Jim Camden

The Air Force wants to send more big jets into the sky over Moses Lake and use its airport for takeoffs and landings. Drivers along Interstate 90 are sometimes surprised by the sight of large jets circling overhead or seeming to come in for a landing in the small Eastern Washington city.

Northwest Spokane's council race features one veteran campaigner and four political newcomers, but all five candidates face the same challenge: The apathy of the summer doldrums. "People are polite at the door, but they're just kind of like 'Let me get on with what I'm doing,' " said former Councilman Steve Corker. "There's more apathy or less interest than I've seen in my whole political life."

An anti-war demonstrator's trespassing conviction was overturned this week, wiping out a jury verdict for a 2006 protest at a military office and possibly causing problems for the city's cases against 16 demonstrators arrested in Riverfront Park on July 4. Spokane County Superior Court Judge Jerome Leveque on Wednesday reversed the November conviction of Jim Sheehan for refusing to leave a Washington National Guard recruiting station on North Division Street. The city failed to provide enough evidence to prove that Sheehan, who was in part of the office open to the public, was there unlawfully, Leveque said.

Spokane's Northeast Council District, which traditionally has the fewest voters, the lowest turnout and the least expensive races in city elections, is bucking tradition on at least one count this year. It has the most candidates it's ever seen for a primary, and for the first time has as many or more than other races in the city.

A police video of the July 4 arrests in Riverfront Park shows no evidence of criminal behavior by protesters before arrests began, a city attorney's review of the incident says. In a report delivered Monday to Spokane Mayor Dennis Hession, City Attorney Jim Craven said his review of video shot by a police officer does not depict events described in police reports written after 17 people were arrested in the park. That video apparently only shows part of the interaction between police and protesters, not the entire event.

The arrest of 17 protesters Wednesday poses a series of legal questions that may play out in local courts in coming months, lawyers said Thursday. Especially: Can the protesters be convicted of trespassing in one of the city's most public places – Riverfront Park – during Independence Day festivities? Aaron Caplan, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington State, said trespassing is usually a charge used for private property. Although it is possible to trespass on public property, in most cases police would have to prove they complied with the protesters' due process, following all rules that govern the use of the park and applying them fairly.

Spokane Mayor Dennis Hession unveiled his plans Friday for spending more than $10 million that went unspent in 2006. Much of that money came from higher than expected sales tax revenue.

Mayor Dennis Hession has raised more than twice as much campaign money as his two main challengers combined and has spent more than council members Mary Verner and Al French put together. The incumbent continues to receive financial support from Avista Corp. and some of its executives, as well as attorneys and other business leaders.

A Washington-based political watchdog group is flagging Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers' practice of hiring family members for congressional campaigns. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington lists McMorris Rodgers as one of 96 members of Congress who put family members on the campaign payroll in the last six years.

Elective offices in Latah, Waverly and some of Spokane County's other small towns and political districts are going begging for candidates, so residents in those areas get a second chance next week to say that they want to run for office. The lack of candidates is not unusual. Town council positions sometimes get no volunteers for the mostly unpaid or low-paying positions, and a "special filing period" has to be held most years to try to find candidates for a few spots there, and on small water, sewer and cemetery district boards.

A tax break that has helped spur the development of windmill farms in Washington state could be extended for five years as part of the new Senate energy bill, Sen. Maria Cantwell said Wednesday. But the ability to carry that power from turbines in some of the wind-swept regions of the Northwest to the customers who need it isn't part of the proposal at this time.

Two Spokane County residents have been killed this month by homemade bombs while serving with the Army in Iraq, the Defense Department announced this week. Sgt. Dariek Dehn, who was born in Spokane, grew up in the Spangle area and graduated from Liberty High School in 1993, was killed on June 2 in an explosion in Shakrat, the Pentagon reported Monday.

Spokane city voters will face a full ballot in the August primary, as the municipal office races filled with some candidates who are familiar to the voters and others making their first runs for office. The city's northwest council district will have the most choices, with six candidates vying for a seat that became open when appointee Rob Crow filed for council president.

Fans of public financing for political campaigns were told they have to work hard to build a groundswell of support to get their proposals through the Legislature and Congress. "We're going to minimize the influence of special interests by taking away their money," said John Rauh, president of Americans for Campaign Finance Reform. His organization supports voluntary public funding of presidential and congressional campaigns, which it estimates would cost about $1.8 billion, or $6 per person in a country with a population of 300 million.

Candidates for two local positions will have to apply for office next week because of recent changes that weren't noticed before filing opened. Although the delays are minor, they could generate a little confusion for potential candidates in Liberty Lake and the Deer Park School District.

A Veterans Affairs employee who describes himself as "an average Joe" is the latest Spokane resident to file for a seat on the City Council. Robert E. Stokes Jr. said Tuesday he's running for the seat in the Northeast Council District because he sees it as a chance to "step up and help solve some problems." He said he's noticed an increase in bickering in city government, both among the council members and between the council and the mayor.

A member of a South Side neighborhood council and a member of the city's cable advisory board each filed for their first political campaigns Monday, running for spots on the Spokane City Council. Richard Rush, a member of the Cliff/Cannon Neighborhood Council, filed for the City Council's South District seat, which is held by Brad Stark.