Spokane Mayor
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Property tax hike proposed to fund city libraries
Hoping to head off a new round of library closure talks or further cuts to branch hours, the Spokane Public Library is asking city leaders to sponsor a property tax boost on the April 26 ballot. The Spokane City Council will decide Feb. 14 if it will ask voters for an extra 15 cents for each $1,000 of taxable property value.
County, cities review waste system plans
More than 50 people turned out Wednesday for the first day of a conference to form a new plan for garbage disposal in Spokane County. Twenty-two officials from Spokane County and cities in the county reviewed the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System and their goals for reforming it.
Mayor now says she’ll attend waste summit
Spokane Mayor Mary Verner reversed course Monday and said she will attend this week’s Solid Waste Summit after all. Verner had said she thought the city and Spokane County were so far apart on how to restructure the regional garbage-disposal system, which processes all trash collected countywide, that attendance would have been a waste of time.
Regional waste summit on, with or without Spokane
Next week’s regional Solid Waste Summit will occur regardless of whether Spokane participates, County Commission Chairman Al French announced Friday. The two-day gathering of local government officials throughout the county is intended to outline a new framework for the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System, which is owned and controlled by the city of Spokane.
Governor, at Spokane City Hall, briefed on bomb investigation
After meeting with investigators and city leaders Friday at Spokane City Hall, Gov. Chris Gregoire commended the three contract workers who spotted the lethal backpack bomb along the Martin Luther King Jr. Day march route nearly two weeks ago. “Their actions were swift and helped prevent a tragedy,” Gregoire said in a written statement. “From the law enforcement to the firefighters to the bomb squad, everyone deserves high marks for acting with the utmost professionalism.”
Gregoire comes to Spokane for bomb briefing
After meeting with investigators and city leaders Friday at Spokane City Hall, Gov. Chris Gregoire commended the three contract workers who spotted the lethal backpack bomb along the Martin Luther King Jr. march route nearly two weeks ago. “Their actions were swift and helped prevent a tragedy,” Gregoire said in a written statement.
Verner or not, garbage summit is a go
Next week’s regional Solid Waste Summit will occur with or without Spokane participation, County Commission Chairman Al French announced Friday. The two-day gathering of local government officials throughout the county is intended to outline a new framework for the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System, which is owned and controlled by the city of Spokane.
Human rights dialogue revs up
After racist literature was distributed throughout the region in 2009, a North Idaho anti-racism group mobilized leaders in Kootenai and Spokane counties to send a message at a news conference near the state line: Hate would not be tolerated in the Inland Northwest. In the days following last week’s bombing attempt apparently targeting Martin Luther King Jr. Day marchers in Spokane, there was no such concerted effort. Some individuals spoke publicly to denounce the act, but no organizations emerged to the forefront to present a unified response.
Move on without fear, region’s leaders urge
While political and religious leaders interviewed last week denounced the bombing attempt along the route of Spokane’s annual march honoring Martin Luther King Jr., they shared a range of opinions about how the Spokane community should respond. The Rev. Flora Bowers, Manito United Methodist Church:
Leaders, residents discuss violence in the community
The Spokane-area community gathered Saturday morning to discuss the attempted bombing along the Martin Luther King Jr. Unity March on Jan. 17. Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich and state Rep. Kevin Parker co-hosted the forum, “Understanding Threats in Our Community,” on the Washington State University Spokane campus. Community leaders and residents discussed their concerns about, and possible solutions to, violence in the community.
Verner: ‘This is not who we are’
The Spokane-area community joined this morning to discuss the attempted bombing along the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Unity March on Monday.
Pay raises lag in public sector
An analysis of recent wage increases shows that the pay of many local government workers is rising slightly slower than the rate of workers in the private sector. From 2002 to 2009, workers in the private sector in Spokane County experienced wage increases of 26.4 percent. Wages of workers in local government were up 24.7 percent.
City OKs incinerator deal
The fate of a $25 million contract to operate the city’s West Plains trash incinerator will rest with Spokane County commissioners. The Spokane City Council on Monday voted 6-1 to approve a three-year contract with Wheelabrator, the subsidiary of Waste Management that has operated Spokane’s Waste-to-Energy Plant since it began operations in the early 1990s.
County proposes garbage summit
Public officials are seeking a “fast-track” decision on who should control the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System. County commissioners Thursday accepted Spokane Mayor Mary Verner’s call for an agreement within 30 days.
Landscape architect named to Park Board
A landscape architect is the newest member of the Spokane Park Board. The Spokane City Council on Monday unanimously approved Mayor Mary Verner’s appointment of Ken Van Voorhis to the board until February 2012.
City, air agency could settle fine, upgrade incinerator
Spokane would have to pay a $5,000 fine and upgrade its regional trash incinerator under a proposed deal being considered by Mayor Mary Verner. The settlement, proposed by the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency late last month, is in response to a violation related to mercury pollution in June at the Waste-to-Energy Plant.
Spokane’s sewage system undergoing quiet upgrade
When it rains in Spokane, it pours sewage into the Spokane River. Faced with a 2017 deadline to stop discharging millions of gallons of raw sewage annually into the Spokane River, the city in 2011 will build several underground tanks to help stem the flow – although the biggest and most expensive projects won’t be completed until much closer to the deadline.
Friends, family remember King Cole
Family, friends and Spokane civic leaders Thursday celebrated Expo ’74 President King Cole for giving everything he had to his family and adopted city. Cole died Sunday at age 88. His life was commemorated in a funeral service at Our Lady of Fatima with Bishop Blase Cupich officiating.