Amy Cannata

A Spokane bride had an unexpected wedding expense over the weekend: bail. Brandy Gambill didn't spend her wedding night with her groom, she didn't open gifts at a post-wedding brunch and she barely made it onto a plane Monday for her honeymoon in Florida.

Voters may have thought that light rail was dealt its death blow when two related propositions failed last November, but supporters are hoping it's a phoenix that can rise from the ashes. They've started a new grass-roots group called Friends of Rail Transit to spread the word about light rail and push leaders to take steps to make it a reality.

The judge in a case involving the teenage driver in a June crash that killed a 15-year-old boy and seriously injured a teenage girl postponed a decision Wednesday on keeping the case in juvenile court or moving it to adult court. Superior Court Judge Kathleen O'Connor said she didn't have enough information to make that determination, although prosecutors recommended that 17-year-old Carson Sheridan be tried as a juvenile.

Three men were apprehended Tuesday after a high-speed pursuit through northeast Spokane that ended with a crash, foot chase and break-in. The chase began about 9 a.m. at East South Riverton and Mission avenues when Spokane police attempted to pull over a stolen car with three male occupants.

The pain of a vandalized car stings twice. First there's the awful discovery that a personal possession has been smashed or slashed by some inconsiderate thrill seeker. Then there's the realization that the cost to fix the damage is probably less than your insurance deductible, meaning the full cost will come out of pocket.

Vandals hit dozens of cars in north Spokane early Wednesday, bashing out windows, knocking off mirrors and denting panels, apparently with a baseball bat. Vehicles were damaged across the North Side, from Hillyard to Shadle Park.

Browne's Addition residents cursing the street construction starting there tomorrow have at least one thing to be thankful for this week: Construction is only taking place on Second Avenue. Initial plans had called for work on Second Avenue to overlap with construction on First Avenue. City engineers and Shamrock Paving decided late last week, however, that with the large number of people parking on the street, it makes more sense to finish Second before starting on First Avenue. (Yes. Second comes first and First comes second.)

Finding a prime parking spot in Browne's Addition is rarely easy, but it will be nearly impossible in coming weeks as the city of Spokane repaves several key streets in the neighborhood west of downtown. The city plastered houses and apartment buildings with notices warning of the impending work and related street closures and parking restrictions earlier this week and began bringing road closure signs into the neighborhood.

It took two summers and $13 million, but the Interstate 90 viaduct through downtown Spokane is now open and as smooth as a baby's rear. OK, maybe not that smooth, but the deep ruts are gone and with them the wrinkles that have been furrowing commuters' brows since construction began in May.

Spokane County sheriff's detectives arrested a 46-year-old Spokane Valley man Thursday afternoon on charges that he kidnapped and raped five women. Pierre D. West is accused of soliciting prostitutes in the East Sprague Avenue area of Spokane, then forcing them to go to his home at 123 N. Locust St. and perform sexual acts under the threat of violence.

The intersection of U.S. Highway 2 and Flint Road has some safety issues, but there are no immediate plans to improve it. More people are driving through the intersection on their way to and from Spokane International Airport since the Airport Board closed McFarlane Road in February because it couldn't afford to maintain it. McFarlane had been the preferred route for many.

Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker announced Friday that his office won't pursue charges against Spokane police Sgt. Dan Torok, declaring the officer's March fatal shooting of a man was "justifiable homicide." Torok shot and killed Jerome Alford on March 24 after a downtown confrontation that left the decorated police sergeant bruised and bloodied.

Drivers will rejoice in a little more than a week when work wraps up on the Interstate 90 viaduct in downtown Spokane – about a month ahead of schedule. Sullivan Road work in Spokane Valley is expected to be complete by late today or early Saturday – a few days ahead of deadline.

A judge ruled Thursday that eight dogs seized in April from an alleged dog-fighting operation must be kept alive, despite a plea from Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services that keeping the dogs is forcing them to kill others that are adoptable. Judge Ellen Clark made the ruling in Spokane Superior Court because the dogs must be available as evidence for behavioral analysis or for other needs of the defense.

A motorcyclist has been hospitalized and the driver of a car that pulled out in front of him is being charged with vehicular assault after a Thursday morning crash on Trent Avenue at Starr Road. In another crash, the driver of a small Honda drove head-on into a dump truck stopped in a left turn lane near Fancher Road. According to Washington State Patrol Trooper Mark Baker, the first crash happened about 7 a.m. Motorcyclist Mark A. McLean, 40, was traveling east on Trent when a Newman Lake woman driving a silver sedan pulled out in front of him from Starr Road.

A group of bikers who call themselves the "California Motor Maids" tied up the morning commute Wednesday when one of them rear-ended an unrelated motorcyclist, causing a chain-reaction crash on Interstate 90 near Flora Road. No one was seriously injured.