Inland Journal

Batter up! This is the Inland Journal podcast from Spokane Public Radio. I’m Doug Nadvornick. Thursday, April 1 is opening day for Major League Baseball. The minor league season will begin, for some, on May 4. For many minor league teams, moving forward will be a different experience because of fundamental changes made in the system during the off-season.

Today on the Inland Journal podcast, we’ll spend a few minutes with two Spokane doctors who have been very involved with the care of Covid patients. Drs. Dan Getz and Ben Arthurs briefed reporters on Wednesday about the situations in their respective hospitals when it comes to treating people who are battling the coronavirus. Getz is the chief medical officer at Providence Sacred Heart. Dr. Ben Arthurs is a pulmonologist and intensivist for MultiCare.

Our new Inland Journal podcast features a chat with Spokane County Health Officer Dr. Bob Lutz. We’ll hear about an isolation facility at the Spokane County Fairgrounds where people who were exposed to the coronavirus and show symptoms (or who have symptoms of flu or the cold) can stay if they have nowhere safe to go. We’ll also talk about expanded testing and contact tracing and other issues. This program was recorded Thursday afternoon, April 23.

Today on Inland Journal, advocates who work with domestic violence survivors worry all this time at home may put their clients in danger. Spokane County has released inmates from its jails to protect them from the coronavirus. We’ll about concerns about that members of the Smart Justice Spokane Coalition And what’s medical education without in-person examinations? It’s all about Zoom. We’ll hear how the University of Washington medical school has adapted.

Today on Inland Journal, people and companies are busy making personal protective equipment for people who are exposed to the coronavirus. We talk with the director of one Coeur d’Alene company. We talk with a hospital CEO in Omak about the struggles there and what his facility is doing to stay afloat. A Spokane dentist tells us how practices have changed recently We’ll meet Washington’s coronavirus czar and learn how the virus is affecting spring planting for farmers in central Washington. Those stories and more on Inland Journal, after the news.

Today on Inland Journal and the Inland Journal podcast, the states of Washington and Idaho are now both in ‘stay-at-home mode.’ Spokane County officials stay consistent with the “social distancing” message, but not everyone is listening. An employee at Fairchild Air Force Base tries to explain the coronavirus and its ripples in a new book for children. And we’ll hear about life in an Idaho household where Dad has the virus and the rest of the family is trying to avoid it. Those stories and we’ll ask you about your new coronavirus rituals today on Inland Journal, after the news.

Today on Inland Journal and the Inland Journal podcast, the coronavirus hijacked the Washington legislative session during its last couple of weeks. Lawmakers worked to approve a $200 million package aimed at helping people affected by Covid-19. We’ll talk with two Spokane area legislators about that and other accomplishments from the session. Coronavirus could be a big issue in correctional facilities. We’ll hear about the closure of Spokane’s non-profit legal clinic, the Center for Justice. Those stories and more on Inland Journal.

Today on Inland Journal and the Inland Journal podcast, the Washington Democratic presidential primary is still too close to call. Bernie Sanders led after the first count Tuesday night. Joe Biden holds the lead now. Biden won in Idaho. What’s next for Democrats in those two states as the presidential campaign moves to the next phase? The Idaho legislature voted this week to move the northern half of the state to full-time Daylight Saving Time when Washington and Oregon do. We’ll dig into our archive and talk with a proponent of Daylight Saving Time. We’ll hear about a new survey by the city of Spokane to gauge how people think the city should move forward in adapting to climate change. And we’ll celebrate the Hindu Festival of Colors with the Spokane Hindu community.

Today on Inland Journal and the Inland Journal podcast, we look ahead to next week’s presidential primary in Washington. “I think we’re one of the biggest on March 10 and I think that we’re going to get some national coverage, certainly, on Election Night and I think we’re going to see candidates, the two remaining candidates, come and campaign here.” We’ll talk with Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman about issues related to the primary. Nick Deshais will tell us about a legal challenge over restricting guns at the Festival at Sandpoint. The state of Idaho is preparing for the coronavirus. And we’ll talk about a public campaign in Washington aimed at steering young people away from opioids.

Today on Inland Journal and the Inland Journal podcast, we celebrate 40 years of Spokane Public Radio programming with 1994 documentary, A Tom Foley Retrospective.

Today on the Inland Journal podcast, the first in an occasional series we call “Suds and Spirits” or “Craft for a Cause.” We’ll tell stories about craft brewing and distilling in the Inland Northwest. In this first program, we learn about how craft brewers around the country are donating to research to find a cure for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, ALS, Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The project is called Ales for ALS.

