City crews will begin leaf cleanup Monday
Spokane city street crews are planning to begin their annual cleanup of fallen leaves on Monday in northwest Spokane, and the crews expect to continue with the work through mid-December.
City officials said the cleanup is intended to remove only leaves and needles that fall naturally into streets. Leaves create a driving hazard and can clog storm drains.
But residents are responsible for leaves on their own property. Residents are asked not to rake leaves from their lawns, sidewalks or driveways into the streets. Also, residents should be prepared for the street cleanup by moving vehicles off the streets during scheduled cleanup days.
The schedule can be obtained on a leaf hotline at 456-2666 or on the city’s Web site at www.spokanecity.org.
Residents can dispose for free up to 100 pounds of yard waste at the city-county garbage incinerator at 2900 S. Geiger Blvd. or at garbage transfer stations at 3941 N. Sullivan in Spokane Valley or at 22123 N. Elk-Chattaroy Rd. in the north county area. The cost is $35 a ton in excess of the 100 pound amount.
Fallen leaves also make a good composting material for home gardeners. For more information on composting, go to the countywide Solid Waste System Web site at www.spokanesolidwaste.org.
Here is the leaf pickup schedule for next week:
Monday – Woodridge, Driscoll Boulevard, Audubon Park.
Tuesday – Woodridge, Pacific Park, Driscoll Blvd., Audubon Park.
Wednesday – Shadle Park, Audubon Park.
Thursday – Indian Trail, Downriver, Clark Park.
Refinancing bond rated upper medium grade
Analysts with Moody’s Investor Service and Standard & Poor’s have given “upper medium grade” ratings to a bond refinancing for Spokane’s city-county solid waste system.
Spokane City Council members are being asked to approve the $16.1 million bond sale at a meeting on Monday. The refinancing is expected to save $650,000 on interest costs through 2010.
Moody’s gave the bond issue an A-3 rating while Standard & Poor’s ranked the bonds at a single-A rating, both of which are well below the agencies’ highest quality investment rankings.
Gavin Cooley, chief financial officer for Spokane, said the bonds are backed by revenue collected from garbage ratepayers, and as such, are considered to have greater risk than bonds backed by unlimited taxes. The ratings on the planned bond issue are considered good for a solid waste system, he said.
Insurance is being purchased to raise the bond rating to the highest quality investment grade. Interest rates on the bonds will drop from 5.5 percent to 3.96.
Man who fired pistol accepts plea bargain
A 27-year-old Spokane man who fired a pistol into the air on North Division in September accepted a plea bargain Thursday in Superior Court and was sent to jail for three months.
Domingo Estraca Jr. had been charged with drive-by shooting for the Sept. 25 incident, but pleaded instead to being a felon in possession of a firearm and unlawful discharge of a firearm. Estraca was a passenger in a moving vehicle when he stuck a semiautomatic pistol out the window and fired a shot shortly before midnight, in front of the Jack in the Box restaurant at 6318 N. Division.
A witness followed the Ford Explorer and called police. Officers said Estraca refused to obey orders to lie on the ground when they stopped the Explorer, and he was arrested for allegedly obstructing police as well as the other charges.