Jonathan Brunt

The long debate over the power of Spokane’s new police ombudsman will last at least one more week. Early Tuesday morning, the Spokane City Council voted 6-1 to delay a decision on a plan giving Ombudsman Tim Burns the power to conduct independent investigations into police misconduct. Burns currently has the power only to monitor investigations conducted by the police department’s Internal Affairs division. The council has been debating on-and-off for nearly a year whether that power should expand.

Shogan says council will delay ombudsman vote

Spokane’s former chief operating officer suggested Monday that the city and state used “Chicago-style politics” in the creation of shoreline protections that would restrict development along part of his property near Latah Creek. John Pilcher, who served under former Mayor Dennis Hession as the city’s top non-elected official, accused the state Ecology Department and the city of Spokane of delaying some decisions about shoreline rules until the new City Council took office in January.

Spokane buys warehouse for police evidence

Spokane’s police ombudsman has reversed his stance and is asking city leaders for the right to examine allegations of police misconduct independent of the Police Department’s own probes. When the topic was debated last year, some city leaders, including Mayor Mary Verner and City Council President Joe Shogan, had questioned the need to expand the ombudsman’s powers, in part, because Ombudsman Tim Burns wasn’t requesting it.

County assessor race loses conspiracy theorist

Two years ago, when gas was more than $4 a gallon and before a BP oil operation began spewing thousands of barrels of oil daily into the Gulf of Mexico, many politicians advocated expanded offshore oil drilling. That included candidates and political leaders with little control over the nation’s energy policy.

Will Parker get a Democratic opponent?

Second Avenue downtown will be repaved this summer as planned, but the final design may remove one of three vehicle lanes in favor of one for bicycles, city officials say. Councilmen Richard Rush and Jon Snyder had pushed for a complete revamping of the street’s design, a process that could have delayed the project a year or more.

Fifteen months after voters rejected a tax to pay for a new police evidence building, city officials say they can open an improved facility without new taxes. The city announced this week plans to buy a warehouse in East Central Spokane and convert it to store police evidence by borrowing from the city’s main reserve and investment fund.

A United Way official will join the Spokane Public Library Board of Trustees in time to decide how to deal with significant budget cuts proposed by Mayor Mary Verner. The Spokane City Council on Tuesday unanimously appointed Janice Marich, the vice president of community relations for Spokane County United Way, to the city’s library board for a five-year term.

United Way official chosen to serve on Spokane's library board

A city library branch faces closure at the end of the year as a result of Mayor Mary Verner’s proposed 2011 budget. Verner on Wednesday announced her strategy to deal with an expected $10 million shortfall. While most departments would be scaled back 2.85 percent, libraries would be cut twice that amount.

The Spokane Salary Review Commission is recommending a freeze in City Council salaries.

Pay boost unlikely for Spokane City Council

The speed limit will fall by 5 mph on a South Hill street bordering Manito Park. The Spokane City Council on Monday voted unanimously to lower the speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph on 25th Avenue between Grand and Bernard streets.

Post office employees are fighting a proposal to allow people to “opt out” from receiving bulk mail. On Monday, the Spokane City Council rejected a nonbinding resolution asking the state Legislature to create a registry that would allow people to decline bulk mail.