It boils down to trains, buses or automobiles. For the past few years, Spokane Transit Authority has studied a variety of ways to transport large numbers of people from fast-growing Liberty Lake and Spokane Valley to downtown Spokane and points in between.
The drive between Moscow, Idaho, and Pullman is about to get an overhaul more than a decade in the making. The Washington state Department of Transportation will begin work this year on a six-mile-long state Highway 270 project that will boost the two-lane road to four lanes with a center turn lane and rumble strips.
The Washington State Department of Transportation delayed repairs on some known Snoqualmie Pass rockslide hazards because of future plans to overhaul 15 miles of Interstate 90 east of the pass. There were two rockslides on the pass last fall, including one that killed three women. And while that fatal rockslide wasn't within the area where work was delayed, the department is recommending that several other potential rockslide sites be fixed now, before disaster strikes again.
Plans for bus service between Kootenai and Spokane counties hit a pothole, but hope remains that they will soon be back on track. The Spokane Transit Authority's request for $1 million in Washington state regional mobility grant funding didn't make the final cut, but STA still plans to pursue a route between Coeur d'Alene and Spokane, said STA Planner Ryan Stewart.
Spokane County is home to more than 50,000 veterans, but when they die, loved ones often have a difficult choice: bury them at the state's only national cemetery on the far side of the Cascades or inter them at a local civilian cemetery. Such a decision can be especially hard for the poor because burial or inurnment of cremated remains is free at the Tahoma National Cemetery, near Kent. Such burials cost thousands of dollars at private graveyards, and many of the plots in local veterans' sections have already been taken.
The Spokane Transit Authority is delaying plans to purchase smaller buses. Officials said Thursday that several routes have increased ridership requiring larger buses, and an earlier plan to downsize buses would have left them with too many small vehicles if voters don't reauthorize a sales tax for transit operations in 2008.
Rockslides, avalanches, traffic tie-ups, collisions and even wild animals pose problems for drivers and hauling companies heading over Snoqualmie Pass. Now the Washington State Department of Transportation has $390 million in gas tax funding to fix five miles of an eventual 15-mile section of Interstate 90 at the pass. First up is the area between Hyak and Keechelus Lake, best known by most drivers for its abundance of tree stumps.
Heavy rain has prompted Idaho officials to indefinitely close portions of U.S. Highway 2, effectively cutting off direct travel between Sandpoint and the Washington border town of Newport. Flood waters are retreating in Spokane County, but observers are still monitoring potential hazard areas. "I'm watching the Little Spokane River," said Wayne Storey, Spokane County's operations and maintenance superintendent. Officials are also keeping an eye on streams and rivers in southern Spokane County, including Rock Creek near Rockford.
Flood waters are retreating in Spokane County, but observers are still monitoring potential hazard areas. Meanwhile, heavy rains closed portions of an Idaho highway on Thursday. "I'm watching the Little Spokane River," said Wayne Storey, Spokane County's operations and maintenance superintendent. Officials are also keeping an eye on streams and rivers in southern Spokane County, including Rock Creek near Rockford.
About 130 Fairchild Air Force Base airmen deployed Wednesday morning, including Col. Scott Hanson, the 92nd Air Refueling Wing commander. Most will be serving for four months in Iraq at either the Baghdad International Airport or Balad Air Base, north of Baghdad.
After months of delay, Spokane's light rail planning is hitting the fast track. The Federal Transit Administration has signed off on the Spokane Transit Authority document describing and comparing the different alternatives, STA's Light Rail Task Force is launching a final public opinion poll, and STA board members are preparing to select a preferred option for transporting people via rapid transit between downtown Spokane and Liberty Lake.
A Washington State University graduate and former rodeo queen was killed over the weekend in a helicopter crash in Iraq. Army National Guard 1st Lt. Jaime Lynn Campbell, 25, was one of eight soldiers and four civilians who died in the Jan. 7 crash in northern Iraq.
A smooth street or shady trees was the choice presented to south Spokane residents late last year. Plans to rebuild Bernard Street called for the removal of more than 20 street trees to a virtual annihilation of the mature canopy.
Some Spokane County criminals may soon be able to avoid jail time by attending a day-reporting program where they would check in and return home at night. Participants could continue to work and remain connected to their families, while the county would benefit from decreased costs per offender kept out of jail, said Barbara Miller, executive director of Friendship Diversion Services, which will administer the program.
With the prospect of downtown Interstate 90 viaduct gridlock this coming summer, it's easy to forget that other streets will be under construction, too. But 2006 promises a bevy of city, county and state road projects to frustrate drivers before offering up beautiful, new, smooth surfaces. Spokane's voter-approved street bond means plentiful road construction on arterials and residential streets, with the South Hill getting the lion's share of work this year.
They walk a beat where they could appear at any time on a downtown sidewalk, in the skywalk system or the Spokane Transit Authority Plaza. In just two months, Spokane police Officers Dean Draper and Nate Spiering have been making their presence felt downtown, and longtime troublemakers have taken notice.
Spokane County temporarily scrapped plans to repave the roadway between Spangle and Waverly this past summer when the lowest bid on the project came in 40 percent over budget thanks to a shortage of cement. And the county's Regal Road project came in about $150,000 over budget due to similar material challenges and a shortage of labor, said Spokane County Engineer Ross Kelley.
A Spokane woman can sue U.S. Bank Corp. in state court for age discrimination because the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that federal banking laws don't trump all state anti-discrimination rules. The ruling sets a new precedent when it comes to employees' rights under the 1864 National Bank Act.
It's good news or bad news, depending on your point of view. The Spokane area is getting $14 million in funding for the Washington State Department of Transportation's Interstate 90 viaduct project as part of Washington's Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan.
What Santa takes away from the kiddies, he gives to their parents. Local weather forecasters are predicting rain and warmer temperatures in the lower elevations of Washington and North Idaho through Christmas, which means snowmen will be melting, but that holiday trip over the pass could be a lot less stressful.
Spokane County commissioners are hoping to turn local community support into increased state funding for mental health services. On the same day the three commissioners unanimously instated a 0.1 percent sales tax for such services, they also told their lobbyist to urge the state Legislature to fund more Spokane County mental health programs.
Whether heading out on the Centennial Trail, picking up tourist information, putting a kayak in the Spokane River or just in desperate need of a restroom, locals and visitors will find what they need at a new Spokane County park. The as-yet-unnamed park, just off Interstate 90 west of the Idaho state line, could be up and running by May, said Spokane County Parks Director Doug Chase.
Talk about a panhandler with expensive taste. A certain plain-clothed Washington State Patrol trooper operating earlier this month near Tacoma wasn't looking for spare change. He was looking for seat-belt law violators, who were promptly given $101 tickets.
Die-hard poll voters better stock up on stamps. They and all other Spokane city and county voters will be casting their ballots by mail from here on out.
