SPS board to consider sending bond issue to voter in concert with parks levy
The Spokane school board will decide Wednesday night whether to send a $200-million bond issue to voters in November.
It’s a companion measure to a Spokane city parks property tax levy. If passed, that levy would raise $240 million during a 20-year period to improve existing parks.
Many of the parks projects are connected to school projects.
SPS Superintendent Adam Swinyard said the two proposals were designed to complement each other.
"Every neighborhood park is touched by this initiative," he said. "Every neighborhood school is touched by this initiative, as well as those larger community projects like the indoor aquatics center, the field house, and really, that was the goal."
The indoor aquatics center at Spokane Community College would be available for city Parks Department programs and swim lessons for elementary school students.
The field house would be co-located at Franklin Park with a new Madison Elementary School.
A full list of projects is available on Together Spokane's website.
The board will also get a report on the effects of the district’s Engage in Real Life initiative, which took effect last fall and includes bans on cell phones during the school day.
The evidence is clear, Swinyard said. The initiative is working, both in terms of academic results and student behavior.
"The number of books that are being checked out in our middle school libraries has skyrocketed," he said. "The volume level at lunch has increased. They’re talking to each other again. They’re getting to know each other."
Swinyard says the demand for school-based activities after school has also increased.
Part of the Engage IRL initiative sees the district encouraging students to find things at the end of the school day, rather than go home and become absorbed in their electronic devices.
ID officials expand chinook season after more fish cross dam than expected
More chinook salmon than expected are making their way upriver to Idaho.
State officials are relaxing regulations to let anglers cast their lines all week long.
Idaho Fish and Game commissioners expanded fishing opportunities on the Clearwater River Tuesday after a significant bump in adult chinook crossing Bonneville dam. As of Monday, nearly 90,000 of the salmon passed through Bonneville on their way to spawn upstream.
That’s about 20,000 more adult chinook than this same time last year, as well as the 10-year average count. Anglers can now fish for chinook all week long on the main Clearwater River, as well as the middle and south forks.
Daily catch limits will stay at four adults, with a season limit of 10 adult chinook salmon. Fishing on the north fork of the Clearwater is still limited to Thursday through Sunday.
Pack a trash bag: WTA says hikers should anticipate reduced staffing
Cuts to staffing and budgets for federal public lands could lead to rougher conditions on many hiking trails this summer. Staff may not be available to do the day-to-day work of cleaning toilets and maintaining trails.
The Washington Trails Association is advising people to be flexible and have back-up plans, in case an obstacle blocks your way – you may have to turn back. The WTA runs volunteer-driven work crews, but has had to reduce their schedule because of frozen federal grants and lack of coordination from federal partners.
WTA’s media liaison Anna Roth said many hikers are asking what they can do to help.
“Bring a trash bag, pick up trash. Bring a couple so you can double bag it. Bring gloves or a grabber or something, hand sanitizer, and don't leave it at the trailhead. You've got to bring it all the way home and throw it away in your own trash because the likelihood that it's going to get picked up at the trailhead is pretty low,” Roth said.
Thousands of people use the WTA website and app to discover hikes and report back on current conditions.
This season, Roth said those trail reports could be more valuable than ever to alert fellow hikers and the limited maintenance crews who are out to obstacles on the trails.
“Definitely take a photo of it, maybe a couple, and file a trip report on WTA.org. And the advantage of that is you've sort of done some scouting that the Forest [Service] might not have capacity for this year.”
She said also be mindful that search and rescue crews may not be as quick to respond this summer. So you might think twice before taking any risks on the trail, like fording a deep stream or trying to climb over a big log while carrying a heavier backpack.
WA, ID lawmakers help form public lands caucus
A new caucus has formed in the U.S. House of Representatives, including members from across the political spectrum.
The issue uniting these 14 lawmakers? Conservation of public lands and increased public access to natural resources and recreation.
Founding members include central Washington Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA-04), western Washington Rep. Emily Randall (D-WA-06), and Montana's Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT-01) and Rep. Troy Downing (R-MT-02).
Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID-01) is one of the new caucus’s vice chairs.
The coalition has formed as some Republicans in Congress have floated the idea of selling public lands as a quick way to raise money for the federal government.
Simpson and several of the caucus’s members previously sponsored legislation which would block the sale of most federally owned lands.
WA joins more lawsuits against Trump administration
Washington’s Attorney General Nick Brown has joined two more cases against the Trump administration.
These suits focus on the administration’s attempts to tie federal funding to cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
The U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Transportation both recently issued requirements that states must cooperate with federal immigration efforts — something currently prohibited by state law.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson says in total, federal funding accounts for about $27 billion. That’s about a third of the state’s revenue.
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Reporting by Doug Nadvornick, James Dawson, Bellamy Pailthorp and Owen Henderson.