Spokane refugee agency marks three-year anniversary
Thrive Spokane says it will continue to do its work of helping refugees and immigrants, despite the federal emphasis on limiting immigration.
Thrive and its executive director, Mark Finney, celebrated three years in Spokane on Friday with a back-to-school celebration that provided children with supplies such as backpacks, shoes and clothes.
"One of the things we're trying to do is to just reclaim the public spaces and say, look, ICE can't take you away if you've got a legal status, if you've got a green card or a visa or a humanitarian parole stamp in your passport. You should be able to enjoy the community just like everybody else. So that's why we're doing things like this," Finney said.
He told SPR News ICE agents haven't yet come to Thrive's hotel, where nearly 100 people live. Finney says his agency has trained his staff and residents how to react if that eventually occurs.
More development to come next to Sandpoint's new Amazon warehouse
People living on the northern outskirts of Sandpoint learned last December that the city is allowing the development of an Amazon warehouse on roughly 7 acres just north of the Sandpoint Airport.
Last week, Sandpoint City Council moved forward with their decision to allow 15.5 more acres of development right next to the warehouse.
The newest addition to the Great Northern Commerce Park would turn vacant land into 21 industrial lots.
City Planner Bill Dean told the council earlier this month that each lot would be for sale individually.
“Somebody could come in here and buy one or two or more of these lots. In this size and configuration, it can be attractive to any number of small businesses," Dean said. "So I think it fits, with that respect, in keeping with what our Comp plan establishes in terms of economic development goals to make sure we have available sites for industry.”
Applicants Big Creek Land Company and Lake City Engineering also say that a commercial and residential development called Schweitzer Ranch is being developed directly north of the Commerce Park.
The announcement of an Amazon warehouse stirred up major concerns from some neighbors. But so far, the new Commerce Park has received little pushback.
Adding seaweed may reduce concrete's carbon emissions, UW research shows
Cement is the source of as much as 10% of all carbon dioxide emissions worldwide.
That’s according to materials scientists at the University of Washington who are aiming to reduce that carbon footprint, by adding seaweed to the mix.
"Cement is the most consumed material on Earth, after water. We just use it a lot because it's so important for civilization, infrastructure and whatnot," University of Washington Assistant Professor of Materials Science Eleftheria Roumeli said. “We now know that it's also contributing a lot of greenhouse gasses. Therefore, we do need to think about ways to reduce that.”
Roumeli found ordinary sea lettuce [ulva] could be dried, ground up and mixed into cement.
Without any extra treatment, it passed standard industrial strength tests and reduced the carbon footprint by 21%.
“That is a fact. What we're trying to do now is trying to understand, can I actually not use that specific one, but can I use the cousin or the grandparent of that, if you will?” she said.
She told KNKX public radio this "feedstock flexibility" will be a key for sustainability. They’re now testing several other species of seaweeds that grow locally, with an eye toward maximizing the benefits of their use.
They’re imagining harvesting invasive species or seaweeds like kelp that absorb carbon and provide wildlife habitat, while they’re growing.
Passerini looks to build Gonzaga's public profile
Classes begin today for many Gonzaga University students.
As Gonzaga students returned to campus this weekend, they were greeted by a new president, Katia Passerini. She moved to Spokane this summer after serving as an administrator at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.
"I like to hear from [students] about the things that they care about, because sometimes we make decisions thinking that that's the way we have to go, and we think that they need something," she said. "And then if it's like with my kids, whatever I'm thinking that they need, it's completely the opposite of what they really are looking for, so I like to continue to have an opportunity to talk with them."
The university will hold a formal installation ceremony for Passerini on September 26.
Passerini said she wants Gonzaga to stretch and build a more robust reputation.
“I want us to be even more global than what we already are. We are a national powerhouse and we have a lot of opportunities. More than 55% of our students study abroad, so they go see the world," she said.
More harmful algae found in Snake River
There’s another harmful algal bloom in the Snake River in Whitman County.
A water sample taken Aug. 18 from the Snake River tested positive for a type of liver toxin called microcystin. The bloom can be found sporadically between Nisqually John Landing and Little Goose Dam near Clarkston, Washington.
Leaders at Whitman County Public Health say the blue-green algae is dangerous to people, pets, livestock and wildlife. They’re warning people to avoid areas of the river that have any sort of scum on the surface.
Don’t swim, boat, drink or cook with water near any visible blooms. Don’t allow animals in the water. The toxins can accumulate in resident fish and shellfish.
This is the third year in a row that this type of harmful algal bloom has been found near this part of the Snake River
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Reporting contributed by Doug Nadvornick, Eliza Billingham, Bellamy Pailthorp and Courtney Flatt.