HARLEM HEIGHTS, Fla. (AP) — The Gladiolus Food Pantry usually hands out supplies on Wednesdays to about 240 families, so when Hurricane Ian swept through that day and canceled their distribution, it was left full of flats of canned black beans, bags of rice, meats, bread and produce — food that helps families struggling with rising rents and inflation make ends meet.

By the weekend, much of that food was in the garbage, the floors were still wet and muddy from the floodwaters that had filled the room, and the pantry’s founder and director, Miriam Ortiz, was worried about what would become of her neighborhood as she worked to get the pantry she started nine years ago up and running again.

“Right now I don’t know what we’re going to do because we’re going to need food, we’re going to need water, we’re going to need everything,” she said. “We got flooded and the water came through all the building.”

Ortiz said the food pantry’s green building is the heart of the Harlem Heights neighborhood, a small, mostly Hispanic community of nearly 2,000 people near Fort Myers that was hammered by the Category 4 hurricane. A sign scrawled on a piece of roofing that had torn loose advertised free food, diapers, wipes, body wash and toothpaste.

The wind, rain and storm surge that accompany hurricanes affect everyone in their path. But those combined effects are often more of a disaster for poor people living day to day, like many in Harlem Heights, where the median income is a little under $26,000, according to US census data.

Many are hourly workers with little savings for things such as evacuation hotel stays or money to tide them over until their places of employment reopen. In a tourism heavy economy like South Florida’s, the wait for hotels to reopen and visitors — along with the jobs they bring — to return can be long and agonizing.

Ortiz said many of the clients she was seeing every week before the hurricane were already hurting from the skyrocketing cost of food and housing. Rising rents had forced many young adults that had been living on their own to move back in with parents and grandparents, she said.

Over the weekend, cars and trucks whizzed down the neighborhood’s main road, which was dry and had been swept free of tree limbs and palm fronds. That wasn’t the case on many side streets, many of which were still submerged in water as residents hauled waterlogged furniture to the curb.

At Maria Galindo’s apartment, the water had risen to about hip height and the wind had ripped off part of her roof while she and her 9-year-old daughter, Gloria, were terrified inside. Her daughter said that during the storm, she kept thinking she wanted to return to her native Guatemala.

“We did not know where to go, where to grab onto, whether here or there because of the rain, the wind, the water. … It was very difficult,” said Maria Galindo, speaking in Spanish.

They and their neighbors were trying to salvage what they could and to push the water from their waterlogged apartments. Wet clothes hung from a clothes line outside, while inside a thin seam of light coming between the wall and ceiling showed where the roof had been lifted.

Galindo works as a housekeeper at a local hotel, but it’s closed until further notice. She’s worried for her family and her daughter and wondering how she’ll make ends meet.

“We are without a roof overhead. We need food. We need money to buy things,” she said. “We need help.”

Back at the food pantry, people had been delivering donations of food, cleaning supplies and clothing throughout the day Saturday, and a volunteer had set up a tent and was cooking food for people.

One of those who dropped by to deliver supplies was a frustrated Lisa Bertaux, who came with her friend. She ticked off the items that people needed: toothbrushes, deodorant, cleaning supplies, paper towels, children’s clothes and wipes. And the list went on.

“There is so much need here. … There’s very little food coming in so far. There’s a great need,” she said. “It’s time for us to rebuild our community.”

One of those coming by to pick up supplies was Keyondra Smith, who lives down the street in an apartment complex with her three kids. She had parked her car in a different area so that when the floodwaters came sweeping through, she didn’t lose it. Her neighbors weren’t so lucky, as cars floated through the parking lot during the worst of the flooding and the people who lived on the first floor — she’s on the second — were completely flooded out.

Smith had been driving by the food pantry when she noticed it had supplies so she stopped to pick up some toilet paper, water and hot plates of food. Before that, her family had been eating raviolis out of a can, Vienna sausages and snacks from a local convenience store.

“We don’t have any water. My food is spoiling in the refrigerator,” she said. Though she can drive to the few stores that are open, she said they are only taking cash and many of the ATMs aren’t working. “I have three kids so I have to get some supplies to feed them.”

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Follow Santana on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruskygal

FOX28 Spokane©

The Spokane Chiefs opened their home schedule Saturday night against the team that ended their postseason five months ago, and for Spokane, the results were no better than they were in that elimination game.

A more experienced Kamloops Blazers team forced the Chiefs into a number of miscues and spoiled their home opener 4-2 in front of an announced crowd of 7,572.

It was the first of five straight home games for the Chiefs (2-1-0-0), who won their first two games of the season, both in Victoria, by scores of 7-5 and 5-4.

But offensive opportunities were harder to come by against the Blazers (1-1-0-0), who have six NHL draft picks on their roster. That doesn’t include Blazers captain Logan Stankoven, who scored 45 goals for them last season. He remains in training camp with the NHL’s Dallas Stars.