Today on Inland Journal, the coronavirus and rare diseases. Later, we’ll talk with a Spokane woman who has a daughter with what is considered a rare disease and her passion to help other families who have their struggles with rare diseases. But first, we learned Wednesday that, any day now, the federal Department of Health and Human Services will send five people with the coronavirus to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center. Those people have tested positive for what is now known as COVED-19, or the 2019 coronavirus.

Today on Inland Journal, we wade into the world of sports with two stories, one a visit to Cheney, where the U.S. Curling Association is holding its 2020 national championship. And correspondent Tom Banse tells us about the potential expansion of sports betting in Washington. We’ll also talk with Eastern Washington Democratic congressional candidate Chris Armitage. But first, pregnant women and marijuana.

Today on Inland Journal and the Inland Journal podcast, WSU researchers say people of color and who live in low-income neighborhoods are more likely to die prematurely than those who live in more affluent places. “Some of it we can attribute to things like housing quality. We know that housing, we don’t think of that as a health intervention, but actually having poor quality housing is one of the biggest risk factors to developing all kinds of long-term chronic disease conditions.”

Today on Inland Journal and the Inland Journal podcast, a Spokane man has created a book based on his father’s letters home as a soldier fighting World War II in Europe. “When my father was drafted in the Army, he made a promise to his folks that he would write whenever he could and he kept his promise, based upon all these letters. This is just a smidgeon of what he wrote because this is just to his folks and the siblings that were still under roof there.”

Today on Inland Journal, two stories from Spokane’s medical schools. The University of Washington and Gonzaga are teaching the next generation of doctors about how to become leaders. “We hear from our community partners when we work in the clinical setting that doctors don’t have the leadership skills necessary for the roles that they’re foisted into. That’s been recognized more and more by clinical health systems, but even more so recently, there’s been a call from big organizations, the Institute of Medicine, from the accrediting body for residency programs, and others who have said leadership skills need to be part of medical school training," said Darryl Potyk from the UW School of Medicine.

Today on Inland Journal, Spokane moves one step closer to determining whether it should consider modernizing its jail or building a new one. "I think the best financial situation for Spokane would be to put in place these initiatives and continue to expand on them so there would not need to be any new construction.”

Wildfire prevention will be a prominent part of the Washington legislature’s agenda in 2020. Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz is proposing the state create a new Wildfire Prevention and Preparedness Account. “Every year, on average, we’re spending about $153 million just to respond to fires," Franz said. "The fact is we will not be able to change the trajectory we’re on of increasing wildfires throughout our state and the increasing cost of wildfires unless we start getting at the front end of the problem.” She is proposing a surcharge on property and casualty insurance premiums.

Today on Inland Journal, a Washington oral health program for children is celebrating 20 years of caring for kids. The Access to Baby and Child Dentistry program, or ABCD, actually started in Spokane in 1995 at a time when only one-in-five children received dental checkups. Many families couldn’t afford visits to the dentist. Spokane dentists, physicians and the local health district worried about the effect that was having on the overall health of children.

Today on Inland Journal, we look at Washington’s foster care system. This fall, Ross Hunter, the head of Washington’s Department of Children, Youth and Families wrote a column for his agency’s website. He talked about his department’s plans to improve the foster care system, both for children and for foster families. Washington, he says, has about 9,200 foster children. It’s a number he says has been steadily climbing as the state “works through the opioid epidemic and the aftermath of the great recession.”

Today on the Inland Journal podcast, brewing with a social purpose. We bring you the story of two Spokane home brewers who have just launched what they call a “social purpose corporation brewery.” “Our mission statement is the provide the Inland Northwest with high quality craft beer with a social cause and that is to help fund biomedical research and also for education," said Jason Gerstner, the co-owner of the Golden Handle Project.

Today on the Inland Journal podcast, helping people who go out and have a drink or two determine when it’s ok to drive home and when they should call a cab. Think Twice, a Bellevue, Washington-based company, is marketing what it calls a single-use breathalyzer. That’s a device that someone who has been drinking can blow into and determine in short order their blood alcohol level. Think Twice sells its product to bars and restaurants and to beverage distributors around the Northwest , mostly in the Puget Sound region. Recently it announced it had added a new customer, the Hayden Beverage Company, which supplies beer and wine to companies throughout Idaho and Montana. We talk with Justin Thompson, the founder and president of Think Twice.