Mike Prager

Nathan Lawrence spent six anguishing days searching for his dog after it escaped from his wrecked SUV during a snowstorm last month. Atticus, a 60-pound male catahoula, bolted from his kennel inside the vehicle and jumped out through a broken window on the shoulder of Interstate 90 southwest of Spokane.

Mike Shannon of the Spokane County 911 emergency system was working on a north Spokane street on Thursday, collecting geo-positioning data for the homes there. His work is part of an ongoing upgrade of the 911 communications system.

Voters might notice a change in this month’s levy election ballot envelopes, and some may not like what they see. Spokane County is using new ballot return envelopes that eliminate a flap of paper that previously covered voter signatures.

People trying to iron out child custody problems bump into each other in the main-floor corridor of the Spokane County Courthouse almost on a daily basis while everyone else who has business in the building brushes by. It’s not the ideal place for mothers, fathers and grandparents working out their most personal issues in Family Law Court.

A real-time tracking system for Spokane County snowplows got a big test two weeks ago when 10 inches of snow blanketed the area over two days. The county is testing the digitized system that will tell the public which of its 2,500 miles of roads have been plowed during and after winter storms.

Spokane County Commissioner Todd Mielke testified earlier this month in favor of a bill that would charge a $400 fee to citizens who appeal local land-use decisions to the state’s Growth Management Hearings Board. Mielke, a Republican, said he isn’t necessarily in favor of the fee but wants to stop appeals by people who are not directly affected by land-use changes under the state’s Growth Management Act.

The escape of two inmates Tuesday from Geiger Corrections Center was the first such incident from that facility in at least five years, the staff said on Wednesday as sheriff’s officials argued the escape underlines the need for replacing the jail. Geiger is converted from military housing built in 1959 and used by Spokane County for a mix of nonviolent inmates, including those awaiting trial like the two women who escaped.

Spokane Transit Authority officials have abandoned plans for a 7 percent cut in service this year after sales tax collections and passenger numbers increased last year. They had warned that the planned cuts would have been trouble for riders because it would have caused serious reductions in service.

Officials throughout the Pacific Northwest spent Tuesday preparing for an onslaught of severe winter weather, forecast to arrive today after weeks of relative calm across the Inland Northwest. The Washington Department of Transportation said it was deploying 1,250 maintenance workers statewide in 500 pieces of snow equipment and they would be working around the clock. Meanwhile, deicer was being applied to Inland Northwest roadways in advance of any new snow.

Local leaders hope that a sprawling new Caterpillar Logistics plant on the West Plains is the first in a series of new business arrivals near the airport. Vacant land surrounding Spokane International Airport, some of which is owned by the airport, is getting more scrutiny by out-of-town companies, including Boeing, officials said.