Spokane Mayor Jim West returned to his home in Spokane on Tuesday, a week after undergoing follow-up cancer surgery at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. The mayor said he expects to be back in his City Hall office within the next few days, and will gradually increase his workload as his strength returns.
A "water quality assurance" ordinance sank Monday in a controversy over fluoridation of Spokane's drinking water. The Spokane City Council voted 5-2 against the ordinance in part because it could impede a petition drive to put fluoridation before voters next year, council members said.
A "water quality assurance" ordinance now before the Spokane City Council may be more than the feel-good legislation its title implies. It is actually an effort to block the possible fluoridation of Spokane's water, according to the county health officer and others.
The Spokane City Council on Thursday moved to cover its risk against the potential loss of Tuesday's emergency medical services levy by placing the measure back on the November ballot for possible reconsideration by voters. Council members voted 6-1 in favor of a second try at the levy should it fail in the final count from Tuesday's primary election voting.
Spokane neighborhoods that have problems with speeding cars or too much traffic can now ask City Hall for help. The City Council on Monday unanimously approved a series of recommendations for improving traffic safety on neighborhood streets.
Spokane city officials aren't taking any chances with the close vote on Tuesday's emergency medical services measure. Election returns counted through Wednesday showed the EMS levy had 83 votes more than the 60 percent required by state law for excess property tax levies. That was out of nearly 34,000 votes counted so far.
Parties involved in a federal securities lawsuit over the River Park Square parking garage have agreed to a new round of mediation this fall, city officials said Monday. Two mediators will work with the city, the owners of the downtown mall, attorneys, bond underwriters and others still embroiled in a lawsuit stemming from the public-private financing of the mall's parking garage in 1998.
Spokane's chief financial officer on Wednesday said he is not giving up on a proposal to sell two parking lots at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena to the Spokane Public Facilities District, after the City Council rejected the sale. In a 4-3 vote Tuesday, the council decided it wants to retain ownership, at least for now, of about 11 acres of parking lots north and east of the arena.
Spokane city voters this November will get a chance to say whether they want to raise their property taxes to pay for $117.3 million in street repairs over the next 10 years. The City Council on Tuesday voted 6-1 in favor of placing a street bond measure on the Nov. 2 general election ballot. It will take a 60 percent yes vote to pass.
Spokane City Council members, by a 4-3 vote, adopted a resolution on Tuesday endorsing a statewide initiative to curb nuclear waste dumping at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Initiative 297, which is on the state ballot in November, would require that contaminated sites such as Hanford be cleaned up before more waste can be added.
Spokane City Council members Monday unanimously approved a series of midyear budget cuts that will reduce funding for arts, neighborhood planning, school resource police officers and other programs. Supporters of the arts department and neighborhood planning argued against the cuts.
Smack dab in the middle of Republican country sits Spokane's 3rd Legislative District – one of the most reliable Democratic strongholds in Washington. Only five Republicans have served this district since the Great Depression, the last being Sen. John Moyer, who won a single term in the mid-1990s.
Spokane City Councilman Al French says a new office building under construction at Rowan and Lidgerwood is an example of the kinds of projects that will arise from a revamping of old city zoning regulations. He should know. He's one of the investors in the project.
A $117 million ballot measure to finance repair of Spokane's bumpy, pockmarked streets appears headed for a spot on November's general election ballot. Mayor Jim West on Tuesday said he wants to move ahead this fall with one of his major campaign promises of a year ago – putting a street repair bond issue before voters. It would use property taxes to finance the work at an estimated cost of $68 a year for a $100,000 home for 20 years.
For 60 days and nights, the Inland Northwest baked through one of its warmest summers on record – until Sunday. "Aren't you happy with this change, or do you like hot weather?" asked Jon Fox, senior forecaster at the National Weather Service office northwest of Spokane.
An off-again, on-again initiative to add fluoride to Spokane's drinking water is definitely off again. On Monday, the Spokane City Council was told the initiative had failed to gain enough valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot.
James Holschen Jr., a Republican candidate for the House in Spokane's Third District, sought protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in two separate financial failures over the past four years. In 2000 at age 22, Holschen filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy seeking protection from $17,130 in personal debts. The court granted a discharge of debts three months later.
The developer of River Park Square on Thursday handed the city a $4.7 million bill for unpaid expenses at the downtown mall's troubled parking garage. That amount is on top of a previous bill two years ago for $3.3 million, bringing total losses at the publicly operated garage to $8 million in its five years of operation.
Spokane City Council members on Monday voted to break away from a city-county program created in 1985 to protect the region's drinking water supply. The city wants to form its own aquifer protection area so it can control how money collected from city residents is spent.
The Spokane City Council opened the way Monday night for a water fluoridation initiative to appear on the city ballot this November. In a 4-3 vote, the council decided to allow voters to decide the fluoride issue in November despite a mistake by fluoride supporters who gathered too few signatures to qualify for this year's general-election ballot under the city's charter. The council ordered the city clerk to submit 3,106 signatures to the county auditor for verification; if enough signatures are validated, the measure will be on the November ballot.
The city of Spokane is hosting a series of six community forums to seek public input about the best ways to fix the city's crumbling streets. The forums begin on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at East Central Community Center, 500 Stone.
The folks at Spokane's parks department have a cool treat waiting for you at Manito Park this afternoon. An old-fashioned ice cream social is being held today from 1 to 4 p.m. to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Manito Park this year.
Allen Simon, who has worked in youth programs with some of Spokane's poorest kids for the past nine years, could lose his job in the wake of city budget cuts announced by Mayor Jim West on Monday. Simon coordinates the teen program at East Central Community Center, where kids from the neighborhood can spend time shooting hoops, lifting weights or playing pool.
