Jim Camden

The ad: A radio ad by the U.S. Senate campaign of Republican Mike McGavick criticizes two of incumbent Democrat Maria Cantwell's recent votes on amendments to the immigration bill currently under debate. It says she voted against a fence along part of the U.S border with Mexico, and "voted to offer Social Security benefits to people who are here illegally." The commercial is running in Spokane, Yakima and other Eastern Washington cities, as well as some Puget Sound cities, but not Seattle.Democratic response: The state Democratic Party's combined campaign calls the ad a "negative, misleading attack" on Cantwell and accuses McGavick of "fear-mongering." They note the incumbent has consistently supported more border guards and question whether a 370-mile fence on a 2,000 mile border makes sense, and Republicans who have campaigned for McGavick voted against the Social Security provision. The day the ad was released was "the day civility died" in the campaign, they add.McGavick's reply: He calls the ad a comparison of their stands on two specific points in the current debate over the immigration bill, not an attack on Cantwell's personality or character, he said. "We have two different views" on the two amendments, he said. While Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Ted Stevens of Alaska may have voted the same way on the Social Security benefits amendment, one doesn't always vote with their friends, he said. "I thought the race was between me and Sen. Cantwell," McGavick said.Bottom line: The vote on the Social Security amendment was actually a vote to kill an amendment that would cut off those benefits to illegal immigrants, who sometimes pay Social Security taxes, so calling it a vote "to offer the benefits" is a bit of a stretch. But calling the ad negative is a bigger stretch, because it's a comparison of stances on specific amendments. And the Democrats have been hammering McGavick on his retirement compensation from Safeco, so any suggestion this is the end of civility is just silly. With an immigration bill under debate in the Senate and the president of Mexico in Seattle and Yakima this week, points of contention on this issue are fair game for a political ad.

The River Park Square garage is closing off parking in rows that face Spokane Falls Boulevard while the owners test the concrete barriers at the end of the spaces. A spokeswoman for the garage said Monday portions of the row of parking spaces in front of all of the barriers, called spandrels, will remain closed for an undetermined length of time. That would affect slightly less than a fourth of the spaces in the main garage structure, but none in the parking beneath Nordstrom.

Voters, not the Legislature, should decide whether the state should add sexual orientation to its anti-discrimination statutes, a pair of Republican legislators said Thursday night. State Rep. Lynn Schindler, of Spokane Valley, and state Sen. Brad Benson, of Spokane, urged about two dozen people to work with their churches to make a final push for signatures for Referendum 65, a ballot measure that would repeal a law passed and signed this year. H.B. 2661 added sexual orientation to other "protected classes" from discrimination such as gender, race, religion and disability.

The concrete barrier that motorist Jo Ellen Savage hit in last month's fatal accident in the River Park Square parking garage exceeds building code requirements, according to a Seattle engineering firm that inspected the barrier for the garage's owner.

Spokane attorney Steve Eugster wants a grand jury to investigate whether any criminal charges should be brought in the fatal plunge of a car out of the River Park Square garage. Eugster, a former Spokane city councilman who said he was acting as a concerned citizen, sent a letter Friday to County Prosecutor Steve Tucker and the county's Superior Court judges, requesting a grand jury be convened.

Spokane police are looking for a black sedan that witnesses said was racing at high speed with the car that overturned Saturday at Lincoln Street and Fourth Avenue, leading to the death of one passenger. Lt. Jim Earle, of the department's traffic unit, said police have little to go on in the case, which has a 16-year-old driver facing charges of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. The charges have been sent to juvenile court authorities.

Two commissioners in a northwest Spokane County fire district face recall over charges they've been holding illegal secret meetings and intimidating members of the small volunteer department. An organization calling itself A Group of Concerned Citizens of Fire District 5 filed separate recall petitions Tuesday against James Ryan and Greg Lucht, two-thirds of the board. A third commissioner, Sheri Rhoades, apparently is not subject to recall because she was appointed, not elected, to the board this year, said Larry Wendlandt, a spokesman for the recall group.

WASHINGTON – Among the white marble columns and red velvet curtains of the nation's most storied congressional rooms, some 50 people on a mission from the Inland Northwest last week did the big schmooz, chatting up folks who could be the key to the region's future success. This group of businessmen and women, political leaders and academics from the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene area, was ending the first day of a three-day blitz of the Capitol, talking up the value of local projects that need money or highlighting the problems of government policies that need fixing.

WASHINGTON – The way the Bonneville Power Administration spends its money is unique, and the amount it collects is subject to many variables, an expert in the history and finances of the federal agency said Thursday. So when asked about the likely impact of a White House proposal to change the way BPA sells some of the surplus power out of its Northwest dams, Roger Seifert replied: "It depends."

WASHINGTON – The way the Bonneville Power Administration spends its money is unique, and the amount it collects is subject to many variables, an expert in the history and finances of the federal agency said Thursday. So when asked about the likely impact of a White House proposal to change the way BPA sells some of the surplus power out of its Northwest dams, Roger Seifert replied: "It depends."

WASHINGTON – Most people come to the nation's capital with an agenda. The 51 representatives of five chambers of commerce from Eastern Washington and North Idaho came this week with The Agenda.

Spokane County Republicans and the candidates seeking their votes were urged Saturday to remain united and civil through the coming political year – at least, civil to other Republicans. There's a U.S. Senate seat to try to take back, a Legislature to try to recapture, and a county courthouse they'd like to turn into a complete Republican stronghold.

Several streets in downtown Spokane will be closed this afternoon and drivers might see brief delays in the midafternoon and early evening as Vice President Dick Cheney travels to and from Fairchild Air Force Base. Cheney will make a speech at a rally for armed service personnel and military retirees after landing at Fairchild about 2 p.m. The rally, in a base hangar, is designed to thank troops and their families for their service in the war on terrorism, said Maj. Carol Gering, a Fairchild spokeswoman.

Some 200 Democrats hoping to ride a rising tide this fall gathered Saturday to bash practically all things Republican. Their candidates denounced problems with corruption in Congress, which they don't control, and obstructionists in the Legislature, which they do. Public opinion polls for President Bush are bad, and U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas is resigning.

As Washington state scours its list of more than 3.7 million voters to look for felons and others who don't belong there, it is also requiring more proof before adding new voters on the rolls. But the way it handles registrations has prompted a New York group to suggest Washington is being more careful protecting the rights of felons than the rights of new voters.

With the rushing Spokane River as a backdrop, Gov. Chris Gregoire on Monday signed the nation's first statewide ban on dishwashing detergents with phosphates as part of an effort to protect rivers and fish. "If you live here and you love the Spokane River, you know we've got some work to do to save it," Gregoire told a crowd of legislators, county and city officials, business leaders and environmentalists who gathered in the downtown library near a wall of windows overlooking the falls.

The debate over the federal budget should not be reduced to numbers, Sen. Patty Murray told health care professionals. It needs to be a debate about people. "Put a human face on Medicare and Medicaid," Murray told the Washington Rural Health Association at a meeting Thursday in Spokane. "Step up and speak out when politicians take the people out of policies."

Spokane School Board Chairman Don Barlow will run for the state House of Representatives in Spokane's 6th Legislative District, calling for the state to spend more on education and get health insurance for more people. "I would try to get additional funds for education," said Barlow, a Democrat, who wants to challenge Republican Rep. John Ahern. "We're down pretty much now to bare bones" for schools.