The latest issue of the Inlander is hitting newsstands today. Find it at your local grocery store and hundreds of other locations; use this map to find a pickup point near you. You can also read through the digital edition here.
HIGHLIGHTS
The toll of COVID-19 is hard to truly grasp. Sure, we have some numbers: We know that 130,000 Americans have died so far, and we know that’s likely an undercount of the actual total. But so much of that death and dying — so much of that heartbreak and pain — has been done in locked-down hospitals and nursing homes, outside of public view and practically invisible. No wonder we have some ill-informed skeptics calling the coronavirus a hoax.
In many cases, the sick have been separated from their families, who are left to provide comfort and understanding from afar. That’s the point at which this week’s cover story begins — with a daughter desperately trying to support her ailing father, a veteran of the Vietnam War, who would become one of 70 people infected at the Spokane Veterans Home. The two of them granted EXTRAORDINARY ACCESS to staff reporter Wilson Criscione, and for the past two months, he has listened in on daily phone calls between father and daughter. What do you say when each call feels like it could be the last? Don’t miss our special report.
Also this week: We check in with Spokane County Health Officer Dr. Bob Lutz for the latest local coronavirus news, delve into the truths and fictions about antifa and what the activists had to do with local police protests, get some summer reading recommendations for kids of all ages from the folks at Wishing Tree Bookstore and review the new movies from Will Ferrell and Jon Stewart.
HITTING PAUSE
Even with Spokane officially in Phase 2, increasing cases of the coronavirus inspired some regional restaurants to either temporarily shut down or revert to takeout-only service. The food industry continues to weather the pandemic. MORE...
LAST WORD
In case you missed our New York Times story on a new U.S. $1.6 billion deal with a potential COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer Novavax to provide 100 million doses by early 2021: “Adding Novavax’s candidate to Operation Warp Speed’s diverse portfolio of vaccines increases the odds that we will have a safe, effective vaccine as soon as the end of this year,” Alex Azar, the health and human services secretary, said in a statement. MORE...
