Spokane

The Evergreen District of the Barbershop Harmony Society annual convention and contest will be held in Spokane on September 30 - October 2 at the Spokane Convention Center. This event will attract more than 800 participants and guests to Spokane for a music-filled weekend of barbershop style singing. Quartets and choruses from Alaska, Alberta, British Colombia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington will be competing for the opportunity to attend the International Contest to be held in Portland, Oregon in 2012.Quartet competition will be on Friday evening September 30. The chorus competition will be on Saturday morning October 1. The Show of Champions will be on Saturday evening October 1.Spokane's Pages of Harmony barbershop chorus will be host for the convention. The Doubletree Hotel will be headquarters for the convention. Tickets can be purchased online by going to pagesofharmony.org and clicking on Evergreen District Contest. For more information go to pagesofharmony.org or call 509-994-3016.

Giving a coat to a child who wouldn't have one otherwise is reason enough to donate to Coats 4 Kids. However, KXLY, Beck's Harvest House in Greenbluff and the Spokane Shock are giving you more reason to donate.People who bring a new or gently used coat to Harvest House this Thursday will a ticket to walk the Corn Maze. If you bring two coats, you get two tickets. Now that's a deal.Not only that, the Spokane Shock will be there too. The coaches and players will be there to help out, sign autographs and take pictures.

The newest batch of census data, released in April, brings a clearer picture of Spokane's growing population volume. It also presents an opportunity for change regarding those invisible lines called district boundaries.Since receiving their 2010 census data in April, the City only has a few months left to prepare a redistricting plan if that's what they decide on doing. There is no proposed plan. They're instead hoping you'll come up with one."There isn't a specific re-design at this point," Marlene Feist, public affairs officer, said. She continued, "The new census data has pulled the districts closer than they were before."

(Updated 9/29 8 a.m.) - The Gonzaga community is honoring Wangari Maathai by arranging for a free public viewing of , the documentary about her founding of The Green Belt Movement.  The showing will be October 13 at 7pm in the Cataldo Globe Room. Gonzaga is also recruiting volunteers to plant trees on Oct. 22 for Reforest Spokane Day.

Smoother times are in store of a previously rough section of Cheney-Spokane road. Spokane County road crews are grinding off the old layer of the southbound lane this week and replacing it with smooth asphalt in between Qualchan Road and the Trading Company parking lot. North bound traffic is being detoured onto Qualchan Road to reach Highway 195. People who need to get to the Trading Company, Latah Bistro, Chaps, Secure It Storage or any of the other businesses in that area will have to loop around from Qualchan Road, north to Cheney-Spokane Road and then head south. Work should be completed by the end of the week.

In an economy where worker are fighting to stay employed and employers are fighting to keep them there, the State's Shared-Work Program is helping do just that. Thanks to that program, EZ Loader Adjustable Boat Trailers in Spokane has been able to keep all 109 employees on the pay role.  As part of the program, they cut back hours, but they're able to keep their benefits and can apply for unemployment for the hours they've lost. EZ Loader Employee Levi Kettleson says he's working between 4 and 5 days a week, but says some of his co-workers are down to 2 or 3 days and that the unemployment benefits help them make ends meet.

(Updated 2:40 p.m.) - Spokane resident, Thuy-Dzuong Nguyen found some pants draped over a bridge in Riverfront Park. They're a size 38 and overlook the Clocktower. After a little research, it turns out the pants are designer jeans by . 

Students were behind last year's Face Off at Ferris, a candidate forum between former state senator Chris Marr and his opponent Michael Baumgartner. They're at it again this year planning October's two-hour candidate debate, preluded with a performance by Ferris High School's Jazz Orchestra.The students are part of Jennifer Walther's leadership class. They're sophomores, juniors and seniors that apply and are selected for the class. They work all year on various topics including politics.Last year after the election, state senator-elect, Michael Baumgartner, visited the classroom to invite the students to Olympia to see the democratic process.

Every year the League of Women Voters organize and moderate a forum for the primary and general election on CityCable 5 in Spokane. They tape the forum, featuring city candidates, live and replay it up until election day.The selected debates will feature Mayor, Council President and City Council. The public is invited to view the live-to-tape forum at the City Council Chambers in the lower level of Spokane City Hall on Thursday, September 29th at 5 p.m.The re-broadcast dates on CityCable 5 are:

Ask Tony Ferrante what makes his restaurant special it's simple. "We use nothing but fresh ingredients," said Ferrante, who opened the restaurant about 7 years ago with his wife Robbie.The restaurant is a quaint Cafe nestled by the soccer field on the South Hill.Small cafe tables, wrought-iron lamps hanging from the ceiling and the walls are painted a deep olive and dark chocolate, which may be the perfect combination.There's even a delightful gift shop with unique and special finds. One for you, one for me....The menu is simple classic Italian. Ferrante's specialty is perfect hand-tossed thin crust pizzas, just-right baked calzones, creative salads and Italian street-side quality Gelato. 

