North Spokane County residents get temporary internet access
People affected by last year’s Oregon Road Fire will soon get some temporary internet access.
Broadlinc, which oversees public benefit broadband expansion in Spokane County, said it will send a mobile cellular tower to the unincorporated community of Elk to start providing some connectivity.
Ariane Schmidt is Broadlinc’s executive director.
“It takes a while to bring fiber optic cable or build a fixed tower,” Schmidt told SPR News. “And in the meantime, people are twiddling their digital thumbs, and by placing these non-penetration towers with wireless capacity, we can bring people internet in a matter of weeks.”
Much of the area around Elk has been without internet access, the ability to call 911, or the ability to get evacuation notices since the fire last August.
Spokane County Commissioner Josh Kerns serves the affected district and said he's "very, very excited" about the Cellular on Wheels (affectionately referred to as the COW) coming to Elk.
"It's just one less thing that I think a lot of folks are going to have to worry about," he told SPR News. "We can bring internet coverage back for a lot of folks that haven't had it.”
Once the tower is set up, initial service will be provided by KnightCom.
Schmidt said Broadlinc plans to start building more permanent infrastructure late next year.
Next phase of Avista Stadium renovation gets underway
The minor league Spokane Indians’ home season is over for the year. The team is off to regional playoffs, but its home field, Avista Stadium, will not sit quietly through the winter.
The baseball stadium in Spokane Valley is a little more than halfway through a multi-year renovation. Major work can’t happen during baseball season, so the big stuff starts up not long after the final pitch is thrown.
This offseason, the field will be completely redone: new drainage, new sod, expanded dugouts for the players, new padding for the infield and outfield walls, and more safety netting to help keep foul balls from hitting spectators.
Indians president Chris Duff says the team is getting much closer to finishing required upgrades.
“So I think as we sit today, we're in that 60-percent range,” Duff told SPR News. “With the projects that we're talking about completing prior to the 2025 season, we'll be in that 80- to 85-percent range. And that will get us very close to what was mandated by Major League Baseball.”
Duff said the team really wants to get a modern video scoreboard up and running, too, but that depends on how quickly the necessary equipment can be ordered, delivered and installed.
The work will again pause for the 2025 baseball season, which gives the Indians’ front office and ownership time to find the funding needed to get the renovation to the finish line. Much of the money raised so far has come the state of Washington, the city of Spokane Valley, and Spokane County. The county’s matching funds will be key to completing the money picture, according to Duff.
“So the team is looking to raise an additional $2.5 million that would be matched by Spokane County, and then that would give us the full 100 percent that we'd need to complete everything by 2026,” Duff said.
Avista Stadium opened in 1958.
School’s back in session for Inland NW students
A majority of the school districts in the Inland Northwest opened their doors to students last week. But many will begin class today.
The day after Labor Day is a traditional starting date for many districts, including Spokane. Superintendent Adam Swinyard told SPR News he’s as excited as the students to get started.
“It means an early morning and getting out there and having some conversations with our media partners and celebrating that day as a community and then racing home to take my own kids to school,” Swinyard said. “And then it’s really about just getting around the district and welcoming kids.”
The list of districts opening today also includes Mead, Colville, Kettle Falls and Loon Lake. Also in Washington: Reardan-Edwall, Tekoa and Rosalia. In Kootenai County, Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and Lakeland begin classes today. So do their fellow north Idaho districts, West Bonner County, Lake Pend Oreille, Kellogg, St. Maries and Plummer-Worley.
The West Valley, Central Valley and Republic school districts open their doors Wednesday.
CCA-funded grants available for fighting health disparities
Local groups in Spokane, Spokane Valley and 15 other communities around Washington are now able to apply for grants to deal with air pollution and the consequences of climate change.
More than 10 million dollars in funding are now available to these localities, which the state has deemed “overburdened” by health inequities and poor air quality.
The state said the program, which is funded by the Climate Commitment Act, will provide funding for planning, community engagement, and development of projects to improve air quality and protect people’s health.
The Department of Ecology is accepting grant applications until October 24.
- - -
Reporting was contributed by Owen Henderson, Doug Nadvornick and Brandon Hollingsworth.