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Dan Hansen

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Opinion

Model tames timber fights

The president of the United States told people in Republic, Wash., that it was “time to fight.” They gave that a try, until their livelihoods swirled in the toilet. Now, they’re trying something that isn’t so popular in this era of hate politics: compromise.
News >  Spokane

Education funding at crossroads

This was supposed to be the year for schools. After years of struggling with an increasingly inadequate and complex system of funding education – “system” is perhaps too charitable a word for what one lawmaker recently termed “an accumulation of patches” – the governor and Legislature in early 2007 assembled a task force to consider how much is really needed, and for what.
News

Education plans vanish in budget crisis

This was supposed to be the year for schools. After years of struggling with an increasingly inadequate and complex system of funding education – “system” is perhaps too charitable a word for what one lawmaker recently termed “an accumulation of patches” – the governor and Legislature in early 2007 assembled a task force to consider how much is really needed, and for what.
News >  Spokane

WASL’s days numbered

Washington schoolchildren may have to find something new to hate. A week after taking office, the state’s newly elected top educator is making good on a campaign promise, saying he’ll replace the WASL. And while skeptics say the pace is impossible, Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn says he’ll make the change in time for next school year.
News >  Business

Spokane has history of its own zoo troubles

Spokane knows a little something about the tough economics of zoo management. Walk in the Wild, a zoo that was run by the nonprofit Inland Northwest Zoological Society, shut down in the mid-1990s after 23 years of financial and public relations struggles.
News >  Spokane

Plans to make up snow days in works

For the second consecutive winter, Inland Northwest schools must decide how – and whether – to make up the days that were missed because of snow. Most districts canceled school both before and after winter break, as the region was hammered by one storm after another. Now, the question is whether that means shorter vacations, the loss of some three-day weekends, lengthened school days – or perhaps no change at all.
News >  Idaho

Districts deciding how to make up snow days

For the second consecutive winter, Inland Northwest schools must decide how – and whether – to make up the days that were missed because of snow. Most districts canceled school on days both before and after winter break, as the region was hammered by one storm after another. Now, the question is whether that means shorter vacations, the loss of some three-day weekends, lengthened school days – or perhaps no change at all.
News >  Spokane

EWU’s leader extends leave

As his colleagues tackle the worst budget crisis in decades, the president of Eastern Washington University remains on leave, continuing his own medical battle. President Rodolfo Arevalo announced Dec. 1 that he’d be gone from campus for a month as he tried to recover from cancer treatment. John Mason, EWU’s provost and vice president for academic affairs, was named acting president.
News >  Idaho

EWU president extends medical leave

As his colleagues tackle the worst budget crisis in decades, the president of Eastern Washington University remains on leave from campus, continuing his own medical battle.
News >  Spokane

Other cities not as forgiving toward those who don’t clear sidewalks

It’s no secret: Spokane’s sidewalks are a mess. Even after last week’s meltdown, miles of pedestrian pavement are buried under icy berms pushed up by snowplows. The result is a walker’s nightmare, to the point where Spokane Public Schools Superintendent Nancy Stowell told parents last week that if kids had no choice but to walk through risky streets, then maybe they should stay home. The absence would be excused, she said.
News >  Spokane

Schools battle loads of snow

Uncleared sidewalks were the biggest problem for schools that opened Tuesday in Spokane. And roofs were the issue for some that didn’t. Many districts canceled classes Tuesday – extending winter break to 20 days instead of the planned 17 – so crews could shovel snow from roofs. In other areas, the work continues, with Coeur d’Alene, Liberty, Freeman, Mead, Central Valley, Riverside and Rathdrum-based Lakeland districts among those canceling classes again today.
News >  Spokane

Schools cope with snow

Uncleared sidewalks were the biggest problem for schools that opened Tuesday in Spokane. And roofs were the issue for some that didn’t.
News >  Spokane

Split decision on schools

Education officials say they were ready to start school Monday and weren’t consulted before the Spokane County sheriff publicly called on them to extend winter break by an extra day. But some districts – including Mead, Central Valley and West Valley – later decided to cancel school today, as well. Spokane Public Schools planned to hold classes today.
News >  Spokane

Clearing snow, ice can cause damage to natural gas pipes

Natural gas leaks have become as common as lost gloves as the snow piles up in the Inland Northwest. While collapsing roofs often break gas pipes or meters, more problems are caused by shovels or snowblowers wielded by those trying to clear away the snow. And an increasing number of breaks are the result of snow and ice falling – or being pushed – from roofs onto gas meters.
News >  Spokane

Snow piling up, piling on

Prompted by reports of roofs collapsing under the weight of snow, many Spokane residents got an elevated look at the landscape Tuesday, as they began clearing their own homes or businesses. They included several neighbors of Trinity Baptist Church, 6528 N. Monroe St., where the gym was destroyed by its collapsing roof before daylight Tuesday.
News >  Spokane

Stock plunge leaves colleges hurting

American colleges and universities are seeing dramatic declines in the value of endowment funds filled with money from donors. And while the downturn won’t be felt immediately, it eventually will mean less money for scholarships, endowed faculty positions, privately funded building projects and other needs.
News >  Spokane

Budget better than colleges feared

News that would have sent panic through community colleges a year ago is instead being met with a bit of relief. When Gov. Chris Gregoire released her proposed budget Thursday, she called on 6 percent cuts to the state’s community colleges.
News >  Spokane

Area resorts warn skiers to heed avalanche advisory

It probably comes as no surprise that the region’s ski areas are, as the Web site for Schweitzer Mountain Resort proclaims, “a winter wonderland!” But Schweitzer warned of extreme avalanche danger and asked skiers to stick to groomed trails. Schweitzer operators expect to have all runs open by Saturday.