Spokane Mayor Jim West has been trying to quell a political firestorm that broke out at City Hall after he fired the city's retirement director this fall. Dan Daniels was let go in September, the mayor said, because he did not meet the mayor's standards for professionalism. West has declined to elaborate.
Visitors to downtown Spokane this holiday season might notice something missing. The lighted tree in Riverfront Park at Wall Street and Spokane Falls Boulevard will remain dark this year; the lights were removed because of age and deterioration.
Spokane Police Chief Roger Bragdon on Tuesday said an increase in reported crime for the first seven months of 2004 can be traced to city budget cuts in 2002. Six categories of major crimes rose a combined 13 percent in the January through July period this year compared with the same period in 2003.
The head of the Spokane city firefighters union called Monday for a utility-tax increase to prevent the loss of 75 city police officers and firefighters next year. Lt. Greg Borg of Local 29 outlined a series of suggestions for saving money or raising revenue next year, but he said an increase in the tax on city utilities could be used as a "stopgap measure" until the city finds permanent sources of revenue to pay for public safety.
The Spokane City Council has accepted a proposal by residents in the Ridgeview area near the Manito Country Club to start an annexation process for 36 acres of mostly residential land there. The annexation was started after owners of 10 percent of the assessed value of the area had notified the city they wanted to pursue annexation. There are approximately 310 residents in the proposed annexation. The area is bounded by Hatch Road on the west, 54th Avenue on the North, 57th Avenue on the South and property lines midway between Perry Street and Hogan Lane to the east.
You don't need to tell the neighbors living along the 1900 block of West Gordon Avenue what's driving Spokane's crime problem. They've been working with police for months to shut down a drug house that's brought hundreds of cars and suspicious people into an otherwise quiet neighborhood. As a result of police work, a suspect was arrested and he led officers to another residence where drugs, a gun and a homemade bomb were seized, police said.
The Spokane City Council on Monday approved placing the former Inland Casket Co. factory building at 2320 N. Division St. on the Spokane Register of Historic Places. It was one of four properties voted onto the local historic register on Monday. The others include the Pine Creek Dairy creamery building at 168 S. Division; the Frank and Edith Ford House at 1015 E. Overbluff Drive; and the John and Alta Graham House at 607 S. Monroe.
The Spokane City Council has accepted a proposal by residents in the Ridgeview area near the Manito Country Club to start an annexation process for 36 acres of mostly residential land there. The annexation was started after owners of 10 percent of the assessed value of the area had notified the city they wanted to pursue annexation. There are approximately 310 residents in the proposed annexation. The area is bounded by Hatch Road on the west, 54th Avenue on the North, 57th Avenue on the South and property lines midway between Perry Street and Hogan Lane to the east.
Spokane city officials Wednesday filed an appeal with the state Department of Labor and Industries challenging some of the worker-safety violations issued against the city in connection with a May 10 accident at the city's sewage treatment plant. The incident at one of the plant's three large "digester" tanks killed one worker and injured three others.
The Spokane City Council has authorized a loan agreement making $7.8 million in city parking meter revenue available to pay debts of an agency that had been operating the financially troubled River Park Square parking garage. The loan was ordered by the Court of Appeals more than a year ago as the result of lengthy litigation over the finances of the public-private garage.
The Spokane City Council on Monday approved budgets for water, sewer and garbage service that will increase monthly bills by about 9 percent. The rate increases come in the midst of a larger debate over $12 million in cuts in tax-funded services such as police, fire, libraries and parks in 2005.
The Spokane Library Board on Monday approved a $6.5 million budget that calls for reducing service at five neighborhood branches to two to three days a week, down from five-day schedules. The budget also would shave one day from the current six-day schedule at the Downtown Library, so it would likely be open on Tuesdays through Saturdays in 2005, said Library Director Jan Sanders.
