Mike Prager

The National Weather Service said that dense fog is occurring across wide portions of the Inland Northwest today and will persist into this afternoon.

Driver Doug wants to help bus riders be the kind of riders a driver truly appreciates. Douglas M. Griggs has been driving for San Francisco transit for 17 years.

About 9,700 Spokane residents living in northeast Spokane north of Francis Avenue do not receive convenient bus service on Sundays or after 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Spokane Transit Authority has plans to upgrade service and routes in northeast Spokane as part of the STA Moving Forward ballot measure.

The owners of two old houses that were long ago converted to apartments are going to undertake an archaeological study of the properties in Browne’s Addition before the city of Spokane will let them tear down the houses to make room for a new apartment building. Kettrick Properties has submitted an application to demolish the adjoining houses.

Light amounts of snow are possible across the region at all elevations today, but a mild storm off the Pacific is going to bring rising snow levels as the weekend approaches. National Weather Service forecasters said today’s weather system is moving into a strong ridge of high pressure that has brought low clouds and fog to the Inland Northwest’s lowlands in recent days.

Spokane Valley city staff members are asking for the public’s help in deciding what kinds of public improvements should be added to the Centennial Trail access point at the end of the old Mission Avenue alignment. A public meeting is planned for 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 26 in the clubhouse at the River House Apartments at 16621 E. Indiana Ave.

Avalanche danger is increasing in the mountains of North Idaho with Thursday night’s snow falling on top of a crusted layer of hoar frost and light snow. The Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center on Friday said the risk of a snow slide will increase as a new Pacific storm arrives in the region tonight.

Public input sought for Mission Ave. trailhead in Spokane Valley

Avalanche danger is increasing in the mountains of North Idaho with Thursday night's snow storm falling on top of a crusted layer of hoar frost and light snow.

The snow-challenged ski and snowmobiling season should get a good shot of fresh powder over the next several days as the region gets hit with a pair of new Pacific storms. National Weather Service forecasters said most of the lower elevations will see some snow changing to rain while higher elevations should remain all snow through Sunday.

Spokane parks officials today will ask the city’s hearing examiner to approve a shoreline permit for a new access ramp for kayaks and small nonmotorized craft along the Centennial Trail at the Division Street Bridge. A public hearing will be at 9 a.m. today in the Council Briefing Center in the lower level of City Hall.

Spokane County drivers are among the worst in Washington when it comes to using cellphones while driving. A study in 2013 showed that 14.5 percent of local drivers talked or texted on their phones. Two-thirds of those observed using cellphones were sending or receiving text messages – higher than in other counties.

One of the first things that visitors to Spokane see when they exit Interstate 90 at Division Street is an empty lot behind temporary murals. A Lutheran church that stood at the site at the northwest corner of Third Avenue and Division for decades was demolished in 2008 to make room for a proposed new motel.

A Spokane County Superior Court judge said the county planning department and its hearing examiner failed to provide adequate protection for a wetland located in the heart of a proposed 25-home subdivision on North Hatch Road. Judge James M. Triplet ruled last month that the proposed Canterbury Bluff plat at 17714 N. Hatch Road inadequately addresses wetland protections as required under state law and the county’s critical areas ordinance.