Spokane announces permanent police chief
Spokane city officials said they believe Kevin Hall will bring with him some of the best practices in policing when he takes over as chief of the Spokane department.
The city announced yesterday that Hall will assume his duties by the end of August. He has been the assistant chief in Tucson, Arizona for the last 8 years, the last chapter of his 32-year career there.
Deputy City Administrator Maggie Yates said she’s optimistic Hall will gain the trust of his new colleagues.
“The assistant chief of police, Mike McNab, sat on the selection committee, appointed by the mayor, who guided the process, as well as the Police Guild president, Dave Dunkin," Yates said. "In the finalist process, the finalists also met with Police Guild representatives and we hosted a meet-and-greet with the Spokane Police Department. So there was opportunity for feedback along the way.”
In terms of best practices, Hall spoke at a forum for the four finalist candidates last month about the need to reassess how officers are trained.
“Historically we have trained officers to believe everybody is trying to harm them, everybody is trying to kill them, everybody is a threat," he said at the forum. While we want the officers to be safe, we also want the community to be safe and we really need to take a look at how we can move that training forward and out of the 1990s. We’re better than that and we’re much more sophisticated than that.”
Hall will replace Interim Chief Justin Lundgren, who says he has accepted a leadership position within the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.
U.S., Canada announce tentative agreement for Columbia River Treaty
President Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a preliminary agreement on updating the six-decade-old international treaty that governs the shared use of the Columbia River.
The agreement will still be fine-tuned before a final version is reached, but Trudeau said the agreement will continue to ensure flood management and a cooperative approach for the electricity generated by dams in the Columbia Basin.
The updated treaty will also reflect the involvement of indigenous communities in both countries, an element missing from the original 1964 pact.
The clock was ticking to reach an accord, because flood control provisions of the agreement were set to expire this year.
Washington Senator Maria Cantwell and Idaho Senator Jim Risch have been pushing for modernizing the Columbia River Treaty for more than a decade. Cantwell commended Thursday’s announcement as a positive step. Risch says it looks promising, but he looks forward to seeing all the details.
New kiosk aims to improve health equity
Spokane residents now have free access to some public health supplies.
In partnership with the Washington Department of Health, the Spokane Regional Health District has set up a kiosk where anyone can get COVID-19 and flu test kits.
It's part of SRHD's efforts to improve health equity for underserved communities who have traditionally faced obstacles to accessing care, according to Devyn Bell, the district's health equity manager.
She told SPR News that SRHD is looking into how to "lower those barriers and ensure that communities can access those items in an easy way that is low or no cost.”
The outdoor kiosk, located outside the east entrance of Spokane’s Northeast Community Center, is available to anyone at any time.
"It is accessible 24-7 and the other great part is it is climate controlled," Bell said. "I know with the extreme heat we are experiencing right now, the contents within the kiosk are staying safe and within their regulated temperatures.”
Bell said SRHD is hoping to expand the offerings to also include condoms, pregnancy tests, Narcan and fentanyl test strips.
Idaho school district seeks donations after closing one of its schools
After two school funding levies failed in consecutive years, Idaho’s West Bonner County School District is trying another way to balance its budget after trustees voted to shutter one of its middle schools.
That method? Donations.
The district wants to raise more than a million dollars so it can afford to bring back staff positions that had to be cut in order to balance the budget, along with facility maintenance and a new English curriculum.
Kristina Kenny, the district’s Special Education director, says she appreciates that people are coming together to support the schools, but she says she doesn’t think the donation drive is a long-term solution.
"I love seeing people step up, and give their part and do what they can," she said. "But I am not sure if it's a sustainable practice.”
Right now, the district has collected more than $10,000.
Kenny says school officials hope to raise the $1,073,000 needed by the end of August.
Spokane Indians pitcher wings south-by-southeast for All-Star appearance
The Spokane Indians’ dugout will be without one of its most familiar faces this weekend, but not because of injury. Pitcher Chase Dollander is making a brief trip to Texas. He was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game, which takes place in the Dallas suburb of Arlington Saturday.
The Futures game is for minor league players who are shining so far this season. That’s what Dollander, a first-round draft pick last year, has done in Spokane. He has a 2.83 ERA, and a whopping 111 strikeouts in 14 games.
Dollander told SPR News the trip is a heady mix: an honor, a little fun, and a lot of work.
“I’m going to make the most of it and just have fun with it. Obviously, that’s what this is for,” the 22-year-old right-hander said. “But on the other hand, you want to showcase what you have and prove to the—not necessarily the world, but to myself that I can hang with these guys.”
Dollander isn’t just the only member of the Indians roster to be selected for this year’s Futures game. He’s the sole representative of the whole Colorado Rockies minor league system.
But he told SPR News he couldn’t be successful without the rest of the Indians. They offered support and congratulations after his selection was announced last week.
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Reporting was contributed by Doug Nadvornick, Owen Henderson and Brandon Hollingsworth.