Spokane County has added $1.5 billion in new construction this past year — its second-highest total on record — driven by steady population expansion and economic development. However, that regional growth is placing intense pressure on county finances, Commissioner Mary Brooks explained during her State of the County address.

Caught between shifting federal administrative rulemaking and ongoing litigation, some Washington state agricultural employers are struggling to navigate changing wage requirements and H-2A guest-worker regulations. 

Spokane-based law firm Stevens Clay PS is expanding its team to help clients in the education sector navigate increasingly complex regulations. 

Old offices, warehouses, and other underused commercial buildings in the city of Spokane are slowly finding new life as apartments, retail areas, and mixed-use spaces through the city’s 2-year-old commercial conversion incentive program designed to make difficult conversion projects more feasible.

The city of Spokane is preparing to accelerate debris removal, testing permits, and reconstruction efforts as property owners affected by the Spokane Complex Fires face what officials expect will be a lengthy rebuilding effort.

Student enrollment at several colleges and universities in Spokane County has been flat or slowly increasing in the last two years after pandemic-era declines, but leaders at some institutions contend that the higher education environment in Spokane is generally healthy.