Peter Barnes

Next spring, Spokane Valley will reconstruct a deteriorating portion of East Appleway Avenue at the eastern edge of the city. Following a funding shortfall, though, transportation officials have suggested that the city use money set aside for a project to extend Appleway east from the couplet to pay for the rest of the repairs. Next year, crews will begin rebuilding Appleway between Tschirley and Barker roads, putting in a five-lane road with sidewalks and a new intersection.

An energetic dog with lots of personality, Tiger is just waiting for the right family to come along. The people at SCRAPS recommend a home without cats or young children. She runs fast and has a lot of energy. At the same time, she likes people and doesn't seem aggressive.

With about $6 million in reserves, Spokane Valley's 2007 budget adopted Tuesday is well in the black, although the city plans eventually to cut back its snow plowing in flat, residential areas in coming years to help keep it that way. "Prior to 2002, my neighborhood had never been plowed as long as I'd lived there," Councilman Mike De-Vleming said. Unless the city needed to rescue neighborhoods blanketed by a big storm, he and others on the council said, to save money the city should hold off on plowing residential areas that aren't on hills.

At Tuesday night's meeting, the Spokane Valley City Council had its first discussion on the issues it will push in Olympia during the legislative session, likely with new help from a lobbyist. A tentative list of priorities for the city includes money for a universal children's park at Mirabeau Point, funding for streets and support for the Project Access health care program.

As Spokane Valley rewrites development policies it inherited from the county and plans to redevelop Sprague Avenue, the city also is taking a more proactive approach to figuring out what should be built on arterials running through residential neighborhoods. Where roads are widened and traffic has increased, market pressures traditionally drive property owners to replace their houses with storefronts and offices. Unlike in years past, though, Spokane Valley's long-term plans call for a clearer line where the houses stop and commerce begins.

A Spokane drug and alcohol treatment center looking for a site to expand its operations is under investigation by the state following allegations by former employees that the center mistreated addicts in its care. Among six pages of complaints against American Behavioral Health Systems are allegations that the company subjected clients to physical and verbal abuse, did not give them enough food and would discharge people rather than take them to hospitals for treatment of serious medical problems.

The Spokane Valley City Council took its first crack at revamped development regulations for the city Tuesday, beginning its discussion on the chapter that handles how land is subdivided. Most of the regulations for new subdivisions are required by state law. For example, Councilman Mike DeVleming asked how the city would ensure things like adequate light and air in new developments. That requirement is mandated by Revised Code of Washington, said planning manager Greg McCormick, and dates back to the early days of city planning when more buildings had poor circulation.

This furry, energetic pet is a happy dog, and she'd be even happier if someone gave her a loving home. Moose was found wandering around with a collar embedded in her neck. Although someone neglected her in the past, she is still friendly and good around people, dogs and cats.

In the 4th Legislative District, an eight-year incumbent and the Democrat who is challenging her offered divergent perspectives on a number of issues at a candidates forum Thursday night. Ed Foote is taking his second run against Republican Rep. Lynn Schindler for the Position 2 seat in the state House of Representatives after losing a bid for the seat in 2004.

These days it takes more than thick skin and well-honed people skills for city officers to get homeowners to clean up trash, junk cars and safety hazards on their property. In Spokane Valley, code enforcement officers and permitting officials have the advantage of wireless technology, massive databases and aerial photography to track just about everything city and county governments have done concerning a nuisance property.

Sprague Avenue, where pole signs, massive parking lots and boxy storefronts dominate the horizon, could someday be the site of some of the strictest design standards in Spokane Valley if the city implements suggestions land-use consultants made Wednesday at a public workshop on revitalizing the commercial strip. "The corridor is in trouble, and it needs to change," Michael Freedman told the crowd of about 70. "This is the most visible part of the city, and it is also the most ugly," he said

Looking to stave off a potential deficit in the city's street fund in coming years, the Spokane Valley City Council Tuesday gave preliminary approval to a plan that will eventually cut back pavement repair and, in 2008, snowplowing. Under a proposal in the forming 2007 budget, plowing on the majority of flat residential streets in the city would be substantially reduced.

Spokane Valley Police Chief Cal Walker announced his resignation from the Sheriff's Office on Wednesday. Walker is leaving the Spokane County Sheriff's Office after almost 20 years, and less than a month after losing a race against Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich in the Republican primary. He plans to stay in the position through the end of November.

On Tuesday night, Spokane Valley joined at least nine other cities in Washington to oppose Initiative 933 – a measure that would force cities to reimburse landowners if their property values are diminished by government regulations passed after 1996, and that many believe will have a disproportionate impact on cities like Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake, which have incorporated since then. "We can't afford this thing," said Councilman Rich Munson.

Bad smells, traffic and signs were the talk of the evening Wednesday at the City Council's quarterly Conversation with the Community. Mayor Diana Wilhite and council colleagues Mike DeVleming and Rich Munson joined the heads of several city departments to answer questions from a small but vocal crowd at the Valleypoint at Pines Church.

Spokane Valley began preparing residents Thursday for a complicated and long-running road project at Pines Road and Interstate 90 next year. A start date hasn't been established yet, but at some point next spring, crews will begin reconfiguring the freeway interchange and rearranging traffic-control devices in the nearby neighborhood. The work is expected to take five or six months.

At Tuesday's study session, Spokane Valley Police Chief Cal Walker gave the City Council an overview of law enforcement efforts on several fronts in the city and took questions from the council on the soon-to-be-revised rules governing school-zone speed limits. Among the items in his report that provoked council discussion, Walker said there are about 50 active gangs in the area.