Bloglander

ON INLANDER.COM

Should Spokane tax guns to prevent gun violence?
Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart is floating the idea of a local gun tax that could charge $20 per gun purchase and a few cents per bullet in order to pay for services such as mental health, suicide prevention and gun safety courses.

11-year-old arrested after threatening East Valley elementary schools
Spokane Valley deputies arrested an 11-year-old on Friday after he made threats on Instagram to harm two elementary school students at Trentwood and South Pines elementary schools.

IN OTHER NEWS

Florida students speak out after school shooting
Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where a shooter killed 17 and injured more than a dozen last week, are outraged and have started making speeches, calling out politicians on social media, announcing "we are going to be the last mass shooting."

Senior Emma Gonzalez' speech Saturday has been shared widely across social media:

"Maybe the adults have gotten used to saying 'it is what it is,' but if us students have learned anything, it's that if you don't study, you will fail. And in this case if you actively do nothing, people continually end up dead, so it's time to start doing something."

Many students are planning a march on Washington next month. (CNN, BBC)

Pullman psychologist found dead in jail cell after sexual assault arrest
Pullman psychologist Dr. Dean Funabiki, who turned himself into police Friday after a patient accused him of raping her during a therapy session, was found dead of an apparent suicide in the Whitman County Jail late Sunday. (Washington Post)

Spokane elementary students suggest rewards for safe driving
Instead of just ticketing speeders through school zones, Regal Elementary School students are suggesting a reward for drivers who stick within the limit. (Spokesman-Review)

Livening up a dead space
Funeral homes in Idaho are responding to cultural shifts away from expensive, somber funerals toward more affordable cremations with an emphasis on celebrating life. (Idaho Statesman)

Purse-snatchers nabbed by police
Two were arrested after a string of purse snatchings outside Spokane retail stores this weekend. (KXLY)