Spokane Valley's new Parks and Recreation director, Mike Stone, had several construction projects and his first budget setback on the day he arrived last week. Minutes after Stone was introduced to the City Council on March 18, the council reluctantly accepted an above-estimate swimming pool construction bid that put a $668,847 hole in the parks budget.
A failed March 11 bond measure to build and expand libraries in the Greater Spokane Valley area would have benefited residents of northern Spokane County as well. The $33.4 million proposal would have made it easier for the Spokane County Library District to purchase land for a new library near the Wandermere Mall.
Retired teacher Tim Hattenburg, 55, has filed to run for the 4th District state House seat being vacated by Republican Lynn Schindler. Hattenburg so far is the only Democrat to seek the position, which already has three Republican candidates.
The idea of restoring two-way traffic on Spokane Valley's Sprague-Appleway couplet remained unpopular in a second round of public testimony last week. But last Thursday's continuation of a Planning Commission hearing that began March 13 covered a broader range of issues than the first session. And there was a bit more support for restoring two-way traffic and for the plan in general.
Spokane Valley City Council members will seek a vehicle registration fee while working with the city of Spokane on a more ambitious plan to raise money for street maintenance. Despite some misgivings, the council directed City Manager David Mercier Tuesday to prepare a proposal in which voters could be asked to approve an annual vehicle registration fee up to $100.
The Spokane Valley Fire Department had to make two trips during one of the 441 calls it handled between March 6 and Wednesday. Inspector Bill Clifford said firefighters used foam to douse a car fire in the 10600 block of East Trent Avenue on March 13. The fire burned the engine and passenger compartments, but no one was hurt.
Spokane County Library District trustees want more time to decipher the message voters sent them about a proposal to build two new libraries in Spokane Valley. Trustees agreed Tuesday that last week's rejection of a $33.4 million bond measure was a forceful message about something. Just what, they couldn't tell.
Spokane Valley and Spokane County are on the verge of a breakthrough land-use planning agreement. The traffic-oriented deal is expected to open a door for further cooperation.
Spokane Valley City Council members bowed Tuesday to the adage that sometimes you can't win for losing. The council tried to get a swimming pool renovation project back on track in February when the only construction bid was nearly $593,000 more than the city's estimate.
Residents of suburban areas south of Spokane Valley will vote April 22 on a Fire District 8 request for money to improve service. Fire commissioners want voters to lift the district's property tax ceiling so they can provide paramedic service and ensure there are always two full-time firefighters at every station.
A clear message emerged at Thursday's public hearing on Spokane Valley's proposed revitalization plan: Don't mess with Sprague-Appleway traffic. Except maybe to extend the one-way couplet all the way to Liberty Lake.
Spokane Valley misstated its assets, debts and expenditures in 2006 and failed to catch the errors, according to a newly released state audit. The audit says the city also mistakenly stated that all its tax revenue came from the property tax although some of the $22.9 million came from the sales tax and other taxes.
A defeated proposal to establish a Greater Spokane Valley taxing district to build and expand libraries likely won't be presented again on the May ballot. Spokane County Library District trustees will discuss their options next Tuesday, but district Director Michael Wirt said he is confident trustees won't pursue a quick re-vote.
Spokane police Detective Brian Hamond believes he knows where to look for the man who raped and murdered 9-year-old Candice Elaine Rogers 49 years ago. Hamond is confident the killer is named in the case files his predecessors assembled in the year after Candy Rogers was abducted while selling Camp Fire Girls mints near her home.
The 1959 rape and murder of 9-year-old Candy Rogers, arguably Spokane's most infamous unsolved crime, has haunted Dan Hite. Now 74, the former Spokane Motorcycle Club secretary remembers the day 49 years ago when he drove past the isolated spot where Rogers' body would be found less than a month later.
A plan for revitalizing the Sprague-Appleway corridor will have its first formal public hearing Thursday before the Spokane Valley Planning Commission. Testimony at the 6 p.m. meeting at City Hall, 11707 E. Sprague Ave., will help planning commissioners refine the plan for presentation to the City Council in late May or early June.
Spokane Valley Mayor Rich Munson delivered good news in his State of the City address this week: There's money to maintain streets. The bad news, he said, adapting a joke about a minister and his congregation, "is that it's still in your pocket."
The Spokane Valley Fire Department responded to 209 calls in the seven days that ended Wednesday. Nine of those involved relatively minor fires, including a chimney fire, a fire in an electrical outlet and a robe that was ignited by a baseboard heater.
Spokane Valley City Council members favor a "baby-steps" approach to an ambitious plan to revitalize the Sprague-Appleway corridor. They embraced Mayor Rich Munson's suggestion Tuesday to focus on the first phase of the 20-year plan, and emphasized that the whole plan is subject to change.
Residents of suburban areas south of Spokane Valley will vote April 22 on a Fire District 8 request for money to improve service. Fire commissioners want voters to lift the district's property tax ceiling so they can provide paramedic service and ensure there are always two full-time firefighters at every station.
Spokane Valley Mayor Rich Munson plans to lay the groundwork for a tax increase when he delivers his "state of the city" address Wednesday. The city, which will celebrate its fifth birthday on March 31, did well in 2007, but will need "revenue enhancement" if it is to maintain its streets properly, Munson said this week.
Spokane Valley will have to pay more if it wants a personnel manager, the City Council decided Tuesday. Council members agreed unanimously, with Steve Taylor absent, to bump up their offer by two pay grades, from a range of $55,200 to $70,800 to a range of $68,400 to $87,684 a year.
University High School students Corey Bowerson and Anthony Veilleux liked what they saw Tuesday at an open house meeting on a proposal to build a bigger, better Spokane Valley Library. "Whoa, that's close to where I live," Veilleux said of the new 58,600-square-foot library at what is now the University City shopping center.
A couple of business owners had just one question this week about a plan to restore two-way traffic on Sprague Avenue: How fast can it be done? That aspect of Spokane Valley's Sprague-Appleway corridor revitalization plan has been criticized by motorists. But there was only support at Tuesday's meeting when some 75 people packed a joint session of the Spokane Valley City Council and Planning Commission.
All 23 of the Spokane Valley Fire Department's lieutenants have been promoted to captain. Staffing levels remain the same because, under a plan to improve managerial skills, lieutenants are now as obsolete as a bucket brigade.
