Kip Hill | The Seattle Times

March 31, 2022 at 8:01 am

New federal task force in Spokane takes aim at businesses, people committing COVID fraud

The task force has investigators and attorneys assigned to cases involving theft of the money set aside by Congress in coronavirus aid.

March 29, 2022 at 7:03 pm

Spokane cited by federal law enforcement as crisis spot for fentanyl addiction after seizures increase 1,100%

The scourge of fentanyl is especially prevalent in Spokane County, with overdose deaths nearly tripling in 2021 compared to the year prior, and the federal...

March 22, 2022 at 1:54 pm

Spokane Public Schools approved new safety rule discouraging calls to police just before FBI review of district policy

Spokane police have criticized the new school safety program. As part of the reform, Spokane Public Schools replaced commissioned school resource officers with campus safety...

FILE – In this April 12, 2018, file photo, a marijuana plant awaits transplanting at the Hollingsworth Cannabis Company near Shelton, Wash. Five years after Washington launched its pioneering legal marijuana market, officials are proposing their most ambitious overhaul yet of the way the industry is regulated, with plans for boosting minority ownership of pot businesses, spreading out oversight among a range of state agencies, and letting the smallest cannabis producers increase the size of the operations in an effort to help them become more competitive. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

January 16, 2022 at 8:00 am

‘Battle royale’: Cannabis regulation bills pit regulatory agency against some marijuana businesses

An effort by state regulators to rein in sales of out-of-state cannabis has some major business interests crying foul. The Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board...

Business

January 5, 2022 at 7:01 pm

2 men with ties to Central Washington anti-government militia indicted on federal charges

Daniel J. Anderson of Kennewick and Connor D. Goodman of Auburn were indicted by a grand jury Tuesday on conspiracy charges to make or possess...

$Amanda McFarland, left, removes the bandage on Lynnell McFarland’s surgically repaired hand and forearm Sunday, Dec. 26, 2021 in Lynnell’s apartment in Spokane, Washington. Lynnell was injured and trapped in her car for five days in November after her car slid off the highway on Blewett Pass. Lynnell’s arm had a severe compound fracture and the car was smashed in such a way that she could not crawl out. Amanada was posting flyers and driving the highways looking for Lynnell.$

December 29, 2021 at 6:00 am

‘I could feel their arms around me’: Spokane Valley retired nurse recalls 5 days trapped in car in November

Lynnell McFarland, 68, went off the road on the Blewett Pass between Ellensburg and Leavenworth on Nov. 18 after striking a patch of black ice,...

Local News

December 17, 2021 at 7:01 pm

Spokane police chief suspends entire anti-crime team after judge tosses case because of officers’ false statements

Dec. 17—Spokane Police Chief Craig Meidl has suspended his department's Police Anti-Crime Team and reassigned all of its officers after a federal judge this week...

December 5, 2021 at 8:01 am

Airway Heights seeks new well on Spokane aquifer, but city and advocates urge caution

The city of Airway Heights wants to dig a new well over Spokane's aquifer in an effort to provide citizens with clean drinking water following...

Kevin Coe takes the witness stand and answers questions during his civil commitment trial in front of Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008 in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Christopher Anderson, The Spokesman Review) WASPO101

November 7, 2021 at 6:00 am

‘Case of the century’: Lawyers, judges and journalists reflect on case of Kevin Coe, Spokane South Hill rapist, 40 years later

The discussion, held at the Gonzaga Law School , was 40 years removed from Kevin Coe's shocking arrest in March 1981 as the man targeting...

October 13, 2021 at 8:01 am

Klickitat County farmer accused of collecting $500K in bogus crop insurance payments

A Klickitat County wheat grower owes the federal government more than a half million dollars after underreporting crop sales to obtain fraudulent insurance payments in...