It hardly seemed the Blazers missed him. They scored twice in the first period: Connor Levis from the right circle on a power play, followed 11 minutes later by Matthew Seminoff’s goal in front of Chiefs goalie Mason Beaupit.

The Chiefs drew a 4-minute power play later in the second period on a high-sticking call against Seminoff, but instead of capitalizing, it was the Blazers who scored, on a puck that was misplayed deep in the Chiefs’ zone by Beaupit and defenseman Graham Sward – Spokane’s two NHL draft selections. Caedan Bankier’s shot into an open net made it 3-0 Blazers just 3 minutes into the period.

Spokane played nearly 20 minutes of game time without top-line winger Ty Cheveldayoff, who was sent off for a 10-minute misconduct midway through the first period after he was called for instigating and then participating in a fight with Kyle Masters. Spokane was already playing with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

The Chiefs finally scored with 14:14 left in the third, when Grady Lane deflected Raegan Wiles’ shot from the point past goalie Dylan Ernst. That cut the Blazers’ lead to 4-1.

The Chiefs resume their homestand Friday against the Edmonton Oil Kings, who last played in Spokane on Oct. 6, 2018.

1988 – The year that I purchased my first Iron Maiden record and, as it turns out, the last time Iron Maiden played in Spokane. A few songs into their set, lead singer Bruce Dickinson pointed this date out while playing a game he called “who’s your daddy?”. By a show of hands, the age-eclectic crowd responded to Bruce’s survey with delight as he joked about his own age and established how a few of those in attendance were most likely a by-product of Iron Maiden’s last performance in Spokane.

Aware of the bands age, and having never seen them live before, I admit being concerned with how well the band would perform. Halfway through their first song, my concerns were gone. Bouncing around the stage with the energy of someone half his age, Bruce Dickinson (and the rest of the band) successfully conveyed what’s been driving them for over thirty years; their love of the music and their connection with their fans.

Those fans, some having traveled from as far away as Chile, responded with the same enthusiasm as the band displayed all night. I personally spoke with two folks in the crowd who had traveled from Alaska and Oregon, respectively. When asked what their favorite Iron Maiden record was, neither of them could give an answer, stating they couldn’t decide on just one.

Those two fans’ inability to pick a favorite seemed to be reflected in Iron Maiden’s set. Starting with songs from their most recent release “Senjutsu” and ending with their classic song “Aces High” the bands set list seemed to be motivated by what they enjoy playing rather than digging into the well of their greatest hits. It’s that non-conformity that fans seem to love about Iron Maiden and, like their onstage energy, it’s something that Iron Maiden seems to have an endless supply of.

Ukraine says Russians shell evacuation convoy, killing 20

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A regional official in Ukraine says Russian forces have shelled a civilian evacuation convoy in the country’s northeast, killing 20 people. Kharkiv region Gov. Oleh Syniehubov called Saturday’s attack on people who were trying to flee the area to avoid being shelled “сruelty that can’t be justified.” He said the convoy was struck in the Kupiansky district. Russian forces have retreated from much of the Kharkiv region after a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive last month but continued to shell the area. The bombardment intensified drastically this week, as Moscow moved to annex four Ukrainian regions in the east and the south under its full or partial control.

Dozens dead from Ian, one of strongest, costliest US storms

CHARLESTON, SC (AP) — Rescuers continue to search for survivors in flooded homes in Florida after Hurricane Ian’s passage earlier this week. Meanwhile, authorities in South Carolina are awaiting daylight Saturday to assess the damage from the storm’s strike there. Ian made another landfall Friday on South Carolina’s coast and is now a post-tropical cyclone moving across parts of North Carolina and Virginia. The powerful storm terrorized millions of people for most of the week and officials say it’s blamed for at least 27 deaths in Florida and three deaths in Cuba. But authorities say they expect the death toll to rise further.

After Ian, river flooding menaces Florida inland towns

NORTH PORT, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Ian ravaged coastal towns in southwest Florida. But the impact has not been confined to the beaches and tourist towns. The rains from the storm’s deluge are flowing into inland towns not usually part of the hurricane warnings. In the Sarasota suburb of North Port, water levels have gone up significantly, turning roads into canals, reaching mailboxes, flooding SUVs and trucks, blocking the main access to the interstate and leaving families trapped. Now, as days go by, they are starting to run out of food and water. It’s the rising rivers that cause the flooding, and authorities say that flooding now poses a danger to those nearby.

Supreme Court poised to keep marching to the right in new term

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court begins a new term on Monday at a time of diminished public confidence and justices sparring openly over the institution’s legitimacy. The court seems poised to push American law to the right on issues of race, voting and the environment. Back in June, the conservative majority overturned nearly 50 years of constitutional protections for abortion rights. Now, the court is diving back in with an aggressive agenda that appears likely to split the six conservative justices from the three liberals. Joining the nine-member court is new Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court’s first Black woman.

