Pia Hallenberg

Officers can use the toys for children who end up in their custody after domestic disputes or accidents

Though Spokane hasn’t re-elected a mayor since the early 1970s, many small town mayors serve for years and years without a challenger in sight. Palouse mayor Michael Echanove has been mayor since 2001 and he’s only facing his second challenger.

Former Spokane Valley Mayor Tom Towey challenges Arne Woodard for position 3 on the Spokane Valley City Council

Public is invited to comment on the new city hall at tonight's Spokane Valley City Council meeting beginning at 6 p.m.

Valleyfest begins Friday night with a bed race and a parade on Sprague Avenue. It continues Saturday and Sunday with dozens of community events, a family bicycle ride and a lineup of music on three stages spanning from Caribbean steel drummers to the Central Valley Strings Orchestra to headliner Men in the Making – replacing Peter Rivera who canceled for health reasons.

The Spokane Valley City Council is expected to approve the initial renderings and concept plan for the new City Hall at its meeting at 6 p.m. on Sept. 29. At its Sept. 15 meeting, the council picked one of two options presented to it by staff and contractor Architects West: a three-story brick building with a large open space between its three floors, featuring a glass front and a covered entrance.

The first chance for public commentary is coming right up.

Painted Hills neighbors oppose development

The Spokane Valley City Council got its first look Tuesday evening at potential designs of the new city hall to be constructed at the corner of Sprague Avenue and Dartmouth Road. Using public input from meetings in the spring as well as interviews with council members and an analysis of space needs of the different city departments, contractor Architects West presented two potential options: a classically styled, three-story brick building and a slightly more contemporary building featuring a large open space between the three floors, with significantly more glass and large timbers. 

If you are looking to improve the attention span and concentration of an elementary school class, perhaps introducing a bunch of large, bouncy rubber balls for the students to sit on isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But counterintuitive as it may seem, sitting on WittFitt stability balls – which look much like Kangaroo Balls but without the handles – may help students in many ways.

I've been missing in action for a bit here on the blog, after getting bucked off the horse on Sept. 2.

The original owner of the brass bracelet Jenifer Priest purchased nearly 20 years ago has been identified. After the story ran in The Spokesman-Review on Aug. 22, Priest heard from Liberty Lake resident Ray Geraghty, who said the bracelet was made by his mother, Helen Geraghty, for his grandmother Ethel Thornhill.