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Stories for Sunday, November 22, 2009
Kamitra Maxwell made sure her three children were enrolled in school while the family was living on Spokane streets and in a shelter.
WASHINGTON – Without a vote to spare, Democrats pushed their health care overhaul legislation over its first obstacle on the Senate floor Saturday, as the chamber voted to begin formal debate of a sweeping measure to guarantee medical coverage for all Americans.
It seemed like a good idea at the time.In 1984, Japan began screening the urine of 6-month-old infants for neuroblastoma, the most common type of solid tumor in young children. The test was simple and could show signs of cancer long before clinical symptoms arose.
Saturday's Washington Daily Game: 8-1-8Saturday's Washington Lotto: 5-9-11-22-45-48
BAGHDAD – The Sunni insurgent group al-Qaida in Iraq has rebounded in strength in recent months and appears to be launching a concerted effort to cripple the Iraqi government as U.S. troops withdraw, Iraqi and American officials say.
NEW YORK – The shimmering, white glove Michael Jackson wore when he premiered his trademark moonwalk dance in 1983 was auctioned off for $350,000 – plus tax – on Saturday.
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran will begin large-scale air defense war games today aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from possible attack, a senior military commander said Saturday, reflecting the country's concern that Israel could make good on threats to strike militarily.
PERUGIA, Italy – Prosecutors on Saturday requested life in prison for an American student and her ex-boyfriend accused in the fatal stabbing of her British roommate during a drug-fueled sex game – charges the U.S. woman dismissed as "pure fantasy."
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HEGANG, China – Rescuers worked in frigid cold to reach 21 miners trapped underground today as the death toll from a huge gas explosion in a northern Chinese mine jumped to 87 – the deadliest blast to hit the beleaguered industry in nearly two years.
Vatican City – After offering a home in his church to disaffected Anglicans, Pope Benedict XVI assured the archbishop of Canterbury on Saturday that he is still committed to seeking closer relations between Catholics and Anglicans.
Fort Worth, Texas – The Army psychiatrist charged in one of the worst mass shootings on a U.S. military base will be confined until his military trial, initially staying in a hospital where he is recovering from gunshot wounds, his attorney said Saturday.
Hackers broke into the electronic files of one of the world's foremost climate research centers last week and posted an array of e-mails in which prominent scientists engaged in a blunt discussion of global warming research and disparaged climate-change skeptics.
New York – Jeanne-Claude – whose collaboration with her husband, Christo, in creating massive environmental works of art, such as the 24-mile-long "Running Fence" in California in the 1970s, attracted worldwide attention for decades – has died. She was 74.
City Hall's largest union will give up half of its promised 2010 pay raise to prevent layoffs, if the Spokane City Council signs off on a new agreement.
A Sandpoint man who died after being hit by a pickup Thursday afternoon had been working with an advisory committee to improve pedestrian safety.
Two female pedestrians suffered serious head injuries in separate incidents that occurred about the same time Friday night, the Spokane Police Department reports.
Sorry. I don't see letting T-Baby out of the slammer on T-Day as such a bad thing. I'm talking about Terrence A. "T-Baby" Kinard, of course.
SEATTLE – A man who stabbed his girlfriend to death as they rode in a car on Interstate 5 in Seattle has been sentenced to 31 years in prison.
A Kingston, Idaho, man was killed when a tree he was felling broke and hit him around noon on Saturday.
It started slowly in Gwen Reed's English classes. A "4ever" in a book report here, a "ppl" in an essay there, and a scattering of uncapitalized words or unpunctuated sentences in between. Even the odd smiley face has made its way into a discussion on the merits of classic works of literature.
Northeast Spokane has an electoral problem that needs to be examined after the 2010 census is complete. The problem isn't who gets elected, but how few people do the electing.
PORTLAND – A Portland police officer involved in the custody death of a mentally ill man in 2006 and placed on leave after the recent use of a beanbag gun on a 12-year-old girl has filed a stress-related disability claim.
LEWISTON – Federal prosecutors have received the FBI's investigation of an officer-involved shooting that left one man dead and another injured earlier this year on a rural Nez Perce County road.
PORTLAND – The federal judge getting ready to decide whether the government is doing enough to save Columbia River salmon will have a question for the government's lawyers Monday: If you have plans in your hip pocket in case the fish numbers crash, why not put them to work now?
As holiday theatrical traditions go, "A Tuna Christmas" has become almost as ubiquitous as "A Christmas Carol."
It's simply not true that America is ambivalent about everything when it comes to the Obama health plan.
