Bloglander

It's finally here... our Local Music Block Party in downtown Spokane. 38 bands, six venues, one night. Crazy!

If you already bought your ticket, pick it up at will call tonight from 5-8 pm in the lobby of the Hutton Building (9 S. Washington).

If you still need a ticket, you have options:

1. Buy one at Inlander HQ (fourth floor of the Hutton Building, 9 S. Washington), from 8:30 am-5 pm. They are $10 -- bring cash.

2. You can buy them from 5-8 pm in the lobby of the same building. $10. Cash only. 

3. You can also get tickets at any of the participating venues, during the shows.

Click here for all the details: lineups, venues, band bios, etc. 

We wrote earlier this month about how Border Patrol agents were showing up without being asked at police calls for service in Spokane. Border agents are also acting as translators so the police department doesn’t have to waste time or money on contract translators.

A federal agency released a ruling today that called the use of Border Patrol agents for translation discriminatory against Hispanics in one Western Washington case, according to the group filing a complaint.

The civil rights office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture ruled that the U.S. Forest Service discriminated against a Hispanic couple by calling the U.S. Border Patrol for “translation assistance.”

The incident occurred last May on the Olympic Peninsula when an officer from the Forest Service (which is a division of the Department of Agriculture) and a Border Patrol agent converged on a Hispanic couple to check if they had a permit for picking salal on national forest land.As the Forest Service officer was walking back to his vehicle to check the IDs given to him, a Border Patrol agent arrived, and the couple, unnamed in the proceedings, fled their car.

The man died trying to cross a river. The woman, who filed the complaint, was detained and later released. The proceedings say the Forest Service officer had called the Border Patrol for translation assistance after he saw her but before making the law enforcement stop.

The ruling found that the civil rights office “finds no evidence in the record that [the Forest Service officer] ever calls an agency other than [Border Patrol] for backup with Latino individuals” and that “current [Forest Service] practices provide inadequate protection against discrimination based on national origin.”

Read a copy of the civil right office's ruling here.  

A spokesperson for the Border Patrol’s Spokane office referred questions to the Department of Agriculture and the Forest Service.

For more City Hall Eyeball, head over here. 

HERE

Shooting in Seattle: A gunman killed five people in Seattle yesterday, another event in the rash of gun violence in the city. (Seattle Times)

Those rich public schools -- Remember the perennial pink-slip story of the budget-beleaguered Spokane Public Schools? Remarkably, that didn’t happen this year. The budget situation at Spokane schools is better than ever. (SR)

Divorce from Five Wives -- Five Wives vodka is labeled offensive to the Mormon church in Idaho (though fine in Salt Lake City) and thus, not listed for sale by the Idaho State Liquor Board. Also frowned upon by the Mormon church: Vodka. (KREM)

Costco, triumphant –  Only a few days before the launch of liquor at local grocery stores, WalMarts, and various Trader Joes, the Washington State Supreme Court upheld the initiative. (SR)

THERE

Cola Wars – New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, having already outlawed trans fats and smoking in the park, now moves to outlaw large containers of soda. (NYT)

After four days at Sasquatch! I'm still shaking the dust out of my hair and trying to recover from the dubstep-interrupted nights of sleep.

But...totally worth it. The 11th edition of the iconic Northwest festival featured as strong of performances as I've seen in the past few years. And hell, it didn't even rain. I have the forehead sunburn to prove it.

The headliners: The Shins, Jack White, Bon Iver and others, did not disappoint. Then there were surprises, too, like Head and the Heart's explosive Sunday evening performance, Childish Gambino's awesome satirical take on hip-hop and the Alabama Shakes' hip-shaking set.

If you weren't there, sorry. But let us share some images from the festival, thanks to contributor Ethan Maffey.

HERE

Catch and release -- The suspects in the alleged and much-ballyhooed human traffic case have already been released.  (SR)

Totaling the recall – Coeur d’Alene’s mayor say the movement to recall her now has enough signatures to get on the ballot. (KREM)

Selling out – The city of Spokane, in bit of a need of some cash, is selling a whole lot of real estate. (KXLY)

THERE

Trumped-up charges – Trump’s all-aboard the Birther train again, and yet somehow Mitt Romney thinks being seen with Trump will make him more electable. (Atlantic Wire)

Chinese Hypocrisy – Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, who made a daring escape a few weeks ago, has written his first op-ed for the New York Times. Click to see if he’s better than Thomas Friedman. 