Michigan women fight to preserve abortion, 1 chat at a time

UTICA, Mich. (AP) — Women are gathering across Michigan to strategize how to preserve abortion rights in their state. The small, personal conversations are playing out alongside more traditional get-out-the-vote efforts, with major stakes for both abortion rights and the mostly Democratic candidates who support them. Michigan is one of a handful of places where abortion rights will be on the ballot in November, after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June and left the issue to states to decide. A 1931 ban has been on hold since a state court judge’s ruling, but it is no guarantee that the procedure won’t be outlawed one day unless voters approve a state constitutional amendment.

Jimmy Carter to celebrate 98 with family, friends, baseball

ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter, already the longest-living US president in history, will celebrate his 98th birthday Saturday with family and friends in Plains, the tiny Georgia town where he and his wife, 95-year-old Rosalynn, were born . The 39th president’s latest milestone comes as The Carter Center, which the Carters established together in 1982, marks 40 years of promoting democracy and advancing public health internationally. Jason Carter, the former president’s grandson, described his grandfather as content with his life and legacy. The younger Carter said the former president plans a relatively quiet day and will make sure to watch his favorite baseball team, the Atlanta Braves, in a key matchup against the New York Mets.

NIH to fund unproven ALS drugs under patient-backed law

WASHINGTON (AP) — The US government will soon donate $25 million to help patients access experimental drugs for the incurable illness known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The new strategy blurs the line between research and treatment. And it breaks decades of precedent in which responsibility for funding so-called compassionate use fell to drugmakers. But after years of being rebuffed by drugmakers, ALS patients lobbied Congress to help fund access to not-yet-approved drugs. While it offers a critical new treatment option for ALS patients, it also raises the possibility that federal dollars could be tapped for unproven treatments of other diseases in the future.

Untested rape kits plagued Memphis long before jogger case

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis’ long-held problems with testing rape kits quickly have come under renewed scrutiny with Cleotha Henderson’s arrest last month in the killing of Eliza Fletcher, a mother and kindergarten teacher who was abducted while jogging. Authorities say a rape kit submitted in September 2021 for the sexual assault of a different woman sat untested for nearly a year. It wasn’t until Sept. 5 — three days after Fletcher’s abduction — that DNA from the 2021 assault matched Henderson’s in a national database. That revelation has sparked outrage and left many wondering whether Fletcher’s killing could have been prevented. It has also shown a spotlight on continued delays even after Memphis worked through a large backlog of untested rape kits.

Ole Miss honors James Meredith 60 years after integration

JACKSON, Ms. (AP) — The University of Mississippi is paying tribute to James Meredith 60 years after integration. White protesters erupted into violence in 1962 as he became the first Black student to enroll in what was then a bastion of Deep South segregation. A resident and a French journalist were killed in the violence. The 89-year-old Meredith is being honored Saturday at an Ole Miss football game. The university is having several events on the Oxford campus. Meredith spoke at a celebration Wednesday, saying it was the best day he ever lived. But he also said problems remain.

Western push on China, Russia at UN rights body faces test

GENEVA (AP) — Western countries are leading a simultaneous push at the UN’s top human rights body to scrutinize human rights in two of the world’s most influential countries: China and Russia. The West wants to increase the attention given to allegations of abuses in China’s western Xinjiang region and the Russian government’s crackdown on dissent and protest against its war in Ukraine. Diplomats and rights advocates acknowledge that going after the two powers at the same Human Rights Council meeting carries risks and challenges, and say the outcome of votes on the issues by the end of the council’s session on Oct. 7 is likely to resonate widely.

FOX28 Spokane©

Deputies arrested a 53-year-old man for allegedly firing three shots at a neighbor over a parking space dispute Thursday night at a Spokane Valley apartment complex.

Deputies responded around 8:55 pm on the 2700 block of North Pines Road, according to a Spokane Valley Police Department news release. They found three spent rifle casings in the parking lot near a Dodge truck but did not find victims or witnesses.

Deputies eventually contacted the victim, who told police he arrived home to find several items in his parking space, according to police. He said he moved the items over one space and parked.

A short time later, the suspect, Armail K. Porter, arrived in a van and parked in the middle of the lot, the victim said. Porter, who also lives at the complex, allegedly started yelling at the victim and said he’d be right back to deal with him.

When Porter returned from the apartments, he was holding a rifle, the victim told deputies. The victim said he was about 50 yards away as Porter pointed it in his direction, toward the ground, and fired one shot.

The victim said he yelled at Porter and walked toward him, asking whether he planned to shoot the victim. The male said Porter fired two more shots before running away.

