Bloglander

ON INLANDER.COM

Seventeen minutes
Hundreds of students throughout the region (and the country) yesterday walked out of schools for 17 minutes — one for every fatal victim in the Parkland High School shooting in Florida. The student activists in Spokane held signs calling for stricter gun control and safer schools: "#enough" and "Thoughts & Prayers Are Not Bulletproof!!!"

Meet the middle school students who worked to organize a walkout by clicking here.

"They say children are too young to understand," says 12-year-old Clara DePaolo. "But we're the ones who are being directly affected by this. We're the ones who could be conceivably killed in schools."

In Coeur d'Alene, armed gun-rights advocates stood alongside high schoolers to counter protest (via Spokesman-Review, see below)

Last September, a student walked into Spokane's Freeman High School with an AR-15-style rifle and a pistol. The rifle jammed, but the 15-year-old student killed sophomore Sam Strahan and injured three others.

Sam's mom, Ami Strahan, had this to say on Facebook yesterday:


What about Sgt. John Gately?
A former Spokane Police sergeant was recently convicted of rape. But what about the sergeant who was accused of tipping him off to the criminal investigation?

A round of Reubens
Just in time for St. Paddy's day (Saturday), we've compiled a list of some of the best Reuben sandwiches around.


IN OTHER NEWS

Counter protest
Adults armed with semiautomatic weapons and signs ("End gun-free zones in schools") lined the street just west of Coeur d'Alene High School to counter protest students advocating for safer schools.

#WalkoutWednesday counter protest underway at Kootenai County Fairgrounds pic.twitter.com/HAiEkEaFiL

— Ryan W. Collingwood (@SR_Collingwood) March 14, 2018

"I think most (participating in the student walkout) have good intentions," one of the armed adults said. "But I also think if there's an event at a high school, if kids have an excuse to get out of class, they're going to take it." (Spokesman-Review)

100% WHITE 100% PROUD
Franklin County Coroner Dan Blasdel posted a racist meme on his personal Facebook page (and has since removed it). Blasdel, who has in the past posted controversial content on social media, apologized. But some people are still super pissed.

The meme featured a black and white image of a white farmer with the words "When is white history month?" In the corner of the image is a symbol for white supremacists and the words "100% WHITE, 100% PROUD." (Tri-City Herald)

Co-pilot accuses fellow pilot of drugging and raping her
An Alaska Airlines co-pilot says she was drugged and raped by a pilot during a stop in Minneapolis. The woman, Betty Pina, is now suing the airline, claiming it is liable for the alleged crimes and its failure to hold the pilot, Paul Engelien, accountable when she reported the incident to airline officials. Despite Pina's account, a witness and security tape footage, Engelien is still employed with the airline. (Seattle Times)

Russian sanctions
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on five Russian organizations and 19 individuals for meddling in the 2016 presidential election and "malicious" cyberattacks. (New York Times)

Britain, Germany, France and the U.S. also admonished Russia for a nerve gas attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter. (CNN)