’ll admit, I don’t really follow football these days, college or pro. But as a Washington State University alum, I certainly spent plenty of Saturdays at Martin Stadium cheering on the Cougs. While winning was always fun — including our unforgettable 2008 Apple Cup overtime win at home; I was there and we rushed the field — game days were more about the celebratory collegiate experience: getting decked out in crimson and gray gear, sitting in the stands with my sorority sisters, singing the fight song, and getting a high-five from Butch. After the game (hopefully a win), we’d spill out of the stadium in droves before trekking back uphill to Greek Row, maybe stopping at The Coug for celebratory (or commiserative) rounds.
I look back on those days fondly, at a time when the future of WSU football hangs in the balance. This season is the Pac-12’s death rattle, as only WSU and Oregon State remain. Here’s to hoping for a favorable future for WSU and my fellow Coug fans; read more about the region’s COLLEGE FOOTBALL teams in this week’s cover.
CHEY SCOTT, Editor
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COMMENT
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WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE COLLEGE MEMORY?
BELLA FONTAINE
I would say graduating because it was a really monumental moment for me. I was a pandemic kid, so I didn’t have a high school graduation. So officially being able to walk down the aisle with my friends and sharing our accomplishments, I would say that’s probably my top one.
SONYA MARUSHKO
I wouldn’t say it’s one, but altogether, going to the basketball games is probably something I would highlight for sure. It’s just unreal. Coming into college I didn’t even know that GU had a basketball team, and then finding out that it’s pretty big and pretty well known and learning the scope of it was pretty crazy. All those memories are definitely something I think about.
GENE DUENAS
My oldest is going to school here, so last year was his first year. It was emotional for me and my wife, so that’s my first-year memory for him.
Do you have any advice for incoming college freshmen?
Connect to any faculty, staff, to make community.
TODD MOSEBAR
I was in the WSU marching band, and the first time I ran out of the tunnel onto the field for a football game, the crowd went crazy. The hairs on your neck stand up, it was amazing.
Do you have advice for incoming freshmen? Make yourself an opportunity to go abroad. Study abroad. Get out of the United States, get a different cultural perspective.
HEATHER CRANDALL
Meeting great people, which was important for me as a first-generation college student.
Do you have any advice for incoming college freshmen?
It’s not really advice, but the idea that you can do it. You can do it.
INTERVIEWS BY CASSANDRA BENSON 8/21/2024, GONZAGA UNIVERSITY
Confronting History
There are some important differences between Ukraine’s invasion of Russia and the ill-fated French and German invasions of past centuries
BY LAWRENCE B.A. HATTER
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fter enduring more than two years of war, Ukraine went on the offensive this month. This wasn’t the first time that Ukrainian-backed forces had launched “border incursions” into Russian territory. But the new Kursk offensive is different. This time, thousands of Ukraine’s best-trained and equipped soldiers orchestrated a sustained military operation that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hopes will draw Russian resources away from their recent plodding gains in eastern Ukraine, create a buffer zone to relieve Ukrainian civilians from Russian bombardment and, perhaps, improve Ukraine’s position in future negotiations to end the conflict. Ukraine’s offensive marks the first time that a foreign power has captured Russian territory since World War II. Ukrainian officials claim that they control roughly 490 square miles of the Kursk Oblast and have captured hundreds of Russian troops. The “Great Patriotic War” — as
the Second World War is known in Russia — occupies a sacred place in the public memory of Vladimir Putin’s Russia. The failure of Russian forces to prevent Ukraine’s invasion is deeply embarrassing to him because it undermines his strongman image. But should Putin find solace from the lessons of history? As any WWII buff can tell you, Hitler’s decision to invade Russia in 1941 proved fatal to the Nazi regime. Germany’s advance deep into the Soviet Union bled the Wehrmacht white, culminating in the defeat of German forces at Stalingrad in early 1943 and the eventual unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany at the hands of the combined Allied Powers in 1945.
Hitler was not the first “little corporal” bent on European domination to rue his decision to invade Russia. In June 1812, Emperor Napoleon I of France led his Grande Armée of 500,000 men into Russian territory. Napoleon was arguably at the pinnacle of his power, having defeated the leading continental European powers of Austria, Prussia and Russia in a series of brilliant campaigns in central Europe over the previous decade.
The British Empire, however, remained undefeated after its great naval victory over the
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a working trip to the Donetsk region in 2021. PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE OF UKRAINE PHOTO, CC 4.0
Franco-Spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Napoleon could not afford to ignore the British. Their army maintained a stubborn campaign in his brother’s neighboring kingdom of Spain, and, more importantly, Napoleon knew that he could not count on the long-term loyalty of his reluctant Austrian and Prussian allies so long as Britain was willing to finance new coalitions against France.
Napoleon coerced the defeated European powers into adhering to his “continental system,” which aimed to starve the British into submission by cutting off its trade with mainland Europe. The system was unpopular, and by 1812 Tsar Alexander I of Russia had decided that he didn’t want to play ball any longer. Napoleon decided it was time to teach the young Alexander a lesson.
The French invasion of Russia in 1812 was an unmitigated disaster. The wily Russian commander Mikhail Kutuzov tried to avoid facing Napoleon’s forces in a decisive pitched battle, opting to retreat into Russia’s vast territory and use his Cossack cavalry to harass the invaders. When Napoleon managed to eke out a narrow victory at the Battle of Borodino, the Russians chose to burn Moscow rather than allow it to fall into enemy hands.
And then “General Frost” did his terrible work. The Russian winter destroyed Napoleon’s Grande Armée; historians estimate that as many as 400,000 soldiers perished during the campaign. The overwhelming majority died of disease and starvation during the harrowing two-month retreat from Moscow. The Russian campaign did not seal Napoleon’s eventual fate, but it did mark a dramatic change in his fortunes.
“The failure of Russian forces to prevent Ukraine’s invasion is deeply embarrassing…”
Are those who do not know history doomed to repeat it? Armchair strategists usually point to Hitler’s invasion of Russia in 1941 as evidence of this. It was only Hitler’s hubris that could lead him to ignore the lessons of Napoleon’s humbling defeat of 1812. And he (thankfully) paid the price.
Make no mistake. Zelenskyy is no Hitler or Napoleon. He is bravely leading his people through an unprovoked, brutal invasion, launched by Putin. But despite the different personalities involved, will Ukraine’s campaign in Russia in 2024 prove equally disastrous to those of 1812 and 1941?
Only time can tell.
But historians are often suspicious of the idea that history repeats itself. To be sure, thinking about historical parallels can be a useful way to frame decisions about the present. But that doesn’t mean that the future is predetermined. Historians tend to emphasize the importance of contingency in the past. Things didn’t have to turn out the way that they did, and it is our job to work out what factors shaped historical outcomes.
So what might this mean for Ukraine’s Russian advance? What could Zelenskyy learn from 1812 and 1941? Both Napoleon and Hitler engaged in a deep invasion of Russian territory, aimed at neutralizing the military power of the Soviet Union. These grand ambitions overstretched their supply lines, proving fatal to both their geopolitical ambitions and to their troops on the ground, who could not survive the brutal war of attrition during the long Russian winter.
The Ukrainian invasion is not aimed at Moscow, or anywhere near as far from home. Kyiv has no ambition to conquer the Russian Federation. So long as Zelenskyy and his generals manage their strategic objectives in the Kursk Oblast, they will hopefully avoid a disastrous repetition of 1941 or 1812. Which reminds us that historical outcomes are often driven by the decisions we take, not the inescapable, invisible hand of fate. n
Lawrence B.A. Hatter is an award-winning author and associate professor of early American history at Washington State University. These views are his own and do not reflect those of WSU.
ENVIRONMENT
Creating Supply and Demand
As the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub gets its first influx of cash, Douglas County PUD is nearly ready to make green hydrogen fuel
BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL
The Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association has been awarded $27.5 million from the federal Department of Energy to start the first phase of planning for the regional production, storage, transportation and use of hydrogen fuel.
The award, announced on July 24, made the region’s federally designated “Hydrogen Hub” the second of seven in the country to get funding (California’s was the first). Over the next decade, the hub — a collaboration of public and private organizations and businesses — may receive up to $1 billion from the 2021 Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act. In the Pacific Northwest, most of that federal money will be leveraged for at least four times as much in private and local investment.
During Phase 1, the nonprofit Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association (aka PNWH2) will spend the next 12 to 18 months helping develop at least eight projects across Washington, Oregon and Montana.
Each of the projects in the Pacific Northwest hub will produce or use “green” electrolytic hydrogen fuel, which is made by using renewable energy sources to power the electrolysis process that rips hydrogen atoms from the oxygen in water molecules. The renewable energy will
come from the region’s abundant hydropower, as well as wind and solar.
The hope is that the eight projects, which the association refers to as “nodes,” will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in energy intensive industries, potentially replacing fuel sources in high-heat manufacturing, heavy duty transportation, and fertilizer production.
“PNWH2 is going to speed up our decarbonization efforts and the transition to a clean energy economy,” U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, said in a news release the day funding was announced. “I’m thrilled to be a partner in this fight with PNWH2 and can’t wait to see the incredible impact they have on our region.”
Chris Green, the president of PNWH2, said in a webinar last week that the hub has a unique challenge ahead.
“We have to basically create supply and demand for a new energy commodity at the same time, and that’s not been done as far as I know anytime recently,” Green said.
He later tells the Inlander that while there are some imperfect analogues — say, the petroleum industry in its early years, or the iPhone coming on the scene in 2007 and paving the way for a transition to smartphones — historic examples show that the supply has to be ready once
you’ve built the demand.
“When we convince others, by whichever means — by incentive or by some regulation — that they need to buy that product or should buy that product,” Green says, “we need to have enough supply for it, ready to go.”
While the regional hub is just starting the environmental planning, engineering and permitting processes for various nodes, a small public utility district in Central Washington is years ahead of the competition, with plans to start producing the fuel potentially by the end of the year.
DOUGLAS COUNTY PILOT
Headquartered in East Wenatchee, the Douglas County Public Utility District, or PUD, is one of the 28 customerowned utilities in Washington that owns and operates a dam to produce and sell hydroelectricity locally and on the energy market. Thanks to that hydropower, the county has some of the cheapest electricity in the entire country.
But there’s always room to improve. Several years ago, the PUD’s board started looking into opportunities
Douglas County PUD’s new hydrogen fuel production facility (pictured this summer) is nearly ready to be put to work.
PHOTO COURTESY DOUGLAS COUNTY PUD
“CREATING SUPPLY AND DEMAND,” CONTINUED...
for energy storage and more efficient use of the equipment at Wells Dam, when the staff became interested in the potential of hydrogen fuel. Not only could hydrogen serve as a power storage bank that could help stabilize the grid as needed, but it could be another clean commodity to sell on its own.
In fact, the Douglas County PUD was so far ahead of the game, the utility had to ask the Washington State Legislature for permission to produce and sell green hydrogen. The state regulates the types of power that public utility districts can generate and sell, and hydrogen wasn’t on the list.
So the utility’s staff worked with their state Sen. Brad Hawkins, R-Wenatchee, to pass a law in 2019 granting that permission, says Gary Ivory, general manager for Douglas County PUD.
“It paved the way for all utility districts in the state to produce green hydrogen and actually sell green hydrogen,” Ivory says. “It was just little Douglas County leading the way, but we did have the support of the PUD Association.”
So why is energy storage enticing when you already produce more electricity than your customers need?
“Renewable energy is very variable. When the sun shines, you can make solar energy. When the wind blows, you can make wind energy,” Ivory says. “You’ve got to be able to store energy.”
Hydroelectricity is most abundant when spring runoff is flowing, but that’s not when utilities see the peak demand for power, which is usually when customers need to heat or cool their homes in the winter or summer. Excess power generated during those high-flow times is often sold extremely cheap to other users on the grid.
“Hydropower balances the grid in the Pacific Northwest,” Ivory says. “It has the ability to ramp when customers start turning on motors and electric devices. … That ramping means we can turn on those turbines there at the plant, and adjust the wicket gates to push more water through the turbines.”
But all of that ramping — which may involve turning on a motor connected to a big generator shaft for just five minutes — can create wear and tear, Ivory says. Turning on one of the 10, 120,000 horsepower motors in the dam for just a few minutes at a time is “not a good, long-term viable way to run a motor that size,” Ivory says.
So after receiving state approval, Douglas County PUD started designing a hydrogen fuel pilot project.
The district set aside land for a new building (with room for more buildings in the future) to house an intricate system that includes water purifiers, an electrolyzer, and a connection to the dam’s electricity. Hydrogen fuel produced there can be stored in pressurized tubes on site.
The PUD’s first hydrogen production facility is nearly complete, with testing and commissioning of the first 5 megawatt electrolyzer expected to take place possibly as soon as October.
That 5 MW electrolyzer uses about 5 gallons of water per minute and can produce enough hydrogen fuel in a day to fill about 55 semitrucks or more than 350 cars, Ivory says. The building has room for three more electrolyzers that size if things go well, and the site has room for three more buildings of the same size, meaning the project could ultimately ramp up to 80 MW.
The plan initially is to store and sell the hydrogen in gas form, but it will likely take time to find customers who need the fuel, Ivory says. It’ll be even longer before the utility connects that fuel back to the electric grid to help balance demand.
“It’s a new industry that we’re getting into,” he says. “The first step is learning how to produce it, how to store
it, how to sell it, and down the road we’re going to learn how to put it back on the electric grid when that makes sense.”
The PUD will be one of its own first customers, thanks to a grant from Toyota, which provided the utility with four used Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in May.
But the potential to fuel heavy-duty semitrucks aligns the project — which has been advancing separately from the regional hydrogen hub — with the work that’s soon to get started around the Pacific Northwest.
HEAVY DUTY TRANSITION
All but one of the eight nodes in the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association are focused on producing hydrogen fuel for heavy-duty transportation needs along major interstate corridors, and public transit. The other project will use green hydrogen to produce ammonium nitrates needed for fertilizer, which are often currently made using fossil fuel inputs.
Part of the reason for the focus on heavy-duty transportation is because heavy-duty vehicles are likely the first customers that will be ready to use hydrogen fuel.
“In transit for example, you can buy hydrogen fuel cell buses now, many transit agencies are buying these, so that part of the value chain is prepared to produce that equipment,” Green says. “Right next to it … would be long-haul trucking, because there are fuel cell trucks you can buy right now.”
While some of those vehicles may be expensive at the moment, they already exist in the market in North America and Europe, so the next step is just being able to produce the fuel and get it where it’s needed, Green says.
Getting those kinds of vehicles to transition in a significant way will also help with an overall goal of the hubs, which is to stabilize the price of hydrogen and make it affordable, Green says.
“I don’t know that we’ll get to the point where we have kind of the global stability we have like on gasoline, but the idea is that you get the price to stabilize and the best way to do that is to get lots of long-term offtake
customers, and then hopefully the rest will come online,” Green says. “Those value chains need to catch up: the cruise ship lines, the Maersk shipping vessels, those boats are being ordered, and some of them are being built, but that takes awhile to replace those huge fleets.”
As the hub works through the National Environmental Policy Act process in coming months, individual projects may be able to move into the second phase sooner than others, he says. The hub will be able to manage that so no project is held up because another one isn’t quite ready.
Green says he’s looking forward to the work ahead, even though the progress may not be linear.
“For the next eight years of this hub, it’s going to be bumpy, and we’re going to have to just keep at it and see if we can make sure these customers appear and start buying the product,” Green says. “This is a transition. It’s going to take a few decades, probably, to be able to really look back and say, ‘OK, is that work that we did back in the early 2020s, did that work?’ It’s going to be hard to tell for a little while.”
The ingredients to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are there, though, and there’s more global capital being invested in this than ever before, Green says.
“I think we really are making some of the early stages of the overall industrial transportation transition to greener energy,” Green says. n
samanthaw@inlander.com
Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association projects are planned in Oregon, Washington and Montana. PNWH2 MAP
Pressurized tubes (left) will hold hydrogen fuel. PHOTO COURTESY DOUGLAS COUNTY PUD
Thirty & Thriving
CHAS Health celebrates three decades. Plus, health researchers want diverse volunteers; and Spokane gets a “C” for public records response
BY INLANDER STAFF
The Community Health Association of Spokane (CHAS) formed in 1994, and a year later it opened a single clinic with two exam beds and a desire for a healthier Spokane. Now, as CHAS Health marks its 30th anniversary on Sept. 8, it’s grown to 25 locations with nearly 2,000 employees providing medical, dental and behavioral health care. Over the years CHAS opened facilities around the Inland Northwest to ensure care was available. In 1999, the organization opened a clinic in the Valley (Spokane Valley wasn’t its own city yet), in 2005 it opened a clinic in Deer Park and then in 2009 it opened a health center in Lewiston, Idaho — its first location in another state. CHAS has also begun operating health clinics in the region’s schools to ensure that students and their families can easily access health care. The first opened in Airway Heights at Sunset Elementary School in 2012 and then another opened inside Spokane’s Rogers High School in 2020, providing more than 1,500 students access to medical and behavioral health care. Since then, two more clinics have opened at North Central and Shadle Park high schools. (COLTON RASANEN)
DIVERSE DATA
Health research is only as insightful as its study participants are diverse. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), clinical trials have sometimes relied almost exclusively on white male participants. This has led to serious gaps in understanding diseases and treatment. To fill those gaps, NIH is traveling the country to find 1 million people willing to help build its largest, most diverse dataset yet. It’s called the All of Us Research Program, and it’s coming to Spokane. From Sept. 10-15, Morning Star Baptist Church will host the hands-on exhibit about the importance of participating in health research. It features augmented reality experiences, games and the opportunity to sign up. Anyone, healthy or sick, is eligible to join. Participants will volunteer a wide range of information, such as where they live, what they do and what their family medical history is. The de-identified information will be added to a dataset that more than 800,000 participants have joined so far. Nearly 80% of participants are from underrepresented demographics — including race and ethnicity, sexual and gender identities, rural populations, seniors, people with disabilities, and people with low income, limited education, or limited access to health care. (ELIZA BILLINGHAM)
RECORDS AUDIT
When people request copies of public government records, Washington state law requires that agencies provide the “fullest assistance to inquirers and the most timely possible action on requests.” This doesn’t always happen. When responding to public records requests, Spokane is compliant with state law about 76% of the time, according to the preliminary findings of an ongoing internal audit of the city’s records response system. While 76% isn’t failing, “it’s not great,” said Danielle Arnold, the city’s compliance/tax auditor, during an Aug. 26 presentation to the Spokane City Council. Arnold’s office started the audit in June to identify challenges and areas for improvement. She said Spokane has seen a “significant” increase in requests that have been difficult to respond to. “We’ve got to figure out how we meet the needs of our constituents in a way that’s also not crushing the humans that are trying to fulfill” requests, Arnold said. Spokane’s public records challenges were highlighted in a July 2 InvestigateWest article by former Inlander reporter Daniel Walters, who tested response times by filing the same request with the five largest cities in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Spokane was almost six times slower than any other city. Spokane City Council member Michael Cathcart said he is working on an ordinance that could save time by allowing — and possibly requiring — the documents from completed records requests to be posted publicly online. (NATE SANFORD) n
PAYING THE PRICE
The group that accused Gov. Inslee of bribing voters hands out discounted gas to encourage voters to kill WA carbon tax
BY NATE SANFORD
Last Wednesday, drivers stopping at Towns Liquor Mart in North Spokane were greeted with an unusual sight: cheap gas.