Slate magazine is just one of the countless media outlets convulsing with St. Vitus' Dance over that demonic succubus Sarah Palin. In its reader forum, The Fray, one supposed Palinophobe took dead aim at the former Alaska governor's writing chops, excerpting the following sentence from her book:
As Democrats and Republicans spar over health care reform, both sides duck compromise. Two examples illustrate the counterproductive nature of partisan jabbing.
A meeting of a Park Board subcommittee this week created an inaccurate perception of the Mobius Science Center project. Members of the board suggested Mobius is asking for sweeping changes to the pending lease the two parties have been working on for months. This is not the case. More importantly, this meeting led to a perception that the project may be faltering. Also untrue.
Idiotic screening advice
The latest breast cancer recommendations from a federal task force reduced the doctor-patient relationship to odds and dollars.
PULLMAN – Washington State University will seek $15 million from the Legislature for an overhaul of its student information systems despite the state's $2 billion-plus budget deficit.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The playoff fate for the Eastern Washington University Eagles is back in the hands of an NCAA committee.
PULLMAN – Talk about undermanned.The Washington State University Cougars went into Saturday's Pac-10 Conference game against 20th-ranked Oregon State with 13 scholarship players on defense in uniform.
YAKIMA – Finesse and physical aren't generally terms one would use in the same sentence to describe the Ferris football team.
PULLMAN –The popular vote was cast here Saturday – well, actually in other precincts, but it was tallied here.
Former Seattle and Green Bay coach Mike Holmgren is interested in working for the struggling Cleveland Browns.
Martell Webster had 21 points and 13 rebounds, Brandon Roy added 18 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat Minnesota 106-78 Saturday night in Portland, handing the Timberwolves their 12th straight loss.
A Los Angeles Galaxy team that was so dysfunctional a year ago finds itself playing Real Salt Lake for the MLS Cup (5:30, ESPN) tonight at Qwest Field in Seattle. The league's MVP, Landon Donovan (at left in photo with David Beckham), spoke about why he thought that was the case. "There are a few points that stand out to me. One was having (coach) Bruce (Arena) come in and just create stability … The second was David's reaction to everything that's gone on," Donovan said with Beckham seated nearby. "Life is about choices. He could have come in and chosen to be something different than he has been. He chose to be a man and want this team to be successful. Without him, we're not where we are." – Associated Press
Assigned The Oklahoma City Thunder assigned second-year guard Kyle Weaver, who played for the Washington State Cougars, and rookie center Byron Mullens to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.
Abi Olajuwon
Daughter of ex-NBA great Hakeem Olajuwon scored career-high 23 to lead Oklahoma past TCU.
NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale, 12:15 p.m., ABC: Jimmie Johnson can't avoid hearing what the ticket buyers and TV watchers have to say: "You win all the time. You've made NASCAR BO-ring." If all goes as expected today, Johnson will emerge as the first driver in NASCAR history to win four consecutive titles. "If it's a slow phase from the fans, maybe in a position of not being respected for what I've accomplished, it will show up in due time," Johnson said. He will start from the pole at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida, and a finish of 25th or better will assure Johnson cannot be beat.
RED DEER, Alberta – Tyler Johnson scored twice, but it was not enough for the Spokane Chiefs, who fell short of their fourth straight win by losing to Red Deer 3-2 Saturday.
The Cheney girls soccer team's run toward a state title came to an end Saturday. Credit the powerful offense of unbeaten Archbishop Murphy for that.
Nicole Redd and Savannah Blinn scored 15 points apiece Saturday and Lewiston's girls basketball team (2-1) held Lakeland (1-2) to no more than five points in any one quarter for a 63-14 win at the Bengal Shootout in Lewiston.
Advantage, Huskies
The eve of another Apple Cup game brings to mind Carter Strickland's article in The Spokesman-Review of Sept. 8, 1999, in which he pointed out that the annual recruiting budget for Washington State is 71 percent as much as Washington's.
Former Lake City High School basketball coach Kris Knowles has joined the North Idaho College men's basketball staff this season after coaching for 11 years with the Timberwolves.
For a team making its first football playoff appearance in 22 years, the West Valley Eagles seemed uncommonly comfortable and composed Saturday – even during some extremely trying moments.
An expected game between high-powered football offenses instead became one that hinged on defense.
Colfax did what it does.On the fifth snap of their first possession in their State 2B quarterfinal game at Gonzaga Prep Saturday afternoon, the Bulldogs turned a short swing pass into a 50-yard touchdown.
