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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review

Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883 Partly Cloudy Night 35° Partly Cloudy
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Vote on Mobius was private

Spokane Park Board President Gary Lawton acknowledged Wednesday that the decision to continue negotiations with backers of a proposed science center was made in private several months ago, a move that could have violated government accountability laws. It is illegal under Washington law for governments to conduct votes in private “executive sessions.” Board members are allowed to discuss certain topics behind closed doors but must make any decisions in public.

Mobius backs off reliance on leases

Mobius Spokane was selected by city leaders in 2003 to develop a science center in large part because it agreed not to pursue government funding for its operations. Part of the group’s plan was to develop part of its allocated parkland into space it could lease for a profit. Site plan sketches included office buildings. That plan was part of an agreement approved this summer by the Spokane Park Board.

Science center plan falters

A plan to build a science center and children’s museum on the north bank of Riverfront Park appears to be in jeopardy. Concerns have arisen over how to handle private development alongside the proposed complex, and the protracted negotiations have left some Spokane Park Board members feeling frustrated.

Mobius teaching kids to give old items new functions

The items might sound like rubbish at first – toilet paper rolls, plastic bottles, egg cartons, scraps of paper. But in the hands of an imaginative child, they quickly become toys, science experiments and even works of art. At Mobius Kids, a Spokane children’s museum that encourages kids and families to learn through play and hands-on exploration, stuff that might be thrown out with the garbage comes alive as children discover new ways to work with the materials.

Mobius deal approved

The Spokane Park Board approved a 50-year contract Thursday with a group trying to put a science center on the north edge of Riverfront Park. With little discussion and only one dissenting vote at its special 7 a.m. meeting, the board approved changes to a lease in an effort to keep alive a downtown project that’s been discussed in various forms for some 17 years. The contract allows Mobius Spokane, a nonprofit group formed four years ago by the union of the Inland Northwest Science and Technology Center and The Children’s Museum, to use the land for $1 a year, providing it builds the proposed attractions.

Park Board OKs new contract with Mobius

The Spokane Park Board approved a 50-year contract Thursday with a group trying to put a science center on the north edge of Riverfront Park.

Tracking board’s actions is no walk in the park

Most mornings around 7 a.m., Manito Park is the province of joggers, dog walkers and ducks on “dawn patrol” for healthy eats because the “do not feed” signs have cut back their junk food. But about once a month, it’s the site of a special meeting of the Spokane Park Board. Some of these 7 a.m. meetings are almost completely closed to the public. The board convenes, votes to go into executive session – the polite term for ordering the public out and shutting the door – and talks about stuff until it comes out of executive session and adjourns.

Mobius backers say funding on track

Doubts about the fundraising capability for a Mobius Science Center in Spokane were eased Monday when proponents told the Park Board they are on track to reach their goals of opening a center in 2012. Mobius sought renewed backing from the Park Board with updated financial projections showing the center becoming a near break-even operation after it opens in the fall of 2012.

Birthday bash at Mobius

Kids and their families are invited on Saturday to a whirlwind of a birthday party at Mobius Kids, a children’s museum in downtown Spokane. And here’s the best part: Everyone gets in free.

Mobius Center designer to speak at celebration

Noted architect and sustainable-building advocate William McDonough, designer of the planned Mobius Science Center, will speak this evening at an event to celebrate that more than one-quarter of the center's $35 million price tag has been raised. Nonprofit civic organization Mobius says it has garnered about $9 million from donations and state government toward the 53,000-square-foot center, which would be built on the north bank of the Spokane River between Washington and Howard streets. Mobius expects to break ground next year, assuming it raises enough money, said Mobius board member Chris Majer.

William McDonough Speaks on Mobius

Architect and sustainable designer William McDonough offered a glimpse into his thoughts on the concept for the planned Mobius Science Center on the north bank of the Spokane River.