Mike Prager

For five years now, Annie Pierce and her neighbors have been pushing for a new neighborhood park in the Grandview area of southwest Spokane. Their efforts continue to be thwarted because the city Parks Department doesn't have money to build one.

Members of the Moran Prairie Neighborhood Association will get a chance to talk about growth and its impact on their area at a meeting tonight. The association is convening at 7 p.m. at the Moran Prairie Grange. County Commissioner Kate McCaslin is expected to talk to the group about newly approved measures designed to slow the rise of stormwater runoff problems.

Dr. John Sonneland, a surgeon and former candidate for Congress, has pursued a third role as a South Hill developer for six years now. Sonneland's Quail Run business park is largely unbuilt. Only one office building out of seven proposed buildings has been completed on the seven-acre campus. "I'm a patient guy," Sonneland said this week.

Spokane County commissioners unanimously approved emergency provisions Tuesday to slow the rise of storm runoff in two fast-growing areas. Builders will no longer be able to use grassy depressions or drywells to soak up storm water, and basements will be prohibited unless they are built to keep out water. The areas affected include Moran Prairie, Glenrose Prairie and Central Park in the southeast county and Eaglewood north of Mead.

Carrots can be planted beginning in late April. File/Associated Press

Many people have been taking a greater interest in perennial flowers, which grow and bloom year after year. "A lot of people feel they aren't a lot of work, but that's not true," said Sydney McCrea of the Master Gardener's program at the Spokane County Extension Service.

The Spokane City Council Monday approved grant allocations to seven South Side neighborhoods. Nearly $400,000 will be spent on projects identified by the steering committees in each of the neighborhoods. The money will go to sidewalk repairs, housing rehabilitation, street tree replacements and social services.

Senior citizens are often the target of consumer fraud over the telephone or through the mail. The South Hill Senior Center, 2727 S. Mount Vernon, is planning a free program next month to help its members identify and avoid unscrupulous sales pitches.

The Park Board hasn't decided what to name Spokane's newest park, but members of several garden clubs have a suggestion. Part of the property that is the new neighborhood park in Historic Cannon's Addition was once owned by a founder of the Spokane Lilac Festival - Polly Mitchell Judd.

Residents living in the Latah Creek Valley are trying to organize a neighborhood council, and now they are inviting people who live on Sunset Hill to meet with them. Lori Bertis, organizer of the neighborhood council, said the Latah Creek area could be expanded to include a larger section of southwest Spokane.

Controversy over growth on Moran Prairie is heating up with a proposal by a developer to build a shopping center and apartment houses at 57th and Regal. Rich Naccarato of Cedar Builders Inc. recently filed an application with Spokane County for zone changes to allow a mix of uses on a 24.5-acre site. The land is now vacant.

1. A shiny new slide is one of the big attractions for Paul Brown, 11, and his friends, who said they visit the new park in Historic Cannon's Addition every day. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 2. The grass isn't up yet, but the new Cannon's Addition park already attracts visitors from the lower South Hill. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

"I have phenomenal luck with plants," sayd Dottie Bender. "I do everything wrong and they still grow." Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Members of the South Hill Senior Center are meeting on Tuesday to hear the details of the feasibility of building a new center. The meeting begins at 1 p.m. at the center. A $3 luncheon is scheduled for noon, with reservations required a day in advance.

Washington Trust Bank wants to build a new drive-in branch bank and a medical-dental office building at 29th and Southeast Boulevard. The bank last month filed an application with the city seeking approval of its proposal for the northwest corner of the busy intersection.

Low-income apartment residents on the North Side are getting hooked to computers through new neighborhood learning centers. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is cooperating with managers of the apartments to open centers equipped with computers, Internet access and tutorial programs.

Residents living on the lower South Hill are invited to attend a neighborhood council meeting at Roosevelt Elementary School Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Historic Cannon's Addition Neighborhood Council wants to expand its borders to include areas east to Sacred Heart Medical Center and Grand Boulevard and south to 16th Avenue.

Low-income apartment residents on the South Side are getting hooked to computers through new neighborhood learning centers. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is cooperating with managers of the apartments to open centers equipped with computers, Internet access and tutorial programs.

Four stone pillars that have marked the entrances to the Rockwood neighborhood for nearly 90 years are waiting for face lifts. The Historic Preservation Committee of the Cheney Cowles Museum has donated $1,000 to renovate the rock adornments.

1. Water, water everywhere. Spring runoff along the banks of the Little North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River under Bumblebee Mountain presents a glistening postcard image belying the area's serious flood situation. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review 2. Lake Roosevelt was dropped to its lowest level since 1980 by the Bureau of Reclamation in anticipation of heavy runoff from the unusually deep snowpack. Photo by Torsten Kjellstrand/The Spokesman-Review

A view of 57th Avenue at dusk shows some of the standing water that has county commissioners concerned. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

A proposal to tear out five homes on 30th Avenue near Regal Street and replace them with a 10-bay auto repair facility has won approval from the city hearing examiner. Nearby residents and the owner of an apartment building across 30th Avenue from the site fought the proposal.

1. Jerrod Garrett, 8, helps volunteer Caydl Eggers, left, and Lori Steiner, organizer for Spokane Community Gardens, right, fill raised beds in his yard before a rain. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. Setting up and leveling a raised-bed planting box are, from left, Lori Steiner, Phil Eggers, Phyllis Cothran and Caydl Eggers. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

The Spokane City Council on Monday set a public hearing for June 2 on a developer's request for the city to relinquish public ownership of Napa Street north of 29th Avenue. Glen Cloninger wants to build a mixed-use residential and commercial complex on the 7.7-acre site.