The victim said he did not want to pursue charges because he felt Porter was trying to scare him and not actually shoot him. No one was injured, police said.

Porter denied getting into an argument and firing the shots at the complex, deputies said. Deputies found a loaded rifle magazine and other items associated with firearms during a search of Porter’s apartment, the release said. They did not find a firearm.

Porter was booked into the Spokane County Jail on suspicion of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and aiming and discharging a firearm. Porter is a felon and the respondent of a served protection order, so he is prohibited from possessing a firearm, deputies said.

Porter remained in jail Friday night on a $5,000 bond.

As I put together my Washington fall buck hunting prospects for this year’s seasons, there were a couple deer-related things that I couldn’t quite jam into that nearly 6,000-word tome.

Over the summer, WDFW posted the 2022 Washington Hunters’ Attitudes Toward Wildlife and Hunting Management report, while earlier this month an intriguing paper titled “Interactive effects of wildfires, season and predator activity shape mule deer movements” came out of the Predator-Prey Project .

THREE MULE DEER MOVE THROUGH A SNOWY OKANOGAN BURNED AREA IN OCTOBER 2020. (SARAH BASSING, WASHINGTON PREDATOR-PREY PROJECT)

Both are enlightening in their own way, yielding insights into the mindset of Evergreen State riflemen, archers and muzzleloaders over the short and longer term, and how mule deer, wolves and cougars are navigating Northcentral Washington’s wildfire-singed landscapes, one of the state’s premier buck hunting areas.

Highlights from Responsive Management’s survey, performed via telephone and online in June and July, found that 75 percent of the 1,154 hunters surveyed identified as deer hunters, 44 percent chased elk, 29 percent waterfowl, 25 percent small game, 23 percent bear, 22 percent migratory birds and 13 percent cougars.

Last year, 78 percent of deer hunters used a rifle, 17 percent a bow, and 12 percent a muzzleloader.

(Overall, the average Washington sportsman was 51.44 years old and had hunted for 25.9 years (the survey excluded hunters younger than 16). Eighty-three percent were white, 4 percent were Native American or Alaskan native, 3 percent were Hispanic, and black , East Asian and South Asian hunters each tallied 1 percent.

Twelve percent lived in King County, 10.6 percent in Spokane County, 9.9 in Pierce County and 8.5 in Snohomish County, the state’s most populous counties, but 28 percent consider their actual residence to be rural (but not a farm or ranch), 25 percent a small city or town, 20 percent a suburban area, 14 percent a large city or urban area and 12 percent a ranch or farm.)

Ninety percent of all hunters reported hunting on public land in the previous three seasons, with 66 percent saying they’d done so on US Forest Service ground.

Speaking of, the northern Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest was host to the aforementioned work done for the Predator-Prey Project – a joint research project of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the University of Washington. It involved capturing and collaring 150 Methow Valley mule deer does, as well as a number of local cougars and wolves, and then matching GPS data with wildfire mapping to develop a better understanding of how the animals used burned areas through the year.

According to lead author Taylor Ganz, a UW Ph.D. student, some 40 percent of Okanogan County has burned since 1985, and much of that has occurred in upper valley lands around Winthrop and Twisp via the Farewell, Fawn Peak, Tripod, Carlton Complex, Cedar Creek and Cub Creek II, among other wildfires.

It’s been a boon for deer, creating plentiful, rich forage and at all elevations, and Ganz et al note that muleys really do key in on burned areas in summer.

The other good news if you’re a deer is that those areas – with their fallen trees and tangles of branches and willows – also generally provide protection from wolves as they recolonize the region. Wolves are born to chase their prey, preferably over landscapes with few hurdles, and so burn scars act as something of a refuge for deer from the long-legged lopers. The researchers found “deer increased use of burned areas when and where wolf activity was high.”

AN ALERT DOE SCANS A REGENERATING BURN SCAR FOR DANGER. (SARAH BASSING, WASHINGTON PREDATOR-PREY PROJECT)

However, the same conditions that grade against wolves running rampant work quite well, thank you very much, for cougars to ambush deer. Where the big cats were most active, deer tended to stay away.

And where deer were overall attracted to regenerating burns in the high season, come winter, they tended to avoid them, Ganz and crew found. Without needled-out tree limbs to intercept falling white stuff, it piles up and up and up, 1) blocking deer access to forage and 2) making them much more vulnerable to predation because they can get caught in the deep snow. They especially “avoided burns when and where cougar use was high in winter,” the researchers stated.

For a deer hunter who has spent more than a little time gazing at the Okanogan’s terrain, burned and unburned, and wondered how building wolf numbers will affect the herd, it all kind of makes intuitive sense. The same deadfalls and underbrush that keep me from moving very fast (and, needless to say, very quietly) work against wolves, but more than once the hair on the back of my neck has wanted to stand up as I’ve waded into them .