For two hours, gas was priced at the national average of $3.39 a gallon — a 40-cent drop from the station’s normal price that day of $3.79.
The difference was paid for by a conservative political group called Let’s Go Washington to promote its November ballot initiative to overturn the state’s Climate Commitment Act. Passed by the Washington State Legislature in 2021, the act created a cap-and-invest program that limits greenhouse gas emissions and requires major polluters to bid for carbon emission allowances at auctions that started last year.
Initiative 2117 would repeal the program — and bar state agencies from ever enforcing cap-and-trade style carbon taxes.
The battle over Washington’s flagship environmental policy is one of this year’s most expensive and contentious. If successful, I-2117 would be a major blow to Gov. Jay Inslee’s environmental legacy and Democrats’ efforts to fight climate change.
Many of the Republican candidates for statewide and local office were at the Spokane gas station on Aug. 21 to promote the initiative. As drivers filled their tanks, the candidates gathered contact info and distributed flyers. Their message to potential voters was simple: If you want to pay less for gas, vote yes.
“You and I as consumers are paying more to benefit no one, and it’s infuriating,” said Pete Serrano, the Republican running for state attorney general. “Inslee indicated this would be ‘pennies at the pump,’ and we certainly aren’t seeing [that].”
Dale Whitaker, the Republican candidate for secretary of state, described the cap-and-invest system as “aggressive legislation” that imposes “the cost burden onto the taxpayer.”
The extent to which the Climate Commitment Act’s carbon auctions caused oil companies to pass costs to consumers is disputed. Various organizations have estimated the impact to be anywhere from 10 to 50 cents per gallon, but oil markets are complicated and fluctuate for a variety of reasons, including conflicts like the war in Ukraine. Washington’s gas prices have long been higher than the national average — they hit a record high of $5.55 in June 2022, eight months before the first auction. The statewide average was $4.18 earlier this week, according to AAA.
Outgoing state Sen. Andy Billig, a Democrat from Spokane who has been a key supporter of the Climate Commitment Act, says it’s possible people are “paying a little bit more” for gas because of the law. But the cost is intended to help “address the impacts of the product that they’re buying.
“It just would be an incredible mistake for Washington to shirk its responsibility to address” climate change, Billig says.
As she filled her gas tank, Spokane resident Tiffany Williams said climate change is important, but that the answer isn’t to “jack up prices and make it hard on everyone.”
Williams said she needs to do more research, but is considering voting for the initiative because prices are getting ridiculous.
Initiative 2117 is the product of Let’s Go Washington founder Brian Heywood, a wealthy hedge fund manager.
Heywood isn’t running for office, but he’s arguably the most influential figure in this year’s election — picture the Larry Stone of state politics.
Earlier this year, Heywood spent $6 million to singlehandedly bankroll six initiatives, three of which the Legislature signed into law this spring. The other three, including I-2117, will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot. The other two initiatives propose repealing Washington’s capital gains tax and allowing people to opt out of the state’s long-term care insurance program.
“We’re just trying to raise awareness,” Heywood told the Inlander last week, watching as drivers filled their tanks with gas his organization helped pay for. “Usually there’s like 300 or 400 cars that come through.”
Let’s Go Washington has held four similar events at other gas stations. Heywood hopes to do “as many as we can” before the election.
Hedge fund CEO Brian Heywood bankrolled three initiatives that will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot.
ERICK DOXEY PHOTO
Earlier this summer, Inslee announced a program to give low- and moderate-income households a $200 credit to help with electric bills using money from the Climate Commitment Act auctions. Heywood accused the governor of trying to “bribe” people to vote down I-2117.
“How convenient you’re doing this right before the election,” Heywood said.
Heywood pushed back when asked if some might also consider paying for voters’ gas to be a form of bribery.
“The big difference is this: This is money I’ve raised,” he said. “I’m giving some of our money to help compensate them for what the state took from them.”
Let’s Go Washington is paying for “awareness,” not votes, Heywood argued.
“It’s not like I’m sitting here going, ‘Oh, I won’t give you this unless I see your ballot,’” Heywood said.
Billig and other opponents of the repeal effort argue that the initiative doesn’t actually guarantee lower gas prices.
“It’s misleading to make that promise to the people of Washington,” says Mark Prentice, communications director for No On 2117, a coalition of more than 400 organizations opposed to the initiative.
The only guarantee, Prentice says, is “more traffic and more pollution.”
The state’s carbon auctions have raised more than $2 billion for climate-related investments. If repealed, hundreds of projects involving clean air, wildfire mitigation, transportation and clean water would be in jeopardy, Prentice says.
Spokane County has received $120 million in authorized and planned investments from the program — $78 million of which is at “high risk” of being cut if the law is repealed, according to analysis from the Clean & Prosperous Institute, a subsidiary of the Washington Business Alliance that is tracking projects funded by the Climate Commitment Act.
The list of Spokane projects at “high risk” includes the Division Street bus rapid transit line; emission reductions for the Spokane Public Facilities District; Pacific Avenue greenway pedestrian upgrades; and building efficiency and ventilation improvements for the Great Northern School District and Eastern Washington University.
Because revenue from the carbon auctions now accounts for about 30% of the state’s transportation budget, Billig says the North Spokane Corridor freeway would “likely have its funding cut or limited” if the initiative passes.
State Rep. Jenny Graham, a Republican from Spokane County, isn’t worried about the loss of revenue. She describes the money as going to a “black hole in the sky in Olympia” and says her constituents “need this 40 cents a gallon to put food on their table.”
Some drivers went to the gas station last week because of texts that Let’s Go Washington sent out in the days before the event. Others, like Kristen Mouton, just happened to be there at the right time.
“I just came to get gas,” Mouton said, gesturing in confusion at the Republican political operatives darting around with clipboards. “I mean yeah, cheaper gas programs, absolutely. But I don’t know what’s going on.”
Someone gave her a card with some basic information about the initiative. Mouton said she doesn’t usually vote, but will consider doing so this year to support it.
Heywood said he supports taking some sort of action to protect the environment.
“I don’t know the perfect way to do it, I don’t think anybody does,” Heywood said.
If it passes, Heywood said the initiative will have a ripple effect in other states with carbon credit systems.
The prospect worries Billig. If every state says it isn’t their problem, climate change will spiral out of control, he says.
“And then we’re all going to pay the price,” Billig says. n nates@inlander.com
LABOR DAY CONCERTS
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Have one last fling with summer at the Spokane Symphony’s FREE Labor Day concerts! Bring a blanket and picnic basket and join family, friends, and neighbors in a joyful evening filled with music.
Come early and enjoy opening act: Patrick Dwyer
SATURDAY
AUGUST 31 | 6PM
LIBERTY LAKE PAVILLION PARK
Comstock Park will have Fall Arts Preview Booths
MONDAY
SEPTEMBER 2 | 6PM
COMSTOCK PARK
Sponsors: Bill & Gerry Sperling, Jennifer and Dr. Philip Ogden, ICCU
Changing Winds
Spokane County commissioners begin early steps to regulate wind farms now that companies want to build here
BY VICTOR CORRAL MARTINEZ
Setting the Standard in Retirement Living
Spokane County’s commissioners are taking the first steps toward allowing wind turbine farms in the county. A proposed zoning change would enable commercial wind energy facilities to obtain conditional use permits in the county’s small and large tract agricultural zones.
science and looking at rules around the state and country.
Renewable energy siting is a hot debate in Washington, with solar and wind energy sites often proposed in rural or agricultural locations like the rolling hills of the Palouse in Whitman County, where the proposed Harvest Hills wind farm has been met with pushback.
This month, Spokane County Planning Director Scott Chesney told county decisionmakers about the need to incorporate zoning rules for wind projects into the county code.
“We have been approached by several energy companies who are interested in doing business in Spokane County,” Chesney told the sevenmember Spokane County Planning Commission on Aug. 15. “We have been informed by landowners that they are signing preliminary agreements … if something goes forward, they’re committing their land.”
Chesney says Spokane County staff are working on the 10-year update of the county’s comprehensive plan for 2026, but potential wind regulations weren’t on their radar until recently.
“It was only as energy companies first came in and asked to meet and say we’re interested in your county,” Chesney says. “That led to some early research that we presented to the commissioners in May.”
Chesney says that after that initial conversation with the Board of County Commissioners, his team started evaluating the best available
Chesney presented draft zoning changes at the board’s 9 am briefing meeting on Aug. 20. The proposal was then the subject of lively discussion at the commissioners’ legislative meeting that afternoon, when concerns were raised over impacts on constituents, transparency of the rulemaking process and potential pathways to allow wind farms.
County Commissioner Chris Jordan said that getting briefed about the draft zoning amendment and being asked to direct staff to start creating the new code on the same day felt rushed. He was also concerned the proposal was more restrictive than neighboring counties’ rules, and he wanted a more robust discussion about why it was drafted that way.
“I’m not satisfied with the process that’s brought us to today’s vote,” Jordan said at the legislative meeting. “I don’t believe that we have followed our best practices for an open and transparent process.”
Jordan also said that any rushed wind regulations the county passes can be bypassed by the state’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC).
County Commissioner Josh Kerns noted that the information was posted two weeks before Chesney briefed the Planning Commission on Aug. 15. Kerns also addressed the state’s authority.
“When I was chair, I would have to initial and sign for no on the location of pot shops in our community that didn’t meet our local zoning,” Kerns said at the meeting. “I’ve yet to have
Whitman County’s wind turbine rules served as a starting place for Spokane County. VICTOR CORRAL MARTINEZ PHOTO
a single person in this community come up and say, ‘Well, we should do away with all of our local zoning as far as pot shops because the state can just come in and preempt it anyway.’”
The board voted 3-1 (Commissioner Amber Waldref absent, Jordan opposed) to direct the Planning Commission and staff to evaluate the proposal, starting with a public hearing on Thursday, Aug. 29, at 9 am.
Chesney says the draft changes were based on the “best practice” from neighboring counties, such as Whitman, which has renewable energy codes and wind turbines. However, Spokane County’s proposal is more restrictive.
For example, Whitman County requires a setback of the turbine’s height plus 100 feet away from any existing occupied buildings.
Spokane’s proposed setback from occupied buildings is 1.5 times the height plus 100 feet, or 1,000 feet, whichever is larger. Additionally, Spokane would require a setback distance of 1.5 times the turbine height from the property line of nonparticipating landowners.
Renewable energy companies can work with county governments to develop codes that allow wind and solar energy projects. If a county’s requirements are too restrictive, companies can pursue a pathway with the state’s EFSEC, which can coordinate all evaluation and licensing steps for energy facilities in Washington.
Some of the rural areas that are drawing interest from renewable energy companies are in Spokane County’s District 5, which is represented by Commissioner Al French, and District 4, represented by Commissioner Mary Kuney. Both districts would have sufficient wind to generate electricity and are largely agricultural, with potential locations in the southeast part of the county and west of Fairchild Air Force Base.
Jordan tells the Inlander that EFSEC can nullify local regulations and that the county should thoroughly analyze the language to ensure that the potential ordinance is not bypassed.
“We should take the time to get the input, talk to the stakeholders, look at the whole picture, not rush just to get restrictions on the books,” Jordan says. “Because I feel that is a recipe for them to be ignored by the state.”
French says he is interested in all energy sources and “freedom of choice,” including hydrogen fuel cells, nuclear, wind and solar. He also says he is concerned about what state lawmakers might do.
“Olympia has been known to override the will of Eastern Washington,” French says. “If the state chooses to override us, I can’t control that, but I’m still not going to work and live in fear of what the state might or might not do.”
When asked why Spokane County is just now creating rules for wind turbines, French says the interest wasn’t there before. But because companies have now approached the county, it’s time to go through a deliberative process, he says.
Jordan says his colleagues on the commission complained about wind turbine farms, but he wants more research on their positive effects on the economy and renewable energy sources as the board considers potential restrictions.
“There’s been a lot of talk from my fellow commissioners about all of the negatives,” Jordan says. “I just think we’ve so far failed to recognize the benefits that these projects may bring.”
A final decision on the rules appears to be months away. Chesney says by email that no immediate action will take place after the Aug. 29 public hearing, and the county will continue to seek public comments.
“At this time, we expect to bring this to the commissioners by the end of the year,” Chesney writes.
French says he is concerned about unintended consequences, and he wants a thorough review before decisions that will affect the community are made.
“I know there are zealots that say you’ve got to do renewable energy no matter what,” French says. “We’re not going to sacrifice our quality of life for somebody else’s political agenda.” n victorc@inlander.com
What the Eck?What the Eck?
How Jason Eck turned the University of Idaho’s football program from a doormat into a national title contender
BY SETH SOMMERFELD
In order to rise from the depths, one must first have fallen into the abyss. And just a few years ago, the University of Idaho’s football program was the absolute pits.
There’s a strong argument to be made that as the 2020s rolled around, Idaho was the worst Division I football program in the entire NCAA. After being a consistent playoff team out of the Big Sky conference in the 1980s through mid-’90s, the Vandals took the leap up to the FBS level but were only able to make three bowl games from 1996 to 2017.
Things got so bad that the Sun Belt conference essentially kicked Idaho out of the conference after the 2017 campaign. So Idaho dropped down to the FCS level and rejoined the Big Sky. And while one might expect the team playing at the higher level for decades to come in and be a contender, the Vandals became a doormat team at the lower division, unable to even put together a winning record in their first four seasons back in FCS. All totaled, UI had four winning seasons over a 27-year span.
When head coach Paul Petrino was fired after the 2021 season, the bleak question was simple: How the heck is any head coach supposed to turn Idaho around?
Well, after two straight winning seasons with trips to the FCS Playoffs, Idaho enters the upcoming 2024 season as a Top 10 team, a rising Big Sky powerhouse and a legitimate national title contender.
Here’s how the Eck it happened…
NEW MAN IN TOWN
Idaho football took a completely different path when Jason Eck was named the university’s 36th head coach in December 2021. He was brought in to rebuild the program over time, but results came swiftly. Not only did Idaho have its first winning season in Eck’s first at the helm in 2022, but the team made the FCS playoffs for the first time since 1995. It was an out-of-nowhere turnaround that could’ve been chalked up to a fluke had the Vandals not followed it up by making the playoffs again and having an even better season in 2023. To underscore how shocking the turnaround has been, even the jovial 47-year-old Eck wasn’t planning for this
“I was surprised. The team exceeded my expectations with how quickly they bought in and listened and took what you were saying and just embraced it,” he says.
To flip a downtrodden program around so quickly and dynamically is borderline miracle working in the coaching realm, but while Idaho’s revitalization might seem like an overnight success, Coach Eck’s journey to this point has been anything but that.
Born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Eck’s college football journey started at the University of Wisconsin, where he played offensive line and was part of the Badgers’
1999 Rose Bowl-winning squad. A coach’s son, Eck transitioned into his coaching career immediately after his playing days, working as an offensive graduate assistant under the tutelage of legendary Wisconsin coach Barry Alverez. After another graduate assistant stint at Colorado, he landed his first coaching job in 2004 at a place that he’d come to know even better down the line: Moscow, Idaho. Eck served as the offensive line coach for the Vandals from 2004 to 2006, cutting his teeth in the coaching ranks while he and his family grew fond of this little North Idaho locale.
“Well, I really liked it,” Eck says of his initial tenure in Moscow. “And that’s part of the reason I wanted to come back. I think if we would have had a bad experience, it probably wouldn’t have been at the top of my list.”
When he wasn’t retained after the 2006 season, Eck and his family embarked on the nomadic life of a college football assistant. Between 2007 and 2016, he plied his trade at Winona State, Ball State, Hampton, Western Illinois, Minnesota State and Montana State. But the job that would really transform his football future came in 2016, when Eck joined the staff at South Dakota State as the school’s offensive line coach.
Under head coach John Stiegelmeier, South Dakota State was blossoming into an FCS powerhouse, and Eck’s coaching prowess helped contribute to that. Eck was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2019, and the Jackrabbits continued to rise. The team made the playoffs every season Eck was at the school, and his coaching mind did not go unnoticed, as he won the America Football Coaches’ Association FCS Assistant Coach of the Year in 2019. And when Petrino was let go at UI in 2021, Idaho came calling once again.
“I’m probably lucky, because if [the job] was more desirable, I probably wouldn’t have got it,” Eck says with a laugh.
While most outside observers would’ve looked at the Idaho head coaching job and seen it as a wildly difficult challenge, Eck had a very different perspective on the gig. He saw it as almost the ideal spot for his approach.
“In the back of my mind, there were a lot of times I thought maybe I’d be a career assistant. And I kind of thought, ‘Well, I just don’t want to take just any head coaching job.’ I wanted a job, and wanted a job where I liked where I was going to live, and I thought I could win at,” Eck says. “And at Idaho, I knew we liked living here — that checked that box. And I really thought now, understanding FCS football, I just think there’s a lot of similarities between the state of Idaho and the states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota — which have been the dominant teams in FCS. … So I thought it was kind of a perfect storm, where it was a sleeping giant that was kind of set up for someone to come in and improve the program.”
A FAMILY PROGRAM
Coach Eck clearly had a vision for Vandal victory, but first he had to shape the program around the values. He went about assembling a coaching staff built around high-character leaders, in part because he knew any slipups by assistants would reflect poorly on him in a tight-knit town like Moscow. He put a focus on building up the players’ mental toughness, which he defines through the question: “How do you respond when bad things happen?” And perhaps more than anything else, he wanted his players to focus on improvement beyond just the gridiron.
“I think there’s a lot of carryover throughout your life. How you do things in different areas of your life carry over. So accountability is a big core factor,” Eck says. “We put a lot of pressure on our young guys to make sure they’re taking care of their business off the field, they’re taking care of their business in the classroom.
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Coach Jason Eck has brought joy back to Idaho football. CODY ROBERTS PHOTO
FaLl ArTs
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that our team GPA when I got here was 2.7. Now it’s 3.3 [the highest mark in program history], and we’re winning a lot more games. I think that’s tied in.”
