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Spin Control archive for Nov. 2009

MONDAY, NOV. 30, 2009

Did County out-Fox itself on hotel tax?

Spokane County will have to come up with a new plan to give money to the renovated Fox Theater. The old plan, to take about $21,000 a year from the county’s share of the hotel-motel tax, isn’t legal, Board Chairman Todd Mielke was told Monday.The…

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TUESDAY, NOV. 24, 2009

Incumbent mayor behind by 2

The results of this month’s Spokane County election were certified on Tuesday, but the counting isn’t over.Elections officials next week will recount by hand votes in the race for Airway Heights mayor.City Councilman Patrick Rushing’s lead over incumbent Mayor Matthew Pederson grew in the latest…

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Light blogging ahead

Spin Control will be on Thanksgiving hiatus, which is really just a fancy way of saying it's taking the week off.We'll be counting all the things we're thankful for (from family and friends to work we enjoy, and even the ability to end a phrase…

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SUNDAY, NOV. 22, 2009

Turnout map for 11-3-09 election in city of Spokane.

What's up in northeast Spokane? Not turnout 

Northeast Spokane has an electoral problem that needs to be examined after the 2010 Census is complete. The problem isn’t who gets elected, but how few people do the electing.Results from this year’s general election follow a pattern evident in council elections since districts were…

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MONDAY, NOV. 16, 2009

This is a map of turnout in the 2008 general election in the City of Spokane, prepared on 11-16-2009 for Spin Control.

There's a new map for: 2008 turnout in Spokane 

A reader was wondering about lower turnout areas in the city of Spokane, specifically questioning whether the lack of certain candidates on the ballot was responsible for the lower turnout in the city's Northeast Council District, West Central and East Central.Probably not.This is a map…

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Mon. fun video: Biden open from SNL

Saturday Night Live has proved it can take shots at the Obama Administration just as it did at the Bush Admin.For those of you who went to bed at a reasonable hour, and either forgot to set your recorder or pushed the wrong buttons, here's…

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SUNDAY, NOV. 15, 2009

Women rock Spokane vote

A swath of central Spokane – roughly from the river to Wellesley Avenue – may have more women representing it in elective office than any place else in the country.Eastern Washington in general is unique in the country for having women in top offices. No…

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SATURDAY, NOV. 14, 2009

FRIDAY, NOV. 13, 2009

Turnout in Nov. 3 election in city of Spokane as of 11-13-09

There's a map for: Spokane city turnout 

Turnout in the city of Spokane for the Nov. 3 election averages just under 50 percent with just a few ballots yet to count.But it varied significantly around the city, as is typical for most elections. This map divides the city's precincts into four equal…

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Voter breakdown of Spokane School Board District 81 Position 4 race between Rocky Treppiedi and Laura Carder as of Nov. 13.

A new map for: Dist 81 school board 

Rocky Treppiedi kept his District 81 School Board seat on the strength of his vote margins in the south and northwest parts of the district, which extends outside the city limits. Laura Carder did well in northeast Spokane, where she's run previously as a legislative…

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Map of the Spokane City Fire Bond vote as of 11-13.

A new map for: Spokane Fire Bond

Late vote counts didn't really change the landscape for the City of Spokane's Fire Bond proposal. It did well in some of the vote rich regions of south and northwest Spokane, but did poorly on the north side and East Central. There aren't enough votes…

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WEDNESDAY, NOV. 11, 2009

Get a cake with 120 candles

Everyone join in, please:Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dearWashington Staaaate.Happy Birthday to you.Washington as a state turns 120 today. Don't feel bad if you forgot to send a card. Once you get passed 100, birthdays aren't that big a deal…

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TUESDAY, NOV. 10, 2009

Palin headed for CdA book signing 

Former GOP vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is expected to be autographing copies of her new book next month at the Coeur d'Alene Fred Meyer store.Palin, who already has a best-seller before her book is even released next week, is tentatively scheduled…

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MONDAY, NOV. 9, 2009

Precinct breakdown of vote totals in the Spokane City fire bond issue, as of Nov. 6, 2009 (The Spokesman-Review)

A new map for: Fire District bond

The only race that seems to be hanging fire still is the City of Spokane Fire Bond.As of Friday, it had inched up to a 59.43 percent approval rating, or 29,611 for20.215 against It needs to get to 60 percent.The county elections office estimates it…

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Gregoire names Sturdevant to head DoE

Ted Sturdevant was named this morning the new director of the state Department of Ecology.Gov. Chris Gregoire announced the appointment to replace Jay Manning, who moved from head of DoE to be her chief of staff.Sturdevant has been with DoE for 7 years as director…

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SATURDAY, NOV. 7, 2009

One Ref 71 impact lives on 

By late last week one question surrounding Referendum 71 was settled: The measure passed and the “everything but marriage” statutes go into effect for the whole state, after it was approved handily in most Puget Sound counties and hammered pretty badly elsewhere. That’s really just…

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THURSDAY, NOV. 5, 2009


Billig to run for 3rd Dist. House seat 10 

Andy Billig, the president of the Spokane Indians baseball, wants to play in a different league. He’s running for the state Legislature in central Spokane’s 3rd District.As ballots were being cast and counted this week for the 2009 election, Billig filed papers with the state…

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Map of the vote totals in the Jeff Bierman-Heidi Olson race for Spokane School Board, as of the vote count on 11/4/2009. (The Spokesman-Review)

Another map from tight school board race

Spokane School Board incumbent Jeff Bierman is in a tight race with challenger Heidi Olson. As in the Treppiedi-Carder race, there's a distinct north-south split, as the map illustrates. Here's the latest tally, as of Wednesday evening:Bierman 17,344 (51,35%)Olson 16,431 (48.65%)

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Voter map of the Spokane School Board race between Rocky Treppiedi and Laura Carder, as of the vote count of 11/4/2009. (The Spokesman-Review)

Here's a map for tight school board races 

The Spokane School Board races are too tight to call with any certainty. But a look at the vote patterns shows a definite north-south split in both races.It's probably most pronounced in the Position 4 race, where incumbent Rocky Treppiedi has a narrow lead over…

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 (The Spokesman-Review)

Here's a new map for that Fire Bond

Spokane City Proposition 1, aka the Fire Bond Issue, inched a bit toward the supermajority it needs for passage in Wednesday evening's count. As the map shows, its support varied around the city. The ballot measure currently has a 58.85 percent approval; it needs 60…

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WEDNESDAY, NOV. 4, 2009



How Spokane voted on Proposition 4, the community bill of rights proposal. (The Spokesman-Review)

Where Prop 4 fared less awfully 

There are few, if any, bright spots supporters of Envision Spokane's Community Bill of Rights will find in last night's count.As a whole, Proposition 4 only garnered 25 percent support. It failed in all of the city's nearly 125 precincts.The measure won 40 percent support…

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The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.



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