Animal Control
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Spokane County may require helmets
Spokane County commissioners will take testimony Tuesday on a proposal to require helmet use on just about anything that has wheels and isn’t a car. The proposed ordinance would apply to bicycles with or without electric motors, even if their wheels are only 11 inches in diameter, and to tricycles with a 20-inch or larger wheel.
Verner’s winning margin unrivaled for sitting mayor
In Spokane, where voters routinely chew up and spit out their chief elected officials after one term, Mayor Mary Verner’s primary win Tuesday was rare. But to finish with nearly twice as many votes as her closest opponent, David Condon, is unprecedented. It’s a story best told by numbers.
Doug Clark: Mayor race yields losers, worse losers
The primary is past tense. The shocking election results are (mostly) in. In capturing a whopping 59.9 percent of the vote Tuesday night, incumbent Mary Verner is making the most serious run at becoming the city’s first two-term mayor since way back when FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover showed up to work in a red satin prom dress.
Commission puts animal shelter levy on November ballot
Voters will decide this fall whether to replace the overcrowded, awkwardly located Spokane County animal shelter. Divided county commissioners decided Tuesday to place a nine-year property tax levy on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.
City won’t add two ballot questions
Voters will have to make a decision on a proposed citizens initiative without the observations of elected city leaders on the same ballot. The Spokane City Council on Monday rejected a proposal to add two questions to the November ballot that City Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin described as red flags about the initiative that also will be decided in the election.
Spin Control: Palin movie elicits stiff-arms, light turnout
Sarah Palin may not be much of a draw in Spokane. That’s one conclusion – and a charitable one, at that – to draw from an event a little more than a week ago at The Bing Crosby Theater featuring the new biographical movie about Palin. Planned as a chance to raise money for charities, food for Second Harvest Food Bank and pet supplies for SpokAnimal, it was a disappointment, said organizer Mike Noder.
Councilwoman wants Prop 1 advisories on November ballot
Spokane voters could get a hint from the Spokane City Council when deciding the fate of a citizens initiative on the November ballot. The City Council will consider on Monday the addition of two nonbinding questions for the November election. The two proposals would ask voters how the council should respond to Envision Spokane’s Community Bill of Rights if it’s approved: raise taxes or cut services.
Council candidate stays on the air
No candidate for Spokane office has had as much air time this campaign season as Mike Fagan, and he hasn’t had to dig into his campaign funds to get it. Fagan co-hosts a conservative local talk show five mornings a week on KTRW 630 AM, and a couple of his opponents question Fagan’s decision to keep his show while running for office.
Candidate refuses to disclose funds’ source
A Spokane City Council candidate is refusing to disclose where he’s getting thousands of dollars that he says is funding his campaign. Chris Bowen, who is running for an open seat representing Northeast Spokane, claimed in a filing with the state Public Disclosure Commission in May to have spent $18,221 and to have another $14,093 on hand. But he hasn’t filed any required paperwork showing where his money comes from or what he has spent it on.
New filing period for 29 county races
The Spokane County elections office will conduct a special three-day filing period next week for 29 positions that have no candidates. Regardless of how many people seek a position, the one who gets the most votes in the Nov. 8 general election will win without a runoff.
Getting There: County weighs mandatory bike helmet-use law
As deputies describe it, the 6-year-old boy hit by a truck in Newman Lake on July 28 bounced between the Dodge’s undercarriage and the asphalt like a pinball. The boy’s bicycle helmet, which cracked in two places, may have saved his life. According the Sheriff’s Office, the boy is at home recovering from his injuries. If not for the helmet, the injuries could have been fatal, said Detective Dave Thornburg with the Sheriff’s Office traffic unit.
As economy falters, security services are hiring more guards
The fastest-growing occupation in Spokane County is not in health care or green technology. It can’t be found in casinos or computer labs. It’s security guard – one of the few bright spots in job growth, thanks in part to a bad economy.
Postcard-only policy at jail ends
A postcards-only policy for mail to Spokane County jail inmates has been lifted. Envelopes are OK again. Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said the change took effect this week when a federal judge approved a settlement between the county and Prison Legal News – an arm of the nonprofit Human Rights Defense Center.