Garbage disposal rates will rise $6 a ton next year instead of $12 as originally proposed by Spokane city officials. However, a compromise approved Tuesday by Spokane County commissioners will allow the new $104-a-ton rate to rise again, by $3 a year, in 2013 and 2014.
A county zoning overhaul aims to land a Boeing manufacturing plant at Spokane International Airport. An interim ordinance would selectively raise height limits to allow structures big enough to hold a jetliner.
If Chris Gregoire gets tired of being Washington’s governor, she might have a future as a Shadle Park High School economics teacher. She might, anyway, if the state weren’t making such big cuts in education funding.
County commissioners couldn’t say a word this week when business leaders appealed for help in defending Fairchild Air Force Base. They were gagged by an agreement to remain silent in exchange for payments to offset the effects of a proposed Spokane Tribe casino and hotel development.
A former Spokane County District Court commissioner will join the bench as a judge. Randy Brandt, currently a state administrative law judge, was unanimously appointed Tuesday by county commissioners to replace Judge Richard White, who retired July 1.
Spokane County’s Risk Management Department brings December to the Deer Park Airport all summer long. That’s where the department uses a spider-like “SkidCar” on an unused runway to teach employees how to drive on slick roads while the pavement is still dry.
Spokane County Commissioner Todd Mielke says his dating relationship with a District Court judge poses no conflict as commissioners prepare to fill a vacancy on the court. Mielke and the court’s presiding judge, Debra Hayes, have been in what he describes as “a serious dating relationship” for about a year. Mielke said they’ve known each other since 1988.
Spokane County’s duty to remove railroad tracks from Fairchild Air Force Base will cost almost $252,000 more than expected. Assistant County Engineer Chad Coles told commissioners Tuesday that the soil under the tracks is contaminated with creosote and must be hauled off to a special landfill.
Spokane County and its union employees are moving toward contracts that freeze wages and scale back medical benefits. Gordon Smith Jr., a staff representative for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said he expects most voting on pattern-setting contracts to be complete by the end of the month.
Efforts to develop a countywide animal-control program have been like trying to land a plane that’s short of fuel on an aircraft carrier in a gale. The target keeps moving, and there may not be a second chance.
The Washington State Bar Association has dismissed a complaint that Stevens County Prosecutor Tim Rasmussen improperly solicited contributions for a Guatemalan orphanage. A three-member review committee found unanimously that there was insufficient evidence to prove Rasmussen acted unethically when he steered defense attorneys to a charity called International Children’s Care.
For the second time in a month, Spokane County commissioners have jumped at bargain-priced conservation land offered by the Dishman Hills Natural Area Association. Commissioners tentatively approved a deal in which the association will provide 160 acres for less than half its cost.
A new report on Spokane County sewer charges may give ratepayers a sigh of relief. A consultant’s study shows no increase in adopted rates is necessary and small reductions are possible.
The Spokane County Solid Waste Advisory Committee wants the regional garbage system to substitute efficiencies for most of a proposed 10.2 percent increase in disposal fees. The committee voted unanimously to ask the regional solid waste staff to recommend cuts in its operating costs, possibly including a reduction in weekend hours at transfer stations.
Spokane County commissioners have chosen nine finalists for the District Court seat vacated in July by Judge Richard White. Commissioners cut a field of 19 in half after discussing the applicants in a closed meeting earlier this week.
A public records request about a seating chart may cost Spokane County more than $100,000 under a state Supreme Court ruling released Thursday. The high court overturned two lower courts’ dismissals of a 2006 lawsuit by the Neighborhood Alliance of Spokane County.
A bar association committee says five lawyers who want to replace Spokane District Court Judge Richard White are exceptionally qualified. Four of 18 applicants seeking the appointment by county commissioners are well qualified, eight are qualified and one isn’t, according to the 11-member Judicial Evaluation Panel of the Spokane County Bar Association.
Reduced prices and special offers paid off for Spokane County aquatic centers this summer. Parks Director Doug Chase and recreation manager Angela Simmons told county commissioners Tuesday that the new marketing strategy helped the county swimming program boost attendance and reduce its subsidy.
A government program that arranges “extra duty” security jobs for Spokane police officers and Spokane County sheriff’s deputies isn’t paying its way, according to a county cost-recovery specialist. Other public officials disagree, saying private employers shouldn’t be forced to pay fixed costs the government would have to pay anyway.
Spokane County commissioners unanimously passed an ordinance Tuesday requiring helmets for bicycling and other wheel sports in unincorporated areas. The law applies to children 3 through 15 years old, and carries no penalty.
Airway Heights has agreed to stop using a well that has deprived residents outside the city of water they’re entitled to pump. An “agreed order” with the state Department of Ecology gives the city until mid-2013 to phase out its Parkwest well near the intersection of Craig Road and state Route 902.
