Air views on spending
If you have longed to voice your opinions about state spending, you will have a chance to do so at the State Budget Town Hall Meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Barbieri Courtroom at Gonzaga Law School, 721 N. Cincinnati St. The Washington Office of Financial Management wants to hear from citizens about the services and activities that should be included in the state’s priority-based budget for the 2005-07 biennium.
• The state Higher Education Coordinating Board will receive public comments on several proposals under consideration for the HECB’s 2004 Strategic Master Plan for Higher Education. The meeting will take place Wednesday from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Phase 1 Building Auditorium, 668 N. Riverpoint Blvd. One goal is to increase by 20 percent the number of students who earn college degrees and training credentials each year. Several preliminary proposals are under consideration for the 2004 plan, to be published late this summer. An overview is available at the HECB Web site: http://www.hecb.wa.gov/Research/masterplans/masterplansindex.asp.
• Neighborhood Stakeholder Teams meet regularly for 13 of the 26 neighborhoods in the city, affecting almost half of the city population. Stakeholder teams are composed of one representative from each neighborhood and anyone with a vested interest in the planning area. Interested citizens can participate in the process for deciding how public dollars are spent and how private and public projects are designed and relate to neighborhood character.
The Chief Garry Park Stakeholder Team will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Stevens Elementary School, 1717 E. Sinto Ave.
The Grand District Stakeholder Team (including the Comstock, Rockwood and Manito/Cannon Hill neighborhoods) will meet from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday in the Sacajawea Middle School cafeteria, 401 E. 33rd Ave.
Additional information is available at www.spokaneplanning.org or by contacting Marla Bates at 625-6638 or Mbates@Spokanecity.org; or Steve Franks at 625-6185 or sfranks@spokanecity.org.
• Spokane Valley Comprehensive Plan: The Community Development Department of the city of Spokane Valley is looking for citizens’ ideas about how the city should look in 10 or 20 years. That’s the topic of a community workshop that will be held Wednesday at Greenacres Elementary School, 17915 E. Fourth Ave. An open house will begin at 6:30 p.m., with the workshop beginning at 7.