Running back Reggie Bush and defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis are not traveling with the New Orleans Saints for today's game against Tampa Bay.
Thursday's resultMiami 24, Carolina 17Today's games
Basketball
College women: Washington State at Nebraska, 12:05 p.m.; Washington at Gonzaga, Montana State at Idaho, both 2; CC Spokane at Shoreline Shootout in Seattle, TBA.
CLEVELAND – Following a dominant regular season and a first-place finish at the West Regional, the Whitworth women's cross country team wrapped up its season with its best finish at nationals, placing sixth at the NCAA Division III Championships at Highland Park Golf Course.
FARGO, N.D. – Idaho scored the first seven points of the second half and led by double digits most of the rest of the way to beat North Dakota State 81-69 in men's non-conference basketball Saturday.
ARLINGTON, Texas – True freshman Jeffrey Forbes' 24 points led the Eastern Washington Eagles to a 72-68 victory Saturday night over the University of Texas-Arlington Mavericks.
Hardin-Simmons (Texas) University handed the Whitworth men's soccer team its only score on an own goal in the 64th minute Saturday and the Pirates did not let it go to waste, withstanding late pressure from HSU to win 1-0 and advance to the sectional final round of the NCAA Division III tournament in Dubuque, Iowa.
Nevada rushed for 575 yards as the Wolf Pack beat New Mexico State 63-20 Saturday at Las Cruces, N.M.
Jeremiah Masoli tied it with a touchdown pass to Ed Dickson with six seconds left, then won it with a 1-yard run in the second overtime as No. 11 Oregon defeated Arizona 44-41 at Tucson, Ariz., on Saturday night and took a big step toward the Pac-10 title.
For top-ranked Montana, it was the perfect way to end a perfect regular season.Andrew Selle threw three touchdown passes, and the Grizzlies were dominant on defense en route to whipping rival Montana State 33-19 on Saturday at Bozeman, sealing the fifth unbeaten regular season in school history.
PULLMAN – Reed Lesuma knew Saturday was going to be a good day. He just didn't know how good.
First quarter
OSU 7, WSU 0Adeniji 11 pass from Canfield (Kahut kick), 10:29
Passing offense: C
There were many more yards to be had and time to find them with only one sack.
Time ran out on No. 10 LSU before it could attempt a short, potential game-winning field goal and Dexter McCluster and Mississippi survived a frantic final minute to come away with a 25-23 victory Saturday in Oxford, Miss.
The Connecticut Huskies finally won one for their slain teammate on Saturday, handing Notre Dame and coach Charlie Weis a bitter defeat on senior day at South Bend, Ind.
Thanks to a battering, bruising defense, Central Washington is still the only unbeaten team in Division II.
RAFTING – Applications to get coveted permits for floating the Selway, Snake, Middle Fork of the Salmon, or wild main Salmon rivers next season must be submitted online between Dec. 1 and Jan. 31.
Avalanche advisory a click away
A new avalanche safety Web site for the Cascades and Olympics, including the highway passes, has been launched by the Friends of the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center and Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center.
Our hopes were quickly confirmed as we beached our canoes on an island soon after launching on the Missouri River near Fort Benton. We'd removed our lifejackets, readied the dogs and were just loading shells into our shotguns when the first rooster pheasant of the day flushed within range from the shoreline willows.
Eileen Clarke is a remarkable package: She can hunt, shoot, butcher, cook and write.The Montanan also is willing to share those skills so the rest of us pilgrims can get the most from the game we've harvested this season.
With 35 years of canoe hunting experience under my boat, I have solid list of guidelines learned from my own trial and error and the mishaps of my buddies. Among them:
Beasts a burden for fisheries
OUTLAW – While road hunters are an issue in modern days, anglers apparently have had their issues with mixing their sport with transportation.
When you are a drug user and alcoholic, as Kitty Coleman was for 27 of her 41 years, you hang out in dark places that smell of unwashed people, and the food is junk – convenience store burritos, macaroni flavored with mayonnaise.
The theoretical dinner party is a Spokane social staple.Mulling the guest list, planning the menu and imagining the conversation are all time-honored steps leading up to the eventual decision to bag it.
Indie-rock producer Jacquire King had long been an admirer of Norah Jones' smoky, seductive voice.