Whitworth students began attending classes at the new Robinson Science Hall this fall school year.The new $32 million academic facility is home to Whitworth's biology, chemistry and health science departments. Originally those departments were housed in the Eric Johnston Science Center along with other departments, but now they have more room to breathe.The new silver LEED certified hall also features state-of-the-art laboratories, research facilities and classrooms.

Sunday is Bruce Davis's 90th birthday party at the Sons of Norway, 6710 N. Country Homes Blvd. Bruce Davis being one of Spokane's great musicians and a trombonist, spent his career playing with Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Tennessee Ernie Ford, etc. etc. also many many TV shows and commercials. He still plays around town in bands like Variety Pack and the Dixie Dandies. His birthday party will be Sunday from 3 p.m. until we are done. A free event but you can buy dinner while you there and beverages. For more information: (509) 326-9211Bruce does a weekly show on KPBX-FM, National Public Radio. It's called It airs every Friday from 7-8 p.m. on 91.1 FM. 

Suicide is not a topic any of us like to discuss but perhaps by making people aware that there are others out there who care, and others who have perhaps been touched by this sadness, it will prevent another person from thinking this is the only way out of their despair.  So, tomorrow, September 24 there is a suicide prevention walk entitled "Out of the Darkness" that perhaps you and your friends or loved ones would like to participate in.  The walk will start at 10am in Mission Park, 1200 E. Mission Ave. Spokane. Walk to save lives in the United States, a person dies by suicide every 15 minutes, claiming more than 34,000 lives each year. It is estimated than an attempt is made every minute; with close to one million people attemting suicide annually.  Register & donate today at www.outofthedarkness.org. More information or ADA: 509-324-1530 

(Updated 11:57 a.m.) - Good morning from West Spokane! KXLY reader, Susie Baldwin snapped this photo early this morning. She took the photo near the backside of the airport hoping to see some airplanes taking off, but got stuck with a sunrise instead.The sun rose at about 6:37 a.m. We're losing 3-4 minutes per day as we progress in the season. Tonight's sunset will be at 6:46 p.m.

You might be like me when it comes to art. You might know nothing. I'm somewhere between there and knowing a very, minuscule amount of art history. I could point out the Mona Lisa if you put it in front of me, maybe identify a Picasso, but that's about it.That said, I'm excited about an upcoming exhibit at Eastern Washington University. For the very small amount of art education I possess, I can at least say I know who this guy is. Maurice Sendak's exhibit opens at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library on campus October 27th. He's the guy who wrote and illustrated the famous children books "Where the Wild Things Are" and "In the Night Kitchen", just two of the 100 books he created.

They came to Spokane's streets in their glittered and painted-blue skin with mermaid-esque fins attached to their legs. They were PETA protesters making a statement in front of the downtown sushi restaurant, Sushi.com.At first, it was just a swarm of media surrounding the basking fish people as the protest started at Noon. Perhaps it was an excuse to get out of the office, but then nearby residents heard of the protest and rushed their way to Main and Stevens."More fish are used for food every year than any other animals combined," Hayden Hamilton, PETA campaigner said. She continued, "They don't get the same sympathy like dogs and cats."

I spent my Tuesday evening with Cpl. M. Carr as we patrolled south Spokane.We drove through East Sprague to monitor activity, discussed law with other Officers, went to jail and missed a stabbing by two hours.A corporal is different than a officer. They're still an officer, but they're also an assistant team leader for their shift. They collect and photograph evident. They conduct collision investigations. They stay available for officers when needed.During the four and a half hours that I rode with Cpl. Carr, we assisted Officers with one incident.

The project is catching the eye of alot of spectators passing by as Avista workers in bright green shirts make progress on aesthetic flows project.  Its part of a new Fifty year Federal Energy Regulatory Commision license to operate Five hydroelectric facilities located on the Spokane River.  The purpose of the project is to return the rivers channels to a more natural state.  The project is to be completed by the end of October.

The Hillyard's Hobo Bulletin, an online publication created by resident, Pam Farnsworth, will now begin charging for advertising. Farnsworth says they've grown to almost 9,000 readers since she's begun publishing in 2010.Farnsworth added advertisers will now be charged due to increased costs and expenses effective October 5th of this year.Even though the publication is online, Greenburo, 5220 N. Market, in Hillyard, offers a few print-outs of the Bulletin.