something?

I keep hearing on the TV news that it wasn’t voted for in Spokane County, so we don’t have to apply it. Does that mean that we can get rid of Cathy McMorris-Rodgers? I certainly didn’t vote for her and I never would. If people don’t like Eastern Washington being in the state, they should move to Idaho.

Yes, that is correct. I’m a liberal and I own guns. It’s just conservative spin that says all liberals hate guns. That’s total BS.

I don’t pretend to know the particulars of I-1639, but I know I support one part of it fully: Extended, in-depth background checks with at least a 14 day waiting period need to be nationwide. We need a national database set up just for this reason. The info is already mostly there, but nobody wants to take the time to put it together.

It’s time for the sheriffs of Washington to either enforce what the people voted for or find another job. Let the courts figure it out.

I’m fully sick and tired of the misleading conservative spin.

JEFF GANDER Colbert, Wash.

JEFF DREW ILLUSTRATION

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Prepaid Freedom

A budding national program seeks to prove in Spokane that you don’t need to lock-up defendants to get them to come to court

BY JOSH KELETY

After Enrique was booked into the Spokane County Jail on New Year’s Eve, he knew that he couldn’t come up with the $200 necessary to post bond and get released. And with rent and bills due in the coming weeks and no set trial date, indefinite incarceration posed serious problems for him and his family.

“It was pretty tough, worrying about rent and bills for my kids,” says Enrique, who declined to give his last name. “I have five kids and I was worried.” February’s payments were just around the bend,

and with Enrique behind bars, he couldn’t put in hours at the fertilizer company in Spokane Valley that he’s worked at for the past 12 years. “My girlfriend is a stay-at-home mom and she doesn’t work,” Enrique says. “I would have been out of work and wouldn’t have been able to make money and pay the bills.”

But then Enrique heard from another inmate ...continued on next page

The majority of people in the Spokane County Jail are awaiting trial.

YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

Written by Patrick F. MusicMcManus by OliviaTimStarringBrownlee

UPCOMING SHOWS!

Fri,

Fri,

“PREPAID FREEDOM,” CONTINUED...

about an organization called the Bail Project that would post bail for defendants who couldn’t afford it. He eventually met with Sabrina RyanHelton, a client advocate with the project, and was bailed out on Jan. 17. As he tells it, RyanHelton helped him get a Lyft ride to go to his job right after he was released. “I started working that same night,” he says.

Enrique’s story is one that the Bail Project, a budding national organization, hopes to replicate many times over. In short, the project wants to show how the cash-bail system unfairly imprisons poor defendants who otherwise would show up to court if provided with support and services. It’s not about helping people avoid responsibility for their crimes — Enrique is facing a domestic violence assault charge after an alcohol-fueled disagreement with his girlfriend — but the project hopes to model a more fair, cost-effective system of justice.

“The vast majority of people can be released on their own recognizance,” Camilo Ramirez, a Bail Project spokesman says. “When people are provided with adequate support, they come back to court.”

In Spokane, the program started training staff and bailing people out back in December. So far, they’ve posted bail for over 20 people.

Since the project first kicked off early last year, the organization has set-up shop in roughly 10 jurisdictions across the country, including Compton, Tulsa, Detroit and St. Louis. The project uses staff on the ground to identify indigent defendants and then pulls from a revolving national fund to finance their bail. After defendants are released, project staff provide them with court date reminders, voluntary referrals to social services, and assistance with transportation to

make sure that they show up at court.

The inmate population that the project is targeting is not insignificant. In Spokane County, the majority of inmates are pretrial, meaning that they haven’t been convicted and are awaiting court action. Nationally, 65 percent of all inmates in jails are pretrial, according to 2016 data from the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Critiques of the cash bail system and pretrial detention are numerous: In addition to the argument that the cash bail system keeps indigent defendants locked up, research has shown that people incarcerated pretrial receive harsher sentences. Reformers also argue that defendants can lose housing, jobs and even custody of their children while imprisoned on bail.

“What we’re hoping to do is demonstrate the viability of our model as a better, more humane alternative to cash bail,” Ramirez says.

Based out of the Northwest Justice Project office just west of the Spokane County Jail on Broadway Avenue, the two-person local Bail Project team (known as client advocates or “bail disrupters”) vets defendant referrals and conducts interviews with the inmates in both the county jail and Geiger Correctional Center. Since the program got off the ground, the team receives an estimated 10 to 25 referrals daily.

This duo has extensive experience in the criminal justice system and they know firsthand the detrimental impacts of incarceration — especially being locked up pretrial.

After client advocate Ryan-Helton, 41, served an eight-year sentence for first-degree assault — she says it was an act of self-defense against an abusive boyfriend — she moved to Spokane in 2007 from Kitsap County where she eventually

Sabrina Ryan-Helton (left) and Angel Tomeo Sam are the project’s “bail disruptors” in Spokane. JOSH KELETY PHOTO

ended up getting involved in advocacy work for inmates re-entering society.

The other Spokane disrupter, Angel Tomeo Sam, 46, was born and raised in Spokane and is a member of the Colville Tribe. She’s done time at both Geiger and the Spokane County Jail. Once, she says, she spent 76 days in the jail held on $5,000 bail, during which she lost her job, housing and went through heroin withdrawls in her cell.

Both describe this past experience as an asset when dealing with clients. “They [the Bail Project] knew what they were doing when they were hiring people with lived experience,” Ryan-Helton says. “We can share with them our own experience and they say ‘Oh, well if you can do it, maybe I can, too.’”

While the project doesn’t use defendants’ charges to determine their eligibility for release, they do maintain a soft cap of $5,000 bail to maximize how many people they can help with their revolving fund.

Their efforts hinge on the notion that, more often than not, indigent defendants will return to court if given the proper community and structural supports, eliminating the need for cash bail.

Ramirez cites the organization’s long-standing pilot project in New York City, claiming that 95 percent of its roughly 2,000 clients to date came back to court and that 90 percent of their cases closed without a criminal conviction.

“What we learned after 10 years of doing this work in New York City is that most people came back even if they didn’t have their money on the line,” he says. “It undermined the myth that you need money to bring people back to court.”

Instead of willful desire to skip court dates, it’s day-to-day hurdles, such as poor public transportation infrastructure, that keep indigent defendants from coming to court, proponents of the project say.

Locally, Sam and Ryan-Helton say they’re hearing similar stories from defendants who have extensive histories of failing to appear in court.

“Most people are saying ‘I was wrapped up in my addiction, my life was chaos, I was living on the streets and I lost my paperwork so I didn’t know when my hearing was,” Ryan-Helton says.

That’s why the project places so much emphasis on building relationships with clients after their release, getting them help with transportation and connected to services such as drug treatment. (The Spokane-based Empire Health Foundation has given the project a $100,000 grant to help cover transportation costs.) Even actions as simple as leaving messages about upcoming court dates at a mini mart that a homeless defendant frequents goes a long way, Ryan-Helton says.

“If they do bail them out, they meet them at the door and help them get transportation and housing and an ID — all of the things that are needed to get them back to court,” says Spokane Superior Court Judge Maryann Moreno. “They don’t just pay the money and never see the person again.”

In Spokane, and in its other sites across the nation, the Bail Project is also working to gather data on the outcomes of their clients, which they anticipate will show that defendants have better outcomes when they are released and supported throughout the length of their case.

“The more people that we bail out, the more people we connect to these community services and resources, the more that our community will see that we don’t have to incarcerate people,” Ryan-Helton says. n

joshk@inlander.com

prizes up to $10,000! Details at northernquest.com

“The vast majority of people can be released on their own recognizance. When people are provided with adequate support, they come back...”

DO IT YOURSELF, ICE

In a legal settlement announced on Feb. 6, YAKIMA COUNTY agreed to no longer detain people just because they’re wanted by Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. Previously, the county had been incarcerating people at the request of ICE after they were eligible for release under local charges. (ICE officials would call, email or fax in requests for holds.) Now, ICE officials must be physically present to request holds; otherwise the county must release eligible inmates. The settlement stemmed from a lawsuit filed by one former inmate, Antonio Sanchez Ochoa, who was continually detained in 2017 despite his ability to make bail, prompting him to sue the county. Ochoa also received $25,000 from the county as part of the deal. (JOSH KELETY)

SEED MONEY

What does it cost to send a kindergartner on a path towards COLLEGE? The answer, according to a bill introduced in the Washington State Legislature, is $100. Senate Bill 5704, and its companion House Bill 1592, would give every low-income kindergartner in Washington $100 as seed money that could one day blossom to an amount that could help pay for college tuition. Bill sponsor Sen. Marko Liias (D-Lynnwood) says the idea builds upon the concept of a “baby bond,” money given to every newborn baby that they couldn’t touch until they turned 18. The goal is to help low-income and marginalized communities build assets in the future, and he says there are few better ways than setting up a college savings account. “It gives them that head start to get going,” Liias tells the Inlander. “That’s the goal of the bill.” (WILSON

CRISCIONE)

EADIE’S OUT

After nearly 25 years at Spokane City Hall, where he worked as a city planner, a planning director and finally PARKS DIRECTOR, Leroy Eadie left the city of Spokane last week. Along with the capstone to his tenure, the $64 million revitalization of Riverfront Park, Eadie’s longevity has been impressive. Nearly every other one of his fellow division directors have resigned, retired or been forced out since Eadie became parks director in 2009. Eadie’s remained with the city of Spokane under seven different mayors, throughout quite a few employee controversies. The key, he says, is being able to work hard without getting sucked into the political drama. “Leave your politics at home,” Eadie says. “Nobody should know if you’re red or blue or liberal or conservative.” (DANIEL

WALTERS)

DIRT, WATER, DEATH

A bill that state Sen. Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle) says could “change the world” has passed the Senate, putting Washington one step closer to becoming the first state in the nation to allow for HUMAN COMPOSTING. The bill passed the chamber with a vote of 36 to 11 (with two excused) on Feb. 6 with little pushback. Before the vote, Sen. Mike Padden (R-Spokane Valley) tried to amend the bill to include a study of potential impacts from water cremation, another method of disposition that would be allowed if the legislation also passes the House. Padden wanted to make sure the health department knows how that process, also known as alkaline hydrolysis, might impact municipal water systems, but the amendment to require a study failed. Pedersen pointed to more than a dozen other states already offering water cremation and other completed studies as proof the process has been tested.

(SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)

HEALTH FOR ALL. CARE FOR YOU.

The Marvelous Mrs. Measle

Lawmakers consider removing some exemptions for vaccines

As a measles outbreak has spread in southwest Washington, some in the state Legislature hope to pass a bill that would no longer allow families to exempt children from a VACCINE because of a philosophical or personal reason.

Currently, Washington allows families to exempt children from vaccines — including the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine — for either a medical, religious, personal or philosophical reason. Statewide, personal reasons account for a higher percentage of exemptions than any other, with about 3.7 percent of kids using that reason to not receive a vaccine. In Spokane, 5.9 percent of K-12 students had a exemption for personal reasons in 2017-18, according to the state Department of Health.

House Bill 1638 would eliminate that exemption.

“This is an issue that is front and center in our community right now. We have experienced many years without knowing or experiencing what measles can do,” says Rep. Monica Stonier (D-Vancouver), who co-sponsored the bill. “And now we’re starting to see the negative impacts of too many people who are not immunized.”

As of press time, there were 54 confirmed measles cases in Washington, all but one residing in Clark County, home to Vancouver. A majority of those cases are for kids who are 10 or younger.

State officials have urged the public to get immunizations in order to prevent the spreading of measles. Measles is extremely contagious and can be dangerous for young children. That’s why, Rep. Paul Harris (RVancouver) says he, too, sponsored the bill eliminating the personal exemption.

“I didn’t drop this bill without giving it some thought,” Harris says. (WILSON CRISCIONE)

FIRE ALARM

While the Spokane City Council has been united in trying to stop, or at least slow down, the effort to integrate all the regional 911 SYSTEMS into the independent Spokane Regional Emergency Communications Center (SRECC), the integration attempt has continued to move forward. The council passed a law, for example, banning city employees for working for the SRECC.

At a council meeting Monday, Kelly Masjoan, a fire dispatcher and a fire union board member, stood up to decry what she saw as an attempt by the Condon administration to sabotage the current 911 city-run fire dispatch system.

“We are down three positions in fire dispatch. We hear from City Administrator Theresa Sanders that she’s putting another hiring freeze on us,” Masjoan says. “They do not have plans to hire any more dispatchers.”

She says Sanders plans to wait until the SRECC comes online — and they can do the hiring.

Not only that, Masjoan says, the fire dispatcher’s manager, Lori Markham, has accepted a job as assistant director for the SRECC. Markham will be doing both jobs, Masjoan claimed, and argues it’s effectively a conflict of interest.

“These are political chess moves, designed to dismantle our leadership,” Masjoan says. “It’s a deliberate attempt to try to kill us by attrition by not filling these positions.”

SRECC spokeswoman Kirstin Davis, however, says that she couldn’t respond to the concerns Masjoan raised — precisely because the system hadn’t been integrated yet. Those personnel moves are the domain of the city.

“We’ve been answering employees’ questions when they’re brought to our attention directly,” Davis says. “I didn’t even know about this until [the Inlander] called.”

City spokeswoman Marlene Feist says she did not have a response to the concerns raised by Masjoan, but would be updating the City Council in the next few weeks. In the past, however, Sanders, the city administrator, has explained that the city has delayed filling important roles due to the challenge of recruiting qualified candidates with no guarantee that the next mayor will retain them after the 2019 election.

(DANIEL WALTERS)

A measles outbreak has shined new light on vaccines. KRISTEN BLACK PHOTO

SPOKANE WANTS SUPERVISION

Various Spokane officials, including Spokane’s Police Chief Craig Meidl and Mayor David Condon, testified before the state Senate Law and Justice Committee on Feb. 7 in favor of a bill that would allow chronic property offenders to get community supervision after they are released from jail.

The bill would allow courts to sentence people who commit a high number of car-related property crimes — such as attempted theft of a motor vehicle — to community supervision while shaving days off their jail sentence. (The ratio would be a reduction of one day in jail per every three days of community supervision.) This supervision would also help connect offenders to drug treatment, housing and other services.

“Really, when it comes to property crimes, it’s less than 1 percent of the folks that we’re dealing with that are causing 90 percent of the property crimes in Spokane,” Meidl told state lawmakers at the committee hearing. “Supervision allows these prolific REPEAT OFFENDERS to be monitored on their release.”

Currently, there is no post-incarceration supervision specifically for property crime offenders. Proponents of the bill have long argued that this gap in supervision has contributed to high property crime and offender recidivism rates both in Spokane and across Washington.

“A large proportion of our repeat offenders are people with addiction and mental health issues, often co-occurring,” Spokane City Councilman Breean Beggs told the committee remotely via video conference. “We think this supervision of property offenders, which is currently missing, would really make a difference in recidivism rates. It would get to the roots of the problems that are motivating criminal behavior.”

Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig (D-Spokane), a sponsor of the legislation, told the committee that the plan is also cost neutral. (JOSH KELETY)

Thursday, February 14th | 9 am - 9 pm

All Coeur Rewards members can stop by the Coeur Rewards booth for a sweet treat on Valentine’s Day!

Valid while supplies last. Must be a Coeur Rewards member. See Coeur Rewards booth for promotion rules.

VALENTINE’S DAY MENU

February 14th – 17th, 2019 | Dinner for Two: $120

Appetizer | choice of one to share

Oyster Rockefeller

Bay Scallops with Caviar | Pan seared bay scallops topped with caviar with a huckleberry gastrique

Stuffed Mushrooms | Crimini mushrooms stuffed with sausage and cream cheese stuffing

Salad | choice of one each

Spinach Salad | with a warm bacon vinaigrette, strawberries, and candied nuts

Lettuce Wedge | A wedge of iceberg lettuce dressed with blue cheese dressing and topped with tomatoes, bacon, chives, and blue cheese crumbles

Entrée | choice of one each

10 oz. Filet Oscar | Filet mignon topped with crab, asparagus and sauce béarnaise served with fingerling herb potatoes

Pork Tenderloin | Pan seared pork tenderloin served with apples and an apple demi-glace with fresh vegetables and fingerling potatoes with fresh herbs

Dessert

Tuxedo Strawberries | with a glass of champagne

More Than Words

At Mead High School, researchers search for the value of poetry

BY WILSON CRISCIONE

There’s a science to the way Dominik Sretenovic approaches poetry.

First, Sretenovic chooses a poem he will read out loud in front of judges and his peers. He picks one that makes him feel something, because he knows that will make the audience feel it, too. He reads it over again and again until it becomes part of him, identifying key words he should emphasize for emotional impact. Then, he practices.

“You can say a poem and it can be very dull,” Sretenovic says. “But when you find in each poem where to put your emotion in, more people will like it.”

Sretenovic, a sophomore, used that preparation to win the Poetry Out Loud competition at Mead High School this year. Poetry Out Loud is a national initiative from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) that lets kids compete as they perform poetry.

Yet Before Poetry Out Loud, Sretenovic never had much interest in poetry. It was too slow. Too boring. He didn’t understand what he was reading. Poetry Out Loud, required in many Mead classes, has students choose from nearly 1,000 poems to recite. That, Sretenovic says, unlocked his love of the art form.

“I felt like I got to connect more to the poems,” he says. “I had to read a few and see how they felt to me … that’s how, I believe, discovering poems touches people when they find the right one.”

The competition has taken off at Mead, which had a student named Langston Ward win the national Poetry Out Loud finals in 2013. Today, more than 1,000 Mead students participate in Poetry Out Loud, outpacing other schools in the region. And the participation has piqued the interest of national researchers who have selected Mead for a study, funded partially by the NEA, measuring the potential benefits that Poetry Out Loud can have on students. It’s a question that’s yet to be answered by researchers: As education remains fixated on science,

technology, engineering and math (STEM), what value does poetry have?

Dori Whitford, an English teacher at Mead High School, admits she used to struggle teaching poetry. But she believes it’s important, even as she’s seen dwindling enthusiasm for poetry in the world of education during her more than 35 years of teaching. When she heard about Poetry Out Loud more than a decade ago, she wondered if it would help get students engaged with poetry.

It did. Since then, word has spread throughout the school, to the point that nearly every English teacher requires students to recite a poem out loud.

“Just about everybody here is on board,” Whitford says.

Yet fostering an appreciation for poetry isn’t the only reason to teach it, says Jennifer Benka, the executive director of the Academy of American Poets, which promotes poets and poetry across the country, including in schools. There are plenty of practical reasons to present poetry in the classroom as well. It helps students strengthen literacy and communication skills, and more.

“When reading a poem, the objective is not to solve it in order to arrive at one correct answer, but to have an experience with language that prompts feeling and gives insight into another person’s life or a specific event that can promote greater understanding,” Benka tells the Inlander

Jonathan Johnson, an English professor at Eastern Washington University, tells his students that poetry can help them live a fuller life. Johnson has read thousands of poems about winter and snow, for instance, so when it snows outside, he can recall any number of those.

“Arts and poetry are the ways in which we’re more fully in our moments as we live them,” Johnson says.

Yet those ideas can go over the head of grade school

students. At a young age, children are typically taught things like basic rhyming, or what a stanza is. It doesn’t always resonate.

“Growing up in elementary school, there were all these rules to it, all these certain types of poems, and I didn’t really like that,” says Zane Mularski, a senior at Mead.

Even Katie Laurier, another Mead student whose dad is a poet, never took much of an interest in poetry in school. Instead, she discovered it on her own. And when she did Poetry Out Loud, she loved it.

“Poetry is very much supposed to be heard,” Laurier says.

Indeed, Johnson agrees that reading poems out loud can help engage students with poetry. It’s a mistake to think of a poem as something that exists on a page, he says: Kids love language, but when it’s used as a tool, it loses its luster. Perhaps, that’s why Poetry Out Loud works for some students: They can discover poems on their own and they’re forced to speak it out loud.

That can translate to other subjects. Sretenovic, the sophomore, says it has improved his skill in analyzing texts, for instance.

Melissa Huggins, executive director for Spokane Arts, which coordinates Poetry Out Loud locally, says the competition can benefit students in various ways, including practical skills and helping them understand something new about themselves.

“The act of researching and memorizing and being trained to deeply interrogate something is incredibly valuable for students to experience,” Huggins says.

But is there quantifiable evidence to back any of these benefits up? Not really, says Melissa Mack, one of the researchers conducting the national study of Poetry Out Loud.

“There’s very limited research about arts education,” Mack says. “And there’s almost nothing about poetry.”

Mead is one of 10 schools in the country selected for the study on how participating in Poetry Out Loud might have an effect on student outcomes. Five of them happen to be in Washington. The NEA wanted to choose schools where Poetry Out Loud was considered “optimally implemented,” and Mead — among other considerations — met that criteria.

LETTERS

Send comments to editor@inlander.com.

Researchers will visit Mead this month, where they will conduct interviews, focus groups, surveys and pull data from the district, trying to measure, in any way they can, how it can impact students. While Mack says she has no idea what will come from the study, she says they have some assumptions: “That the arts are not icing on a cake, that they’re critical to the development of human beings,” she says.

Benka, from the Academy of American Poets, says she’s generally supportive of research into poetry in school. It helps encourage school officials to emphasize poetry in class, Benka says.

“The more ways in which we have to understand and validate the importance of poetry in young people’s lives, the better,” she says.

There are other ways to convince classrooms to emphasize poetry. Poets can, and often do, visit classrooms and extol the power of poetry. Often, students discover it when they hear a moving poem.

But maybe that isn’t enough.

“Just like people learn differently, people are moved differently, too,” Benka says. “Some people need positive impact translated into something quantifiable before they might take action.” n

wilsonc@inlander.com

As a sophomore, Dominik Sretenovic won the Poetry Out Loud competition at Mead High School. KEELIN ELIZABETH PHOTO

Jim and Beth Valentine met more than 50 years ago, when her car repairs gave him the perfect excuse to ask her out. YOUNG KWAKPHOTO

It may seem like the only way to meet people anymore is to swipe endlessly through profiles, inevitably suffering through story-worthy but horrible dates. You know the kind, where they think it’s a good idea to take you to a two-hour art film that has no dialogue, or don’t let you get a word in edgewise as they chew with their mouth open, oblivious they haven’t asked you a single question. But believe it or not, love can be found in some strange, serendipitous places. Whether that’s uttering “beef and cheddar” at Arby’s at the exact same moment as the man next to you, or asking your virtual teammate to conquer a different kind of quest by moving across the country, these real examples from local couples just might prove that you never know where you’ll find The One.

— SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL, section editor

Another Kind of Valentine

Her junky old Ford Fairlane gave him the perfect chance to ask her to dinner

BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL

Beth’s old ’49 Ford Fairlane is literally falling apart, and to make matters worse, now she’s got a flat tire.

It’s January 1967 in Chino, California, and she asks her brother to take it to a nearby gas station to get the tire fixed. But by the next morning, it’s flat again.

Upset, she drives it to the station herself this time to demand they fix it again.

“I was just furious. I told him, ‘You fixed the tire yesterday and it’s flat today,’” she says. “So bein’ very nice, he said, ‘Well, if we fixed it yesterday and it’s flat, we’ll fix it again. I said, ‘Not for another $5 you’re not!’

“When he got the tire off he says, ‘Well ma’am, there’s three holes in here,’” Beth continues. “I said, ‘Well, why didn’t you fix ’em all?’”

What she didn’t know then was that Jim, the man she was yelling at, was not the one who had worked on her car. In fact, no one there had worked on her car.

“I went back home and told my brother what had happened and he says, ‘You idiot, that wasn’t the station I took it to!’” Beth says.

She felt bad for taking her anger out on the wrong guy, so she kept going back to Jim’s station for gas.

One day, he told her she had a taillight out. Even though she knew he hadn’t flubbed the tire repair, she teased him.

“He says, ‘Well, I’ll fix it.’ I said, ‘Oh sure you will, like you did the tire,’” she says. “He said, ‘Well if it goes out, I’ll take you out to dinner.’”

She agreed, not knowing he would intentionally put the wrong bulb in the car, ensuring it would go out and that she’d be back soon.

After she discovered the dead bulb, Jim said he would very much like to take Beth out to a nice dinner, and they soon started dating.

It turned out they had a lot in common. They each had a son from a previous relationship. They were both a little wild. And, they say, neither of them were the nicest people back then. She was short with him, and he was dealing with the aftermath of his service in Korea, which wouldn’t be diagnosed as PTSD until years later.

So it came to be that the next month, as they were speeding down the freeway together, he grabbed her hand and put a ring on it, asking if she’d be his wife and in a way, asking her to be his Valentine: That’s his last name.

The Valentines married in March.

“I picked the wedding day,” Jim says, sitting in the living room of the couple’s Cheney-area home. “I picked Easter Sunday because I’d always remember our anniversary.”

What he didn’t think about was that Easter doesn’t appear on the same date every year: In the 52 years since then, it’s only happened to land on their March 26 anniversary twice.

There was some pushback from their families at first, especially because he’s 13 years older, but Beth says her mom soon saw how good they were for each other.

Together, they created a wonderful life. They adopted each other’s sons and had a daughter together. While living in California, the family would go up in the mountains and play in the snow, then the same day, drive down to the desert, then the ocean and then home, Beth says.

They rode motorcycles and dune buggies, went to Jamaica, and took other adventures like a cruise on the “Love Boat,” partly heeding advice they’d gotten from an older neighbor.

“I always pass it onto young kids that are getting married,” Beth says. “She said, ‘You know, you guys travel and do what you want to do together now, because you’ll never know when you won’t have each other.’ And she says, ‘Always, no matter if you’re angry with each other or not, you always tell each other I love you before you go to sleep, and you always sleep in the same room.’”

Both gave and took, supporting each other through their careers, and about 30 years ago, they moved to the Inland Northwest. After a crash course in living in a place where it snows, they say they grew to love it. They owned a service station and towing fleet and, later on, volunteered for many years with the Spokane Sheriff Community Oriented Policing Effort (SCOPE).

Now that Jim is 86, they say maybe they’re ready to slow down a little. But, after each losing a significant amount of weight recently, they’re also feeling better than they have in a long time, and with their sights set on Alaska this summer, they’re ready to get back on the road. n

Love Strange

Doctor of Love

The Dating Doctor’s advice for meeting people, avoiding online pitfalls and surviving Valentine’s Day

BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL

You will not find the right person until you become the right person.”

Before fielding Spokane Community College students’ questions about their online dating profiles, how to date as a single parent and more, the “Dating Doctor” David Coleman starts his presentation by asking his audience for some introspection.

“Would you date you?” he asks.

Having enough self confidence and agency to look in the mirror and say, “I would so date me,” is key, he says, if you want other people to be interested in you.

“Before you start the process, for real, of looking for someone else,” Coleman says, “try to have yourself in the best mental, physical, emotional, spiritual shape you can.”

Coleman is a relationship consultant who offers humorous and direct dating advice around the country, and at this lunchtime presentation in late January, he offers the Spokane students and community members some of his best tips for putting themselves out there.

HOW TO MEET SOMEONE

How do you meet someone in the modern age? Is it best to search online? To try to meet someone through your circle of friends?

Genuinely, Coleman tells the Inlander, he doesn’t really care how you meet, as long as it wasn’t illicit or at someone else’s expense.

“People seldom remember who broke the ice, they’re just happy to be standing in a puddle. I really believe that,” he says. “It’s not the moment they meet, it’s the moment they connect.”

He encourages people to think about expanding their sphere of influence, like ripples around a stone thrown into a pond. The more rings you can add, the more opportunities you’ll have to meet someone great.

So, in a healthy way, try as many avenues as you can, Coleman says. Try online dating, participate in activities that interest you, volunteer, get out of your routines, and don’t be afraid of rejection.