Those values are good in theory, but it takes the right type of personality for those messages to click. Thankfully for Vandals fans, Coach Eck has the type of warm and open personality that allows those messages to connect with his young players. Even just watching him trot around the field during Idaho’s first scrimmage in early August of this year, it’s easy to observe how his demeanor is infectious. He’s a far cry from the old archetype of the authoritarian college football head coach who controls his program with an iron fist. If anything, his vibe is closer to one of your best friends from high school’s fun-loving dad who always makes you feel welcome rather than afraid.
“He’s goofy, man,” says redshirt sophomore linebacker Dylan Layne (brother of starting quarterback, Jack). “I tell you what, like those [team] meetings? Some great memories in there. I didn’t expect that coming to college football. Like, we’re serious and he’s serious when he needs to be serious, but he knows how to make guys laugh. I think that just feeds into our relationships. We’re so tight as a team. It clicks.”
Coach Eck has managed to make the Idaho football team familial in a metaphorical sense, but also a literal one. His son Jaxton, who was born in Moscow during his dad’s first coaching stint, is a sophomore at UI and plays linebacker for the Vandals. While he was initially unsure about playing for his pops, the younger Eck has been relishing the slightly odd experience.
“It’s weird seeing him in a different light. Like I’d never seen him in a meeting talking to players, but it’s fun. He’s a great coach, and he just treats me like any other guy… well, he’s probably tougher on me,” Jaxton says with a laugh.
During recruiting, some of that cool dad energy — after the first scrimmage this year, Eck even surprised his team with a bowling outing instead of more meetings — is what ended up getting the Layne brothers from the Portland area to want to play college ball in Moscow.
enjoyed working with him over the years,” offensive coordinator Luke Schleusner says. “It’s just a lot of fun coming to the office every day. And that’s the same way we coach our players: highintensity, but at the same time, we’re not yelling and screaming at them. We’re having fun. We’re building great relationships.”
Fans have been charmed, too — it doesn’t hurt that he’s great behind a microphone, creating some of the best post-game press conference moments on the Palouse since Mike Leach (with less baggage than the former WSU head coach).
For Coach Eck, it’s all just what comes natural.
“Some of the best advice I got, and I heard this from quite a few people who are head coaches, you have to be yourself,” Eck says. “You can’t try to be Nick Saban. You can’t try to be Pete Carroll. I think people will see through it, and know you’re not authentic if you do that. And I love that fun.”
As for Eck’s fun outside of the team, he admits he isn’t a man of many hobbies. He mostly just spends time with his wife and five kids taking trips to Gem State spots like McCall and Sandpoint. On the philanthropic side of things, Eck is very involved with the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation Coaches Council, whose goal is to increase the NMDP bone marrow registry in hopes of finding stem cell matches to help patients fighting blood cancer like leukemia and lymphoma.
The only other thing that fuels Ecks competitive spirit off the field? Horse racing. This year he and his wife went to the Kentucky Derby, and the previous summer he went to opening day at the famed Del Mar racetrack.
“It’s football, family and then I like horse racing,” Eck says.
“LOSING IS FEEDBACK”
While nobody would’ve bet on Idaho to win, place or show when he first arrived, the results have spoken for themselves over the first two years of the Eck era.
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“It’s the family aspect. I mean, obviously, his son is on the team, but I feel like we’re all his sons,” Dylan Layne says. “He cares about us. And he is really trying to make us good people off the football field. He wants our influence as people on this earth to be good.”
And it’s not just the players who’ve fully bought into Coach Eck’s vision.
“Coach Eck is a big personality… I’ve really
After starting his tenure in 2022 with two surprisingly tight losses to FBS schools Washington State and Indiana, the Vandals made a statement with a 42-14 win over Drake in the new coach’s first game in the Kibbie Dome. After two more convincing wins to start the Big Sky season against Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado, Idaho officially announced its early arrival with a shocking 30-23 upset of No. 3 Montana in Missoula.
All-Big Sky Safety Tommy McCormick will anchor the Vandals’ defense in 2024. SPENCER FARRIN PHOTO
Idaho football was back.
The Vandals ended the 2022 season with a 6-2 record in the Big Sky and earned a playoff berth, coming up just short in a tough 45-42 loss at Southeastern Louisiana.
The 2023 campaign kept up that momentum with another 6-2 Big Sky record — including wins over No. 4 Sacramento State, No. 19 Eastern Washington, and No. 2 Montana State — and another FCS playoff appearance. In the opening round, Idaho won its first playoff game since 1992, knocking off Southern Illinois 20-17. The second round saw more heartbreak as UI held a fourth-quarter lead against UAlbany in the Kibbie Dome before eventually falling 30-22.
Obviously, it’s not the end result Coach Eck wanted for either season, but he’s also the rare football coach who actually can see the silver linings in defeats without them tearing him apart.
“Some competitive people say they hate losing more than they like winning. I probably like winning more than I hate losing,” Eck says with a laugh. “Losing is feedback — we got to do stuff better. It’s something we got to learn from. And when you have bad moments or bad games, back to the drawing board. We’ve got to improve.”
Just years after being the dregs of Division I NCAA football, Idaho enters the 2024 season as one of the top teams in FCS. The Vandals are ranked No. 7 in the Preseason FCS Poll. The team has its sights on capturing a Big Sky title, which would be no small feat considering UI was picked third in the Big Sky polls because Montana and Montana State are nationally ranked No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.
Expect the defense to lead the way for the Vandals early in the season and establish an identity as a physical football team.
THINGS GOT SO BAD THAT THE SUN BELT CONFERENCE ESSENTIALLY KICKED IDAHO OUT OF THE CONFERENCE AFTER THE 2017 CAMPAIGN.
Idaho’s defensive line and secondary have the potential to be elite units with defensive linemen Keyshawn James-Newby and Dallas Afalava and safety Tommy McCormick anchoring their units and earning Preseason All-Big Sky honors.
The offense may be a bigger question mark, but the cupboard is hardly bare. Idaho did lose All-Big Sky star quarterback Gevani McCoy to Oregon State via the transfer portal, but the team still features returning starters on the offensive line and Preseason All-Big Sky tight end Jake Cox adding to both the blocking and receiving game. There will be a lot of pressure on new starting QB Jack Layne, but the fact that he balled out in a late-season spot start against Idaho State means Coach Eck isn’t too worried about his guy under center.
“If you would have told me, ‘Hey your quarterback’s gonna leave this year, but you can have one wish,’ I’d say, ‘Well, I’d want the backup to get a chance to play one game at the end of the year when the starter was hurt, and have him come in and play great, so all the team has the confidence of him,’” Eck says. “I mean, he threw six touchdown passes in the first half.”
Idaho football is relevant once again. What others saw as a punchline of a program, Coach Eck believed was merely a winner in waiting. And even more than any Xs and Os game plan or recruiting philosophy, Eck’s lofty goals have come to fruition because the passion and familial environment he’s cultivated make his players and staff fully believe in him.
“Coach Eck came in, and he changed the culture,” says Dylan Layne. “We use this word ‘belief’ a lot. He believes in his guys. From the day one when he got here, he said, ‘You guys are a playoff football team. You guys are a good team. You got great players here.’ And so we started to believe it. And through hard work, that’s what happens, man. We believe in each other.” n
Are You Ready for Some Football?
Are You Ready for Some Football?
WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS
HEAD COACH: Jake Dickert (above) LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 5-7
BY SETH SOMMERFELD
The final year of the Pac-12 as we knew it didn’t go as planned for the Cougs, as a hot 4-0 start fizzled with a 1-7 record to close out that era. But perhaps new foes will help the squad rebound. As WSU and Oregon State continue to formulate the future of the Pac-12, the Cougars and Beavers have formed an alliance with the Mountain West Conference for the 2024 campaign to fill their schedule with fresh Western matchups.
WSU saw a slew of transfer portal departures with the program being in
SCHEDULE
Aug. 31 vs. Portland State
Sept. 7 vs. Texas Tech
Sept. 14 vs. Washington (at Lumen Field)
Sept. 20 vs. San Jose State
Sept. 28 at Boise State
Oct. 12 at Fresno State
Oct. 19 vs. Hawai’i
Oct. 26 at San Diego State
Nov. 9 vs. Utah State
Nov. 16 at New Mexico
Nov. 23 at Oregon State
Nov. 30 vs. Wyoming
conference purgatory — most notably star quarterback Cam Ward to Miami — but there’s still talent on the roster for head coach Jake Dickert. A handful of returning Cougs have been named to the national preseason watch lists for their respective position awards, including offensive tackle Fa’alili Fa’amoe, linebacker Kyle Thornton, wide receiver Kyle Williams, kicker Dean Janikowski and punter Nick Haberer. Redshirt sophomore John Mateer will take over at QB to lead the pass attack on the Palouse.
While this season will be unlike any other in program history for Washington State, when the ball kicks off the Cougs diehards won’t care too much about being in limbo as long as they’re notching wins.
KEY GAME: While the Apple Cup in Seattle (Sept. 14) or the matchup against the only other Pac-12 survivor (WSU heads to Corvallis on Nov. 23) might seem like the obvious choices, a better measuring stick will be when the Cougs head to the Smurf Turf on Sept. 28 to play Mountain West favorite Boise State. A win versus the always-dangerous Broncos would help solidify WSU’s claim as still being closer to a major conference school as opposed to a castaway demoted to the minors.
…continued on next page
HAYDEN
IDAHO VANDALS
HEAD COACH: Jason Eck
LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 9-4 (6-2 Big Sky)
SCHEDULE
Aug. 31 at Oregon
Sept. 7 at Wyoming
Sept. 14 vs. UAlbany
Sept. 21 at Abilene Christian
Sept. 28 at UC Davis
Oct. 5 vs. Northern Arizona
Oct. 12 at Montana State
Oct. 19 vs. Cal Poly
Oct. 26 vs. Eastern Washington
Nov. 9 at Portland State
Nov. 16 vs. Weber State
Nov. 23 at Idaho State
In just a couple years, head coach Jason Eck has turned Idaho from a doormat program into an FCS national title contender. The Vandals enter the season ranked No. 7 in the country… but only No. 3 in the ever-tough Big Sky behind Montana and Montana State. But the talent is in place for UI to capture its first Big Sky title since 1992. Expect the defense to lead the way for the men from Moscow — the defensive line and secondary should be elite units led by Preseason All-Big Sky standouts Dallas Afalava, Keyshawn James-Newby and Tommy McCormick. Star QB Gevani McCoy may have transferred to Oregon State, but new starter Jack Layne showed his skills throwing six TDs in a Senior Day spot start last season and will be aided by Preseason All-Big Sky tight end Jake Cox. Idaho is no longer simply a plucky team on the rise — the Vandals are national title contenders.
KEY GAME: After tough FBS tests to open the season in Oregon and Wyoming, the Vandals will get a chance at revenge in their first FCS tilt. Last year UAlbany staged a fourth-quarter comeback in Moscow to knock off Idaho in the FCS quarterfinals. Expect the Kibbie Dome to be rocking on Sept. 24 as the home team looks to wash that sour taste out of their months and assert their spot as a championship-caliber squad.
EASTERN
WASHINGTON EAGLES
HEAD COACH: Aaron Best LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 4-7 (3-5 Big Sky)
After soaring high for a decade and a half, the Eagles fans must feel like their wings have been clipped after two straight losing seasons. And a huge turnaround isn’t expected, as EWU was picked to finish eighth in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Eastern should still be able to put points on the board, as quarterback Kekoa Visperas knows he can pretty much always throw it up to one of the best players in all of FCS football: All-American wide receiver Efton Chism III. But for the EWU to get back to their winning ways, new defensive coordinator Eric Sanders will have to turn around a unit that’s been among the worst in FCS the past couple years. If the defense remains a sieve, the folks in Cheney will probably still be seeing red (and we’re not talking about Roos Field’s colorful turf).
KEY GAME: Might as well get the toughest test out of the way. On Sept. 28, Eastern Washington will open its Big Sky schedule by hosting conference title favorite and No. 3 team in the preseason FCS polls — the Montana Grizzlies. The matchup between the two squads has produced some legendary games in recent memory, and if the Eagles can make this tilt a competitive one, it’d bode well for the rest of their Big Sky campaign
SCHEDULE
Aug. 29 vs. Monmouth
Sept. 7 vs. Drake
Sept. 14 at SE Louisiana
Sept. 21 at Nevada
Sept. 28 vs. Montana
Oct. 12 at Sacramento State
Oct. 19 vs. UC Davis
Oct. 26 at Idaho
Nov. 2 vs. Montana State
Nov. 9 at Northern Colorado
Nov. 16 vs. Idaho State
Nov. 12 at Northern Arizona
WHITWORTH PIRATES
HEAD COACH: Rod Sandberg
LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 10-1 (7-0 NWC)
There’s only one college football team in the Inland Northwest that had an undefeated regular season in 2023: the Whitworth Pirates. After entering last season unranked, the Pirates won the Northwest Conference without a blemish before eventually falling in the second round of the Division III playoffs. And there’s reason to believe that Coach Rod Sandberg can keep things going and raise the Pirates to perennial contender status. Whitworth — ranked No. 24 in the preseason polls — features a whopping 32 seniors on the roster and returns 10 starters on defense and eight starters on offense (including all five starters on the offensive line). And even though the Pirates have to replace an NWC Offensive Player of the Year in departing quarterback Austin Ewing, captain Ryan Blair steps in to fill the void with prior starting experience, having completed 71% of passes in 16 games played. If you’re looking to catch some winning football actually in Spokane, the Whitworth Pine Bowl is the place to be.
SCHEDULE
Sept. 7 at Gustavus Adolphus
Sept. 14 vs. Eastern Oregon
Sept. 21 vs. Chapman
Oct. 5 at Pacific Luthern
Oct. 12 vs. Willamette
Oct. 19 at Puget Sound
Oct. 26 at Pacific (Oregon)
Nov. 2 vs. Lewis & Clark
Nov. 9 at George Fox
Nov. 16 vs. Linfield
KEY GAME: Last season the Northwest Conference came down to a matchup of two undefeated teams in the final game of the regular season — Whitworth vs. Linfield. The Pirates prevailed to capture the title, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see the same script play out in 2024. Linfield is once again a favorite to win the NWC and starts the season ranked No. 23. This year, their season-ending showdown takes place in Spokane and may once again be for all the marbles.
WR Efton Chism III EWU ATHLETICS PHOTO
LB Jaxton Eck IDAHO ATHLETICS PHOTO
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The old Man and the Sea(hawks) The old Man and the Sea(hawks)
Uncertainty abounds as the Seahawks enter a new era
BY SPIKE FRIEDMAN
The Seattle Seahawks are heading into the unknown. Since 1999, the team has been coached almost exclusively by two Hall of Fame caliber legends: Mike Holmgren and Pete Carroll (excepting an ill-advised one-year interlude into the world of Jim Mora that’s best forgotten). The level of consistent success and occasional transcendence under these two coaches transformed one of the NFL’s most average franchises into a peer with the league’s historically excellent teams, like the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers. The question facing the team led by new wunderkind head coach Mike Macdonald is what the hell happens now? What is life as a Seahawks fan without a vaunted father figure at the helm? Is this team still legitimate? Or is a fade back into irrelevance the most likely path?
Before attempting to look forward, let’s acknowledge how strangely magical the last decade plus of Seahawks football was. Carroll was a miracle for the whole state of Washington. In 2010, Seattle was coming off one of the most historically tragic runs in sports history: The Sonics had left, the Huskies had gone 0-12, the Mariners were the first team with a $100 million payroll to lose 100 games, and the Seahawks’ previous decade of relative success had fallen apart.
Three years later, Carroll was hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, surrounded by multiple legendary players whom he and general manager John Schneider had acquired and developed. Their squad had just destroyed Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII with a level of style that remains insane to consider. (Sidenote: I always found it weird that they didn’t hold a Super Bowl XLIX. Anyway, moving on…)
Factoring in his success at the college level at USC, Carroll is without a doubt among the most successful football coaches ever.
But by 2023, the miracle run had fully petered out. The Legion of Boom, one of the most intimidating defenses in NFL history, sloughed away superstar by superstar, until all that was left was the ghost of Bobby Wagner. While some of the replacements were fine, the team never really replaced the likes of K.J. Wright, Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett — much less future Hall of Famers Richard Sherman or Wagner. The stats bore this out: The Seahawks were top five in defense by both points and yards allowed from 20122016; from 2017-2023 they were never a top 10 unit by either metric.
The offense performed admirably as it transitioned from the Russell Wilson era to Geno Smith era without losing much juice, but the team’s Achilles heel throughout the run — the offensive line — was never successfully fortified. The Seahawks were good, but the pathway back to great kept fading further and further into the mist rolling off the Puget Sound. So, somewhat surprisingly given that the team was still pretty OK, Carroll was not-super-willingly transi
tioned into a retirement role with a relative modicum of grace.
And let’s not forget: Carroll is currently 72 years old. Unless you have a job like Walmart greeter or… uhh… U.S. senator, that’s almost a decade past retirement age. Dude was old. When he won a Super Bowl back in 2014, he was already, the third-oldest Super Bowl winning head coach in NFL history. It’s a full-ass decade later. That there was even the possibility that he had something more to give is a testament to the brand of enthusiastic, optimistic, occasionally delusional, approach football he cultivated.
The interesting part? Pete was let go in exchange for a younger version of himself. The stereotype with NFL teams hiring a new head coach is that they change direction hard with each hire. If a team has an offensive savant whose magic touch went away, they go for a hotshot defensive guru, or vice versa.
New Seahawks head coach Macdonald is not that. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that in terms of core football philosophy Macdonald brings the exact same approach to the game that Carroll did: These are two men known for innovative defenses and an obsession with competition. Macdonald was the best “continuity” option among NFL coaching candidates this offseason after a spectacular run as the Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator. And the only way to match Carroll’s energy was to bring in someone half his age. With the caveat that even the best seeming NFL hire can go sideways, Macdonald was the right man for this job if the job is viewed as maintaining a high level of Seahawks football.
Also, by the standards of “NFL team where the coach got shitcanned,” there’s tons to like about the 2024 Seahawks roster. Geno Smith is the rare above-average veteran QB who doesn’t eat up a team’s whole salary cap. At the key positions of wide receiver, cornerback and defensive line, the Seahawks project to have top five units. There are established impact players in DK Metcalf, Leonard Williams, Kenneth Walker III and Uchenna Nwosu, potential future stars in Devon Witherspoon, Byron Murphy II and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and stalwart veterans like Tyler Lockett and Jarran Reed around to provide continuity.
This team is good. And based on his work in Baltimore, Macdonald has the scheme and mindset to turn the team’s young defensive talent into stars. Everything is set for another grateful transition of power in Seattle (again ignoring the Jim Mora interregnum period, which we must).