Dear Carolyn: My younger sister, "Alexis," is a college sophomore, and in the last year or so has gotten very into drinking with her friends (she is underage). It started because she is in a small town and said there was "nothing else to do on the weekends." In the past when friends drank, she would tell them they were being stupid and irresponsible. She now thinks it is funny to see her friends acting drunk, and has told me about their exploits on occasion.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY for Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009:This year, you are more upbeat and creative than you have been in years. You will verbalize your concerns. Your charisma builds, and you transform your style. One friendship could be strained this year. If single, you'll meet people with ease. If attached, the two of you draw closer together. Aquarius brings out your chatty side.
Thanksgiving is that special time when we gather with family and friends to share a great meal together.
This holiday season, many travelers will be able to keep a close eye on home.Thanks to new security system technology, including live video feed, you can monitor everything from the front door to the sump pump from hundreds of miles away.
Q. Our house is about 60 years old and has the original wood, double-hung windows. Several of the windows are drafty and loose, and rattle when the wind blows. A couple of these won't stay open unless I prop them with a stick. I can't afford new windows now and wonder if there is a less expensive way to fix them. Can you help?
Arts/Crafts
Custer's Christmas Arts and Crafts Show - 33rd annual event featuring more than 300 artists and crafters. Today, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Spokane County Fair and Expo Center, 404 N. Havana St., Spokane Valley. $6/all weekend; free/age 12 and younger. (509) 924-0588
The Spokane-filmed Antonio Banderas movie, "The Big Bang," doesn't just have Hollywood names (Sam Elliott), rap stars (Snoop Dogg) and up-and-coming Brits (Sienna Guillory).
Jennifer Lopez plans to include fireworks and an on-stage costume change in tonight's American Music Awards performance.
In Spokane
2012 - NorthTown Mall: 11:20 a.m., 11:50 a.m., 3:05, 3:35, 6:30, 7:05, 9:55, 10:25. River Park Square: 10:40 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 12:30, 2:05, 3, 4:15, 5:30, 6:30, 7:45, 9, 10. Spokane Valley Mall: 10:05 a.m., 12:25, 1:25, 3:45, 4:45, 7:05, 8:05, 10:25. Airway Heights: noon, 3, 6:10, 9:10. Wandermere: noon, 12:40, 3, 3:40, 6:10, 6:40, 9:10, 9:40.
Women and Children's Free Restaurant Benefit - Music by Sammy Eubanks. Wednesday, 8 p.m., Bluz at the Bend, 2721 N. Market St. Bring donations of cash or nonperishable food items.
Get ready to immerse yourself in the world of Atticus Finch and Scout.Spokane's Big Read in 2010 will be "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. This community-wide reading project will be supplemented by a number of talks and other activities, beginning Feb. 16 and lasting for a month.
Brought to you this month in popular culture: the apocalypse.On the one hand, there's "2012," the new movie about those Mayan prophesies of doom for Dec. 21, 2012, with stunning CGI effects so realistic and horrifying they'll have you begging for your mommy.
Fiction
1. "Under the Dome," Stephen King (Scribner, $35)
Among local literary events over the coming week (free unless otherwise indicated): Sharon Cramer - Signing her book "Cougar Cub Tales: Lost and Alone." Today, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Hastings, 101 Best Ave., Coeur d'Alene. (208) 664-0464
I love poems in which the central metaphors are fresh and original. Here's a marvelous, coiny description of autumn by Elizabeth Klise von Zerneck, who lives in Illinois.
FORKS, Wash. – For some reason, Randy Lato's "Vampire Voyages" boat trips just haven't brought in the big tourist bucks yet. He hasn't quite worked out a plausible connection between fishing and the fictional "Twilight" series author Stephenie Meyer set in this little Olympic Peninsula town. "I've only read two books in my entire life," Lato said – and "Twilight" wasn't one of them. (Although it's his understanding that heroine Bella's dad was a pretty good fisherman.) So when people ask what fishing has to do with vampires, Lato says, "We're going to float down the damn river looking for vampires climbin' up the trees just like in the movies." He exemplifies the major blessing and slight curse that the "Twilight" book and movie series – "New Moon," the latest installment, opened Friday – has become to this town of 3,000 or so.
Pity the lowly snow globe with white flakes raining down on a snowman or Santa Claus tucked inside its dome.
Chris Majer has run the gamut, beginning with political radical and ending with innovative corporate trainer, with a stop along the way as adviser to the U.S. Army Special Forces. Indeed, the founder and CEO of The Human Potential Project has taken an unconventional path to success.
If you are not into tech, finding gifts for those who are can be hard. Below are some nice gifts that won't leave a hole in your pocket and will help you start thinking past the big-ticket items. All of these products cost $120 or less (prices rounded to the dollar).
