Public Periscope

Days gone by

On the occasion of the opening of the Argonne Road underpass, a reminiscent Mayor Jack Geraghty recalled the project was first discussed when he was county commissioner in his late 20s and early 30s … “It’s been a long time coming,” said Geraghty, now 62. “A very long time,” said Councilman Orville Barnes … Of course, Geraghty left himself open for the barb when he described himself as “the oldest living former county commissioner.”

Best wishes

During last week’s meeting, Councilman Jeff Colliton said he and his wife, Susan, were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. He suggested that people call her to congratulate her, which prompted Geraghty to quip: “Was that congratulate or commisserate?” … Well, Colliton said, “She’s served her time.”

Where’s the treat?

Halloween this year may be scarier for adults than kids. Spokane County Treasurer Linda Wolverton reminds landowners that the day of haunts also is the deadline for paying property taxes … Any later, and interest and penalties start accruing. For those who wait too long to mail their bills, there are drop boxes in the courthouse. Wolverton doesn’t take American Express - or any other credit card, for that matter … For tax information, call 456-4713.

Weighing in

The Citizens League of Greater Spokane wants to help the City Council pick the next city manager … “A concern which many have shared with respect to this position is that it has been too insulated from the public and as a consequence has eroded the credibility and effectiveness of city government,” said co-chair Don Higgins in a letter to the council.

Look, up in the sky

Know how sometimes you’ll be driving down I-90 near Moses Lake, and all of a sudden a 747 will come zooming by on the way to a landing? If you don’t know that Japan Air Lines uses a nearby runway to practice takeoffs and landings, it can be a little startling. Now the folks at NASA want to add something even more unusual to the Central Basin skies. A space shuttle … Not one of those ordinary old shuttles we send into space every few months, but the X-33, a new prototype for the next generation of space ships. Seems they’ll need to test the prototype sometime in 1999, and want to be able to land it at Moses Lake and Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. In other words, a couple of places with long runways and a lot of empty space nearby … The $941 million X-33 will look like a tile-covered wedge with wings, and will hit speeds of 15 times the speed of sound. People who think it would be way cool to see something like that zip overhead, or who think it’s a really lousy idea to bring it by here, are invited to a meeting at the National Guard Armory in Moses Lake at 8 p.m. Thursday.

Communications awards

Out of 200 cities and counties that entered marketing materials in a recent national competition, none did better than Spokane County. The Public Works Department won two first-place awards and two second-place awards for its efforts to inform the public about the Argonne underpass project, the state’s Growth Management Act and sewer funding … County employees who worked on the projects include information specialist Chad Hutson, and planners Geralyn Haas and Francine Shaw. The competition was sponsored by the City/County Communication and Marketing Association.

, DataTimes MEMO: Public Periscope, published Mondays, is compiled by Kristina Johnson from staff reports. If you’ve got a question about local government, growth or development, we’d like to help you find an answer. You can write us c/o The Spokesman-Review, Box 2160, Spokane, Wash., 99210. Or e-mail to jimc@spokesman.com. Or fax to (509) 459-5482. Or call Cityline at 458-8800 on a Touch-Tone phone, then press 9120 to leave a message.

This sidebar appeared with the story: Hot Topics The Growth Management Act steering committee will host two meetings this week to take comments about proposed urban growth boundaries. Wednesday: 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Evergreen Junior High School, 14211 E. 16th. Thursday: 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Airway Heights Community Center, 13120 W. 13th. Meetings will be held next week on the South Hill and North Side.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by Kristina Johnson from staff reports