All that said, this season will inherently be super weird. This team has had a world-class run of fantastic dads running the show since before I hit puberty. Now I am a dad, and the team’s head coach is younger than I am. The 2024 Seahawks will play football with a similar philosophy and new burst of enthusiasm led by their new head coach, but life as a Seahawks fan is different. Whereas Holmgren and Carroll lent their legitimacy to a franchise that had for decades been generic, it’s now the Seahawks franchise lending legitimacy to a new whiz kid coach. Like the protagonist in a Miyazaki movie, the Seahawks franchise has learned valuable lessons and is prepared for life without a parental figure at the helm. While it’s scary to embark on the unknown, the Seahawks aren’t set to fade into the ether. n
Spike Friedman formerly wrote about the Seahawks for The Stranger and was a contributing writer to Grantland.
Dylan Lipsker is exhausted. He’s always exhausted, but you wouldn’t know that by interacting with him. The Spokane artist has a bubbly personality that manifests as he gushes about each intricate detail of whatever artwork is in front of him. His wardrobe is filled with ’90s cartoon nostalgia, such as a Hey Arnold! sweater and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles socks, matching his personality effortlessly.
His art resonates similarly, too. Working with glass and acrylic, Lipsker creates large abstract canvases that seem to pop off the wall. His use of bright color is astounding, but the real meat of Lipsker’s work is found in the depth he creates by pouring layer after layer of acrylic resin atop each piece.
Beyond the outward appearance, personality and art style, however, is a man still dealing with the effects of a life-threatening accident. About 16 years ago, Lipsker crashed an ATV head-first into a tree, breaking nearly half the bones in his body, puncturing both lungs and his liver, and experiencing a severe concussion.
While many of his physical injuries healed, other damage done to his brain and body persisted.
“Long story short, I lost the ability to have REM sleep, so trying to get a night’s rest is a struggle,” Lipsker explains. “While everyone else in the world goes to bed, I’m still awake.”
REM, or rapid eye movement, is the fourth and final stage of sleep that makes up about a quarter of the night for most people. But Lipsker lost more than that. Due to his spinal injuries, he quickly loses feeling in his arms and legs when lying down, making rest one of the least relaxing activities. He gets about three hours of sleep each night — less than half of what’s recommended for adults. However, he turned this personal adversity into an opportunity.
“Without any of that adversity, I don’t think I would have gotten to the place that I needed to be,” he says. “And now, knowing the end result, I’d say bring it on!”
After realizing a good night’s rest wasn’t in store for him, Lipsker decided to pass the time with art. Without any formal experience other than a grade-school art class, he began working in 2016 with little more than determination and optimism.
“That first night I made hideous art — I mean, it sucked,” Lipsker says. “But, I loved it. It was the greatest thing I had ever done.”
From that moment he decided that while the rest of the world slept, he would make art.
Lipsker spent every night of the next year honing his craft. He’s made more than 500 pieces of art since.
Each artwork is made in a unique process, but
purposes such as in coatings and adhesives — to seal in the glass.
Acrylic resin is much different than epoxy resin, which is often used in art to make objects or add a shiny finish on a painting, because it can be reshaped by heat after it’s set, something Lipsker does often to create undulating textures on the surface using a heat gun. He can also add more glass or materials between resin layers.
Before he thought his work was ready to show anyone, Lipsker was approached by an old friend from Gordy’s Sichuan Cafe, where he once worked, asking if Lipsker would like to hang his art at the South Hill restaurant. Lipsker reluctantly agreed, showcasing his art publicly for the first time in February 2018.
Two weeks later, he had requests from several others to show his art at their businesses.
“The first 40 or so places I showed at all asked me,” Lipsker says. “It was that moment that I knew this is what I’m supposed to be doing.”
After spending years working from home to fill restaurants and offices with his art, Lipsker opened his Big City Art Studio & Gallery in mid-2023.
The Washington Street gallery sits inside a nondescript six-unit plaza under the rail viaduct in downtown Spokane. The small space is split into three rooms; two are filled wall-to-wall with Lipsker’s art. The third area is his working studio.
The pieces on display there are vivid, colorful creations. Some incorporate iridescent and holographic glass that distorts depending on where the viewer stands. Lipsker uses colorchanging lights to amplify this effect.
“Because they’re built on glass, with a mirrored back, the light’s going to travel through the paint, pick up the tone [of the light] and actually create this analogous effect,” he says. “It’s more than just what you see, it’s something you can also talk to someone about.”
When Lipsker sells one of his creations locally, he offers to install it for the buyer. That way, he can focus on placement and lighting to ensure the conversation he’s intent on sparking with his art.
Past the deep thought into how folks might interact with his creations, Lipsker’s work also incorporates a sense of humor. One particular piece, a large canvas of 108 reflective tiles, has stickers with crude and cheeky messages. The tiles are arranged so that if the viewer sits back and follows the colors, they’ll find words like “sin” and “a penis.” (He’s also created a series of similar pieces more appropriate for all ages.)
“These are essentially created to make you laugh, so if you stand there to stop and read it, you’re going to start giggling when you realize what it says,” Lipsker says. “It should hopefully start to close this gap that exists saying [art] has to be snooty, or it has to be any specific way to be considered fine art.”
Pieces like this, depending on size, often take Lipsker weeks to complete, even though he’s spending more time on his art than most people have in their waking days. But it’s all worth it to him.
Lipsker is celebrating the first anniversary of his Big City Art gallery on Sept. 1. Meanwhile, he’s working to split his gallery and studio into two locations after acquiring space at 1107 W. First Ave., which he plans to open as his main gallery in the coming months. The location on Washington will be his primary studio.
“Every time I get more space, I’m able to experiment a little more and bring my work closer to that next level,” Lipsker says, speculating on his dream to have galleries across the country. “I plan on always being here in Spokane because I love this place, but this is just the beginning.” n
Big City Art Studio & Gallery • 164 S. Washington St., Suite 500 • Hours vary • dlipart.com; Instagram: @bigcityartstudio • 509-499-9152
Lipsker mainly uses glass and layers of acrylic resin for his pieces.
Walls Awash
Spokane has gotten a lot more colorful this year; check out these new murals that have popped up
BY MADISON PEARSON AND CHEY SCOTT
Public murals do so much for a community. They strengthen a place’s local identity, celebrate history and culture, foster economic vitality, and simply beautify our urban spaces. Murals also bring joy. Think about the delight to be had when, simply going about your day, you suddenly spot a new piece of colorful art on the side of a once-drab building, underpass or retaining wall.
Summer has been prime mural-painting time around Spokane, and the following new installations are definitely worth a detour.
SOUND WALL MURAL
711 N. Helena St. (behind Ironside Apartments)
At a confluence of nature and urbanization, a 700-footlong concrete wall is bringing a burst of color and upbeat energy to a developing area of East Spokane. The freshly painted “Sound Wall Mural” boasts the work of more than a dozen local artists thanks to an effort spearheaded by artist Karli Fairbanks.
Named for the purpose of the structure it’s on — dampening train noise along a set of tracks running past the newly constructed Ironside Apartments — the wall runs east to west near where the Iron Bridge pedestrian and bike path crosses the Spokane River.
Working through some of the hottest weather in July and August, the group finished painting just in time for a mural reveal party on Aug. 28.
“The theme is growing together, and you know the location is right by the river — the very end of it is 50 feet from the Spokane River — and I wanted to tie in a sense
of creative collaboration and nature,” Fairbanks says.
With a simple color palette of coral pink, pale peach, cornflower blue and a toned-down lime green, each artist painted alternating panels down the wall reflecting their unique style.
“Each artist only had two colors to work with, which is a fun creative challenge, but also just makes the mural look really cohesive even though there’s a bunch of different styles incorporated into it,” she says.
Fairbanks painted about half of the wall herself due to the project’s sheer scale. Fifty gallons of paint was needed to complete the entire mural, which she estimates covers more than 5,200 square feet.
“It’s an insane amount of paint,” she says. “I’ve never done anything this big.”
Another massive mural is taking shape in the same area, as Spokane artist Ellen Picken works to bring her colorful, geometric four-story-tall design to one side of the Ironside Apartments. Work was underway atop scaffolding as of last week. (CS)
LONGBOTHAM BUILDING MURAL
24 W. Main Ave. (west side of Café Coco)
On Saturday night, West Main Avenue is the place to be for those seeking live music, dancing, drag or a night of bar hopping, but during the day it’s turned into a prime place to see quite a few colorful murals.
A brand-new mural by Chris Winn, the owner of Main Ave Tattoo, appeared on the side of Café Coco last month. According to an Instagram post, this is Winn’s first mural, and he wanted to “bring some sunshine into everybody’s life that walks and drives by.”
The mural features a smiling sun and brightly colored flowers with the names of building tenants inside, including Zola, Café Coco, Coven Hair Studio and Winn’s own Main Ave Tattoo. (MP)
SARANAC/COMMUNITY BUILDING MURALS
35 W. Main Ave. (alley between Browne and Division Streets)
Even more murals sit on the other side of West Main Avenue directly behind the Saranac and Community buildings.
After taking on the role of the Community Building’s manager last July, Angela Chapman ended up with a long to-do list in her hands.
“The murals were on that list of things to start,” she says. “I thought it was the most awesome idea, so we developed a grandiose idea and went with it. We wanted to bring beauty to the alleys where people don’t expect it. People from all around use the alley — we wanted it to be inclusive and beautiful.”
Chapman and Katy Sheehan, executive director of the Community Building Foundation, put out a call to ...continued on page 32
The Sound Wall mural is 700 feet long. YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS
MADISON PEARSON PHOTO
2024 September
SEPTEMBER 1ST — 2ND
REGULAR BINGO SESSIONS*
FRI & SAT SUN
Admissions opens 4 PM 11 AM
Session begins 6 PM 1 PM
MATINEE-STYLE BINGO SESSIONS* SAT MON
Admissions opens 11 AM 4 PM
Session begins NOON 6 PM
SUN Regular Session – $5 Buy-in
(minimum electronic buy-in $25).
All regular games pay $1,000.
MON Special Session - Labor Day Bingo Sales 1 PM Session 4 PM.
SEPTEMBER 5TH — 9TH
THURS Special Session –
Tip-Top Thursday Night Bingo –
Admissions 4 PM. Session 6 PM.
FRI Regular Session –End of Summer Giveaway
SAT
Regular Session
SUN Regular Session – $5 Buy-in (minimum electronic buy-in $25).
All regular games pay $1,000.
MON Monday Night Bingo
WELCOME HOME. WELCOME HOME.
*Session
END OF SUMMER GIVEAWAY! End of Summer Stay & Play Giveaways. Every Friday, 5 winners will receive Stay & Play packages.
SUN Regular Session – $5 Buy-in (minimum electronic buy-in $25).
SUN Regular Session – $5 Buy-in (minimum electronic buy-in $25).
All regular games pay $1,000.
MON Monday Night Bingo
All regular games pay $1,000.
MON Monday Night Bingo
SEPTEMBER 27TH — 30TH
FRI Regular Session –End of Summer Giveaway
SAT
Regular Session
SUN Regular Session – $5 Buy-in (minimum electronic buy-in $25).
All regular games pay $1,000.
MON Monday Night Bingo
local artists for mural designs depicting what beauty means to them personally. Selected artists Amber Hoit, Daniel Lopez, Brittany Trambitas, Danielle Davis and Desire McGinn went to work earlier this summer to turn the alleyway into a vibrant throughway.
The plan is that every two years, the murals will be painted over by new artists.
Hoit’s mural on the back of Merlyn’s showcases Black superheroes. Lopez’s art is a tribute to family, while Davis’ abstract mural brings a feeling of whimsy. Trambitas’ contribution makes the alley feel like an art gallery, with painted frames around various vignettes. McGinn’s artwork features birds and plants, reminding visitors that nature is never far away. (MP)
GARLAND ART ALLEY: STUDIO GHIBLI TRIBUTE
Little Noodle, 713 W. Garland Ave.
The Garland District is known and beloved for many things, including the Garland Art Alley. The artists’ haven runs down the back of buildings along its namesake avenue’s southern alley. Artists of all ages and styles have left their mark there, and colorful new pieces pop up regularly.
One of the Art Alley’s newest mural installations as of summer 2024 is Desmond Boston’s ode to classic Studio Ghibli films by animation master Hayao Miyazaki. On the alley’s east side at Garland and Wall Street, the mural wraps around two sides of Little Noodle restaurant, from its side patio to the hidden entrance of Itty Bitty Buddha bar. Ghibli fans can find several favorites: Kiki, Princess Mononoke, the Catbus and Totoro. Boston’s done plenty of other murals around town; follow him on Instagram for updates: @desmond1530. (CS)
KOBE AND GIANNA BRYANT
Affordable Insurance, 1514 W. Northwest Blvd.
A lifelong Kobe Bryant fan and newly designated “girl dad,” Tony Williams sought the talents of Spokane muralists and
painter Daniel Lopez for this touching tribute. Painted along the west-facing side of his North Spokane insurance business, the mural depicts the late basketball star embracing his daughter, Gianna, as angel wings gently wrap around their shoulders.
“The mural was completed on 8/2/24, the same day the Kobe Bryant statue [in downtown LA] was released,” Williams says. “It just so happens to be, obviously, Kobe’s basketball number and his daughter’s basketball numbers — Gianna wore No. 2 and Kobe was No. 8 and 24. So the man upstairs kind of put this all together in a beautiful harmony.”
Williams also dedicates the mural to his 2-month-old daughter, Harlee.
“[Kobe] was a self-proclaimed ‘girl dad,’ if you will,” he says. “That’s really beautiful and when, you know, your superhero or someone you admire passes away sooner than you would like them to, it makes you reflect on things that are important.”
On the building’s opposite side, Williams commissioned Lopez to paint a second tribute to Bryant, this time alongside Michael Jordan. (CS)
ASPHALT ART: BROWNE’S ADDITION
Intersection of Third Ave. and Elm St.
Cast your eyes downward for a change! Spokane Arts’ Asphalt Art program has been trucking along with plenty of projects keeping artists busy throughout the summer.
The newest addition to the street art collection is a piece by Carly Ellis. Situated at the intersection of Third and Elm in Browne’s Addition, the mural features the neighborhood’s historic Coeur d’Alene Park gazebo, Campbell House, a person walking their dog and, of course, a cyclist.
Other recently completed pieces of asphalt art can be found outside of The Scoop on the South Hill by Chris Bovey, artist Matt Smith’s street mural in Hillyard next to James J. Hill Park and the Pride crosswalk on Riverside Avenue in downtown Spokane. (MP) n
SPOKANE MURAL RALLY
To make up for time lost during the COVID pandemic, which impacted Spokane Arts’ ability to schedule new public mural projects, the organization is installing seven new murals all at once this September.
Local artists Sarah Sinclair, Kaitlyn Kelm, Lisa Soranaka, Mariah Boyle, Joseph Chan, Yelena Yunin, Desmond Boston and Willow Tree will be painting designs on seven BNSF retaining walls and underpasses throughout the downtown core. For those who want to watch the artists in action, here’s the mural rally schedule. Most artists start work at 10 am. (MP)
Howard Viaduct (East)
Sarah Sinclair, Sept. 6
Howard Retaining Wall (West; between billboards)
Lisa Soranaka and Mariah Boyle, Sept. 6
Wall Viaduct (East)
Joseph Chan, Sept. 13
Wall Viaduct (West) Kaitlyn Kelm, Sept. 13
Madison Viaduct
Willow Tree, Sept. 13
Jefferson Viaduct (West)
Desmond Boston, Sept. 16
Jefferson Viaduct (East) Yelena Yunin, Sept. 16
“WALLS AWASH,” CONTINUED...
Clockwise from top left: Kobe and Gianna Bryant, Ghibli in Garland, Browne’s Addition’s new asphalt art, the West Main Avenue alley. CHEY SCOTT AND MADISON PEARSON PHOTOS
DORMING DO’S AND DON’TS
Our summer interns share the essentials, and not-so-essentials, of dorm living
BY CASSANDRA BENSON AND MADI OSWALT
As summer draws to an end, fresh-faced high school grads are getting ready to head off to college, studying seemingly endless lists of dorm essentials in preparation for this new phase of life. As seasoned college students from Spokane, we Inlander interns want to offer our insight on what is — and isn’t — actually necessary or useful as you enter this chapter of independence.
THINGS TO BRING
POWER STRIP Dorm rooms never have enough outlets for a college students’ many devices: lamps, fridges, chargers, etc.
MEDICINE AND “SICK” FOOD Unfortunately, you will likely get sick at college. Don’t wait until it happens; plan ahead to make illness a little less miserable. Bring essential cold medicine and easy-to-prepare foods like ramen and soup, as well as some hydrating sports drinks.
UNDER-BED STORAGE This is a huge game changer, as most dorm rooms are tight on space. This can be a great place to store extra clothes, small luggage or anything else that doesn’t have a place.
COFFEE MAKER If you drink coffee daily, this is a must. Daily coffees at $5 each add up quickly, especially on a college student’s budget.
LAP DESK While most dorms come standard with a desk and chair, there are times when the comfort of your bed is calling. A lap desk makes it easier to get work done.
MINI TOOL KIT Until you live on your own, you never truly realize how handy a screwdriver can be. Many students forget this, and dorm group chats are often bombarded with people asking if anyone has a hammer or various other tools.
MINI VACUUM In most cases, responsibility for keeping dorms clean falls on students. A light vacuum is extremely useful for keeping your room clean, as well as being easy to share.
SLIPPERS/SLIP-ON SHOES If you’re too lazy to put on regular shoes every time you go to the kitchen, common room, etc., a pair of slippers makes a world of difference.
THINGS TO SKIP
PORTABLE SAFE Unless you’re planning on rooming with a shady figure or storing copious amounts of cash in your dorm (not advised), a safe really isn’t necessary. A small box under your bed works to store important documents like a passport, Social Security card, etc.
DECORATIVE PILLOWS Every freshman has grand plans to make their dorm room as aesthetically pleasing as possible. Decorative pillows aren’t necessary to achieve that goal. Bring cute pillow cases instead. (Do also bring cherished stuffed animals.)
AIR PURIFIER Though it sounds like a good idea, unless your dorm is really old or you have asthma, an air purifier isn’t necessary and takes up a lot of space.
TOO MANY SHOES/CLOTHES College is a time to downsize your wardrobe. Before leaving home, do an inventory of what clothes you need to bring, compare with what you want to bring, and find a balance in the middle.
BOOKS Leave your book collection at home! You’re probably not going to spend your already crunched time rereading favorites, and if you find yourself in need of a book, you can always go to the library.
