In brief: Inslee touts outsider status

U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee highlighted his time outside the Puget Sound in his first public appearance in Spokane on Tuesday as a Democratic candidate for governor.

“Wouldn’t it be neat to have a governor who has lived outside the shadow of the Space Needle?” Inslee said.

Inslee, who lives on Bainbridge Island, used to live near Yakima when he first served in Congress in the early 1990s.

He spoke at the former Great Northern Railroad repair depot east of downtown, which is being converted into the regional headquarters for McKinstry, a construction firm that specializes in energy savings.

Inslee, who officially announced his bid for governor on Monday, promised to stop large college tuition increases and spiking costs of health care and to focus on creating jobs.

“If we are going to solve our economic challenges, we need a governor who has the vision to create jobs, the experience to create jobs and the determination to create jobs, and I will be that governor,” he said.

Examiner OKs jail expansion

Spokane Hearing Examiner Greg Smith granted a conditional use permit Tuesday for Spokane County to renovate and expand its main jail and build a 192-bed Community Corrections Center next door.

The project is on hold while county commissioners evaluate prospects for a bond measure that also would replace the Geiger Corrections Center with a new facility near the Medical Lake interchange of Interstate 90.

Fire destroys mobile home

Three adults were displaced Tuesday afternoon when their Airway Heights home was destroyed by fire.

The fire at the mobile home, in the 1400 block of South Albert Street, was called in at 5:09 p.m. Crews from Spokane County Fire District 10 and Airway Heights Fire Department responded. The home and an adjacent recreational vehicle were destroyed.

Despite windy conditions, firefighters were able to keep the mobile home next door from catching fire, although the exterior siding was damaged, fire officials said.

The home’s residents don’t know what could have caused the fire, officials said, and investigators were on scene Tuesday evening.

The Red Cross responded to help the displaced residents. They planned to stay with relatives Tuesday night, but will meet with caseworkers today to determine other assistance they may need, according to a Red Cross news release.