Public Periscope
This shows real initiative
Expect to see an initiative for a city-funded spay and neuter program on Spokane’s ballot this fall. Sponsor LaVerne Kettlety is planning to turn in more than 4,000 signatures this morning for Initiative 94-3. … If approved, the initiative would dedicate 0.1 percent of the annual budget, or about $103,000, for a program to spay and neuter dogs and cats. … Supporters need only 2,900 valid signatures from registered voters and may have a comfortable cushion.
Tell us what you think
Ever-optimistic supporters of Walk in the Wild say they hope to move the zoo rather than shut it down when they lose their lease this year. Which brings up an interesting question: What’s the best new location in the greater Spokane area? … We’ll resist the urge to say the City Council chambers (there’s already a zoo there) or the downtown transit center (elk would eat $72,000 worth of ficus trees in an hour). … But if you have a suggestion, call us on Cityline, using the number at the bottom of this column.
Snow news may be good news
The scant snowfall this past winter means Spokane’s Transportation Department is ahead of the money curve. The city usually spends about $500,000 in the early months of any year to keep its roads free of ice and snow; it normally spends a like amount in the closing months of the year. … So far, the department is down only $300,000, which means the city is sitting on $700,000 for the rest of the year. And not dreaming of a white Christmas.
Who’s smiling now?
Aaron Coats, the notorious “bad-tooth bandit,” appears headed for a long stay in prison, where he may be able to beat the heroin addiction he says led him to commit a string of robberies last year. … Because state inmates receive dental care courtesy of the taxpayers, someone should warn the state Department of Corrections to look askance at any request by Coats for a new set of choppers. Remember, after he had been caught, he tried to prove he wasn’t the bandit by smiling for The Spokesman-Review and claiming “my teeth are OK.”
Bipartisan endorsement
From the War and Politics Department comes one of the more interesting endorsements for former state representative and new Spokane County District Judge Mike Padden. The Republican legislator got a glowing letter of recommendation from longtime Democrat Joe McKinnon … Could it be that seeing eye-to-eye on Valley incorporation carries more weight than a letter after the name on the ballot?
Getting involved
The Spokane Public Library has an opening on its board of trustees. It’s a five-year term, with meetings the third Tuesday of each month, and is open to city residents 18 and older. Interested? Pick up an application from the mayor’s office in City Hall and get it back by 5 p.m. Friday.
The county’s Water Quality Advisory Committee has a spot for someone willing to attend monthly meetings and offer commissioners advice on that issue. Applicants must live in Commissioner District 2, which includes most of the Valley and part of the South Hill, and submit an application by April 10.
“Public Periscope,” published every Monday, is compiled by Jim Camden from staff reports. If you have a question about local government, growth or development, we’d like to help you find an answer. You can write us at Box 2160, Spokane 99210. Or you can leave us a message by calling Cityline at 458-8800 on a Touch-Tone telephone and then pressing 9120. Cityline is a free service, but normal long-distance charges apply to calls from outside the Spokane area. xxxx HOT TOPICS Friday, 9:30 a.m.: City and county officials discuss progress on the Growth Management Act. Second floor, Broadway Center, 721 N. Jefferson.