Mike Prager

Political uncertainty hangs over Spokane City Hall like a thick winter fog, but those in charge say they aren't going to wait for it to lift before they act. Hiring a permanent replacement for outgoing City Manager Roger Crum was put on hold last week. Assistant City Manager Bill Pupo was named interim manager. The council wants voters to decide first who should run the city - a manager or a strong mayor as proposed in an initiative.

The Spokane City Council took initial steps Thursday to fill a leadership vacuum created by last week's resignation of City Manager Roger Crum. The council voted 5-1 to put a strong-mayor initiative on the September ballot.

A proposal to bring new life to a row of warehouses near Gonzaga University received an early boost Monday from the Spokane City Council. The council agreed to give up public ownership of 14 feet of street right of way on the north side of DeSmet Avenue east of Ruby so the strip could be used for private development. The partial street vacation is a beginning in a larger redevelopment project envisioned by property owners on DeSmet between Division and Pearl streets just west of Gonzaga University.

Neighbors to a mega-apartment proposal in northeast Spokane said they fear traffic will slow to stop-and-go if 700 new units are added to the abundance of apartments already in the area. Cedar Builders Inc. wants approval to build 586 apartments and 114 duplex units on the south side of Lincoln Road between Nevada and Crestline. Neighbors showed up at Spokane City Hall on Tuesday for a public hearing on builder Rich Naccarato's proposal.

Lilac City College, College of the Falls, Fort Wright Community College. Those are some of the suggestions from readers in an informal Cityline survey on a proposal to change the names of Spokane Community College and Spokane Falls Community College. The current names sound so much alike the presidents of the colleges are suggesting they be renamed to clear up the confusion. The Spokesman-Review asked readers last Sunday to phone in suggestions and opinions.

The manager of the Spokane County fairgrounds was suspended for 10 days without pay Tuesday for sexually harassing a woman security guard under his supervision. County commissioners doubled the punishment recommended by the human resources department, which investigated the allegations against Paul Gillingham. "We need to send a message that sexual harassment won't be tolerated in the county especially from a supervisory standpoint," said Commissioner John Roskelley.

The names Spokane Community College and Spokane Falls Community College sound so much alike, a lot of people aren't sure which is which. Even SCC President James Williams was a little befuddled when he came from California a year ago. "I was confused when I applied for the job," he said. Williams is among a group of college leaders who think renaming the colleges could end the confusion.

Making it as a writer in show business isn't as glamorous as it sounds. It takes years of hard work and talent more so than luck. "When I first went to Los Angeles, the pressure was intense," said Scott Schaefer, a comedy writer and a 1985 graduate of Eastern Washington University.

Gonzaga's new president, Edward Glynn, says he won't tolerate intolerance on campus. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Film producer Lee Mun Wah. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Rachel Taylor shares a laugh with other psychology undergraduate-degree candidates Sunday as she carries on the Whitworth psychology department's tradition of graduating with a rat on her mortarboard. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Robert Kliewer shows his medals to his family after a ceremony at Spokane Veteran's Affairs Hospital. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Call it a typically soggy spring. While forecasts are calling for at least another week of wet, cool weather, experts say it shouldn't come as a surprise in the Inland Northwest. May ranks among the rainiest months - more so on average than April or October, and right in there with March. "People keep saying they are waiting for spring. I tell them, 'This is spring,"' said Ron Miller, forecaster for the National Weather Service in Spokane.

Biomedical technician Nathan Taylor, right, explains an infusion pump to a group of Japanese visitors Tuesday. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Emmerson Hinkle mans the tiller and Scott Bellos runs the mower as they prepare Duncan Garden for planting of 70,000 flowers. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

New Gonzaga University graduate Barbara Bolich helps her daughters make bagel sandwiches. From left are Amanda, 9; Ariel, 7: April, 16; and Alicia, 12. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Parts of Alaska were warmer Wednesday than North Idaho and Spokane, but that should change by Saturday. Cold air pushing south from the Arctic sent temperatures plunging before dawn Wednesday, shattering the record for May 8 in Spokane. The low was 27 degrees, compared with the previous record of 31 set in 1990. The high in Spokane Wednesday reached a mere 53 degrees. The average high for this time of year is 64 degrees.

GU student Lisa Hunter liked working with the American Diabetes Association - a class requirement - so much that she continues to volunteer for the group. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Cultural nomad. Moses Pulei speaks five African languages as well as English. At left is a photo that he took of his cousin in Kenya. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Gonzaga University students Russell Minas and Tim DeMarco hope their senior class project will someday help handicapped musicians. The two engineering students, who graduate in a week, spent the past months perfecting a device that automatically presses a piano foot pedal. "We are hoping someday we can refine it so we can market it," said Minas, of Spokane.

Paul Woelfel, left, and Len Lundstrom, leaning, ham radio operators from Lewiston, take a closer look at the new weather service system. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Coleen Stoudmire. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Got their hands full. Rich and Michelle Redden, left, with Rod and Carol Tataryn. The babies are, from left, Jacob, Derek, Bradford and Christian, Nicholas and Alexander. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Gonzaga University's new president already is making a good impression with students by calling for more scholarships. "What I like about him is he is going to build up the endowment fund," said accounting major Tim Woods, a senior. University officials on Thursday announced the selection of the Rev. Edward Glynn, a seasoned Jesuit administrator from Maryland, as the 24th president of the institution.