Spokane took a giant leap backward last month, and that was a good thing.After months of sagging employment figures, the county registered 3,000 new jobs. That was enough to offset losses going back to February, but at 222,420 the total remains 7,000 jobs shy of the peak reached in November 2008.
Remember when lenders were content to sell foreclosed homes to any qualified buyer? Their popular message was "we're in the lending business, not in the real estate business."
New faces
Dr. Kevin Weeks has been hired by Cancer Care Northwest as a medical oncologist and hematologist. Weeks previously worked for Columbia Basin Hematology in Kennewick and has 15 years of medical experience. He completed his fellowship at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, and is board-certified in internal medicine, hematology and medical oncology.
Tuesday
Spokane County Crop Improvement Association Annual Meeting – Topics will include wireworms, grasshopper management, cereal stem rust, aluminum toxicity, and an update from the Washington State Crop Improvement Association. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Cost is $15, includes meeting and lunch; $5 meeting only. Information: Diana Roberts, (509) 477-2167.
When five-time Olympic medalist and "Dancing with the Stars" winner Apolo Ohno sat down with his dad and his advisers early this year to sort out potential sponsors, they considered dozens of companies.
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) is enjoying a surprisingly bright outlook. This might be the start of a new era in Motorola's long history – powered by Google's Android phones.
RICHLAND – Popular Science magazine was impressed enough with a technology developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland to name it one of 2009's best 100 technologies.
CHICAGO – House shopping usually slows down in the winter, as people put their home searches on hold to trim the tree, buy presents to put under it and avoid the chilly weather.
Canadian investor Arthur Wong is buying condos in Las Vegas and Phoenix like a shopper at Costco: In bulk, with slashed prices.
In extolling the goodwill of North Idahoans, Michael and Vickie Hillicoss would top the list.
Lake City High School is helping people in need and getting into the holiday spirit with its annual food drive.
Kendra Goodrick- Martinez, the ex-meth dealer who continues to go straight, was an interested observer when Kootenai County voters rejected that jail expansion proposal. She knows first-hand that a bigger jail is needed. In a Huckleberries Online comment, she described a spot of crumbling wall during her stay in the local hoosegow that separated pods that was called the "fax machine." It was so porous that men and women passed notes back and forth. Space was so jammed in her women's quarters that there was no ability to segregate known enemies and sex predators. Hence, she said, all sorts of "hijinks" took place outside the view of the security cameras. Worst, she said, was the time a young woman of 19 or 20 hemorrhaged for an hour from a miscarriage because jailers were too busy dealing with other crises. And the two nurses on duty (who handle 175 inmates each) were busy administering insulin shots to diabetics. Kendra concludes by saying that former male prisoners say things were
BOISE – If it were up to Gov. Butch Otter, owners of boat docks on state-owned lakes would be free to put up solid wooden boat covers, complete with roofs, posts and multiple pilings.
You really have to get accustomed to much less sun this time of year. Aside from the fact we're down to only about nine hours of daylight each day, those daylight hours are likely to be much cloudier.
COEUR D'ALENE – North Idaho College's Outdoor Pursuits will present the Warren Miller winter sports film "Dynasty: Celebrating 60 Years of Filmmaking." at 6:30 tonight in the Boswell Hall Schuler Performing Arts Center.
Good things come to those who wait. Just ask the people of Cabinet Mountain Calvary Chapel in Clark Fork.
The disease is frightening. Its victims are mothers, fathers, spouses and grandparents who do not recognize the faces of those who have loved them for most of their lives. The disease is Alzheimer's.
Coeur d'AleneSandy Seright, 1217 N. Fourth St. commercial, framing for mechanical unit, valued at $35,000.
I can't recall exactly who, but every Thanksgiving, in the hazy afterglow of a full Turkey Day meal, one of my relatives says it. "Tryptophan must be short for 'trip the light fantastic.' "
Filings from Oct. 28-29.Chapter 7 (liquidation petitions)David and Melanie Smith, fdba Cascade Cabinets, fdba Interior Technique, Coeur d'Alene, debts of $951,594.
Today
Charley Packard (Originals) – 6 p.m., Spuds Grill, 102 N. First, Sandpoint, (208) 265-4311.
Today
Lake City High School Food Drive – Accepting nonperishable food items, frozen turkeys and used cell phones through Wednesday at Lake City High School, 6101 Ramsey Road. Call Don Callister for more information, (208) 769-0769.
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