Jonathan Brunt

Spokane City Hall will be outfitted with a heating and cooling system. The City Council voted Monday night to spend $3.6 million, which will be taken from the city's 2006 budget surplus, for the purchase.

City Councilman Brad Stark hasn't been one to walk away from a good fight. Then again, neither have his opponents in the race for his South Side council seat. One of the candidates, George McGrath, has attended most City Council meetings for well over a decade, taking politicians to task when he's felt they used tax dollars unwisely.

Tax money is pouring in. Downtown is as lively as it has been in years.

Eastern Washington University's archaeological unit was rebuffed a second time by the Spokane City Council on Monday night. The council reconsidered its April decision to reject a bid from Archaeological and Historical Services, a research unit of EWU's geography and anthropology department, and award the city's archaeological work to Historical Research Associates Inc. based in Missoula.

A developer planning to buy low-income apartments downtown is asking city and county officials to pay to keep the building open so tenants have time to find a place to move. Developer Chris Batten told city council members on Thursday that unless the city commits to his proposal, residents of the Otis Hotel on Tuesday likely will be sent eviction notices.

In a surprise March announcement, Mayor Dennis Hession created what has become the first major issue of this year's mayoral race: taxes. Citing $11 million the city had left over at the end of last year, the mayor said he would oppose renewal of the city's levy lid lift, a two-year property tax increase approved by voters in 2005. The extra property taxes, as well as an increase in the utility tax, were used to prevent what city leaders said would have been massive employee layoffs.

While Mayor Dennis Hession has promoted lowering property taxes, some city council members say the city should focus instead on lowering utility taxes, which are among the highest in the state. In Washington, Spokane's utility tax rate for sewer, water and garbage tops all but a few smaller towns, according to a 2006 survey conducted by the Association of Washington Cities.

The Spokane City Council has settled the question of building height on the border of Peaceful Valley. For years, residents in the neighborhood have opposed construction of towers on their border, arguing that they cast shadows and change the character of their historic area.

A proposal to build a sports complex scored the go-ahead run Monday from the City Council. But the plan, which would construct a softball complex, improved soccer fields, a skateboard park and BMX track on land north of Joe Albi Stadium, isn't in the final inning.

Spokane County's top two law enforcement officers are backing a sales tax increase to pay for a return of 24-hour-a-day nonemergency crime reporting. The plan would ask voters to increase sales tax from 8.6 percent to 8.7 percent in most of the county. Mayor Dennis Hession signaled his endorsement of the plan Friday in a letter to county commission Chairman Mark Richard.

Spokane Mayor Dennis Hession unveiled his plans Friday for spending more than $10 million that went unspent in 2006. Much of that money came from higher than expected sales tax revenue.

Spokane City Councilman Rob Crow is pulling out of the race for City Council president, averting what was expected to become one of the most closely watched races of the year. Voters, however, will still get a chance to vote for Crow because he missed the June 14 deadline to withdraw from the Aug. 21 primary ballot.

By July, Spokane's animal control costs are expected to have tripled since December. SpokAnimal C.A.R.E., which informed the city about two years ago that it planned to stop performing animal control services, plans to charge the city $50,000 a month starting in July – nearly three times the $17,000 the city paid monthly until December, when the cost increased to $38,000. The organization's contract with the city also allows SpokAnimal to keep licensing fees, which totaled about $400,000 in 2006.

Residential and commercial development in Liberty Lake will be eligible for up to $50 million in public subsidies. The Spokane County commission voted 2-to-1 to approve the creation of a "revenue development area" that will allow the state to give up to $1 million a year for 25 years for infrastructure improvements on the 1,200 acres if the state's money is matched by another $1 million a year from the city of Liberty Lake.

Evan and Tabitha Babin will not be allowed to build their dream home, at least not yet. County commissioners turned down a proposal aimed specifically at solving the Babins' housing dilemma, created last year as a result of what commissioners say was their oversight.

The Spokane City Council soon will consider making downtown parking more expensive – partly to help pay off bonds for the River Park Square parking garage. A proposal endorsed by Mayor Dennis Hession would increase parking meter rates, enforcement hours and parking tickets.

The makeup of Spokane's policy-making boards is about to get younger. Last month, in attempt to increase youth participation in local government, the Spokane City Council eliminated the 18-year-old age limit for serving on volunteer commissions.

In August 1957, "mob hysteria," "wild gyrations," "frenzy," and "complete disregard for order" – to quote newspaper clippings – filled what is today called Joe Albi Stadium. Almost 50 years after that Elvis Presley concert, the stadium and its 26,000 seats are home mostly to high school football and soccer crowds of a few thousand or less. Just two years ago, the venue was losing so much money that then-Mayor Jim West considered selling it for less than its assessed value so it could be torn down and houses built in its place.