Board could advise Spokane government on climate resilience
Spokane residents may soon be able to serve on a committee that advises the city government on climate resilience and sustainability.
Earlier this week, the city council approved a measure that would create such a board, eliminating a similar committee that had been created six years ago but never filled by the last two mayoral administrations.
“The scope of this group is going to be broader. They're not going to be just, like, trotted out when we need to update a plan or have something specific to react to," Councilmember Kitty Klitzke told SPR News. "There's so much work going on right now that it would be great to have a citizens advisory group that is kind of in this niche and ready to weigh in on things that are related to it.”
Councilmember Michael Cathcart was the only one to vote against the ordinance.
He said at Monday’s meeting that he’s not opposed to it, but he wants more specificity in board membership and financial oversight.
“I just want to make sure that we are doing the absolute due diligence to make sure the policies have the effect that we think or we’re told they will, and that the cost is something that is bearable by the community members that we represent,” Cathcart said.
The board is a step in the right direction to help the city withstand the increasing effects of climate change, Brian Henning of the Gonzaga Climate Institute said.
“As we see with extreme heat waves and wildfire smoke, the climate crisis continues to get worse day by day," he said. "And so we really need to urgently move forward in empaneling this board and getting to work on advancing our responses to the climate crisis as quickly as we can.”
The language of the measure encourages a variety of people to self-nominate for the board, including business leaders with experience in sustainability initiatives, people from communities disproportionately affected by climate change, public health experts and young adults.
The measure heads now to Mayor Lisa Brown for final approval.
Judges hear challenge to Idaho trans medical care restrictions
A case challenging an Idaho law barring transgender minors from receiving certain types of health care will continue its journey through the federal court system today.
A panel of Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judges in Seattle will hear arguments regarding the constitutionality of Idaho’s Vulnerable Child Protection Act. The law prohibits health care professionals from prescribing hormone therapy and other gender-affirming treatments.
The legal challenge was originally filed in May 2023, not long after Governor Brad Little signed the bill. The ACLU and others sued on behalf of two transgender teenagers. The law was set to go into effect the first day of 2024. But about a week before that, a federal judge in Boise ruled the act violated the 14th Amendment by denying the plaintiffs equal protection under the law.
Idaho appealed. Early this year, a Ninth Circuit Court panel denied the appeal.
But then the U.S. Supreme Court in April ruled the law could be enforced while the case winds its way through the legal system. The lawsuit’s two plaintiffs are not subject to the law while their legal case is active. One of the plaintiffs has since petitioned to be removed from the case.
Northwest tribes get millions in housing money
Tribes in Idaho, Oregon and Washington are building new housing with grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
HUD is distributing $150 million nationwide, according to regional administrator Tom Carney.
The Coeur d’Alene Tribal Housing Authority, the Colville Indian Housing Authority, the Quinault Housing Authority, and the Confederated Tribe of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon are recipients of this round of funding. Collectively, their slice of the national funding is about $12 million.
“This is a great first step to be able to help alleviate some of the historical lack of housing and the huge need for housing in the Pacific Northwest, in Indian Country,” Carney said.
Plans include houses, apartments and duplexes.
Tribes interested in building more affordable housing with HUD grants are encouraged to apply for part of the next $150 million grant. Applications are due August 29.
Idaho lawmakers debate how to invest tobacco settlement money
A recent legal settlement with tobacco companies potentially could add millions in new funding for Idaho’s youth drug prevention efforts. But lawmakers are just beginning to sketch out specifics.
Republican Rep. Marco Erickson presented a list of potential funding increases to a legislative committee this week, bringing the total budget to about $19 million for youth drug prevention.
Many of the proposals would boost money for current initiatives, like anti-drug campaigns, school resource officers and drug treatment counseling.
One of the committee’s co-chairs, Republican Sen. Van Burtenshaw, said he wasn’t opposed to spending more money. But the proposed price tag is a more than 70 percent increase over this year’s budget.
“I would take slower steps moving forward and I’d be cautious with how I spent that money,” Burtenshaw said.
Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking pushed back, saying the legislature has “dropped the ball” when it comes to protecting children from drugs.
“I think we have punted this down the road as far as we can go and it’s time to really get aggressive and make sure our children are on the right path,” the Boise Democrat said.
The committee plans to meet again in December to review the proposals further.
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Reporting was contributed by Owen Henderson, Doug Nadvornick, Lauren Paterson and James Dawson.