Pia Hallenberg

Pia Hallenberg reports on neighborhood news in North and South Spokane for The Voice section of the paper.

Contact Pia

Email: piah@spokesman.com
Phone: 509-459-5427
Fax: 509-459-5482

Find Pia on social media

Recent stories by Pia

Merriment on Perry Street

July 16, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page S1 When the South Perry Street Fair opens on Saturday it’ll be the last time that Spokane Valley Quilters put on their Kindred Spirits Outdoor Quilt Show in support of Vanessa …
Spokanite is Obama intern

July 16, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page S1 There is one thing Jordan Elliott Clark, 20, has always shared with President Barack Obama: a birthday on Aug. 4. Yet when he was born in Moses Lake nothing indicated …
Savoring flavor grown around Spokane

July 9, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page V1 Locally grown food is popular these days, with health professionals, chefs and nutritionists singing the praises of eating food that’s grown as close to the dining table as possible. There …
Lions offer flag service to businesses

July 2, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page W1 After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, one very visible change was a surge of flags on homes and businesses. People who’d never flown a flag before suddenly did. People …
N. Spokane parking lot designed with touch of beauty

June 25, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page S1 Parking lots are necessary, but they aren’t always the prettiest addition to a neighborhood. With that in mind, the Nevada Lidgerwood Neighborhood Council and the Neva-Wood COPS Shop set out …
International meet awaits Spokane powerlifter

June 25, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page V1 Danna Snow is a petite woman with a firm handshake. Sitting in regular sweats on a Friday morning at Gold’s Gym on the South Hill, she looks like a marathon …
Hoopfest to build West Central court

June 20, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page V6 In West Central’s Cannon Park, the passing of the city’s pool bond meant the replacement of a worn-down, leaking pool with a new pool, complete with slides and other water …
Bookworms make a buzz

June 18, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page N4 Sometimes teachers reach for unconventional methods in an effort to motivate their students. For Kay Wright, a fourth-grade teacher at Willard Elementary School in North Spokane, this included temporarily adopting …
Valley yard 1 of 8 on Spokane in Bloom tour

June 18, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page V1 It began as a simple desire to add a water feature to the backyard. Almost 2,600 pounds of cement later, a beautiful pyramid reached toward the sky, in the shade …
Windy weather doesn’t deter Hillyard sidewalk artists

June 11, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page N1 This year’s Hillyard Chalk Art Walk fell on the one blustery day of the week, but that didn’t deter the artists. More than 130 people crouched and kneeled on the …
A new home in just weeks

June 11, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page S1 It was hot at the end of Mt. Baldy Lane last week. It was so hot that the trampled dirt around Mikalai Belavus’ construction site had turned into a powder …
Roosevelt classmates reunite

June 11, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page S1 They came from all over the country to meet in the shade of the pines, by the big soccer goal on Roosevelt Elementary School’s sports field. Many had not seen …
Grad from Africa has world vision

June 4, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page V20 Solomon Shanko, 18, landed in Spokane in August 2007 after a 28-hour flight from his native Ethiopia. His mom had moved to the United States in 2002 – while Shanko …
Looking ahead, he sees history

June 4, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page N2 Brandon Leliefeld, 18, sits in the cafeteria of Deer Park High School on a Tuesday after school. Blue-eyed and already a little sunburned, he’s watching his friends leave in the …
Summer blood drive begins

May 31, 2009 in Idaho Voices on Page I1 For the 19th year in a row, the Inland Northwest Blood Center has launched its summer blood drive with the release of a new T-shirt. From Memorial Day through Labor …
NEYC offers many day camps

May 28, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page N3 It’s been a spring of ups and downs for Northeast Youth Center in Hillyard. First, a group of Leadership Spokane students helped NEYC successfully fundraise for a commercial-sized freezer to …
Trail riders honored for work

May 21, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page S11 The Fat Tire Trail Riders Club, a local mountain biking organization, has just received the Washington Recreation and Park Association’s 2009 Citation of Merit Award for its work to clean …
Words of HOPE reach hungry ears

May 21, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page V1 The classroom at HOPE School looks like most other preschool classrooms: sweet potatoes are sprouting on the windowsill, the betta fish swims around in its aquarium and a couple of …
Park Bench will offer old favorites, new treats

May 21, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page N10 It’s time to get ready for outdoor egg salad: The Park Bench in Manito Park opens Friday. New items on the menu include Greek salad, tomato and basil bisque, fresh-squeezed …
He’s the advocate next door

May 14, 2009 in Washington Voices on Page N1 They get in on the ground level every time a park needs new floodlights or an intersection needs a full stop sign. They show up for Saturday morning cleanups and …