Pia Hallenberg

It's a dog's life

Vanessa Behan benefit breakfast coming up

When the Freya Street bridge opened for traffic earlier this week, commuters got something other than train cars to look as they drive the busy north-south arterial. Local artist Roger Ralston created three brightly colored, bannerlike sculptures which are set close to the top of the lights on the bridge, somewhat like flags atop a ship’s masts.

There’s this thing about playgrounds: it’s really difficult to keep children away from them. On Tuesday afternoon Spokane’s first public universal playground was carefully wrapped in red ribbon, yet children found ways to get in and play anyhow while about two dozen grown-ups milled around waiting for the official business. Sandi Laney was one of the people who got behind a grass-roots effort to build a playground that appeals to all children, yet is completely accessible for children with disabilities.

When the city of Spokane’s Wastewater Management Department needed to replace some manhole covers, it certainly could have gone with the standard design it already had. Instead, a decision was made to hold a children’s art contest asking for visually appealing designs that reflect of the city of Spokane. It turns out that lots of youngsters liked that idea; the city received more than 625 entries, making it very difficult to pick a winner.

Tomato plants looking for a good home

Someone shot the water heater

So many things can happen to kids as they grow up. They fall out of trees. They get chicken pox and blisters and hit in the head with balls. They fall off bikes. Parents know and expect this and fix things with bandages and hugs and kisses. Sometimes a Band-Aid will not do. Sometimes, a healthy 12-year-old girl wakes up one day and has a seizure. Then she has another one. And within a month she has as many as 20 seizures a day. Nothing can stop them – no drugs, no other treatment – and at one point exasperated physicians and specialists recommend inducing a coma to give the girl a break.

Bike all year round, not just this week

Growing neighborhood businesses

So many things can happen to kids as they grow up. They fall out of trees. They get chicken pox and blisters and hit in the head with balls. They fall off bikes. Parents know and expect this and fix things with bandages and hugs and kisses. Sometimes a Band-Aid will not do. Sometimes, a healthy 12-year-old girl wakes up one day and has a seizure. Then she has another one. And within a month she has as many as 20 seizures a day – nothing can stop them, no drugs, no other treatment, and at one point exasperated physicians and specialists recommend inducing a coma to give the girl a break.

The South Perry Business and Neighborhood Association elected a new president last week. The Rev. Deb Conklin, pastor at Liberty Park United Methodist Church, is serving through this fall as former president Geoff White of the Perry Street Café is focusing his efforts on the upcoming South Perry Fair and Parade on July 17. Conklin has lived in the South Perry neighborhood for three years. Prior to that, she served in several smaller towns around Spokane.

Parade Grand Marshall named

New president of SPBNA

Arson in the neighborhood?