Local Government

Spokane Valley Councilman Al Merkel will no longer be representing the city on regional boards and committees following a failed appeal of an investigation that found he likely violated public records law.

The regional 911 communications system is moving forward with a long -anticipated move to a new facility, regardless of whether the city of Spokane comes along.

Despite concerns that the Salvation Army was falling short of its Red Kettle Campaign fundraising target, that goal was not only met but exceeded by the end of Christmas Eve after an outpouring of community support, according to Capt. David Cain.

It’s a bit above freezing on Christmas Eve, and the persistent drizzle pushes people without homes to squat under leaky railroad viaducts, where they are expressly forbidden from being but are also offered some limited relief from the rain.

The day after Christmas in Spokane is bleary and wet as passengers young and old wait for their bus at the downtown plaza.

Months after an aging Metaline Falls, Washington, drinking water main burst, the Pend Oreille County Public Utility District has received $1 million in grants and loans to replace the main and stabilize the land around it.

The fiancée of a man shot and killed by Spokane police officers may soon receive $500,000 to settle a wrongful death claim, according to briefing documents presented Monday to the Spokane City Council.

While some politicians, business groups and their supporters accuse the city of Spokane and the Spokane Police Department of not enforcing laws on the homeless, one patrol officer is spending his time in the area around Second Avenue and Division Street sometimes 10 times a day.

Congressmen-elect Michael Baumgartner has tapped longtime state Sen. Mike Padden to advise him in his new role.

A year after a controversial ordinance and power struggle between the Liberty Lake City Council and the city’s library board of trustees, city council on Tuesday decided not to reappoint a library trustee.

Two months ago, 29 Spokane city employees learned their jobs could be on the chopping block as the city tried to finish balancing the 2025-2026 budget. By the end of the year, three of them lost their jobs, though at least one was able to move to another position in the city.

Spokane’s nonprofit group to assist policing efforts got a three-month reprieve Monday night, as the City Council approved a $125,000 extension to its contract after weeks of volunteers, staff and advocates arguing the organization shouldn’t have to fight for city funding in the first place.

Spokane’s City Council will continue to meet on Mondays as it has for more than 112 years, after concerns were raised about major changes to the council’s rules that the conservative minority believed were intended to weaken their already nominal power.

Northeast Spokane’s conservative representatives on Monday got something they’ve been asking for all year: a voting seat on the Spokane Transit Authority, which operates the region’s transit system.

The Spokane County Commissioners adopted a 2025 budget last week that’s smaller than in years past, despite increased investments in the criminal justice system, mental health services and capital improvement projects.

Spokane city government has a reputation for change. Only one mayor in the last 45 years has served more than a term. But there has been at least one constant: Monday meetings.

Spokane residents with a food and yard waste bin can soon get them  picked up by the city during the winter with a limited service coming in January.

The Spokane City Council has asked for a delay to the transfer of a 160-acre woodland south of Thorpe Road amid traffic concerns that a developer’s plans to build 1,000 homes would further burden roadways.

Development fees will significantly increase across Spokane next year, the second phase in a three-year process of making those fees closer to the cost to the city to service new development.