Amanda Russell has spent the past year and a half somewhere she never thought she’d be again: in the house where she grew up, living with her parents.

Spokane City Council will still be doing business virtually to start 2021, but the new year will bring the return of an old pillar of its meetings – open forum.

In response to weapon-carrying people at recent protests, a new Spokane City Council proposal would ask police to stop armed militia groups from gathering in the city.

Spokane County broke ground on a new facility that will open up space for those with substance abuse or mental health issues stabilize and detox, lowering the number of people going through withdrawals or mental health issues in the county jail.

Although nonbinding, the resolution would lay out the city’s template for criminal justice reform, prioritizing efforts that reduce crime while emphasizing opportunities for diversion from jail and rehabilitation for defendants.

In their quest for police reform, elected officials in the city of Spokane may lean on their counterparts in the state Legislature for help.

In response to growing to public pressure and recent protests over police brutality, the Spokane City Council will consider a resolution calling for sweeping reforms to policing.

The Spokane Police Guild and city of Spokane have waited nearly four years to reach a new labor agreement.

Over the course of a year, a Black person in Spokane is over five times more likely to be arrested by Spokane police than a white person, according to a Spokesman-Review analysis of recently released data.

Protesters staged a “die-in” outside Spokane City Hall Friday afternoon to protest the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and to encourage City Council members to take a more active role in police reform.

Spokane City Council President Breean Beggs expressed his support for protesters’ goals on Monday night, including a ban on the knee-to-neck restraint technique used on George Floyd.

The Spokane Police Department is reviewing a March arrest that reminded the woman who reported it of the arrest that resulted in George Floyd’s death: a man in distress telling officers he can’t breathe, and police on top of him.

Three Spokane leaders released a statement late Saturday, saying they grieve for the loss of George Floyd, the man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police.

Spokane City Council President Breean Beggs wants to create a procurement system for PPE in Spokane County, offering local businesses and others a central marketplace to obtain vital equipment that will help employees and customers feel safe.

Spokane-area leaders are working to ensure there’s help navigating what likely will be a whole new world of public health regulations once COVID-19 regulations are loosened.

Local environmental activists and experts are pointing to – and finding hope in – the robust and immediate response to the COVID-19 pandemic as analogous to the fight against climate change.

After actions taken by Gov. Jay Inslee, President Donald Trump and Spokane County, only people who are a safety risk to the public can be evicted from their apartments and far few homeowners can be foreclosed upon as the COVID-19 pandemic grows.

Mike Gribner, administrator of WSDOT’s Eastern Region, presented Spokane City Council President Breean Beggs with a letter on Feb. 13 asking the council to “adopt a development moratorium for the U.S. 195 traffic shed area” until it deals with the “crisis in management of safety within the corridor.”

“Everyone think this is about a money grab, and it’s not,” said Julie Dixon, whose firm is leading the process of implementing the results of a parking study done by another firm. Instead, she said, the proposed changes are about creating a “sustainable” and efficient system.