Nicholas Deshais

Spokane City Councilman Mike Fagan has a clear opponent after the third day of ballot counting put a little more space between his challengers, Randy Ramos and Ben Krauss. Ramos, a recruiter with Spokane Tribal College, leads Krauss by 26 votes.

Spokane Mayor David Condon is trying to block the Worker Bill of Rights from appearing on the November ballot just a week after the City Council approved the measure for the ballot. The latest measure put forth by Envision Spokane – the group’s fourth to qualify for the ballot – would amend the city charter to require large employers to pay workers a “family wage,” ensure equal pay for equal work regardless of gender or race, and make it more difficult to terminate workers. The measure would make the rights of a corporation secondary to people’s rights.

The city of Spokane has filed a lawsuit against the international agrochemical giant Monsanto, alleging that the company sold chemicals for decades that it knew were a danger to human and environmental health, and is at fault for polluting the Spokane River. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Spokane, is similar to suits filed recently by San Diego and San Jose against the Missouri-based agriculture company for compromising municipal water sources with polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.

Spokane Mayor David Condon is trying to block the Worker Bill of Rights from appearing on the November ballot just a week after the City Council approved the measure for the ballot.

The city of Spokane has filed a lawsuit against the international agrochemical giant Monsanto, alleging that the company sold chemicals for decades that it knew were a danger to human and environmental health. The lawsuit, which does not specifically state what the city is seeking in monetary damages, also alleges that Monsanto is responsible for the high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, in the Spokane River.

Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart sent out a point-by-point rebuttal against the mayor and fire chief, following Wednesday's story about the council's decision to require at least two firefighters to respond to a call for help.

At least two firefighters must respond to a call for help, the Spokane City Council decided Monday in a surprise decision that not even the fire chief was briefed on until just prior to the vote. The requirement raises questions about the future of the city’s “Alternative Response Units,” which were formed in 2013 in response to long-standing concerns that the department was over-responding to minor medical emergencies with multiple firefighters in gas-guzzling firetrucks. Fire officials had long argued that they needed to be in firetrucks so they would be ready for any call. But they said that position shifted with the increasing load of medical calls and budget crunches.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee today told the Ecology department to create tougher carbon emission laws, a step that avoided the "poison pill" provision in this year's transportation budget and retains billions of dollars in alternative transportation funding.

Last week, mass transit, bicycling and pedestrian advocates were celebrating with “cookies and confetti” the hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars headed toward alternative transportation projects and programs approved by the Washington state Legislature and signed into law by the governor. This week, as Gov. Jay Inslee contemplates enacting a low-carbon fuel standard, the celebrations have halted and the alarms have been sounded.

Enough signatures have been collected in Spokane to put a proposed Workers Bill of Rights charter amendment on this November’s ballot. If passed, the newest measure put forth by Envision Spokane would amend the city charter to require large employers to pay workers a “family wage,” ensure equal pay for equal work regardless of gender or race, and make it more difficult to terminate workers. The measure would make the rights of a corporation secondary to people’s rights.

The primary election is upon us, and Spokane voters have many names before them on the ballot. Here's how people are telling you how to vote.