CANDLES/INCENSE This is an item on most school’s “prohibited” list, so bring a diffuser or air freshener sticks instead to avoid breaking rules and causing a potentially dangerous situation.
SCHOOL SUPPLIES Wait until classes start to decide what you’ll need. College is a lot different from high school — there’s no binders or separate notebooks for each class. Most students take notes electronically, anyway.
TV Plenty of freshmen try to cram a TV into their dorm, but there’s simply not enough space to warrant the trouble. Save one for when you move off campus, and stream on your laptop or tablet instead.
BACKPACK Most of the time, a simple shoulder bag does the trick, as you don’t need to carry much to class. While there are still plenty of backpack-wearers on campus, for many it’s something to leave behind with your high school days. n
THE BUZZ BIN
ARENA UPGRADES
The Aug. 30 Jelly Roll concert at the Spokane Arena marks the venue’s first show back after the PFD closed it for a $10.2 million renovation. Concertgoers will notice dynamic new lighting throughout the Arena’s bowl. The wraparound ribbon board was switched to LED that will reduce energy use by about two-thirds and a new dynamic lighting feature can be synced directly with live performances. Along with some back-of-house improvements, multiple suites were also renovated, while retractable seating on three sides of the Arena was replaced, too — a move that will speed up changeovers between athletic events. (E.J. IANNELLI)
SHARMA SAYS
In July, the New York Times released a list of “The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.” It proved divisive among keyboard warriors and bookworms alike due to a lack of Indigenous voices. In response, Spokane Public Library’s writing education specialist and local author Sharma Shields compiled a “21st Century Book List for the Northwest.” Every title was written by a Northwest author or is affiliated with a Northwest tribe and appears in the Spokane Public Library’s collection. Titles include The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford, Wild and Distant Seas by regular Inlander columnist Tara Karr Roberts, The Liberators by Seattle poet/author EJ Koh and many, many more literary wonders. Head to spokanelibrary.org/blog for the full list. (MADISON PEARSON)
THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST
Noteworthy new music arriving in stores and online on Aug. 30.
A$AP ROCKY, DON’T BE DUMB.
The rapper’s latest LP finally drops after he initially said he was “done” in late 2022. (Clearly we were the dumb ones for believing him then.)
NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS, WILD GOD. Cave unfurls more dark, gnarly, and twisted baritone poetry on his band’s 18th LP.
LAURIE ANDERSON, AMELIA. The avant-garde musician crafts a 22-song concept album about Amelia
doomed final flight. (SETH SOMMERFELD)
Earhart’s
‘Drink Like a Fish’
Brick West Brewing Co. releases its third certified Salmon Safe beer, thanks to local hops and barley
BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM
Ever wish you could knock a cold one back with Ribby?
Beer drinkers at Brick West Brewing Co. did when everyone’s favorite Redband trout paid the brewery a visit last Thursday evening. The anthropomorphic fish high-fived his way through the taproom and then toured the patio, which was tabled by some of his favorite friends, organizations like the Lands Council, Water Wise Spokane, the Spokane Conservation District and even the Spokane Audubon Society.
They were all there to celebrate Brick West’s release of Upstream Pale Lager, a limited edition beer brewed with hops and grains certified by the Portland-based nonprofit Salmon Safe.
Salmon Safe works with farmers, landowners and third-party researchers across the Northwest to encourage and improve watershed-friendly land use. The Salmon Safe certification means that a grower is using pest management and soil conservation techniques that reduce harm to local waterways, plus is looking to build wetland habitats or encourage biodiversity on farmed and non-farmed land.
Upstream is Brick West’s third Salmon Safe certified beer, thanks to a partnership between Bill Powers, Brick West’s marketing manager, and Brian Muegge, a Gonzaga grad and Salmon Safe farm program manager, with more than a little help from Brick West’s Head Brewer, Scotland Shouse.
Powers and Muegge met years ago while working for No-Li Brewhouse. Now, their annual release of a certified Salmon Safe beer at Brick West gives both the brewery and
local conservation organizations a chance to educate the public about how a pilsner, lager or IPA affects watershed health.
“Beer is an agricultural product,” Muegge says. “The two main components of beer are hops and grain, largely barley. Here in our region of the Pacific Northwest, both of those crops are grown in a high number of acres.”
By far the nation’s largest hop producer, Washington state harvested nearly 39,000 acres of hops last year and is forecast to harvest about 33,000 acres this year, according to the USDA. The other main hop growing regions are Oregon’s Willamette Valley and Idaho’s Treasure Valley.
“Close to 90% of the hops that are grown domestically come from those three regions,” he says. “They’re actually all in the same watershed. They’re all part of the Columbia Basin. That’s how we operate as an organization — watershed wide.”
Muegge says about a third of hops acres in Yakima Valley are currently certified Salmon Safe, as are about 85% of them in the Willamette Valley and about 10% in Idaho. The organization is also working with about two dozen grain growers in the Palouse and a handful of other farmers closer to the Tri-Cities area.
Salmon Safe rides the coattails (caudal fins) of the Northwest’s most charismatic fish. Like the panda on the World Wildlife Fund logo, the salmon is a symbol the nonprofit uses to indicate waterway health in general.
“In our region, we should have salmon and steelhead all the way from Astoria to
Head Brewer Scotland Shouse, left, and Salmon Safe Farm Program Manager Brian Muegge. YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS
the falls here in town,” Muegge says. “We use Salmon Safe as a blanket term. If you’re a farmer, what can you do on your land to promote watershed health and functionality?”
But in Idaho, the organization gives “Trout Safe” certifications instead, much to Ribby’s delight.
If you were lucky enough to pound an Upstream Pale Lager with the Spokane Indians’ finned mascot, you had a highly drinkable beer in hand. The new release, at just 4.4% ABV, is crisp and clean with very little bitterness and no harsh aftertaste. It’s got the same virtues as a good conservationist: pure, winsome and plenty of “leave no trace” vibes.
In order for a beer to carry the Salmon Safe logo or the tagline “Drink Like a Fish,” it has to contain at least 95% of Salmon Safe certified hops, barley or both (different colored logos refer to different ingredients). Upstream has both — its Salmon Safe certified hops grown by Goschie Farms in Silverton, Oregon, while the certified barley was grown by two growers with Cold Stream Malt & Grain in Latah, Washington.
Salmon Safe grew out of the fish advocacy nonprofit Pacific Rivers in the mid-’90s, after the National Organic Program was established in 1990 and federal organic certification began to gain ground.
“We saw that the organic movement was a good thing, but it wasn’t really looking at landscape-level impacts,” Muegge says. “Organic farms are reducing synthetic fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, but they aren’t really addressing other key components of watershed health like riparian health or other habitat improvements, or robust water tracking to conserve water.”
Both conventional and organic growing
methods can put waterways at risk. Salmon Safe works collaboratively with any grower to determine what improvements are important and possible on their land, instead of imposing top-down rules.
“You can be an organic farm, but you can use a bunch of copper. Copper, a heavy metal, elevated in a watershed is bad for fish and aquatic life,” Muegge says. “We work with organic growers largely to promote habitats and reduce their copper usage. For the nonorganic growers, it’s a matter of phasing out a lot more of the chemicals they may have relied upon that are highly deleterious for watershed health.”
In addition to working with farmers, Salmon Safe also works with public landowners like city parks and other urban greenspaces to enhance watershed-friendly land use in any setting.
The Upstream Pale Lager will be available on tap for $6.50 a pint at Brick West for the next few weeks. But keep an eye out for the logo around town, because now that Muegge is based in Spokane, you may see it popping up on different brews in the region.
“LINC Malt here in town is a part of LINC Foods, and they work with grain growers locally to malt grain and sell it in town,” Muegge says.
“A lot of those sources are growers in our program, not just Cold Stream.”
Salmon Safe’s table on the Brick West patio also introduced beer drinkers to Hard Row to Hoe Vineyards, Lake Chelan’s first certified Salmon Safe winery.
It’s hard to know what exactly Ribby was thinking, since he can only express himself with fins — but I’d venture to say the Redband would be game to raise a red blend with friends in honor of watershed health, too. n
Hops and malt that any drinker — fish or mammal — would love.
Aldean,Tim McGraw, Craig Morgan)
ALSO OPENING
TV REVIEW
The More Murder the Merrier
Only Murders in the Building delivers another winning season of comedic murder mystery
BY JOSH BELL
The premise of Hulu mystery comedy series Only Murders in the Building doesn’t seem like it would lend itself to multiple seasons, yet the show remains vibrant and funny as it enters its fourth season this week. While the setup has become a bit formulaic, the characters are still a joy to spend time with, and co-creator and showrunner John Hoffman continues to come up with clever ways to place them in the middle of murder investigations.
As the title implies, each season’s murder occurs within the confines of the Arconia, the upscale New York City apartment building that’s home to amateur sleuths and true-crime podcasters Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez). That makes the Arconia one of the most
dangerous places in the city, like the Manhattan equivalent of Cabot Cove, the cozy, murder-filled Maine town where Angela Lansbury’s Jessica Fletcher lived on Murder, She Wrote
In what’s become the show’s tradition, the central murder of the new season took place at the end of the previous season, when Charles’ friend and TV stunt double Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch) was shot by a sniper while standing in Charles’ dark apartment. The first episode of the new season doubles back a bit, beginning with the increasingly rare sight of the characters actually recording their podcast, wrapping up the case of murdered actor Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd).
It takes a little while for them to discover that Sazz has been killed, since she first appears simply to be missing, and the trio are slightly preoccupied by the offer from a movie producer (Molly Shannon) to adapt their podcast into a feature film. While the third season focused on Broadway, with Oliver directing a play starring both Charles and Ben Glenroy, this season takes the characters to Hollywood, although they quickly return to the Arconia once they find out about Sazz’s murder.
AFRAID
A family’s AI home system goes from convenience to terror as it begins forcibly interjecting itself in their lives (with sometimes deadly results) in the latest horror flick from Blumhouse Productions. Rated PG-13
REAGAN
Told through a conservative Christian lens, the life of the 40th president of the United States comes to the big screen in this biopic starring Dennis Quaid. Rated PG-13
SHAUN OF THE DEAD
It’s risen from the dead! Edgar Wright’s zombie horror comedy classic returns for a Dolby-only rerelease to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Rated R At AMC River Park Square
SLINGSHOT
When things go awry on a yearslong journey to Saturn’s moon Titan, a small crew of astronauts (Casey Affleck, Laurence Fishburne, Tomer Capone) begin to lose their grip on reality in this psychological sci-fi thriller. Rated R
and red herrings. There are welcome returns from several recurring characters (including some genuine surprises), although they sometimes get crowded out by the new faces. The movie stars aren’t the only significant additions, since the investigation leads the main trio to a previously unmentioned second Arconia building, inhabited by the so-called “Westies.” They’re a bit like the infamous “Tailies” on Lost, a whole set of new characters who’ve allegedly existed in the background the entire time.
It’s a lot to juggle, but Hoffman and the writers keep things energetic and goofy, without losing sight of the core relationship that makes the show work. Charles, Oliver and Mabel spent too much time apart in the third season, pursuing various love interests and feuding over the future of the podcast. This season places them back together where they belong, and while Oliver is still dating actress Loretta Durkin (Meryl Streep), she has a much smaller presence than she did in the previous season.
Only Murders in the Building
Created by Steve Martin & John Hoffman Starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez Streaming on Hulu
The entire film production moves with them, and Shannon proves to be the season’s best new addition, doing a variation on her overzealous showbiz mom from Max sitcom The Other Two. This season goes a bit overboard on celebrities playing themselves, as opposed to previous seasons’ celebrity cameos as Arconia residents. This time, Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis and Eva Longoria make substantial multiepisode appearances as themselves, cast to play Charles, Oliver and Mabel in the Only Murders in the Building movie. Longoria has the most fun playing with her image, but a little of the self-referential humor goes a long way, and it gets a bit tiresome for both the audience and the characters as the movie stars keep inserting themselves into the investigation.
One of the greatest strengths of Only Murders in the Building is its vast ensemble of oddball supporting characters, which is a key reason that the show doesn’t feel stale even as it runs through its familiar cycle of cliffhangers
Even when the murder investigations get unwieldy, Only Murders in the Building is always worth watching for the delightful interplay among Martin, Short and Gomez, and their chemistry is as strong as ever. They excel at witty banter, but they also bring pathos to these sometimes ridiculous characters, which is another way the show keeps the audience engaged. This season gives Charles a bit of an existential crisis as he mourns a friend and colleague he realizes he never truly appreciated, and Lynch makes the most of her expanded spotlight as Sazz in flashbacks and dream sequences.
The seven episodes available for review offer up a nonstop array of suspects, and it’s possible that the remaining three episodes will fail to wrap up the mystery in a satisfactory way. Then again, as the movie stars themselves point out, these mysteries are always full of holes, and that doesn’t make them any less entertaining. Only Murders in the Building may already be at the point where it’s making fun of its own shortcomings, but those shortcomings are just as endearing as the punchlines they inspire, and both deserve to continue as long as the talented cast and creators want to keep going. n
Murders’ star trio still has killer chemsitry.
Not So Silent Movies
The Kenworthy Silent Film Festival in Moscow pairs 1920s cinema with new locally composed scores
BY CHASE HUTCHINSON
The magic of silent cinema and music are coming together again this September as part of the second annual Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre Silent Film Festival in Moscow. Throughout the month, the festival is set to show a variety of classic films from the 1920s, each with a new score created by local composers. The festival is something that Kenworthy Executive Director Colin Mannex hopes will continue to create a renewed sense of engagement with past films by putting them in conversation with modern compositions.
“It’s an opportunity for us to make the case that the interpretation of these films is not a settled matter,” Mannex says. “It’s not stuffy or antiquated. In fact, these are really lively works that are maybe in a different cinematic vocabulary than what we appreciate now from movies, but they are no less complex in the study of human emotion and the human experience.”
The festival spans many cinematic and musical genres. Things begin on Sept. 4 with the romance Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans featuring a composition by Isabella Morrill performed by the Washington-Idaho Symphony. The mystery The Unknown with a jazz score by Max Wolpert arrives Sept. 11. The horror feature A Page of Madness with benshi artist (a “movie talker”) Ichiro Kataoka narrating alongside composer Dylan Champagne’s cello score screens Sept. 19. And things conclude on Sept. 25 with the comedy Safety Last starring Harold Lloyd and featuring a percussion score by Liam Marchant.
For Marchant, who did a composition for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari at last year’s inaugural festival, the opportunity to participate again was just as exciting. Taking on a comedy — and its own distinct wavelength — provided plenty of unique opportunities for him to play around.
“It’s really just about heightening the comedy of it and working with some of the surface features in terms of motive and how you can use certain characters to express that motive … utilizing the percussionists in a very idiomatic way,” Marchant says. “I chose to go with more of a jagged, off-kilter beat to it kind of inspired by a lot of harmony you’d hear in ragtime, blues or more experimental
areas of jazz. I think it’s going to be really fun to work as more of a background soundscape for the film itself.”
Marchant’s process for finding his way into the composition involved watching the film multiple times and then playing through it with various instruments. He then reached out to other local collaborators he thought would similarly enjoy this unusual creative experience. Marchant said the end result — and those of the other composers — are something special.
“You’re getting an absolutely beautiful creative landscape of the Pacific Northwest and the Palouse,” he says. “Each night is going to be very different, so if you’re looking for the whole experience, go to every show because you definitely won’t be disappointed. There are really so many beautiful voices and dialogues that are happening with old pieces of film and old pieces of art.”
Finding Marchant and other composers for the festival was easy for Mannex, since the region is home to many talented musicians he knew would be able to work their magic.
“We have this great reputation for being the heart of the arts here in North Idaho. We’ve got some really strong institutions with the Lionel Hampton School of Music [at UI] and the WashingtonIdaho Symphony and just some really stellar independent people,” Mannex says. “We’ve just been able to tap into that existing talent and solicit contributions from people that we know are qualified to be able to deliver.”
Reflecting on how the Kenworthy itself was a silent theater nearly a century ago when it first opened, Mannex hopes to carry on this legacy for many years to come.
“We’re able to draw from a lot of local history,” he says. “Everything that would have gone on around the business of selling movies, we can bring back and bring people really close to that experience of what it was like to be in the cinema in 1926 while also demanding a reappraisal of some of those works with the new music that we’re able to highlight.” n
Kenworthy Silent Film Festival • Sept. 4, 11, 19, 25 at 7 pm • $10-$15; $50 festival pass • All ages • Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre • 508 S. Main St., Moscow • kenworthy.org
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans opens up the fest’s second edition.
LOCAL ROCK
MIDNIGHT MADNESS
Spokane’s relentlessly gigging Snacks at Midnight shows off its eclectic rock sound on What You Think You Want
BY SETH SOMMERFELD
Sometimes it can be tough when you get the musical munchies yet struggle to figure out what exactly fits your sonic taste in the moment.
Do you want something light, warm and comforting — tunes that ease your brain into a chill mindset?
Do you want something that’s more spicy — some aggressive, rebellious rock sounds?
Do you want something sweet — an emotionally open and upbeat danceable jam?
Thankfully for local music fans, Spokane’s Snacks at Midnight always offers an overflowing cornucopia of flavors. And that’s on full display on the group’s new album, What You Think You Want
The album opener “F— You” has a snarling punkish feel and cops a Rage Against the Machine line for its bridge to underscore a message of nonconformity in an age of digital cultural homogeneity. And while tunes like “Give Em Hell” and “Hanging Rope” keep a similar rock edge, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. There are
also groovy indie pop jams “Sleep Deprivation” and “Life Ain’t Fair.” There’s pulled back chill out vibes to be found in songs like “Breathe.” Heck, there’s even an instrumental interlude before the soft-handed singer-songwriter finale “The Change.” That tune also captures the general spirit of the album, which was recorded at Rainmaker Studios in Pasco, Washington, last December.
“It’s entirely about how things are going to change. Life is going to really suck sometimes, and life is going to be phenomenal sometimes, but the one consistent is that it’s going to be different,” singer and guitarist Rory Babin says. “And you should appreciate that fact and be OK with it.”
“We took a photo before we recorded the album,” he adds. “It was of a woman holding a gas can with flowers coming out of it. And this was kind of the center of the idea of the album — the strange contrast between peace and war, love and fighting, and how the two connect and intertwine.”
What You Think You Want showcases an extremely eclectic rock sound that Snacks at Midnight has honed over the course of more than just a few years.
The friendship at the core of Snack at Midnight well predates its founding. Bassist Nick Harner and lead guitarist Giovani Covarrubias grew up together as neighborhood buddies. Then in middle school, Harner and Babin bonded when they had to make a rap music video about King George for a social studies project. The crew became closer pals while attending high school at Lewis & Clark, and Rory’s keyboard-playing brother Bill Babin eventually joined the crew for two very obvious reasons.
