Addressing the crowd at his inaugural ball, Spokane Mayor David Condon said he will strive to be like Jim Chase, the popular mayor who led the city when Condon was a boy. More than 400 people attended Condon's $75-a-plate Our Town Gala on Saturday night…
OLYMPIA -- A proposal to place the same limits on campaign contributions to school board candidates that apply to legislators and other city and county candidates passed the House overwhelmingly Friday. But not before some grousing by a few Republicans who thought the Legislature has…
OLYMPIA -- A measure that would decriminalize use and possession of small amounts of marijuana for adults was sent to the Legislature today after the Secretary of State's office certified it has more than enough signatures. Initiative 502 had a slightly higher than normal error…
If you're a voter in Spokane County, chances are there's a ballot with your name on it somewhere in the U.S. postal system. Spokane County mailed some 260,000 ballots this week for the special election on Feb. 14 (possible slogan: Mail your ballot when you…
OLYMPIA – Washington residents quickly discovered something they didn’t like about the Discover Pass when it was introduced last year to raise money for parks and other state lands: It was only good on one vehicle. So if you drove your pickup to go hunting…
OLYMPIA -- A proposal to allow same-sex marriages in Washington cleared its first hurdle this morning as a legislative panel approved it on a 4-3 vote and sent it to the Senate for a full debate. Supporters beat back several attempts to change SB 6239,…
OLYMPIA -- The Senate Government Operations is scheduled to vote this morning on the proposal that would allow same-sex marriage in Washington. The bill was the subject of two contentious committee hearings on Monday, one in Senate Government Ops and the other in House Judiciary.…
OLYMPIA – Some $35 million to finish the Riverpoint medical school building may flow into Spokane as the top priority for the area’s business community finds itself on a list of projects to address one of the Legislature’s top priorities. Jobs. Or the project may…
OLYMPIA -- The Riverpoint Biomedical and Health Sciences Building, a.k.a. the Spokane Med School building, is on lists in the House and Senate for big projects the state would do if the Legislature passes a major bond package. The school is slated for $35 million…
Did you miss a piece of the State of the Union address while you were eating dinner, doing the dishes or making sure the kids brushed their teeth. Or maybe you skipped it entirely. In any case, if you want to read what he had…
Gerry Alexander, who retired last year as the chief justice of the Washington State Supreme Court, will serve on the city's Use of Force Commission. The commission was created last year by former Mayor Mary Verner to review the city's handling of the police confrontation…
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook For those wondering about how Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina GOP primary, Jon Stewart explains.
U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, vice chair of the House Republican Conference, gave Fox News a preview of the GOP's rebuttle to tonight's expected themes in President Obama's State of the Union address. The congresswoman from Spokane took repeated shots at Obama's rejection of the…
OLYMPIA – As supporters and opponents packed hearing rooms around the Capitol Monday, Washington moved a step closer to legalizing same-sex marriage when the proposal gained its crucial 25th vote in the Senate. Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, announced she would vote yes on…
The City of Spokane issued about 20 parking tickets to the owners of vehicles who didn't obey the city's snow emergency rules late last week. The city declared a stage 2 snow emergency Thursday, which set into motion a plowing of residential streets and an…
OLYMPIA -- A proposal to give same-sex couples the ability to marry in Washington state may have the25 votes needed to pass the Senate. Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, a Camano Island Democrat who was officially undecided on the bill, announced this morning she would vote…
OLYMPIA -- A series of panels, pro and con, opened the overflow hearing on the same-sex marriage bill this morning. Ken Hutcherson of the Antioch Baptist Church, an opponent of the bill, told members of a Senate panel who have already made up their mind…
OLYMPIA -- The Legislature opened two overflow areas -- including the Senate gallery itself -- for the crowds who flocked to the capital to testify for and against a bill to legalize same sex marriage. "I will not tolerate any disruptions," Sen. Craig Pridemore, D-…
Writing about caucuses brings to mind one of the best fans of caucuses in Spokane, Jan Polek, who passed away earlier this month. Whenever I would rail about caucuses being a pain for a reporter to cover – which happened about every two years –…
If no one else has yet proposed this, might I suggest the news media stop paying attention to the results of the Iowa precinct caucuses…or any precinct caucuses, for that matter. That includes Washington. No offense, all you good party loyalists who are preparing for…
Former Mayor Mary Verner's salary and pension request, which was denied by the city, has raised questions from several readers who wonder how an elected leader can be eligible to start receiving a pension at 55 after eight years of service. Spokane's City Council and…
OLYMPIA – Nearly all medical insurance plans in Washington that offer maternity care would be required to cover abortions under a bill supporters described as a minor adjustment to adjust to new federal laws but opponents denounced as an infringement on religious liberties. HB 2330…
OLYMPIA -- Washington state's current primary system which has candidates stating their party preference rather than a party affiliation and sends the top two vote-getters to the general election is constitutional, a federal appeals court said today. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected claims…
OLYMPIA -- Rain, snow and sleet is keeping postal carriers from completing some rounds in and around the capital, but it isn't deterring a delegation from Spokane from lobbying for key projects and issues with legislators. A delegation of about 60 Spokane-area business and government…
OLYMPIA -- Supporters of a bill that would allow same-sex couples to marry in Washington state inched closer to passage today as one of the few "undecideds" said he would be voting yes. Sen. Jim Kastama, D-Puyallup, said times have changed and "I believe we…
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