Ganz reports that how muleys related to cougars lurking in burned areas was also dependent on how hot the woods had burned and how long it had been since fire swept through, but overall the deer were able to manage the risk and reward of foraging there.

“We did not find that deer were any more likely to die in a burned area versus an unburned area. In other words, their movement response and other antipredator behaviors are adequate to balance changes in predation risk associated with burns,” Ganz also told me.

Speaking of predators, they are Washington deer hunters’ top concern, according to the Responsive Management survey, with 26 percent calling wolves, cougars, bears, coyotes and other furry fangers the most important issue facing the state’s mule deer, whitetail and blacktail.

Close behind was habitat loss, 24 percent, followed distantly by disease/herd health at 14 percent.

(Elk hunters felt similarly, with 30 percent saying predators were the most important factor, followed by disease/health at 22 percent, habitat loss at 17 percent and management 12 percent.)

Ganz and fellow researchers report 52 of their collared Methow deer died during the study, and 22 of those were confirmed to have died at the claws and teeth of predators, with another nine dying from an unknown cause but likely predation. Of the confirmed deaths, 15 were attributed to cougars, three to coyotes, one to bears and one to wolves.

That last one surprised and didn’t surprise me. As quite pointed out, there just weren’t a lot of wolves on the landscape during the study.

“Based on WDFW estimates, there may have been as few as 10-15 wolves in the study region, which is just not that many relative to the amount of deer out there,” she told me. “As you mention, moose, white-tailed deer, and other critters contribute to wolf diets (and even grasses and berries – wolves are omnivorous). That’s one reason we don’t have many documented wolf mortalities.”

A COLLARED MULE DEER DOE LOOKS OVER A BURNED AREA. (SARAH BASSING, WASHINGTON PREDATOR-PREY PROJECT)

But she cautioned that there was also a fair percentage of deaths by unknown causes and pointed to difficulties reaching carcasses after collars give off mortality signals.

“That doesn’t mean that it wasn’t predation, just that we don’t know how they died. Some of these could have been from predation. Sounds like you know how rough that country is, and when a deer dies far back in the wilderness, it can take some time for us to get there to investigate, not to mention complications from washed-out roads, avalanche conditions, etc. Sometimes the GPS collars malfunction, too – another delay in getting to the mortality site (an issue in all collaring studies). These factors contribute to the high number of unknown mortalities,” quite stated.

She also suspects that some causes of death are just easier to confirm than others.

“For instance, because cougars cache their prey, it tends to be pretty easy to find a tidy mortality scene and determine who was responsible. On the other hand, a pack of wolves can consume a deer in a single feeding bout AND widely disperse the carcass, which makes it very difficult to identify the cause. It would be nearly impossible to distinguish that evidence from a deer that died of disease, say, and was dispersed by scavengers. Our genetic methods help, but there’s still a lot unknown about such sites,” Ganz added.

So what are Okanogan wolves eating? She says that another UW Ph.D candidate, Lauren Satterfield, has been looking into wolf diets and will be analyzing what’s on the menu.

Needless to say, I eagerly await a chance to chew on that information.

MAPPING FROM GANZ ET AL’S PAPER ON OKANOGAN DEER-COUGAR-WOLF INTERACTIONS OVERLAYS MULE DEER GPS LOCATIONS (BLUE) WITH BURN SCARS (ORANGES), AND FOR THE SAME AREA, WOLF PACK HEXAGONS WITH PREDICTED COUGAR USAGE (DARKER = HIGHER; LIGHTER = LESS ). (TAYLOR GANZ ET AL/JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY)

As for some other results from the hunter survey, WDFW’s management of deer “was not rated very well,” with two-thirds of deer hunters putting it in the “bottom half of the scale (35 percent fair; 28 percent poor)” and one-third in the top half (6 percent excellent, 25 percent good).

“Lower ratings were often the result of hunters’ disagreement with management decisions,” Responsive Management stated.

Some hunters want WDFW to return to a four-point minimum for Northeast Washington whitetails, while others would like later seasons better timed to the rut. Recent years have also seen antlerless opportunities sharply cut back for all user groups, even youths – but to help rebuild disease-stricken herds.

A slim expectation of hunters were more satisfied than dissatisfied (47 to 40 percent) with their 2021 deer season, which saw the lowest general season harvest of the millennium. Twenty-eight percent reported tagging out. (WDFW’s harvest report shows a 24 percent statewide success percentage.)

In a question that crosses into predator-prey research territory, the survey gave mule deer hunters three options for increasing their success and decreasing hunter density. A split season – early or late – found support from 30 percent, an Oregon-style controlled-hunt-only season 14 percent, and a mule deer-, blacktail- or whitetail-only license 10 percent. Of note, the largest cohort, 32 percent, chose none of the three ideas. Muleys are a general rifle season in Eastern Washington, with a three-point minimum everywhere.

