Chad Sokol

Air Force officials have expanded their search for contaminated groundwater after testing found chemical runoff affecting neighbors of Fairchild Air Force Base.

Alicia Hoover stood at a bus stop in the Hillyard neighborhood and squinted at a street sign a block away. “Two things certain in life,” the sign read on Tuesday afternoon. “1. Death. 2. If u sleep in a tank top when u wake up one tittie will be out.” Hoover, who was on her way to a doctor’s appointment nearby, was confused – and a little offended. “I don’t know how that sells coffee,” she said, shaking her head.

The long, cold and wet winter gets the blame for the relatively low number of finishers in this year’s Bloomsday.

The Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office said Monday that sheriff’s deputies acted legally in the shooting death of Dean Bellamy, who reportedly opened fire on them after a four-hour standoff at his Colbert home.

Lisa Brown is stepping down as chancellor of Washington State University’s Spokane campus and says she is again considering a run for Congress.

A racist video, much of which was filmed last year at a Trump rally at Washington State University, surfaced on social media this week, prompting outrage by students and another call for inclusivity by the university’s president.

Air Force officials visited Julie Dipple’s home last week to share some troubling news: Her drinking water is contaminated and it probably has been for a long time.

When two girls started brawling at Chase Middle School last week, several other students responded as kids tend to do nowadays: They pulled out their cellphones and started recording. But the school district has a rule against filming fights, intended to stop such videos from ending up on YouTube or circulating on Snapchat. “If you’re videotaping a fight, that’s encouraging fighting,” said Mark Sterk, the district’s safety and security director. “And we don’t tolerate that. We don’t allow that.”

A Spokane Falls Community College instructor has been named “faculty member of the year” by the Washington State Association of College Trustees. Polly McMahon has taught social services and gerontology at SFCC since 1995.

Two more people have confirmed plans to seek appointment to Shelly O’Quinn’s seat on the Spokane County Commission after she vacates the position in June.

The suspect in a hit-and-run crash that severed a motorcyclist’s leg told an acquaintance that “she knew there was human skin on her vehicle,” according to court documents filed this week.

Challenges haven’t stopped Vetamunisa Lupfer from finishing school. She’ll graduate next month with a bachelor’s degree from UI’s College of Business and Economics. Her coursework has spanned not one but three majors: business economics, human resources and operations management.

After a four-hour standoff and a bout of gunfire, Spokane County sheriff’s deputies found Dean Bellamy’s body on the floor of the master bedroom of his Colbert home. There was a black pistol near his feet and a gunshot wound to his head.

Spokanites can expect to see more “parklets” around town this summer. The City Council recently approved another extension of a pilot program for the parking-spot-sized public seating areas.

A businessman has formally withdrawn his application to build a marijuana growing and processing facility in Deer Park, prompting cheers from neighbors who had opposed the project. The state Liquor and Cannabis Board previously suspended a separate application process after it was revealed that the owner of the Deer Park property is also an employee of the agency – an apparent conflict of interest prohibited under state law.

Voters in Spokane County’s largest fire district approved a property tax increase that officials say will be used to replace aging trucks and equipment and respond to increasing call volumes.

Spokane County residents voted to renew a one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax that’s used to fund upgrades to emergency communication technology used by firefighters and law enforcement.

Spokane residents voted to continue paying a property tax to fund services at the city’s six branch libraries.