Stories by Emry Dinman for the Spokesman-Review

News > Spokane

Natasha Hill, Ben Stuckart running for state House seat being vacated by Riccelli amid shakeup

UPDATED: Mon., March 4, 2024

Amid a major shakeup of Spokane’s legislative delegation Monday, former Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart and Spokane attorney Natasha Hill announced runs for a seat in the state House being vacated by Rep. Marcus Riccelli.

News > Local Government

Medical Lake Mayor Terri Cooper announces bid for Congress

UPDATED: Sun., March 3, 2024

Medical Lake Mayor Terri Cooper is running to represent Eastern Washington in Congress, she announced Saturday at the Spokane County Republican Convention.

News > WA Government

Campaign to vote ‘uncommitted’ in Democratic presidential primary reaches Washington

UPDATED: Sat., March 2, 2024

A campaign to vote “uncommitted” in the Democratic presidential nominating contest to signal anger with President Joe Biden’s support for Israel amid that nation’s siege of Gaza is building momentum in Washington state and the Spokane-area.

News > Spokane

Ukrainians in Spokane and the rest of U.S. can remain longer with two-year extension

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 28, 2024

Thousands of Ukrainians who have sought refuge in the United States during the Russian invasion of their homeland will be able to stay for up to an additional two years, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Tuesday.

News > Local Government

Spokane shuffles money away from new municipal court, paying for police cars instead

UPDATED: Tue., March 5, 2024

For more than a decade, officials have warned that conditions at the Spokane Municipal Court are unsafe and have sought a new facility to conduct their business. Changes aren’t coming anytime soon.

News > Local Government

Spokane Civil Rights Director Jerrall Haynes taken to court for unpaid public disclosure fines

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 27, 2024

City of Spokane Civil Rights Director Jerall Haynes owes $4,000 in fines that have been sent to collection stemming from failing to submit personal financial statements for three years while an elected member of the Spokane Public Schools Board of Directors.

News > WA Government

Michael Baumgartner joins crowded race to represent Eastern Washington in Congress

UPDATED: Mon., Feb. 26, 2024

Spokane County Treasurer Michael Baumgartner has formally joined the race for Washington’s 5th congressional district, announcing his candidacy at a campaign launch event at the University District Gateway Bridge overlooking the Washington State University Spokane Medical School.

News > Spokane

Tenuous status for Ukrainians who fled to U.S. as war enters third year: ‘You feel like you’re sitting with a bomb’

Sun., Feb. 25, 2024

Yuliia Boicheva and her family had just poured their savings into an Odesa condo a short 20-minute walk from the Black Sea where her teenage son liked to swim. It was close enough that they could smell the ocean air from their new home. They had just begun to plan to remodel when Russia invaded their country.

News > Spokane

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense and Pullman native James Mattis to receive inaugural Foley Distinguished Public Service Award

UPDATED: Fri., Feb. 23, 2024

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense and four–star Marine Corps General James Mattis will be the inaugural recipient of the Thomas S. Foley Award for Distinguished Public Service.

News > Washington

Spokane Councilman Jonathan Bingle and former Matt Shea aide Rene Holaday running for Congress

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 21, 2024

Voters have two more choices to consider for a seat in Congress being vacated by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

News > Washington

Democrats see best chance to flip Eastern Washington’s Congressional seat in decades

Mon., Feb. 19, 2024

It’s been nearly 30 years since Democrats last represented Eastern Washington in Congress. Now with incumbent Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers not running for re-election, some in the party see a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

News > Local Government

Brian Dansel and John Guenther enter race for Congress; Michael Baumgartner, Nadine Woodward considering

UPDATED: Fri., Feb. 16, 2024

A little over a week since the local political landscape was rocked by the surprise announcement that GOP Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers would not be seeking re-election, two Republicans have formally announced they will be running for her seat.

News > WA Government

Seeing opportunity, some quietly push for quick backing of sole Democratic candidate for seat vacated by McMorris Rodgers

UPDATED: Sat., Feb. 17, 2024

Nervous that Democrats might struggle to get through a crowded top-two primary for a congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, some Democrats are quietly signaling that county parties and other party leaders should quickly coalesce behind a single candidate, according to two campaigns worried by the discussions.

News > Local Government

Mayor Brown: More work to be done before recruiting Spokane police, fire chiefs

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 14, 2024

Amid a spate of police shootings this week, Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown announced Wednesday that there’s more work to be done before the hiring process for the city’s permanent police or fire chief can begin.

News > Local Government

Ballot measure meant to prevent gerrymandering in Spokane passing overwhelmingly

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 13, 2024

Voters overwhelmingly approved a Spokane ballot measure that will limit the ability for the Spokane City Council to draw its own districts following accusations of gerrymandering in 2022.

News > Local Government

Voters agree to tax for Spokane Public Library to maintain services

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 13, 2024

Renewal of a Spokane Public Library levy, constituting around 18% of the department’s entire yearly budget, was passing by a sizable margin Tuesday night.

News > Local Government

Ballots due Tuesday night for Spokane County special election

UPDATED: Mon., Feb. 12, 2024

Ballots are due at 8 p.m. Tuesday for Spokane County-area voters being asked primarily to approve or reject tax increases to support schools, libraries and a fire district.

News > WA Government

Who is running for McMorris Rodgers’ open seat, and who won’t say

UPDATED: Sat., Feb. 10, 2024

The floodgates have been thrown open following Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ surprise announcement that she will not run for re-election this year, with rampant speculation about who might enter the race from the Republican side and whether any Democrat could flip a seat that has eluded the party for three decades.

News > Washington

Local politicians and leaders reflect on Rep. McMorris Rodgers’ surprise retirement announcement

UPDATED: Fri., Feb. 9, 2024

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers looms large in Eastern Washington politics with 10 terms representing it in Congress and time before that in the Legislature.

News > Local Government

Spokane libraries expand free music classes with Future Song Foundation grant

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 7, 2024

The Spokane Public Library will be able to significantly expand its free music lessons with a $13,500 grant from the Spokane-based Future Song Foundation, according to a Wednesday press release.

News > Local Government

Spokane’s water rates for customers outside city limits must be “just and reasonable,” court rules amid yearslong fight

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 6, 2024

If the city of Spokane wants to charge 50% more to deliver water to customers outside city limits, it needs to show its math, an appellate court ruled Tuesday.

News > Local Government

Measure 2 asks voters if Spokane City Council should have less power drawing their own districts

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 6, 2024

Hidden among the many multimillion-dollar asks on this month’s special election ballot, the city of Spokane is asking voters with Measure 2 whether the City Council should have less power in drawing council districts in the future, after the most recent process was embroiled in accusations of gerrymandering.

News > Local Government

Fees reinstated for installing solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations in Spokane

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 6, 2024

The Spokane City Council has reinstated permitting fees for installing solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations in the city.

News > Local Government

Woman settles with Spokane for $275,000 after falling into tree grate in 2020

UPDATED: Mon., Feb. 5, 2024

A local woman will receive a $275,000 settlement from the city of Spokane more than three years after she said she slipped into a downtown grate covering tree roots and suffered serious injuries.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Spokane City Council votes to approve $135,000 settlement with couple hit by patrol car in 2020

UPDATED: Mon., Feb. 5, 2024

A couple hit by a Spokane police officer going twice the speed limit in his patrol car will get a $135,000 settlement, after the City Council unanimously voted to approve the settlement Monday night.

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