“Rejection is like a bridge, you’ll get over it,” he says. Painfully shy? Try his “three eye contact” method. Of course, not in a creepy way, make eye contact, then look away. Make eye contact again and hold it for “one, one thousand,” then look away again. Then the third time, maintain eye contact until they look away.

“Then you change your position dramatically,” Coleman tells the audience. “In just a minute, they’re going to look back at where you were, and when you’re not there, what are they going to do? They’ll scan the room until you lock eyes and then you can go, ‘Ha ha ha! Gotcha.’”

ONLINE DATING

Coleman warns against four common pitfalls he sees people commit on dating apps/sites.

First, the PROXIMITY ERROR. You see someone who interests you, who you would date, but you can’t stop comparing them to the next profile and end up saying no to a date.

Second, using the “BET ’EM ALL” strategy, where you swipe right or match with every person you can, in hopes anyone will write back. That doesn’t offer any assurance that the person who writes will be anyone you’d be remotely interested in, Coleman says.

Third, what Coleman calls the “BIGGER BETTER DEAL SYNDROME,” where you won’t date someone seriously because you might find someone even better the next day. You could be missing out on someone perfect for you because you can’t stop thinking of what else could be out there, he says.

Last, “THE CUT AND PASTE DISGRACE,” where you copy exact text to send to many people, but the clearly impersonal details don’t match up and wind up losing you the chance at keeping those folks interested.

One audience member asks, “What if I don’t hear anything? Just crickets?”

Maybe some detail in your profile seems innocuous to you but stands out as a red flag to others. Maybe your attempt at humor isn’t landing well.

“There’s this adorable 75-year-old man I’m helping right now, and his profile was atrocious,” Coleman says. “He had the wrong pictures up, the things he was writing were not going to attract anybody except possibly police. He wasn’t familiar with online dating, he was old school.”

So Coleman helped him choose better photos, and write a bio that better showed who he was.

Basically, it helps to be real, and be yourself. And if you really feel like you still need help, there are people like Coleman who help people improve their profiles for a living.

VALENTINE’S DAY

Generally speaking, Coleman says he thinks Valentine’s Day gets more haters than it deserves. For busy people in relationships, it can often be the one

time a year they intentionally focus on having a nice date and spending time alone together.

Coleman encourages those already in relationships to try to shake things up by giving their partner a gift the day before Valentine’s, since romance is really just performing an ordinary act of love or kindness in an unexpected way. Avoid gifts that seem like they’ll ultimately be used for you, and instead opt for activities or something edible aside from candy.

For singles, he recognizes Valentine’s can be a hard time. Everything seems focused on couples or dinner for two.

It’s a common misconception, Coleman says, that if you go out, you’ll be the only single person around. If you and a group of single friends go out, isn’t it likely there’ll be other singles just a few tables away?

He also encourages people to throw a S.A.D. (Singles Awareness Day) party.

“Bring a dish, a snack, a beverage, you throw a really nice party, it’s a happy, joyous occasion and you have to bring another single friend to get in,” Coleman says. “People have a blast.” n

Swipe life doesn’t have to be miserable.

DEREK HARRISON PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

WoW Me

BY CHEY SCOTT

Amanda and Joshua Smolinsky first connected online, like so many modern couples do. But it wasn’t through dating sites, apps or even social media. Instead, the pair met while role playing as their digital avatars within the fantasy realms of World of Warcraft (WoW for short). Released in 2004, the game remains one of the best-selling of all time, and both Amanda, 29, and Josh, 37, have long been part of WoW’s more than 5-million-strong player base. Amanda plays as a healer of the game’s Pandaren race, a panda-inspired anthropomorphic being, while Josh is a beefy, Night Elf fighter.

“I actually transferred to the server that he was on, and I joined his guild and started raiding with them,” Amanda recalls. “We kinda just started talking.”

At the time, in April 2012, Amanda was living in Idaho and Josh was across the country in Kentucky.

“We would play late at night,” Josh chimes in. “And why we connected with each other is we were always the only two online in the guild, we would be doing late night PvP [player-versus-player].”

Talking online via their headsets, on the phone and by text brought the two so close that a little more than

WHAT’S ON YOUR LIST TODAY?

Jana Ashby didn’t have “love” on her list when she went to her local grocery store in Zillah, Washington. But she found it there anyway. She was 16 years old and went to the Zillah Food Center with a camcorder for a school assignment, but the adventure turned into Ashby and her friend causing trouble and yanking items off the shelves. This was in 2002, the time of MTV’s Jackass, so this was all pretty standard teenage stuff. Then she saw him, “A smoldering 18-year-old, short and scrawny with dark eyes and hair, looking hot as hell in his pink and white-striped shirt and maroon apron,” she says. His name was Michael Ashby, and he would be hers. Seventeen years later, they’re a happily married couple. (WILSON CRISCIONE)

DUMPSTER DIVORCEES

Laura Elmaliah wasn’t in a good place. Seventeen years ago, the 41-year-old divorcée had been on countless dates at fancy restaurants, complete with grand romantic gestures, yet they’d all ended poorly. With the leftovers of her failed romantic conquests rotting in her head, she went out to her apartment complex dumpster to throw away her trash — not expecting to find love.

As she heaved the garbage bag in the dumpster, a guy called to her across the parking lot. He was cleaning out his truck. He told her his name, Dan Martinez. He, too, had been divorced. After they talked for a bit, he asked her out for coffee or tea sometime. Though she had told herself she didn’t want to go on another date for a while, for some reason she agreed.

They’ve been together ever since.

“It was kind of a late time to find true love, but it was better late than never,” Elmaliah says. (WILSON CRISCIONE)

a year after first meeting as WoW characters, the two decided to take a huge leap of faith. Josh moved to Spokane to be with Amanda. They’d never met in person, but deeply believed they’d be compatible after more than a year of long-distance communication.

“I was just like, ‘Sell your furniture and I’ll drive there and pack your stuff and you can move out here,’” Amanda says, smiling at Josh across the table from her in a Spokane Valley coffee shop.

“I drove by myself to Kentucky for two days,” she adds.

When she arrived outside Josh’s apartment in the early hours of the morning, he “swung the door open and hugged me. I felt like I knew him and it wasn’t weird or anything. We packed up his car and my car and drove back here and have been together since.”

The couple married on Jan. 27, 2018, in Las Vegas. Josh had proposed to Amanda a few months prior while they were at BlizzCon, the huge annual fan convention held by WoW’s developer, Blizzard Entertainment.

“We still game together, and we still play WoW, funny enough,” he says now. “Different guild, different server, but in the same room now.” n

CAR WASH PARTIERS

Around 30 years ago, Jeff Frater had a scheme with his colleagues at the car wash he worked at on North Division in Spokane — they would offer pretty girls free car washes in the hopes of picking up some phone numbers. Usually it never worked. But then, one day, two girls asked them if they wanted to come to a party with them after they gave them a free wash. “We were like ‘Oh my gosh, this finally worked,’” Frater says. After the party — which Frater says involved “a lot of making out”

— Frater’s friends began dating a social circle he met at the party, where he eventually met his current wife, Connie. (As he tells it, he and Connie originally started dating because she was trying to make a friend of his jealous.) They eventually got married in 1989 and still are today. (JOSH KELETY)

They met online playing World of Warcraft while living across the country from each other, and just celebrated their first wedding anniversary

Joshua and Amanda Smolinsky’s characters in World of Warcraft led to a real-life bond. COURTESY OF THE SMOLINSKYS

Love Strange

WHEN BEEF MET CHEDDAR

A reader identifying herself as Wendy Jacobson sent us a story that warmed our hearts and then kept them under a heat lamp.

It had to be fate that led Jacobson and the man of her dreams to arrive at the same Arby’s restaurant on the same day. “We were both waiting to order and we got to the counter at the same time at side-by-side registers and, I’m not kidding you, the words ‘Beef and Cheddar’ came out of our mouths at the exact same time,” Jacobson wrote to the Inlander

Reader, she married him. In fact, Jacobson writes, they got married two years later in that same Arby’s. The manager, she claims, even gives them extra curly fries whenever they come in.

They Saw Each Other

Casual Sunday shopping, some light stalking, and a personal ad lead to lasting love

BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL

Before Facebook enabled people to find each other through mutual friends online, before Craigslist’s missed connections reached peak popularity, there was another longshot method of desperately searching for that person whose smile made everyone else in the room fade away: the personal ad.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s go back a little.

It’s March 2000, and Scott Tschirgi is shopping for a birthday card for his mom at the old Albertsons up on Regal Street (good job, Scott). He’s a resident firefighter for Spokane County District 8, and he glances up to see a cute woman at the end of the row.

“I’m like, ‘You know what? No guts, no glory,’” she says. “So I went after him! And I couldn’t find him anywhere. So then I’m like, ‘OK, that wasn’t meant to be.’”

Little did she know, Scott also wanted to catch her eye. He tried to find her in the parking lot, just in time to see her hop in her little green Corolla.

“I was secretly, I don’t want to say stalking her, but you know, before stalking was mainstream,” Scott says with a laugh.

He figures he’ll write an I Saw You.

“I read the Inlander for years and years, and everybody checks out the I Saw You ads ’cause everybody wants to have an I Saw You placed,” he says.

Naturally, we wanted to know more. Did their vows name-check Horsey Sauce? Did this union result in a little Junior Roast Beef? But while we emailed Jacobson repeatedly, we never heard back. We got desperate, tried to use every investigative tool in our journalistic arsenal to track her down. We cold-called area Arby’s, asking them if they’d hosted any nuptials in the last few years. Did Jacobson even exist? Was this all just long con by Arby’s guerilla marketing team to promote their unbeatable slow-roasted roast beef, turkey and premium Angus beef sandwiches by wrapping them up with the greatest love story ever told?

So this is a plea: If you’re out there, Wendy Jacobson or her mysterious husband, give us a call so we can meet. I’m thinkin’ I know just the spot. (DANIEL WALTERS)

He doesn’t know it yet, but that’s Susie. The speech therapist is dressed in sweats and a baseball cap, out for her Sunday routine: throw on whatever clothes are easiest to find, grocery shop, then head home to clean, do laundry and get ready for the week.

The two make eyes and, she’ll explain 19 years later, she’s interested enough to pass down the aisle, trying to spy if he has a wedding ring on.

“He didn’t,” she says. “But then I thought, ‘Well, he’s probably card shopping for a girlfriend or wife anyway,’ so I went on.”

Scott keeps an eye out for her as he finishes shopping and spots her standing in the checkout line.

“I saw him coming towards me and I thought, ‘Oh, he’s going to get in line behind me! Just say something cute and witty,’” Susie says. “And then he took off down another aisle, and I’m like, ‘Damn it!’”

“I guess I was shy and I chickened out,” Scott explains.

But she decides to go look for him.

In his March 2000 I Saw You, after describing both of them and their cars, he pleas, “I wish I would have had the guts to say hello. Give me a second chance?”

The fact Susie even saw that ad was a serious stroke of luck: She hadn’t picked up a copy of the paper in maybe five years.

But while heading to Lewiston with a friend for a rodeo event, they stopped at a store, and Susie says she picked up an Inlander on a whim so she could read the personals to her friend.

Later that night, she read them through and thought, “Oh, Albertsons on Regal, I shop there. Then I start reading it and I’m like ‘Hey! That’s me! That’s me!’”

The two connected via a voicemail box and later met up at the grocery store parking lot before heading to their first date.

Three years later, the Tschirgis were married. They now have a 14-year-old daughter named Sam, Susie is a stay-at-home mom and Scott is a Spokane Valley firefighter. n

Scott and Susie Tschirgi met through the I Saw Yous, with a little hand from fate. SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL PHOTO

Scary Love

An after-hours visit to a haunted mansion in Montana was just the beginning

of their romance

HIGH SCHOOL REUNION SWEETHEARTS

According to Dana Stralka, she and her current husband, Dave Stralka, only went on one date during high school, when she was temporarily broken up with her thenboyfriend. They went to a drive-in movie together, but Dana says she wasn’t infatuated with him at the time. “I always thought he was kind of a sweet guy [but] he wasn’t necessarily my type at the time,” she says. “During the movie I actually fell asleep.”

Then, at their 30-year high school reunion, Dana says she was keen on seeing Dave again when she spied him going into the men’s restroom. “I thought ‘That’s Dave’ and I waited until he came out,” she says. “I just asked him if he remembered me and he said ‘Yeah!’ and he swung me around.” They got married six months later.

(JOSH KELETY)

BY QUINN WELSCH

It was 9 pm, just a couple days after Halloween, when a Chevy pickup pulled up in front of her house. It was a man she’d never met, but she was waiting for him. Slightly irritated by the late hour, and unsure of what to expect that night, Morgan climbed inside. The truck sped off to the Moss Mansion in Billings, Montana.

What could easily have been the beginning of a teen slasher flick was actually the beginning of a romance — albeit a spooky one — between Morgan and Tyler Briceno, who have now been together for seven years.

As Morgan recalls, she had been waiting to hear from Tyler all day long. The two had only talked online up to that point. For their first date, Tyler suggested they go to the Moss Mansion’s haunted maze.

“We get out, I don’t know him all that well at this point. I’m totally peeved,” she says. “We’re kind of trespassing on the Moss… he takes me to the backyard of their estate, and this haunted house is still up and it’s totally vacant of actors.”

No guests. No actors. No security. No one, which

makes it “way scarier,” Morgan says.

“I’m also kind of a thrill seeker. Breaking a few laws is definitely OK with me,” she says with a laugh.

After creeping around the deathly silent haunted house, nerves on edge, they see a figure dressed in Victorian-garb, staring down at them from the mansion. Because, of course, you would get murdered by an angry ghost while trespassing at a haunted house. It turns out it was just a mannequin.

“It was a great first date,” Morgan says.

Now, the two make the trip to Montana every year for the haunted maze. “We don’t trespass though,” she says.

Fittingly, Morgan and Tyler were married two years ago in an Addams Family-themed wedding.

“That’s just our romance,” she says.

Currently living in Spokane, the two still have a passion for the spooky. They spend their free time together listening to horror podcasts, such as Lore and NoSleep Podcast. For Valentine’s Day they’re going on a zombiethemed scavenger hunt at Riverfront Park. n

A FRESH PRINCE MEETS HIS PRINCESS

A lot of couples have met in bars. Skip Jurgensen wrote to the Inlander about meeting his wife while they were spitting bars.

When he was a teenager, Jurgensen moved away from a somewhat sketchy neighborhood in Philadelphia to live with his auntie and uncle in Spokane. Bel Air, it ain’t. Either way, Jurgensen found himself in a city full of strangers.

“I didn’t know anybody, other than my dorky cousin, who was always embarrassing me,” he writes. “It was like my life had been twisted and turned upside down.”

And like a certain Fresh Prince, Jurgensen was a pretty slick rhyme slayer, and he recalls that Cupid intervened as he was freestyle rapping in the hallways of his high school.

“This girl comes up to me,” he writes. “And she starts rap battling me. I thought she was fly as hell and asked her on a date, and we made up rap songs and got into some trouble — nothing too serious that we couldn’t weasel our way out of in 30 minutes or so.”

And you thought 8 Mile was romantic. They are still together and have two children.

“She treats me like a prince,” Jurgensen tells us. (NATHAN WEINBENDER)

The Bricenos’ Addams Family-style wedding.

PREVIOUSLY...

Miller Cane is back on the road. A good thing, too. He figures the best way to keep 8-year-old Carleen safe is to keep moving. Carleen’s mother, Lizzie, is stuck in jail for shooting and injuring her estranged husband, Connor; that deadbeat suddenly came back into the picture after learning that Carleen will inherit a family fortune that he believes is rightfully his. Before all this, Miller had been been making his living conning the survivors of mass shootings, but now, with Carleen, he plans to return to the road with a different purpose: completing a long-ignored writing gig. Miller is writing short profiles of historical figures for an 11th-grade history textbook. Maybe Marcus and Narcissa Whitman would be suitable subjects?

CHAPTER 5, PART 1

It was a hundred and six degrees at the Whitman Mission a few miles west of Walla Walla, and smoky from the fires still burning up the West. The word “massacre ” was not mentioned in the National Park Service material regarding the deaths at the site in 1847, though there were books for sale with titles like The Whitman Massacre and A Survivor’s Recollections of the Whitman Massacre and Eliza Spalding’s Whitman Massacre Cookbook. Carleen wrote her name in the visitor register and insisted Miller do the same. He complied, but when Carleen went to the bathroom and the ranger was occupied with an elderly couple bragging about their own missionary experience (perhaps they too would someday be massacred?), Miller ripped out the page with his and Carleen’s names on it

ABOUT THIS PROJECT

Miller Cane: A True and Exact History, a new novel by Samuel Ligon, is being published for the first time in the pages of the Inlander The latest installments of the book will always appear in print first, then on the web the following Wednesday and then on Spokane Public Radio, which is broadcasting audio versions of each installment. Visit MillerCane.Inlander.com for more details.

and hid the register in a pile of Washington State coloring books. He wasn’t about to make Connor’s job any easier. He gathered pamphlets. He studied maps. He and Carleen watched a movie about the cultural differences between Marcus and Narcissa and the native Cayuse, the trickle of emigrants along the Oregon Trail in 1841 becoming a flood by 1847, the measles epidemic that killed half the Cayuse, finally leading to murder, hostage taking, war, and execution, all of it broadly referred to as Tragedy at Waiilatpu. At the center of the museum was a diorama featuring Marcus in his buckskins and floppy hat, his hand resting on Narcissa’s shoulder as she knelt with open arms before a Cayuse child.

“I like that girl’s blanket dress,” Carleen said, “and Narcissa’s bonnet.”

There was a spinning wheel behind the Whitmans, a butter churn, and a hutch full of China. A handful of Cayuse stood behind the girl Narcissa was reaching for.

“Remember in Little House,” Carleen said, “when Laura wanted the baby?”

“I do remember,” Miller said.

“Get me that Indian baby! she said.”

“And she cried and cried,” Miller said.

Carleen had cried, too, when Miller read her that section.

“She didn’t know why she wanted it,” Carleen said, “and she didn’t know why she cried, but it was wrong, even though she didn’t know why.” Carleen squinted at Narcissa in the diorama, reaching for the Cayuse girl. “Mom thinks the Little House books are bad,” she said.

“I know,” Miller said. Lizzie had told him as much, and he didn’t argue, though he thought her reading of the books was narrow, stunted by a lack of empathy, an unwillingness to travel in time.

“What do you think?” he asked Carleen.

“Some parts might be,” she said. “But I still like the books.”

“Me too,” Miller said. “Sometimes they know something’s wrong and show us — like Laura wanting that Indian baby, or the family being on Indian land, where they don’t belong, just like the Whitmans.”

“But the Whitmans died,” Carleen said.

“Right,” Miller said. He wondered if their deaths suggested a squaring of accounts in Carleen’s mind, a debt settled. He remembered a joke from the Marble Mountain massacre — What’s the difference between a good Yankee and a bad Yankee? — the punch line of which might have applied to missionaries as well: Good Yankees (and missionaries) go home. After Marble Mountain, Miller realized he no longer had a home, and hadn’t for years, though he wasn’t sure when or how he’d lost it.

“Narcissa’s pretty,” Carleen said, “but Marcus just looks sad.”

Marcus did look sad, and doughy and a little guilty — or maybe Miller was projecting guilt onto him for the deaths of the people he and Narcissa had come to save. Surely someone else would have been responsible for opening the trail and killing everyone if not Marcus. And another white woman would have crossed the Rockies first if not Narcissa, a harbinger of the “domestication” of the West, which would involve misunderstanding and displacement and suffering and death by starvation and disease and execution and warfare and massacre — tragedy at Waiilatpu indeed.

Outside, the sites where the Mission buildings had stood were outlined in concrete. There were interpretive placards with pictures of Marcus preaching, Marcus being tomahawked, Marcus bleeding all over the floor, Narcissa swooning, Alice Clarissa, the Whitman’s twoyear-old daughter, sitting on the bank of the river she would drown in.

...continued on next page

PER MONTH PER LINE

MILLER CANE: A TRUE AND EXACT HISTORY

 Chapter 5, Part 1 continued...

“But the river’s so far away,” Carleen said, and Miller said, “It moved,” and Carleen said, “That’s not true,” and Miller showed her a sign that said it was true. Their eyes were watering from the smoke and they were sweating, but at least they had respirators now.

They were the only people outside, though there were plenty of motorhomes in the parking lot, some with Jesus fish on their rear panels. Miller wondered at the complexity of the Christian response to the massacre. Guilt? Remorse? Narcissa and Marcus had failed as missionaries, and Marcus as a doctor, at least to the Cayuse, as any doctor would have failed in a time with no antibiotics and very little understanding of the origins or treatments regarding so many deadly diseases. Had the missionary board ever apologized for sending the wrong people to save the Cayuse, for ever sending missionaries to save anyone anywhere? Good missionaries stayed home. The Tragedy at Waiilatpu began with a story of three natives of the Northwest arriving in St. Louis seeking white religion and the Book of Heaven, a story that spread all over the East, creating missionary fever, the Indians asking to be saved, ready and willing, and the Whitmans ready and willing to save them — until such effort killed so many.

Miller looked at Carleen looking at the picture of Alice Clarissa dangling her feet in the river. Narcissa had failed to pay attention to her daughter for a few minutes one Sunday afternoon and lost her as a result. Carleen’s father, Connor, had walked away from his daughter, abandoning her when she was less than a year old. She would have died from starvation and exposure and smallpox if someone hadn’t been there to take care of her.

At the baby’s grave, Carleen wanted to know what it felt like to drown.

“I don’t think it’s painful,” Miller said, and Carleen said, “Choking on water you’re trying to breathe?” She held her breath until her face turned red, then threw herself to the ground, clawing at the air. “Help me!” she cried.

“Stop it,” Miller said.

“I’m drowning!” she cried.

“Enough now,” Miller said.

They were the only people outside.

He offered her a hand. “I’ve heard it’s a peaceful way to go,” he said, but back in the motorhome, the internet told them that drowning was indeed painful and terrifying. “See,” Carleen said, paging through the book Miller had bought her — The Tragic Tale of Narcissa Whitman and a Faithful History of the Oregon Trail. Miller paged through his own book, about the trials after the massacre. The mission always depressed him, like all historic sites in the West, the same stuff reported over and over, hardly ever changing. The Catholics and/or Protestants were the problem, and/or the solution. The unending deaths were because of disease and the influx of Americans. Marcus was tomahawked so thoroughly as to be nearly unrecognizable, his face pulped. The Cayuse could not stop shooting Narcissa, everyone wanting to put a round into her, the only woman killed. She had a beautiful singing voice. After the massacre, Oregon became the first U.S. territory west of the Rockies so that tribal leaders could be tried and executed on American soil instead of their own.

Miller looked at Carleen, who’d fallen asleep in her seat, head bowed and drooling. Narcissa had taken in other children after Alice Clarissa drowned. She wasn’t all bad. She might’ve been haughty and superior and miserable and racist, but by the time she was murdered she still believed there were people to save — if only white children whose parents had died along the trail. Everyone else had become unsaveable it seemed. But, god, to lose a child like Narcissa had, like Miller’s brother had, like so many parents at so many massacres had, all over the country. Miller looked at Carleen, her face no longer flushed, lines from her respirator etched into her cheeks. Such a sweet good girl. She hadn’t asked for this. Maybe Narcissa’s mothering wasn’t so much about saving children as it was about protecting them for the little while she had them, though she’d failed at that, too. Maybe everyone fails at that, finally. n

NATURE’S WAY

Mireya Mayor turned a love of animals and a well-timed college class into life as a globetrotting nature explorer

Mireya Mayor had it all figured out. She was going to be a lawyer.

After growing up in Miami the daughter of a Cuban immigrant single mom, she’d made her way to and almost through the University of Miami — partly by working as a Miami Dolphins cheerleader — and was getting ready to apply to law school. Double-majoring in English and philosophy, she found herself needing one class to fulfill a science requirement before she could graduate. She had a tight, highly organized schedule, and picked an anthropology class simply because it fit the one time slot she had available. It didn’t really matter that she

BY DAN NAILEN

wasn’t really sure what anthropology was.

“It changed the entire course of my life,” Mayor says. “I read Gorillas in the Mist, and I watched the movie, and I remember sitting on my couch and that was my ‘aha!’ moment. That’s when I decided that’s what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, watching Dian Fossey cuddling these gorillas.”

Just 22 at the time, Mayor put her writing skills to work on a grant that would fund a trip to South America to study some wild animals on the brink of extinction. And remarkably, Mayor says, despite the fact “I had never left the country, I didn’t even have a passport, I

had no camping experience,” she was awarded the grant. “And off I went to the Amazon.”

That first trip was the start of an illustrious career in which Mayor has gone from an almost-lawyer to become a Ph.D. in anthropology, the first female correspondent for Ultimate Explorer on National Geographic Television, an author and an explorer of life in jungles, rivers and oceans. Mayor will discuss her career at the first Nat Geo Live! event of the year Wednesday at the First Interstate Center for the Arts.

No doubt parts of her talk will focus on some of

Dr. Mireya Mayor has been called the “female Indiana Jones.” BRENT STIRTON PHOTO

Mayor’s noteworthy scientific feats, like discovering a new species of mouse lemur in Madagascar, a place she spends a significant amount of time every year. It’s where she first made a scientific splash at the beginning of her career by tracking down two primates that had never been studied long term — Perrier’s sifaka and the silky sifaka — after many renowned scientists had previously tried and failed.

That early effort was partly fueled by her early interest in primates thanks to Fossey’s example, but more so that “so many of them were on the verge of extinction.”

“The two I focused on primarily had never even been photographed,” Mayor says. “So here were these two spectacular, closely related animals that were going to disappear … and they were in dire need of help from becoming extinct. That’s what really drew me in.”

Even though she didn’t necessarily know what anthropology was when she took that college class, Mayor was always an animal lover. She grew up in a big city and didn’t have access to seeing wild deer or “all sorts of cool critters,” she says. “I suppose I created my own wild space at home.” That meant dogs and cats, a pet chicken, fish and assorted reptiles, including a snapping turtle that bit her grandmother once. “She tried to get rid of

it,” Mayor recalls, “but it came back to the house so they let me keep it.”

Mayor credits the Miami zoo with stoking her love of animals, and inspiring a desire to travel and see the places where the wondrous wild animals lived in their native habitats.

doing for National Geographic, and she started to understand my love and passion for it.”

In her talks for National Geographic Live!, Mayor hopes that passion comes through to the audience between stories of being charged by angry gorillas or chased by forest elephants. She’ll talk about being a visitor to villages that have never seen an outsider, and being allowed to participate in tribal ceremonies where women have previously never been allowed.

Of course, Mayor’s protective family wasn’t particularly thrilled when she got that first grant to take off to the Amazon. Her mother, a registered nurse, was worried about the lack of medical attention and hospitals, not to mention the lack of communication she’d have with her daughter for months on end.

“She didn’t want me to go, but in her own way she supported me because she ironed all my field pants” before Mayor left the country, she says with a laugh. Later, her mother was fully on board “once she started to see the documentaries I was

“My hope is that people walk away a little more inspired than they came in, and have the realization they, too, can make a difference,” Mayor says. “That everyone in the audience can make a difference on things that might seem very far away and different from them. Through the images I show and videos I show, that they come to fall in love with these magnificent creatures and the wonders of nature.” n

National Geographic Live! Pink Boots and a Machete with Dr. Mireya Mayor • Wed, Feb. 20 at 7 pm • $30 • First Interstate Center for the Arts • 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. • inbpac.com • 279-7000

“That’s when I decided that’s what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, watching Dian Fossey cuddling these gorillas.”

