Bloglander

ON INLANDER.COM 

• HEROIN: How two small town boys became ensnared in the white-knuckle grip of addiction.

• EDUCATION: Community Colleges of Spokane have been forced to cut faculty and staff as a result of an $8 million budget deficit. 

• IN HEALTH: Go give blood. The Inland Northwest Blood Center is in "critical shortage." 

• MUSIC: Twenty-four years in the making, Built to Spill has evolved to meet always-changing musical tastes, weather a myriad of lineup changes and eight studio albums — some would even say they've done it gracefully. The Boise-based act comes to Spokane next week.


IN OTHER NEWS: 

• House Democrats held a sit-in protest, demanding a vote on legislation that, among other things, would prevent those on the no-fly list from obtaining firearms. The protest followed a raucous scene in the House chamber, with chants of "No Bill! No Break!" from Dems as they waved signs with names of victims of gun violence. The sit-in lasted from noon Wednesday until 3 am EDT Thursday when Speaker Paul Ryan and his fellow Republicans forced through a major spending bill and hustled out of the chamber. 

 • About 400 employees who've been on strike since May 10 in Spokane will go back to work after the Machinists Union accepted a contract offer. (Spokesman-Review)

• Apparently there is an alligator on the loose in Spokane Valley. (Spokesman-Review)

• In the US Supreme Court: Justices are deadlocked (4-4) on Obama's immigration plan to shield millions of Americans from deportation and allow them to work, which means it remains blocked; justices also rejected a challenge to affirmative action in the University of Texas' admissions system. 

• The Baltimore police officer who drove the van that transported Freddie Gray before his death in April 2015 was acquitted of all charges. Office Caesar Goodson Jr. faced charges including second-degree depraved heart murder, the worst of the six officers indicted in the death. So far, two other officers stood trial. One was acquitted, the other case ended in a hung jury.