The Spokane Park Board on Thursday approved its 2005 spending budget that call for cuts in recreation programs and higher fees for golf and swimming. Park Board Director Mike Stone said that a proposal to charge fees for youth swimming next summer is being referred to an ad hoc committee of the board.
Spokane fire union leaders on Wednesday outlined a plan to save 12 firefighter jobs by cutting administrative positions and charging for supplies used on some emergency medical runs. Lt. Greg Borg, president of city firefighters' Local 29, said the mayor's current proposal for department staffing in 2005 would increase the risk of property loss and injury, especially at the northern and southern corners of the city.
Spokane fire union leaders Wednesday outlined a plan to save 12 firefighter jobs by cutting administrative positions and charging for supplies used on some emergency medical runs. Lt. Greg Borg, president of city firefighters' Local 29, said the mayor's current proposal for department staffing in 2005 would increase the risk of property loss and injury, especially at the northern and southern corners of the city.
North Side resident Barbara Colvin commutes by bus to her weekday job at a call center in Spokane Valley, a schedule that leaves her with just one day a week to go to the library. That's Saturday. Colvin and a half-dozen other library patrons pleaded with the Spokane Library Board on Tuesday to keep the Downtown Library open on Saturdays. The board is holding a series of town hall meetings this week before it decides how to trim $1 million from library operations as part of a $12 million cut in Spokane city services for 2005.
A large display of the northern lights dazzled skywatchers Sunday and Monday nights, and scientists said there is a chance of another light show tonight. "It was absolutely magnificent," said Mary Singer of the Spokane Astronomical Society.
The Spokane City Council on Monday approved a small increase in property taxes in an effort to reduce the number of layoffs of police officers, firefighters and librarians in its 2005 general fund budget. The increase will cost property owners $12 on a $100,000 home.
A demolition crew began tearing down the historic Merton Block building Sunday while about two dozen onlookers watched from the sidewalk across the street. "I think they should have left it up," said Larry Hegge, a Spokane cab driver, who had a street-level view of the demolition work from his taxi parking spot outside the Ridpath Hotel. He said the upper-story apartments should have been rehabilitated.
Some big names in the tennis world made a stop in Spokane over the weekend for the first Tennis Fest Spokane. They put on three days of seminars, lessons and competition for players and coaches at the Spokane Racquet Club and the Spokane Club at the Fourth Avenue facility.
The state Department of Labor and Industries on Friday fined the city of Spokane $66,600 for 16 violations of worker safety uncovered following an explosion last May that killed one worker and injured three others at the city's sewage treatment plant. Twelve of the 16 violations carry fines ranging from $11,000 to $600.
Just one day after Spokane Mayor Jim West submitted his 2005 city budget proposal, members of the Spokane City Council began taking shots at it. The proposal calls for eliminating 63 firefighters, 17 police officers, two misdemeanor prosecutors and 60 other city workers to save $12 million from the $118 million general fund. Growth in tax revenue is not expected to keep pace with higher costs for labor, health care and jail bills, officials said
Spokane Mayor Jim West on Tuesday submitted his proposed 2005 city budget that calls for eliminating as many as 142 jobs in 16 departments, including police and fire. The exact number of layoffs has yet to be determined since the city is offering an early retirement program, and a handful of positions are already vacant, said Chief Financial Officer Gavin Cooley.
A $117 million bond measure to fix Spokane city streets was leading Tuesday in returns from polling places and from early mail-in ballots. Mayor Jim West said he wasn't surprised by the strong vote because citizens had been brought into the planning process, and many of their concerns were addressed in the proposal.
Spokane Mayor Jim West on Monday proposed dipping into the city's $3.1 million reserve account to finance an early-retirement program intended to reduce budget-cutting layoffs next month. The City Council voted 6-1 in favor of the plan that could save two entry-level firefighter jobs for each retirement of a senior firefighter because of differences in pay. Council member Bob Apple voted no because he considered provisions of the plan to be an illegal gift of city money.