“I’m here because they needed a pianist, and my mom said I had to join,” Bill says.
Snacks at Midnight is the rare high school band formed in parents’ basements that survived post-graduation. The guys played their first show the summer after
It’s always important to pack Snacks when headed out into the wild... ABBI BABIN PHOTO
their freshman year in 2015, but self-admittedly — just like almost every high school band — they weren’t exactly killing it out of the gate.
“We were definitely friends first, and then we started playing instruments together. And then we sucked for like four years,” Harner says with a chuckle.
But even when things might not have been sharp, Harner says the joy the guys felt playing together made it clear they wanted to try to pursue music as a career. Oddly, part of the group’s musical connection comes from the fun of not sharing the same musical backgrounds.
TASTE THE MUSIC
“I think part of what makes us the most unique is all of our members come from super different music tastes,” Rory says.
The 43rd annual Pig Out in the Park features six days of live music. Visit pigoutinthepark.com to check out the entire schedule.
For example, Rory “grew up on Mumford and Sons, The Lumineers” and other melodic folk tunes. His brother Bill is a classical piano guy. Harner was drawn to the bass via funk and listens to indie and prog rock. Drummer Austin Davis — who met Harner in college at Eastern Washington University and joined the group in 2022 after a few drummer changes — grew up on jazz, but digs punk and metal and cites Paramore as his favorite band. It’s a hodgepodge, but one that works.
The band finally started to come into its own right at the least ideal time. Snack at Midnight’s debut album, Mom’s Proud, arrived in November 2020 amid ongoing COVID shutdowns in the music industry, but the album showcased a laid-back while still upbeat alternative folk pop sound. It’s a far different feel from What You Think You Want, but certainly has a warm and welcoming vibe. And once the world reopened to live music, Snack at Midnight got busy. Like busy busy.
If you frequently dive into the local music scene, odds are you would’ve stumbled across one of Snacks at Midnight’s alwaysenergetic sets at some point. In terms of bands that primarily play their own music (as opposed to covers-forward acts), the group leaves pretty much everyone else in the dust when it comes to its gigging frequency.
“Last year we played over 70 shows,” Rory says. “We haven’t had a free weekend in four years.”
And of course there’s a practical side to all that work.
“[We do it to] get as many eyes and as many paychecks as we can, because it’s expensive to produce the album. And because we want to do it so bad, it just felt like the only route to go,” Harner adds. “I mean, playing shows is kind of the thing you want to do. I love being in the studio, but I mean playing shows when there are people in your face dancing? That’s the best feeling ever.”
If you’ve yet to bite into Snacks at Midnight’s live sound, there’s a fittingly foody chance upcoming. The band is playing a free set on Sunday night at Pig Out in the Park at the Riverfront Pavilion Stage. It’s also the last chance to see Snacks for a while. After working toward What You Think You Want’s release in July and playing so many shows the past handful of years, the band is taking a much-needed break to recharge for the rest of 2024.
Once the guys take some time to rest, Snacks at Midnight will take their Spokane sound abroad, kicking off 2025 with a 12-show tour of Japan. And while the guys are incredibly happy with how What You Think You Want turned out and need a gigging pause, don’t expect them to stay away from Spokane stages for too long. These friends have developed the collective taste for the thrill of live music. As most of us can attest, once you start snacking it can be incredibly hard to stop.
“Recording is cool and all, and it’s great to have your stuff immortalized, but playing is where it’s at.” Davis says. “I’d trade a single moment on stage over any moment of greatness in history.” n
Snacks at Midnight • Sun, Sept. 1 at 6 pm • Free • All ages • Pig Out in the Park’s Pavilion Stage, Riverfront Park • 574 N. Howard St. • pigoutinthepark.com
DESIGN REQUIREMENTS:
• Your design can include up to 4 colors.
• Incorporate the words “Lilac Bloomsday Run” (or “Bloomsday”), “Spokane, Washington,” “2025” (or ‘25) and “Finisher.”
• Size: No larger than 13 inches high and 11 inches wide.
• Artist’s name, postal address, email address and phone number must be on the back of each design.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
• Provide a hard copy of your design. Do not send thumb drives, PDFs or other electronic files.
• Multiple designs can be submitted and are encouraged.
• Artwork cannot be returned.
Friday, Sept. 20, 2024
If We Can Be Frank for a Moment…
Frank Turner chats about music universality, his new album Undefeated and being an “angry old man”
BY SETH SOMMERFELD
Folk punk hits different in the UK.
And I mean that both sonically and on the charts.
Take England’s own Frank Turner, who just put out his 10th rabble-rousing collection of sing-along-whileyou-mosh-along songs for the underdogs. The 42-yearold is renowned for his raucous live shows, nonstop touring schedule and songwriting chops that connect with his loyal fanbase on a devotee level. But he’s also a chart-topper in his homeland, as his last six albums have cracked the Top 3 of the UK charts. That’s something that would be completely infeasible for Turner’s stateside folk punk peers.
That tally includes Turner’s new album, Undefeated The first LP he’s self-produced, the record showcases that the singer’s rebel soul and tender heart hasn’t faded and that there are still plenty of more firebrand anthems in his proverbial chamber.
Before Turner plays the Knitting Factory on Sept. 1, we Zoomed with him to chat about the new album, D.B. Cooper and shedding toxic people.
INLANDER: What about the strong English spirit in your songs do you think transcends borders to also connect with fans over here in the States?
TURNER: Certainly one thing that pleasantly surprised me when I first started touring the States is that there is a section of America, particularly the American punk scene, that has this sort of Anglophilia thing going on. I mean, I love ’em, but Rancid singing “dial 999” in
“Maxwell Murder”… that’s not gonna get you anywhere around here.
[Laughs]
But ultimately, lots of British people, myself included, are Bruce Springsteen fans. And Springsteen sings about New Jersey. The appeal is somebody singing with honesty and insight, often love about the place that they’re from. I think that’s the universal, really.
So what keeps you such a relentlessly touring artist even 10 albums into things?
There’s a bunch of stuff going on. Part of it is that a turning point in my life was reading Get in the Van (by Henry Rollins) when I was about 15 years old. I read it as an instruction manual, and it set me on fire. I did my first tour less than a year later, which I booked myself from a pay phone in my school when I was 16 years old. And it was kind of a disaster, and I thought it was the greatest thing that ever happened, and I fell in love with it. So it is the great passion of my life, touring and playing shows.
I mean, if you want to get armchair psychologist about it, it’s not unlinked to the fact that I got sent away from home when I was 8 years old by my parents and haven’t felt enormously settled since then, to this day. So I like being on the move. It makes me feel like I’m making the most of my time, my limited time on this planet.
One of the lines on Undefeated that really struck me was on “No Thank You for the Music” where you
sing, “I’ve returned to being an angry old man.” What does angry old man Frank Turner look like in 2024?
I hope slightly better informed than I was 20 years ago. One would hope.
With that particular line, I think that when you’re a kid, you’re furious — well, I was furious — about everything. Then you have this moment of understanding that life is more complicated than you thought it was, and there are shades of gray, and indeed it’s important to try and inhabit other people’s perspectives, and so on and so on.
But there is a part of me that feels like it is possible to go too far down that road, and perhaps I did for a time in my life. Where you almost argue yourself out of having any opinions, because — particularly if you have a contrarian streak in character, which I unquestionably do — at a certain point you just sort of don’t really think anything about anything, because you can always see the inverse view. And therefore you don’t have any say in anything.
A lot of that line to me has to do with cutting people out of your life. The pandemic was an interesting moment for kind of thinning the herd a little bit socially, do you know what I mean? We’re all locked in our houses forever, and it was like, ‘Who am I gonna stay in touch with?’ And there’s a liberation in cutting toxic people out of your life. n
Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, Bridge City Sinners, Bedouin Soundclash • Sun, Sept. 1 at 7 pm • $30 • All ages • Knitting Factory • 919 W. Sprague Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com
Frank Turner in a brief moment when he’s not relentlessly touring.
SHANNON SHUMAKER PHOTO
RAP OHGEESY
FOLK PUNK APES OF THE STATE
As a founder of the controversial druginduced rap group Shoreline Mafia, OhGeesy (Mexican-American rapper Alejandro Carranza) continues to “stand on business” since the group’s breakup in 2020. His meteoric rise is no coincidence, as he seemingly releases new music and videos the way the Inlander puts out papers. As a club DJ, I always have slappers like “Musty” and “GEEKALEEK” ready to queue up to maintain energy on the dance floor. The sheer number of Shoreline Mafia hits, singles and features by OhGeesy makes it easy to find a handful of songs that incite peoples’ more hedonistic behaviors in the club. The catchy drug, food and money references call to mind a Will Ferrell quote from Blades of Glory: “No one knows what it means, but it’s provocative. It gets the people going.”
— VICTOR CORRAL MARTINEZ
OhGeesy, 310babii, Yung Chowder • Wed, Sept. 4 at 8 pm • $30 • All Ages • Knitting Factory • 919 W. Sprague Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com
Thursday, 8/29
ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Son of Brad
J THE BIG DIPPER, Oxygen Destroyer, Anti-Sapien, Perpetual Warfare, Tomb Ripper CHECKERBOARD TAPROOM, Weathered Shepherds THE LODGE AT CARLIN BAY, Keanu
J MCEUEN PARK, Sunset to Summer
J NORTHERN QUEST CASINO, Five Finger Death Punch, Marilyn Manson, Slaughter to Prevail
J QQ SUSHI & KITCHEN, Just Plain Darin
J RIVERSTONE PARK, Diego Romero Band, Shiraz
J STELLA’S ON THE HILL, Dr Phil & The Enablers
J TRUE LEGENDS GRILL, Evan Denlinger
J WATERFRONT PARK, Linger at the Lake: Soul Proprietor ZOLA, Lucas Brown and Jerry Lee Raines
Friday, 8/30
AK ASIAN RESTAURANT, Nate Ostrander
BIG BARN BREWING CO., Tufnel 3 Guy
BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Fire From Ashes
CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Cary Fly
CHINOOK STEAK, SEAFOOD & PASTA, Keanu
DAHMEN BARN, The Senders
J FARMJAM, FarmJam Festival
J J GORGE AMPHITHEATER, Dave Matthews Band, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Aveneue, Say She She
J THE GRAIN SHED, Haywire
IOLITE LOUNGE, The Philosophers Daughter
J J BONES MUSICLAND, Max Quartet, Kaitlyn Wien
J KNITTING FACTORY, Club 90’s Chappell Roan Night
MILLIE’S, Pastiche MOOSE LOUNGE, The Real McCoy
J NORTHERN QUEST CASINO, Ice Nine Kills, In This Moment, Avatar, TX2
J PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Ron Keiper
RED ROOM LOUNGE, Live DJs SILVER MOUNTAIN RESORT, Hunny Soup
J SPOKANE ARENA, Jelly Roll, Warren Zeiders,
Alexandra Kay
J STELLA’S ON THE HILL, LakeTown Sound
J TRUE LEGENDS GRILL, Howie King
WEST PLAINS BREWING, Muthaluva
WHISPERS LOUNGE, Live on the Lake: Jojo Dodge
ZOLA, Melissa Wonder ZOLA, MadSwag
Saturday, 8/31
BIG BARN BREWING CO., The Walleye
J THE BIG DIPPER, Children of Atom, Becoming Ghosts, Day Shadow, Where?
BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Fire From Ashes
J BOTTLE BAY BREWING CO., Bradford Little
THE CHAMELEON, Sorry For Party Rocking
CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Side Step
There’s something about the ramshackle beauty of a great folk punk band that inherently feels next-level authentic — just acoustic instruments and warbling voices belting out passionate odes to outsider rebellion, love and the messiness of life. Apes of the State capture that aura. Led by April Hartman on vocals and guitar, the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, outfit put out anthems for blue-collar outcasts looking for community. At moments the band’s sound calls to mind acts like early AJJ, Kimya Dawson, and Laura Jane Grace, while carving out an energetic slice of slam dance-worthy folk all its own. If you’re tired of the too-sleek sound of much modern music, go Ape(s). — SETH SOMMERFELD
Apes of the State, Sister Wife Sex Strike, Porch Cat • Thu, Sept. 5 at 8 pm • $20 • 21+ • The Chameleon • 1801 W. Sunset Blvd. • chameleonspokane.com
CHINOOK STEAK, SEAFOOD & PASTA, Keanu
J FARMJAM, FarmJam Festival
J J GORGE AMPHITHEATER, Dave Matthews Band, Cory Wong, Blind Pilot
J J KNITTING FACTORY, Emo Nite
MILLIE’S, Pastiche
MOOSE LOUNGE, The Real McCoy
MULLIGAN’S BAR & GRILLE, Son of Brad
NOAH’S CANTEEN, Just Plain Darin
J J NORTHERN QUEST CASINO,
Lindsey Stirling, Saint Motel
J ONE SHOT
CHARLIE’S, LakeTown Sound
J PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Mike and Shanna
J PONDEROSA BAR AND GRILL, Austin Carruthers
RED ROOM LOUNGE, Live DJs
ROCKET MARKET, Dante D’Angelo
J J SPOKANE TRIBE CASINO, Ying Yang Twins, Paul Wall, Petey Pablo, Bubba Sparxxx
J WALLOWA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS, Juniper Jam
ZOLA, Silver Smile
ZOLA, Kaitlin Wiens
Sunday, 9/1
ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Atomic Jive Band
J FARMJAM,
FarmJam Festival
J J GORGE AMPHITHEATER, Dave Matthews Band, Neko Case, Maggie Rose
J HAMILTON STUDIO, Casey MacGill with the Zonky Jazz Band
J J BONES MUSICLAND, Sam Weber, Moonface
J J KNITTING FACTORY, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, Bridge City Sinners, Bedouin Soundclash
J LIVE AT ANDRE’S, The War Hippies
MILLIE’S, Pastiche
MOOSE LOUNGE, Keith Wallace
J SOUTH HILL GRILL, Just Plain Darin
Monday, 9/2
EICHARDT’S PUB, Monday Night Blues Jam with John Firshi
J J BONES MUSICLAND, Ivory Daze
RED ROOM LOUNGE, Open Mic Night
Tuesday, 9/3
OSPREY RESTAURANT & BAR, The Ronaldos
SWING LOUNGE, Swing Lounge Live Music Tuesdays
ZOLA, The Zola All Star Jam
Wednesday, 9/4
J KENDALL YARDS, Rock the Nest: Musha Marimba, Wyatt Woods, Christopher Anderson, Daniel Hall
This Labor Day weekend, Spokanites will have the opportunity to attend not one, but two orchestral concerts held in gorgeous area parks. Both avid classical music listeners and those who enjoy live music will find pleasure in the soothing sounds of the Spokane Symphony, which is set to play selections from Hollywood and Broadway alongside other popular tunes while the public sits back and revels in the beauty of music and nature. The fun begins on Sat, Aug. 31, at Pavillion Park in Liberty Lake with the Lud Kramer Memorial Concert and continues in Comstock Park on Monday, Sept. 2. Both concerts start at 6 pm, so head out early and bring a blanket to sit on with dinner in a picnic basket for the full experience.
— MADI OSWALT
Lud Kramer Memorial Concert • Sat, Aug. 31 at 6 pm • Pavillion Park, Liberty Lake
Labor Day Concert • Mon, Sept. 2 at 6 pm • Comstock Park, Spokane • spokanesymphony.org
MUSIC RAWRING NITE OUT XD
When I was a young man, the Inlander took me into the city, to write about an emo show. Are we really doing this? They said, “Hey when you write this, would you be the savior of the clueless, the ignorant and those unaware?” Seriously?! They said, “Will you inform them? Our readers and all the event-goers, to help them make their plans?” I guess we’re doing this. Because today, I’ll leave you this message, to lead you to the Knitting Factory, to join the Emo Nite for an evening of the most nostalgic emo hits. Now, carry on, my friends, we’ll see you at the show on Saturday. We’ll carry on.
— COLTON RASANEN
Emo Nite • Sat, Aug. 31 at 8 pm • $18 • All ages • Knitting Factory • 919 W Sprague Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com
FILM THE DUDE ABIDES
The Big Lebowski is one of those endlessly quotable ’90s classics with an all-star cast. If you want to see the Dude seek our recompense for his precious, ruined rug in all of his original VHS glory, The Chameleon offers that very opportunity. Customarily home to live music, but, like its namesake, the venue is shifting gears for this screening of The Big Lebowski on VHS. Don’t miss the opportunity to see Donny get reprimanded for being stupid time and time again, Walter lose his cool over and over, and the Dude maintain his, all on the big screen and with a White Russian in your hand.
— CASSANDRA
BENSON
Chopbuster Presents: The Big Lebowski on Glorious VHS • Thu, Aug. 29 at 8 pm • $10 • 21+ • The Chameleon • 1801 W. Sunset Blvd. • chameleonspokane.com
WORDS SECONDHAND STORIES
In my mind, there can never be too many bookstores. The Inland Northwest area has a plethora to choose from, whether you’re looking to support indie pressings or grab that highly sought-after version of your favorite classic novel. Head outside Spokane proper, and your bookstore options quickly begin to dwindle. That’s why the soft opening of Paperbound Books, a new secondhand bookstore in Cheney, is so exciting for the local bookish community. Head over to the Mason Jar building this Friday and Saturday to check out the space, the used book selection, make your own bookmark and meet Medical Lake author Jen Shultz. The first 50 customers to spend over $25 will receive a free Paperbound Books tote to commemorate the occasion. Welcome to the pool of local bookstores, Paperbound!
— MADISON PEARSON
Paperbound Books Soft Opening • Fri, Aug. 30 and Sat, Aug. 31 from 10 am-3 pm • Free • Paperbound Books • 107 F St., Suite B, Cheney • paperboundbooks.com
FOOD MOUNTAINTOP BREWS
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The end of summer means one glorious thing: Fall Fest atop Schweitzer mountain! Labor Day weekend is the final (long) weekend of summer operations, but you can spend all four days drinking in the sunshine and sampling from among over 80 different beers, ciders and seltzers from local breweries. Preorder glassware or buy your favorite style at the festival, all of which come with three drink tickets for a full beer pour or 4 ounces of wine. Kids can join the fun, too, with a mix-and-match soda station with enough sugar to keep them up all night. But don’t worry — there will be plenty of campfires and live music to keep everyone entertained. Between pints, shop local vendors, peruse food trucks, and take advantage of hiking and biking trails to bask in some incredible mountaintop views.
