Mike Prager

A group of Cheney residents is working to save the city’s historic Northern Pacific Railroad depot from demolition. BNSF Railway has offered to donate the station to the community if the group can come up with a workable plan for relocating it.

Cool and showery weather will end today as the Inland Northwest transitions to a period of warmer and sunnier weather on Friday through at least Tuesday. Highs will go from the upper 60s in Spokane today to the upper 70s and lower 80s into next week. Temperatures will be a few degrees cooler in North Idaho and several degrees warmer in the Columbia Basin.

A line of strong showers is currently moving over the Spokane metro area and should continue to bring rain until about 6:30 p.m., the National Weather Service said.

Spokane Transit Authority is getting ready to launch the newest phase of its smart bus program. Starting next month, STA will deploy 10 buses equipped with sophisticated computers that will set the stage for improvements in how buses operate.

A Spokane sheriff’s deputy fired for having sex on duty has been reinstated by a state arbitrator. Deputy Scott Kenoyer will have to sign a last-chance disciplinary agreement to get his job back along with back pay. The agreement will essentially put him on probation for two years, during which time he could be fired if he has any new disciplinary problems.

A mix of sun and clouds with mild to warm temperatures should hold out through most of the holiday weekend. However, two relatively weak low pressure systems are due in tomorrow afternoon and early Monday. Gusty winds are possible from the second system on Monday.

Two Spokane County building employees invoked their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination this week in a case that accuses the county of improperly back-dating documents to allow construction of a gas station where a state board ruled it was not allowed. The county workers testified Monday during an appeal before the county hearing examiner of a building permit application for a convenience store and gas station at Argonne and Bigelow Gulch roads.

An ice rink likely won’t be included in a proposed $20 million field house that Spokane County commissioners could put to voters as part of a 2015 park ballot measure. The county is considering a proposal by the Spokane Sports Commission to underwrite a field house on the north bank of the Spokane River to draw visitors to Spokane for tournaments.

Spokane County Raceway operator Craig Smith says he’s had it with trying to operate the facility’s oval track. The track is a money pit: Previous owners have bled hundreds of thousands of dollars and Smith said last year he was able to pare his raceway losses to $40,000 by cutting short the oval track season.

National Weather Service forecasters this morning said they are looking at conflicting computer information on the weather outlook for the holiday weekend.

Drivers in southwest Spokane are undergoing one more inconvenience before a new interchange opens Friday at U.S. Highway 195 and Cheney-Spokane Road. The overpass bridge is completed and three of the four ramps are nearly ready for traffic.

The official filing period for elective offices in Washington state got started Monday with little drama in Spokane. Many incumbent candidates filed paperwork to appear on this year’s ballot.

Spokane County commissioners voted 2-1 on Monday to set up new rules for weddings and other events at Green Bluff and other farming areas. The decision requires annual temporary use permits for property owners to host weddings or other social events.

Top elected leaders in Spokane and Spokane County spent two hours Monday morning talking about how to plan for future growth in the community. It was the first in what is expected to be a series of meetings intended to bring collaboration on growth, rather than disagreements that erupted last year when county commissioners expanded the urban growth area by 4,100 acres.

The outdoor weekend gets off to a fine start today, but we’re going to drop back into the cool and wet side of spring starting tonight. Highs today in Spokane should reach the upper 60s before a new storm system arrives. A quarter inch of rain is possible in Spokane overnight.

Spokane County commissioners are backing off on lot size and property line rules that threatened to stop would-be marijuana growers in agricultural zones. On Monday, the growers said strict zoning rules enacted last month on a temporary basis would cause them to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in investments they were making to grow Washington’s newly legal cash crop.

Spokane County used to have a law and justice council that was supposed to work on improving the criminal justice system. The group was formed in 1992 and was made up of representatives from law enforcement, the courts and other parts of the system.

BNSF Railway is doubling up on last year’s track improvements in the Inland Northwest. In Washington, the railroad plans to spend $235 million to expand rail capacity as well as replace and perform maintenance on its main line tracks.