Council District No. 1
Related Coverage, Page 3
Spokane council holds off booting Fagan from health board
A crowd of vaccination opponents hoping to dissuade the Spokane City Council from kicking Councilman Mike Fagan off the county health board erupted into shouts of “coward” when a chance to publicly testify was denied them Thursday afternoon. The shout, which first came from Fagan, was aimed at Council President Ben Stuckart during a meeting in a stifling City Hall basement room that has low capacity and poor visibility because of giant pillars that block sightlines. Many attendees had to stand.
City Council takes step back from removing Fagan from health board
About 50 people packed the City Council briefing center on Thursday to hear the council’s discussion regarding a letter to Councilman Mike Fagan asking him to “clarify” his recent questioning the safety of vaccination and linking recent infectious disease outbreaks are linked to illegal immigration.
Mike Fagan says he won’t resign health board position
Spokane City Councilman Mike Fagan declared Wednesday that there was “no way” he would resign from the county health board amid criticism of his statements questioning the safety of vaccines. Other council members have begun the process to strip him of his appointment.
Doug Clark: Don’t deprive the column of Fagan fodder
Calls and emails rolled in from readers wanting me to grab a pitchfork, light a torch and join the mob that is trying to chase Mike Fagan out of City Hall because of his wacky views on immunization. I’ve never felt so misunderstood.
Fagan refuses to resign from health board, council moves to remove him
As Spokane City Councilman Mike Fagan declared Tuesday that there was “no way” he would resign from the county health board, other council members began the process to remove him.
Shawn Vestal: Science faces tall order in educating Mike Fagan
Dear Science: Could you send Mike Fagan a memo? Like, a very long memo? One that mentions a bunch of the studies about the repeatedly disproven “link” between autism and vaccines? You don’t have to send them all – no one has time for that. But maybe 100 or so examples of actual scientific research?
Councilman Mike Fagan questions need for vaccines
Three days after the Spokane Regional Health District asked every adult and child in the region to get vaccinated against measles, health board member and Spokane City Councilman Mike Fagan questioned the use of vaccines and said recent outbreaks of contagious disease are linked to illegal immigration. “LOTS OF CONTROVERSY ON WHETHER OR NOT GOVT SHOULD MAKE VACCINATIONS MANDATORY,” Fagan wrote Saturday on his personal Facebook page, where he has more than 1,000 friends. “I believe that more will rise to the surface as the vaccination debate heats up. Kind of like the global warming thing, one day there is, and another day there isn’t. Only science will tell.”
Councilman Fagan spreads vaccine conspiracy; blames illegal immigrants
Three days after the Spokane Regional Health District asked every adult and child in the region to get vaccinated against measles, health board member and Spokane City Councilman Mike Fagan questioned the use of vaccines and said recent outbreaks of contagious disease are linked to illegal immigration.
Find yourself in Clarksville with a snapshot and some prose
Confession time. This might come as a shock to you, but I’ve been blogging. I know. Weird, huh?
Shawn Vestal: Eighth Man lacks focus, but knows when to stand down
I went to a City Council meeting expecting a brawl. Instead, there was an outbreak of civility.
Jan Quintrall resigns from city of Spokane
Jan Quintrall, the embattled head of Spokane’s Business and Developer Services division, announced her resignation from the city Tuesday, saying she had “broken the public’s trust, and I can’t repair that.” In a letter to her employees, Quintrall said the city’s “ongoing progress is continually being sidelined by the negative attention on me, with the focus being directed away from all the good staff is doing here.”
Quintrall announces resignation
The Spokane administrator who led Spokane’s engineering, streets, business and other departments, announced Tuesday that she was resigning her position.
City moves to reduce fire response times
For nearly a decade, Spokane city leaders have called for expanded fire service in the southwest corner of town. This week, Spokane Mayor David Condon said his administration was making it a reality with the help of a $2 million federal grant, but solutions for funding a new fire station after the grant’s expiration remain unclear. Condon announced Thursday the city will “provide full-time, round-the-clock coverage in the area surrounding Thorpe and Highway 195,” thanks to the federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant. The grant money will be used to hire and train 12 firefighters, six of whom will staff a temporary fire station in Latah Valley. Two more positions for the station will be funded from the fire department’s current budget, providing for a two-person-per-unit station that can respond to fires and medical emergencies.
Spate of parking tickets has Cassano’s owner upset
At Cassano’s Italian grocery store in northeast Spokane, there’s a chance you can get homemade cannoli, imported soppressata or maybe some fresh ravioli. You might also get a $450 parking ticket. Since Christmas, the parking lot of Cassano’s at Mission and Napa has received some unwanted attention from parking enforcement officials, leading the store’s owner to say the city has unfairly focused on his business.
Council passes public works project apprentice requirement
Almost 200 people packed the Spokane City Council chambers and Chase Gallery on Monday night for the council’s final meeting of the year. Most of them came to support an ordinance put forth by Council President Ben Stuckart mandating that a certain amount of work on public works construction projects be performed by apprentices. The measure passed in a veto-proof 5-2 vote after hours of testimony. It will “create a more skilled workforce” in Spokane, Stuckart said.
City Council members don boxing gloves for Rogers debate club benefit
A bout in a Spokane boxing ring ended peacefully Tuesday, although not without fervor over a fairy tale and strong words about pens and swords. Spokane’s City Council President Ben Stuckart and Councilman Mike Fagan took the hits like men, but in the end they were no match for Rogers High School’s keen debaters, James Pearson and Zackary Bonser.
Spokane mayor’s wage would be set by panel under proposal
Spokane’s mayor would no longer have to be the highest-paid city worker under a proposal voters may decide next year. Councilman Mike Fagan is proposing to give the city’s Salary Review Commission the power to set the mayor’s wage, a change that would require approval from city voters. The idea was first proposed by Mayor David Condon after the blowback he received when he proposed giving himself a raise based on the city charter, which currently requires him to be the top-paid city worker.
Scott Chesney remains mum on specific reasons for ouster
Scott Chesney, Spokane’s planning director who was abruptly ousted from his position last week, said Wednesday he was taking the “high road” and ending his role at the city. Chesney did not give details on why he was forced to resign, but his silence is in line with that of Mayor David Condon and Jan Quintrall, head of the city’s Business and Development Services and Chesney’s supervisor, who both said they could not comment on the matter because of personnel confidentiality.
Spokane planning director leaves abruptly after ‘loss of confidence’
Hours after the city planning director was forced out of his job on Wednesday, one of Spokane’s premier developers publicly called on the mayor to hire him back. Jim Frank, president of Greenstone Corp., which is developing Kendall Yards, sent an email to numerous city and business leaders Wednesday evening after hearing that Scott Chesney, Spokane’s planning director since 2011, abruptly left the city.
Spokane 2015 budget pays 164 workers six figures
The number of city employees earning six figures has increased under Spokane Mayor David Condon, despite his critical stance against such high earners when he was campaigning for office and drastic cuts to the number of people on the city’s payroll under his watch. In Condon’s 2015 budget proposal, 164 positions at City Hall will earn more than $100,000, not counting overtime pay. Of the top 100 paid positions at City Hall, 64 are from the police or fire departments.