— ELIZA BILLINGHAM
I SAW YOU
RE: I SEE YOU NOW First of all, this message is too vague for any specific person to know it’s about them. You need more personal clues. This scenario fits far to many folks to figure out who this is about. Second, saying, “I stuck with you during darkest days, ignoring what other people said” is passive aggressive guilt tripping this for that thing not conducive to any relationship. Thankfully I logically reasoned that if this was my person, they aren’t blocked by me and I have open arms. But it certainly hit all the right notes and was music to my heart and was in many ways what I wanted to hear. Besides, he would know I promised I’d always be there if he ever really needed me. I’d cross oceans, climb mountains. What the archangel asked I’d do in a hot minute.
EXASPERATED.. ...waiting in a much-toolong line at the Big Box, complaining of crowded conditions. You pay to shop there, doing business with a Corp. based in one of the 11 Sanctuary States, whose prices continue to climb for all things from groceries to gas, to housing, education, travel, and all else. You were concerned. Quite. You should be. Start the re-”learning.” It’s scary. Plan accordingly. I believe you: “Know thyself.” There is hope for you. Decide while you can. There is coming a time, that may not be an option. Stay smart. Been to Eagle Pass, lately?
CHEERS
SUPERSTORE ANGEL WITH THE PINK HAIR I was behind an older gentleman in the checkout line at Walmart who was either hard-of-hearing and/or had trouble comprehending English. The employee working our lane kindly repeated the same questions several times, and even used hand gestures to help him understand. She patiently helped him count out his money as he struggled to produce the correct amount. I was so touched by her simple act of kindness. The world needs more people like you!
JEERS
CHOOSE You, screaming at me, that your “right” to abortion has been taken from you. R.V.W was non-constitutional; you might wanna re-visit RBG’s comments on that...from “then.” Fellow lady, here with a reminder. It IS your choice. Pregnancy is 100% preventable! It is! If you don’t want a pregnancy, don’t...get...pregnant. The science is real, and works in a majority of sperm-meets-egg encounters. Nature planned it that way. Make the simple choice you can vs. the heartache and headache of: “Now what!?” Do you really make most of your life decisions with that kind of non-planning? Guessing you don’t. Plan your choices by making decisions that precipitate the outcomes you need. Life vest on open water. Parachute before jumping. Seat belts before driving. No forks in the outlets. Ya know, learn from the facts of the “science.” We’re smarter than “Now What?!?!” ladies. Why choose to not be in control of the easiest choice you can make?...and please, stop screaming at me; I can’t hear you when you’re that loud.
NOT EVERYONE SPEAKS ENGLISH Jeers to the lady that had negative feelings towards my salon co-workers for not speaking English. For five minutes, you claimed to be in such a disarray during your luxurious spa day because you couldn’t understand what we were talking about. Trust me when I tell you this, you would be more interested reading a book than learning about our discussions on grocery markets, petty politics, and medications for sore backs. Just because we cannot respond back in English well or at all doesn’t mean that we don’t like you or anything; it just
means we simply are just trying to do our job with proficiency without bumping into unnecessary and awkward dialogue. An English conversation isn’t something you should be worried for, it should be learning to respect human conversations and learning to do away with your disgusting racism. And like some conversations, you shouldn’t always stick your head in where it doesn’t belong. Until you ditch your vile racist mindset, we don’t want you back either.
“
and her 3-year-old slammed into you then ended up in the hospital. Long story short: You all escaped the scene and the car after you ditched it, BUT you left your DNA and fingerprints everywhere! What a trio of morons! Hopefully you all were eventually caught for a subsequent felony. IF you haven’t all been caught yet — don’t worry, smelly little middle school thieves — it’s coming, and you won’t like going to big people jail.
riding a bike in the winter? No? Well, it’s not a party until you do. Normally winter here can go from October to March. Good luck with your hippie dream.
RE: CONCERT TALKERS Look up ANY Live show from the 60s, 70s, or 80s and observe the audience. They are enjoying, respecting, and paying attention to the artists on stage. Oh sure, there were always some too-drunk persons there, but this is something else today. Be it from
I was so touched by her act of kindness. The world needs more people like you! ”
TRYING TO KILL PEDESTRIANS AWH? Casino
Goers, Just so you know, those flashing yellow lights on the side of Hayford Rd just north of the Cedar Summit apartments mean that someone is trying to cross the road. I stopped behind a white van and watched as a big truck nearly hit a man in a wheelchair, and after he went through, a grey Mercedes almost hit him. These people are the ones killing pedestrians, the ones who don’t think while they drive. PAY ATTENTION, or you will pay the price!
THE TRIO OF KIA BOYZ Today is Wednesday the 21st of August. It’s my 20th wedding anniversary. Exactly one year ago today, I had an 11:30 appointment at a dealership to get the software upgrade done on my 2021 white Sportage, which you three turds had tried to steal a few weeks before. But that morning — again, it was our anniversary — my wife woke me up at 5:25 am, asking where my car was. It was gone. I filed the report and canceled my appointment. SPD called me late that night to inform me they had found what you stole for your idiotic, stupid, dangerous, drug-fueled joyride. It was still running, with doors wide open, in front of a house facing Underhill Park. I won’t give more details, except for public safety and awareness: You spread the mayonnaise from your chicken sandwiches all over my dashboard and seats and windows (one of which was smashed so you could get inside the car to steal it), you left a jar 1/3 full of strong sativa buds, the car was totaled because you ran the red lights near Fred Meyer and an innocent mother
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.”
RE:RE:RE:RICH I’m a woman with autism actually. I wrote the response to you about how “on the spectrum” doesn’t actually mean anything. I’ve studied psychology in college. I was professionally diagnosed, not self-diagnosed. I’ve been stalked before. Yes people stay away from me, but I also stay away from them. You’re a troll. You have no education in autism or what “spectrum” scaling is. There’s a narcissistic spectrum, an empathy spectrum, a personality disorder spectrum and an autism spectrum, etc. You just look like an idiot. People like you take away resources and support from people like me who actually are women with autism. Quit crying, quit going against women who offer constructive advice to you, and do something about your life. Peace.
RE: TRAFFIC To whomever wrote about everyone taking the bus & riding bikes, you obviously don’t have elderly relatives who need to go grocery shopping. You obviously haven’t lived here very long. Have you ever been surrounded by pervs? seen someone pee? sat next to smelly meth zombies? no? Well it’s not an STA ride until you do. We complain about traffic & construction because the DOT is on crack working on all the roads @ once & telling us to “take a different route.” The DOT has made so many roundabouts I’ve lost count. News flash: we are Washington state not Europe. The DOT took Monroe street from 3 lanes each way to two lanes North & one South. Homeland Security called & said it was a bad idea & they did it anyway. Have tried
parenting, society, illness, or generational DNA changes, this is a pandemic of rudeness. Has polite comportment become an anachronism? Understandably it is not any more conscious or controllable than addicts who cannot stop putting garbage in (or out) of their bodies. Or young children that continue to scream and pitch fits in public, beyond behavioral control, serious investigation and intervention is indicated. One of the reasons we no longer enjoy public events: being a captive audience for others’ inane prattle during the show. One other is the occurrence of deadly mass violence. That also wasn’t a factor in the past.
RE: FREE PALESTINE Palestine, you, and only you, have the power to free yourselves. Don’t blame Zion. Blame Hamas. Look, first, to Iran. As long as your children are taught to hate, you will not be free. It is your choice. Only yours. n
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.
BENEFIT
SIP & SHOP FUNDRAISER This fundraiser donates 20% of all sales from Mad Max Furniture & Decor to GSC Meals on Wheels. Aug. 30-31, 10 am-6 pm. Free. Spokane Club, 1002 W. Riverside. facebook.com/madmaxfurniture
NURTURE OUR NATURE FUNDRAISER AND AUCTION A fundraiser for Campfire Inland Northwest featuring live music, auctions, a dessert dash and more. Proceeds fund camp scholarships and camp upgrades. Sep. 7, 4-7 pm. $75. Camp Dart-Lo, 14000 N. Dartford Dr. campfireinc.org (509-747-6191)
CELEBRATING A CENTURY OF CURE
The Shriners Children’s Spokane 100th Anniversary Gala features a cocktail reception, dinner, live entertainment and more. Sep. 7, 6-10 pm. $175. Historic Davenport Hotel, 10 S. Post St. shrinerschildrens.org (800-899-1482)
GAME DAY A fundraiser for the Riverside State Park Foundation featuring various runs and hikes, a bean bag toss and other games at stations. Sep. 7, 9 am-1 pm. $25. Seven Mile Airstrip, Riverside State Park, 7904 W Missoula St. riversidestateparkfoundation.org
COMEDY
DON MCMILLAN McMillan is bestknown for his appearance on America’s Got Talent, where he place in the top 12. Aug. 29, 7 pm. $30-$40. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com (509-318-9998)
ALI SIDDIQ Ali Siddiq is stand-up comedian, public speaker and writer out of Houston. Aug. 30-31, 7 & 9:45 pm. $30-$40. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com
HALF AND HALF In the first half of the show, improvisers entertain with a series of games driven by audience suggestions. For the second half, they delve into more in-depth scene work. Aug. 30, 7:30 pm. By donation. Spokane Children’s Theatre, 2727 N. Madelia. bluedoortheatre.org
MULTIPLE CHOICE Audience choices and suggestions drive the twists and turns of this improvised adventure. Aug. 30, 7:30 pm. $9. Spokane Children’s Theatre, 2727 N. Madelia. bluedoortheatre.org (509-328-4886)
SAFARI The Blue Door Theatre’s version of Whose Line where they improv short comedy skits from audience suggestions. Every Saturday at 7:30 pm. $9. Spokane Children’s Theatre, 2727 N. Madelia. bluedoortheatre.com
GEOFFREY ASMUS Asmus has been performing stand up since 2013 and is a regular at the Comedy Cellar. Sep. 1, 5 pm. $24. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com
LUIS J. GOMEZ Gomez is a comedian, writer, podcaster and producer known for hosting the podcast Legion of Skanks. Sep. 1, 8 pm. $22-$30. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com (509-318-9998)
OPENLY MIC: A QUEER COMEDY OPEN
MIC Stand-up comedy open mic with a queer sensibility. Sign-up starts at 7pm. First, third and fifth Wednesday of each month from 8-9:30 pm. Free. The Q Lounge, 228 W. Sprague Ave. instagram.com/openlymic
DANE COOK Cook is known for his stand-up comedy specials, stage pres-
ence and observational humor. Sep. 5, 7 pm. $45-$245. The Fox Theater, 1001 W. Sprague Ave. foxtheaterspokane.org
FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY JOKE JOKE
JOKE A comedy experience that combines stand-up, live sketches and other mixed-media bits with a rotating lineup of comedians. Hosted by Josiah Carlson. Every first Thursday from 7:30-9 pm. $15. Garland Theater, 924 W. Garland Ave. garlandtheater.org
JASON MEWES Mewes is best-known for playing Jay, the vocal half of the duo Jay and Silent Bob in Kevin Smith’s films. Sep. 5, 7 pm, Sep. 6-7, 7 & 9:45. $28-$35. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com
NATE JACKSON Nate Jackson is known for his high-energy performances, crowd-work and role as The Junk Yard Dog on NBC’s The Young Rock. Sep. 5, 7-9 pm. $57-$244. Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague. bingcrosbytheater.com
ROB SCHNEIDER Schneider is bestknown for his tenure on Saturday Night Live and appearances in modern comedies such as Grown Ups, Big Daddy and The Waterboy. Sep. 7, 8 pm. $99-$140. The Fox Theater, 1001 W. Sprague Ave. foxtheaterspokane.org
COMMUNITY
DRIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM:
1970S CARS Learn about the changes in the world that heralded a new era of auto making in the U.S. through automobiles of the 1970s. Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm through Sep. 14. $8-$12. Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First. northwestmuseum.org
Delve into the diverse religions that shape the Inland Northwest through discussions with local academics, monastics from Sravasti Abbey, field trips and more. Every Thursday, times vary. $50. Visit favs.news for details.
PAPERBOUND BOOKS SOFT OPEN -
ING The event features a make-yourown bookmark station, a book signing event with Jen Schultz, drinks from the Mason Jar and raffles. Aug. 30-31, 10 am-3 pm. Free. Paperbound Books, 107 F St., Cheney. paperboundbooks.com
PAUL BUNYAN DAYS An annual community celebration featuring vendors, a carnival, a parade, junior Olympics, logging events and a demo derby. Aug. 30-Sept. 2. Free. St. Maries, Idaho. saintmariespaulbunyandays.com
UNDER THE FREEWAY FLEA MARKET
A market of over 80 vendors with various wares for sale including collectibles, antiques and more. Aug. 30-Sept. 2, times vary. Free. Wallace, Idaho. wallaceid.fun
EVENING VENDOR POP-UP A vendor market with food, live music and goods to peruse. Aug. 31, 5-9 pm. Free. Lakehouse Bar and Grill, 3998 WA-292. theloonlakehouse.com (509-276-0550)
SUMMER DANCE MARKET This market takes attendees on a world tour through different dances. Watch and learn dances from experts. Enjoy foods, crafts and local vendors. Sat from 5-9 pm through Sep. 28. Free. Downtown Spokane. downtownspokane.org
PIRATE YACHT PARTY A piratethemed nighttime cruise featuring house and techno DJs. Ages 21+, Sep. 1, 6-10 pm. $55.55. The Coeur d’Alene Resort, 115 S. Second. noegonights.com
SMALL BUSINESS BINGO Pick up a bingo card at a participating business, get stamps and redeem to win a prize. Sept. 1-30, daily. Free. Page 42 Bookstore, 2174 N. Hamilton St. page42bookstore.com (509-202-2551)
FALL GRAD OPEN HOUSE Prospective graduate students, applicants and admitted students are invited to learn more about Gonzaga’s graduate program offerings, as well as campus resources for grad students. Sep. 5, 4-6:30 pm. Free. Gonzaga University, 502 E. Boone. gonzaga.edu
ROOTED EXPANSION A variety of wellness practitioners and facilitators host therapeutic and supportive workshops focused on personal growth and healing. Sep. 5, 2-9 pm and Sep. 6, 8 am-9 pm. $111-$177. People’s Park, 2500-2834 W. Clarke Ave., Spokane.
ART CLUB EXTRAVAGANZA Youth and families are invited to create together and explore the world of art with activities ranging from cave paintings to collages and beyond. Sep. 6, 4-6 pm. Free. Numerica Skate Ribbon, 720 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. spark-central.org
SPOKANE COUNTY INTERSTATE FAIR
A traditional fair with carnival rides, an agriculture and animals section, as well as concerts throughout the week. See website for schedule. Sept. 6-15. Spokane County Fair & Expo Center, 404 N. Havana St. thespokanefair.com
BEGINNING HAND SEWING Bring your own piece of clothing and patch, or practice sewing on provided material. The library provides needles and thread. Training provided by Creativebug. Ages 10-14; registration required. Sep. 7, 2-4 pm. Free. North Spokane Library, 44 E. Hawthorne. scld.org
BOOKS & BREWS BOOK FAIR Relive the book fair experience while sipping a beer and browsing a selection of books from Auntie’s. Sep. 7, 11 am-5 pm. Free. Brick West Brewing Co., 1318 W. First Ave. auntiesbooks.com
HOT ROD BLUES An annual classic and muscle car show with live music and a beer garden on Cannon Street in Brownes Addition. Inquire via email to register a car for entry. Sep. 7, 12-5 pm. Free. Browne’s Addition, West Spokane. facebook.com/blackcannonevents
FILM
THE BIG LEBOWSKI ON VHS A screening in the Chameleon’s main room. Ages 21+. Aug. 29, 8 pm. $10. The Chameleon, 1801 W. Sunset Blvd. chameleonspokane.com
EXPO ’74: FILMS FROM THE VAULT A selection of recently digitized film footage from the 1974 World’s Fair in Spokane. Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm through Sep. 8. $7-$12. Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org
GARLAND FREE KIDS MOVIES Free kids movies every Wed, Thu and Fri at 11 am through Sep. 20. Garland Theater, 924 W. Garland Ave. garlandtheater.org
FARMERS MARKET CARTOONS Animated shorts during the farmers market. Sat from 8 am-noon through Aug. 31. Free. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org
GARLAND FREE SUMMER MOVIES Free movies every Saturday and Sunday at 2 pm through Sept. 13. See website for details. Garland Theater, 924 W. Garland Ave. garlandtheater.org
The Inlander is in search of a full-time, organized individual who doesn’t shy away from numbers.
This key role focuses on invoicing, timely collection of payments, deposit preparation and application of payments. A strong collaboration with our sales force and client base is required. Communication, problem solving and people skills are a must. Located in beautiful Kendall Yards along the Centennial Trail.
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WHEN
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• Get past stage fright & performance anxiety.
• Learn about vocal fatigue & the risks of ignoring it.
• Regain your voice after illness or surgery.
• Learn what foods & habits are unhealthy for vocal wellness.
SPOKANE SYMPHONY ASSOCIATES PRESENTS A WORKSHOP TO EXPLORE ISSUES THAT AFFECT SPEAKING & SINGING
SPEAKERS: Scarlett Hepworth, voice coach & actress; Lynette Norton, speech-languagepathologist Beverages served during the workshop. Free parking & handicapped access info@spokanesymphonyassoc.org Saturday, October 5 • 10AM - 1:30PM St. Aloysius Church, O’Malley Hall 330 E. Boone, Spokane
$40 FEE SCAN QR CODE TO REGISTER or pay at the door.
SILENT FILM FESTIVAL: SUNRISE F.W.
Murnau’s last silent film reveals the power of early narrative cinema before the transition to sound. Composer Isabella Morrill premieres a new score to be performed live with a full orchestra, conducted by Dr. Danh Pham. Sep. 4, 7-9 pm. $15-$50. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org (208-882-4127)
CINEMA CLASSICS: BAREFOOT IN THE PARK Conservative young lawyer Paul Bratter marries Corie Banks. Their highly passionate relationship descends into discord when they rent their first apartment. Sep. 6, 2-4 pm. $6. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org
JURASSIC PARK Paleontologists Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler are among a select group chosen to tour an island theme park populated by dinosaurs. Sep. 6, 7 pm. $5. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave. panida.org (208-263-9191)
FOOD & DRINK
PIG OUT IN THE PARK A food and music festival with over 60 food booths, 35 public market booths and 130 free concerts. Daily from 11 am-10 pm through Sep. 2, 11 am-10 pm. Riverfront Park, 507 N. Howard St. spokanepigout.com
POP-UP RESTAURANT NIGHT Chefs Al Batson and Jamie Aquino prepare a brisket dinner for pick-up. Aug. 29, 3:30-6 pm. $55-$132. The Kitchen Engine, 621 W. Mallon Ave. thekitchenengine.com
BBQ & BANDS Live music by Dallas Kay. Dinner is pulled pork. Aug. 30, 5-7 pm.