WAY,” CONTINUED...

CHUTE SCHOOL

Spokanites skiing couloirs in the Sawtooths BY

NICK PONTAROLO

This is steep. No, this is really steep. Probably the steepest sustained pitch I have ever been on without a rope. Half stoked and totally terrified I continue, one foot in front of the other.

The boot pack surges up the narrow chute and I follow. Don’t look down, I remind myself. Thankfully the banter between the five of us keeps my mind marginally occupied. Our guide, Marc Hanselman, is tractoring to the saddle, knocking down sugary sluff with each kick. We have been booting up the line for 30 minutes and I am finally able to see the ridge. There is a cornice the size of a school bus at the top. Appropriately, the line is called JC, short for Jesus Christ. For a moment I look up towards the ragged edges of the peak, then down to the valley floor. The pitch is probably 50-55 degrees, but it feels much steeper.

Marc climbs up and around the cornice, breaking trail for us to follow. On top, I peer over the edge. From the center of the ridgeline you can look down 1,500 feet on either side. It is not razor thin, but you certainly want to be paying attention as you transition to skiing. A fall comes with severe consequences.

My stomach has butterflies as I near the edge. I feel more comfortable with my skis on, boots clamped down tightly. The heights that come along with booting up a steep gully known as a couloir are always mentally draining for me, but I am here. Perched deep in the Sawtooth Mountains in southern Idaho to ski steep lines and hone my ski mountaineering skills, I think to myself, “Welcome to Chute School,” as I slide over the edge.

Each spring Sawtooth Mountain Guides based in Stanley, Idaho, holds court over four days, teaching participants the craft of skiing couloirs in south central Idaho. They call it Ski Mountaineering Camp (aka Chute School). Some five miles up the track sit two cozy yurts, a blazing hot wood-fired sauna, and a two-hole backcountry toilet with a million-dollar view. The packing list for the trip means business; harness, ATC, ski crampons, ice axe … You name a mountaineering apparatus, it’s on the list. The conditions dictate the curriculum and we have lucked out with bluebird skies, moderate avalanche conditions and cold temperatures. We are not going to be rappelling into couloirs this trip because the snowpack is still too deep. But this isn’t a problem; it only means more skiing.

We assemble into teams; ours consists of all Spokanites: John Stifter, Ryan Ricard and Jeff Oswalt. Our guide, Marc, is a Sun Valley native and has been guiding since 1999. He is an unassuming badass and we learn in short order that he probably has an extra lung and his legs are made of axe handles.

Marc beeps us in using his avalanche transceiver and we are off, weary from the previous day of touring. There is no shortage of terrain in the Sawtooths, but I would suggest a guide for your first outing. Much of what is seen from the valley floor looks unskiable until you’re tucked in the notch above the boot pack with a nervous stomach, about to drop in. n

INSIDE

HELI SKIING 4

ARGENTINA ADVENTURE 6

MOUNTAIN MAN 8

EVENTS 10 LAST RUN 15

COVER ILLUSTRATION BY WAYNE HUNT

SAWTOOTH MOUNTAIN GUIDES

Stanley, Idaho 208-806-3063 sawtoothguides.com

HIGH-FLYING FUN

A first-timer’s heli skiing trip proves full of stunning memories

Located on the northeast shores of British Columbia’s Kootenay Lake sits the small village of Kaslo, B.C., which is home to Jason Remple and the base of operations for Stellar Heli Skiing. Growing up in the Kaslo area, Jason knows this country like the back of his hand and his knowledge of the area has made him one of British Columbia’s premier ski guides. Jason has been guiding both skiers and snowboarders through the Kootenay, Selkirk and Purcell Mountain ranges for over 20 years. His knowledge of this area and easygoing personality provide his clients a positive heli-skiing experience even if you’re a first-time heli skier like Dan Nelson from Spokane.

“First time heli skiing and first time in a helicopter. It was nuts. I had butterflies in my stomach. Jason knew exactly where to go, and he knew every aspect of the runs we were on. He’s a pro, definitely,” Dan says.

Nelson has been skiing for over 30 years and the idea of heli skiing has always been a dream. After all, who wouldn’t want to be dropped off on a mountaintop over untouched powder?

“This is definitely a good way to get something off your bucket list and it’s close, two-and-a-half, threehour drive from Spokane and I was here,” Dan says. That’s pretty close to get to some awesome skiing that’s helicopter-accessed.

Stellar Heli Skiing offers guests a more intimate expe-

BY BOB LEGASA

rience. “We only use the A-Star helicopter, so small group heli skiing, and that’s really significant because you’re working with small groups,” Jason says. “You’re able to get into more unique terrain and travel at a pace that’s whatever the group needs so you’re not waiting around for the rest of a large group.”

Our small group consisted of John Witt, a former world champion mogul skier from Saratoga, New York, along with local backcountry skier Marie Ange Fournier, myself and Dan.

Jason talks about the type of terrain they access and says, “We’ve got everything and we can customize the day to the clients’ needs, so anything from alpine, big chutes and bowls, to steep-tree skiing.”

Steep-tree skiing is what our group was treated to the

Boldly going where few have ventured. BOB LEGASA PHOTO

first few days. Dan was blown away with the lanes through the trees. “The stuff we’ve skied was just killer hallways through the forest,” Dan says. “Deep, steep and perfectly spaced out trees, just good stuff. Really, really fun.”

Glading is all done by Mother Nature, according to Jason. “We have fantastic tree skiing,” he says. “There’s a lot of places within our tenure that have this natural spacing, so there’s no glading or anything that’s been done to it. It’s just beautiful wide open trees, and steep stuff, too. You can just keep your speed up and rally right through that stuff.”

That’s exactly what we did and after an epic day of charging hard through the powder-filled forest, we headed back to where Stellar Heli Skiing puts up its guests, the renovated Kaslo Hotel, which is a modern rendition of an historic, Victorian-style hotel located in the downtown of the Kaslo village. Our condo-style three-bedroom unit overlooked Kootenay Lake and had all the amenities like high-speed internet so we could gloat and rub it in by sending powder-ski pictures to our buds back home. I know they would do it to me! The main level of the hotel has a restaurant and pub which was very convenient as we arrived late in Kaslo on our first night and didn’t want to venture out.

Stellar Heli Skiing offers packages from single-day skiing to week-long packages for clients coming from long distances.

“I think that boutique heli skiing, like Stellar, is the way to go,” Jason says. “You get the personal experience with the guide. You get the small helicopter. You get the unique terrain.”

ONLINE RESOURCES

stellarheliskiing.com

angryhenbrewing.com

kaslohotel.com

taqueriaelcorazon.com

After one of our ski days we ventured down Main Street in the early evening and made a stop at Kaslo’s local brew pub, the Angry Hen, to sample some of their locally made craft beers. As we sat there testing several of their beers on draft, we had good conversation with some locals who suggested we hit the Taqueria El Corazon around the corner for dinner. “Wow” is an understatement as we dined on authentic Mexican street food with fresh, local, organic ingredients. I highly recommend the fish and shrimp tacos in corn tortillas made from scratch on site. They also have a huge selection of unique tequilas, and the owner really knows tequila. Bueno!

After two days of rallying the steeps through the trees, the sun made a grand appearance on our final day. Jason took us across the Kootenay Lake to some high, wide open, alpine skiing in the picturesque Purcell Mountain Range.

As we flew in the A-Star up the main drainage, Dan says, “It was really impressive flying up the valley, seeing stuff that was just like, ‘Wow.’ I found myself saying to myself, ‘I could ski that and that and that.’ I was like a kid in the candy store. It was definitely an over-the-top experience.”

Throughout our final morning, the five of us, including Jason, skied some leg-crushing vertical, sometimes skiing over 2,000 vertical feet. Talk about some leg burn. But with bluebird skies and soft snow we managed with a big ol’ grin.

Dan Nelson learned a valuable lesson on this trip as he stood, a little long, over the top of the untouched line he was going to ski. Johnny Witt slipped by Dan and snaked his line as the rest of us were laughing at Dan. We could hear Witt laughing uncontrollably the whole way down the run. When Dan skied to the bottom moments later, Witt reminds him with his sarcastic laugh, “It’s not your line until your looking back up at it.” Lesson learned.

Dan sums up skiing the high alpine in the Purcells, saying “Skiing in this big open terrain is an awesome experience. The snow was super deep and you’re shredding hard with your buddies. I’m always excited to go skiing, but this was a whole new level for me.”

If you want to take your riding to the next level or check one off your bucket list, give Jason at Stellar Heli Skiing a call. With the exchange rate, now is the perfect opportunity. n

GOIN’ SOUTH

BY JOHN

We were several days and almost 7,000 miles of travel away when we exited the small Argentinian cab. We had been through six airports, spent the night stuck in Seattle due to smoke, missed a plane by two minutes, made another by five minutes, slept on airplanes, in airports and in ground transportation vans, so to say we were dazed and confused might be an understatement.

Perhaps that explains how we ended up standing there with piles of bags in a muddy parking lot that was not our intended destination. The building sure looked similar to the photo we’d seen on the internet when we booked our week-plus stay. We double checked and were quite sure we’d given the driver the right address, but things tend to get lost in translation, don’t they? Taking a longer look around now as the cab disappeared into the distance, all the buildings looked a lot like the one we’d seen on the computer several months ago. Whoops!

After an extended period of delirious discussion we thought we might have it figured out, but with no idea how to hail another cab in this far-from-home foreign land, we were left with no choice but to pile our duffel bags onto our rolling ski bags, strap things down as best

we could and trudge off through the narrow muddy roads, hoping all the while we had deduced the correct route to our destination. Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, we saw it, the building from the pictures, just ahead at the top of a small hill. Sure, it looked a lot like all the others, but this was definitely the one: the small South American apartment we would call home in the ski village of Cerro Catedral high above the quaint lakeside village of San Carlos de Bariloche.

We had made this epic trek for a variety of reasons, but the primary one was to ski powder in August. Cerro Catedral, located 41 degrees south of the equator, is almost perfectly a world away from where we ski in North Idaho at 48 degrees north, meaning when it’s the middle of summer here at home, it’s the middle of winter there.

While that almost polar opposite location was a huge difference, there were also some similarities to our home mountain which made us choose this particular destination. The ski resort itself is located just a short drive up a winding mountain road from a beautiful small town, San Carlos de Bariloche (typically referred to as simply

Bariloche), nestled right on the shores of the majestic Nahuel Huapi Lake, making this South American utopia feel an awful lot like Schweitzer and Sandpoint. In fact, the views of the lake while skiing often looked so much like home that we could almost forget we were actually a world away.

While a typical visitor to this South American gem might stay in the more populated and certainly more bustling lakeside location, we chose to stay slopeside in the small mountain village as we were here to ski, after all. Argentina is located on the fairly narrow southern end of the continent and as a result can often fall victim to high winds, and this was the case on day one of our stay. The winds were so high, in fact, that the ski resort was closed for the day. While we certainly had hoped to get right out and ski, having a day to let our bodies adjust wasn’t really such a bad thing. We spent our first day wandering around the mountain village and getting to know the lay of the land. There are many small shops, several restaurants and even a small brewery, which would soon become our favorite haunt.

Lady Luck eventually smiled down upon us on our second morning when we awoke to find the once-muddy

Argentina offers dreamy “summer” skiing and more for travel lovers

GROLLMUS

A long trip, strange trip brings great rewards in South America. JOHN GROLLMUS PHOTO

village thoroughly covered in a sparkling fresh blanket of what we’d come so far seeking — powder! After a short walk through the fluffy landscape we were finally soaring uphill on an ultramodern six-person chairlift. We spent the day etching fresh lines all around Catedral’s 3,000 skiable acres and riding all manner of lifts. The resort features everything from the frisbee-like Poma surface lift with a death-defying load to ancient double chairs that seem like a hand-me-down from a previous era, to the previously mentioned six-person lifts. For lunch we discovered a mid-mountain oasis of empanadas and malbec at El Cabo, an ultra-friendly and cozy spot high on the mountain.

TRINITI 3 IN 1 TREATMENT 20% OFF

Enables you to comfortably and safely achieve a more youthful appearance with minimal downtime

SUBLATIVE LASER 20% OFF package of 3

Tightens skin surface, improves skin texture and reduces the appearance of mild to moderate wrinkles, acne scarring and abdominal stretch marks. It also tightens pores and brightens the skin

20%

Over the ski days that followed, we toured every corner of the resort and enjoyed mind-blowing lake and mountain views. We delighted at incredibly delicious and hearty lunches capped off with desserts that could easily be featured on the menu at a five-star restaurant back home. We marveled at giant packs of college-aged tour groups all sporting the exact same outfits. We stumbled through conversations trying to make sense of the region’s special form of language which features a Spanish/ Italian mash-up of sorts. We experienced a full season’s worth of weather conditions in our short time on those Argentinian slopes and even survived what may have been the most harrowing windblown chairlift ride either of us had ever experienced, certainly a ride we won’t soon forget.

Tripping around the mountain village, the air everywhere seemed to be scented with the pleasant aroma of the hardwood fires used for heating, cooking or just standing around socializing. Argentina is a mecca for all things beef and we certainly found that to be the case. We were even lucky enough to join in with a band of locals who combined the ever-present hardwood fire and beef by grilling what seemed to be skewered flank steaks over a roaring fire outside a small refugio, or pub. Perhaps our greatest culinary discovery was made on a drizzly afternoon walk amongst the finer and architecturally stunning homes of the area when we stumbled upon the El Living del Almacen Mountain Club restaurant. The well-aged building belied the incredible meals we would find inside when we returned to dine later that evening. In Catedral, the locals don’t go out for dinner until 9 pm at the earliest. Any visitor simply must take the time to discover and enjoy this local establishment and treat themselves to spectacular fare ordered off a menu handwritten on brown paper bags, paired nicely with a well-curated list of Argentina’s famous red wines. When we finally departed for the long journey back north, our memories were packed full of highlights. The friendly faces and attitudes of the locals, the stunning views, the delicious wine and food, the soft southern powder and the fragrant smell of hardwood smoke. If you’re itching to ski in the summer, Cerro de Catedral is a location that’s sure make you smile. In fact, you should probably head there next summer because as a wise person once said, “The only trip you will regret is the one you didn’t take.” n

Dinner starts late in Argentina, but you can count on delicious wine. JOHN GROLLMUS PHOTO

Montana’s backcountry is irresistible, even for ocean lovers.

MODERN-DAY EXPLORER

Exploring the Inland Northwest’s mountains turned Jason Hershey from a water man into a mountain man

“Overcoming obstacles and challenges, it’s a feeling of conquering I guess, without hurting anyone and without doing any damage to anything. You’re just out conquering the useless.”

That quote was from backcountry badass Jason Hershey. Whether he’s conquering mountains or big ocean surf breaks, this Gonzaga Prep graduate has had his fair share of adventures and challenges. Jason is a modernday explorer, or as he describes himself, a “backyard adventure athlete.”

Hershey was born in Spokane and his father, John Hershey, was a local physician who was also a missionary doctor. When Jason was 1-1/2 years old, his father moved the family to Papua New Guinea.

“My dad was a missionary doctor down there. We spent some good long stretches in New Guinea. I was a barefoot little boy running around there with no shirt and no clothes,” Hershey recalls. “So I did a lot of my growing up in the South Pacific and the Pacific Northwest, kind of back and forth. We’d do a couple years there, a couple years here. I remember coming back to the states and being exposed to the cold, and have it be kind of a foreign thing. Then having to relearn that.”

When Jason was 15, the Hershey family moved back to Spokane where Jason finished up high school at Gonzaga Prep. Shortly after graduating, Jason missed the ocean life and he moved to Hawaii, where he lived for the next 17 years and was drawn deep into the world of surfing.

“I did a few surf competitions and I was a surf guide in Fiji,” he says. “Before I left the islands, about eight years ago, I had really gotten deeply into surf exploration. Basically trying to be the first person to surf certain

surf breaks and trying to name the surf break, basically doing first descents in the ocean, essentially. There were lots of islands and I found lots of hidden secret surf breaks there and in Fiji. I was really into that and really loved the islands, and never thought I would ever leave the islands to come back to the Northwest. I don’t know, I kind of hit a low point in my life at some point and ended up back here for a visit.”

During Jason’s time as a young kid coming back and forth to Spokane, he became proficient in skiing as his father was an avid skier and one of the founders at 49 Degrees North. “My dad skied till he was 85,” Hershey says. “He’s 92 now. He’s the last living shareholder of 49 Degrees North. They started that resort. They built it.”

Now back in the Northwest and with no surf to ride, Jason needed another escape outlet and just like a hunting dog, he needed that outlet to run and do what he loved to do.

“I’m a little bit of a hunter,” Hershey says. “I go out and hunt. Not hunting for animals, but I’m hunting for that ride, for that rare and special ride that maybe no one else has done before, or at least no one that I know of has done before. I guess I hunt for the unexplored, and I try to look at it from the point of view of being an athlete. I definitely look at it as an athletic endeavor, not just exploratory.”

These adventures can tax the body, drain you of

BY BOB LEGASA

your energy and fortitude, and during these athletic endeavors Hershey is constantly putting food in his mouth to try and keep his body fueled. Jason recounted a few of these days: “I’ve probably had days where I’ve eaten 5,000 calories, and I still was hungry. Multi-lap days where you get out to a backcountry hut or someplace where you’re lapping, you just keep eating, because the food will decide how much you can hike. If I don’t eat enough, I can’t hike enough.”

Hershey loves to hike and he puts down the miles and vertical about twice a week on these backcountry adventures. One place in particular that keeps drawing him back is Priest Lake.

“Priest Lake has definitely been somewhere special in my life,” he says. “I think the beauty of that lake, the sentimental value of having it be a special place while I was growing up kind of drew me back there. It was kind of the reason my dad relocated back up there in the late ’50s from the East Coast. It’s just always been a paradise for me. It was my first summer back there, I just kind of looked up from the west side of the lake over to the Selkirk Crest. I was like, ‘Wow. Those are some amazing mountains. I imagine the view is spectacular.’”

And so it began, Hershey’s backcountry adventures. What he does on a regular basis is mind-blowing and is usually received with doubt by many.

“I’m like, ‘I’m gonna try to get up there.’ People laugh at me, ‘OK, whatever, nice pipe dream.’”

On many occasions the doubting comes from Hershey himself. “A lot of times when I make it to a summit, I go through these ups and downs where I think I’m not gonna make it, I’ll stop and I’ll kind of try to talk myself out of it, like, ‘I don’t know about today. I don’t know if it’s gonna happen,’” he says. “Then somehow here we are

Hershey

BOB LEGASA PHOTO

on the summit again, and, ‘Wow, OK. Good thing we didn’t give up.’”

And then there’s those days that are out of your control: “I’ve had lots of shutdowns, you know. Lot of days where we’ve gone out with big ideas and big plans, and just one shut gate ruins your day and sends you home, or one broken down snowmobile, one little part on your ski, or something breaks, and your whole day is shot. There’s been some of those days. Got to take the losses with the wins, I guess.”

For Hershey, his wins definitely outnumber his losses even when he starts his season when there’s relatively no snow. Jason can be found marching around the backcountry with skis or snowboard on his back pretty much year-round.

“I guess it comes down to a quality-versus-quantity kind of thing,” he says. “Then just the novelty of just getting to make turns in a place that maybe nobody ever has, or few people have, or ever will. That just kind of fascinates me, I guess, just the exploration side of it.”

It seems for Hershey that the harder the challenge, the more inviting it is for him. Jason has bagged some of our area’s tallest peaks like Boundary County High Point just over 7,700 feet, and Parker Peak at 7,670 — two of the tallest peaks in the Selkirk Range. “When I Googled the height of Parker Peak, I got a good chuckle,” he says. “It said Parker Peak is the highest named peak in the U.S. Selkirk Range. It is 7,670 and it is not an easy one to reach.” Typical Jason, the harder, the better.

I asked what one of his more memorable adventures was and he told me about a peak in Washington state.

“One that pops out right when you asked me is Gypsy Peak, which is in the Selkirks on the Washington side. It’s the tallest peak in Eastern Washington. Before I did it I talked to all the rangers in that area and the local backcountry community, and just put out the feelers. ‘Has anyone ever skied there?’ It’s just really super hard to get to in the winter. It’s hard to get to even in the summer. We skied the North Bowl in June and July. It’s got some legitimate steep north-facing coulier-type stuff that you don’t find in these areas a lot. It was exhausting, but the turns were glorious, good corn, nice steep stuff. I guess that’s a big one.”

During the winter when Hershey isn’t powering himself through the mountains, you can find him on the backside of Schweitzer Mountain Resort riding in a snowcat where he’s sharing his backcountry knowledge as a ski guide for Selkirk Powder Company, guiding skiers through miles of untracked snow. He loves sharing his love of powder with guests

“I really do love it because I realize it’s gonna be the best day of skiing in their life a lot of times, because a lot of them have just never had a top-to-bottom powder run. To be able to help them find that, and see their reaction, it definitely helps me appreciate it. Sometimes I guess I’m guilty of taking the powder for granted.”

This water man turned mountain man still has a strong love for the ocean, but it seems now an even stronger love for the mountains.

“I’ve gone back to the islands, and I still have my little piece of property there on the Big Island,” he says. “I go back to visit but the more I’m up here, the more I love the space we have up here, the more I love the freedom of just being lost on yourself. I found that same kind of exploration up here that I started to get into in the ocean, except on a much bigger scale.”

I would imagine if Jason Hershey was born several hundred years ago, we’d be reading about him in books and the lands he discovered through his explorations. He’s one of the rare breed of modern-world explorers.

“It’s that feeling of standing on the summit and strapping in, or the feeling after you’ve skied the line, look back and just be like, ‘Oh my God. We actually did that. We just pointed at it on Google Earth and said, we are gonna go there. We’re gonna ski from there to there,’ and then to just actually do it, it’s pretty cool. That is my pay-off.” n

You can follow Jason’s adventures on Instagram at @jason_hershey_

WINTER EVENTS

FEBRUARY

ICE SKATING LESSONS

Join experienced instructors for beginner lessons on the ribbon every Saturday and Sunday between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm. Come early to the Sky Ribbon Café to reserve your spot. Skates and helmets are provided; sessions are open to 15 guests per 30 minute slot. Ages 5+. Free. Riverfront Park, 507 N. Howard. riverfrontspokane. com (625-6600)

THURSDAY THEME NIGHT

Come dressed to impress in themed attire for a $1 discount off Ice Ribbon admission, along with food specials, music and more. Thu, from 5-9 pm through Feb. 28. Riverfront Park, 507 N. Howard. riverfrontspokane.com (625-6600)

NIGHT SKIING

This year, Mt. Spokane’s night skiing schedule is expanding to offer twice weekly night rides under the lights, with the resort’s full-service cafeteria staying open late and live bands playing on Saturday nights. Offered Wednesday and Saturday from 3:30-9:30 pm through Saturday, March 2. $22. Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, 29500 N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. mtspokane.com (238-2220)

PLOGGING WITH ATHLETA

This Swedish fitness craze is a combination of jogging while picking up litter. Athleta at River Park Square hosts this weekly winter running club starting and ending at the Sky Ribbon Cafe party room. Coffee and hot cocoa is provided post run. Tuesdays from 5-6:30 pm through February. Free. Riverfront Park, 507 N. Howard. riverfrontspokane.com (625-6600)

10 BARREL BREWING BEER CAT TOUR

On Saturday, the “beer cat” will head around the mountain for ski-in, ski-out service. On Sunday it’ll be parked in the Village during President’s Day Weekend festivities. Feb. 15-17. Schweitzer Mountain Resort, 10000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd., Sandpoint. schweitzer.com (208-255-3081)

SANDPOINT WINTER CARNIVAL

The 45-year-old midwinter festival boasts 10 days of activities around Sandpoint, including fireworks and fun at Schweitzer, live music, parties and annual highlights, like the K9 Keg Pull. Feb. 15-24. Events in downtown Sandpoint and Schweitzer Mountain Resort. Details at sandpointwintercarnival.org

CROSS-COUNTRY MOONLIGHT SKI + DINNER (MT. SPOKANE)

After a moonlight trek, enjoy a meal from Greenbluff Fresh Catering Company. Includes ski equipment, dinner and guides. Cross-country skiing experience is recommended; Sno-Park and Discover Pass permits required. $49. Sat, Feb. 16 from 6-9 pm. Mt. Spokane State Park, 26107 N. Mt. Spokane State Park Dr. Register at spokaneparks.org (755-2489)

RETURN TO MOUNT KENNEDY

In 1965, Jim Whittaker led Sen. Robert Kennedy to the first ascent of a remote mountain in the Yukon named after the late president JFK. Fifty years later, the sons of the original climbing team

embark on an expedition to the mountain to celebrate the special bond that connects them all. The documentary features unreleased instrumentals by Eddie Vedder and never-seen footage and photos of Robert Kennedy. $11-$14. Sat, Feb. 16 at 7 pm. Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague. Bingcrosbytheater.com

PRESIDENT’S WEEKEND

The long weekend at Schweitzer features lots of events including snowshoeing, tubing, twilight skiing, live music, the “Let it Glow” night parade, fireworks and more. Feb. 16-18; see site for complete schedule. Schweitzer Mountain Resort, 10000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd., Sandpoint. schweitzer.com (208-255-3081)

SNOWSHOE MOONLIGHT HIKE + DINNER

Travel through the winter landscape of Mount Spokane by the magic of moonlight before returning to Selkirk Lodge for a meal from Greenbluff Fresh Catering Company. Includes guide, snowshoes, headlamp and meal. Directions emailed after registration. Sno-Park and Discover Pass required. Pre-trip information emailed after registration. Ages 18+. $49. Feb. 16 from 6-9 pm. Register at spokaneparks.org (755-2489)

BANKED SLALOM

Participants race through a maze of banks and berms at high speeds, competing for prizes. Open to all ages. Sat, Feb. 16. Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, 29500 N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. mtspokane.com (238-2220)

NIGHT SKIING AT 49 DEGREES NORTH

Head up mountain after sunset during one of four night skiing sessions scheduled this season. Bring three or more cans of food to support the Chewelah Food Bank and get a lift ticket for only $5; regular price $15. Feb. 16 from 4-8 pm. 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort, 3311 Flowery Trail Rd., Chewelah. ski49n.com (935-6649)

WOMEN’S SNOWSHOE TOUR

Tour the trails of 49 Degrees North with a guide offering tips on how to have better control and more fun on your snowshoes. The hike is followed by lunch in a yurt. Includes trail pass, guide/instructor, poles, snowshoes and lunch. Ages 15+. $39. Offered Feb. 17 and March 2 from 10 am-1 pm. Register at spokaneparks.org (755-2489)

CROSS-COUNTRY SKI TRIP

Deer Creek, a little known pass in the Kettle Range, is the second highest mountain pass in the state of Washington. Transportation (departs from Wandermere Rite Aid, 12420 N. Division), instructors, skiing equipment and ski area fees included. Schedule is subject to change due to snow conditions. Pre-trip information emailed after registration. Ages 18+. $39. Sun, Feb. 17 from 8 am-6 pm. Register at spokaneparks.org (755-2489)

MOONLIGHT SNOWSHOE HIKES (SCHWEITZER)

Schweitzer Activity Center staff lead guided tours through the old growth forest under the light of the moon. Hike is followed by a meal at

Gourmandie, with optional wine flights ($10). Ages 13+. $40. Mon, Feb. 18 from 4-8 pm. Schweitzer Mountain Resort, 10000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd., Sandpoint. schweitzer.com (208255-3081)

MOONLIGHT SNOWSHOE HIKE (MT. SPOKANE)

