Megan Cooley

The city of Spokane Valley has one of lowest ratios of parks to people in the Spokane area, but preliminary results from a survey show that the majority of residents don't mind. Although about 100 more citizens are still expected to return the city-sponsored questionnaire, about 53 percent of the 300 citizens who have responded so far are saying more park land isn't needed, a consultant told the City Council on Tuesday.

Diabetes has become so common, most everyone seems to know another person who has it – if they don't have it themselves. Rockwood Clinic PS and Premera Blue Cross are teaming up to host the fifth annual Diabetes Day Saturday to answer questions about the disease. Medical experts will speak, clinics will offer checks for diabetes-related conditions and booths will feature exhibits on diabetes products and services.

Just how many garage sales does a family need to have in a year? That was one of the questions debated during the Spokane Valley City Council's meeting Tuesday. The council is considering an amendment to its nuisance ordinance that would put restrictions on the length and frequency of garage sales. But some citizens questioned whether the elected officials were taking the issue too far.

To Dylan Parker and Justin Shoemaker, America's Kids Run isn't just a way to stay in shape. It's also a school assignment. Dylan and Justin, both seventh-graders at Northwood Middle School in Mead, are doing a research report on the Spokane event, which will be April 23 at Joe Albi Stadium. They attended a press conference Wednesday to watch the kickoff.

At a recent meeting, citizens wanting to disincorporate Spokane Valley listed reasons to dissolve their 2-year-old city and "go back to county rule," as many people put it. But would disincorporation be as simple as rewinding the clock? Spokane Valley's staff doesn't think so. The disincorporation laws are rarely tested, making it difficult to say exactly what would happen if the question got on the ballot and voters chose to dissolve the city.

Jack Brede's yard looks like a Value Village without walls. Wooden shelves lean on one another. A mirror, a highchair, a Christmas tree stand and dozens of other items are strewn about. Amid it all is a sign that reads "Buy and sell here."

The Sprague Avenue of the 1950s, '60s, '70s, '80s and even the '90s isn't coming back. That's the message an urban design consultant gave Spokane Valley citizens and elected officials Tuesday. Fewer people want to shop along the long corridors where strip malls were successful for years. Instead they're going to malls and to the intersections of major streets, where retail shops are being clustered in attractive ways, said Michael Freedman, of San Francisco-based Freedman, Tung & Bottomley.

The Spokane Valley City Council asked Spokane County last year what would be required for the city to take over the wastewater collection system within its borders and take over construction of a proposed wastewater treatment plant. The answer came back Monday in a 2-inch-thick notebook from Spokane County utilities director Bruce Rawls.

A Washington State University student has been diagnosed with tuberculosis. The 20-year-old woman, who lives off campus, is being isolated while undergoing antibiotic treatment. Family and friends who had close contact with the patient also are being treated, but WSU said in a press release there's "no general threat" to others at the school or in the community.

Like a kid who thinks his parents might let him open presents on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day, Spokane Valley library fans were within reach Tuesday of a hope they've voiced for almost a year. The Spokane Valley City Council was close to suspending its normal rules and doing its part to put annexation to the Spokane County Library District on the May 17 ballot. But, at the urging of one councilman who wanted to follow normal procedures, the decision won't come for at least a week.

The Spokane Valley Heritage Museum has a special exhibit in honor of Black History Month. The museum is honoring the contributions of several black leaders in Spokane area history, including activist attorney Carl Maxey and astronaut Michael Anderson, who perished aboard the space shuttle Columbia during a mission Feb. 1, 2003.

Sacred Heart Medical Center announced Wednesday that it will offer employees voluntary retirement and separation packages and take other steps to reduce its staff size between now and April. Hospital spokeswoman Maureen Goins said Sacred Heart isn't laying off employees at this point. She declined to say how much money the hospital aims to save or how many employees would need to leave before involuntary cuts were made.

The Spokane Valley City Council is considering an ordinance to better protect the drinking water that sits below the city and give the staff some muscle to enforce stormwater rules. Spokane Valley depends on drywells and swales to clean stormwater before it reaches the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, the sole source of drinking water for most of the region. The proposed ordinance would require that swales and drywells be built as new neighborhoods and buildings are being constructed instead of putting that responsibility on homeowners later in the process. Oftentimes, the devices never get built, said John Hohman, the city's senior development engineer.

The city of Spokane Valley's financial outlook is continuing to improve, City Council members learned Saturday, and the better budget picture means the staff can expand to meet the growing demands of the two-year-old city. The council agreed to add nine new positions to its staff of about 50. One additional position is still being considered.

The daily traffic jam in the area of Pines Road and Mansfield Avenue became less sticky Tuesday. The Spokane Valley City Council approved the groundwork for a road project that should ease congestion there. Under state law, that had to happen before a number of landowners could move forward with various building projects – including some that have been waiting six years. Seven developers agreed to give a total of $450,000 to get the road work rolling, and the city upped its contribution to as much as $105,000, up from $55,000.