Airway Heights measure on way to passage
It looks like Airway Heights voters have approved the hiring of four new police officers next year.
This week’s Proposition 1 property tax levy, which would pay for that, has 52 percent of the vote. County elections workers are still counting ballots this week, but Police Chief Brad Richmond says he’s been told that all of the ballots from Airway Heights have been tallied.
The measure would raise taxes by a dollar-per-thousand-dollars of assessed valuation.
Richmond says the new hires would allow his department to be more proactive in reacting to the city’s illegal drug trade, especially fentanyl.
“If we take away the source of the supply and we offer opportunities for treatment for people, hopefully that combination of conditions will help facilitate community safety," he said.
Richmond says the city would begin hiring the officers the first of next year.
“We try to hire lateral officers so they already been previously trained and then they come to us and we have a rather rigorous field training officer program that integrates into the team and the way we conduct business here in Airway Heights," he said.
The levy would also allow Airway Heights to refresh an aging patrol car fleet by buying three new patrol vehicles a year for the next five years.
The election will be certified in about two weeks.
Cantwell to visit northeast Washington Friday
Washington U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell will be in three northeast Washington communities Friday to celebrate new health care and library projects.
Cantwell will start in Colville and visit the Health Colville Medical facility that opened last year. The two-story building opened last year, funded in part with money from the American Rescue Plan Act. It includes behavioral health care services, a laboratory, and a pharmacy.
Cantwell will then head west to Republic to see the site of a new library. The senator’s office says the library has requested $2.8 million in federal money to develop a multi-use facility with child care, educational classes, public and community health services, veteran services, and nutrition education.
Cantwell will finish her day in Omak, where Family Health Centers plans to build a new dental clinic within its medical clinic. The senator’s office says she has directed nearly $3 million in federal funds for the project. It will create space for 20 new dental workstations and help to recruit four dentists.
Densifying the Logan neighborhood
The Spokane City Council is looking to put the final stamp of approval on a plan to encourage mass transit use and increase housing density for one neighborhood.
The South Logan Transit-Oriented Development Plan would adjust zoning regulations such as land-use, maximum height and parking development.
Councilwoman Kitty Klitzke says if passed, it could provide incentives to increase housing density in areas near transit and other services, which could also help bring back local shops.
“It's good for people who want to reduce their vehicle dependence. It's good for people who want affordable places to live. It's good for people who want convenience, but it also helps our transit system function like it's supposed to function," she said.
She told SPR News that the TOD should also make things easier for developers who want to build in the South Logan neighborhood.
"If they cooperate with the vision of the TOD, then they will have to do very little review process," Klitzke said. "They can kind of go in and build. If they want to deviate greatly from the TOD vision, then I think they would be subject to the same kind of review that any new development would be subject to.”
While the results might not come overnight, the plan will also help the city get a bigger return on the money it spends on infrastructure and transit, she said.
"We need to be trying new things and doing more of these kinds of things and getting the most out of our public investments," Klitzke said. "These are our taxpayer dollars. We need to make them work as hard for the community as they can when we make these investments."
If the regulation changes work as intended, Klitzke says the council will consider similar plans for other areas of the city, such as the North Division corridor.
The South Logan plan will get its final reading when the council meets Monday night.
People who keep the Washington state ferries running say they’re underpaid and overworked
This week unionized engineers and oilers spoke at Colman Dock, the downtown Seattle ferry terminal.
Brandi Bennett, a chief engineer on the MV Tillikum that serves the San Juan Islands, said she doesn’t get the same kind of vacation time as when she started with the agency.
“My eight year old daughter has actually realized how much we're relying on over time, she comments that I never have seven days off anymore," she said.
The union represents about 400 employees and wants the ferry system to hire 50 more people.
According to Bennett, there aren’t enough workers to keep the current fleet sailing full time.
“We're at a breaking point," she said. "The service is relying completely on overtime right now to keep the boats running, and we all want to keep the boats running for you, but there's a certain point where we can't we can't work anymore.”
Workers want their salaries to be raised about 20 percent to keep up with the cost of living and inflation.
A spokesperson for the Office of Financial Management, which is in talks with the union, said the agency has faith in the negotiation process and is confident both sides will reach resolution.
Third District Legislative Race still too close to call
As votes continue to be counted from Tuesday’s primary, the race for state representative in District 3 is still tight.
While Republican Tony Kiepe has maintained his lead with 35% of the vote, the two Democratic candidates — Ben Stuckart and Natasha Hill who each have earned 32% — have now traded places.
Hill now has a razor thin lead over Stuckart: just 22 votes. According to the Spokane County Elections office, over 108,000 ballots have been tabulated, but more than 35,000 have yet to be counted.
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Reporting was contributed by Doug Nadvornick, Owen Henderson and Casey Martin.