Quietly explore the meadows and woods around Mount Spokane. Guides, transportation (departs from Yoke’s in Mead), headlamps, walking poles and snowshoes all provided. Additional information emailed after registration. Ages 16+. $29. Offered Feb. 18 and March 17 from 6-9 pm. Register at spokaneparks.org (755-2489)

NICE TURNS FREE TRIAL RUN

Meet the mountain’s ski coaches, determine your skill level and learn more about the program. Mon, Feb. 18 from 9-11 am. Free; no registration required. Schweitzer Mountain Resort, 10000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd., Sandpoint. schweitzer. com (208-255-3081)

AVALANCHE AWARENESS

This session introduces and explains where and why avalanches occur and provides a basic approach to managing risk in the backcountry. Learn to access local avalanche bulletins and weather reports, recognize basic signs of avalanche danger and learn simple ways to help avoid avalanche danger. Free. Wed, Feb. 20 from 6:30-7:30 pm. REI Spokane, 1125 N. Monroe. Register at rei.com/spokane

Winter recreation doesn’t have to mean leaving downtown Spokane. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

SNEVA SKIS DEMO DAY

Reps from the Spokane-based ski manufacturer are in the village all day offering free demos of their newest models. Fri, Feb. 22 from 9 am-2 pm. Schweitzer Mountain Resort, 10000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd., Sandpoint. schweitzer. com (208-255-3081)

GONE

TO THE DOGS SKIJOR DAY

Leashed dogs are allowed on the lower trail system with their passholding owners throughout the day. Offered Feb. 23 and March 24. 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort, 3311 Flowery Trail Rd., Chewelah. ski49n.com

MT. SPOKANE SNOWSHOE TOUR

Learn the basics of snowshoeing during a guided hike on snowshoe trails around Mount Spokane State Park. Pre-trip information is emailed after registration. Includes snowshoes, instruction, walking poles, trail fees, guides and transportation (from Yoke’s, 14202 N. Market St.). Ages 13+. $29. Offered Feb. 23 and March 3, from 10 am-2 pm. Register at spokaneparks.org (755-2489)

CROSS-COUNTRY

SKI LESSONS (MT. SPOKANE)

Learn the basics of cross-country skiing at the Mt. Spokane Selkirk Nordic Area, taught by Spokane Nordic Ski Association and Spokane Parks and Recreation cross-country ski instructors. Fee includes skis, boots, poles, fees, instruction and transportation (departs from Yoke’s at 14202 N. Market St.). Ages 13+. $49. Offered Feb. 23 and March 3 from 9 am-3 pm. Register at spokaneparks.org (755-2489)

HIPS & HOTDOGS

A snowboarding contest hosted by 49 and Pistole. Admission is $10 plus three cans of donated food. Sat, Feb. 23 at noon. 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort, 3311 Flowery Trail Rd., Chewelah. ski49n.com (935-6649)

SHE

JUMPS AT SCHWEITZER

Now in its fourth year at Schweitzer, this event is aimed at connecting women who share a passion for the outdoors, welcoming those who are just starting to get their feet wet and stoking excitement in younger generations to continue shredding. Sun, Feb. 24 from 8 am-5 pm. Schweitzer Mountain Resort, 10000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd., Sandpoint. (208-255-3081)

...continued on page 12

WINTER EVENTS

SNOWSHOE LAKE GILLETTE

Explore this high mountain lake surrounded by meadows and forested slopes from a scenic overlook. Pre-trip information emailed after registration. Snowshoes and transportation included. Ages 18+. Sun, Feb. 24 from 9 am-4 pm. Departs from Mountain Gear, 2002 N. Division. Register at spokaneparks.org (755-2489)

FIRST RESPONDERS

APPRECIATION DAY

Lookout honors all military, fire, police, EMT and nurses with free lift tickets (valid ID required to show proof of career). Sun, Feb. 24. Lookout Pass, I-90 Exit 0 at Kellogg, Idaho. skilookout. com (208-744-1301)

WOMEN’S CLINIC

The “Steeps and Slopes” session includes a 1.5 hour lesson and appetizers, along with morning yoga. $49. Mon, Feb. 25 at 10:30 am. 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort, 3311 Flowery Trail Rd., Chewelah. ski49n.com (935-6649 ext. 610)

WINTER CAMPING WORKSHOP

In this hands-on workshop, learn how to manage freezing temperatures and stay comfortable outside in the cold. Includes tips for setting up camp in the winter and sleeping warm, even on the chilliest of nights. All gear provided; no experience necessary. $20/$40. Feb. 26 from 5:30-7:30 pm. REI Spokane, 1125 N. Monroe. Register at rei. com/spokane

WOMEN’S SKI &

SNOWBOARD

WAXING WORKSHOP

In the company of other adventurous women, learn how to wax your skis/snowboard and how to choose the best wax for the conditions, with expert guidance as you clean and wax your personal equipment. $35/members; $55/ nonmember. Wed, Feb. 27 from 5:30-7:30 pm. REI Spokane, 1125 N. Monroe. Register at rei.com/ spokane

MARCH

SNOWSHOE HEADLAMP HIKE

Watch the glimmer of your headlamp illuminate the snowy trails as you hike through the quiet forest of Mount Spokane. Snowshoes, guides, walking poles, headlamps and transportation (from Yoke’s at 14202 N. Market St., Mead) provided. Ages 15+. $23. Fri, March 1 from 6-9 pm. Register at spokaneparks.org (755-2489)

MOUNTAINFILM ON TOUR

The festival features a selection of adventurepacked and inspiring documentary films curated from the Mountainfilm festival held each Memorial Day weekend in Telluride, Colorado. This year’s screenings explore themes connected to Mountainfilm’s mission: to use the power of film, art and ideas to inspire audiences to create a better world. $15. Fri, March 1 at 8 pm. The Innovation Den, 415 E. Lakeside Ave., Coeur d’Alene. facebook.com/TheGoldenHourCDA (208-9648800)

SKYHOUSE MOONLIGHT DINNER

A special six-course dinner by chef Curtis Hathaway is served to guests who ride the Great Escape Quad to the Sky House. Sat, March 2 at 5:30 pm; reservations required by Feb. 25. $200/ person. Schweitzer Mountain Resort, 10000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd., Sandpoint. schweitzer. com (208-255-3081)

PROGRESSION JAM

Skilled terrain park riders can mingle with novices and beginners to help them with awareness and skill development. Free hot cocoa will be served all day. Sat, March 2. Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, 29500 N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. mtspokane.com (238-2220)

...continued on page 14

Mountainfilm on Tour makes a stop at The Innovation Den in Coeur d’Alene on March 1.

calendar of culinary events

Delivered to your inbox every Thursday

CAMERA READY

PARADE OF LIGHTS SPONSORED BY TING, 5:30PM DOWNTOWN SANDPOINT – FEB. 15

PARADE OF LIGHTS AFTER PARTY

HOSTED BY PEND D’OREILLE WINERY & THE FAT PIG – FEB. 15

DUCK DERBY KICK OFF 7PM AT MATCHWOOD BREWING COMPANY – FEB. 15

“DRINKING HABITS” 7PM AT THE PANIDA THEATER – FEB. 15

5TH ANNUAL WINTER CARNIVAL CORNHOLE CLASSIC TOURNAMENT – FEB. 16

MUGS AND MUSIC 6PM AT LAUGHING DOG BREWING, CHAD PATRICK – FEB. 16

SLEIGH RIDE DINNER AND CONCERT, WESTERN PLEASURE GUEST RANCH – FEB. 16

ANNUAL 219 PARTY, 219 LOUNGE, STARTING AT 2:19PM – FEB. 19

KPND SKI PARTY 5:30PM AT CONNIE’S CAFÉ – FEB. 20

DINE OUT FOR A CAUSE, TRINITY AT CITY BEACH, BENEFITTING THE FOOD BANK, 4:30PMCLOSE – FEB. 21

NATIONAL MARGARITA DAY

CELEBRATION AT JALAPENOS MEXICAN RESTAURANT – FEB. 22

LIVE COMEDY 7PM AT 219 LOUNGE – FEB. 22

WEIRD AND WONDERFUL WINTER PUB CRAWL – FEB. 23

EICHARDT’S K9 KEG PULL – FEB. 24

OUR 46th YEAR

BEERCAT TOUR – FEB. 15-17

“LET IT GLOW!” NIGHT PARADE AND FIREWORKS! AT 6PM – FEB. 17

MOONLIGHT SNOW SHOE HIKE AT 4PM – FEB. 18

LIVE MUSIC MIAH KOHAL IN TAPS FOR APRES SKI FROM 3-6PM – FEB. 23

“GET THE GIRL’S OUT” – FEB. 24

For more festival info or lodging options please visit: visitsandpoint.com OR sandpointwintercarnival.com

WINTER EVENTS

BOYD HILL SNOWSKATE SLALOM

Try out these locally made snow skateboards in the Rolling Thunder Natural Terrain Park on banked natural slaloms. $30. Sat, March 2 at 8 am. Lookout Pass, I-90 Exit 0 at Kellogg, Idaho. skilookout.com (208-744-1301)

MEGA DEMO DAY

Ski and snowboard representatives bring gear coming out for the 2019-20 season for guests to try first. All proceeds from the event directly support the Panhandle Alliance for Education (PAFE). $40-$95 (tickets required). Sat, March 2 from 9 am-3 pm. Schweitzer Mountain Resort, 10000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd., Sandpoint. schweitzer.com (208-255-3081)

WILD SKILLS JUNIOR SKI

PATROL WITH SHEJUMPS!

Young girls learn mountain safety and first aid while working with the strong women and men of the ski patrol community. This event is intended for intermediate to expert skiers/snowboarders between ages 8 and 17 who identify as female. $45. Sat, March 3 from 9:30 am-3:30 pm. Schweitzer Mountain Resort, 10000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd., Sandpoint. schweitzer.com (208255-3081)

SPOKANE’S HISTORY OF SKIING

Cris Currie, president of the Friends of Mt. Spokane for over 20 years, introduces his new book,

Spokane’s History of Skiing: 1913 to 2018, and talks about how Spokane not only introduced the new sport of skiing to the rest of the Northwest, but led the region in its development. He also shares historic photos, discusses the recent alpine area expansion and answers questions about Mt. Spokane. Free. Tue, March 5 from 6:307:30 pm. REI Spokane, 1125 N. Monroe. Register at rei.com/spokane

LADIES ONLY DAY

MORE EVENTS

Visit Inlander.com for complete listings of local events.

Spend a day with female coaches from the Mt. Spokane Mountain Sports School. Packages include three hours of instruction, breakfast, lunch, a lift ticket and apres party and door prizes. Add rental equipment for $22. Fri, March 8. $69. Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, 29500 N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. mtspokane.com (238-2220)

MARCHI GRAS

Weekend events include $15 night skiing and extra-late tubing along with a loaded balloon drop in the Mountain House with prizes including cash, lift tickets, waterpark passes, golf rounds and more. Also enjoy a New Orleans-inspired menu and live music in Mogul’s. Sat, March 9. Silver Mountain Resort, 610 Bunker Ave., Kellogg. silvermt.com (866-344-2675)

SNOWSHOE MT. SPOKANE’S SUMMIT

During this rigorous uphill hike, get in a workout while catching glimpses of local lakes in the valley below, as well as far off snow-capped peaks. Bring a trail lunch and snacks and water. Additional information emailed after registration. Includes snowshoes, walking poles, transportation (from Yoke’s in Mead), instruction and guides. Ages 18+. $29. Sat, March 9 from 10 am-3 pm. Register at spokaneparks.org

PAW & POLE

Race along the snow with your dog on skis or snowshoes during this event that supports charity. Sat, March 9. 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort, 3311 Flowery Trail Rd., Chewelah. ski49n. com (935-6649)

SNOWSHOE

+ WINE TASTING

Enjoy a day of snowshoeing the trails of Mt. Spokane before stopping for a wine tasting at Townshend Winery. Snowshoes, guides, walking poles and transportation (departs from Yoke’s at 14202 N. Market St., Mead) included. Additional information emailed after registration. Ages 21+. $39. Sun, March 10 from 10 am-3:30 pm. Register at spokaneparks.org (755-2489)

FREE SKI FOOD

DRIVE

Bring four cans of food to support the KREM food drive and get a free lift ticket for the day. Wed, March 13. Lookout Pass, I-90 Exit 0 at Kellogg, Idaho. skilookout.com (208-744-1301)

BAVARIAN RACE

A wild race across the mountain with costumes, beer and fun. Sat, March 16 at 4 pm. 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort, 3311 Flowery Trail Rd., Chewelah. ski49n.com (935-6649)

VERTICAL EXPRESS FOR MS

An event for skiers, boarders and telemarkers of all abilities and ages that benefits Can Do Multiple Sclerosis, a national nonprofit and provider of innovative lifestyle empowerment programs for people with MS and their support partners. Sat, March 16 from 8:30-7:30 pm. Schweitzer Mountain Resort, 10000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd., Sandpoint. schweitzer.com (208-255-3081)

HAWAIIAN DAYS

More information to come, but this end-ofseason event includes prizes, live music, activities — including the pond skim on March 30 — and more. March 23-30. Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, 29500 N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. mtspokane.com (238-2220)

SNOWSHOE SHERMAN PASS

Follow the famous Kettle Crest Trail north through high mountain forest slopes. (Schedule subject to change due to snow conditions.) Trip includes snowshoes, walking poles, transportation (from Wandermere Rite Aid), instruction and guides. Pre-trip information emailed upon registration. Ages 18+. $49. Sat, March 23 from 7 am-6 pm. Register at spokaneparks.org n

Ski and Stay

THE SNOW WILL FALL AGAIN

Life changes, but there’s one constant for skiers BY ALEX

Over the past few weeks, the email chain has grown longer. Debates about the best cabin rental have turned into discussions about groceries and estimated arrival times. The latest snowstorm has prompted a round of enthusiastic texts as well. But soon all the digital messaging will go silent, and I’ll be kicking up my heels next to a wood stove after a long day shredding the bowls at Montana’s Discovery Ski Area.

SAKARIASSEN

This wintertime tradition didn’t exactly start out as one. Years ago — four, maybe, though it seems longer — I threw together a hasty ski weekend with my college buddy John. Time and work had carried him some 350 miles east to Red Lodge, making our ski days together a rare and treasured commodity. We rallied at my family’s cabin on the Rocky Mountain Front and, with two friends from Missoula and Bozeman in tow, cruised up the road

to a one-lift mountain called Teton Pass. The snow was tougher than Kevlar, and our edges weren’t all that sharp, but we busted the crud as best we could, happy just for the chance to share a bit of winter together.

The following season I booked a weekend in a slopeside condo at Whitefish as a birthday present for John, and the four of us came together again. We spent one bluebird Saturday revisiting the Whitefish powder stashes John and I had hit often in the past. We washed the day down with beers at the mountain’s iconic Bierstube, watched ’80s ski flicks on the condo TV, and this time John told me about the woman he’d been seeing.

From there our ski getaway became an annual affair. And with year three at Maverick Mountain in southwest Montana, the family began to grow. First it was another friend from Missoula. Then one made the trek from Lewiston, Idaho. Someone brought an inflatable T-rex outfit to ski in. I took to skiing in a blonde glam-rock wig. The weekend became a reunion, an opportunity to shake off our individual work or winter-induced doldrums and embrace our collective goofiness.

Usually when the midway point of the season dawns, as it has this month, I can’t stop thinking of all the runs I have yet to ski, of all the people I have yet to ski with. But with that annual ski weekend on the near horizon, I know the maudlin introspection won’t last long. Our lives have changed considerably since our first foray at Teton Pass. Some of us have moved to new cities or will soon. Others have lost jobs or landed new ones. John married that woman he’d been seeing, and most of us were there. As uncertain as most things in life are, one constant remains: The snow will fall again, and bring with it the weekends that mean the most. n

Good friends make the powder even fluffier. WHITEFISH MOUNTAIN RESORT PHOTO

THE CONCLUSION OF RUSSIAN DOLL

Groundhog Day has become a genre unto itself: A person gets caught in a time loop that resets every single day and can never escape it. So, at first, Netflix’s Russian Doll looks like a riff on the aimlessness of older millennials — swap out Bill Murray for a chain-smoking hipster-adjacent New Yorker (Natasha Lyonne). And, initially, that’s what it is. But as the series continues, as it begins to explore why our lead has become unstuck in time, it grows much more emotionally complex. The conclusion it finally comes to is triumphant in the ways that puzzle-box shows like Lost were only at their very best: It’s something that satisfies both the head and the heart, achieving both perfect science fiction logic and, more importantly, perfect emotional logic. (DANIEL WALTERS)

Spokane Goes to the Grammys

BY NATHAN WEINBENDER

If you watched the Grammys, you might not have known that some local musicians were not only in the audience but also up for awards.

Spokane native Brittany O’Neal, who performs under the name Sub Teal, was nominated for the Best Remixed Recording Grammy alongside EDM duo Gabriel & Dresden. O’Neal spoke to the Inlander from L.A. the day after the ceremony, and although she and her collaborators didn’t take home the prize, it’s still been a whirlwind experience.

“A lot of it is getting from place to place. It’s quite hectic,” O’Neal says of attending the Grammys. “And I’m in heels the whole time.”

THE BUZZ BIN

After releasing an ambient electronica album on Bandcamp in 2011, O’Neal and her partner Josh Gabriel — he’s the “Gabriel” of Gabriel & Dresden — started writing together, and she provided vocals on Gabriel & Dresden’s most recent album, also titled The Only Road

The record’s title track was remixed by electronic act Cosmic Gate last year, and it was that version that was nominated.

“We found out the track was up for a nomination the morning we were about to record the lead vocals for our next album,” O’Neal says. “It was unreal. … I didn’t think that something like this would happen so soon in my creative career.”

A co-owner of the Living Room Vintage boutique on East Sprague, O’Neal wore an all-vintage ensemble to the ceremony. Although the electronic music categories are announced prior to the live telecast, she and her fellow nominees were able to watch the ceremony from the audience.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Singer-songwriter Ryley Walker braved the snow on a drive from Seattle to open for Richard Thompson at the Bing over the weekend. Walker, a hilarious follow on Twitter @ryleywalker, wrote about the loneliness of road-tripping solo as he gassed up somewhere in the middle of the state. Things were looking up by the time he got to town, though, tweeting: “Spokane has a killer ‘half off appetizers’ sort of vibe.” Lest you think it was an insult, Walker put on a great show and showed much appreciation for the Spokane audience. (DAN NAILEN)

BEGINNERS WELCOME

If you’ve ever thought about making electronic music but lacked the knowledge, skill or resources, your time is nigh. Electronic music nonprofit Technological Taxidermy recently announced that it will begin catering its workshops for beginner-level electronic musicians starting this month. You don’t need money or gear. Just come ready to get hands-on and learn. All are welcome. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram (@techtax). (QUINN WELSCH)

THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST

Some noteworthy new music arrives online and in stores Feb. 15. To wit:

CHAKA KHAN, Hello Happiness. The soul goddess just booked a gig with Michael McDonald at Northern Quest July 23.

LONG RYDERS, Psychedelic Country Soul. The alt-country pioneers’ first album since 1987.

HAYES CARLL, What It Is. An underappreciated songwriter who gets better with every release.

“I’ve never seen so many powerful performers in one space,” she says, pointing to the Dolly Parton tribute as a particular highlight. “For me it was unbelievable to see a lot of these artists that have managed to put their whole lives in front of the lights and stay true to themselves creatively.

“I’m grateful to be able to look behind the curtain.”

O’Neal is back in the studio with Gabriel & Dresden, working on another album and plotting their first tour. And now that she’s a Grammy nominee, O’Neal says she’s confident she’s on the right career path.

“As a creative person, you’re constantly questioning yourself, and it’s very easy to base whether what you’re doing is right or wrong on how it’s being received,” she says. “You have to learn to let it go, to trust yourself and just do what you do and hope it finds people that resonate with it.” n

COP DOC

I watched the entirety of Flint Town, the Netflix-produced documentary series on the Flint (Michigan) Police Department. The filmmakers got tons of access and lengthy interviews with some of the officers — and with community members — so the viewer gets a healthy dose of how the officers view the contemporary debate about policing in America. The differences in the perspectives of the white officers (fed up with claims of racial bias, largely proTrump), and the black officers (who identify with the sentiments of the community) are stark. The series also looks at how a cash-strapped police department operates in an impoverished and high-crime community, such as selling confiscated firearms to generate revenue. (JOSH KELETY)

Brittany O’Neal and Josh Gabriel. COURTESY BRITTANY O’NEAL

PROJECT

WITH THE SPOKANE SYMPHONY

Morihiko Nakahara CONDUCTOR

Spokane Symphony Dating Game

MARCH 2 8PM

Aaron Jay Kernis “Musica Celestis” (1990)

Erich Korngold ........................ Violin Concerto

Dmitri Shostakovich ............. Symphony No. 8

MARCH 9 8:00 PM MARCH 10 3:00 PM

Rei Hotoda MUSIC DIRECTOR FINALIST Angelo Xiang Yu Violin

MARTIN WOLDSON THEATER AT THE FOX

TICKETS | 509.624.1200 | SpokaneSymphony.org

BY E.J. IANNELLI

During the 2018-19 Spokane Symphony season, five candidates to take over for Eckart Preu as music director will lead shows at the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox. As they do, we’ll be asking them a few questions to get to know them a little better.

Next up is James Lowe, chief conductor of the Vaasa City Orchestra in Finland, who will take the baton for this weekend’s program, “Classics 6: Passion’s Pursuit,” which includes works by Zhou Tian, Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms.

INLANDER: After all this time, people really need to get over the violin and start showing the viola more love. True or false? And why?

LOWE: The viola has been called many things — some of them printable, many of them less than flattering. Of course I think it’s a wonderful instrument and love that it has a more introverted quality than the violin. So whilst as a violist I’d never suggest that people “get over the violin,” I think sometimes it’s good to appreciate that it’s not just those with the loudest voices that are worth listening to.

To engage in a meaningful way with the public, orchestras need to:

a) Find out what on earth led to the vinyl resurgence and copy those steps exactly.

b) Work out a long-term artistic partnership with Taylor Swift. Or the Kardashians.

c) Give away fast food, beer and lottery tickets and at every concert.

d) Start more trending Facebook and Instagram memes.

e) Other: _____

I wish I had a simple answer to that question, as I’d probably be writing this from my private island. I think classical music suffers from an image problem: “it has nothing to do with me,” “it’s boring and stuck-up,” “you have to be expensively educated or have special knowledge to understand it.” All that’s total codswallop! I think classical music has something to say to everybody and deals with emotions incredibly relevant to our lives today. What can be more moving than sharing a real and living emotion with someone who has trodden the same path long before us? In my experience people are incredibly engaged with this music if we can only get them through the door and into a live performance. How do we do that? I think by a wide range of initiatives that help to show people that this music is for and about them. One of the reasons I’m so interested in your orchestra here in Spokane is that the symphony here engages in exactly this kind of work.

Meet James Lowe, one of the Spokane Symphony candidates for next music director

Founder of the Irish-American powerhouse band, Solas, Seamus Egan is Irish music at its very finest.

Pops Series Sponsor:

Rei Hotoda, guest conductor • Angelo Xiang Yu, violin

SATURDAYFEB.23

4:00 PM -6:00 PM

Thought experiment: You’re tasked with launching an American Proms. How does it differ from its long-running British counterpart?

Running every day for eight weeks in the summer the BBC Proms has become one of the biggest music festivals in the world and is incredibly popular. If you’re happy to stand (or “Prom” short for “Promenade”), you can see some of the world’s greatest musicians for about $8 per gig. I think that the popularity is down to two ingredients. The main venue is the Royal Albert Hall, a massive barn of a place that is used for a range of events, from classical and rock concerts to boxing matches, sumo wrestling, motor shows and even circuses. It’s been called “the nation’s village hall” and as such it feels like an accessible and democratic venue. Secondly listening to music standing up feels totally different. Recently I went to a folk gig in Scotland that was in a theater with everyone sitting down. It all felt a bit weird to me until I realized that this music isn’t supposed to be just listened to passively, but is supposed to be a community event. Somehow we’re more connected to our fellow listeners and the musicians on stage when we’re standing up.

Your guiltiest pleasure?

Hmm, as long as your proclivities lie within the bounds of the law I’m not sure I believe in the concept of guilty pleasures. I love food and wine and could happily spend a lazy afternoon in an English village pub in front of the fire with a pint, a good book and a packet of salt and vinegar crisps. Guilty for skipping Pilates? No way!

If you weren’t involved in music professionally, you’d be doing:

Music but as an amateur. What I’d be making a living from is a somewhat trickier question.

Please give us your “elevator pitch” on why everyone should come see the “Passion’s Pursuit” concert.

You’ll hear passion in its two most potent forms: The fire, fury and virtuosity of Liszt and the deep, profound expression of Johannes Brahms who, for my money, wrote some of the most expressive emotionally rich music of all time. Not bad for a few bucks. n

The Spokane Symphony presents Classics 6: Passion’s Pursuit • Sat, Feb 16, at 8 pm and Sun, Feb 17, at 3 pm • $19-$60

All Guests Receive: WinterBrewBash Cup, Sticker and Four (4 oz) Pour Tokens

Additional Pours: $2 (4 oz) , $4 (8 oz)

Admission: $ 25 including ticket to the Chiefs game $ 10 for ticket holding fans –OR–

Must be 21 years old or older to purchase tickets and attend the WinterBrewBash

SATURDAY FEB. 23 7 PM Game Time:

For Tickets Call: 509.535.PUCK vs. TRI-CITY AMERICANS

Sponsored by:

Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox

624-1200

1001 W. Sprague

spokanesymphony.org

JEN OWENS PHOTO

at the Bud Light Bar inside the Spokane Arena

Letters from the Inside

A Gonzaga law student and local poets team to give voice to county jail inmates

BY ARCELIA MARTIN

She came to him like an epiphany. When Kyle Madsen, a Gonzaga law student, heard Bethany Montgomery, founder of the performing arts collective Power 2 the Poetry, perform her spoken word for the first time at the downtown public library, he knew his search was over.

Madsen, a member of GU’s First Amendment Society, collected eight letters from inmates at the Spokane County Jail to emphasize that regardless of how these people got to jail, they’re members of the Spokane community with voices that need to be heard.

Madsen wants their stories not only to be read, but performed.

“When I initially started gathering the letters, I was like ‘Uh, having a bunch of law students go up and just kind of read verbatim what was written might get a little dry,’” Madsen says. “It’s great material, but some of it needs a little more interpretation and I wanted it to be more of an artistic event with a good meaning than just, you know, straight-up reading.”

And that’s where Montgomery comes in.

“She was doing what I was trying to come up with, or trying to frame, so she had it,” Madsen says. “I figured I might as well see if she wants to join forces, and it worked.”

For Montgomery, the idea encapsulates the type of advocacy work Power 2 the Poetry founded itself upon.

“We’re all about giving a voice to the voiceless, to

the marginalized communities [and] underrepresented people,” Montgomery says. “So I was like, ‘This is perfect, this aligns with our mission — everything that we’re doing, [so] let’s partner and do this event together.’”

The two forces orchestrated “Piercing the Concrete Veil: Affirmations from Inside the Spokane County Jail,” an event that will be held Tuesday, Feb. 19, at the Spokane Public Library.

With news that in just over a year, eight inmates had died in the Spokane County Jail, Madsen felt that as a member of the Spokane community, he had a duty to take care of his neighbors.

“I thought it was really important that they at least get to express themselves, and it’s not really about guilt or innocence but about — these are humans,” Madsen says. “These are people that are dying. Whether you’ve been convicted of a serious crime or whether you just had some drugs on you. That shouldn’t carry a death sentence. And that’s what was happening almost systematically.”

