Mike Prager

There is plenty to like about the weather for the next several days as sunshine and warm temperatures hold court over the Inland Northwest through at least Sunday. Today could see some light southwest wind. A dry cold front on Friday might kick up the breezes again.

Late returns counted Wednesday failed to give a Spokane Transit Authority ballot measure enough votes to overcome an election night deficit of 863 votes. The Spokane County Auditor said that with the remaining ballots to be counted the chance of the measure passing is "almost impossible."

Nearly $8 million worth of work is planned for Felts Field this year and next to rehabilitate taxi lanes and make other improvements at the 1926 airport. That spending comes after $7.6 million was spent since 2012 on airport improvements. The work is part of a strategy by the Spokane Airport Board and its staff to create airport facilities that will draw new businesses and economic development.

Unsettled and cooler weather is expected over the Inland Northwest through this weekend with highs running in the middle 50s to near 60 degrees. A cold front that crossed the region on Wednesday morning has ushered in a broad area of low pressure in the upper atmosphere.

Construction of a new overpass on Interstate 90 in Post Falls is already causing traffic slowdowns because of lane restrictions last week. This week, the contractor on the Greensferry overpass project will place girders for the bridge, which will force a complete closure of freeway lanes during overnight hours Tuesday and Wednesday.

A proposal to divide the Northwest Neighborhood Council – the largest neighborhood council area in Spokane – is gaining support among neighborhood representatives. The plan calls for dividing the council area into two neighborhoods.

While Spokane County commissioners weigh arguments over a proposed 354-unit apartment complex at Wandermere on the North Side, they’re also looking over three other proposed land-use changes that are being sought for commercial and residential development in unincorporated parts of the county. All three of the proposals won the endorsement of the Spokane County Planning Commission and are awaiting action by the commissioners, said Planning Director John Pederson.

The stormy spring weather of the past several weeks appears to have ended for now with a high-pressure weather system moving over the Inland Northwest for mostly sunny and warmer weather. High temperatures across the region will be moving into the 60s starting with the low 60s today.

Work on widening Interstate 90 to six lanes on the east side of Snoqualmie Pass has resumed for the construction season, the seventh year of the megaproject to upgrade the freeway. Workers have started changing the wintertime lane configuration to prepare for construction.

The head of the Spokane Transit Authority says a conservative think tank is intentionally misconstruing facts about a ballot measure that would raise the sales tax to expand transit in Spokane. The Washington Policy Center, meanwhile, is standing by its evaluation of the measure, Proposition 1.

The Spokane Planning Department is seeking public input on proposed land-use changes to allow residential properties in three neighborhoods to be used for office or commercial buildings. A public open house is set for Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Chase Gallery on the lower level of City Hall.

Spring continues its back-and-forth, sunny-to-showery pattern through the weekend. National Weather Service forecasters are saying today and Friday should be on the pleasant side with mostly sunny skies and highs near 60.

The faded highway signs near Spokane International Airport look tacky, to say the least. The Washington state Department of Transportation is going to fix the problem starting today.