Not exactly the kind of distinction you like to get a shout-out for on Jeopardy!:

(From a show two weeks ago)

Lets all just take a collective deep breath and acknowledge that Friday night in Spokane is going to be insane, crazy and out-of-control in all the best ways.

But for the same reason, we've assembled the following — the VOLUME Survival Guide — in order to help you navigate the night and have the best possible time at Volume.

TIP #1: The Early Bird Gets the Best Seat in the House
Even if you're perpetually late to things, make an effort on this night to be early to everything including:

Will Call: which opens at 5 pm in the lobby of the Hutton Building. Get in line early, though, so you're not standing around forever. Who likes lines? Nobody. (If you don't have your tickets yet, get them NOW!)

Shows: getting to shows early is definitely in your best interest for Volume night, seeing as that several venues are sure to be packed to capacity. Show up early: we'd hate to see you unable to see your favorite band because the show is too full. There will be no sad faces on Volume day.

Take note: parking meters run til 7 pm — so bring extra quarters to avoid those nasty meter maids. Or save those quarters for bus fare: schedules are listed at http://www.spokanetransit.com/. And if you're drinking at Volume, be sure to get a cab to take you home — in our experience, bartenders are happy to call a cab for you.

TIP #2: It's a Whole Block Party

We're really excited to have so many music venues within just a few steps from Inlander HQ, and are stoked to flaunt our little part of downtown Spokane.

But there's a lot of other good stuff here for you to take advantage of that night, including:

Boar's Head Tattoo (5 S. Washington) - We've heard rumors the boys downstairs at Boar's Head are doing a grab bag tattoo event on the night of Volume. That means you pay, reach in a bag, pull out a design and get that tattooed on you. Awesome.

Monterey Cafe (9 N. Washington) - Give your ears a little rest by heading over to Monterey for a slice of pizza, a brew and a few laughs as you watch people get REALLY SERIOUS singing karaoke.

Missing Piece Tattoo (410 W. Sprague) - Stop off at Missing Piece between shows to chat with the friendly fellows there about your dream piercing or tattoo. Maybe Friday is the night you go for it?

CHKN-N-MO (414 1/2 W. Sprague) - Another reason to get down to Volume early: CHKN-N-MO. They're only open until 8 pm that night, so get downtown in enough time to enjoy some authentic Texas BBQ before you jump around in a mosh pit. Tell Bob we say hey.

Satellite Diner (425 W. Sprague) - We'd be surprised if you DON'T hit the Satellite on Volume night. Grab dinner there before the show, a drink at the bar next door and, of course, late night munchie food until 4 am after Volume winds down.

TIP #3: Know Your Age
You're going to be kicking yourself if you forget your ID on Friday — so be sure you've got it before you leave the house. You'll need your ID to:

- get your ticket from will call

- get into any venue that's 21-and-over: Red Room Lounge, Mootsy's and Irv's. A Club is all-ages until 11 pm, and Nyne and Brews on Washington are all-ages until 9 pm. Consider yourself reminded.

TIP #4: Make an Action Plan

Grab a copy of this week's paper to see the complete Volume schedule on pages 38 and 39. Get with your friends and plan which shows you want to see before the night arrives. You can also read a little bit about every band playing Volume in that issue — or check out inlander.com/volume.

Or follow these helpful guides, based on what kind of music you might enjoy.

INDIE ROCKERS GUIDE TO VOLUME

6:30 pm: Franklin (Nyne)

7 pm: Sul Ross (Red Room)

7 pm: David Plell & the Ultra Peach (A Club)

8 pm: Clyde Webb (Brews on Washington)

9 pm: Team Growl (Red Room)

9:30 pm: Cathedral Pearls (Nyne)

10 pm: Dead Serious Lovers (Brews on Washington)

10:30 pm: Terrible Buttons (Nyne)

HIP-HOP GUIDE TO VOLUME

7:30 pm: Producer's Corner feat. Saleswagon, Guttahface, K. Clifton (Mootsy's)

8:30 pm: Jaeda (Nyne)

11:30 pm: Freetime Synthetic (Nyne)

