Jonathan Brunt

During KSPS debate, Rush questions Allen's work ethic

Verner's message on water rates sounding more like Condon's

Candidates for Spokane City Council responded to 20 questions from The Spokesman-Review soon after filing to run for the office. Because only two candidates filed to run for the south seat, there wasn’t a primary and none of the responses given by Richard Rush and Mike Allen ran in the print edition until today. To read candidates’ responses to all the questions, head to The Spokesman-Review’s Election Center at spokesman.com/election.

Much is different and much is the same in Envision Spokane’s second attempt to get voters to approve a version of its Community Bill of Rights. Its proposal on the November ballot is significantly scaled down. Instead of the nine rights the group floated in its failed 2009 citizen initiative, this list only includes four.

Rush, Allen debate eliminating city departments

Rush, Allen debate water rates

Condon questions decision to send city utility drivers to 'green driver' training

Allen and Rush critique Rush and Allen

Spokane’s police ombudsman on Monday lost the power to independently investigate misconduct allegations against the city’s law enforcement officers. The Spokane City Council voted 5-2 Monday to repeal police oversight rules it approved unanimously last year, blaming an arbitrator’s decision in July that determined the expanded powers violated the Spokane Police Guild’s labor contract.

Spokane Mayor Mary Verner warned Monday that her budget for 2012 will focus on spending cuts rather than new taxes to help cover projected shortfalls. “We also must limit the financial burdens on citizens and businesses. They, too, are feeling the impacts of the downturn and need predictability of city services and costs so they can prepare their own budgets and be ready to address other rising costs, including higher utility bills,” Verner said.

A gay rights advocate and board member of OutSpokane says he was a victim of what he believes was a hate crime late Friday night. Danny Hawkins said he was enjoying a night out with his friends at Dempsey’s Brass Rail, a popular gay bar in downtown Spokane. His fun night, however, ended with a fight and a visit to a hospital.

Council supports Verner's choice for planning director despite past receipt controversy

The long summer debate over water rates in Spokane apparently will extend into the fall. Spokane Mayor Mary Verner this week promised to float a new proposal on water rates even though the City Council already adopted fees for 2012 that Verner declined to veto.

Condon revises water rate ad

Verner doesn't blame Hession

Spokane city leaders are continuing to mislead the public about the fatal Otto Zehm confrontation, new court documents suggest. Federal authorities say city officials provided “patently false” information in a “Frequently Asked Questions” handout distributed during a Sept. 9 news conference in which Mayor Mary Verner announced her intent to investigate the city’s handling of the controversial 2006 police encounter once all legal proceedings are complete. The false information is contained in several of the city’s responses in the FAQ, Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Durkin wrote in a 12-page document filed this week in U.S. District Court.

The Spokane City Council isn’t giving up on stronger police oversight, at least not for two more weeks. The council voted 6-0 this week to delay a decision on whether to repeal the expanded investigative power given to the city’s ombudsman in 2010. The delay will give an outside attorney time to see whether a labor arbitrator’s July decision demanding the city repeal the ordinance should be appealed. The law, which strengthened the city’s original ombudsman rules from 2008, gave Ombudsman Tim Burns the power to investigate accusations of police misconduct separately from the police department’s own reviews.

Spokane debate season in bloom; Verner, Condon will debate twice on Thursday