And for Montgomery, hearing stories about life behind bars isn’t unfamiliar.

“I feel like I really resonate with these inmates because I have personal family members who are locked up,” Montgomery says. “I have a family member in Walla Walla right now, I have a family member who’s been in and out of prison here in Washington state. So that’s my family. These people, they’re just like my family, so their

stories aren’t that far removed from me.”

The stories sent to Madsen range from short, funny anecdotes to 10-page-long insights about the day-to-day life in prison.

“I couldn’t believe [it,] these people’s stories sound like a movie,” Montgomery says. “The fact that it’s something so close to me, it’s crazy. It’s heartbreaking. We’ve got to do something about it.”

One letter the two received shed light on one of the themes repeated throughout the letters — the school-toprison pipeline, which is the tendency for minors and young adults from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds to become incarcerated due to harsh school policies.

“He talked about how he was talking to his friend over the phone about bringing his bong to school to smoke pot, and his mom heard ‘bomb’ and called the school. Then they arrested him and that literally started the process of always being incarcerated,” Madsen says. “So he has just been in and out of jail since he was 15, and it all started with his mom mishearing the word ‘bong’ and thinking he was bringing a bomb.”

As Montgomery read stories like this one, she invited local poets to participate in the event, and picked letters that would best suit them.

Many of these poets have also written their own pieces to perform after reading the letters. These works are based on issues that are embedded in the stories written by the inmates, such as people of marginalized communities being systematically incarcerated, Montgomery says.

With performers assigned and the location set, Madsen’s six-month brainchild will soon see light. n

Poet Bethany Montgomery (right) is helping bring inmate letters to life. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

Soup Isn’t Food

It’s a lot of other things, though

BY CHELSEA MARTIN

Soup is what your garbage disposal makes when you put soggy hash browns along with the pan film left behind by some eggs down the drain and run water over it. Soup is what happens when you drink beer before liquor. Soup is ruined pieces of once-good food submerged in liquid.

Soup is a job killer for inner mouth and jaw muscles. Soup is what you find at the bottom of your vegetable crisper after you let all your vegetables go bad. Soup can be prepared ahead of time and allowed to coagulate before tossing into the trash can.

Soup is an old wives tale you pretend to believe because it’s easier than arguing with your aunt who is convinced her particular recipe is a cure-all. Soup is what a hot dog is before being rolled into hot dog shape. Soup is a publicly acceptable cry for help.

Soup is what you burp up and swallow a second time. Soup is what collects under your grandma’s kitchen sink in big glass jars that nobody will explain to you. Soup is a marketing tool used by the tin can industry to manipulate you into buying more tin. Soup is a symbol of existential soggy nothingness.

Soup can be used under the eyes to reduce puffiness. Soup is what happens in a fish tank if you don’t clean it. Soup is a vehicle for soupborne disease. Soup is a vehicle for crackers, cheese, thick slices of French bread, bread sticks, and more cheese. Soup makes a lasting impres-

sion — but is it the impression you want to make?

Soup is neither a solid nor a liquid. Soup is the only reason for the existence of all these goddamned spoons. Soup is a very minor contributor to climate change, but one that should be taken seriously.

Soup is what collects in garbage cans right before airport security. Soup is an economic burden on this country. Soup causes soup breath. Soup is a known catalyst of preventable emotional outbreaks. Soup is what causes those misleading aromatic smells in cafeterias.

Soup is leftovers that have been left out in the rain. Soup is a valid reason to dread the winter months. Soup would be a pretty name for a girl. Manipulating soup with one’s hands has become a YouTube sensation. Soup is a cosmic portal to the most boring iteration of yourself that can be imagined.

Soup is what worms make, and worms can also be an ingredient in soup. Soup can be used in your hot water bottle as a substitute for water if you don’t want to waste water. Soup is the visual symbol of a lifetime of disappointment. Soup picks up where paste left off.

Soup is a misappropriation of precious resources. Soup is what you swish around in your mouth before the dental hygienist tells you to spit. Soup is conceptual art meant to provoke feelings of abandonment.

Soup can (and will!) make you feel bad about yourself somehow. Soup is on the menu purely as a psychological test. Soup can be used in sound effect studios to heighten the realism of sloppy sex scenes. Soup is, on its best day, goo. But soup isn’t food. n

Chelsea Martin is the Spokane-based author of five books, including Caca Dolce: Essays from a Lowbrow Life. Her website is jerkethics.com.

“Soup is a vehicle for crackers, cheese, thick slices of French bread, bread sticks, and more cheese.”

CALEB WALSH ILLUSTRATION

Date Night Delight

Impress at home with scallops, mushroom leek risotto and strawberry crunch ice cream bars

BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL

If the idea of cooking up a gourmet dinner for your date conjures images of Gordon Ramsay on an iconic “this is the worst thing I’ve eaten in my life” rant, fear not: You can do this.

While scallops and risotto may sound intimidating, both elements are actually pretty easy to cook when you get right down to it, allowing even fairly new chefs to create an impressive-looking gourmet dish that’s tasty and filling.

Much like your relationship, the key to risotto is patience, love and attention. Instead of boiling the rice, you slowly add stock and stir the dish by hand until just enough liquid has married with the grains to create a creamy delicious texture.

As for the scallops, it’s really about not getting impatient and moving them before the bottom has cooked through. Patience allows the heat to create that delicious caramelized texture that makes you drool on sight.

Of course, after enjoying your magazine-worthy meal together, there’s always a little room for dessert, and that’s when you can break out a nostalgia-inducing home-

made take on strawberry shortcake ice cream bars. With just a few simple ingredients, this frozen treat can be made the night before and kept in the freezer. Just slice, sauce and serve when you’re ready to savor the end of the meal with your sweetheart.

SCALLOPS WITH MUSHROOM LEEK RISOTTO

2 tablespoons salted butter

4 cloves minced garlic

1 cup Arborio rice

3/4 cup white wine

Roughly 1 quart chicken stock

5 to 10 cremini mushrooms, diced

2 medium leeks, sliced

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 large scallops

Dill to garnish

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat chicken stock over medium-low heat in a saucepan, then melt butter in a separate large skillet over

medium heat.

2. Add garlic to the butter and cook for about 30 seconds, then add the rice, stirring constantly for about a minute as the grains get coated and slightly toasted.

3. Add the white wine and stir as it cooks into the rice. Once absorbed, add chicken stock to the skillet one or two ladles at a time, letting the liquid absorb before adding more.

4. Once about half the stock has been added, which may take 10 to 15 minutes, toss the sliced leeks (just the white and light green parts) and mushrooms into the risotto, stir and continue adding stock a ladle at a time until the mixture is thick and creamy. Once 3/4 of the stock is added, sample the rice every few minutes and keep adding liquid until it’s fully cooked (you may not need the entire quart of chicken stock) then remove from heat and stir in the grated parmesan cheese. Total cook time should take about half an hour.

5. For the scallops, heat oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat until shimmering. Pat the scallops very dry with a paper towel, then gently set them in the oil. Don’t

YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS

move them for about three minutes, until the bottom half starts to turn opaque. Carefully flip the scallops to maintain the golden caramelization and continue cooking another three minutes or so until the outside is opaque and the bottom is caramelized as well. Lightly sprinkle with salt when done.

6. Top the risotto with scallops, garnish with dill and add salt and pepper to taste.

STRAWBERRY CRUNCH ICE CREAM BARS WITH BALSAMIC STRAWBERRY SAUCE

18 Golden Oreos

4 tablespoons salted butter; melted, separated

1 cup freeze dried strawberries

About half a quart of vanilla bean ice cream, softened

1 pound fresh strawberries

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1. Put nine cookies in a food processor and pulse until crumbled. Add two tablespoons melted butter and stir until combined, then press into the bottom of a small rectangular baking dish or loaf pan.

2. Spread ice cream on top of crust, creating a layer an inch or two deep.

3. Put the remaining cookies and freeze dried strawberries in the food processor and pulse until crumbled. Add the other two tablespoons melted butter and stir until combined. Sprinkle on top of the ice cream until covered and gently pat down.

4. Freeze for at least two hours.

5. For the sauce, remove stems and slice strawberries, setting a few aside for garnish. Heat the berries and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for 12 to 15 minutes until strawberries start to break down.

6. Add balsamic vinegar to sauce and continue stirring over low heat for another 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

7. When you’re ready for dessert, cut and serve ice cream bars with drizzle of sauce and garnish with a fresh strawberry. n

New Pub Hub

Wine & Taps, a new bar adjacent to Latah Bistro, brings a casual, sports bar vibe to the Latah Valley

BY CHEY SCOTT

Latah Bistro on Spokane’s west end has a new sibling. Wine & Taps opened earlier this winter next door to the longtime finedining spot, both under new ownership.

More casual than its restaurant counterpart, the bar’s offerings go beyond its namesake of wine and beer. There’s a full food menu of pub fare and a full bar serving craft cocktails.

New owner Susan Readel bought the 15-yearold Latah Bistro from its original owners in April last year, and decided to also open the adjacent bar as the space was newly available. Readel also owns the nearby drive-thru coffee stand Latah Latte; all three businesses are located in a commercial area along Cheney Spokane Road that’s anchored by a Yoke’s Fresh Market.

“It was something that I thought this area could use; a casual bar to come get a pint and watch a game,” Readel says.

The bar has already proven a draw to loyal customers of the bistro and residents of the numerous housing developments spread across the Latah Valley and the Highway 195 corridor.

“The menu is totally different from Latah. We have sliders, wings, bison chili and we have a charcuterie board, cheeseburger and nachos and salads and a special cocktail list,” Readel says.

The bar serves six rotating craft beers on tap, and a full wine list separate from the bistro’s, although customers can order bottles of wine from next door if a favorite is omitted. Wine & Taps’ food menu was a collaborative effort amongst Readel’s culinary team and front-of-house staff at both the bistro and bar.

“Their creativity is behind this,” she notes.

Shareable snacks include pretzel pops ($8) which are served on skewers with stone-ground mustard beer cheese sauce for dipping. The “King Wings” ($13.50) are coated in a scratchmade, Memphis-style barbecue sauce. The

epitome of indulgence is a “sinful” pint of bacon served with a whiskey maple syrup dip ($13). Popular dishes so far at Wine & Taps are its vegetarian nachos ($12.50; add shredded chicken or beef if desired for $3-$4 extra) and the Mississippi roast sliders ($15), topped with a Cajun spiced aioli and pepperoncinis.

Readel also points out the popular staff-created dish, a Caesar salad topped with chili-lime roasted chicken ($15), nicknamed the “crack salad.”

“It’s a long-time employee favorite; they have been making that [off-menu] since the bistro started in the back of the house, so now we brought it out in the light.”

Wine & Taps is decorated in a rustic, Western-meets-contemporary vibe. The bartop is a giant piece of knotty hickory wood, and vintage black-and-white photos of rodeo riders hang on the walls.

“There used to be a cattle ranch where this bar stands, so some [photos] were taken in the exact spot,” Readel says. “It’s a blast from the past.”

With the arrival of warmer weather come spring, Wine & Taps will introduce outdoor seating off to the side of its front entrance. The patio will have a separate bar, and a roll-up garage door that can be opened to connect it to the indoor space.

“It’s crazy, I’ve been at Yoke’s and had strangers come up and say ‘thank you so much’ for putting in a sports bar type place,” Readel says. “A ton of folks from Eagle Ridge [development] are very grateful. They call it their local pub.” n

Local Eats on Lilac City Live!

Restaurant Week kicks off the same night

The local late night talk show at the Spokane Public Library’s downtown branch is ready to make tummies rumble. Lilac City Live!’s next installment, on Thursday, Feb. 21, at 8 pm (doors open at 7 pm) includes a preview of Inlander Restaurant Week, this year happening Feb. 21 through March

2. In addition to a prerecorded segment with Restaurant Week Director Tamara McGregor all about the event and some of this year’s exciting menu trends, show hosts Ryan Dean Tucker and Sean Glasow are chatting with Spokane chef and restaurateur Jeremy Hansen. For this year’s Restaurant Week, Hansen is offering a preview of his planned new eatery Smoke & Mirrors, arriving later this year to replace his flagship downtown restaurant Santé.

Help raise money for Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital!

kids at heart charity lunch

Tuesday, February 19 Spokane Convention Center 12:00pm to 1:15pm.

Hear about that and more, and then get started on your Restaurant Week reservations if you haven’t yet — tables are already filling up. The full event guide and menus are being printed in the Feb. 21 edition of the Inlander, but all menus are currently posted online at InlanderRestaurantWeek.com. Additionally, stand-alone copies of the event guide can be picked up at all 107 participating restaurants and area STCU branches. (CHEY SCOTT)

SPICE & TEA EXCHANGE OPENS

Formerly Old Spice Traders, the Spice & Tea Exchange brings the world of good smells and tastes to home cooks, with franchises throughout the U.S. The retailer offers more than 140 spices, 16 naturally flavored sugars, 30 exotic teas, seasoned rice mixes, an array of salts, and assorted kitchen items, from tea strainers and dishware to soy candles. Versatile specialty blends are one of Spice & Tea Exchange’s hallmarks. The Tuscany blend, for example, can be used with pasta, and to coat meat, such as chicken, prior to cooking. Or use it as an added flavoring for olive oil you might dip your bread in. The ginger turmeric herbal tea blend may be just the ticket to staying ahead of cold and flu season. Although the company’s blended products cannot be certified organic, it is conscious of finding farmers with good labor standards and excellent growing practices, according to Judy McAfee, who recently opened the only Idaho location in Coeur d’Alene along with her husband, daughter and son-in-law. Celebrate Spice & Tea Exchange’s grand opening on Saturday, March 2, with free gifts, a raffle and food samples by local chef Lesa LeBeau. Visit spiceandtea.com/coeur-dalene for details. (CARRIE SCOZZARO) n

Money raised will go to our Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals’ fund. These funds stay local and allow us to meet our patients’ most critical needs at a moment’s notice.

There is no charge for the lunch but you will be asked to make a donation.

To reserve your seat and to learn more, visit kidsatheartcharitylunch.org or call 509.474.4917

PROVIDENCE HEALTH CARE FOUNDATION

Chef Jeremy Hansen is using Restaurant Week to preview his new eatery Smoke & Mirrors. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

“Mountain rockumentaries about fathers and sons” could be one of those oddly specific subcategories you might come across while browsing Netflix. It’s also how director Eric Becker describes his latest film, Return to Mount Kennedy.

But it’s about much, much more. On its face, Return to Mount Kennedy is a film about the son of a famous mountaineer who wants to commemorate a historic summit. It’s also about Seattle’s early grunge scene, the Kennedy family legacy, environmental stewardship, civic activism and father-son bonding.

Combining stunning shots of snowy peaks, neverbefore-seen archival footage of Robert Kennedy and five new tracks from Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Becker combines these seemingly disparate topical threads into one coherent and compelling documentary. I’ll admit, I was skeptical. It’s not an easy sell to audience members or distributors, Becker says.

“The challenge is trying to convince the powers that be in the entertainment world that this is something worth investing in,” Becker says. “People are pleasantly surprised [at the screenings].”

The story goes like this: In 1965, Sen. Robert Kennedy and Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Mount Everest, dedicated a 14,000-foot mountain in the Yukon to President John F. Kennedy after his assassination. Fifty years later, the sons of the two men decided to summit the mountain once again to commemorate their fathers and the bond that connects them.

The unlikely hero of this tale is Bob Whittaker, named after his father Jim’s friend and climbing partner Robert Kennedy. Bob is now middle-

Mountain Jam

Return to Mount Kennedy is the nexus of grunge, mountain climbing and environmental conservation

BY QUINN WELSCH

aged, out of shape and in no way prepared to summit a 14,000-foot mountain. He was one of the hidden figures of Seattle’s music scene in the ’80s and ’90s, working deep in the “trenches” as tour manager for Mudhoney. And in 2015, the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle appears to have caught up to him. As a tour manager, Bob was known for generally slacking off, trashing hotel rooms and committing other acts of debauchery with band members, as witnessed via grainy video footage shot during tours and at shows.

Bob is at times sentimental and reflective, but also aloof and nonserious. But that’s part of his charm. He’s just a normal dude who lives in West Seattle, someone you might even know. He’s passionate about the outdoors and environmental conservation, and at 48 years old he wants to commemorate the summit while also reconnecting with his dad.

The story tries to answer the question: Why?

“Originally we just thought it was going be a short film. … It became apparent right after the [summit] that it needed to be a much bigger film,” Becker says. “We came across all this archival footage that no one had ever seen. And then we just started connecting the dots.”

This is much easier said than done. Becker spent the next four years with his editor, Andrew Franks, trying to hammer out the various footage from the ’60s, ’90s and present day in a way that made sense.

“The idea was to jump back and forth between past and present to create the sense of timelessness,” Becker says. “It was just a lot of trial and error of just cutting

stuff together, just trying stuff out and seeing what sticks and also searching for other pieces of footage.

“It’s also really important to follow the emotion. If I feel emotion, there’s a good chance that the audience is going to feel emotion.”

Becker follows Bob from his home in West Seattle, across beautiful scenes around the Puget Sound, to his cabin in Ferry County, and ultimately up the side of Mount Kennedy. Also joining the summit is Bob’s brother Leif Whittaker — who took after his father as a mountaineer — as well as Chris Kennedy, Robert Kennedy’s son. Vedder and Mudhoney’s Matt Lukin make appearances as well, providing insightful interviews. Intercut with all of this is archival footage of Robert Kennedy and Jim Whittaker.

The film moves fast, making it hard to take your eyes off the screen either because you’ll have missed an interesting anecdote, a familiar location, a gorgeous view or all of the above. And surprisingly, it clocks in at just 81 minutes, though the film’s breadth of topics and timelines makes it seem longer (and not in a bad way).

It’s hard not to gush over this film if you know the locales and have some understanding of Seattle’s music history. It all feels relatable and personal, and yet it connects to much bigger questions about nature, the environment, climate change and our obligation to act on these things. n

Snowy peaks, Seattle’s grunge scene and the legacy of RFK make up the complex patchwork of the documentary Return to Mount Kennedy

OPENING FILMS

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL

A junked cyborg is rescued by a futuristic scientist, who rebuilds her and turns her into a fighting machine. Based on a ’90s manga series. (NW) Rated PG-13

CAPERNAUM

This Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film is an ambitious drama about a Lebanese boy who sues his negligent parents for the act of giving birth to him. (NW) Rated R

Mind, Body, Spirit Holistic Fair Presents . . . .

“The Heart of Healing”

Saturday, February 23rd • 10 am - 5 pm • FREE EVENT - FREE PARKING

40 Vendors • Information & Demonstrations and 9 Dynamic Speakers

Medical Intuitive Readings, Botanicals, Chakra Balancing, Artists, Life Coaching, Massage, Chiropractic, BodyTalk, Reiki, DNA activation, BEMER, Qhantum Vibrational Healing, Maitreya, Nutritional Products, Blue Rune Readings, Crystals and Lavender products, Astrology Readings, Essential Oils, Biomat Therapy, Eckancar, Angel readings, “Good Vibrations”, Books and CD’s, Herbs, Tarot, Medication, Homeopathy, Shamans, Sound Healing, Botanicals, Faith Healing and Jewelry

Food and Coffee Available

UNITY SPIRITUAL CENTER on the South Hill • 29th and Bernard, Spokane, WA 99203

For More Information: (509) 496 - 8138 / LindaChristine@LindaChristineStudios.com

HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U

Sequel to the surprise horror hit elaborates on its zany premise of a college student who re-spawns every time she’s offed by a masked killer. Goofy and overplotted, but fun. (JB) Rated PG-13

ISN’T IT ROMANTIC

NOW PLAYING

AQUAMAN

The half-man, half-fish superhero gets his own vehicle, in which he inherits the Atlantean throne and fights with his evil brother. It’s got some crazy visuals and hammy performances but still manages to be kind of a slog. (JB) Rated PG-13

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

The band Queen and late frontman Freddie Mercury (played by Rami Malek) get the biopic treatment, and the results won’t exactly rock you. It takes a disappointingly conventional approach to a wildly unconventional figure. (JB) Rated PG-13

BUMBLEBEE

A surprisingly fun Transformers origin story, with the yellow Autobot coming to Earth in the ’80s and befriending a teenage outcast (Hailee Steinfeld). Unlike its Michael Bay-directed predecessors, it coasts by on low-key charm.

(NW) Rated PG-13

COLD PURSUIT

Murder! Revenge! Snowplows! Liam

Neeson is a snow removal specialist who goes after the drug dealers that killed his son. Based on a 2014 Norwegian film. (DN) Rated R

COLD WAR

A pianist and a singer fall in love in post-WWII Poland, and are separated and reunited many times over the course of a decade. A haunting portrait of a broken relationship and of a country in turmoil. At the Magic Lantern.

(NW) Rated R

A DOG’S WAY HOME

A plucky canine is separated from its

Rebel Wilson is an unlucky-in-love woman who hits her head and finds herself stuck inside a cheery, convention-riddled romantic comedy. (NW) Rated PG-13 owner, and makes a dangerous crosscountry trek to get back to him. If you saw the trailer, you’ve basically seen the whole movie. (NW) Rated PG

THE FAVOURITE

In 18th-century England, two women jockey for a position of power within the coterie of an ailing Queen Anne. A lacerating, cutthroat dark comedy with great performances from Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone.

(SS) Rated R

FREE SOLO

A documentary following climber Alex Honnold’s attempt to successfully ascend Yosemite’s El Capitan rock formation sans rope and safety harness. Not for acrophobes, especially in its stunning final minutes. (NW) Rated PG-13

GLASS

M. Night Shyamalan continues his Unbreakable saga, with the indestructible Bruce Willis returning to fight supervillains Samuel L. Jackson and James McAvoy. It’s got some intriguing ideas, but the payoff is meager. (NW) Rated PG-13

GREEN BOOK

A white driver (Viggo Mortensen) ferries a black jazz pianist (Mahershala Ali) through the American South in the 1960s. Its racial politics are undoubtedly simplistic, but its central performances more than make up for it. At the Magic Lantern. (MJ) Rated PG-13

IF BEALE STREET

COULD TALK

Barry Jenkins’ follow-up to Moonlight is a tender adaptation of James Bald...continued on next page

Alita: Battle Angel

MAGIC LANTERN THEATER

NOW PLAYING

win’s novel, a touching drama about a young couple separated by imprisonment as they prepare to welcome a baby. At the Magic Lantern. (JB) Rated R

THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART

In this sequel to the 2014 hit, Bricksburg is attacked by exploding Duplo toys and Batman is entrapped by a shapeshifting queen. It might not have the novelty of the original, but it’s still entertaining. (NW) Rated PG

MARY

POPPINS RETURNS

In this long-awaited sequel to the Disney classic, the magical nanny lands again in London to again help out the Banks children, now adults and with kids of their own. A slab of candy-coated excess that laboriously tries to copy the original’s charm. (JB) Rated PG

MISS

BALA

In this remake of an acclaimed 2011 Mexican film, Gina Rodriguez plays an American woman kidnapped by a drug cartel, becoming an insider for the DEA in the process. (NW) Rated R

ON

THE BASIS OF SEX

After the success of the documentary RBG, we now get the Hollywood dramatization of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s trailblazing legal career. It’s well intentioned, but it’s also pretty forgettable and clumsily told. (JB) Rated PG-13

THE PRODIGY

A hyper-intelligent little boy is possessed by the spirit of a Hungarian serial killer, and his mother is the only one who believes it. Standard supernatural horror stuff. (NW) Rated R

RALPH

BREAKS THE INTERNET

This animated sequel finds Wreck-It Ralph exploring the vast unknown of the internet in an attempt to stop the shutdown of his friend’s video game. When it isn’t retreading the original, it relies on pop culture references that already feel dated. (JB) Rated PG

ROMA

The best film of 2018 is finally hitting the big screen in Spokane, and it’s worth a trip to the theater. Alfonso Cuarón’s black-and-white epic is sweeping yet intimate, a powerful study of class divide in 1970s Mexico. At the Magic Lantern. (NW) Rated R

SERENITY

A fishing boat captain is approached by his femme fatale ex-wife, who wants him to kill her abusive new husband. Despite that premise, it’s really not what you think it is, for better or worse. (NW) Rated R

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE

Spider-Men from various dimensions converge in the world of a teen web slinger, and they help him find his powers. A brilliant and funny animated feature that looks and feels like a comic book come to life. (SS) Rated PG

CRITICS’ SCORECARD

STAN & OLLIE

Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly play legendary comedy duo Laurel and Hardy in the twilight years of their long career, in a gentle biopic that’s a bit cheesy but still enjoyable to watch. At the Magic Lantern. (JB) Rated PG

THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD

Peter Jackson’s documentary about British troops in WWI, featuring colorized and CGI-augmented footage from a century ago, is more of a museum piece than a film. Still, it’s an often moving monument. (MJ) Rated R

THE UPSIDE

A remake of the French hit The Intouchables, with Bryan Cranston as a paralyzed millionaire and Kevin Hart

as the troubled man who becomes his caretaker. It thinks it’s a feel-good drama, but it’s actually manipulative trash.

(ES) Rated PG-13

VICE

Adam McKay’s follow-up to The Big Short is another experimental dark comedy, this one following the career of Dick Cheney (an unrecognizable Christian Bale). The gimmicks and gags feel limp and unfocused this time around. (JB) Rated R

WHAT MEN WANT

Sports agent Taraji P. Henson gains the ability to hear the thoughts of the men, and uses it to her professional advantage. Like the 2000 comedy that inspired it, this squanders a clever premise with lazy farce. (NW) Rated Rn

BAD REPUTATION (HULU)

A documentary that explores the wide-ranging influence of rock star Joan Jett, from her days in the all-girl band the Runaways to her solo success. It’s hardly enlightening, but it’s an energetically assembled portrait that’s — no surprise — full of great music. (NW) Not Rated

Dead Again

Happy Death Day 2U finds new ways to explore its time-loop premise

BY JOSH BELL

The goofy 2017 horror comedy Happy Death Day seems like one of the least likely movies to spawn an intricate sci-fi franchise, but writer-director Christopher Landon makes a surprisingly convincing case for just that in Happy Death Day 2U

The first movie found self-centered sorority girl Tree (Jessica Rothe) living the same day over and over while being stalked (and repeatedly killed) by a masked murderer, and used its simple time-loop premise for a series of fun, self-aware jokes and some stock life lessons for its protagonist. The sequel tones down the horror elements considerably, focusing instead on a pseudo-scientific explanation for the time-loop phenomenon, which soon throws Tree right back into reliving her birthday again and again.

babble about quantum theory and alternate universes. That allows for some slightly different (but related) life lessons this time, and for returning characters to fit into different roles in the narrative. There’s still a deranged killer on the loose, but the urgency of discovering and unmasking the killer runs a distant second to the efforts to figure out the mechanics of Ryan’s time machine and close the time loop once and for all.

HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U

Rated PG-13

First there’s a sort of fake-out opening, set on the following day, as original supporting character Ryan (Phi Vu) experiences his own death day reset, getting murdered by the mysterious killer in the creepy baby mask. It turns out that Ryan and his nerdy lab partners Samar (Suraj Sharma) and Dre (Sarah Yarkin) have been working on a device meant to slow time down, which has inadvertently created a series of time loops instead.

Directed by Christopher Landon Starring Jessica Rothe, Ruby Modine, Israel Broussard, Phi Vu

Last time, characters made explicit reference to Groundhog Day, and here the main reference point is the Back to the Future series. The plot gets a bit convoluted as it goes along, and certain elements that seem important at first end up being dropped or dismissed rather abruptly. The climax involves a ridiculous “heist” straight out of a dopey college comedy, and Landon favors slightly broader humor this time. But he also gives Tree some tender moments, both with love interest Carter (Israel Broussard) and with her parents, even though they’re mostly just variations on the emotional beats of the first movie.

