“We can’t create money. We can’t change the city’s budget. We just have to come up with alternative ways to make Spokane safe.”

— Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer, talking about Spokane’s need to rely on other fire departments to pitch in when the city’s resources are stretched, as they were last Monday morning by separate blazes at Gonzaga University and in the West Central neighborhood.

“Thirty-five years ago I smoked dope and probably could have come up with something like that.”

— Tour business general manager Darrell Bryan, assessing the Washington state tourism office’s new promotional slogan: “SayWA.”

“I don’t think in the annals of criminal laws that there has ever been a case with this many significant problems.”

— U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema, who, because of misconduct on the part of a federal prosecutor, excluded part of the evidence in the sentencing trial of convicted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui.

“It’s not terrible, but I’ve been saturated with it. It gets exhausting at times.”

— Gonzaga University basketball star Adam Morrison, a candidate for college basketball’s national player-of-the-year honor, talking about a flood of interview requests that goes with being in the media spotlight.

“They’ll work their tails off for 10 months but they’ll be rewarded with $25,000 in equity.”

— Chris Venne of Community Frameworks, a nonprofit organization teaming up with a private developer on a planned housing project near Cheney in which low-income families can reduce the cost of their homes by performing 65 percent of the construction labor.

“People would rather make a long commute and have a big yard and a big house.”

— Demographer William Frey of the Brookings Institution, reacting to a federal Census Bureau report that population growth in the United States is concentrated in suburban and rural areas.

“Instead of bringing in 50 kilograms of heroin, what would stop them from bringing in 5 kilograms of plutonium?”

— Former Customs Service agent Joseph King, talking about the potential for foreign terrorists to exploit the alleged corruption under which, according to Justice Department officials, unions tied to organized crime engage in drug smuggling and cargo theft.

“If they’re telling everybody to tighten their belts and they’re leasing these luxury cars, it just doesn’t fly in Peoria.”

— Keith Ashdown, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, regarding some House members’ use of their congressional office budgets to lease luxury cars, some costing more than $1,000 a month.

“I hope you see the irony of the company that inflicted the damage administering the medical plan that takes care of us.”

— Libby, Mont., newspaper editor David Latham, in a comment to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, who was in Libby to talk about health issues related to the vermiculite mine once operated by W.R. Grace & Co., which is reducing benefits under a medical plan it provides for asbestosis patients.

“It’s not that I’m diametrically opposed to this, but you know every new homeowner has a car, not every new homeowner has schoolchildren.”

— Spokane County Commissioner Mark Richard, regarding a possible request by Central Valley School District to impose an impact fee on new home sales to help fund school construction.