Adam Shanks

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News >  Spokane

Woodward plans for transition to mayor’s office; Condon pledges support

UPDATED: Wed., Nov. 6, 2019

Though election results are not yet final, Nadine Woodward is forging ahead with transition plans after her opponent, City Council President Ben Stuckart, conceded on Tuesday night.

News >  Spokane

Spokane voters support ban on city income tax, open collective bargaining

UPDATED: Tue., Nov. 5, 2019

Spokane voters were asked to weigh in on two propositions in this election, one that would ban a city income tax and another that would require collective bargaining sessions to be conducted in public view.

News >  Spokane

Woodward claims victory in race for mayor

UPDATED: Wed., Nov. 6, 2019

Nadine Woodward, a former TV anchor in her first run for public office, claimed victory Tuesday night in the race for Spokane mayor.

News >  Spokane

As economies grow, so does homelessness in cities like Spokane, evidence suggests

Wed., Oct. 30, 2019

Like other cities in the West, homelessness in Spokane has risen even as the economy has grown.

News >  Spokane

City set to close and change roads to make room for new Sportsplex along north bank

UPDATED: Tue., Oct. 29, 2019

The Spokane City Council will consider some legislative maneuvering to clear a section of road to make way for the incoming Spokane Sportsplex.

News >  Spokane

City Council spends $75,000 in emergency funds to improve new warming shelter

UPDATED: Mon., Oct. 28, 2019

The Spokane City Council approved $75,000 in emergency funds for improvements to the city’s new warming center on South Cannon Street.

News >  Spokane

City Council president candidates Breean Beggs and Cindy Wendle on the record, on the issues

Sat., Oct. 26, 2019

The Spokesman-Review asked the candidates for Spokane City Council president a series of questions about city policy and priorities in an attempt to glean further insight into their priorities and positions.

News >  Spokane

Ads for Beggs, Wendle offer different take on crime

UPDATED: Sat., Oct. 26, 2019

A new ad for Cindy Wendle laments the sharp rise in drug-related crime in downtown Spokane. But a new ad for her opponent, Breean Beggs, celebrates a decrease in crime of more than 15% citywide. They’re both right.

News >  Spokane

As campaign ad shows Baltimore homeless camp, Cindy Wendle says she doesn’t recognize Spokane

Fri., Oct. 25, 2019

In a 30-second spot released this week by a candidate for Spokane City Council president, a brief scene shows a row of tents shaking in the wind. But the footage appears to have been taken in Baltimore, not Spokane.

News >  Spokane

Stuckart backs warming center plan, while Woodward questions city’s planning

Thu., Oct. 24, 2019

In a city election cycle that has featured homelessness as its central issue, the impact on voters of Spokane’s latest plan to address homelessness remains to be seen, as ballots have already landed in mailboxes and will be counted in less than two weeks.

News >  Spokane

Nearly $1M grant will help Volunteers of America battle youth homelessness

UPDATED: Tue., Oct. 22, 2019

State and local officials gathered at the Philanthropy Center on Tuesday to celebrate a $940,000 grant to expand efforts to combat homelessness among students and young adults in Spokane.

News >  Spokane

Ben Stuckart wants City Council to rally against car-tab initiative; Tim Eyman travels to Spokane to protest

UPDATED: Tue., Oct. 22, 2019

Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart introduced a resolution on Monday that would formalize the council’s opposition to Initiative 976, which critics believe could jeopardize funding for critical transportation projects like the North Spokane Corridor.

News >  Spokane

City inks deal on new warming center for Spokane homeless

UPDATED: Tue., Oct. 22, 2019

After months of harried searching, the city may have found a new emergency homeless shelter.

News >  Spokane

Council approves development of Upriver Drive into a new Spokane public park

UPDATED: Tue., Oct. 22, 2019

The Spokane City Council unanimously approved a proposal from Avista Corp. to close a nearly half-mile stretch of Upriver Drive and replace it with a public park.

News >  Spokane

Spokane Firefighters Union PAC hasn’t revealed source of $66,000, complaint alleges

UPDATED: Mon., Oct. 21, 2019

A complaint filed with the Public Disclosure Commission alleges that the firefighters union, which has poured funding behind efforts in opposition to mayoral candidate Nadine Woodward, failed to account for the source of some $60,000 in contributions to its political action committee this summer.

News >  Spokane

Up for debate: A closer look at claims, arguments Spokane’s mayoral candidates keep making

Sun., Oct. 20, 2019

From Border Patrol to Boise, here’s a deeper look into some of the oft-discussed topics of debate.

News >  Further Review

Ben Stuckart and Nadine Woodward on the issues

Fri., Oct. 18, 2019

The Spokesman-Review asked Ben Stuckart and Nadine Woodward, Spokane’s candidates for mayor, a series of questions to learn their positions on important issues that may not make it to a debate stage or candidate profile. Their answers have been edited and paraphrased for brevity. Quotes are directly from their responses.

News >  Spokane

Beggs touts specifics, Wendle collaboration, in race for Spokane City Council president

UPDATED: Tue., Oct. 15, 2019

Breean Beggs has detailed solutions for Spokane’s most pressing issues. But Cindy Wendle asks why, if he’s an effective leader, haven’t they already been implemented?

News >  Spokane

Condon touts city’s progress in annual address to City Council

Tue., Oct. 15, 2019

In his annual Statement of Conditions and Affairs at City Hall on Monday, Mayor Condon championed the city’s One Spokane strategic plan, which lays the course for the city’s growth and betterment in the years ahead.

News >  Spokane

Woodward aims to use trust amassed over broadcast career to bring about change if elected Spokane mayor

Sun., Oct. 13, 2019

Nadine Woodward has been hesitant to bring her political views into the nonpartisan race, declining to seek the endorsement of either political party. Instead, she’s argued that the election is about trust – trust she’s earned over more than 25 years beamed into the living rooms of Spokane families. She hopes that trust will propel her to the mayor’s office, where she aims to bring about change.

News >  Spokane

‘Tent cities’ concept sparks debate between Woodward, Stuckart

UPDATED: Fri., Oct. 11, 2019

“One idea that I’ve seen other cities do, and that is, like a tent city that is temporary during inclement weather,” mayoral candidate Nadine Woodward said during the Greater Spokane Incorporated forum on Wednesday. On Friday, her opponent, City Council President Ben Stuckart, sharply criticized her for even considering a tent city in Spokane, calling it an “awful proposal.”

News >  Spokane

Spokane mayor’s race: Ben Stuckart softens, Nadine Woodward attacks when going head-to-head

UPDATED: Sun., Oct. 6, 2019

Contrary to his style on the dais during council meetings, Ben Stuckart has largely shrugged off or declined to respond to attacks from opponent Nadine Woodward as the two vie to become Spokane’s next mayor.

News >  Spokane

Spokane city employee leading homeless shelter efforts resigns

UPDATED: Thu., Oct. 3, 2019

As the city scrambles to open a new shelter and temporary warming center before winter, the man leading the effort has resigned – prompting city leaders to ask if he was asked to carry too heavy of a burden.

News >  Spokane

Spokane backs Boise’s appeal of homeless camping ruling to Supreme Court

Thu., Oct. 3, 2019

As part of a larger effort, the city of Spokane has voiced its support of Boise in that city’s appeal of a 2018 court decision that requires cities to provide adequate shelter to the homeless in order to enforce laws against camping.

News >  Spokane

Salvation Army approved as homeless shelter operator. Next step: a building.

UPDATED: Mon., Sept. 30, 2019

The Spokane City Council named the Salvation Army as the operator of the city’s next homeless shelter on Monday, but the city still has to identify a location.