Animal Control
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Waste disposal costs to rise
Revisions in the contract for operating Spokane’s garbage incinerator would contribute to a proposed 10.2 percent increase in countywide garbage disposal costs. County commissioners directed their staff Wednesday to take a hard look at a suggested $10-a-ton increase in disposal costs, from $98 to $108. But they leaned toward approval of a three-year extension of Wheelabrator Spokane’s contract to operate the Waste-to-Energy Plant.
Bicycle helmet support resounding
Support for a bicycle helmet law in unincorporated Spokane County was overwhelming at a public hearing Tuesday evening. Several of some two dozen people who addressed county commissioners offered personal examples of the power of helmets to save lives.
Spin Control: Council president race in North Side voters’ hands
The race for Spokane City Council president would appear to be a tossup, particularly in many north Spokane precincts where a clear favorite has yet to emerge. No duh, you might say, considering that winner Dennis Hession got only slightly more than a third of the vote in a four-person field.
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.
David Condon is no Jim West
David Condon is no Jim West
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.
Expect only one vote count tonight
Expect only one vote count tonight
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.
Council president candidates have nearly exhausted campaign funds
Council president candidates have nearly exhausted campaign funds
Candidate says he can’t comply with state law
Candidate says he can’t comply with state law
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.
Council may add two more questions on ‘Community Bill of Rights’
Council may add two more questions on ‘Community Bill of Rights’
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.
The politics of water rates
The politics of water rates
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.