$20. The Culinary Stone, 2129 N. Main St. culinarystone.com
FALL FEST 2024 Sample more than 80 beers, ciders and seltzers from regional breweries and shop from local artisans and food trucks. Aug. 30-Sept. 2. Aug. 30-Sep. 2. Schweitzer, 10,000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd. schweitzer.com
RIDE & DINE SERIES Enjoy a scenic gondola ride, live music and a barbecue meal. Fridays from 3-7:30 pm through Aug. 30. $8-$63. Silver Mountain Resort, 610 Bunker Ave. silvermt.com
NORTH IDAHO WINE SOCIETY SEPTEMBER SEASON KICKOFF PARTY
Learn about the North Idaho Wine Society while sampling wines and meeting current members. Sep. 7, 2-5 pm. $30. Lake City Center, 1916 N. Lakewood Dr. northidahowinesociety.org
MUSIC
LUD KRAMER MEMORIAL CONCERT
The Spokane Symphony orchestra plays popular classics and favorites from Hollywood and Broadway. Aug. 31, 6 pm. Free. Pavillion Park, 727 N. Molter Rd. spokanesymphony.org (509-755-6726)
CDA SYMPHONY IN THE PARK A free Labor Day concert in the park featuring classical, pop and Broadway music. Sep. 2, 12-2 pm. Free. Coeur d’Alene City Park, 415 W. Mullan Rd. cdasymphony.org
SPOKANE SYMPHONY LABOR DAY
CONCERT The Spokane Symphony orchestra plays popular classics and favorites from Hollywood and Broadway. Sep. 2, 6 pm. Free. Comstock Park, 29th Ave. and Howard. spokanesymphony.org
DAWN WOLSKI & ECKART PREU: THEY’RE BACK A program of selections by R. Schumann, Schubert, Wolf, Hahn, Faure and Argento, with Eckart accompanying Dawn on a grand piano. Sep. 5, 7:30-8:45 pm. $25-$40. Hamilton Studio, 1427 W. Dean Ave. hamilton.live
AWADAGIN PRATT: PIANISSIMO! Grammy-award winning artists Awadagin Pratt (piano) and Zuill Bailey (cello) present a program that includes works by Arlo Part, Franz Schubert, Olivier Messiaen and Fran Liszt. Sep. 7, 7-9 pm. $10$40. Barrister Winery, 1213 W. Railroad Ave. nwbachfest.com (509 326-4942)
SPORTS & OUTDOORS
SPOKANE INDIANS VS. TRI-CITY
AMERICANS Promotions during this six-game series include Fireworks Night (Aug. 31) and Season Finale Fireworks (Sept. 1). Aug. 29-30, 6:35 pm, Aug. 31, 6:35 pm and Sep. 1, 1:05 pm. Avista Stadium, 602 N. Havana St. milb.com/spokane
SPOKANE VELOCITY VS. UNION
OMAHA This match is a League One cup competition. Sep. 4, 6 pm. $21-$41. ONE Spokane Stadium, 501 W. Gardner Ave. spokanevelocityfc.com
GAME DAY IN THE PARK A fundraiser for the Riverside State Park Foundation with game stations, hiking trails and more. At the 7 Mile Airstrip. Sep. 7, 9 am-1 pm. $25. Riverside State Park Nine Mile Recreation Area, 11226 W. Charles Rd. riversidestateparkfoundation.org (509-468-2286)
THEATER & DANCE
FUNDAMENTALS OF SOCIAL TANGO A class for improving tango movement and connection. Experience required. Dropins welcome; no partner needed. Every Tuesday from 5:40-6:40 pm. $17-$20. Sinto Activity Center, 1124 W. Sinto Ave. (509-290-8138)
INTRO TO SOCIAL TANGO An Argentine tango dance class for new and nearly new tango dancers aimed at learning prerequisite skills. Drop-in welcome. Preregister by emailing Matt Doval at matt@ tangomind.com. Tuesdays from 5:406:40 pm. $62-$72. Sinto Activity Center, 1124 W. Sinto Ave. (509-290-8138)
FREE KIDS & TEENS DANCE DAY A day of Latin and hip-hop dance classes, games, prizes, raffles and free food. Open to dancers of all experience levels. Ages 7-15. Sep. 7, 10 am-4 pm. Free. SoulBarre Studio, 12019 E. Sprague Ave. soulbarrestudio.com (509-404-0554)
VISUAL ARTS
THE ART OF FOOD A collection of work showcasing how prominent artists depict food beyond mere sustenance and how food connects us through experiences and societal issues. Tue-Sat from 10 am-4 pm through March 8. Free. Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU, 1535 NE Wilson. museum.wsu.edu
CHONNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY ART FACULTY & GRAD STUDENT EXHIBIT Art by Jeimin Kim reflecting the
plant world’s resistance to human control and work b other faculty and artists. Mon-Fri from 9 am-5 pm through Sep. 13. Free. Ridenbaugh Gallery, 1022 Nez Perce Dr., Moscow. uidaho.edu/class/hias
THE GREAT NORTHWEST WOOD SHOW & SALE An exhibition and retail event for established and emerging wood artists featuring a range of pieces, from traditional to avant-garde, including wall art, turned bowls, kitchen utensils, furniture and decorative items. Thu-Sun from 10 am-6 pm through Sep. 29. Free. Dahmen Barn, 419 N. Park Way. artisanbarn.org
HAYOUN KWON’S “489 YEARS” Seoulbased virtual reality artist Hayoun Kwon’s meditation on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Korea. Mon-Fri from 9 am-5 pm through Sep. 13. Free. University of Idaho Student Union Building (ISUB), 875 S. Line St. uidaho.edu/class/hias
VAN GOGH: THE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE A digital art exhibition featuring the work of Vincent van Gogh. Thu-Mon from 10 am-7 pm through Sep. 30. $21$41. Exhibition Hub Spokane Art Center, 808 N. Ruby. vangoghexpo.com/spokane
VEILED NOTIONS A group show featuring Helen Parsons, Susan Mattson, Mary Frances Dondelinger, Randy Palmer and Chris Bivins delving into the complexities of hidden truths and unspoken narratives. Wed-Sun from 11 am-6 pm through Sep. 1. Free. The Art Spirit Gallery, 415 Sherman Ave. theartspiritgallery.com
WOMAN, ARTIST, CATALYST: ART FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION Work from the MAC’s permanent collection showcasing the quality and varied focus of leading artists and art move-
FIND INLANDER HEALTH & HOME AND MANY OTHER FREE LOCAL PUBLICATIONS IN THE LOBBY OF 50+ GROCERY STORES ALL OVER THE INLAND NORTHWEST
ments in the Inland and Pacific Northwest. Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm through March 9. $7-$12. Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org
ARTISTS’ STUDIO TOUR Tour studios in the Sandpoint area. Artists include Jenni Barry, Dave Gonzo, Lori Moore, Don Fisher and more. See website for location info. Aug. 30-Sept. 1, daily from 10 am-4 pm. Free. Sandpoint. artinsandpoint.org
INTRODUCTION TO OIL PAINTING Using a two-color pallet, discover diversit in expression of color, how that defines space and how you apply your own life experience to the creative process. Aug. 31, 1-4 pm. $35. Dahmen Barn, 419 N. Park, Uniontown. artisanbarn.org
RIVER RIDGE ASSOCIATION OF FINE
ARTS: COLORS OF FALL Artworks by RRAFA members featuring rich, fall colors. Sept. 1-28, daily from 11 am-7 pm. Free. Liberty Building, 203 N. Washington St. spokanelibertybuilding.com
DIANNE MCDERMOTT & JACQUIE
ROBINSON McDermott utilizes her background as a graphic artist to design backpacks and purses. Robinson is a visual artist who loves exploring stories and uses Washington and Idaho as her canvas. Sept. 1-28, daily from 11 am-7 pm. Free. Pottery Place Plus, 203 N. Washington St. potteryplaceplus.com
BE AN ART: DERIVATIVES OF SOM A group show in memory of Isamu Jordan, curated by Rajah Bose, Thuy-Dzuong Nguyen, Justyn Priest and Caleb Jordan. Sept. 6-28, Thu-Sat from 4-7 pm. Free. Terrain Gallery, 628 N. Monroe St. terrainspokane.com
DARRELL WILCOX & RALPH TEW River
Ridge Association of Fine Arts members’ work showcasing their distinct styles: Wilcox’s landscape paintings and Tew’s poured acrylic designs. Sep. 6, 4-6 pm. Free. Indaba Coffee, 518 W. Riverside Ave. rrafaofspokane.com
LEELA FRANCIS & EMILY WENNER:
EARTH MYSTERIES Paintings by Francis and Wenner embody the healing power of trees and nature. Sept. 6-28, Wed-Sat from 11 am-5 pm. Free. New Moon Art Gallery, 1326 E. Sprague. manicmoonandmore.com
ELLEN PICKEN: MESSAGES FROM THE LAMMERGEIER Paintings and mixed media works by local artist Ellen Picken. Sept. 6-30, daily from 11 am-6 pm. Free. Entropy, 101 N. Stevens St. explodingstars.com (509-414-3226)
FIRST FRIDAY Art galleries and businesses across downtown Spokane and beyond host monthly receptions to showcase new displays of art. Fri, Sept. 6 5-8 pm. Details at firstfridayspokane.org
FIRST FRIDAY AT HEARTBREAKER Local artists Heather March, OEnone Shore and Nadia Hitchcock paint live all night. The tattoo shop offers $80 flash tattoos. Sep. 6, 5-8 pm. Free. Heartbreaker Tattoo & Artist Co-op, 830 W. Sprague Ave. heartbreakerspokane.com
M E WILLEMSEN & PAULA LEWIS A gallery reception with live music, refreshments and more. Sep. 6, 3-7 pm and Sep. 14, 12-5 pm. Free. Avenue West Gallery, 907 W. Boone. avenuewestgallery.com
LENORA J. LOPEZ SCHINDLER: SLIGHTER, SING, POUNCE, POP, PAUSE Each artwork is loosely structured around
an environment within 50 miles from the artist’s backdoor. Sept. 6-28, Fri-Sat from 12-8 pm. 12-8 pm through Sep. 28. Free. Saranac Art Projects, 25 W. Main Ave. sapgallery.com
ARRANGED OBJECTS Functional and sculptural works of Couer d’Alene ceramic artist Maya Rumsey and Helena, Montana residents Laura Dirksen and Austin Coudriet. Sept. 6-27, Wed-Fri from 11 am-5 pm. Free. Trackside Studio, 115 S. Adams St. tracksidestudio.net
STATIC MY SENSES MAKE This new mixed media collection from Rebekah Wilkins-Pepiton contrasts imagery of mycorrhizal networks with urban constructivist scenes in response to the fractured relationship between humans and the natural world. Sept. 6-28, Fri-Sat from 12-8 pm. Free. Saranac Art Projects, 25 W. Main Ave. sapgallery.com
RICK SINGER: PHOTOGRAPHY RETRO -
SPECTIVE A collection of photographs spanning Singer’s 43 year career. Sept. 6-Oct. 28, Mon-Fri from 8 am-5 pm. Free. Chase Gallery, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. spokanearts.org (509-321-9416)
SPOKANE WATERCOLOR SOCIETY
SHOW Members display new works. Sept. 6-27, Mon-Fri from 10 am-5 pm. First Friday: Sept. 6 from 5-8 pm. Free. Spokane Art School, 503 E. Second Ave. spokaneartschool.net (509-325-1500)
TOM ASKMAN: LOST IN THE INEFFABLE
A collection of works including drawings, paintings, videos and public art displays. Sept. 6-28, Thu-Sat from noon-6 pm. Free. Kolva-Sullivan Gallery, 115 S. Adams St. mobile.kolva.comcastbiz.net (509458-5517)
BEN JOYCE: PLACES Abstract topographical art representing certain locales that have played major roles in Joyce’s life. Sept. 7-Jan. 4, Mon-Sat from 10 am-4 pm. Free. Jundt Art Museum, 200 E. Desmet Ave. gonzaga.edu/jundt
RUMINATION An exhibit featuring artists Mary Farrell, Sam Scott, Jacqui Masterson, Sara Taylor, Victoria Brace and Brittany Finch. Sept. 7-30, Wed-Sun from 11 am-6 pm. Free. The Art Spirit Gallery, 415 Sherman Ave. theartspiritgallery.com
WORDS
DROP IN & WRITE Aspiring writers are invited to be a part of a supportive writers’ community. Bring works in progress to share, get inspired with creative prompts and spend some focused time writing. Hosted by local writers Jenny Davis and Hannah Engel. Thursdays from 5:30-7 pm. Free. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. spark-central.org
AUNTIE’S BOOK CLUB: QUEER & WEIRD Discuss The West Passage by Jared Pechaček at the August meeting. Aug. 31, 6-7 pm. Free. Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main Ave. auntiesbooks.com
STORY AND CRAFT A read-aloud of a popular children’s book is followed by an optional craft. Ages 3-7. Every Saturday from 11 am-noon. Cost of admission. Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org
CHRIS LA TRAY: BECOMING LITTLE
SHELL A book reading and signing with Métis storyteller and former Montana Poet Laureate Chris La Tray. Becoming Little Shell creates a multilayered narra-
tive from threads of personal, community, tribal and national histories. Sep. 3, 5:30-6:30 pm. Free. Liberty Park Library, 402 S. Pittsburgh. spokanelibrary.org
BROKEN MIC A weekly open mic reading series. Wednesdays at 6:30 pm; sign-ups at 6 pm. Free. Neato Burrito, 827 W. First Ave. bit.ly/2ZAbugD (509-847-1234)
THE GRIEF CURE: CODY DELISTRATY IN CONVERSATION WITH JESS WALTER Journalist Cody Delistraty reflects on his experience with loss and explores what modern science, history and literature reveal about the nature of our relationship to grief and our changing attitudes toward its cure. Sep. 4, 7-8:30 pm. Free. Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main Ave. auntiesbooks.com (509-838-0206)
WHO TELLS YOUR STORY? Dr. Bi Zhao discusses framing climate change as a social justice issue that intersects with gender inequality and indigenous peoples’ rights violations. Sep. 4, 6 pm. Free. Gonzaga Hemmingson Center, 702 E. Desmet. gonzaga.edu/climate-institute
HARMONY WRITERS GROUP A writing group focused on memoir and craft. Every other week on Thursday from 5:15-7 pm. Free. Liberty Park Library, 402 S. Pittsburgh St. spokanelibrary.org
PIVOT OPEN MIC: TESTED True 5-min. stories on the night’s theme with a prize for best story at the end of the night. Sep. 5, 7 pm. Free. Heritage Bar & Kitchen, 122 S. Monroe. pivotspokane.com
3 MINUTE MIC Auntie’s first Friday poetry open mic. Readers may share up to three minutes’ worth of poetry. All ages. Sep. 6, 7 pm. Free. Auntie’s, 402 W. Main Ave. auntiesbooks.com n
Higher Education
Two Inland Northwest universities bring cannabis education to campus
BY WILL MAUPIN
It’s nearly time to turn the calendar from August to September, and back-to-school season is in full swing. When you think about returning to the classroom, cannabis is probably not something that comes to mind. But at the collegiate level in the Inland Northwest, cannabis and class can go hand in hand.
Gonzaga University and Washington State University are both on the forefront when it comes to cannabis education, though the two are approaching the subject in different ways.
As a large research institution — receiving more than $360 million in research funding annually — WSU offers students from the undergraduate to doctoral levels opportunities to research numerous topics, including cannabis. Through WSU’s Center for Cannabis Policy,
Research, and Outreach, students and faculty study cannabis from multiple angles, from health and public policy to economics and agriculture. Faculty and staff who have helped lead cannabis research programs at WSU come from all corners of the school’s campuses, from the college of communication to the college of medicine and everywhere in between.
This breadth of inquiry has led to a prolific amount of new knowledge emanating from Pullman. This year alone, this very Green Zone section has reported on two new cannabis studies from WSU, most recently just two weeks ago.
While WSU is pushing our understanding of cannabis forward, Gonzaga is instead focusing on teaching what is already known.
Gonzaga’s Center for Lifelong Learning offers a pair of certificate courses geared toward people working in cannabis and adjacent industries.
One course is focused on health care and medicine and explores how cannabis can be integrated into a holistic approach to health and well-being. The other looks into the business side of the cannabis industry, educating students on aspects such as compliance and risk management.
Gonzaga began offering these courses last year in an effort to bridge a gap between the rapidly expanding industry and the educational offerings for those looking to work or already working in it.
The courses are offered under a partnership between Gonzaga and cannabis education provider Green Flower, which offers these programs through 29 universities across the country, from massive public institutions like the University of Arizona down to small private schools like Bellarmine University.
Gonzaga’s online-only cannabis courses are open to the general public aged 18 or over. Each of the six-month certification programs costs $499 per month, or $2,750 if prepaid in full. The courses are not eligible for federal financial aid.
Classes begin Sept. 9, with registration open through that date. n
Cannabis isn’t just a pastime for college students anymore. LESLIE DOUGLAS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
BE AWARE: Marijuana is legal for adults 21 and older under Washington State law (e.g., RCW 69.50, RCW 69.51A, HB0001 Initiative 502 and Senate Bill 5052). State law does not preempt federal law; possessing, using, distributing and selling marijuana remains illegal under federal law. In Washington state, consuming marijuana in public, driving while under the influence of marijuana and transporting marijuana across state lines are all illegal. Marijuana has intoxicating effects; there may be health risks associated with its consumption, and it may be habitforming. It can also impair concentration, coordination and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. Keep out of reach of children. For more information, consult the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board at www.liq.wa.gov.
greenhand
Off (excludes all pre-rolls)
WARNING: This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming. Cannabis 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 21 and older. Keep out of the reach of children.
specter 56. Sci-fi transport that’s “dimensionally transcendental”
“Ad ___ per aspera”
Home of Xenia, Youngstown, and Zanesville
Subject of a story where
come with great consequences 66. Mystic Persian poet
67. Fro-yo topping, e.g.
68. First name of the Phantom of the Opera 69. Worn out
70. Lowest possible turnout 71. Turns bad
1. Forgoes food 2. “___ World Turns” 3. Yell for the team 4. Prepare, as a report 5. Go downhill fast?
6. Easy, like some jobs
7. Put on a scale 8. Trebek who’s the subject of recent collectible stamps 9. “Taxi” actress Henner 10. Pillsbury mascot introduced in 1965
11. Mag execs
Big name
Plug-___ (software patches)
Plant that can be poisonous
Pharrell Williams group until
Picket line crosser
“___ Secretary” (2010s CBS drama)
___ Crag (“mountain”
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