Ted McDermott

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News >  Crime/Public Safety

Snoqualmie, Stevens, White passes reopen – but they could all close again

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 23, 2021

After the threat of avalanches closed the three main routes between Seattle and Spokane on Sunday evening, the state Department of Transportation reopened them one a time over the course of Monday, improving the flow of traffic across the Cascades. But with 18 to 24 inches of snow in the forecast, they may all have to close again.

Opinion >  Column

Getting There: As carmakers increasingly pull away from gas, electric vehicle infrastructure revs up

Mon., Feb. 22, 2021

Avista Corp. has agreed to match a $2.5 million grant from the Washington Department of Commerce to build charging infrastructure for the planned expansion of electric cars in the next decade. 

News >  Washington

On the Colville reservation, the vaccination rate is nearly double the state’s despite challenges

UPDATED: Sun., Feb. 21, 2021

NESPELEM, Wash. – Michele Thomas’ husband has had the same frustrating experience that many have had trying to get a COVID-19 vaccine: calling and calling his local health district in search of an appointment, and coming up empty.

News >  Local Government

Protected bike lanes, more housing, surface lots gone: City plan aims for an energized, denser downtown

Tue., Feb. 16, 2021

Spokane’s downtown has changed drastically over the past several decades, as the once- forlorn heart of the city has been revived through a mix of private and public investment that has increased housing, boosted the restaurant and retail scene, and realized major projects like a rehabbed Riverfront Park and an expanded convention center.

Opinion >  Column

Getting There: Ray-Freya crossover back in play, with pedestrian path replacing street

Mon., Feb. 15, 2021

The question of how to better move traffic up and down the South Hill between the Lincoln Heights and Southgate neighborhoods and around Ferris High School has confounded city planners for more than half a century.

News >  Spokane

As cost goes up $2 million and road springs a leak, Bigelow Gulch connector hits speed bumps

UPDATED: Fri., Feb. 12, 2021

What looks like a puddle or a patch of ice, depending on the weather, on a new section of Forker Road is potentially a dangerous and costly mistake that has sent Spokane County in search of a natural spring beneath the roadway and will likely lead crews to replace a section of fresh asphalt on the long-awaited Bigelow Gulch Urban Connector project.

News >  Pacific NW

Arctic front approaching: When the wind blows, the temperatures will drop

UPDATED: Mon., Feb. 8, 2021

The most unusual thing about the single-digit temperatures and double-digit winds headed for the Inland Northwest this week is how late in the season they’re finally arriving.

News >  Local Government

Getting There: Dedicated bus rapid transit lanes on Division? Planners push to make it happen, fast

Mon., Feb. 8, 2021

When the half-finished North Spokane Corridor is open for its entire 10-mile course, transit officials expect traffic on Division will decrease, allowing them to create the opportunity for dedicated bus lanes and, in part, bike lanes without having to widen the street.

News >  Spokane

South Gorge Trail on track for completion with scaled-down connection

UPDATED: Sat., Feb. 6, 2021

The South Gorge Trail is a puzzle city officials have been working to put together since 2013. While the final piece isn’t the size or shape city officials expected, they appear at last to have it in hand.

News >  Local business

400-acre Kaiser property in Mead, near former smelter site, slated for 1,400-residence mixed-use development

UPDATED: Thu., Feb. 4, 2021

The developer who transformed an old industrial site near downtown Spokane into the thriving mixed-use Kendall Yards development believes he can do the same thing on a 400-acre Kaiser Aluminum site north of the city limits in Mead.

News >  Spokane

Hearing set for 475-home redevelopment of Sun Dance golf course

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 3, 2021

Holly Higens isn’t aiming to prevent the shuttered Sun Dance Golf Course from becoming a residential community, she said. She’s pushing the county to reevaluate the developer’s plan, look more closely at its environmental impact and perhaps cut back the scale of its ambition.

News >  Business

‘The outlook looks extraordinarily good’: Hecla CEO says 22% jump in stock price reflects silver’s value in greening economy

UPDATED: Mon., Feb. 1, 2021

The unusual investment activity that unsettled the stock market last week through soaring interest in shares of GameStop and other struggling companies took another surprising turn on Monday, when the value of silver futures and of the companies that mine the metal shot up.

