Bloglander

ON INLANDER.COM

COVER STORY: For-profit companies now dominate the world of online education in Washington and Idaho, but researchers say these schools can be disastrous for kids.

NEWS: Smoky summers plagued by wildfires could be the new norm in the Inland Northwest, according to one University of Idaho researcher. (Air quality monitors indicate it's the worst since 1999, via KHQ.)

TWIN PEAKS: Film editor Nathan Weinbender's take on the reboot of David Lynch's strange and surreal crime drama.

ANNUAL MANUAL: Your big, glossy, 228-page guide to the Inland Northwest is on shelves now.


IN OTHER NEWS

Fix the windows, says WSU dad
The father of a Washington State University student who fell out of a window last month is leading an effort to push the university to make windows on campus more secure. The student, freshman Matthew Gray, was only the most recent to fall from a window or balcony at WSU. As has been the case with most other students who fell, Gray had been drinking alcohol. As of yesterday, he was in a coma in a Seattle hospital. (Spokesman-Review)

Irma rakes Caribbean, takes aim at Florida
Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded, has hit the Caribbean hard, with at least 10 deaths reported. (AP)
• Experts predict the storm, which is causing flooding in Puerto Rico, will reach Florida this weekend. (New York Times)
• Watch a live update here. (CNN) More information at the National Hurricane Center.

Crime wave? More like a crime ripple
Since he took office in January, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has continually pointed to what he believes is a dangerous rise in crime in America — in keeping with President Trump's statements on the campaign trail. But a new report from the Brennan Center for Justice shows that's not true. Not even close. In fact, in 2017, the U.S. is on pace to have its second-lowest violent crime rate since 1990. (Washington Post)