The survey also provided a glimpse of long-term trends, although Responsive Management advised the results “should be interpreted cautiously” due to a pair of methodology changes that included use of an online survey in addition to telephone, as used in 2007 and 2014.

Where the 2014 survey saw 56 percent of hunters “very satisfied” coming out of the 2013 season (overall success rate: 28 percent), the latest found 18 percent of online and 44 percent of telephone surveyees rated 2021’s hunt that highly. Where 18 percent were “somewhat satisfied” in 2014, 29 percent of online and 31 percent of telephone respondents were in 2022. And where 11 percent were “very dissatisfied” eight years ago, 21 and 20 percent, respectively, were this year.

The survey did record slight shifts over time in terms of weapons type used, with rifle declining from 80 percent in 2007 to 78 in both 2014 and 2022, archery growing from 16 to 18 to 19 percent and muzzleloader also increasing from 8 to 11 to 12 percent. Shotgun use has also ticked up, from 5 percent in 2007 to 6 percent in both 2014 and 2022.

And while the combination of phone and online surveying makes comparing 2022 to 2007 and 2014 reports difficult, in general, the proportion of hunters who rate WDFW deer management as good has declined from 2007, while those giving the agency a fair rating has increased.

“WDFW staff are reviewing these results, similarly to the other survey (of state residents on hunting). We intend to use the results of this survey to inform some sections of the game management plans, where applicable,” stated agency spokeswoman Samantha Montgomery.

And that, on a Friday afternoon that I probably should have been doing Other Work after having skipped out to go coho fishing this morning, is going to have to be all I say about that.

(The Center Square) – The Spokane Redistricting Board has spent months redrawing city council maps to equalize populations between three voting districts, but one member is questioning the ethics of allowing the last-minute addition of a fourth map by Councilor Zack Zappone.

“This just doesn’t feel right,” said Jennifer Thomas, a member of the board.

She said Zappone’s map was added to the Aug. 31 meeting agenda just hours before the board convened. That map bumps up the percentage of registered Democratic voters in District 3, which Zappone represents.

Thomas protested adding the map, but it was ultimately approved by the board, which is chaired by Richard Friedlander and includes member Heather Beebe-Stevens.

The task of the board had been to rebalance voter populations. Census data showed that District 1 was underrepresented in voter numbers and District 2 was overrepresented. District 3 needed only to be tweaked, said Thomas.

“The city charter says that the council president and one other councilor are to serve as advisory members of the redistricting board, so why is Councilor Zappone allowed to actively participate in the board’s work?” she asked. “Is it fair to give him the ability to redraw the map for his own district, especially when it favors his political party?”

The original District 3 map drawn by the board has a 3.8% spread between parties, with 51.7% Democrats and 47.9% Republicans. Under Zappone’s proposal, the spread widens to 5.3%, with 52.5% Democrats and 47.2% Republicans.

“District 3 is already a swing district with two Democrat council members,” explained Thomas. “Councilor Zappone’s map makes it almost impossible for an Independent or Conservative to win a council seat for the next 10 years.”

All four maps are available for review at https://my.spokanecity.org/bcc/boards/city-council-districting board/. An online survey about the maps is available for public comment at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SpokaneRedistricting. Feedback can also be given to Hannahlee Allers at hallers@spokanecity.org.

The survey closes at 11:59 pm on Sunday, Oct. 2. The deadline for email feedback is the same.

The public is given an additional opportunity to weigh in on the maps at a town hall meeting scheduled by the board for 5:30 pm on Tuesday, Oct. 4, in the city council chambers.

Zappone said he has always been interested in mapping, so he decided to take on the challenge of redrawing the District 3 boundary. He tried different ways to meet state criteria, such as keeping the district compact and geographically contiguous.

He brought six possible maps to the late August meeting but said only one of his proposals was chosen for consideration. Zappone believes his map does the best job of meeting the mandate to preserve existing communities of related and mutual interest.

He said any other city council member could have presented maps for consideration, as could any community member.

“I welcome anybody to go design a map that achieves the goals,” he said.

Friedlander represents District 3, which includes Northwest Spokane, on the redistricting board. Beebe-Stevens represents District 2, which encompasses properties south of the Spokane River. Thomas is the representative for District 1, which incorporates Northeast Spokane.

Thomas twice attempted to schedule a special meeting of the board to discuss the controversy, whether Zappone’s direct involvement meets state criteria and provisions in the city charter. She has failed to gain traction on that request.

She said RCW 29A.76.010, which outlines how the redistricting process is intended to work, clearly states that population data to redefine map boundaries may not be used to favor any racial group or political party.

