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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 >  Spokane

Gov. Jindal visits Spokane for McKenna fundraiser

The frontrunner to be the Republican nominee for Washington governor brought a GOP star to Spokane on Wednesday to help raise money for his campaign. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal – often listed as a potential vice presidential nominee this year as well as in 2008 – joined Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna soon after disembarking from a private jet at the Spokane International Airport Wednesday afternoon.
News >  Spokane

Fourth of July protest aftermath fueled police reform

Five years ago today Zachary St. John, Michael Lyons and 16 others were arrested in Riverfront Park when police broke up a protest decrying police misconduct. The participants, mostly dressed in black, marched through Peaceful Valley and downtown. By the time police intervened, the protest had settled into a peaceful picnic, though many gathering in the park for fireworks were offended that some protesters were sitting on an American flag. 
News >  Spokane

Investigative changes coming

The new legal adviser for Spokane’s police force told the Use of Force Commission on Thursday that changes are under way in how the city deals with allegations of misconduct. In particular, she said, new City Attorney Nancy Isserlis has changed procedures in the city attorney’s office to prevent conflicts of interest when representing city employees and to ensure the city attorneys stay out of criminal investigations of its own employees.
News >  Spokane

Parks funding to decrease

Pool hours would shrink, senior and youth center funding would be cut and about four city employees would lose their jobs under a proposed Spokane parks budget for 2013. City officials predict that the parks and recreation budget will be $17.6 million next year. That’s down from $18.7 million that the city spent in 2011 and $18.3 million that was budgeted for 2012.
News >  Spokane

Mayor raising funds for re-election plans

Spokane Mayor David Condon is already building a campaign chest for a race in which he faces no opponent – at least not yet. Condon said at a news conference earlier this month that he intends to run for re-election in 2015.
News >  Spokane

New members could change MAC board’s stance on dispute

Four new members of the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture board could shift how the museum resolves its dispute with its terminated leader. The new president of the board, Bruce Howard, this week appointed four new members who were on the museum’s separate foundation board when that group voted unanimously to criticize the April firing of Forrest Rodgers.
News >  Spokane

New MAC board members could shift power

Four new members of the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture board could shift how the museum resolves its dispute with its terminated leader. The new president of the board, Bruce Howard, this week appointed four new members who were members of the museum’s separate foundation board when that group voted unanimously to criticize the firing of Forrest Rodgers, who was let go in April.
News >  Spokane

Driver, passengers left suspect at shooting scene

Details emerging from the aftermath of Tuesday’s shooting paint a picture of a frantic police search for two people who were with the gunman when he opened fire and then fled the scene with their 2-year-old daughter in tow. New information released Wednesday also could connect the shooting of two Spokane County sheriff’s deputies to an extensive heroin ring under federal investigation and a home-invasion robbery last month in which one victim was shot in the leg.
News >  Spokane

Wallace’s release baffles Knezovich

The county’s top law enforcement officer expressed outrage Wednesday that a suspected heroin dealer facing his fourth stay in prison was released from jail just weeks before shooting two deputies in a gunbattle north of Spokane. Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich waved a thick packet detailing the extensive criminal history of 41-year-old Charles Robert Wallace at a news conference, criticizing U.S. Magistrate Judge Cynthia Imbrogno’s order to release Wallace into a voluntary drug rehabilitation center.
News >  Health

Council asks impact study of coal trains

About 40 people Monday urged local leaders to find out how vastly increased train traffic could cause health problems in Spokane. After hearing from them, the Spokane City Council unanimously approved a nonbinding resolution asking state and federal officials to study the environmental effects of significantly increasing the amount of coal traveling by train through Spokane. They also requested that a hearing on the matter be held locally.
News >  Spokane

Program closure triggers debate on mayor’s power

The elimination of city departments without consulting the public or City Council has sparked debate about the powers of Spokane’s mayor. Last month, Mayor David Condon announced that he was disbanding the city’s real estate program and laying off the department’s two employees.
News >  Spokane

Rodgers rejects MAC offer of two months pay

The terminated director of the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture has declined an offer to go away quietly. Last week, an attorney representing the MAC board offered the museum’s former director, Forrest Rodgers, two months of pay and a letter of recommendation if he didn’t sue and signed a “non-disparagement” agreement. The board also for the first time outlined reasons he was fired, including “poor performance.”
News >  Spokane

Mayor delivers apology in person

Last week, Spokane Mayor David Condon hand-delivered to Ann Zehm what she has wanted for more than six years: an apology. Zehm, 84, is the mother of Otto Zehm, who died in 2006 at the age of 36 after he was mistakenly accused of theft and beaten, hog-tied and shocked by police in a Zip Trip convenience store on North Division Street.
News >  Spokane

Inslee, McKenna square off at Bing

The two leading candidates for Washington governor debated for the first time on Tuesday and agreed that new taxes aren’t needed to improve schools. But they disagreed on most other points, including education, in the hourlong debate at the Bing Crosby Theater in Spokane.