Doug Nadvornick

Healthcare providers are raising the alarm as the Inland Northwest hits its highest hospitalization level since the start of the pandemic.

Department of Natural Resource lands will be closed to the public from Friday until further notice due to the growing danger of wildfires.

Wednesday both Washington and Oregon re-opened their economies.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee is holding celebratory events around the state, including a stop late Wednesday afternoon in downtown Spokane.

Spokane has broken its all-time record high temperature. At 4 pm the National Weather Service reported the temperature at its Spokane International Airport facility had reached 109.

Health and fire officials are expecting the region next week to experience both a heat wave and, potentially, smoke from wildfires – a dangerous combination that could cause a spike in both heat stroke and respiratory illnesses.

The Washington Board of Health says it will hold a hearing as it decides whether to take action after the removal of former Spokane Regional Health District Health Officer Bob Lutz.

Spokane city leaders are urging community members to keep their response to the verdict in the George Floyd trial peaceful, and respectful.

Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder for kneeling on the neck of a black man for nine minutes. That murder sparked a wave of protests across the nation, including several in Spokane last summer.

Several government and private providers in the Northwest have paused use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine effective immediately after six women who had received the vaccine developed blood clots.

According to a Washington state Department of Health news release, the vaccine will be on hold until the state receives recommendations from the FDA and CDC.

Spokane’s city Flag Commission says it has picked a dozen finalists for a new city flag. They were chosen from 400 citizen submissions.

UPDATE August 29 at 10 a.m. : The Spokane Education Association and Spokane School District have come to an agreement on a new contract. No details have been released. The proposal will go to union members, perhaps later this week, for their approval.

Meanwhile, West Valley teachers ratified their new contract at a meeting Tuesday evening.

(Updated at 11:05 am)

Spokane police are investigating the fatal shooting of a suspect believed to be connected to an armed robbery at the Safeway store on Northwest Boulevard Tuesday morning.