Mike Prager

Spokane City Council members Monday said they are willing to look at new ideas for developing an indoor aquatics and recreation center, but they are not convinced that a separate board should be created to develop and operate it. The council voted 6-1 in favor of a resolution that calls for exploring the possibility of building an aquatics and recreation center at Franklin Park or another location.

Spokane City Council members are poised to adopt the first revision to the city's residential zoning code in 48 years, but not before considering a series of changes, including one to allow offices in some apartment zones. If adopted, the new code will provide detailed rules under the city's switch several years ago to a centers-and-corridors approach to land use as required by the state's growth management law. The changes seek to increase housing density by allowing smaller lot sizes and encouraging new types of housing, including accessory dwelling units in single-family zones.

The Spokane Park Board on Thursday unanimously approved a business and fundraising plan for a proposed science center on the north side of Riverfront Park, but it set new timelines and other performance requirements to ensure the project moves ahead as proposed. Leaders of the nonprofit Mobius civic organization want to build a 45,000-square-foot science center, a new 7,825-square-foot IMAX theater and a 348-car parking garage at an estimated cost of $33 million.

Spokane's low-income neighborhood councils and steering committees will receive $1 million in federal community development funds for 2006-2007 to fix sidewalks, plant trees and support nonprofit agencies, among other uses. The Spokane City Council on Monday approved a $5 million community development action plan for 2006 that allocates $1 million directly to neighborhood organizations, which decide how to spend the money under city and federal rules.

A business model for a proposed science center in downtown Spokane shows the facility would be in the black in its first five years of operations and could bring in larger profits if attendance exceeds estimates. Members of the Riverfront Park committee of the Spokane Park Board on Monday heard details of a business plan for a $33 million science center to be operated by a nonprofit organization on leased city park land.

A 1912 home near Cannon Hill Park was placed on the Spokane Register of Historic Places by the City Council on Monday. The house won the listing as a prime example of the Craftsman style of architecture of the era when Cannon Hill Park Addition was developed near the site of an early brickyard.

Spokane City Council members unanimously approved on Monday an agreement with Spokane Public Schools and the Mead School District that could give Albi Stadium another 10 years of life. The agreement calls on the two districts to pay the nearly $1 million cost of replacing the stadium's deteriorated artificial turf, plus pay rent of $2,950 a day when the facility is used, which will be mostly for Greater Spokane League football games in the fall.

Spokane city parks officials have spent more than a year studying the community's need for new swimming pools and have come up with a $45 million proposal through a citizen committee. But now City Councilman Al French says he has a better idea.

If the city of Spokane is going to replace two mute swans run down and killed at Manito Park earlier this month, then more needs to be done to protect and care for the birds, a group of swan supporters said on Thursday. The Junior League of Spokane announced on Thursday it has offered to donate up to $2,500 to the city parks department to replace the dead swans.

A plan to replace two mute swans that were killed at Manito Park this month will be announced this morning in a news conference at the duck pond where the birds once lived. "A lot of people are just really, really upset," said Mary Butler, executive director of the Spokane Parks Foundation.

Washington Democrats on Tuesday called on Republican Senate candidate Mike McGavick to reimburse Spokane for the cost of providing security during Vice President Dick Cheney's campaign visit on Monday. City officials said the cost of overtime pay for police officers was still being calculated on Tuesday, but that it might amount to several thousand dollars or more.

Spokane city and school officials have reached a tentative agreement that would provide new artificial turf for Albi Stadium and keep the stadium open for as long as 10 years to get full use of the turf. City Council members were briefed Monday on a 13-page draft agreement with Spokane Public Schools and the Mead School District. The council is scheduled to vote on the agreement Monday.

Proponents of constructing a kayak park in the Spokane River hope to build momentum for their brainchild today through a pair of events intended to underscore the value of having a whitewater attraction downstream from the Maple Street Bridge. A consulting firm that has designed more than 70 whitewater parks around the United States is expected to appear before news crews this afternoon in advance of a reception at the Masonic Temple hosted by business and political leaders. Kayakers are expected to demonstrate the possibilities for their sport at High Bridge Park starting at 2 p.m.

Nettleton's Addition in Spokane's West Central Neighborhood has become the city's newest addition to the National Register of Historic Places. With more than 900 homes and garages considered to be historically significant, Nettleton's Addition Historic District is one of the largest national historic districts in Washington. Nearly 70 percent of its homes were built prior to 1910.

First Judicial District Judge John T. Mitchell was rated as more qualified than his election challenger, Rami Amaro, in a newly released Idaho State Bar poll of the two candidates' qualifications. Mitchell, who is seeking re-election this fall to the post he won in 2002, was rated above average in four areas of performance.

A major effort to rewrite Spokane's residential zoning code moved closer to approval Monday night. More than a dozen residents appeared before the council and asked for modest changes in the proposal.

Joe Albi Stadium, once a symbol of Spokane's post-war civic pride, has fallen victim in recent years to bureaucratic foot-dragging, neglect and an unpopular plan by a former mayor to demolish it. Worn artificial turf inside the stadium has forced the city's semi-professional soccer team to cancel its season this spring. The Spokane Shadow subsequently lost its franchise.