The efforts to set things right only throw Tree back a day into the past, undoing most of the plot and character development from the first movie. While it’s amusing to see the fed-up Tree react to many of the same situations and characters now that she knows exactly what’s going on, it’s a little disappointing that the movie has to take a step back in order to move forward.

At the same time, Landon (returning as director and taking over as writer from Scott Lobdell) strives not to just repeat the same plot, and he makes some significant adjustments to Tree’s world that go along with a bunch of techno-

Even when the plotting is shaky, Rothe’s fantastic performance sells every twist and turn in Tree’s journey, keeping her an active, take-charge heroine with sharp wit and undeniable charm. The supporting players, many of them upgraded from smaller roles in the previous movie, are also consistently entertaining, and there’s an appealing teamwork element to the story that sets this movie apart from its predecessor. Landon finds new creative and funny ways for Tree to die (mainly in an energetic montage similar to one in the original), and even if the violence is more cartoonish than scary, it still adds occasional suspense to the story. A mid-credits scene teases an even further expansion of the franchise’s world, which is both completely absurd and unexpectedly enticing. n

Scream and scream again: Happy Death Day 2U is the rare sequel that successfully builds upon its original premise.

Valentine’s Day Singles

BY BEN SALMON

Surprise jewelry. A box of chocolates. Candlelit dinner. A bouquet of flowers hastily purchased at the supermarket on the way home from work.

If you consider yourself happily entwined with another human being, how you handle your Valentine’s Day obligations is up to you.

But for folks who are alone at this time of year, all the hearts and hugs and Cupids and candy can be a real drag. Because there’s nothing like wishing you had a significant other and then having to spend six weeks innocently walking into Walgreens (or whatever) only to be confronted by a front-and-center seasonal aisle that looks like someone drank a half-dozen pink mojitos, ate a ton of dark chocolates and then ralphed all over the stuffed animal section.

Below is a collection of tunes we’ve put together specifically for those people. Some of them wallow in sadness. Others are pissedoff kiss-off songs. And

exactly none of them are happy love songs. Because those are stupid anyway.

THE EVERLY BROTHERS, “CATHY’S CLOWN” (1960)

It’s hard to imagine a song more sweet and sour than “Cathy’s Clown,” one of Don and Phil Everly’s most recognizable hits. The brothers were blessed with the ability to sing the kind of gorgeous harmonies that come a bit easier to siblings, but on this 1960 No. 1 smash, they used those voices to deliver an acerbic adios that no gal wants to hear: “Don’t want your love anymore,” the Everlys sing in their honeyed tenors. “Don’t want your kisses, that’s for sure.” Those last three words sting like a serrated knife to the heart.

ERIC CARMEN, “ALL BY MYSELF” (1975)

After a half-decade of success with Cleveland powerpop band the Raspberries, singer Eric Carmen launched his solo career with this power ballad based around a Sergei Rachmaninoff ...continued on next page

LONELY HEARTS CLUB

Don’t have romantic plans for the 14th? Then these five alt-love songs are for you

The Everly Brothers

HEARTS CLUB

“VALENTINE’S DAY SINGLES,” CONTINUED...

composition. Weird! But it worked. Built from mournful piano, a syrupy string section and Carmen’s expressive voice, it’s about more than just romantic love: “Living alone, I think of all the friends I’ve known,” he sings. “But when I dial the telephone nobody’s home.” Ouch.

L.L. COOL J, “I NEED LOVE” (1987)

Long before Kanye and Drake made it cool to rap about feelings, L.L. Cool J pivoted from the riotous singles on his debut album to sensitive R&B crossover success with “I Need Love,” his first major hit. Against a sturdy 808 beat and a softly glowing keyboard melody, he spends a solid four minutes desperately hoping to find true love and turning away from his philanderer’s lifestyle: “I’ve changed,” he raps, “I’m no longer a playboy on the run, I need something that’s stronger.” Within the context of ’80s rap, “I Need Love” is positively revolutionary.

ELLIOTT SMITH, “I BETTER BE QUIET NOW” (2000)

Nobody soaks in their own misery like the late Portlandbased singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, aka the Indie King of the Sad Song. The man was a master melder of melody and lyric, able to explore deep, dark places in a way that felt relatable and charming. “I Better Be Quiet Now,” a deep cut on the final album released before his 2003 death, finds Smith wrestling with an elusive love interest and a lonely existence. He punctuates the struggle with this devastating line: “I got a long way to go. I’m getting further away.” Who hasn’t felt that way before?

KELLY CLARKSON, “SINCE U BEEN GONE” (2004)

The second single from the second album from the winner of the first season of American Idol. It sounds like an ancient his-

tory lesson. But “Since U Been Gone” is also one of the best pop songs of the 21st century and one of the most cathartic post-breakup songs ever penned. Its chorus is a bomb blast built on roaring electric guitars and the bridge is iconic: “You had your chance, you blew it,” Clarkson sings, ranging up to preposterously high notes. “Shut your mouth, I just can’t take it again.” If you’re still recovering from the end of a relationship, find the video for “Since U Been Gone” on YouTube, crank it up loud, and prepare to pump your fist and mend your heart. n

SEVEN MORE SONGS TO GET YOU THROUGH VALENTINE’S DAY

Jackie Wilson, “Lonely Teardrops” (1958)

Gloria Gaynor, “I Will Survive” (1978)

Elton John, “I’m Still Standing” (1983)

Robbie Fulks, “Rock Bottom, Pop. 1” (1996)

Ben Folds Five, “Song for the Dumped” (1997)

Robyn, “Dancing on My Own” (2010)

Taylor Swift, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” (2012)

Elliott Smith

Renaissance Man

A look at Kris Kristofferson’s career as one of the preeminent musical voices of his generation

BY NATHAN WEINBENDER

The term “Renaissance man” doesn’t get thrown around all that often anymore, but certainly it applies to Kris Kristofferson. He’s had as wide and varied a career as an artist can have: He’s a singer, a songwriter and an actor, both a respected solo artist and a member of the beloved country supergroup the Highwaymen.

As Kristofferson enters his fifth decade of writing and performing — and in advance of his upcoming show at the Fox — we’ve rounded up a few things that you should know about one of the most prolific singer-songwriters of his generation.

HE WAS A RUGBY STAR AND A RHODES SCHOLAR.

Kristofferson played on Pomona College’s rugby team, and was even profiled in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” feature in 1958, which noted that he was also a long-distance runner, a boxer and the sports editor of the college newspaper. He’d later attend Oxford University on a prestigious Rhodes scholarship, graduating with a degree in English literature. Oxford was also where he began writing songs in earnest.

WEEKEND COUNTDOWN

Get the scoop on this weekend’s events with our newsletter. Sign up at Inlander.com/newsletter.

HE CUT HIS TEETH AS A SONGWRITER FOR OTHER ARTISTS. While working as a custodian at the studios of Columbia Records, Kristofferson gave a demo tape to country star June Carter, in hopes that she’d pass it along to her husband Johnny Cash. (A famous show-biz story posits that Kristofferson, hoping to get the country legend’s attention, later landed a helicopter on Cash’s front lawn. He wasn’t home.) Cash would eventually record Kristofferson’s “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” and it quickly became one of his signature songs. The most notable track in Kristofferson’s ouvre is “Me and Bobby McGee,” which was a hit for Roger Miller in 1969. It truly became iconic, though, when Janis Joplin’s recording became a posthumous No. 1 hit, and it’s arguably the most famous interpretation of any Kristofferson composition.

Gladys Knight, Ray Price, Jerry Lee Lewis and Waylon Jennings have all covered Kristofferson’s work, and his songs “For the Good Times,” “One Day at a Time,” “Please Don’t Tell Me How the Story Ends” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night” were smash hits for others.

HE’S AS PROLIFIC AN ACTOR AS A MUSICIAN.

Kristofferson’s had a seriously impressive film career, working since the ’70s with great filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Sam Peckinpah, John Sayles, Guillermo del Toro and Richard Linklater. He received an Oscar nomination for his music in the 1984 film Songwriter, in which he acted alongside his fellow Highwayman Willie Nelson. He’s also the star of two Pacific Northwest-filmed features: Heaven’s Gate, Michael Cimino’s famously embattled 1980 epic that was partially shot in Wallace, and Alan Rudolph’s underrated neo-noir Trouble in Mind (1985), which was filmed in Seattle and features Keith Carradine, Genevieve Bujold and an out-of-drag Divine.

HE’S VICARIOUSLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ONE OF 2018’S BIGGEST HITS.

Kristofferson’s most prominent film role was in the 1976 remake of A Star Is Born, playing an alcoholic rocker who falls in love with Barbra Streisand’s aspiring lounge singer. Even though it was critically derided then and now, it was a box office hit and its soundtrack, featuring the Oscarwinning “Evergreen,” was a genuine phenomenon. The age-old premise was rejuvenated last year in a new film version by Bradley Cooper, whose grizzled country-rock frontman Jackson Maine was clearly modeled after Kristofferson’s take on a similar character; Cooper even shot scenes at the Glastonbury Festival right before Kristofferson was set to take the stage. The most recent A Star Is Born has been nominated for eight Oscars, one of which is for Cooper’s performance. n

Kris Kristofferson and the Strangers • Thu, Feb. 21 at 8 pm • $35-$65 • All ages • Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox • 1001 W. Sprague • foxtheaterspokane.org

From “Bobby McGee” to A Star Is Born, Kris Kristofferson has worn many hats throughout his eclectic career.

SKA THE TOASTERS REGGAE NATTALI RIZE

Thursday, 02/14

BERSERK, Vinyl Meltdown

THE BIG DOG BAR & GRILL, DJ Dave

J J BING CROSBY THEATER, Blackberry Smoke, Quaker City Night Hawks

BOLO’S, Jan Harrison Blues Experience

J BOOTS BAKERY & LOUNGE, The Song Project

BRIDGE PRESS CELLARS, Open Mic

J BUCER’S COFFEEHOUSE PUB, Open Jazz Jam with Erik Bowen

CHINOOK STEAK, PASTA AND SPIRITS (CDA CASINO), Bill Bozly

CRUISERS, Open Jam Night

FIZZIE MULLIGANS, Country Dance

HOUSE OF SOUL, Hot Club of Spokane

IDAHO POUR AUTHORITY, Grateful Dead Jam Night

IRON HORSE (VALLEY), Ron Greene

THE JACKSON ST., Zaq Flanary and the Songsmith Series

J KNITTING FACTORY, Beats Antique, Axel Thesleff, Beauflexx

J LAGUNA CAFÉ, Just Plain Darin

MOON TIME, KOSH

O’SHAYS IRISH PUB & EATERY, O’Pen Mic Thursdays

THE OBSERVATORY, Reverend Yo’s Blues Hour

PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Chris Omurchu

POST FALLS BREWING COMPANY, Eric Neuhausser

PROSPECTORS, Eric Patton & Cassandra Wheeler

RAZZLE’S BAR & GRILL, Songsmith Series feat. Kevin Dorin

RED TAIL BAR & GRILL, KOSH

THE RIDLER PIANO BAR, Dueling Pianos feat. Christan Raxter & Steve Ridler

THE ROCK BAR & LOUNGE, The Rock Jam Series

THE ROXIE, Music Challenge

ZOLA, Blake Braley

Friday, 02/15

219 LOUNGE, The Hawthorne Roots

THE AGING BARREL, Just Plain Darin

ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Sara Brown

J J THE BARTLETT, Parker Gispert, Norman Walker Robbins

J THE BIG DIPPER, Ten-Speed Pile-Up, Light in Mirrors, Marina

Obscura

THE BIG DOG BAR & GRILL, DJ Dave

BOLO’S, Dangerous Type

BOOMBOX PIZZA, Karaoke

J BUCER’S COFFEEHOUSE PUB, Palouse Forro Experience

THE BULL HEAD, Jan Harrison Blues

Experience

CHECKERBOARD BAR, Checkered

Prom

CHINOOK STEAK, PASTA AND SPIRITS

(CDA CASINO), Kyle Swaffard

CORBY’S BAR, Karaoke

COSMIC COWBOY GRILL, Clint Darnell

CRAFTED TAP HOUSE + KITCHEN, Into the Drift

CRAFTSMAN CELLARS, Kori Ailene CRUISERS, Karaoke with Gary CURLEY’S, Rewind

DI LUNA’S CAFE, Lauren Sheehan

J FIRST INTERSTATE CENTER FOR THE ARTS, Lauren Daigle

THE GROWL’N DOG, DJ WesOne & DJ Big Mike

IDAHO POUR AUTHORITY, Ron Kieper Jazz Trio

IRON GOAT BREWING CO., Maxie Mills

KOOTENAI RIVER BREWING CO., Truck Mills

LEFTBANK WINE BAR, Nick Grow

MARYHILL WINERY, Spare Parts Duo

MATCHWOOD BREWING CO., Oak Street Connection

MAX AT MIRABEAU, Mojo Box

MICKDUFF’S BEER HALL, Devon Wade

MOOSE LOUNGE, Vern and the Volcanoes

Back when gutter punks and ska fans brushed elbows — and before both genres were mined for radio-friendly pop — the Toasters were respected in both circles. They started in 1981 and have been skanking hard ever since, keeping their bass lines bouncy and their trombone and sax licks irresistible. By the time the ’90s ska revival hit, the Toasters were already elder statesmen, and they were embraced by an entirely new generation because of it. Like most dynasty acts, the band has had dozens of members come and go over the years, but founding frontman Robert “Bucket” Hingley is still kickin’ it.

— NATHAN WEINBENDER

The Toasters with Wasted Breath, Sid Broderius and the Emergency Exit & more • Mon, Feb. 18 at 6 pm • $12 • All ages • The Pin • 412 W. Sprague • thepinspokane.com • 385-1449

When you think of Australian music, what leaps to mind? Something heavy on didgeridoo, maybe, or even the down-and-dirty rock of AC/DC? But Nattali Rize immediately obliterates those narrow perceptions. She’s an Aussie who is entrenched in the sounds of reggae-rock and roots music, gaining traction in reggae and world music circles both as a solo artist and as a member of the band Blue King Brown. Rize’s 2017 album Rebel Frequency is an exploration of her singular bag of tricks, showing off not only her Rastafarian sensibilities but also her knack for pop, hip-hop and acoustic folk.

— NATHAN WEINBENDER

Nattali Rize with Aspen Deck and Real Life Sound • Wed, Feb. 20 at 7:30 pm • $10 advance, $13 at the door • The Big Dipper • 171 S. Washington • bigdipperevents.com • 863-8101

MULLIGAN’S BAR & GRILLE, Kicho

NASHVILLE NORTH, Ladies Night with Luke Jaxon and DJ Tom

J OUTLAW BBQ & CATERING MARKET, Songsmith Series

PACIFIC PIZZA, DJ Jaeda

PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, One Street Over

J THE PIN, Deschamp, Sovereign Citizen & The Non Prophets, Lost in Time, Jacob Vanknowe, Skunktopus

PRIME TYME BAR & GRILL, Wild Wooly Band

RICO’S, Horace Alexander Young

THE RIDLER PIANO BAR, Dueling Pianos feat. Christan Raxter & Steve Ridler

THE ROXIE, Karaoke with Tom

SILVER MOUNTAIN SKI RESORT (NOAH’S), Rusty Jackson

UP NORTH DISTILLERY, Son of Brad ZOLA, Royale

Saturday, 02/16

3RD WHEEL, Silent Theory, Everyone

Loves a Villain, Jimmy Nuge

219 LOUNGE, Right Front Burner

1210 TAVERN, Jan Harrison Blues

Experience

ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Dan Conrad

J THE BARTLETT, TV Girl, George Clanton

BEEROCRACY, Brian Stai & Chris Molitor

BOLO’S, Dangerous Type

J BUCER’S COFFEEHOUSE, Saticoy CHINOOK STEAK, PASTA AND SPIRITS

(CDA CASINO), Kyle Swaffard

COSMIC COWBOY GRILL, Bill Bozly

CRUISERS, Every Man’s Sins, Lust for Glory, Harmonic Pariah

CURLEY’S, Rewind

GLOBAL KITCHEN, Pamela Benton

THE GROWL’N DOG, DJs WesOne & Big Mike

J = THE INLANDER RECOMMENDS THIS SHOW

J = ALL AGES SHOW

HONEY EATERY AND SOCIAL CLUB, Renei & Rhys

HOP MOUNTAIN TAPROOM AND GRILL, Kevin Gardner

J HOUSE OF SOUL, Curtis Salgado

HUCKLEBERRY’S NATURAL MARKET, Tin Cup Monkey

IDAHO POUR AUTHORITY, Brown Salmon Truck

IRON GOAT BREWING, Carey Brazil

THE JACKSON ST., Karaoke

J J KNITTING FACTORY, J Boog, Earthkry, Eddy Dyno

LEFTBANK WINE BAR, Nick Grow

LOOKOUT PASS SKI & RECREATION AREA, Larry Myer

MARYHILL WINERY, Into the Drift

MAX AT MIRABEAU, Mojo Box

MICKDUFF’S BEER HALL, The Wow Wows

MOOSE LOUNGE, Vern and the Volcanoes

MULLIGAN’S BAR & GRILLE, Rusty Jackson

NASHVILLE NORTH, Ladies Night with Luke Jaxon and DJ Tom

THE OBSERVATORY, Why Did Johnny Kill, Wasted Breath, Chase the Sun

PACIFIC PIZZA, Bad Motivator, Meat Sweats

GET LISTED!

Submit events online at Inlander.com/getlisted or email relevant details to getlisted@inlander.com. We need the details one week prior to our publication date.

PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Mike Wagoner & Utah John

THE PIN, Virtual Riot with AyZiM & Raskl, Subcool, Nosol, Meraki

POST FALLS BREWING COMPANY, Pat Coast

REPUBLIC BREWING, Norman Baker

THE RIDLER PIANO BAR, Dueling

Pianos feat. Christan Raxter & Steve Ridler

SILVER MOUNTAIN SKI RESORT

(NOAH’S), Christy Lee

STORMIN’ NORMAN’S SHIPFACED SALOON, Karaoke

J WESTWOOD BREWING CO., Just Plain Darin

ZOLA, Royale

Sunday, 02/17

J J THE BARTLETT, The Holy Broke, Matt Mitchell

THE BLIND BUCK, Show Tune SingAlong Sundays

DALEY’S CHEAP SHOTS, Rev. Yo’s VooDoo Church of Blues Jam

GARLAND PUB & GRILL, Karaoke

IRON HORSE (VALLEY), Craig Barton

KELLY’S RESTAURANT & LOUNGE, Scotia Road

LINGER LONGER LOUNGE, Open Jam

MARYHILL WINERY, Ron Greene

MATCHWOOD BREWING CO., Ken Mayginnes

PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Piano

Sunday with Annie Welle

SOUTH HILL GRILL, Just Plain Darin

STORMIN’ NORMAN’S SHIPFACED SALOON, Karaoke

ZOLA, Lazy Love

Monday, 02/18

THE BULL HEAD, Songsmith Series

J CALYPSOS COFFEE & CREAMERY, Open Mic

CHECKERBOARD BAR, Songsmith Series feat. Eric Patton

CRAVE, DJ Dave

EICHARDT’S, Jam with Truck Mills

J J THE PIN, The Toasters (see facing page), Wasted Breath, Sid Broderius and the Emergency Exit RED ROOM LOUNGE, Open Mic with Lucas Brookbank Brown

ZOLA, Perfect Mess

Tuesday, 02/19

219 LOUNGE, Karaoke with DJ Pat

BOOMBOX PIZZA, Karaoke CRAVE, DJ Dave

GARLAND PUB & GRILL, Karaoke

LEFTBANK WINE BAR, Turntable

Tuesday

J THE PIN, The March Divide with Aleisha Maureen

RAZZLE’S, Open Mic Jam

THE RIDLER PIANO BAR, Country Swing Dancing

THE ROXIE, Open Mic/Jam

SLATE CREEK BREWING, Dallas Kay

SWEET LOU’S, Rusty Jackson

THE VIKING, Songsmith Series

ZOLA, Desperate 8s

Wednesday, 02/20

219 LOUNGE, Truck Mills & Tom Duebendorfer

BELLWETHER BREWING CO., Tonya Ballman

J J THE BIG DIPPER, Nattali Rize (see facing page), Aspen Deck, Real Life Sound

CRAVE, DJ Dave

CRUISERS, Open Jam Night

GENO’S, Open Mic with Host Travis Goulding

IRON HORSE (CDA), Open Jam

IRON HORSE (VALLEY), Kicho

THE JACKSON ST., Karaoke

LEFTBANK WINE BAR, Carey Brazil

J THE LOCAL DELI, Devon Wade

LUCKY’S IRISH PUB, DJ D3VIN3

J MILLWOOD BREWING COMPANY, Nick Grow

J THE PIN, Them Evils with Jackhammer, Carved in Bone, Hanford, Becoming Bristol

POOLE’S PUBLIC HOUSE, Just Plain Darin

RED ROOM LOUNGE, Blowin’ Kegs Jam Session

THE RIDLER PIANO BAR, Dueling Pianos feat. Christan Raxter & Steve Ridler

THE ROXIE, Gil Rivas

SEASONS OF COEUR D’ALENE, KOSH

STORMIN’ NORMAN’S SHIPFACED SALOON, Nate Ostrander

ZOLA, Cruxie

Coming Up ...

J J MARTIN WOLDSON THEATER AT THE FOX, Kris Kristofferson and The Strangers (see page 49), Feb. 21

J BING CROSBY THEATER, Jethro Tull’s Martin Barre, Feb. 22

340-3099

CALYPSOS COFFEE & CREAMERY • 116 E. Lakeside Ave., CdA • 208-665-0591

CHATEAU RIVE • 621 W. Mallon Ave. • 795-2030

CHECKERBOARD BAR • 1716 E. Sprague Ave. • 535-4007

COEUR D’ALENE CASINO • 37914 S. Nukwalqw Rd., Worley, Idaho • 800-523-2464

COEUR D’ALENE CELLARS • 3890 N. Schreiber Way, CdA • 208-664-2336

CRAFTED TAP HOUSE • 523 Sherman Ave., CdA • 208-292-4813

CRAVE• 401 W. Riverside • 321-7480

CRUISERS • 6105 W Seltice Way, Post Falls • 208773-4706

CURLEY’S • 26433 W. Hwy. 53 • 208-773-5816

DALEY’S CHEAP SHOTS • 6412 E. Trent • 535-9309

EICHARDT’S PUB • 212 Cedar St., Sandpoint • 208-263-4005

THE FEDORA • 1726 W. Kathleen, CdA • 208-7658888

FIZZIE MULLIGANS • 331 W. Hastings • 466-5354

FOX THEATER • 1001 W. Sprague • 624-1200

THE HIVE • 207 N. First, Sandpoint • 208-457-2392

HOGFISH • 1920 E. Sherman, CdA • 208-667-1896

HOLLYWOOD REVOLVER BAR • 4720 Ferrel, CdA • 208-274-0486

HOUSE OF SOUL • 120 N. Wall • 217-1961

IRON HORSE BAR • 407 E. Sherman Ave., CdA • 208-667-7314

IRON HORSE BAR & GRILL • 11105 E. Sprague Ave., CdA • 509-926-8411

JACKSON ST. BAR & GRILL • 2436 N. Astor St. • 315-8497

JOHN’S ALLEY • 114 E. Sixth St., Moscow • 208883-7662

KNITTING FACTORY • 911 W. Sprague Ave. • 244-3279

LAGUNA CAFÉ • 2013 E. 29th Ave. • 448-0887

THE LANTERN TAP HOUSE • 1004 S. Perry St. • 315-9531

LEFTBANK WINE BAR • 108 N. Washington • 315-8623

LUCKY’S IRISH PUB • 408 W. Sprague • 747-2605

MARYHILL WINERY • 1303 W. Summit Pkwy, Ste. 100 • 443-3832

MAX AT MIRABEAU • 1100 N. Sullivan • 924-9000

MICKDUFF’S • 312 N. First Ave., Sandpoint • 208)255-4351

MONARCH MOUNTAIN COFFEE • 208 N 4th Ave, Sandpoint • 208-265-9382

MOOSE LOUNGE • 401 E. Sherman • 208-664-7901

MOOTSY’S • 406 W. Sprague • 838-1570

MULLIGAN’S • 506 Appleway Ave., CdA • 208- 7653200 ext. 310

NASHVILLE NORTH • 6361 W. Seltice Way, Post Falls • 208-457-9128

NECTAR CATERING & EVENTS • 120 N. Stevens St. • 869-1572

NORTHERN QUEST RESORT • 100 N. Hayford Rd., Airway Heights • 242-7000

NYNE • 232 W. Sprague Ave. • 474-1621

THE OBSERVATORY • 15 S. Howard • 381-5489

OMEGA EVENT CENTER • 25 E. Lincoln Rd.

O’SHAY’S • 313 E. CdA Lake Dr. • 208-667-4666

PEND D’OREILLE WINERY • 301 Cedar St., Sandpoint • 208-265-8545

THE PIN! • 412 W. Sprague • 368-4077

RED LION RIVER INN • 700 N. Division • 326-5577

RED ROOM LOUNGE • 521 W. Sprague • 838-7613

REPUBLIC BREWING • 26 Clark Ave. • 775-2700

RIDLER PIANO BAR • 718 W. Riverside • 822-7938

RIVELLE’S • 2360 N Old Mill Loop, CdA • 208-930-

calendar of culinary events

Delivered to your inbox every Thursday

FILM STIRRING SERIES

The Alliance for Media Arts + Culture kicks off its second Monday Movies film series with one of the most acclaimed documentaries of 2018, the Oscar-nominated Hale County This Morning, This Evening. The monthly screenings are dedicated to “true stories with bold visions,” and this story of two black teenagers in small-town Alabama fits the bill. Filmmaker RaMell Ross followed his two subjects for five years, the process capturing the life of a town as well as the two friends. This season’s Monday Movies films shine a light on diverse communities across the United States, from the rural poor in Kentucky to Native American rock bands to black roller-skating culture, and each film is followed by a discussion or panel on the topic.

— DAN NAILEN

Monday Movies: Hale County This Morning, This Evening • Mon, Feb. 18 at 7 pm • $8 • Magic Lantern Theater • 25 W. Main • magiclanternonmain.com • 209-2383

MUSIC THE THREE MASTERS

These three Maui musicians are known for bringing unique folk style, rooted in early 19th century Hawaiian paniolo culture, to their 21st century audiences. On guitar and vocals for the trio is four-time Grammy-winner George Kahumoku Jr., also known as Hawaii’s Renaissance Man. On bass, guitar and vocals is the awardwinning Nathan Aweau. Born into a musical family, Aweau’s young life was filled with piano lessons, practicing the guitar and ukulele and later the saxophone, bass and percussion. Slack key guitarist and vocalists David “Kawika” Kahiapo was introduced to music in O’ahu, listening to his father spend hours practicing the guitar in their garage. Together, they’ll surely bring a blast of sun to a wintry Spokane February.

— ARCELIA MARTIN

Masters of Hawaiian Music: George, Nathan and Kawika • Thu, Feb. 21 at 8 pm • $18-$38 • Bing Crosby Theater • 901 W. Sprague • bingcrosbytheater.com • 227-7638

VISUAL ARTS ARCTIC PRINTS

Working in a much colder climate than ours, in fact considered part of the Arctic, Inuit artists in Povungnituk, Quebec, have been applauded for their printmaking and sculptures. These art pieces encapsulate the history and legends of the native people and animals against crisp, icy backgrounds. Many of the pieces in this collection now on display at the MAC showcase the rituals that have allowed the Inuit people to survive in this unfriendly landscape throughout history. The village of Povungnituk was first established as a trading post by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1921; its name is often shortened to simply “POV.”

