The civic and business leaders who sought to develop Mirabeau Point in Spokane Valley a decade ago wanted to make sure it was a place where disabled children wouldn't have to watch from the side as other kids used the playground. Since then, a new community center, the Valley YMCA and expansive natural areas have all grown from their plans, although the Children's Universal Park still exists only in architects' drawings.
Commerce is bustling along Sullivan Road in Spokane Valley and so is the traffic. Christmas shoppers and employees pour in and out of 23 restaurants, five banks, two hotels and more than 70 other storefronts between Sprague and Interstate 90.
When crinkly piles of wrapping paper cover the living room floor and a family finds themselves chatting in the drowsy hours before dinner, sometimes the best stories aren't of the grandest gifts but the ones nobody wanted. One Spokane Valley dad, for example, opened a present from his brother years ago in front of a room full of children, then sheepishly said "thank you" for a set of glasses shaped like naked women.
Not quite a puppy and not quite an adult, Otie seems eager to find his place in a new home. Although he'd rather play than sit around, he's still relatively easy on the leash. He's gentle and officials at SCRAPS say he's a quick learner.
Parks in Spokane Valley could see $3.55 million in improvements over the next year or two as the city begins spending a special capital fund on pools, playground equipment and other amenities. "We've all been doing a lot of planning in the last few years, and hopefully we can go now and put some projects on the ground," Parks and Recreation Director Mike Jackson said at Tuesday's council meeting.
Thanks to decades of sewer construction, Spokane Valley's roads are in good shape. And after six months of inspecting every foot of asphalt in the city, a team of consultants briefed the City Council Tuesday on forming a plan to help keep them that way. "This is Christmas early. This is what I have been looking forward to for a couple years," said Councilman Mike DeVleming after a presentation on the city's new pavement management program.
Fire personnel handled 219 calls for service during the week leading up to Tuesday. The previous week's total was 199. "The calls definitely went up," said Valley Fire spokesman Bill Clifford.
The Spokane Valley City Council reconfirmed three members of the Planning Commission and reviewed its hearings policy for dangerous dogs at Tuesday night's meeting. Planning Commissioners John Carroll, Ian Robertson and Marcia Sands were reappointed by the mayor and confirmed by the council for three year terms.
Frustrated with stalled negotiations over a strip of land that would extend Appleway Boulevard several miles to the east, the Spokane Valley City Council authorized the city's first lawsuit against Spokane County at its meeting Tuesday night. "There are times when we need to have a third party arbiter, and sometimes that arbiter wears a black robe," said Councilman Steve Taylor.
Efforts by a local nonprofit group and the City of Spokane to help keep a community-access cable channel on the air took a step forward Monday as the City Council approved $50,000 to operate Channel 14. "On a first-time basis, I think it's a good investment," said Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin.
A year ago today, one of the nation's toughest indoor air pollution laws forced bars and restaurants in Washington to show smokers the door. Some taverns have lost money as their patrons now go home to smoke and imbibe there instead, but health officials say violations of the indoor smoking ban are becoming rare.
An experienced lap dog that's well past the hyperactivity that small pets are sometimes known for, Sammy needs care and attention after being found west of Spokane wandering in the cold. He might seem a little nervous at first, but he's comfortable with human contact and doesn't bark.
Spokane Valley and Spokane County are in an escalating disagreement over who actually owns a strip of land that could continue Appleway Boulevard east from University where the couplet now ends. After years of on-again, off-again talks of transferring the land from county ownership to the city so it could extend the road, Mayor Diana Wilhite Nov. 15 sent a letter to county commissioners demanding they acknowledge Spokane Valley has owned it all along.
For the second time, a Spokane Valley commission has recommended higher salaries for the city's mayor and City Council. "I think that we made a very good decision," said Gail Stiltner, part of the five-member committee that voted unanimously Monday to increase salaries for council members and the mayor to $750 per month and $975 per month, respectively.
Spokane Valley's love-hate relationship with the Sprague-Appleway couplet – and transportation in general along the city's main drag – came to the fore Thursday night at the third community meeting on a plan to breathe new life into the tired commercial strip. "Like it or not, it's not just about moving cars," said Troy Russ, one of several urban-design experts hired by the city to craft a redevelopment plan for Sprague and Appleway.
Odette was taken to the shelter two months ago because she was not good with the new baby. Her previous owners said she was good with the older kids but this energetic, fun-loving girl is too young to know that little people can't tell her when she is being too rambunctious. She is listed as a Pit cross. There is a little blue in her right eye which makes her unique looking. If you spend any amount of time with her you can tell that she is mixed with a very intelligent breed. She already knows how to sit and is very food-motivated so she would be easy to train. She has been temperament tested and was also found to be good with other dogs.
A Spokane Valley committee charged with distributing funds from the hotel tax has found itself in a rare situation – there's more money than projects competing for it. Councilman Steve Taylor presented the annual recommendations of the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee at Tuesday's council meeting.
A Spokane nonprofit has offered to run a cable channel that might otherwise disappear at the end of the year. But it will need support from local governments and Comcast ratepayers to make it happen.
Grass is supposed to filter the contaminants washed off University Road and into two ponds. But for years, neighbors say, the areas have looked more like vacant lots than community property. "I've never seen anything green except the weeds when they come up early," said Hope Bina.
With thousands of shoppers whizzing by over the busy weekend, roadside Christmas-tree stands are opening for another season. "It's remained quite steady, almost identical," Bill Frick said of tree sales in recent years as he opened Santa's Tree Farm on Friday at University and Sprague.
Library managers and architects are getting a better idea of what might be included in a new Spokane Valley library, but it's still uncertain when the district can bring a plan to build it before voters. At a meeting Tuesday, the board that oversees the Spokane County Library District passed its $9.4 million budget for next year and looked ahead, reviewing its planning with Integrus Architecture on the new library.
Deputies sorted through tools, hardware, appliances and even a kitchen sink Wednesday at the Spokane Valley home of a man they believe stole construction supplies worth tens of thousands of dollars from unfinished houses. "The house is just full of stuff," said sheriff's Sgt. Dave Reagan.
Next year, the Spokane Valley Fire Department will add nine firefighter positions and take advantage of more than $2 million in new equipment outlined in the department's 2007 budget, which was approved Monday. Five firetrucks and protective gear for firefighters were among the items on order after a special levy approved by more than 70 percent of voters in March.
In fewer than three years, historic preservation in Spokane Valley has evolved from a few individuals collecting bits of the Valley's past that might otherwise have been thrown away to an ambitious museum with plans to add an entire one-room schoolhouse to its growing collection. "It's been really heartwarming to see the community support," said museum curator Jayne Singleton.
Spokane Valley is taking a different tack after months of negotiating for Spokane County to turn over a strip of land that would continue Appleway Boulevard east from University, claiming now that the city has owned the land all along. In a letter to county commissioners from Mayor Diana Wilhite dated Wednesday, the city "asserts that it has legal ownership of the property commonly referred to as the Old Milwaukee Right-of-Way."
