Mike Prager

Neighborhood leaders in east Spokane are looking for ways to revitalize their older commercial areas while enhancing residential areas that are increasingly under threat from freeway and other transportation projects. Jerry Numbers, chairman of the East Central Neighborhood Council, on Monday outlined a series of changes envisioned in a yearlong neighborhood planning effort.

Potentially the largest rainstorm in more than two months was heading toward the Inland Northwest on Friday, offering the chance of some relief to drought-like conditions. Rainfall was expected in the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene areas later this afternoon and should continue through much of the Easter holiday. More rain and mountain snow were expected through next week.

A congressional delay in the reauthorization of the Federal Highway Act has not stopped local officials from launching a series of street and bridge projects, including a new bridge to span rail lines in East Spokane. The pace of local road construction should increase noticeably this spring as new federal grant money becomes available throughout Spokane County, in anticipation of the act being reauthorized.

The Spokane City Council on Monday unanimously approved a police department proposal to purchase a Hillyard warehouse from a retired police captain. Deputy Mayor Jack Lynch assured council members that the negotiated purchase from retired Capt. Chuck Crabtree did not involve any impropriety and that money for the purchase was coming from a special fund derived from the sale of forfeited criminal property, not the general tax fund that pays police salaries.

The last day of winter in the Inland Northwest brought something that's been all too rare across the region for the past two months: snow. Traces of snow on Saturday morning colored the ground in the Coeur d'Alene area and in some higher elevations around Spokane.

Proposed changes to Spokane's licensing requirements for cab drivers ran into enough opposition on Monday that the proposal had to be parked for a week. Spokane City Council members voted to defer action on the measure when it became apparent there were not enough votes to pass it.

The city of Spokane's legal team went back to federal court Thursday seeking to reduce losses to taxpayers in the failed 1997 River Park Square parking garage deal. Attorney Michael P. Cillo argued that two firms responsible for setting up the intricate garage deal should be held liable for a share of losses, or at least that a jury should decide the question of how much they owe.

The price of building an artistic spray fountain in Riverfront Park shot skyward last month, so much that project proponents now are asking the city to kick in as much as $125,000 of additional funding for the project. The city Park Board had already pledged $425,000 to the fountain, scheduled for construction this year at the Howard Street entrance along Spokane Falls Boulevard. A flower bed that formerly occupied the site has already been removed.

The Spokane City Council is considering an ordinance that would limit neighborhood council membership to city residents only. Councilman Al French said he is proposing the measure to provide city residents in five neighborhoods greater ability to deal with city government issues.

Spokane City Council members on Monday voted unanimously to annex 207 acres in southeast Spokane, a move that adds 1,640 residents and improves the Lilac City's standing as the state's second-largest city. Prior to the vote, Spokane was leading Tacoma by a mere 600 residents, according to state estimates based on the 2000 census.

The deal to purchase and restore downtown Spokane's Rookery and Mohawk buildings has fallen through, a partner in the Los Angeles-based development company that had undertaken the project said Monday. Craig Stevens of Renaissance Community Fund LLC said the proposed project disintegrated because of restrictive Washington state laws and the city of Spokane's unwillingness to grant financial concessions.

A partial ban on wood burning was expected to remain in effect today for urban areas of Spokane County in an effort to stem a threat of worsening air quality. The Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority declared the air quality impaired on Wednesday and posted "yellow" restrictions on burning.

The Spokane City Council is taking up a series of proposals to increase commercial and office uses at four neighborhood locations around the city. Public testimony on the changes has been scheduled for Monday at 6 p.m. at Council Chambers at City Hall. A vote on each change may take place. The proposals are being considered as amendments to the city's comprehensive land-use plan.

The man hired to help revitalize Spokane's economy previously served as acting chief operating officer of a small dot-com that subcontracted work overseas and nearly went belly up during Seattle's high-tech meltdown in 2001. John Pilcher, the city's new economic development director, said he knows firsthand what happens when a seemingly good idea runs into the reality of too few customers.

Kids will swim free in Spokane this summer. The Spokane Park Board pulled the plug Thursday on a $1 youth admission by voting 6-0 in favor of maintaining a long tradition of free swimming at Spokane city pools.

A nonprofit organization that promotes historic preservation has put some of its own money behind an effort to save the Rookery and Mohawk buildings downtown, but it's only a drop in the bucket. Renaissance Community Fund LLC, based in Los Angeles, is seeking to purchase the two buildings and adjacent property for a $25 million to $30 million housing and mixed-use development.