Nicholas Deshais

Johns and pimps on Spokane’s East Sprague Avenue now face more than jail time if cops catch them in the act – their cars will be impounded. This week, the Spokane City Council unanimously approved new authority for police to seize the vehicle of someone arrested for patronizing a prostitute or promoting prostitution. On top of costs associated with impoundment, towing and storing the vehicle, violators could be fined $500, according to state law.

With $500 million of public works projects scheduled during the next five years, Spokane Mayor David Condon has a plan to create a qualified local workforce to help in construction. Condon announced Monday his idea to convene a group to discuss how best to train workers for construction careers, which he said will help raise Spokane’s depressed median income to national standards. The group will consist of veterans, people with disabilities, women, minorities, people with criminal records and young people, as well as contractors and union and business representatives, according to the mayor’s spokesman, Brian Coddington.

After numerous, ultimately unsuccessful attempts to quiet the packed Spokane City Council chambers, Council President Ben Stuckart gaveled the meeting to an early close and stormed from the chambers Monday night. Most in the crowd of more than 100 people were there to speak in favor of repealing a city law that says police will not ask people about their immigration status. A few spoke in support of the city policy, which was put forward by Stuckart and adopted last year by the City Council.

Tonight’s Spokane City Council meeting erupted in chaos as local immigration rules prompted fiery arguments and led Council President Ben Stuckart to leave the chambers. Another councilman had police remove a citizen.

East Sprague Avenue’s reputation as Spokane’s seedy red-light district could change, if the City Council approves a new law allowing police to impound vehicles used for activities related to prostitution. The expanded authority is specific to the area surrounding East Sprague, which has many more prostitution-related calls and incidents than any other part of the city. Officers will be allowed to seize the vehicle of someone arrested for patronizing a prostitute or promoting prostitution. On top of costs associated with impoundment, towing and storing the vehicle, according to state law, violators could be fined $500 – or $2,500 if the prostitute is a minor.

The idea to focus public investment dollars on the diminished stretch of East Sprague Avenue in Spokane has been around City Hall for a year and half, but it took a big step forward last month as the city won grant money for “smart growth” training and was shortlisted for state money focused on bicycle and pedestrian safety. Spokane was just one of 14 communities nationwide to be given a grant from Smart Growth America, which advocates for city planning to consider environmental, farmland and historic preservation, among other issues. The grant is funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Sustainable Communities, and will provide technical assistance focus on “transit-oriented development, integrated street projects, smart growth policies, economic development and fiscal health, parking management and regional planning,” Mayor David Condon said.

Next time you get clear reception on your cellphone, thank your local water tower. The city of Spokane leases space on its water tanks to almost every major telecommunications company: AT&T, Cricket, Qwest, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon. There are 37 installations on city properties, primarily water towers, but the parks and wastewater management departments get in on the deal as well.

After another “flat” budget proposal from the state, leaders at Spokane’s Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture say it’s time for the institution to cut most formal ties with Olympia. The museum currently receives most of its annual $2.6 million operating budget from the state, and the 2015-17 budget proposal from Gov. Jay Inslee essentially maintains that level. If the museum’s vision of decommissioning itself as a state agency is acted on, the state would maintain the MAC’s buildings and facilities, and the museum would independently control its collections, fundraising and programming.

With the family of Otto Zehm looking on, Spokane police Chief Frank Straub said his department has an obligation to enact large-scale reforms announced by the Department of Justice on Friday. The review, which spans five years of data on use of force and surveyed dozens of officers about their attitudes and approaches to law enforcement, had long been demanded by citizens and activists in the wake of the janitor’s death in March 2006. The department will have 18 months to comply fully with the recommendations, or potentially face a more comprehensive and mandatory review by federal officials.

Battle lines were drawn early by transit officials in a four-hour-long meeting Thursday afternoon, but the eventual 6-3 split sending a 10-year, $300 million project to the ballot wasn’t clear until the vote was called and hands were raised. Voters will decide in April if they want to increase sales tax by 0.3 percent to fund a plan that would extend hours and expand service to new areas, as well as fund a trolley-like fixed route between Browne’s Addition and Spokane Community College.

Voters will decide this April to increase taxes to fund a 10-year plan that will extend hours and expand service to new areas, as well as fund a trolley-like fixed route between Browne’s Addition and Spokane Community College.

Almost 200 people packed the Spokane City Council chambers and Chase Gallery on Monday night for the council’s final meeting of the year. Most of them came to support an ordinance put forth by Council President Ben Stuckart mandating that a certain amount of work on public works construction projects be performed by apprentices. The measure passed in a veto-proof 5-2 vote after hours of testimony. It will “create a more skilled workforce” in Spokane, Stuckart said.

The U.S. Department of Justice will announce recommendations for the Spokane Police Department Friday, including a call for a study looking at the department’s staffing and a “training alignment” that focuses on the department’s use of force and crisis intervention policies. The details of the recommendations have not been released, but at a Public Safety meeting Monday, police Chief Frank Straub sought permission from City Council members to hire Stephen James and pay him $76,000 for a year to “work through training obligations” issued in the review.