In addition, she said the city charter does not appear to support Zappone’s participation in the mapping process. Section 59 of the charter says that no member of mapping board shall hold or campaign for any city council position for two years after the effective date of the districting plan.

“If Councilor Zappone is not serving in an advisory capacity, as outlined in the charter, then he becomes an active member of the board that should be subjected to that requirement,” she said.

The typical role of an advisory board member, said Thomas, is to provide support, not act or make binding decisions on behalf of the organization. She said the city council has to approve the final version of each map by mid-November so Zappone’s involvement creates a conflict of interest.

Zappone said the city councilors have been added to the board to be part of the process. He doesn’t believe his actions are out of line or in violation of redistricting rules.

The Census Bureau estimates Spokane’s population at 228,989. The city, the second largest in Washington, is divided into three legislative districts, each served by two councilors under the leadership of the at-large council president, which is currently Breean Beggs. Elected to serve District 1 is Jonathan Bingle and Michael Cathcart. The councilors for District 2 are Betsy Wilkerson and Lori Kinnear. Zappone and Karen Stratton represent District 3.

Next year, Beggs’ terms ends, as does that of Kinnear and Stratton.

In the past 25 years, five Republicans have faced off against Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton in the general election.

All have lost.

Matt McCoy, a business development manager for UPS, was the runner-up in 1998. Financial adviser Ralph Baker, who would later become county assessor, finished second four years later. Mike Volz, now a state legislator, tried next in 2006, followed by frequent campaigner Leonard Christian. The last person to come up short was real estate agent Alene Lindstrand in 2014. Dalton was unopposed in 2018.

Republican 4th Legislative District Rep. Bob McCaslin Jr. is hoping to break the pattern this November and end Dalton’s winning streak. The lawmaker is running for auditor instead of seeking re-election to the Washington Legislature, where he’s served since 2015.

County auditor races aren’t typically high-profile. Many people don’t even know what the auditor’s office does. It oversees elections, manages the county’s financial services, administers motor vehicle licensing and records legal documents, such as property deeds and liens.

Overseeing elections has put auditor’s offices into the limelight for the past few years. At a time when prominent Republicans are trying to cast doubt on the integrity of elections, Dalton v. McCaslin will be one of the most intriguing Spokane County contests this November.

The race could be a nailbiter. Dalton took 52% of the vote during the August primary election, compared to 48% for McCaslin. The stakes were low since both Dalton and McCaslin were the only two on the ballot, but the primary still provided an indication of which way voters are leaning.

Dalton, who grew up in Priest River, Idaho, has been an accountant and auditor since the early 1980s. She became Spokane County’s internal auditor in 1989. That independent watchdog position, which the county commissioners have since eliminated, evaluated how county departments handled money and recommended ways to improve accounting procedures.

After a decade in that role, Dalton became county auditor in 1999. An outlier among Spokane County’s elected officials, Dalton has been the lone Democrat to hold county office since county commissioner Bonnie Mager in 2010 lost her re-election bid. She’s also the county’s longest-serving elected official.

A number of prominent politicians have endorsed Dalton’s campaign, and they’re not all Democrats. Republican Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich is backing her, as is Sam Reed, a Lewis and Clark High School graduate who served as Washington Secretary of State from 2001 to 2013.

McCaslin graduated from Central Valley High School and has spent most of his adult life teaching elementary students and kindergarteners. He has strong name recognition among Spokane County political followers, not only because of his time in the Legislature, but because his father, Bob McCaslin Sr., served for 30 years in the state senate.

As a legislator, McCaslin has often expressed his anti-abortion views, support for the Second Amendment and belief in states rights. He co-sponsored a bill with former 4th Legislative District Rep. Matt Shea that would have split Eastern Washington into a 51st state.

McCaslin has endorsements from US Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Volz, Spokane Valley Mayor Pam Haley, Spokane County Commissioner Josh Kerns and his fellow 4th Legislative District lawmakers.

On the campaign trail, Dalton has said combating election disinformation would be her No. 1 priority if re-elected.

Voters have questioned the legitimacy of local elections for decades, Dalton said. But she said the tone of the conversations has changed and fewer are willing to listen when she tries to teach them about the county’s election processes.

“The volume and the unfounded, unsupported allegations are much different than what we had in the past,” Dalton said. “The lack of basis in reality has increased significantly since 2020.”

False and misleading claims of fraud are threatening America’s government, she said.

“I think there is a lot of harm being caused by these baseless, unfounded allegations,” Dalton said during a debate with McCaslin at the Valley Assembly of God. “These allegations are undermining peoples’ trust in the elections process, and that in the long term is going to undermine peoples’ willingness to participate in their government and to respect the laws and rules that are passed by legislators.”

The challenge, Dalton said, is figuring out how to share information in a way that assumes fears and combats misinformation and disinformation. She said the state’s county auditors are working together on a messaging strategy that she hopes will help address the problem.

