Spokane County is nearing completion of its largest-ever nuisance cleanup with help from the FBI. That's Frank and Bill Inc., an Oldtown, Idaho, salvage and towing company.
A recent survey of Spokane County Building and Planning Department employees shows they are generally satisfied with themselves, but have a lot of complaints about their managers, their co-workers and lack of communication. Much of the dissatisfaction was tied to the culture clash that has roiled the department since previously separate planners and building inspectors were combined in 1995.
Spokane County is nearing completion of its largest-ever nuisance cleanup with help from the FBI. That's Frank and Bill Inc., an Oldtown, Idaho, salvage and towing company.
A recent survey of Spokane County Building and Planning Department employees shows they are generally satisfied with themselves, but have a lot of complaints about their managers, their co-workers and lack of communication. Much of the dissatisfaction was tied to the culture clash that has roiled the department since previously separate planners and building inspectors were combined in 1995.
Former Spokane City Manager Roger Crum has returned to City Hall as interim parks and recreation director. Mayor Mary Verner announced Crum's appointment Wednesday and said he would begin work today.
Spokane County is nearing completion of its largest-ever nuisance cleanup with help from the FBI. That's Frank and Bill Inc., an Oldtown, Idaho, salvage and towing company.
In a pair of zoning decisions Tuesday night, Spokane County commissioners made final repairs to an airport-area blunder and accepted 14 of 15 Planning Commission land-use recommendations. County commissioners rejected the Planning Commission's endorsement of William Lawson's request for a zone change that would have allowed apartments on 10 acres north of Spokane Valley, southeast of Argonne Road and Millview Drive.
The Christmas season brought no peace and good will to the Spokane City Council on Thursday. A meeting that was acrimonious from gavel to gavel ended with an angry outburst in which Councilman Brad Stark slammed his portfolio on the floor and repeatedly shouted a sexual obscenity.
County commissioners recently laid out some of their planning objectives for the coming year in what might be described as New Year's resolutions. "I'll be honest, land use is not one of my favorite topics in this job," Commissioner Todd Mielke confided at briefing session last week. "You seldom see all sides win."
Spokane County residents recycled almost half of their garbage last year. According to the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System, residents recycled 282,348 tons of their 622,881 tons of garbage – 45 percent.
Spokane County commissioners decided Tuesday to wait a week before acting on Planning Commission recommendations for 15 proposed comprehensive plan amendments, but their options are limited. State law limits counties to one annual adjustment of their land-use plans, and there's not enough time for commissioners to do anything this year except approve the Planning Commission recommendations.
An outside investigator says there is no merit to Spokane County Building and Planning Director Jim Manson's whistle-blower complaint against the planner who successfully blew the whistle on him. Manson's Oct. 18 complaint involved a Memorial Day weekend e-mail exchange between planner Bruce Hunt and County Commissioner Bonnie Mager, using their personal e-mail accounts.
NEWPORT, Wash. – Newman Lake resident Wendell Clark Sinn Jr. pleaded not guilty Thursday to a second-degree murder charge in the death of a man dragged nearly 13 miles behind a pickup. Sinn, 45, also pleaded innocent to an alternate charge of first-degree manslaughter and was ordered to stand trial March 31 in Pend Oreille County Superior Court.
A Planning Commission recommendation to approve nine of 15 proposed changes in the Spokane County comprehensive land-use plan, including one to revive a Colbert-area restaurant, will go before county commissioners Tuesday. Commissioners could adopt the recommendations or schedule a public hearing to consider alternatives.
People with computers generally don't need to leave home these days to conduct business with the Spokane County Assessor's Office. Now Assessor Ralph Baker wants to let some employees stay home, too. The technology-embracing assessor thinks it's good policy, when possible, to accommodate employees who want to work outside the office. And, "if we can reduce the cost of a commute, then we all win."
Spokane County commissioners Tuesday adopted a 2008 general fund budget that includes money to restore the Crime Check crime-reporting program – if cities agree to pay their share of the $2 million-a-year program. The nearly $155 million budget already included $244,228 for the scaled-down Spokane Crime Reporting Center that replaced Crime Check in late 2004 when the city of Spokane cut its support.
Spokane County and Spokane Valley officials have agreed to take some "baby steps" toward joint planning of developing areas just outside the city's boundary. The first step calls for implementation of a joint planning agreement in the Turtle Creek area east of Barker Road, roughly between Eighth and 11th avenues.
Spokane County commissioners moved this week to restore an efficiency-seeking independent auditor position that went dark in 1999. "I am just very pleased that this board (of commissioners) recognizes the need for this position and really supports it," county Auditor Vicky Dalton said Thursday after commissioners put the position in their tentative 2008 budget. "I am just really heartened by this."
County commissioners sent a $50,000 message Thursday to state legislators: There is local support for a proposed $12.5 million Armed Forces and Aerospace Museum at Spokane's western gateway. "I think it's a great project," Commissioner Bonnie Mager said, moving to chip in $50,000 from next year's county budget.
The position of director at Geiger Corrections Center – left vacant by Tuesday's firing of Leon Long – is likely to remain vacant while control of the center is transferred from Spokane County commissioners to Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich. Long's other job, as the county's risk manager, may be given to risk management specialist Steve Bartel.
Authorities say a martial arts enthusiast who was dragged to death Saturday in Pend Oreille County "just snapped and was completely out of control" before he was killed, according to witnesses. Pend Oreille County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Alan Botzheim said witnesses reported 20-year-old Jerid S. Sturman-Camyn had been drinking heavily along with his father, Jerry "Scott" Camyn, when the two engaged in a playful fight that got out of hand at a hunting camp near Ione, Wash.
A Newman Lake man claimed through his attorney Monday that he was defending himself and others during a wilderness confrontation that ended with the dragging death of an Eastern Washington University student. But Pend Oreille County District Court Judge Philip Van de Veer found probable cause to hold Wendell C. Sinn Jr., 45, on suspicion of second-degree murder or first-degree manslaughter in connection with the Saturday night death of Jerid Sturman-Camyn, a 20-year-old martial arts enthusiast who reportedly had threatened several campers with an ax.
Two major studies are getting under way and a third is proposed to help public officials sort out land-use issues affecting the futures of Fairchild Air Force Base and Spokane International Airport. One study aims to keep incompatible land uses from endangering an air base that represents an estimated 8 percent, or $1.2 billion, share of Spokane County's economy.
Spokane County commissioners plan to balance their 2008 general-fund budget with a combination of rising sales tax revenue and limiting new expenditures. So far, only three new positions are included in the tentative budget, but additional requests are pending.
Soon a good story may no longer be the best way for Spokane County motorists to beat a traffic ticket. If county commissioners approve, the Sheriff's Office and District Court judges plan to give some drivers a chance to have an infraction dismissed next year if they complete six hours of classroom traffic instruction by sheriff's deputies.
