Government

Spokane Arena food court expansion gets underway

Overall, about $1.7 million in improvements on tap

July 20, 2017

The Spokane Public Facilities District has begun upgrading food service areas in the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, located at 720 W. Mallon, and expects to complete the work by this fall. Kevin Twohig, CEO of the facilities district, says the changes

Valley library plans might receive new lease on life

City, district appear poised to extend facility agreement

July 20, 2017

LeAnn Bjerken

The Spokane County Library District and the city of Spokane Valley are set to amend and extend an agreement that would allow for the construction of a library at the northeast corner of Sprague Avenue and Herald Street, just across Sprague from the new Ci

Spokane COPS looks to balance future with effective past

Ex-police chief introduced community-oriented policing

July 20, 2017

Patrick Striker, executive director of Spokane Community Oriented Policing, known here more generally as Spokane COPS, says a challenge he sees facing the 25-year-old nonprofit-and others like it-is balancing its past successes with more recent and em

Taking recreation to new heights

West Plains health complex to be completed in late '18

July 20, 2017

LeAnn Bjerken

The city of Airway Heights is set to begin construction this fall on its planned community recreation center. Plans for the project, which is being funded through a $13 million bond approved by voters last August, call for the construction of a two-story

Costco environmental decision appealed

Planner says finding not likely to be overturned

July 20, 2017

Mike McLean

A resident of the Camelot neighborhood, located across the Newport Highway from the planned Costco site north of Spokane, wants a more thorough environmental review of the project. Tom Cooney, a retired attorney, has appealed the county's findings-ca

Spokane Tribe preps for industrial push

Spokanes envision 155-acre 'green' business park, solar farm next to STEP site

July 20, 2017

The Spokane Tribe of Indians is laying the ground for its next ambitious step on the West Plains-developing a 155-acre 'greenâ€ industrial park to support its goal of creating its own utility company that would generate and distribute solar energy.

Spokane International Airport passenger counts, revenues outpace 2016

Increases through April exceed budget forecast

July 6, 2017

LeAnn Bjerken

A preliminary financial report released last month shows revenue and passenger counts at Spokane International Airport are on the rise, with data showing consolidated revenues of nearly $11.5 million through April, about 7.1 percent above budget. Todd W

Film industry back from the dead as Z Nation enters fourth season

Eleventh-hour renewal of state incentive program draws cheers

July 6, 2017

LeAnn Bjerken

The future of the film industry here looks bright, and the dead are still very much alive in the Spokane area, as crews begin shooting the fourth season of Z Nation, a show on the Syfy television network. The show, which began production for the new sea

Combating elder fraud

Edward D. Jones group focuses on seniors, retirement issues in D.C. trip

June 22, 2017

LeAnn Bjerken

With cases of elder financial fraud on the rise, Edward D. Jones & Co., one of the nation's leading suppliers of financial services for individual investors, sent 85 employee volunteers to Washington, D.C., last month to meet with legislators to discuss

Tekoa touts rail trail

Small town sees economic hope in former railroad line

June 22, 2017

Mike McLean

A small group of Tekoa-based boosters of the John Wayne Pioneer Trail hope a tentative agreement they've reached with owners of farmland between their town and the North Idaho town of Plummer will connect a three-state network of rail trails. The group