Stories by Adam Shanks for the Spokesman-Review

News > Spokane

Jonathan Bingle wins Spokane City Council seat; Zappone leading race against Lish

UPDATED: Tue., Nov. 2, 2021

The Spokane City Council will gain a new conservative voice next year with the election Tuesday of Jonathan Bingle in northeast Spokane.

News > Spokane

Executive Director Matt Santangelo leaving Hoopfest

UPDATED: Tue., Nov. 2, 2021

Hoopfest Executive Director Matt Santangelo is leaving the organization for a job in the medical device sales industry.

News > Local Government

Council members question Salvation Army shelter contract

Tue., Nov. 2, 2021

The Salvation Army plans to reopen the Way Out Shelter this month, but local elected officials remain mired in debate over how it will operate.

News > Local Government

Sherazi, Bingle friends on and off the campaign trail

Tue., Nov. 2, 2021

If the candidates can agree on one thing, it’s that they agree on little when it comes to politics.

News > Local Government

Election Day is here. Here’s what’s at stake

Tue., Nov. 2, 2021

This election voters get a say in a number of local races, including town and city councils, school boards, water districts and others.

News > Local Government

Spokane firefighters union still hopes to win leeway for unvaccinated employees

UPDATED: Fri., Oct. 29, 2021

Some unvaccinated Spokane Fire Department employees may still be allowed to work after all, according to city and union leaders.

News > Local Government

Spokane City Council candidates respond to the campaign ads against them

UPDATED: Fri., Oct. 29, 2021

As the general election nears, candidates for Spokane City Council and their supporters are trading barbs and making claims.

News > Local Government

Inslee will allow eviction moratorium bridge to expire. Here’s how that could play out in Spokane

UPDATED: Thu., Oct. 28, 2021

Gov. Jay Inslee will allow the last of his pandemic-related eviction protections to expire at the end of the month.

News > Local Government

Spokane unveils plan to continue Spokane Parks water-saving projects

Thu., Oct. 28, 2021

It can take an awful lot of water to keep green space green.

News > Local Government

Outside campaign spending on Spokane City Council races grows to unprecedented level

Thu., Oct. 28, 2021

Realtors are spending an unprecedented amount of money to support Spokane City Council candidates.

News > Local Government

ADU 4 U? Spokane Councilwoman wants fees waived for attached units

UPDATED: Tue., Oct. 26, 2021

It’s “small scale,” but it’s something.

News > Local Government

‘A moral obligation’: Spokane City Council adopts climate plan

UPDATED: Mon., Oct. 25, 2021

Temperatures are warmer, more summer days are choked with smoke, and rainfall is increasingly rare in the hottest months.

News > Pacific NW

Evictions, COVID-19 and cold weather: Homeless shelter operators brace for rough winter

UPDATED: Mon., Oct. 25, 2021

City officials have expressed confidence in the shelter system’s ability to withstand the demand for a warm place to sleep through the winter months, but advocates for the homeless and shelter operators are warning that there will not be enough beds.

News > Washington

Lish, Zappone debate experience in Northwest Passages debate

UPDATED: Sun., Oct. 24, 2021

Spokane City Council candidates Mike Lish and Zack Zappone highlighted their different backgrounds and experiences during a debate on Friday.

News > Local Government

Spokane City Council votes Monday on revamped sustainability plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions

UPDATED: Fri., Oct. 22, 2021

The most controversial proposal of the city of Spokane’s draft sustainability action plan is gone.

News > Pacific NW

Northeast Spokane candidates Sherazi, Bingle debate homelessness, public safety

UPDATED: Fri., Oct. 22, 2021

Naghmana Sherazi and Jonathan Bingle pledged to take a sharply different approach to homelessness, which has once again become a central issue to a city election, during a virtual debate hosted by the Rotary Club of Spokane and streamed by The Spokesman-Review’s Northwest Passages book club.

News > Local Government

City-hired investigator finds no racial discrimination following resignation of top Spokane city official

Thu., Oct. 21, 2021

An investigator hired by the city of Spokane has determined that City Administrator Johnnie Perkins did not racially discriminate against former top housing official Cupid Alexander.

News > Local Government

City Council backs Salvation Army shelter, but with a catch

Tue., Oct. 19, 2021

After months of delay, the Spokane City Council formally – and finally – pledged to fund a new homeless shelter operated by the Salvation Army.

Proposal would limit rent increases for city of Spokane landlords who take rental assistance

Tue., Oct. 19, 2021

Don’t call it rent control; it’s more of a rent condition.

News > WA Government

The vaccine mandate deadline is here, but its full effects are still unknown

UPDATED: Mon., Oct. 18, 2021

State workers, health care employees and educators who did not show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or receive an exemption by the end of the day Monday will likely be out of a job Tuesday.

News > Local Government

Meet Spokane’s new leader of the community and economic development division

UPDATED: Fri., Oct. 15, 2021

Steven MacDonald is new to the city of Spokane, but has a career’s worth of experience in community and economic development.

News > Local Government

City vows to fix Spokane’s Community, Housing and Human Services Department as concern mounts

Thu., Oct. 14, 2021

The city has experienced a surge of resignations among staffers of all levels within its Community, Housing and Human Services Department this year. The Spokane City Council adopted a resolution on Monday supporting Mayor Nadine Woodward’s use of outside consultants to help the city apply for federal housing funds, as well as the administration’s creation of a “strike team” of top officials to help right the ship.