Week in Review
For 10 days, they camped on an island of lawn that separates eastbound and westbound lanes of Riverside Avenue, protesting a city ordinance that will ban transient shelters on city land. The homeless protesters said they picked that particular location for “Camp Serene Freedom” because it placed them on “the most powerful block east of the Cascades,” situated near the Spokane Club, The Spokesman-Review and the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce. The campers, whose numbers grew to about 50 by Wednesday night, drew honks of support and gestures of derision from passing drivers, received meals and coffee from sympathetic city residents and had free use of the restrooms at the nearby Spokane Catholic Diocese headquarters. They endured dousings from the city’s sprinkler system, which came on several times a night (city officials said they were only assuring that the grass survived being trampled, but the protesters accused the city of harassment). It came to a peaceful end on Thursday when Mayor Jim West called a 7:30 a.m. press conference to say that enough was enough. He gave the protesters an hour to depart under the watch of police and also announced that he would sign the ordinance. “We have been patient with them,” said West, adding that he supports citizens’ rights to protest – up to a point.
MONDAY
“ The U.S. Forest Service is considering limiting the size of cabins that can be built on federal lots leased to individuals at Priest Lake. Although most of the 121 cabins are rustic retreats for owners looking to escape Spokane’s summer heat, a few have been sold in recent years only to be replaced by much larger homes.
“ A new federal law makes it easier to shop for contact lenses online. Eye doctors and optometrists now must immediately give patients their prescriptions, which spell out the corrective power and lens shape needed. Those details sometimes have been tough for patients to obtain, making online shopping difficult.
TUESDAY
“ Tara LaCelle-Miller was asleep in her Post Falls apartment when she was left paralyzed by a bullet accidentally fired by her neighbor. Four years later, LaCelle-Miller has made friends with Shantana Pole, who was cleaning the gun when it discharged. Charges against Pole were dropped at the request of LaCelle-Miller, who now uses a wheelchair and admits she’s sometimes angry over the pain Pole’s error has caused her.
“ The 1898 Corbin House and garden at Spokane’s Pioneer Park recently won listing on the National Register of Historic Places. But the adjacent Moore-Turner garden remains off the list until the city can provide the National Park Service with more information about its historical significance.
WEDNESDAY
“ Washington retailers in most cases can no longer impose fees that nibble away at the value of gift cards. A new law also bans expirations dates on the cards, frequently as gifts for the purchase of such things as coffee, books, meals, movie tickets or store merchandise.
THURSDAY
“ One in three pregnant teens in Washington has an abortion, compared to one in five in Idaho, where the teen abortion rate is the sixth-lowest in the country.
“ Revenues from tribal casinos nationwide rose 12 percent last year. Tribal casinos grossed $119 million in Idaho and $770 million in Washington, which has five times more tribal slot-style machines than its neighbor to the east. Nationwide, the take was $16.3 billion, compared to $26.5 billion for non-tribal casinos, which saw business increase only 1.4 percent.
“ Dirt bikes, four-wheelers and other off-road vehicles will have to stay on the trails under a U.S. Forest Service proposal. Some environmentalists say the proposed restrictions aren’t tough enough, and some riders say they’re too tough.
FRIDAY
“ A Spokane businessman will face three misdemeanor criminal charges for dredging in the Spokane River without permits. Tom Hamilton, who had the work done over Mother’s Day weekend to provide a boat slip at his Post Falls property, contends he had approval from all necessary agencies.
“ A Spokane County Jail inmate who’s trying to starve himself was sentenced to 171 months in prison for setting the fire that severely burned his stepdaughter last year. Robert McNabb has lost almost 100 pounds since starting his hunger strike in February.
“ Spokane police arrested three people after a rally of home health-care workers briefly forced the shutdown of a state office. Dozens of workers gathered inside Department of Social and Health Services offices to rally against cuts to services for elderly and disabled clients.
“ Judge Paul Bastine will not to run for reelection, sparking the first contest for an open Spokane County Superior Court seat in eight years. Bastine, 65, was appointed to the bench in 1995 by then-Gov. Mike Lowry. He plans to work on expanding access to legal services for low-income people.
COMING UP
“ Gay youths are three times more likely to commit suicide than heterosexual teens. Read about Quest Youth Group, a nonprofit program that helps gay males ages 14 to 25 cope with the stresses of their lives, in Monday’s Spokesman-Review.