News >  Washington

Deb Abrahamson, powerful advocate for environmental justice on Spokane reservation, dies at 65

UPDATED: Sun., Jan. 3, 2021

Deb Abrahamson, whose fight for environmental justice made her a major figure in the push to clean up the legacy of uranium mining on the Spokane Indian Reservation, died at sunrise on New Year's Day. She was 65. 

News >  Spokane

Pandemic stats: More traffic and fewer trail users as transit use also changed, though not always as expected

Sun., Jan. 3, 2021

Spokane International Airport was flying high in February.

News >  Washington

Difference Maker: Twa-le Abrahamson-Swan is a ‘modern-day warrior’ who has coordinated wildfire, pandemic relief on reservations

UPDATED: Thu., Dec. 31, 2020

The last time Margo Hill saw Twa-le Abrahamson-Swan, she was weaving a basket with her mother. Abrahamson-Swan was doing, in other words, what she has spent her entire adult life doing: pulling different elements together to make something durable and useful; drawing from a deep well of tradition to create something able to withstand the demands of the modern moment.

Opinion >  Column

Getting There: Keeping the BNSF tracks cleared and Christmas presents coming

Mon., Dec. 21, 2020

BNSF has lots of tools at its disposal to keep trains moving when the snow starts to pile up. If trains can't travel, that means not only are raw materials blocked from reaching their destinations, but also Christmas gifts. 

News >  Spokane

Westbound Hamilton off-ramp to close Sunday for repair

UPDATED: Thu., Dec. 17, 2020

The westbound Interstate 90 off-ramp to Hamilton Street will be closed Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Opinion >  Column

Getting There: Hatch Bridge to get new deck and maybe a turn lane, causing long detours

UPDATED: Mon., Dec. 14, 2020

When the city of Spokane shutters the brief span over Latah Creek in the spring to repair it, drivers will lose a vital connection from Highway 195 to the South Hill and will instead be directed to drive north on High Drive, get on Interstate 90 at Maple Street and head west before circling back down 195 to get where they are going.

News >  Real Estate

Housing advocates, professionals question new city report suggesting supply mostly meets demand, push for action

UPDATED: Mon., Dec. 14, 2020

A draft Housing Needs Assessment says Spokane is producing enough housing to handle its population growth, but many are skeptical. 

News >  Business

Coeur d’Alene’s Riverstone development sold after two decades

UPDATED: Sun., Dec. 13, 2020

After more than two decades spent converting a shuttered saw mill along the Spokane River into a thriving mixed-use development in Coeur d'Alene, John Stone and his partners in the Village at Riverstone development decided it was "time to bring the hay into the barn." 

News >  Business

Manufactured-home park proposed for auto-salvage site along U.S. 195

UPDATED: Wed., Dec. 9, 2020

What's now the AA Auto Salvage Yard will be cleaned up and transformed into a 157-site manufactured-home park for people over 55, if William Nascimento has his way. 

Opinion >  Column

Getting There: Billig vows to push transportation package as Washington struggles with decaying road infrastructure, pandemic slowdown

Mon., Dec. 7, 2020

A report from a libertarian think tank placed Washington's highway system at 45th in the country for cost-effectiveness and condition. All the more reason to invest now in road projects, said Sen. Andy Billig, which can also help stimulate the economy during the pandemic. 

News >  Crime/Public Safety

‘I can’t tell you everything’: As investigation of Newport murder continues, new information emerges

UPDATED: Sun., Dec. 6, 2020

Pend Oreille County Sheriff Glenn Blakeslee is well aware that residents have been left to wonder why 19-year-old Jason Fox ended up in a shallow grave on Sept. 15, his hands bound behind his back, on the grounds of a riverfront wedding venue outside of Newport.

News >  ID Government

CdA council puzzles over piecing together mixed-use development along Spokane River

Fri., Dec. 4, 2020

The city of Coeur d’Alene has acquired almost 5 acres of land adjacent to an ambitious, publicly owned. mixed-use development on a prime spot near downtown and on the banks of the Spokane River.

News >  Local Government

City Council rejects rezoning of 10-acre Southgate parcel for apartments despite need for new housing

UPDATED: Mon., Nov. 30, 2020

The Spokane City Council rejected a proposal to rezone some 10 acres of land along South Regal Street to allow for apartment-style development due to concerns about traffic, school capacity and the land’s distance from downtown.