Two fires spark near Spokane
Evacuation orders have been lifted after a fire broke out along Highway 195, southwest of Spokane.
The Mullen Hill Fire started yesterday afternoon, forcing the closure of a stretch of Highway 195. As of last night, southbound lanes had reopened, but northbound lanes were still closed.
Fire officials say as of last night, the Mullen Hill Fire has burned about 10 acres.
Another fire sparked near Spokane over the weekend. The Upper Cemetery Fire, near Palisades Park and Downtown Spokane, started early Friday evening.
Officials say the brush fire burned about 44 acres, but it's no longer spreading.
WA Ecology offers new air quality map
Wildfire season inevitably brings heightened risks, but the Washington Department of Ecology’s newly upgraded air quality map can help the public plan for smoke-filled skies.
The new map, inspired by user feedback, is designed to give the public immediate access to critical information about pollution levels.
“You don't need to go to the app store like you used to do.," said Ecology’s Air Monitoring Coordinator, Jill Schulte. "The progressive web application is a new way of getting an app on your phone that kind of makes it a little more streamlined for people to install.”
Schulte said the app is updated every hour, and the agency will make continuous improvements to it over the summer.
Donations from cryptocurrency backers show up in Washington races
This week, in the Congressional district that stretches from Tacoma to the Olympic Peninsula, a political action committee funded by cryptocurrency billionaires spent almost $1.5 million on ads supporting Democratic candidate Emily Randall.
On Facebook, her opponent in the upcoming primary, fellow Democrat Hilary Franz, called it “the darkest money support, which is more outside spending than this district has ever seen.”
But here’s where it gets interesting: a week ago, Franz’s own campaign manager marked her as “very pro-crypto” on a tracking site for industry advocates – pretty much the same as Randall.
And that reflects a general pro-crypto vibe in politics nationwide. Democrats and Republicans are getting money from crypto PACs, which have raised more than $180 million for this election cycle.
“Generally speaking, they're looking for candidates who support friendlier tax policy towards cryptocurrencies, more allowance of banks and other traditional financial forms to sort of get involved with cryptocurrency,” said Molly White, a cryptocurrency researcher.
This money supporting Randall was spent without consulting her – it’s called an independent expenditure. But crypto investors the Winklevoss twins have given directly to Randall’s campaign.
streamlined for people to install.”
Stevens County ‘Little White Schoolhouse’ restoration reaches final phases
The Little White Schoolhouse is set to become the first museum in the town of Valley and serve as an art gallery for the community.
Children first started learning in the building in 1916. Since then, it’s had a variety of uses including as housing for janitors and music classes.
Jackie Franks, now 93, was once a student there.
In 2008, she started a nonprofit organization named “Valley Historical Society.” One of its main goals was to save that building but first, they had to move it.
Melissa Silvio, vice-president of the historical society, says Franks donated land in 2015 so that the schoolhouse could be relocated. It was later added to the town’s fairgrounds.
The society moved the schoolhouse there in 2020 and is now in the final phases of restoration, says assistant restoration director, George Craig.
“The main goal is to teach our youth our history here and we got so many new people moving into the community also that have no clue what our local history is and why the town was put here,” Craig said.
The Valley Historical Society will open the Little White Schoolhouse to the public during its annual fair, Aug. 9 and 10. Community members can walk in and read about the building’s history.
- - -
Reporting was contributed by Scott Greenstone, Doug Nadvornick, Diana Opong and Monica Carrillo-Casas.