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News >  Washington Voices

Prep work to begin on Appleway Trail

Preparation work on the new Appleway Trail will be done by L&L Cargile Inc. The Spokane Valley-based contractor was the lowest of six bidders for the opening phase of the trail’s construction at $186,301, officials said Tuesday. The city estimated the initial prep work, called the “earthworks” portion of the project, would cost about $221,000.
News >  Marijuana

First month of pot sales garnered Washington $1 million in taxes

Despite supply shortages and slower-than-expected retail expansion, Washington’s fledgling marijuana market generated more than $1 million in sales and excise taxes in its first month. That’s less than half what Colorado took in during its first month of legalized recreational sales, but Washington officials say collections are expected to continue growing as more licensed facilities become operational. The number of retail shops open for at least part of each week, for example, has grown from six on opening day last month to about 20 statewide now, while the number of producers and processors has topped 155 with about 1.5 million square feet of production.
News >  Spokane

Pot taxes top $1 million in first month

Despite supply shortages and slower-than-expected retail expansion, Washington’s fledgling marijuana market generated more than $1 million in sales and excise taxes in its first month.
News >  Washington Voices

Appleway gateway gets upgrade

One of the main entrances into Spokane Valley from Interstate 90 is getting a facelift. Portions of Appleway Boulevard at the eastbound Interstate 90 exit on the city’s west side will be repaved, swales upgraded, sidewalks improved and irrigation lines installed for new trees and sod. The improvements are part of two separate projects that city officials say are coordinated to complement each other at the gateway to the city’s primary business route.
News >  Washington Voices

Bid selected to replace Sullivan Road bridge

The aging Sullivan Road bridge carrying southbound traffic over the Spokane River is getting replaced. Max J. Kuney Co. was selected by Spokane Valley from a field of four bidders for the estimated 18- to 22-month project. The Spokane-based company’s $12.31 million bid was the lowest of the four.
News >  Marijuana

Club offers social pot spot

Eric Buchanan envisions a day when marijuana will be as common as vodka tonics or microbrews at lounges and nightclubs across Washington. Until then, he and his business partners are weaving their way through largely untested and often ambiguous state laws in an effort to hurry things along. Their new Spokane Valley nightclub, The Lounge, is part medical marijuana dispensary and part members-only social club where patrons can smoke pot and mingle.
News >  Washington Voices

Valley City Council restricts pot business sites

Prospective pot entrepreneurs are warning that Spokane Valley’s new restrictions on state-licensed marijuana operations could hamper the fledgling industry’s success and limit the city’s share of expected tax revenue. But city leaders, who adopted the restrictions Tuesday night, are defending the move, saying it still provides ample opportunities for legal marijuana operations while protecting areas of the Valley where children and families gather.
News >  Spokane

Open seat on Spokane City Council concerns conservatives

Republicans are worried that the liberal-leaning Spokane City Council soon could have a veto-proof supermajority and are pushing for a conservative appointment to the nonpartisan panel’s open seat. They argue it would be keeping with the intent of northwest Spokane voters, who chose free-market conservative Steve Salvatori in 2011 to represent them. Salvatori resigned his seat earlier this month because he’s relocating to Dallas, leaving just two conservatives on the seven-member council.
News >  Spokane

Proposal would require City Hall to use recycled paper only

Paper-pushing at Spokane City Hall is likely to get a bit greener. A proposal expected to win council approval Monday night would require the city to use only recycled office paper, a move that would cost an extra $5,900 annually and serve to bolster Spokane’s growing focus on sustainability issues.
News >  Washington Voices

Spokane Valley helping businesses link to smartphone app

Spokane Valley wants to boost the number of local businesses featured on its free smartphone app. City employees are contacting business owners this summer to explain the mobile app and offer to help get them listed at no cost with Google, which is what the app uses to determine the nearest commercial establishments to the smartphone user. They’re also inviting business owners to contact City Hall to set up appointments.
News >  Business

Spokane adopts state elevator safety standards

Spokane has ended its nearly seven-month protest over the state’s changes to elevator safety codes. The City Council this week agreed to update local ordinances to include the state-mandated changes, which officials say are mostly minor adjustments. Concerns raised by local building owners last fall over what appeared to be potentially costly new requirements were examined by city staff and determined to be less burdensome than originally believed.
News >  Washington Voices

