Editorial

Spokane City Council members shouldn’t give up on a potential homeless shelter in East Central, especially without a solid alternative that can be quickly implemented. Another winter without more public shelter space should not be an option. Not so long ago, it seemed like the proposed shelter in a former Grocery Outlet store on East Sprague Avenue was heading toward reality. There were some kinks to work out and planning to do, but the end was in sight.

Overall, Spokane Public Schools is in a good place, but voters need to decide which candidates can best address the challenges the district currently faces and anticipate the next set coming down the pike.

Ballots went out at the end of last week for the Aug. 6 local primary election. Spokane City voters will find several competitive and crowded races for council. Mayor, council president and three council seats all are up for grabs. The most important and interesting race is for District 1, Position 1, which covers the northeast third of the city. It features seven candidates, and the winner has the potential to bring an important element of diversity to the council. But what sort of diversity? The seven candidates fall into three groups. Two (Michael Cathcart and Tim Benn) would bring policy diversity. Two (Jerrall Haynes and Naghmana Sherazi) would bring social diversity. And the remaining three are a hodge-podge who are well-intentioned but don’t match the other four’s appeal.

The Spokane Regional Emergency Communications system will go live on Monday without the city of Spokane. The City Council voted unanimously to keep the city’s own 911 dispatch center in operation. The council is rightly concerned that the regional board hasn’t been transparent enough with the city about what the new system will look like and how it will actually make emergency service response times faster. Caution when it comes to so important (and expensive) a public service is warranted.

While Spokane’s

Democrats’ push to give the Spokane Tribe a seat on the Spokane Regional Transportation Council goes too far, for now.

The Spokane Valley City Council will consider whether to write an exception that would allow a

Whether lawmakers support marijuana legalization or not shouldn’t be the issue. It is in everyone’s interest for the industry to be as safe as possible.

Washington can do better. If the state is going to require toxicology tests in so many circumstances, it needs to fund the infrastructure to do it in a reasonable amount of time.

We recently spoke with Washington Sen. Andy Billig, D-Spokane, and agree with his bottom-line assessment of the 2019 legislative session. “It was an unusually good year for Spokane,” he said. Education, health care, transportation and more will be better off in this part of the state.

As the legislative session wound down last weekend, Democrats used a constitutional loophole to cut the public out of debate and pass surprise tax increases.

The Washington Constitution requires “ample” school funding. Spokane and the entire state are learning that ample funding is not enough.

The Central City Line will be a testament to the perseverance of local, state and federal elected officials, not to mention the folks at the STA who never gave up.

Lawmakers from Spokane and throughout the state should do what they can to support and expand WSU’s new medical school.

A 30-year-old ballot measure hamstrings Spokane Park Board management plans by forbidding it from selling surplus property without asking voters for permission.

Wednesday’s weather provided a suitable backdrop for state lawmakers intent on passing a secrecy bill. Clouds hung low over Olympia, obscuring any sunshine, and snow statewide prevented people from attending a hearing about it held by the Senate State Government, Tribal Relations & Elections Committee. A year ago, the Legislature passed a bill exempting itself from the Public Records Act. Washingtonians responded with justified outrage, inundating the governor’s office with letters of opposition. Gov. Jay Inslee vetoed that bill, and lawmakers agreed to spend some time carefully studying the issue to identify a better approach.

There is no question that plastic bag bans are a trendy environmental cause. But as with many causes, the facts do not support the fervor.

Four tax proposals on the Feb. 12 special election ballot deserve an enthusiastic “yes” from voters. But one, the city of Spokane’s levy request, should give voters pause.

This year, lawmakers in Olympia should knuckle down, focus on the core issues, and leave the divisive political ones dead in committees.