Spokane Washington Natives Hall of Fame Inductees

The City of Spokane Washington reared two young men who went on to achieve great things in the respective sports they chose to pursue. For Tommy Lasorda, baseball became a passion. Long distance running was the sport of choice for Gerry Lindgren. Both have been inducted into Hall of Fame status for their sports.

'Rogers graduate Gerry Lindgren, who set national prep records from 1 mile to 10,000 meters and competed in the Olympics the summer after graduating from high school, will be inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame in Utica, N.Y., on July 8.

Tommy Lasorda, who managed the Spokane Indians baseball team from 1969-71, will become the first manager of the modern era (post-1957) to enter the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colo.

At Washington State University Lindgren won 11 of the 12 NCAA events in which he competed. He also set the 6-mile world record in 1965 and the 3,000 and 5,000 U.S. records twice.

Lindgren's hall of fame class will include Marty Liquori and Patti Catalano Dillon.

"This class reminds us of the hard work and dedication that it has taken for this sport to be recognized worldwide," said John Petrone, assistant director of the hall.

Lasorda's 1970 Indians team finished 94-52, won the PCL Championship and was named the best minor league team of the 20th century by Baseball America in 1995.

Lasorda managed the Los Angeles Dodgers for 20 years, winning eight division titles, four National League pennants and two World Series.

A member of five other halls of fame, Lasorda will be presented with the PCL plaque during a pregame "ceremony" at Dodgers Stadium on May 19.'

Spokane Washington Natives Hall of Fame Inductees

Spokane Washington Loses 2009 Figure Skating Bid

In 2007, Spokane Washington will be hosting the State Farm US Figure Skating Championships. It looks as if all the work the city put into building an extension off the Convention Center didn't impress the 2009 judges.

'Organizers working to have Spokane host the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships announced Friday morning that the Lilac City has lost its bid.

The US Figure Skating organization is scheduled to make an official statement on the selection in a press release next week.

Spokane will be hosting the US Figure Skating Championships in 2007.

"Spokane should be proud of the effort to bring the "world figure skating championships" to our community. We were a serious contender against brutal competition—proving once again that we can host world-class events," Mayor Dennis Hession said in a statement Friday.'

The city can be proud it's hosting the 2007 event and strive to attract other major events such as figure skating in the future.

Spokane Washington Loses 2009 Figure Skating Bid

Autistic Movie Plot Filmed in Spokane Washington

You may have heard the buzz a few years ago that Josh Hartnett was in Spokane filming a movie that dealt with autism. Mozart and the Whale has finally hit theaters here.

'Tell Jerry Newport your birth date, and he's likely to surprise you.

"He can tell you how many seconds old you are," says Radha Mitchell, star of the film "Mozart & the Whale," which opens today in Spokane, Spokane Valley, Coeur d'Alene and Pullman.

"I mean, he knows how many moons have gone through in your lifetime," Mitchell says in a telephone interview. "Sometimes he calls me up on my birthday and tells me how old I am in seconds. He's really impressive."

No doubt. Newport is so impressive, in fact, that he and his wife, Mary, are what inspired Oscar winner Ronald Bass more than a decade ago to write the screenplay for "Mozart & the Whale," a film about an inhibited math savant played by Josh Hartnett who falls for the free-wheeling character played by Mitchell.

What's impressive is that Newport and his wife, and the characters in the film, all live with what's known as Asperger's syndrome. A mild form of autism, Asperger's isn't always easy to detect. Symptoms can include an inability to make friends easily, repetitive physical mannerisms, a strict adherence to ritual (the need for order, for example) and intensively focused interests – such as an obsession with math. But depending on the severity, a person with the condition can lead a more or less normal life.

"I think of Asperger's as kind of the Diet Pepsi of autism," says Newport, who was at a reception and screening of the film Wednesday night at River Park Square.

"It's different in a maddening way because people with Asperger's aren't as obvious as people with autism," he says. "It's not until they open their mouths."

"Mozart & the Whale," which was filmed in Spokane for more than a month starting in March 2004, shows that well enough. The film is the story of two people who, though attracted to each other, struggle because the normal relationship problems they encounter are magnified by their conditions.'

Autistic Movie Plot Filmed in Spokane Washington

Whitewater Park Planned for Spokane River

Whitewater fans are going to get fired up at what's coming to Spokane Washington.

'The City of Spokane is working on living up to its motto "Near Nature, Near Perfect" with a new white water park in the Spokane River.

The man-made hydraulic features, things like standing waves and eddies, will take shape near the Sandifur Memorial Bridge, where the Spokane River Gorge is becoming more accessible to paddlers.

Right now some of the riffles and eddies are being created by old bridge abutments that attack kayakers year round, but now Friends of the Falls and the City of Spokane are ready to install more car-sized rocks in the river to create a white water park here.

Scott Shipley has designed white water parks around the country where the promise of prime paddling has boosted tourism in cities like Reno, Nevada but plans call for this park to primarily benefit Spokane-area residents as a riverside destination for boaters and sunbathers alike.'

I'd like to see them build the park across the falls. Now that would be a fun ride. A tad dangerous, but ohhh what a ride.

Whitewater Park Planned for Spokane River

Spokane Washington Immigration Protestors March

Downtown Spokane Washington received some excitement Thursday as Immigration protestors marched the streets. Their destination - The Spokane Federal Building.

'Throughout the week hundreds of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in cities across the country, protesting federal lawmakers' thus far failed attempts to reform immigration. On Thursday the protest came to downtown Spokane.

The rally began at noon at Riverfront Park, winding its way through downtown Spokane and eventually ending on the steps at the Federal Courthouse.

At its height, some 250 people joined the protest over the stalled talks on immigration reforms in Washington, DC. Thursday’s protest did draw a small crowd of anti-immigration folks as well, though things remained peaceful.

Maria Morales, who was born in Mexico, was one of the organizers behind the local rally. Though she has her papers today it wasn't always like that, so for her the protest was a very personal one.

“We're not one or two, but we're millions,” Morales, a student organizer at Eastern Washington University, said. “Immigrants are a big part of this country and you cannot just kick them out.”

She's outraged at the House of Representatives for approving a bill that would make undocumented immigrants and anyone who helps or supports them felons.'

Immigration protesters march on Spokane Federal Building