Mike Prager

If it's early August, it must be zucchini season. Tamara Sorokin and her family have had plenty of the squash, and a lot of other vegetables, too. Sorokin and her family are reaping the rewards of a volunteer project last spring that brought a vegetable garden to their home.

Farmers and Merchants Bank last week announced plans to open a new branch on Southeast Boulevard just south of 29th Avenue. It marks the fourth time in recent months that Farmers and Merchants has announced the opening of a new branch. Ric Odegard, the bank's chief operating officer, said Farmers and Merchants is building a larger network of branches to make its services more convenient to customers.

The controversial Moran Prairie radio towers belonging to KGA-AM are no longer standing. Citadel Broadcasting Co. had the towers taken down during the early morning hours of July 27, said general manager Steve Cody. The old towers are being replaced by a new broadcasting site on Stutler Road near U.S. Highway 195 about 10 miles south of Spokane. Residents living in the area of the five new 400-foot towers fought Citadel's efforts to construct the facilities there, but lost in a hearing before the Spokane County Commissioners and a lawsuit in Superior Court.

This may not be global warming, but Inland Northwest nights have been abnormally warm this week. Spokane shattered a daily record for the warmest overnight low early Tuesday when the thermometer dipped to a balmy 72 degrees at Spokane International Airport. The record for Aug. 5 was 66 degrees, set in 1952. A high, thin cloud cover acted like an atmospheric blanket, preventing the daytime heat from radiating upward during the night, forecasters said.

The Garfield Road neighborhood isn't always as peaceful and quiet as the people who live there would like. Too many motorists are cutting through the historic residential area seeking a faster route. Now that Grand Boulevard is going to be closed for repaving later this summer, residents are worried the problem is going to become much worse as more drivers use their neighborhood to get to and from downtown.

A developer who won a land-use battle before the Spokane City Council last fall has now obtained approval to expand his Sunset Hill project. The city hearing examiner last week ruled that developer Ron McCloskey can go ahead with a 42-unit apartment complex and five duplexes next to the Indian Canyon Golf Course driving range. Last October, the council approved an initial phase of the development: a 48-unit apartment project on adjacent land on Westcliff Place.

1. Maggie, the birthday Westie, gets a kiss from her owner, Kim Johnson. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. Larry Kowalski, kneeling, a West Highland white terrier breeder from Montana, checks out a four-footed partygoer while his wife Pam, right, gets a hug from Patty Sykes, the event organizer. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Members of the Moran Prairie Neighborhood Association aren't giving up on their call for a building moratorium in fast-growing southeast Spokane. Association leaders have asked the city to impose a moratorium on all new development inside the incorporated portion of southeast Spokane. Spokane County commissioners last spring rejected a moratorium involving unincorporated areas. Instead, the commissioners adopted temporary controls on storm-water disposal.

The riverbanks near this Latah Creek bridge are among those the city plans to repair beginning in August. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Seniors looking for something to do this summer might consider one of the short courses being offered by the community colleges, or programs at the South Hill Senior Center. A four-day workshop on symphony music is being offered at Spokane Falls Community College Aug. 11-14. The workshop will be preceded Aug. 9 by a a chartered bus trip to Sandpoint to hear the Spokane Symphony perform at The Festival. Cost of the trip is $25, including the bus ride and concert ticket.

The chances of getting hit by lightning in the United States are better than winning the lottery. Nationally, an average of 85 people are killed every year. Only flash floods claim more lives. But residents of the Inland Northwest sometimes forget just how dangerous lightning can be, weather service officials said last week. "Each year in the Inland Northwest, five to 10 people are struck by lighting, with one or two being fatal," according to a recent bulletin from the National Weather Service.

Spokane City Council members agreed Tuesday to pay part of the cost of writing solutions to the stormwater problems in Central Park and on Moran and Glenrose prairies. The county has hired a Boise consultant to come up with a draft plan for handling storm runoff that's been filling parking lots, streets and yards. The past couple of years the problem has been so bad that many residents have had flooding in their basements.

Brian and Kathleen Chapman, shown with their son, Camus, are bringing back the original elegance to the former Guy Browne mansion on Browne Mountain. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

The Spokane City Council on Monday awarded a contract for this summer's reconstruction and repaving of Grand Boulevard. Inland Asphalt Co. of Spokane, the winner, was the lowest of the two bidders at $880,331. Acme Materials and Construction Co. of Spokane submitted a bid of $1.2 million.

1. Robert Horner, left, launches the canoe he made for his brother, Bill Horner, right, and niece and nephew Cassie and Alex Horner. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. Dexter Combs, 7, lifted his sister Mashayla Combs, 19 months, out of an inflatable toy, only to find she changed her mind and wants in. Cousin Robert Longino, 4, steadies the craft. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 3. Amanda Fisher, 9, and Toni Cowan, 5, mix imagination, sand and water to come up with a recipe for fun at Medical Lake. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

A new youth center in the East Central neighborhood is planning to open in mid-August now that the city hearing examiner has approved the project plans. The interdenominational Youth for Christ organization is converting an old commercial building on Fifth Avenue near Haven to a youth center with four "hotel" apartments upstairs. Last week the Spokane hearing examiner approved a special permit allowing the four living units to be operated as a hotel.

A block of rugged property at Fifth and Sheridan could become the new home for a cancer treatment center on the lower South Hill. Physician's Reliance Network of Dallas is seeking a special permit from the city to build a two-story treatment center just east of St. Luke's Rehabilitation Center.

The Medical Lake Historical Society has opened a photo exhibit that traces the development of this small city southwest of Spokane. The pictures show old buildings, pioneer settlers, the early staff at Eastern State Hospital, and life along the lakeshore. Part of the exhibit includes advertising labels from the old spas and sanitoriums that dotted the community when Medical Lake possessed mineral waters.

The commercial strip on south Regal Street near the Palouse Highway could be getting busier. Dr. Ralph Berg, a Spokane heart surgeon, and his wife, Mary, are asking the city to approve a large new supermarket just north of Shopko at 44th and Regal. They bought the property several years ago and have been planning the development for more than a year.

Too tall. Dale Power of Western Rebar surveys the damage after his truck's boom smashed into skywalk at the Ridpath Hotel on Thursday afternoon. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Neighbors living in Browne's Addition are celebrating their history next month with a summer festival at Coeur d'Alene Park. The Browne's Addition Celebration on Aug. 9 will run from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. with a special tree-planting ceremony at 7 p.m. The setting is fitting since Coeur d'Alene Park is the oldest park in Spokane.

Spokane County Commissioners Tuesday denied an appeal by some Moran Prairie homeowners who are trying to block an apartment development near Mullan Road School. The commissioners voted unanimously to uphold a decision by the county hearing examiner last February. The proposed project calls for 48 apartments and six duplex units on 3.7 acres along Regal Street just north of Mullan Road School.

Martha and Matt Donachie, visiting from New Hampshire, stop to smell the roses at Manito Park's Rose Hill. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

1. Fire resident Wendy Haley, 19, scores during a parking lot football game at a new station for Spokane County Fire District 10. Response times for the station have been cut almost in half since the young trainees moved in. Photos by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. District 10 Chief Dick Gormley gives resident Chris Anthony a helmet-fixing lesson. 3. Chris Anthony, 21, a fire resident for District 10, helps refill a truck water tank from a fire hydrant at the district's new station. The new headquarters building is on Garfield Road in Airway Heights. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 4. Firehouse chefs Jerry Shotts, left, and Ellis Nale team up to prepare barbecued steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, linguini in clam sauce, and garlic bread for their fellow residents. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review