Jonathan Brunt

After years of debate, Spokane on Monday hired its first independent police ombudsman.

Here’s no surprise: Spokane residents want smoother streets. It’s the top desire of citizens who so far have taken an online City Council survey about what they want from city government.

A majority of Spokane City Council members expressed concern Wednesday when they learned the city has agreed to pay up to $200,000 in public funds to a private attorney who no longer represents them in a federal civil lawsuit filed by the mother of Otto Zehm. The City Council voted twice to pay Carl Oreskovich to represent the city in the civil case. But Oreskovich said Wednesday his only client is the officer facing civil and criminal charges in Zehm’s death.

Spokane leaders this week finalized sweeping new rules governing signs. The city’s sign code, approved 6-1 by the Spokane City Council on Monday, creates rules in places where none exist, like along North Division and Third Avenue, as well as guidelines for electric message boards and a host of other sign stipulations.

Spokane’s City Council president called Tuesday for a new look at a lawyer’s dual role in the Otto Zehm case.

The Spokane City Council on Monday grudgingly agreed to buy the former YMCA in Riverfront Park. The unanimous vote means the YMCA of the Inland Northwest will be fully compensated for the $5.3 million that the Spokane Park Board agreed to pay in 2006 to stop a developer from paying the same amount to build a condo tower on the site.

Spokane leaders Monday continued to defend police actions during the 2006 confrontation with Otto Zehm, despite a federal indictment of one of the officers involved in the incident. They qualifed their support by noting that they aren’t privy to the evidence shared with a federal grand jury.

Spokane leaders on Monday continued to defend police actions during the 2006 confrontation with Otto Zehm, despite a federal indictment of one of the officers involved in the incident.

The Spokane City Council on Monday grudgingly agreed to buy the former YMCA in Riverfront Park.

Unlicensed businesses have a chance to make good with the city of Spokane without the usual penalties. The city tax and license department next week will allow companies that are skirting license requirements to come forward without having to pay fines for breaking the law.

The Spokane City Council is set to buy the YMCA in Riverfront Park on Monday, but there’s no guarantee in public ownership.

The president of the Spokane Police Guild said Wednesday he’s pleased with Mayor Mary Verner’s decision to name Tim Burns the city’s first police ombudsman.

The mayor’s top choice for Spokane’s first police ombudsman looks more like a hippie than a former cop. Mayor Mary Verner announced Tuesday that she selected Tim Burns, the long-haired neighborhood preservation manager in Visalia, Calif., for the Spokane office that will oversee police action.

City leaders hope to have a bigger arsenal to clear the pavement if Spokane gets another batch of deep snow this winter. The Spokane City Council next week will consider paying $200,000 for 11 new plow blades that could be put on dump trucks in the city water and sewer department fleets.

After nearly 20 years of discussions and debate, Spokane finally might name a street after the nation’s most prominent civil rights leader. The Spokane Plan Commission today will discuss a proposal to name a new stretch of Riverside Avenue after Martin Luther King Jr.

After nearly 20 years of discussions and debate, Spokane finally might name a street after the nation’s most prominent civil rights leader.

The country is in the midst of a significant recession, but that’s not stopping Larry Stone from making a significant investment in his grain storage and steel stud manufacturing company, SCAFCO Corp. The Spokane City Council on Monday voted 4-1 to accept Stone’s $2.1 million bid to purchase 48 acres of the former Playfair horse track in East Central Spokane.

Spokane officials estimate it takes employees one minute for each copy they make at City Hall. Or at least that’s the justification for the recent tripling of prices to make copies of city records.

David Elton is under a court order not to attend Spokane City Council meetings. That didn’t stop him from becoming a candidate for the council’s open seat representing south Spokane on Friday. Elton, who has pleaded innocent to harassment charges after being accused of threatening City Council President Joe Shogan, Spokesman-Review Publisher Stacey Cowles and others, is one of 171 people who filed for public office this week in Spokane County.

A development company’s recent decision to break an agreement to buy prime riverfront land from the YWCA of Spokane has left the nonprofit group searching for a new buyer in a depressed market.