Emry Dinman

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News >  Local Government

Steve Eugster, tenacious Spokane councilman who inspired fury and admiration dies at 78

UPDATED: Tue., May 30, 2023

Steve Eugster, a divisive attorney at the forefront of some of the most controversial issues facing Spokane in the 1990s and early 2000s who reinvented the city’s government, died last month just weeks before his 79th birthday.

News >  Local Government

Camp Hope will close by June 30 as leaders project blame for duration of camp

UPDATED: Tue., May 30, 2023

For 18 months, Camp Hope has been a defining political issue in Spokane. At its peak, the encampment along Interstate 90 in the East Central neighborhood was the makeshift home for more than 600 people housed in tents, cars and campers, making it the largest homeless gathering in Washington.

News >  Spokane

‘Be an American worth dying for’: Hundreds attend Memorial Day service at veterans cemetery

UPDATED: Mon., May 29, 2023

Sixty-six years later, Lt. Col. Hank Cramer still remembers the knock on the door.

News >  Spokane

Daughters of the American Revolution dedicate veterans marker in Liberty Lake

UPDATED: Mon., May 29, 2023

As children played in nearby water features, dozens of adults met for a more solemn occasion Monday at Liberty Lake’s Orchard Park, dedicating a stone marker to commemorate the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

News >  Local Government

Stop signs and wild spaces: Yurt-maker Patrick McKann joins Spokane mayor race

UPDATED: Sat., May 27, 2023

Patrick McKann is running for a slower, greener city. In an interview, he argued the city’s bureaucracy is unresponsive to some neighborhoods’ demands for traffic calming infrastructure and is not doing enough to protect undeveloped land.

News >  Local Government

As Larry Stone stonewalls, Spokane City Council grudgingly invests in shelter he owns

UPDATED: Fri., May 26, 2023

Members of the Spokane City Council say it has become increasingly clear that developer Larry Stone, of the Stone Group of Companies, has no intention of selling the Trent Avenue property that has become Spokane’s largest homeless shelter.

News >  Local Government

Councilman Michael Cathcart running for second term

UPDATED: Wed., May 24, 2023

Michael Cathcart is the only incumbent on the Spokane City Council running for re-election this year.

News >  Local Government

Mike Naccarato joins race to represent south Spokane on City Council

UPDATED: Wed., May 24, 2023

Mike Naccarato has joined the race to represent south Spokane on the City Council.

News >  Local Government

Spokane police to get new full-body restraints to more safely detain suspects

UPDATED: Wed., May 24, 2023

Spokane police will soon have a new tool to restrain and immobilize people who are under arrest.

News >  Local Government

Spokane City Council considers lowering car parking requirements in favor of bike parking

UPDATED: Tue., May 23, 2023

Developers constructing new buildings in Spokane may soon no longer need to build as many parking spaces, so long as bike parking spaces are built instead.

News >  Local Government

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Andy Rathbun joins race for Spokane City Council president, decrying regulations on landlords

UPDATED: Tue., May 23, 2023

Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Andy Rathbun didn’t wake up Friday expecting to file to run for Spokane City Council. But with only hours left before the deadline, he decided that it was time.

News >  Local Government

Spokane City Council President Breean Beggs appointed as Superior Court judge

UPDATED: Mon., May 22, 2023

Gov. Jay Inslee has appointed Spokane City Council President Breean Beggs to serve as a Spokane County Superior Court judge.

News >  Local Government

Getting There: Electric vehicle rental co-op could roll out pilot program in Spokane by fall

Mon., May 22, 2023

Last Monday, the Spokane City Council unanimously agreed to sign onto a letter requesting grant funds from the state Department of Transportation to launch a pilot program through the Zero Emission Vehicle Cooperative, or ZEV Co-op.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

Debate stirs over video of Thursday arrest of homeless Spokane man

UPDATED: Fri., May 19, 2023

The Spokane Police Department released a statement and footage from a body camera Friday, following the wide circulation of a cellphone video showing the arrest of a homeless man in front of the Spokane Dream Center near downtown.

Crowded fields and last-minute surprises: Candidate filing week is over

UPDATED: Fri., May 19, 2023

Unless you’re a superior court judge, don’t expect an easy election this year in Spokane County.

News >  Local Government

More join Spokane’s most crowded city council race as filing week continues

UPDATED: Thu., May 18, 2023

Spokane’s most crowded race is getting larger.

News >  Local Government

Former staff, volunteers claim SCRAPS needlessly euthanized dogs

UPDATED: Tue., May 16, 2023

Former employees and volunteers at the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service are accusing the organization of negligence in its care for animals, unethical behavior by leadership and unnecessary euthanization in violation of SCRAPS’ no-kill policy and government contracts.

News >  Local Government

As filing week begins, a number of surprise candidates make their campaigns official

UPDATED: Tue., May 16, 2023

Some well-known former elected leaders in the Spokane area are looking to get back into the game, having filed for public office during the opening days of filing week.

News >  Local Government

Washington lawmakers strike tentative compromise on drug possession penalties ahead of special session

UPDATED: Mon., May 15, 2023

State lawmakers have come to a tentative agreement on drug possession and public use laws ahead of a special session that begins Tuesday.

News >  Spokane

Getting There: Speed limit to drop near some Spokane parks for summer, year-round on stretch of Belt Street

Mon., May 15, 2023

The Spokane City Council voted unanimously last week to lower the speed limit year-round from 30 mph to 20 mph on Belt Street from Wellesley Avenue in the north to Rockwell Avenue to the south. That stretch of road passes by a library, pool and school facilities, and drivers have caused a number of injuries to pedestrians in that area, including a fatal collision in 2020.

News >  Local Government

Lindsey Shaw, former Logan neighborhood chair, announces run against Councilman Michael Cathcart

UPDATED: Mon., May 15, 2023

Shaw said in an interview that she was running for public office because of her passion for the city, and because she felt that no councilmember should run unopposed. She believes that the city’s northeast district has not been prioritized by investment, and wants to change that trajectory.

News >  Local Government

Environmental advocate Kitty Klitzke announces bid for Spokane City Council

UPDATED: Thu., May 11, 2023

Kitty Klitzke, a former army reserve medic and environmental advocate, is running to represent northwest Spokane on the City Council.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

After Spokane passed city drug laws, other local governments look to craft their own

Thu., May 11, 2023

Other local jurisdictions are following suit after the Spokane City Council acted Monday to pass its own drug laws, following the unexpected collapse of a compromise in the state Legislature to maintain drug possession as a crime.

News >  Washington

Spokane is hosting country’s best handball players this weekend. But what is handball, exactly?

UPDATED: Fri., May 5, 2023

It’s soccer! It’s basketball! It’s lacrosse!

News >  Washington

Bloomsday runners and walkers take final steps at Spokane Convention Center before Sunday’s race

UPDATED: Fri., May 5, 2023

A small army of volunteers is helping thousands of Bloomsday participants take their final steps before Sunday’s race, handing them race numbers and information at the Spokane Convention Center.