— ARCELIA MARTIN

The Inuit Art of Povungnituk • Opens Sat, Feb. 16; Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm through May 12 • $5-$10 admission • Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture • 2316 W. First • northwestmuseum.org • 456-3931

CULTURE NIGHT IN NOLA

You may be in the heart of North Idaho, but for just one night, imagine you’ve been transported to the lively streets of New Orleans’ French Quarter for the the Coeur d’Alene Arts and Culture Alliance’s fourth annual Mardi Gras celebration. Guests to this fundraiser will be treated to plenty of traditional festivities and food, with New Orleans-style fare from seven regional chefs, also competing in a cook-off. Other colorful and eye-catching festivities include stilt walkers, jugglers, fortune tellers, henna tattooists, body painters, live music and art making — even a performance by local drag queens Nova Kaine and Les Gurlz. A highlight of this year’s event is a recreation of the oldest bar in the country, Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar.

— CHEY SCOTT

Mardi Gras Krewe d’Alene • Sat, Feb. 16 from 5:30-10 pm • $40 • Coeur d’Alene Resort Plaza Shops • 210 Sherman Ave. • artsandculturecda.org/ mardigras • 208-292-1629

THEATER MONOLOGUES FOR A CAUSE

Since it premiered off-Broadway in 1996, Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues has inspired everything from acclaim to controversy. It’s also been restaged countless times by theater groups both large and small, and now Gonzaga’s theater program is presenting the show to the public for the first time in the university’s history. This production, directed by Leslie Stamoolis, is also a fundraiser for the local YWCA Women’s Shelter, and the organization’s Hope Stones program will be selling handmade jewelry at the event. And as is the case with every staging of Monologues, it will also benefit Ensler’s V-Day Campaign, which has already put millions of dollars toward preventing violence against women.

— NATHAN WEINBENDER

SAW YOU &CHEERS JEERS

I SAW YOU

MAGIC BOY You should be a superhero called "Magic Boy," the way you wowed my parents tantalized my soul. I see you all of the time walking by the plaza. We should put parmesan on each other's Pizza Rita someday if you know what I mean, and then catch some tunes at the piano bar.

A HEART FOR THOSE IN NEED To the young woman (tall with long, blond, braided pigtails, and stocking cap) at the Nevada & Francis Dutch Bros on Saturday, 2-2-19, at 10 am. You brought some liquid refreshment out to a woman at the street corner who was sitting on a walker with cardboard sign in hand. I'm not sure if you are an employee or patron, but your act of kindness didn't go unnoticed. Thanks for your shining example of empathy to which we should all aspire.

REPUBLIC PI STAR* I came in late dinner time on Wednesday (2/6) to meet a friend. You were by yourself, finishing dinner and glass of wine. I sat next table over (we were back to back). We exchanged smiles a time or two. You left after a little while. I wish I had introduced myself/started a conversation. I would like the opportunity!

STEAK & SMILES I saw you at Outback Steakhouse on Sunday the 10th. You kept laughing at the AFV playing in the background while thoroughly enjoying your steak and margaritas. I hope to live my life with the gusto and enthusiasm you showed.

SHE MAKES MY COFFEE AND MY DAY So, I would like to shoutout to one of the girls who works the Sodexo coffee stand at SCC. On a couple of occasions, she has made my coffee. She has been there for me on a personal level. So they have a saying with coffee stands that coffee will make your day. But it's not the coffee I get that makes my day, she makes my day. As you go through Spokane everyday, it is just like having to travel through the fires of hell. Lately I have been depressed and under a lot of stress. But in the end, as I sit in the desert and feel all hope is gone; she is the voice of an angel guiding me to see there is hope. And in the end, I cannot ask for more. The term is tough on all of us, even enough that I have dropped my classes. Everytime I talk to her, I see hope in myself to look past everything that is on my crazy mind. I have been sleepless lately too because of the fact that life has gotten more hostile. When others add to the problems I have, she is the only person I can trust no matter how personal what I'm saying is. The reason I point it out is because this is what I want to see more of in Spokane. And at the end of day, she is there for me. This I really appreciate too much. This is why sometimes I feel rich.

CHEERS

HONESTY IS STILL ALIVE Big Cheers to the wonderful woman that gave me my $200 casino slip when she saw it fall out of my pocket at N. Quest on 2-10-19. Honest decent people still exist. Thank God.

"TIRED OF GIVING IN" "No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in". Quote from Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat in a part of a bus unjustly designated for "whites only." Among us are women from all races who are still beaten down by insecure men. Men positioned with a minute amount of power who hate themselves for not "standing up". If I, a white woman, am to be labeled, then label me "Rosa Parks."

CHEERS TO THE SPOKANE BUS DRIVERS

Cheers to the bus drivers in Spokane. I had an experience where there was a full bus of students and people trying to get home safely. There was a firetruck, an ambulance, and a few police vehicles, I don't know what happened but this cool bus driver carefully took a detour and got us all to the plaza safely. It takes 4 to 5 weeks to become one. I have deep respect for them — thank you to all.

JEERS

IF YOU LOVE SOMETHING... "If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it's yours forever. If it doesn’t, then it was never meant to be." I've read this section of the Inlander religiously for over 10 years; mostly for entertainment. Recently I've scanned every column in the hope you'd come back to me with a special

RE: BOO HOO! Government Employee Average means that those in the middle of the entire range of government employees are making $80K. Average TSA salary is $38k and they had to work through this. Our military members did not get paid during the shut down either with many of them earning less than $38K as well. That's not a lot of money especially considering many of them were either sole breadwinners or had spouses that were government

didn't have enough cash to cover even her portion of the order. So, frustrated, overwhelmed, and feeling defeated, I go back out to the car, to be greeted by this note in my drivers window: "We called the police. You are a horrible mother leaving your child in a running car, doors unlocked while you look at your phone and pay no attention to your child." At first, I was upset. I cried. I was frustrated. And after having my daughter unlock the doors, she told me that

written message, professing your love and apologizing for your actions over the past six years. Jeers to me for giving you that much of my life and jeers again to me for having faith you'd love me as genuinely as I love you. Now all I can hope for is that you go out and find happiness, find love so deep and genuine that you never want to let go. Share yourself, don't be guarded and keep growing; make the last six years mean something. I know that time meant something very special to me.

KISS THIS! To the man and woman in row V on the floor behind us, at the KISS concert. I know it was you who stole my stuff from my chair! So kiss my ass you f---ing losers!

HAVE SOME COMPASSION So, someone was having an emotional break down on the phone at the library computer while trying desperately to deal with a government agency over a crisis and all you can do is have the librarian tell the person "there was a complaint." I hope if you ever have a major mental health problem or are trying to deal with run-around after run-around on a situation that can impact a person's entire life, that you get as much compassion as you gave that person NONE! and Cheers to the one who did show care.

SOUND OFF 1. Visit Inlander.com/isawyou by 3 pm Monday. 2. Pick a category (I Saw You, You Saw Me, Cheers or Jeers). 3. Provide basic info: your name and email (so we know you’re real). 4. To connect via I Saw You, provide a non-identifying email to be included with your submission — like “petals327@yahoo.com,” not “j.smith@comcast.net.”

employees as well. Take into consideration we just came off Christmas season, I could see how many would have depleted savings. Please research before you mouth off and make a fool of yourself.

FOR THE SAKE OF THE CHILDREN It's a Thursday night. I'm working, delivering for UberEats and DoorDash with my 9-yearold child traveling with me, some of our favorite time to spend together because it means audiobooks, singing and reading on my tablet for my kid. It's getting late in the evening, and after deciding some Panda Express would be enough to satisfy our hunger, I order through the app, expecting to pick up some food within half an hour. Unfortunately, it's only when I arrive that I find out the app malfunctioned and the order was never placed. So I run in, expecting to be out within a few minutes because Panda is normally pretty fast with food and our food choices had already been decided. I keep an eye on my car, still running after I told my kiddo to lock the doors behind me because I didn't want the heat to be turned off in this horrendous cold snap. Theres an issue with my only card, so I check the app on my phone, discover there was a pending charge from the online order that was never placed, making it difficult for me to get the food my child so desperately need, and I

there were people looking in the car while I was inside Panda. But now, I just want to tell the author of that note: I hope you did call the police. I hope you called DCFS as well, to report suspected neglect. I hope you recorded video of my car running and my child in the back seat and me looking at my phone and paying no attention to my child for, at most, five minutes so that you could send it in to the police and DCFS to back up your claim. And next time, I hope you have the courage to confront a parent and ask for their information to include with your report instead of hiding behind vague threats and passive notes attacking single working mothers. n

+

pm

NOTE: I Saw You/Cheers & Jeers is for adults 18 or older. The Inlander reserves the right to edit or reject any posting at any time at its sole discretion and assumes no responsibility for the content.

EVENTS | CALENDAR

BENEFIT

TASTE SPOKANE An annual fundraising event benefiting the Wishing Star foundation. Event attendees sample products from some of Spokane’s most acclaimed restaurants, regional wineries, breweries, and dessert purveyors. Feb. 15, 7 pm. $60/$100. Northern Quest Resort, 100 N. Hayford Rd. bit.ly/2SsZLBQ

MARDI GRAS KREWE D’ALENE

A fourth annual stroll through the “streets” of New Orleans offering samples of New Orleans’-style fare from eight local restaurants, as well as street entertainment including stilt walkers, jugglers, fortune tellers, henna tatooists, body painters, artists in action, live musicians and more. Feb. 16, 5:30-10 pm. $40. Coeur d’Alene Resort Plaza Shops, 210 Sherman Ave. artsandculturecda.org

RAISE A GLASS An evening of tasting featuring wines from around the world, paired with heavy appetizers. Includes a masquerade costume contest with prizes for best dressed couple. Proceeds help fund the work of Christ Kitchen. Feb. 16. $60/person; $110/couple. Patsy Clark Mansion, 2208 W. Second. christkitchen.org

SPOKANE BELLYFEST Learn the art of belly dance or try out a folk dance from another country, and enjoy an evening performance. Bras collected (for $10 admission discount) are being donated to the YWCA Sister’s Closet. Net cash proceeds are donated to Spokane Women’s Farms. Feb. 16, 9 am-9 pm. $10-$20. West Central Community Center, 1603 N. Belt St. culturesdance. com/spokanes-bellyfest-2019

SOUP EXTRAVAGANZA A fundraiser for the barn’s ceramic program for repairs on the kilns, and for supplies for the kids ceramic program. Soup is served in a commemorative mudslinging bowl you’ll get to keep. Enjoy choice of soup, (clam chowder, vegetarian lentil chili, chicken and noodles) bread and dessert. Feb. 17, 4:30-7 pm. $25. Dahmen Barn, 419 N. Park Way. artisanbarn.org (229-3414)

TASTE OF LIFE Hospice of Spokane’s signature fundraising event offers an evening of drinks, food, music and charitable donations. During the event, guests have the opportunity to speak with area winemakers and brewers, sample unique food pairings, and bid on exciting silent auction packages. Feb. 22, 5:30-8:30 pm. $75. Spokane Club, 1002 W. Riverside. hospiceofspokane.org (456-0438)

SPOKANE BENEFIT FOR JVC NORTHWEST A fundraiser for friends and supporters of JVC Northwest with a keynote speech by Former Jesuit volunteer and Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson. Also includes a hors d’oeuvres reception before the program. Feb. 22, 5:30-8:30 pm. $30$45. Gonzaga University, 502 E. Boone Ave. jvcnorthwest.org (503-335-8202)

HIGH HEELS & HARD HATS Because There is Hope’s 15th annual fundraiser, brunch and auction focuses on the building project, “Melody’s House of Hope,” to expand capacity to provide free housing for six cancer patients and their caregivers who have to travel to Spokane for treatment. Feb. 23, 9:30 am. $40/person; $400/table of 10. Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. bit.ly/2E79Awi

COMEDY

2.0PEN MIC Local comedy night hosted by Ken McComb. Thursdays, from 8-10 pm. Free. The District Bar, 916 W. First Ave. (244-3279)

GUFFAW YOURSELF! Open mic comedy night hosted by Casey Strain; Thursdays at 10 pm. Free. Neato Burrito, 827 W. First Ave. (847-1234)

WHITNEY CUMMINGS Best known for creating and starring in the NBC series Whitney, Cummings was also the cocreator and co-writer of the Emmynominated CBS comedy series 2 Broke Girls. Feb. 14-15 at 7 and 9:30 pm.

$25-$35. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com

AGT FINALIST SAMUEL COMROE The LA native is a stand-up comedian who performs at over 100 clubs and colleges annually. He made his TV debut on TBS’ Conan and has appeared on BET’s

“Real Husbands of Hollywood” with Kevin Hart. Feb. 15 at 9 pm and Feb. 16 at 3 pm. $25. Bridge Press Cellars, 39 W. Pacific Ave. bridgepresscellars.com

STAND-UP COMEDY Live comedy featuring established and up-and-coming local comedians. Fridays at 8 pm. No cover. Red Dragon Chinese, 1406 W. Third Ave. reddragondelivery.com

NATHAN BRANNON The Portlandbased comedian is a podcast producer, musician and 2014 winner of the Seattle International Comedy Competition. Shows at 7:30 and 10 pm. Feb. 16. $10-$15. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com

SAFARI The BDT’s version of “Whose Line,” a fast-paced short-form improv show that’s generally game based and relies on audience suggestions to fuel each scene. Ages 16+. Saturdays at 7:30 pm through March 30. $8. Blue Door Theatre, 815 W. Garland Ave. bluedoortheatre.com (747-7045)

CHRIS D’ELIA: FOLLOW THE LEADER TOUR D’Elia is best known for his stand up and starring role on the NBC comedy series Undateable. His latest standup special, Man on Fire, is now on Netflix. Feb. 17 at 5:30 and 8:30 pm. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com

THE SOCIAL HOUR COMEDY SHOWCASE Featuring comics from the Northwest and beyond, and hosted by Deece Casillas. Sundays, from 8-9:30 pm. Free. The Ridler Piano Bar, 718 W. Riverside Ave. socialhourpod.com

COMEDY SHOWCASE The Monday night showcase lets the audience help pick the “Best Set” of the night from among four local comedians. Third Monday of the month, from 8-9:30 pm. No cover; two-item min. purchase. The Buzz Pizzeria, Bar & Lounge, 501 S Thor. thebuzzspokane.com

MONDAY NIGHT COMEDY Hosted by Jared Chastain, with local acts followed by open mic. Mondays at 8 pm. Ages 21+. Free. Etsi Bravo, 215 E. Main, Pullman. etsibravo.com (715-1037)

OPEN MIC A free open mic night every Wednesday, starting at 8 pm. Doors open at 7 pm. Free. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com (509-318-9998)

CARTS AND COMEDY A night of jokes and laughter presented by the Garland. Ages 21+. Feb. 21, 9-10:30 pm.

$10. Garland Theater, 924 W. Garland Ave. bit.ly/2D6v62o (327-1050)

Hung Up on Hemp

What is Idaho so afraid of?

BY QUINN WELSCH

It’s a little strange that hemp is still illegal in Idaho, if you think about it. In a state known for its agriculture and libertarian leaning, hemp hasn’t made any progress, despite repeated efforts.

Looking at a map of Western states with either legal hemp or marijuana programs, Idaho is the only state with neither. Washington, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming and Utah (not to mention Canada) all have legal programs for one or the other.

Even the conservative Idaho Freedom Foundation penned an article in December suggesting that it’s time to legalize — or at least talk about legalizing — hemp. But while the 2018 Farm Bill has been a game changer for states where hemp is already legal, it doesn’t supercede Idaho’s state law banning hemp products.

So what’s the hold up?

Though he hasn’t given a firm “no” to any potential hemp legislation, last month Gov. Brad Little expressed that legalizing hemp could be “camouflage for the marijuana trade,” the Idaho Statesman reports.

Little’s comments reflect a suspicion that’s held by others, too. In January, the Idaho State Police seized a truck travelling between Oregon and Colorado carrying 6,700 pounds of hemp. The driver was arrested and the product was confiscated. The company, Big Sky Scientific, has now filed a lawsuit against the ISP. (The product’s THC content is currently being tested, the ISP told the Statesman.)

Although hemp contains a minimal amount of THC, the psychoactive compound found in marijuana, it’s not nearly enough to get high on. That said, Idaho state law bans products with any amount of THC.

Rep. Caroline Nilsson Troy (R-Genesee) introduced legislation last week that would change that. Her bill, House Bill 122, would legalize the plant within the same bounds as the 2018 Farm Bill, which allows hemp plants with .3 percent THC content. By comparison, marijuana strains have anywhere between 15-40 percent THC content.

Part of the challenge is just educating people on the differences between hemp and marijuana, Troy says.

“That is definitely a challenge. How we’ve been describing it is that they are cousins,” says Troy, chair of the House Agricultural Affairs Committee. “There are similarities in how they look and how they grow. The difference is how much THC they have. And that’s part of the definition in [the Farm Bill].”

As far as marijuana legislation goes, the interest just isn’t there, she says. “That’s a big bridge to cross.” She also adds that

hemp plants actually deter marijuana growth because the crosspollination weakens its potency.

More recent efforts to legalize hemp have failed. Former Gov. Butch Otter vetoed a bill in 2015 that would have allowed “hemp extract,” or CBD, from “out-of-state sources” to treat children with epilepsy.

“Most of these states that are still holding out are still very strong agricultural states,” says Erica McBride Stark, director of the National Hemp Association. “We’re not asking the state to do anything that defies federal law.”

Industrial hemp holds a lot of potential as a cash crop superior to corn, and it could potentially open hemp manufacturing jobs in the state, she adds. n

NOTE TO READERS

Be aware of the differences in the law between Idaho and Washington. It is illegal to possess, sell or transport cannabis in the State of Idaho. Possessing up to an ounce is a misdemeanor and can get you a year in jail and up to a $1,000 fine; more than three ounces is a felony that can carry a fiveyear sentence and fine of up to $10,000. Transporting marijuana across state lines, like from Washington into Idaho, is a felony under federal law.

ROYALTY LOVE LIKE

A Little Dab

A new study confirms dabbing trumps flower

BY TUCK CLARRY

If you’re someone trying to get as high as efficiently possible, or maybe a cannabis enthusiast with a rather high tolerance, it’s time to put down the flower and pick up the dab rig.

The argument that dab rigs are the most efficient way of using cannabis appears to be settled, as a recent 2019 study by Forensic Science International (FSI) in Switzerland found that a staggering 75 percent of THC makes its way into the system of someone wielding a dab rig. In polar opposition, traditional inhalation methods result in 75 percent of THC in bud to be lost when sparked up.

The percentage of cannabinoids that make it into the body after initial usage is called a “recovery rate” to show how quickly the body metabolizes THC. A previous study in 2015 found that smoking recovery rates tend to be somewhere between 27.5 percent and 46.3 percent, considerably less than FSI’s 75 percent.

The amount of THC taken in by smoking a rolled joint in two minutes is akin to a five-second rip off of a dab. So impatient stoners be advised. Also, the potency of flour diminishes much faster than that of wax.

Vaporizers meanwhile tend to float around the mid-to-high 50s in recovery rate. The crux of recovery rates appears to come down to the temperature levels users have when getting high. Another interesting discovery from the newest study suggests that smoking THCA, the “acid” version of THC, is more likely to increase the recovery rate levels as heating THCA turns the compound into THC, while heating THC turns that compound into CBN.

More studies need to take place to confidently explain why oil rigs at a moderate temperature are more efficient to combustion-type dab rigs, but it seems to put to bed whether or not it’s worth toking on a metallic cylinder rather than the old-fashioned routes. Of course, many people aren’t aiming to get as high as possible. n

A stylish dab rig found at a local shop. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. For use only by adults twenty-one and older. Keep out of the reach of children.

EVENTS | CALENDAR

LATE LAUGHS An improvised comedy show featuring a mix of experiments in improv, duos, teams, sketch and more. First and last Friday of the month at 9:30 pm. For mature audiences. $8. Blue Door Theatre, 815 W. Garland. (747-7045)

AFTER DARK A mature-rated version of the Blue Door’s monthly, Friday show; on the first and last Saturday of the month, at 10 pm. $7. Blue Door Theatre, 815 W. Garland Ave. bluedoortheatre.com

COMMUNITY

CHINESE CULTURE CLASSES A course based on the culture and story of Chinese festivals, including some traditional history, and how the festivals are celebrated now. Students also do some Chinesestyle practice in class including calligraphy, Chinese paper cutting and painting. Second Thursday of the month, from 7-8 pm, through April 11. Free, registration requested. Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave. cdalibrary.org

LOVE YOUR BODY WEEK Join the Gonzaga Dance Program and the Inland Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation in celebrating all the amazing things our bodies can do during the Second Annual Love Your Body Week. This event, Feb 11-16, includes body-positive activities across campus. Visit our website for more details on the week’s events. Donations suggested for some events. Gonzaga University, 502 E. Boone Ave. gonzaga. edu/college-of-arts-sciences/departments/theatre-dance/our-season

SPEED DATING WITH BOOKS On Valentine’s Day, at the top of each hour, every hour, come for “Speed Dating with Books.” Each 15 min. session invites patrons pick a book with an attractive cover, read for 90 seconds and find a new selection. Speed daters sample up to 10 books, and are encouraged to take as many as they like. A social time is set after every speed dating round to enjoy sparkling cider, sweets, and chat about your “dates.”

Throughout the month of Feb., the library also offers its special “Blind Date With a Book.” Feb. 14, 12-6 pm. Colfax Library, 102 S. Main St. whitco.lib.wa.us

PICKIN’ POST FALLS VINTAGE & ARTISAN MARKET A weekend event featuring hand-selected vendors from throughout the Northwest and beyond: vintage, antiques, artisan handcrafts, signs, handmade furniture, repurposed, upcycled and reclaimed, jewelry, soap and more. Free for ages 12 and under. Feb. 15 from 12-9 pm and Feb. 16 from 10 am-4 pm. $7/weekend admission. Greyhound Park & Event Center, 5100 Riverbend Ave. pastblessingsfarm.com (208-773-0545)

A BRIGHT TOMORROW THROUGH ED -

UCATION: PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

This program as part of the SPL’s Black History Month celebration follows and studies the historical timeline. Education is power and barriers must be resolved. Feb. 16, 3:30 pm. Free. Shadle Library, 2111 W. Wellesley Ave. spokanelibrary.org

DROP IN & SCIENCE Spark’s resident mad scientist shares experiments from the gross to the glorious, inspiring a sense of wonder. All ages welcome, children under 6 years old should be accompanied by an adult willing to participate with them. Third Saturday of the month from 3-4:45 pm Free. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. spark-central.org

GIRLS CODE Learn to create your own story using core computer coding concepts, and earn a new sticker in your Coding Passport for each concept you

master. We value diversity and we welcome girls and girl-identified kids of any background to participate. Sign up online; for grades 4-7. Feb. 16, 10 am-noon. Free. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. spark-central.org (279-0299)

PRUNING SHRUBS & SMALL TREES

Pruning in the home landscape can be confusing. As gardeners, we want to do it right, but what is right? Learn why it’s less about right and wrong, and more about good and “less good.” For good pruning results, what you need is a plan, some basic plant knowledge, and sharp pruning tools. Feb. 16, 10 am. Free. Manito Park, 1800 S. Grand Blvd. thefriendsofmanito.org (509-456-8038)

BECOMING YOUR BEST SELF Join Andre J. Wicks for a motivating and insightful journey down the path of rising above, overcoming adversity, and tackling obstacles in order to become your best self, like many of our ancestors did. Feb. 18, 6:30 pm. Free. South Hill Library, 3324 S. Perry St. spokanelibrary.org (444-5331)

PREVENT FRAUD & IDENTITY THEFT

Learn how to protect your hard-earned money from predators and scams. Registration required at stcu.org/workshops.

Feb. 19, 6-7 pm. Free. Moran Prairie Library, 6004 S. Regal. (893-8340)

AFRO-MEXICANS: OUR NARRATIVE MATTERS Every year we honor the history of what is means to Hispanx, Latinx, Black, African American, Asian, Native American, Asian American. However, what does it mean to live at the intersections of multiple racial and ethnic identities in a nation that has not historically acknowledged your existence? Join us for a presentation. Feb. 20, 11:30 am12:30 pm. Free. SFCC, 3410 W. Fort George Wright Dr. (533-3546)

ALMA WOODSEY THOMAS FOR KIDS: A BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVENT Join us to learn about the artist Alma Woodsey Thomas, and then create your own art in her style. For grades 2-6; young children should be accompanied by a caregiver.

