David Wasson

Drier sunny weather is returning to the Inland Northwest for the weekend, but enjoy the return to summer weather because a new cold front is expected to arrive Monday. Until then, look for mostly clear skies and highs in the mid 80s through Sunday, according to the National Weather Service, with lows in the 50s.

The field of applicants wanting to be Spokane’s next police ombudsman has been narrowed to three finalists and includes a retired law enforcement whistleblower from Florida, a former Southern California police officer now working as a North Idaho private eye and a Canadian police misconduct investigator. But with the city’s police oversight panel gutted by forced resignations and the removal of former NAACP President Rachel Dolezal, further progress will have to wait as Spokane City Council members and Mayor David Condon evaluate potential replacements.

The days of skyrocketing tuition at Washington’s public universities appear to be over. Unprecedented tuition cuts contained in the new state budget will lower the cost of attending the state’s colleges and universities by up to 20 percent over the next two years, and any future increases will be capped at the average annual rate of statewide wage growth.

Embattled civil rights activist Rachel Dolezal lost another local leadership role Thursday. Spokane City Council members removed her from the fledgling Police Ombudsman Commission following an internal investigation into misconduct that targeted three commissioners. One of the other volunteer commissioners investigated, Kevin Berkompas, submitted his resignation, while the third, Adrian Dominguez, will be given a chance to respond to the investigative findings next week before the council decides whether to remove him.