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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Jonathan Brunt

Jonathan Brunt

Current Position: Asst. Managing Editor (Govt)

Jonathan Brunt joined The Spokesman-Review in 2004. He is the government editor. He previously was a reporter who covered Spokane City Hall, Spokane County government and public safety.

Email
jonathanb@spokesman.com
Phone
(509) 459-5442

All Stories

News >  Marijuana

Spokane pot businesses on hold

The number of businesses in Spokane specializing in medical marijuana will be frozen at about a dozen for at least the next six months. Fearing the proliferation of businesses that sell pot before Washington even finishes crafting regulations for the state’s new legalized recreational marijuana industry, the Spokane City Council on Monday instituted a moratorium on new medical marijuana dispensaries and related businesses.
News >  Spokane

Council candidate’s residency questioned

A candidate for Spokane City Council who already has the backing of two other elected leaders may be ineligible to run. Mark Hamilton, the pastor of the former Spokane Christian Fellowship and a real estate broker for Soleil Real Estate, was registered to vote at an address outside city limits when he cast a ballot in November’s general election, which could complicate his efforts to assert he meets residency requirements.
News >  Spokane

Fagan slams Inslee in demeaning email

Spokane City Councilman Mike Fagan, in a fundraising letter for his anti-tax efforts, called Washington Gov. Jay Inslee “a lying whore.” The letter, which was signed by Fagan and the two other co-directors of Voters Want More Choices, was part of a mass email soliciting money for the group. Voters Want More Choices advocates for lower taxes through statewide voter initiatives.
News >  Spokane

Spokane mayor hires new communications director

Spokane Mayor David Condon has chosen a new chief spokesman for the city. Brian Coddington of Hill and Knowlton Strategies, a national public relations firm with offices in Spokane, is replacing Marlene Feist, who will remain at the city as the utilities communications manager, the city announced on Thursday.
News >  Spokane

Supermajority margin for tax hikes approved for Spokane

The next time the Spokane City Council considers a tax increase, it will take five of seven votes to pass. Most of the remaining ballots in Tuesday’s special election were counted Wednesday, and support for supermajority Proposition 2 increased, widening a close lead it had after Tuesday’s count.
News >  Marijuana

City draws map of pot areas

Spokane leaders on Tuesday got a glimpse of where the first pot for recreational use might be grown or sold legally within city limits. The map is heavily dominated by areas north of Interstate 90 and east of Division Street, especially east Hillyard, along East Trent Avenue and several commercial areas north of Francis Avenue.
News >  Spokane

Spokane voters pass library, police measures

Spokane voters on Tuesday resoundingly approved a city charter amendment granting the police ombudsman more authority and a tax to ensure that branch libraries won’t close. The most debated proposal on the city ballot, a rule increasing the threshold for City Council votes needed to raise taxes to five of seven members, had a narrow lead after Tuesday’s counting and likely won’t be decided for days.
News >  Spokane

Spokane voters approve library tax

Spokane voters easily approved a City Charter amendment giving the police ombudsman more authority and a tax to ensure that branch libraries won't close.
News >  Spokane

State of the City speech calls for making Spokane the ‘city of choice’

Spokane Mayor David Condon stuck with consistent themes in his annual State of the City address on Friday: change at City Hall and making Spokane “the city of choice in the Northwest.” In his first year as mayor, he replaced numerous administrators, reorganized several departments, changed the city’s legal strategy and halted plans to significantly raise utility rates.
News >  Spokane

Man identified in mobile home fire

The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed that the man who died in a fire north of Spokane on Tuesday was the man who lived at the mobile home.
News >  Spokane

STCU will move offices, new branch into historic Hutton Building

Spokane Teachers Credit Union is turning a foreclosed downtown building into one of its most prominent offices. The credit union announced Friday that it will move its commercial lending operations to the Hutton Building, a 105-year-old landmark at 9 S. Washington St. that it owns following a foreclosure last year.
News >  Spokane

Council members break email rules

Two Spokane City Council members have apologized for using their city email accounts to send campaign messages. Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart and Amber Waldref sent electronic newsletters to supporters that included their opinions on the three proposed measures that will be decided by voters in the city’s Feb. 12 special election.
News >  Spokane

Body found in burning North Spokane home

Firefighters found a body in a burning mobile home Tuesday morning north of Spokane. Doug Bleeker, deputy chief of Spokane County Fire District 9, said the body was found in the living room.
News >  Spokane

Suit filed in Gonzaga student’s kayaking death

A city parks instructor manual appears to ban city-sponsored kayak trips in the kind of weather that led to a chaotic and deadly excursion organized by Gonzaga University and sponsored by the Spokane parks department, according to a lawsuit filed Monday. Christopher Gormley, 18, died from hypothermia after his kayak tipped in the frigid waters of Rock Lake during the trip on April 1. He was one of seven people on the trip organized by Gonzaga Outdoors, which contracted with the city parks department to provide the equipment and guide for the trip. Gormley, a freshman honors student, was majoring in political science and was a recent graduate of Henry M. Jackson High School in Everett.