Amy Cannata

A light-rail line between downtown Spokane and Liberty Lake could bring more than 16,000 jobs and increase nearby property values by $780 million over the next 20 years, according to a preliminary economic analysis of the proposed project. Those and other economic impacts are over and above the development that would occur without the line, according to the report commissioned by the Spokane Transit Authority from Portland-based firm Marketek.

More criminals soon will be calling Geiger Corrections Center home under a plan that's even cheaper than earlier proposals calling for a fenced tent city. Geiger Director Leon Long told Spokane County commissioners Tuesday he can house an additional 150 inmates for a little more than $80,000 for the remainder of the year, and can get everything up and running in just six weeks. Commissioners enthusiastically embraced the idea.

The number of cases pouring into the Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has grown by 60 percent in two years while the number of cases prosecutors have filed has remained stagnant. It's not because of a lack of hard work, said Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker. It's a lack of manpower.

Tickets from Kent, tickets from Wallace, tickets from Michigan – for more than a decade Evelyn Ungaro has been getting notices about unpaid parking tickets from places she's never been before. And the kinds of tickets also amazed her. Ungaro has dealt with tickets for Bobcats and tickets for overweight vehicles.

Even if the public supports a future light rail system, an upcoming Spokane County Commission decision may throw the project off-track. Commissioners are revisiting a 2004 decision to transfer ownership of former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad property to the city of Spokane Valley.

Third Avenue's long-awaited makeover begins Tuesday. The $4 million overhaul includes installing a new water main, replacing signals and repaving Third Avenue from Division Street to Inland Empire Way and Ninth Avenue.

Spokane Transit Authority Board members unanimously approved a $58,000 plan to provide free shuttle service for athletes, coaches and judges and a fee-for-service shuttle for fans in Spokane for the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. "It means a lot to the city of Spokane to host this event, so I'm wholeheartedly in favor," said board member and Spokane City Councilman Joe Shogan.

Skaters, judges and officials would enjoy exclusive door-to-door shuttle service during the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships under a $58,000 plan being considered by the Spokane Transit Authority. The free shuttles between downtown hotels, the Spokane Convention Center and the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena would be closed to fans. Transit officials cite security concerns.

Staking his job and his reputation on a promise to cut crime, Spokane County Sheriff Mark Sterk wants $1.7 million to hire extra jail employees so more criminals can be locked up. Sterk, in a pitch to Spokane County commissioners Tuesday, pledged the crime rate would fall if the extra spending is approved.

Spokane County's urban growth area likely will be growing itself. The county is preparing to update its plan for how the metropolitan area will develop, and early indications from planning staff and county commissioners are that they want to bump out the urban growth boundary by 11 square miles.

Just in time for Earth Day, AAA is launching a one-week campaign to replace mercury switches on automobiles. The tiny switches are used to activate lights under the hoods of cars and in car trunks. Each, according to AAA, contains enough mercury to pollute a 20-acre lake.

Geiger Corrections investigators and Spokane police are searching for two inmates, one who was mistakenly released Tuesday and the other who escaped Wednesday. Steven J. Siversten, 34, escaped out of a van Wednesday afternoon when he was being transported from Superior Court to the Airway Heights facility, Geiger Custody Manager Brett Sobosky said. He was being taken back to Geiger after he failed to post bond.

Spokane County commissioners have temporarily put on hold plans to overhaul the way mental health patients are evaluated. The commissioners agreed Tuesday to extend through the end of the year Spokane Mental Health's contract to handle initial evaluations. Over the next few months, a task force of mental health service providers will try to find the best way to stop the more than $1 million in fines the county has been paying to the state each year for admitting more patients to Eastern State Hospital than the state would prefer.

Getting on or off the South Hill just got a little harder. Street construction crews today shut down key portions of the Thor/Freya corridor as they work to create a new couplet along the route.

Spokane County commissioners will now hold just one evening hearing a month instead of two. They dismantled a volunteer development task force and are revamping county boards and commissions. In Spokane, residents who live just outside city limits were booted from the city's neighborhood councils, while other neighborhoods have had trouble presenting their views to the Spokane Valley City Council.

A bus vs. bicycle incident is costing the Spokane Transit Authority $825,000. The out-of-court agreement, voted on last week by the STA's board of directors in apparent violation of the state's Open Public Meetings Act, settles Troy Porter Howard's $13.3 million claim.

The debate is going round and round. The Washington state Department of Transportation still is planning a roundabout at Bruce Road and Mount Spokane Park Drive, and area farmers still are worried their equipment won't make it through.