Government

It’s been one week since Spokane’s implementation of a stricter homelessness law – and the method is yielding more police citations and connections to resources, Mayor Lisa Brown said in a Monday email to City Council.

Spokane County wants residents to paint the town green this week to honor local veterans.

WASHINGTON – Two federal judges on Friday ordered the Trump administration to continue paying for food assistance that was set to end amid the government shutdown, but it was unclear when families in Washington state and Idaho would receive the benefits.

WASHINGTON – The government shutdown reached the 30-day mark on Thursday, as senators left town for the weekend with no clear path to resolving the dispute over health care costs that has kept Congress from funding federal programs.

Spokane Valley City Council meetings are usually fairly eventful amid tensions between Councilman Al Merkel and the other council members, but on TuesdayOct. 28, everything came to a head for Councilman Rod Higgins.

WASHINGTON – The top U.S. Department of Agriculture official in Washington state responsible for farm loans, disaster assistance and conservation programs was suddenly fired on Wednesday without explanation, according to multiple farmers who spoke with him.

A year after he was appointed Coeur d’Alene mayor, Woody McEvers is running against three opponents who also want the seat.

In Spokane, homelessness has been on local streets and minds for years, and either Spokane City Council incumbent Zack Zappone or newcomer Christopher Savage will be elected to help address the problem.

The acting chair of the Spokane County Democratic Party is facing a driving under the influence charge after he was arrested in early September, and now is being accused of violating a court order by continuing to use alcohol.

Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown declared a city emergency Wednesday to speed up the process for local residents and homeless people to access more resources following colder weather, a change in city law and instability within the federal government.

Dozens of volunteers sifted through huge pallets overflowing with 40,000 pounds of pears fresh off a truck from the Wenatchee Valley on Tuesday afternoon at Second Harvest distribution center in Spokane.

Smog, and lots of it, blanketed Spokane for years.

A handful of business owners and homeless people downtown react to an amended law that broadens the ability of city police to addressing homelessness, granting officers discretion whether to make an arrest, issue a ticket, offer services or some combination thereof.

Three residents sued Spokane City Council candidate Alejandro Barrientos on Monday, questioning whether he resided in the district he is running to represent .

It was an oddity of Spokane politics.

Dawn Sherman and Gary Adams were both clad in winter coats and beanies, trying to keep warm in Tuesday’s frigid autumn air.

Public safety and homelessness remain the top issues facing the Spokane region, and residents show an overwhelming dissatisfaction with the local response to their concerns, according to the latest survey from Greater Spokane Incorporated.

Homelessness has permeated Spokane streets and minds for years, and Spokane City Council hopeful Kate Telis or Alejandro Barrientos will be next in line to address the problem.

The annual fire and police levies are once again on the ballot in the small southern Spokane County towns of Rockford and Spangle. The towns typically run one-year levies each year to pay for services or for contracts to provide needed emergency services that they can’t afford without the taxes.