Feb. 20, 4 pm. Free. Hillyard Library, 4005 N. Cook St. (444-5331)

DOLLARS & SENSE: NAVIGATING YOUR CREDIT WORLD Learn how to get free access to and understand your credit report in this workshop from SNAP Spokane. Explore ways to improve your score, establish good credit, and deal with collection agencies. Feb. 20, April 17 and May 22 from 6-8 pm. Free. Spokane Valley Library, 12004 E. Main. scld. evanced.info/signup/Calendar

LEVEL UP CREATIVITY Join Spark for daily activities to ignite your creativity, innovation and imagination with science, writing and art projects. Wednesdays at 3:30 pm. Free. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. spark-central.org

LEGO EXTRAVAGANZA Create with thousands of LEGO bricks, play games, and take on challenges. Open to all ages; kids 8 and under must bring an adult. Feb. 21, 3:30-5 pm. Free. Otis Orchards Library, 22324 E. Wellesley Ave. scld.org

LILAC CITY LIVE! Featured guests: chef Jeremy Hansen, music from Heat Speak, entrepreneur Linda Beedle and comedy from Mara Baldwin and Sean Stoudt. Doors at 7, show starts at 8. Feb. 21, 8-9 pm. Free. Downtown Spokane Library, 906 W. Main Ave. spokanelibrary.org

MAKE YOUR OWN PODCAST: SESSION

1 Come learn about the different types of podcasts you might make, and what equipment, pre-production, and teams they require. Instructors Andrea Parrish and Jeremiah Puhek are the creators of

the podcast “A Thousand Things to Talk About.” Feb. 21, 7-8:30 pm. $0-$10. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. sparkcentral.org

THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE (TNL) On each third Thursday, the MAC offers evening entertainment including live music, activities, public talks, gallery openings, guided gallery walk-throughs and food and drink for purchase. Visit the MAC’s website or Facebook page for updates on the monthly schedule. Free/$5. The MAC, 2316 W. First. northwestmuseum.org

DROP IN & RPG If you’ve ever been curious about role-playing games, join us to experience this unique form of gameplaying, and build a shared narrative using cooperative problem solving, exploration, imagination, and rich social interaction. Priority seating for participants age 17 or younger. Second and fourth Friday of the month, from 4-7 pm. Free. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. spark-central.org (279-0299)

PEACE & JUSTICE ACTION CONFER-

ENCE This year’s conference, “Building Beyond the Moment: A Culture of Love & Belonging,” includes an opening reception Fri, Feb. 22 followed by a full day of workshop sessions on Sat, Feb. 23, along with a keynote, food and more. $15-$5. Unitarian Universalist Church, 4340 W. Fort George Wright Dr. pjals. org/2019conference (509-325-6283)

RANDOM FANDOM TRIVIA: THE 90S

Take on the biggest realms of fandom at adult trivia night. Bring your knowledge and your own eats (or have food delivered). Costumes and cosplayers are welcome. Program for adults. Feb. 22, 6:308:30 pm. Free. Spokane Valley Library, 12004 E. Main. scld.org (893-8400)

SCIENTIST FOR A DAY OPEN HOUSE

An event for kids to explore different careers in science, with activities showing what it’s like to be a botanist, geologist, hydrologist, wildlife biologist and an astronomer. Guest scientists also answer questions about their careers. Also includes a bake sale with treats and hot beverages, as well as the center’s resident raptors and other animal friends out to visit. Feb. 23, 10 am-2 pm. Free; $5 suggested donation. West Valley Outdoor Learning Center, 8706 E. Upriver Drive. bit.ly/2G3Xs0m (340-1028)

DR. SEUSS CELEBRATION In honor of America’s most famous reading teacher, the library has planned “lots of good fun that is funny.” We’ll be reading books, making crafts, and playing games. All ages. Feb. 26, 4-5 pm. Free. Spokane Valley Library, 12004 E. Main. scld.org

FINDING YORK OF THE LEWIS & CLARK

EXPEDITION The tale of York, born a slave in the early 1770s in Virginia and later the manservant of William Clark, serves as an example of how invisible the lives and contributions of slaves were throughout American history. This is York’s story before, during, and after the expedition, told by him. Feb. 26, 6:30 pm. Free. Shadle Library, 2111 W. Wellesley Ave. spokanelibrary.org (444-5390)

FILM

THE FAVOURITE A frail Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) occupies the throne and her close friend Lady Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) governs the country in her stead while tending to Anne’s ill health and mercurial temper. When a new servant Abigail Masham (Emma Stone) arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. Sarah takes Abigail under her wing and Abigail

sees a chance at a return to her aristocratic roots. Feb. 14-17; times vary. $7. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main. kenworthy.org

RETURN TO MOUNT KENNEDY In 1965

Jim Whittaker led Senator Robert Kennedy to the first ascent of a remote mountain in the Yukon named after the late president, JFK. Fifty years later, the sons of the original climbing team embark on an expedition to the mountain to celebrate the special bond that connects them all. Feb. 16, 7 pm. $11-$14. Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. bingcrosbytheater.com (227-7404)

OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS With all three categories screened (animated, live action and documentary) come predict the winners. Feb. 17, 5 pm. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org

MONDAY MOVIES: HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING Billed as “true stories with bold visions,” Monday Movies is a new film series at the Magic Lantern. “Hale County, This Morning This Evening” is a poetic and evocative film about two black teenagers in small-town Alabama. Feb. 18, 7-9 pm. $8. Magic Lantern, 25 W. Main. magiclanternonmain.com

CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? When author Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy) falls out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception. This film is based on a true story & co-stars Richard E. Grant. Rated R. Feb. 19, 21 and 23; times vary. $6-$8. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave. panida.org (208-255-7801)

IFS: WORKING WOMAN Screened as part of the Kenworthy International Film Series. Synopsis: Life at work becomes unbearable for Orna. Her boss appreciates and promotes her, while making inappropriate advances. Her husband struggles to keep his new restaurant afloat, and Orna becomes the main breadwinner for their three children. In Hebrew with English subtitles. Feb. 19, 7 pm. $5. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org (208-882-4127)

[RESCHEDULED] INJUSTICE AT HOME:

LOOKING LIKE THE ENEMY Featuring the inspiring stories of people in our community, this documentary focuses on Japanese Americans during WWII, both inside and outside the U.S. internment camp evacuation zone; chronicling their struggles, experiences, and perseverance through discrimination, racism and injustice. Free, RSVP requested. Tue, Feb. 19 at 4:30 pm. The MAC, 2316 W. First. northwestmuseum.org (456-3931)

BLACK HISTORY MONTH FILM: 42 This film tells the story of Jackie Robinson’s historical signing to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, becoming the first black Major League baseball player and forever changing professional sports. Feb. 20, 5:45 pm. Free. Downtown Spokane Library, 906 W. Main. spokanelibrary.org

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY SING-ALONG A special screening of this foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and lead singer Freddie Mercury. Feb. 20, 7 pm. $5. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org/calendar

A STAR IS BORN Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga depict the raw and passionate tale of Jack and Ally, two musicians who come together, on stage and in life. Rated R. Feb. 20-23; times vary. $6-$8. Panida Theater, 300 N. First. panida.org

ON THE BASIS OF SEX Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a struggling attorney and new mother who faces adversity and numerous obstacles in her fight for equal rights. When she takes on a groundbreaking tax case with her husband, she knows it

could change the direction of her career and how the courts view gender discrimination. Feb. 21-23; times vary. $3-$7. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main. kenworthy.org

SCREENING: INTO THE ARCTIC Each Thursday and Saturday at 1 pm and 2:30 pm, the MAC screens this 47-minute film telling the compelling story of artist Cory Trepanier’s first leg of his multi-year quest to explore and paint the dramatic wilderness of the Canadian Arctic. Weekly through May 11. $5-$10/admission. Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org

FOOD

HEART HEALTHY COMMUNITY COOKING CLASS In this special Valentine’s Day class, learn some recipes that are easy on your heart and help lower cholesterol. Class is designed to teach families with limited resources how to cook nutritious meals on a budget. Registration required. Feb. 14, 11:45 am-1:15 pm. Free. Second Harvest Food Bank, 1234 E. Front Ave. secondharvestkitchen.org (252-6249)

LOVE: BEER & DESSERT A Valentine’s event with mini desserts from Made With Love Bakery and ice cream from Sweet Annie’s Artisan Creamery, each paired with a beer taster from Bellwether. First come, first served while supplies last. Feb. 14, 3 pm. $20. Bellwether Brewing Co., 2019 N. Monroe. bit.ly/2GlWe1v

SAVORY SIDE OF DESSERTS Learn tools to balance acidity and sweetness: How does Grilled pound cake with port reduction or Thai basil and lemongrass crème brûlèe sound? Feb. 14, 6-8 pm. $59. Spokane Community College, 1810 N. Greene St. (279-6030)

SCOTCH & CIGARS Select a flight of whiskey, scotch or bourbon paired with a recommended cigar during an event on the outdoor patio. Thursdays, from 6-10 pm. $15-$25. Prohibition Gastropub, 1914 N. Monroe. (474-9040)

THURSDAY WINE SOCIAL The weekly complimentary wine tasting event features different wine themes and samples of the shop’s gourmet goods. Thursdays, from 4-6 pm. Free. Gourmet Way, 8222 N. Gov't Way. gourmetwayhayden.com

VALENTINE’S DAY COUPLES COOKING

CLASS Working alongside your Valentines, chefs walk guests through the preparation of a menu that’s then shared at candlelit tables. Menu features shrimp cocktail, caesar salad, pomegranate and honey glazed chicken with acorn squash, chocolate dipped strawberries and one glass of sparkling wine. Feb. 14, 5:30-8 pm. $100/couple. Second Harvest Food Bank, 1234 E. Front Ave. (252-6249)

VALENTINE COOKING CLASS Working alongside their Valentine, Chef Jeannie walks guests through a culinary celebration of Valentine’s Day, preparing tiramisu and a five-course dinner with two glasses of beer/wine. Feb. 14-15 from 6-9 pm. $80/couple. Commellini Estate, 14715 N. Dartford Dr. commellini.com

SUPPER CLUB: WINE & CUISINE FROM ITALY’S ADRIATIC SIDE A culinary exploration of Italy’s Adriatic coast with with special guest Mike Scott Noble Winebow Imports. The dinner features wines made from ancient, lesser known varietals like Susumanello, Garganega, Montepulciano and more. Menu items feature lemon stringozzi pasta with clams, puttanesca crostini, and roasted leg of lamb. Feb. 16 at 6 pm and Feb. 17 at 4:30 pm. $70. Petunias Marketplace, 2010 N. Madison St. bit.ly/2RXPnS5

Advice Goddess

EAT, GRAY, LOVE

I am almost 50 but look much younger, and I’m noticing that a number of the guys who are pursuing me are in their early 30s. I’m flattered but not really interested, as I want to get married again and I’m thinking that these guys are too young to consider that and probably want to have babies. Am I a magnet for guys with mommy issues? What gives? –Puzzled

AMY ALKON

Nothing like rolling up to your guy’s band’s gig and having everybody be all “Mike, your mom’s here!”

As for these young whippersnappers’ intentions, chances are the only “aisle” they’re looking to walk down with you is the one from the front door to their bedroom in the pizza box graveyard-slash-apartment they share with a bunch of dudebros. Of course, men, just like women, can get to a point where they’re ready for cuddlyschmuddlywuddly forever – which is to say, a relationship. However, evolutionary psychologist David Buss explains that there’s strong evidence from a good deal of research that men (who don’t have to worry that they’ll get pregnant from sex) evolved to “have a greater desire for short-term mating” – casual sex with a variety of partners.

Buss notes that there are some stumbling blocks for men in short-term mating mode. A major one is “the problem of avoiding commitment.” That’s where you older but still hot ladies sometimes come in. Older women are less likely to demand a relationship with an age-inappropriate partner. Of course, older women are also likely to be sexually experienced and sexually adventuresome in a way younger women aren’t. And, unlike younger women, who are often shy about expressing what they want in bed, older women can stop just short of going all Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: “Faster, you maggot, faster! And 3 millimeters up and a centimeter to the left!”

The thing is, sometimes two people with the most casual of sexual intentions unexpectedly fall for each other. But if you and the young hardbodies can stay in the sex-only lane, your having regular sex might help you take your time getting to know dates with real partner potential for you rather than flying right into bed. Finally

generally speaking – there’s the obvious plus in sex romps with the young Turks: fewer occasions when the manparts are like papier-mache fruit – for decorative purposes only.

THE BEDDER BUSINESS BUREAU

I’m a woman with a male business partner. He just got a new girlfriend, and he pretty much goes MIA whenever he goes to visit her. It can take him up to two days to return my phone calls, and I’ll have to call or text two or three times to get him to respond. (I’m contacting him about business, not social stuff.) He is usually – well, used to be – very available by phone. His disappearing act when he’s with the girlfriend is really annoying and detrimental to our business and, frankly, pretty disrespectful. I’ve made jokes about it, but nothing’s changed. Help. –Annoyed

“Hello, Search and Rescue? Can you send out a team? I think my business partner is lost in his girlfriend’s pants.”

Tempting as it must be to blast your partner for constantly leaving you in the telephonic lurch, you’d be better off simply telling him that it feels really crappy to have your calls and texts go ignored for days; you feel disrespected. Research by social psychologist C. Daniel Batson and his colleagues suggests that we have an evolved motivation to try to alleviate others’ pain, to help other humans who are struggling emotionally (or are otherwise in need). However, there’s a caveat: If a person’s pain or need is expressed with an attack on our behavior, we’re likely to go into fight-back mode instead of “there, there, lemme see what I can do to make things better” mode.

As for why you have yet to get through to him, you write, “I’ve made jokes about it, but nothing’s changed.” Jokes are just the thing if you’re putting on a show with a two-drink minimum; not so much if you’re trying to communicate your needs (especially to a man). The same goes for hints. Instead, opt for healthy assertiveness – from the start. Figure out what you need – how soon you’d like to have a callback – and then express that.

You may not get exactly the timetable you want, but this at least opens up a discussion: “Call you back within three hours?” he responds – countering with “Ehh... how about five hours?” You should ultimately find this approach vastly more productive than going snarky and, say, suggesting that he and his girlfriend make love like they do in the movies – specifically, the video in which Paris Hilton answers the phone in the middle of having sex. n

©2018, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. • Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405 or email AdviceAmy@aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com)

EVENTS | CALENDAR

MEXICAN COCKTAIL FORMAL An early celebration of Cochinito’s first birthday with six craft cocktails featuring wine and spirits, and a heavy assortment of small passed plates and desserts with live music by Nic Vigil of Milonga. Feb. 17, 6 pm. $69. Cochinito Taqueria, 10 N. Post. (474-9618)

MUSIC

THE GREAT FOLK SCARE: AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC REVIVAL, 1958–65 Brad Keeler and Linda Parman perform music celebrating this watershed moment in American cultural history. Feb. 16, 2-3 pm. Free. Argonne Library, 4322 N. Argonne Rd. scld.org (893-8260)

LOVE IS ALL AROUND Enjoy Johannes Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzes performed by the Palouse Chorale Society Chamber Choir. Then, during dessert, be serenaded by the enchanted solo and small ensemble voices of Chorale members. Feb. 16, 6-7:30 pm. $20. Simpson United Methodist Church, 325 NE Maple St, Pullman. simpsonumc.org SPOKANE SYMPHONY CLASSICS 6: PASSION’S PURSUIT Meet the Symphony’s music director finalist James Lowe during this concert with featured pianist Haochen Zhang and a program of works by Liszt, Brahms and more. Feb. 16 at 8 pm and Feb. 17 at 3 pm. $19-$60. Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, 1001 W. Sprague. (624-1200)

U.S. AIR FORCE FALCONAIRES BIG BAND The “Falconaires” jazz ensemble from Colorado Springs perform an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary jazz repertoire that celebrates our national heritage. Feb. 20, 7 pm. Free and open to the public. Schuler Performing Arts Center, 1000 W. Garden Ave. (208-769-7780)

WEDNESDAY NIGHT CONTRA DANCE

The Spokane Folklore Society presents its weekly dance with the Jam Band playing and caller Karen Wilson-Bell. Feb. 20, 7:30-9:30 pm. $5/$7. Woman’s Club of Spokane, 1428 W. Ninth. myspokanefolklore@gmail.com

MASTERS OF HAWAIIAN MUSIC Three Masters, featured regularly at Maui’s renowned Slack Key Show, bring Hawai‘i’s unique folk styles, to 21st century stages. Feb. 21, 8-10 pm. $18-$38. Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. bingcrosbytheater.com (496-4866)

SPORTS & OUTDOORS

3A/4A DISTRICT 8 BASKETBALL

TOURNEY This tournament format acts as the first round of State play, providing student athletes the chance to play locally before winning teams advance to the Regional Basketball playoffs to vie for a spot at the State Championships. Feb. 15-16. $8-$10. Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon. spokanearena.com

HARD HITS & HEARTBREAK: ROLLER

DERBY HOME GAME Lilac City Roller Derby’s All Star Team, The SASS and its home team, The YETIS, take on tough Montana competitors from Flathead Valley Roller Derby. Feb. 16, 5:30 pm. $8-$10. HUB Sports Center, 19619 E. Cataldo Ave. bit.ly/2E6Y2cn

SNOWSHOE MOONLIGHT HIKE + DINNER Travel through the winter landscape of Mount Spokane by the magic of moonlight before returning to Selkirk Lodge for meal from Greenbluff

Fresh Catering Company. Pre-trip info emailed after registration. Ages 18+.

Feb. 16 from 6-9 pm. $49. Mt. Spokane State Park, 26107 N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. spokaneparks.org (755-2489)

THEATER

CABARET Set in early 1930s Berlin, with rising social-political unrest, a local cabaret becomes a center for avantgarde culture and theatrical misfits of the Roaring 20s. Feb. 14-24; Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sat-Sun at 1:30 pm. $12-$20. Regional Theatre of the Palouse, 122 N. Grand Ave. rtoptheatre.org (334-0750)

DRINKING HABITS The Panida Playhouse Players present this play by Tom Smith, a farce filled with accusations, mistaken identities and romances running wild. Feb. 14-16 at 7 pm, Feb. 17 at 3:30 pm. $10-$15. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave. panida.org (208-255-7801)

THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES The Gonzaga Theatre Dept. performs Eve Ensler’s groundbreaking play as part of the annual V-Day campaign to support ending violence against women. Ninety percent of ticket sales will be donated to the YWCA Spokane’s Domestic Violence Safe Shelter. Feb. 14, 7-9:30 pm. $15. Gonzaga Magnuson Theatre, 502 E. Boone. gonzaga.edu (313-6662)

YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU The play follows the engagement of Tony and Alice, and what happens when they introduce their very opposite families to one another. Through Feb. 17; ThuSat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm. $27-$29. Spokane Civic Theatre, 1020 N. Howard St. spokanecivictheatre.com

LIFE SUPPORT This performance features two characters facing imminent death of their spouses and how they draw on one another for support. Through Feb. 24; Fri-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm. $13. Ignite! Community Theatre, 10814 E. Broadway. igniteonbroadway.org

MY FAVORITE TOY WAS DIRT An original musical-comedy play by Patrick F. McManus and starring Tim Behrens, with music by Olivia Brownlee. Think Mark Twain meets Spike Jones, or the Marx Brothers meet Frank Zappa. This is the show’s world premiere presented by McManus Comedies. Rated G. In the Lair Auditorium. Feb. 15, 7:30 pm. $15$27. Spokane Community College, 1810 N. Greene. mcmanusplays.com

STAGE TO SCREEN: I’M NOT RUNNING Pauline Gibson is a junior doctor, who becomes the face of a campaign to save her local hospital and then finds that her new notoriety has thrust her into politics. Feb. 17, 2-4 pm. $4/$10. Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague. bingcrosbytheater.com

FROM SPOKANE TO STRATFORDUPON-AVON AND BACK AGAIN: In her recent book, “Staging the Spanish Golden Age: Translation and Performance,” Gonzaga University’s Kathleen Jeffs draws on first-hand experience of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s rehearsals to put forth a collaborative model for translating, rehearsing, and performing Spanish Golden Age drama.

Feb. 21, 4:30-5:15 pm. Free. Gonzaga University, 502 E. Boone. (313-6661)

VISUAL ARTS

CIPHERS Craig Hickman, photographer and emeritus art professor at the University of Oregon, exhibits his art. Hick-

man is one of the founders of Blue Sky Gallery in Portland, and has been active in photography for more than 50 years as an image maker, teacher and curator. Feb. 13-March 22; Mon-Thu 10 am-4 pm; Fri 10 am-2:30 pm. Free. North Idaho College, 1000 W. Garden Ave. nic.edu

NATHAN SANDBERG GLASS EXHIBIT

The Portland-based artist and educator's primary material is glass, although his installations often make use of other materials; wood, metal and concrete. Reception Feb. 19 from 5-6 pm; lecture at 6 pm. Exhibit runs Feb. 5-March 22; Mon-Fri 10 am-5 pm; Sat 10 am-2 pm. Free. Whitworth University, 300 W. Hawthorne. (777-3258)

ELIXIR NO. 2 - A WINTER’S WALK A day of art installations, antique sales and luncheon at the bistro and gallery. Feb. 16, 10 am-3 pm. Bank Left Gallery, 100 S. Bridge St. bankleftgallery.com

INTO THE ARCTIC This exhibit by Cory Trépanier presents the most ambitious body of artwork ever created from the Canadian Arctic, a wilderness so remote and untouched that many of its landscapes have never been documented before. Feb. 16-May 12; Tue-Sun 10 am-5 pm. $5-$10. The MAC 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org

THE INUIT ART OF POVUNGNITUK The artists in Povungnituk, Quebec, have been recognized for over a quarter century for the quality and distinctive style of their printmaking. The Povungnituk sculptures and prints chronicle the history and legends of a people. Feb. 16-May 12; Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm. $5-$10. The MAC, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org

WORDS

POETRY READING: THE TOTEM Edmond Bruneau reads from his new and third book of poetry, featuring 126 new poems and a spiritual short story. Feb. 16, 11 am-3 pm. Free. Barnes & Noble, 15310 E. Indiana Ave. (922-1684)

PIERCING THE CONCRETE VEIL Power

2 The Poetry and Gonzaga School of Law Students with The William O. Douglass Committee seek to give a voice to inmates at the Spokane County Jail by reading letters written by them. Feb. 19, 6 pm. Free. Downtown Spokane Library, 906 W. Main Ave. bit.ly/2DCtJcm

TUESDAY GALLERY TALKS Visitors can engage directly with works of art and historic artifacts in the exhibit galleries through informal talks led by museum director Wesley Jessup, or staff curators Valerie Wahl, Brooke Wagner or Tisa Matheson. Talks depart promptly each Tuesday at 11 am. Included with admission ($5-$10). The MAC, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org (456-3931)

NAT GEO LIVE! PINK BOOTS & A MACHETE Miraya Majoy is a respected primatologist, audacious explorer, and Emmy Award-nominated wildlife correspondent for the National Geographic Channel. Feb. 20, 7 pm. $30. First Interstate Center for the Arts, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. inbpac.com

WHY LIBERALISM FAILED University of Notre Dame Professor of Political Science Patrick J. Deneen explores how the pursuit of individual liberty engenders depersonalization, political alienation and enormous income inequality — factors that can lead to liberalism’s destruction. Feb. 20, 7-8:30 pm. Free. Gonzaga University, 502 E. Boone. (3136095) n

ACROSS

1. Intl. oil group

5. SpaceX founder Musk

9. Like a merciless movie review

13. ____ Grant (college financial aid)

14. It may be stored on the cloud

15. Company that buried 700,000+ unsold video games in 1983

16. Cruz with the 2010 #1 hit “Break Your Heart”

17. “Eat up every moment” sloganeer

18. Instruments hit with mallets

19. Really fuming

22. Mo. when the Supreme Court reconvenes

23. ____ Beta Kappa

24. Food scrap

25. Shellac ingredient

27. Poet ____ St. Vincent Millay

29. One of four in a grand slam

PHONE:(509)444-7355

E-MAIL:BulletinBoard@Inlander.com

INPERSON: 1227WestSummitParkway Spokane,WA 99201

V’Day Superior Celebrated Daily! Give Music!U’ll B Remembered LONG after roses die! Recorded Memories to advertise: 444-SELL Available at more than 1,000 locations throughout the Inland Northwest. LOOK FOR THE GET YOUR INLANDER INSIDE Wednesday February 27th, 2019 10am - 2pm (509) 467-2365 Retirement Village & Assisted Living 312 W. Hastings Rd

|

32. Provoking sort

35. Tylenol target

36. Shakespeare play in which Beatrice says “I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest”

40. Apple debut of 2001

41. Litter makeup

42. It breaks in the morning

43. Lavish care (on)

44. Pueblo building material

48. State-issued driver ID

49. Preceder of “two, three, four”

51. Goat’s bleat

52. Comment about what really matters in life ... or a comment about fives squares in this puzzle’s grid

57. Move on tiptoe, say

58. Whopper

59. “Why do ____ this way?!”

60. Garbo of “Grand Hotel”

61. 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., e.g.

62. ____ hygiene

63. Requirements of Mormonism

64. Like unfatty meat

65. Mecca for oenophiles

DOWN

1. Select

2. Actor Guy of “Memento”

3. George and T. S.

4. Attire

5. Archie’s wife on “All in the Family”

6. Emmy winner Christine

7. “Looking at it a different way,” in texts

8. Back of the neck

9. Bar selection

10. Pessimist’s word

11. Frustrated exclamation

12. “That may be true, but ...”

15. Lead-in to phobia

20. Sleep clinic concern 21. “Happy Birthday, Mr. President”

The Native American Outreach Health Sciences Coordinator is responsible for the outreach, pathways, and visitation programs of Native Americans for the Health Sciences programs. Plans and implements new and existing programs to bring attention to the various Health Sciences programs. Works with tribal communities to present WSU Health Sciences to future students. Will identify and develop relationships with potential students and encourage family involvement. Plans age/group appropriate visitation programs. Attends and presents information to tribal communities at various venues located in the region. Creates and develops marketing and communications plans. Provide admissions advising/counseling to Native American students and parents and supports incoming and current students.

Required Qualifications: Positions require a Bachelor’s degree and two (2) years of professional work experience in student services or related education/ experience. A Master’s degree in a related field may substitute for one (1) year of professional work experience. Any combination of relevant education and professional experience may be substituted for the educational requirement on a year-for-year basis.

For a full position description and to apply, please visit http://apptrkr.com/1384022

Screening of applications will begin on February 4, 2019. This position will be open until filled.

Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience.

is an EO/AA/ADA Employer and Educator.

singer

26. Having a crisp picture, say 27. Overjoy

28. What many college students accrue 29. Supervised

30. Dust jacket part, usually

31. Latest fad

Coordinator NEED HELP ESCAPING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE? 24-hour Idaho hotline: 208.664.9303 safepassageid.org BUYING Estate Contents / Household Goods See abesdiscount.com or 509-939-9996 Where real gay men meet for uncensored fun! Browse & reply for free. 18+ 206.576.6631 ANSWERSTHISWEEK’S ONISAWYOUS

33. Three-term Big Apple mayor

34. “Stop procrastinating!”

35. Condition once called “shell shock,” for short

36. Prefix with life or wife

37. ____ creek

38. Playfully shy

39. Not suitable

43. Chicago Bears coaching legend Mike 45. Mark who was the 1998 PGA Player of the Year 46. Swimwear option 47. Title locale in a 1987 Cheech Marin film 48. Exams with a max. score of 180 49. Broom-____ of the comics 50. Complete reversal 52. Initials on a cross 53. Raising canines?

Let the Good Times Roll

The Fourth Annual Mardi Gras Krewe d’Alene brings the French Quarter to North Idaho

Unless you’re from the Big Easy or have taken part in New Orleans’ legendary Mardi Gras celebration, you may not be familiar with a krewe. Pronounced “crew,” it’s the organization that puts on a parade or ball during Mardi Gras. In North Idaho, the krewe behind Coeur d’Alene’s exciting Mardi Gras celebration is the Coeur d’Alene Arts and Culture Alliance.

For the past three years, the Alliance has transformed the Coeur d’Alene Resort’s Plaza Shops into a lively indoor rendition of the French Quarter. And since no trip to the French Quarter would be complete without Creole cuisine, Mardi Gras Krewe d’Alene will pit seven different local restaurants against each other, all competing for the Chef’s

Choice and People’s Choice awards: Angelo’s Ristorante Italiano, Bardenay, Candle in the Woods, Moon Time, Republic Kitchen + Taphouse, Reuben’s Catering and Ten/6. When you’re thirsty, stop by Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar, a recreation of the oldest bar in the country for something to sip as you stroll through the plaza shops.

Keep your phone ready as you wander, because options for unique selfies abound as stilt walkers and jugglers pass by. Pause and have your fortune read, or adorn yourself with a henna tattoo or body painting. Watch as artists paint and sketch, completing colorful works right in front of you. Live music and a performance by drag queens Nova Kaine and Les Gurlz round out the entertainment.

“The one thing that makes this event so cool is that the whole Mardi Gras celebration incorporates art,” says Ali Shute, the Arts and Culture Alliance’s executive director. “The whole event showcases creativity, and that’s what we’re all about.”

If the food and New Orleans-inspired streetscape whet your appetite for a trip to the real Big Easy, make sure you purchase a raffle ticket online or at the event, and you could win a four-day-three-night trip for two to New Orleans. Laissez les bon temps rouler (let the good times roll)!

COEUR D’ALENE

Upcoming Events

Mamma Mia!

FEBRUARY 14-17

The ultimate feel-good musical, featuring the music of ABBA, is presented by Aspire Community Theater. Rated PG-13. $19$25; Thu-Sat 7:30 pm, Sat-Sun pm 2 pm; Salvation Army Kroc Center.

Toyota Ski Free Day

FEBRUARY 15

Drive a Toyota, Lexus or Scion out to Silver Mountain Resort on Feb. 15 and you’ll ski free all day.

Scenic Lake Cruises

FEBRUARY 14-17

Warm up this winter on Lake Coeur d’Alene with a toasty hot cup of cocoa in your hands as you sit back and enjoy a 90-minute scenic tour of Lake Coeur d’Alene. A hot cocoa bar is available on-board for purchases of hot chocolate for the kiddos and spiked cocoa for the adults. $10-$15; noon and 2:30 pm. Go to visitcda.org for tickets.

For more events, things to do & places to stay, go to VisitCDA.org

COEUR D’ALENE