Jonathan Brunt

Until recently, empty bottles and jars had to be hauled hundreds of miles from Spokane to be transformed into recycled products. Glass collected at the curb was trucked to Calgary, Alberta, and then Edmonton, where it was turned into fiberglass. When that market dried up, Spokane’s glass was shipped to Portland, where a recycling company prepared it for a train trip to California to turn it into wine bottles.

One of the dominating issues in City Council races this year is one on which every candidate agrees. All six hopefuls for three City Council seats say they oppose the “Community Bill of Rights,” the initiative on the November ballot proposed by Envision Spokane. Even so, at least in some forums, the issue has become: Who opposes it the most?

The shooting deaths of two men in Spokane on Saturday may have been sparked by little more than a dispute over two run-down cars, witnesses say. Jack Lamere and a friend, whose name has not been released by police, were shot, allegedly by a man angered because Lamere refused to trade his early 1970s Chevy Blazer for an early 1970s Cadillac, neighbors said.

Police are searching for a man accused of fatally shooting two Spokane men Saturday night

Music will be allowed again at a South Hill market – at least for three more shows. A noise complaint forced the Rocket Market at High Drive and 43rd Avenue to discontinue live outdoor music last month. But on Wednesday, City Administrator Ted Danek asked the market’s owners if they would host a few more concerts to test noise levels. He said the data would be used to consider changes in the city’s noise ordinance and permitting rules.

Spokane County has raised a white flag. After years spent fighting Spokane’s growing city limits, county commissioners are taking a friendlier stance on what would be the largest expansion of Spokane’s city limits in a century.

When Coeur d’Alene opened its new library two years ago, space quadrupled and attendance and usage more than doubled. But staffing has only increased from 15 full-time employees to 16.5. The meager boost to the library work force combined with its soaring popularity means longer waits to reshelve books and shorter weekend hours.

Spokane’s inability to pay for an expanded dog and cat shelter has put the future of animal control in question four months before the city is scheduled to join a regional system. The Spokane City Council voted more than a year ago to contract with the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service starting in 2010, a decision that leaders said ended the long and often contentious debate about how the city should handle animal control.

There are two sides to East Sprague. There’s the up-and-coming neighborhood business center with new restaurants, successful ethnic markets and a burgeoning entrepreneurial spirit.