12:30 am: Wildcard (A Club)

12:30 am: DJ Stone Tobey (Nyne) /12:30 am: Brothers of Midnite (Mootsy's)

DANCE ALL NIGHT GUIDE TO VOLUME

7:30 pm: Summer in Siberia (electronic, Nyne)

7:30 pm: Bandit Train (electronic, A Club)

8 pm: Silver Treason (country, Red Room)

9:30 pm: Romper (electronic, Mootsy's)

10 pm: Material Kiss (DJ, Irv's)

11 pm: Dirty Panda (DJ, Irv's)

12 am: Whiskey Dick Mountain (rock, Red Room)

12 am: Thumper (dupstep, Irv's)

12:30 am: DJ Stone Tobey (DJ, Nyne) / 12:30 am: Brothers of Midnite (Mootsy's)

HEADBANGERS GUIDE TO VOLUME

6:30 pm: Rice Queen (A Club)

8:30 pm: Tim Blood & the Gutpanthers (A Club)

9 pm: Belt of Vapor (A Club)

9:30 pm: Losing Skin (A Club)

10 pm: Jazz (A Club)

11 pm: Drag Like Pull (A Club)

11:30 pm: Diamond Speedboat (A Club)

ROCKER'S GUIDE TO VOLUME

6 pm: Space Movies (A Club)

8 pm: Clyde Webb (Brews on Washington)

8:30 pm: Tim Blood & the Gutpanthers (A Club)

9 pm: Belt of Vapor (A Club)

10 pm: Duck Duck Suckerpunch (Red Room)

10:30 pm: The Soul and the Machine (Mootsy's)

11:30 pm: Mirror Mirror (Mootsy's)

11 pm: BBBBandits (Red Room)

INTROSPECTIVE GUIDE TO VOLUME

5 pm: Jacob Butcher (Brews on Washington)

6 pm: Liz Rognes (Brews on Washington)

6:30 pm: Ramblechild (Mootsy's)

7 pm: David Plell and the Ultra Peach (A Club)

7 pm: Sul Ross (Red Room)

8 pm: Clyde Webb (Brews on Washington)

9 pm: Team Growl (Red Room)

9 pm: Matt Mitchell (Brews on Washington)

9:30 pm: Cathedral Pearls (Nyne)

10 pm: Dead Serious Lovers (Brews on Washington)

10:30 pm: Terrible Buttons (Nyne)

TIP #5: Tweet, Instagram, Facebook the Hell Out of This

We're using the hashtag #volume509 to tag our pictures, blogs, tweets and whatnot that night. You should do the same!

Is the City of Spokane calling in U.S. Border Patrol agents to do translation jobs to avoid paying contractors? Seems so.

Here's what  Spokane Police Department Major Frank Scalise told Spokane City Council members earlier this month.

"There's a translation bank that you can call in with whatever language you need and then it can be done over the phone, there's costs associated with that," Scalise said, responding to a question by Councilman Steve Salvatori. "So I think if someone's aware that there's a Spanish-speaking officer . . . it's more cost-effective and quicker to ask for that assistance."

Immigrant rights groups are concerned that the practice violates constitutional rights because of discrimination, since, as Scalise noted, this may be happening exclusively to Hispanics. 

We wrote earlier this month about the Border Patrol showing up unsolicited at Spokane police calls. The American Civil Liberties Union and Northwest Immigrant Rights Project has also sued the Border Patrol for alleged racial profiling in Western Washington.

Speaking of, the New York Times picked up on the Border Patrol fracas in yesterday's paper.  

Here

Paul is Not Dead – Ron Paul has ended actively campaigning for President. But that doesn’t mean his followers have abandoned their fight for Spokane delegate seats. (SR)

Fire Watch – After a fire at a second community center owned by WSU , WSU President Elson Floyd asks his students to stay vigilant. Now there appears to have been a third arson attempt. (SR, KREM) 

Worth a shot? -- Liquor’s about to get a lot easier to get – and potentially a lot pricier.

There

Fire in the Sky -- The New York Times exposes the breadth of President Barack Obama’s controversial policy of using drone attacks – and their ensuing collateral damage  – to kill suspected terrorists. (NYT)

Censorship by knife -- A Russian journalist, accused of insulting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, was stabbed 20 times. (The Atlantic Wire)