Appleway trail project to link to Liberty Lake system

Work is expected to start next month on a major stretch of Spokane Valley’s planned Appleway Trail. City officials said they hope to have a paved and landscaped pathway along the old Milwaukee Railroad corridor between University and Pines roads just south of Sprague Avenue open by the end of the year. The plan is to eventually extend the recreational trail to the eastern city limits, where it will meet up with Liberty Lake’s municipal trail system.
News >  Spokane

South Hill fire station back to full staff

Full firefighting capability is being restored today to a key South Hill fire station hobbled a year and a half ago by city budget cuts. The expanding role for Station 9, located at 1722 S. Bernard St., comes as newly trained recruits begin reporting for duty, said Spokane Mayor David Condon.
News >  Spokane

Proposal would ease downtown utility bill disparity

Developer Ron Wells has a waiting list of nearly 200 people wanting affordable apartments in downtown Spokane. “There’s another 50 to 60 that couldn’t wait around and had to find something else,” said Wells, who owns and manages several apartment complexes and wants to convert the derelict Ridpath Hotel into a mix of traditional and micro apartments that many believe will help jump-start a vibrant urban core. “We know a lot of people like living in a convenient, affordable and close-in location.”
News >  Spokane

Minimum wage not on agenda in Spokane, Stuckart says

Don’t expect Spokane to follow Seattle’s lead on a $15-an-hour minimum wage. City Council President Ben Stuckart said Friday he has no plans to call for an increase, nor does he have any intention of pushing for one in the future.
News >  Spokane

Council implements PCB-free product preference

Spokane is taking what’s described as another big step toward improving water quality. New policies adopted last week require City Hall purchasing managers to give preference to PCB-free products ranging from road paint to packaging materials. The goal is to cut the amount of toxic pollution being swept into the Spokane River and other waterways from largely unregulated sources.
News >  Washington Voices

Semitrucks may face parking restrictions in Spokane Valley

The Valley is preparing to take another look at restricting commercial trucks in residential neighborhoods. Mayor Dean Grafos wants a proposed ordinance drafted for future City Council consideration that would prohibit semitrucks from parking on residential streets but would allow at least one commercial rig under 20-feet on private property. Grafos said it would enable commercial truck drivers who want to take their tractor-rigs home with them to continue doing so if they can fit in the driveway, for example, or alongside their home instead of in the street disrupting neighborhood views.
News >  Spokane

Spokane Valley won’t join regional waste system

After years of discussions and negotiations over regional garbage disposal, Spokane Valley is going its own way and a handful of other cities appear poised to follow. Valley leaders decided unanimously this week to contract with Sunshine Disposal & Recycling to handle transfer and disposal of the estimated 45,000 tons of garbage collected throughout the city each year instead of joining the regional system envisioned by Spokane County.
News >  Spokane

Proposal would tighten rules on City Council budget transfers

Ancillary spending by Spokane City Council members soon could be tightened. The proposed new rules are in response to questions over a series of internal budget transfers during the past two years that enabled council members to divert nearly $100,000 originally allocated for support personnel to pet causes and community groups instead.
News >  Washington Voices

Contractor reworking portions of Sprague will repave Appleway

A portion of Appleway Boulevard in Spokane Valley will be repaved by an asphalt contractor that is having to rework rough sections of a repaving project it handled earlier on a nearby stretch of Sprague Avenue. Spokane Rock Products was the lowest of four bidders at $294,624 for the street preservation project along Appleway between Thierman and Park roads.
News >  Washington Voices

Resignation opens seat on Liberty Lake council

Liberty Lake is looking for a new council member. Lori Olander, who was appointed to the City Council in 2012 and won election to the seat last November, resigned May 6, citing increased work demands that made it difficult for her to give the level of attention to the job that it requires. The resignation was effective immediately and Olander apologized for her erratic attendance at council meetings and city functions this year.
News >  Spokane

City Councilman Steve Salvatori resigns

Spokane City Councilman Steve Salvatori, a fiscal conservative and political ally of Mayor David Condon, is resigning his seat and moving to Texas. The resignation likely will expand the liberal-leaning majority on the council, creating a veto-proof 5-2 majority.