Bloglander

AROUND HERE

Spokane schools won't see armed officers paroling the halls, at least for now. Union representatives and school district officials ended bargaining without coming to an agreement on how much school employees should be paid to carry guns. (SR)

Someone stole a 40,000 pound Caterpillar frontloader from a construction site in Spokane Valley and then left it two miles from the site, where authorities found it. (KXLY)

The teenager who beat up a man outside the Steam Plant earlier this year received five days in jail and six months probation. The victim says that's a "miscarriage of justice." (SR)

In Kootenai County, six Republicans or Independents have been elected as Democratic precinct captains and now the local Democrats are politely asking them to step down. (CdA Press)

More than 100 Seattle police officers have filed a civil rights lawsuit over DOJ-led use of force reforms, saying they've made officers afraid to do their jobs and created “bold, new disregard for police authority in the streets of Seattle." (Seattle Times)

ELSEWHERE

Outrage over manipulation of wait lists at the VA is growing and crossing party lines. (NYT)

The U.S. economy may not be rebounding as much as we thought. (TIME)

A former army chief is Egypt's new president. (Reuters)

Some NSA employees are sharing the names of secret projects on their LinkedIn profiles. (AlJazeera)

A new study says the average heroin user is now a 23-year-old white suburbanite. (NPR)

VOLUME!

It's the last day to get wristbands for our two-day, 80-band music festival before prices go up, so hurry over here to get yours. (In the meantime, check out this guy who still hasn't taken off his wristband from last year's festival. Yes, seriously.)