If McCaslin has any specific thoughts on Spokane County elections, it’s unclear what they are. He didn’t respond to requests for comment and chose not to participate in debates hosted by the League of Women Voters and The Spokesman-Review.

The lawmaker has participated in attempts to audit the 2020 election, though.

During the 2021 legislative session, McCaslin unsuccessfully attempted to pass a law that would have required counties to hire private businesses to audit their 2020 elections. In August 2021, he co-hosted a meeting in Snohomish County headlined by Seth Keshel, who tours the country arguing that President Joe Biden’s victory appears to have been illegitimate based on past voting trends.

This spring, McCaslin supported an effort to audit Spokane County’s 2020 election. A subcommittee of the Spokane County Republican Party led the proposal and asked the county commissioners to authorize a thorough review of the entire elections process. The group’s leader, Spokane County Republican Party State Committeeman Matt Hawkins, said he has no evidence of fraud but believes county elections have been compromised.

The commissioners said they lacked the legal authority to grant the request and have declined to meet with the subcommittee a second time. Former Washington secretaries of state in August strongly criticized the group after it claimed, without providing evidence, that the county’s voter registration records are “unclean.”

While McCaslin has shied away from interviews and debates, he hasn’t been completely silent on elections. He shared some general thoughts earlier this year with the Spokane Valley News Herald.

“Really, I don’t have any proof of wrongdoing,” McCaslin told the paper. “I’m not running for this because I think there are serious problems. I just think I can contribute really positively to this.”

Based on Facebook posts, McCaslin has adopted “easy to vote and hard to cheat” as his campaign slogan.

On his campaign website, McCaslin lists transparency, fiscal responsibility and accountability as his top priorities.

Dalton has defended the way her office runs elections and said county auditors have extensive safeguards in place to catch fraudsters and ensure votes are counted accurately.

“Over the last two decades, my staff and I have ensured that voters in Spokane County do have an election system that’s safe, secure, accurate and accessible,” she said in March after announcing she would run for re-election.

In addition to combating election disinformation, Dalton said she wants to continue working on several projects her office is tackling.

For example, the county is replacing its human resources and accounting systems, Dalton said. She described it as a major undertaking that will create a standardized system for the county’s departments.

Dalton said her office is also working toward digitization.

The county makes approximately $500 million in payments every year, she said, and the goal is to make county transactions increasingly paperless.

“We’re going to be moving completely, or almost completely, away from paper checks,” Dalton said, explaining that she believes the change will pay dividends for the county, its vendors and its customers.

Document recording is becoming increasingly digitized, too. That’s a boon for people who have to record documents with the county, Dalton said. Making a correction to a paper document can take weeks, but fixing an error on a digital one can be done in 15 minutes.

“A lot of what we do seems mundane to people, but it impacts peoples’ lives, whether it’s your car, your house, your marriage certificate or your ballot,” Dalton said. “All of these functions impact your life.”

One of the women raped by a former Spokane police officer has filed a $1 million claim against the city alleging the police department ignored “red flags” in the officer’s behavior.

The city allowed Nathan Nash “to use his uniform and authority to prey on women,” the 25-year-old victim wrote in her claim for damages, an administrative precursor to a lawsuit.

A Spokane jury convicted Nash, 39, of raping two women in 2019 during follow-up visits to physical assault investigations he responded to in his role as a Spokane Police officer.

The woman filing the claim was 22 at the time. She tested that Nash pulled down her pants while looking at her bruises from being beaten by her boyfriend. Nash then inserted his fingers inside her. He was convicted of third-degree rape and acquitted of a second-degree rape charge.

A second woman, now 41, told the jury Nash was looking at a bruise on her leg when he began touching her inappropriately. He then pushed her onto the couch and raped her. He was convicted of second-degree rape with aggravating circumstances for violating the trust she had in him as a law enforcement officer. The jury acquitted him of unlawful imprisonment.

In the claim filed Thursday, the now-25-year-old victim said the assault affected her ability to work and spend time with loved ones, and left her fearful of law enforcement officers.

The claim alleges the city’s hiring, training and supervision of Nash was inadequate and contributed to her injuries. There were “substantial ‘red flags’ ” the city ignored or failed to investigate, according to the claim.

There were numerous concerns about Nash’s response to domestic violence situations documented by the police department, according to documents obtained by The Spokesman Review. Nash also developed a “common practice” of giving out his personal phone number to crime victims, investigators said.

The 25-year-old woman indicated she would be willing to settle the claim for $750,000. The city has 60 days to respond before the woman files a lawsuit, said her attorney, Jeffry Finer.

Nash remains charged with official misconduct related to a third victim and is scheduled to be tried on that charge next month.

He’s set to be sentenced for the rapes in October.

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