Traffic safety increasingly unifies local leaders
Pedestrian and bike safety in Spokane have never been more popular—even among city council members.
Commiserating about summer construction seems like a community pastime, even for Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown.
"We've made a slight modification because the city crews are at work this morning," she said during a Wednesday press conference.
But another thing most people are joining the bandwagon on? Streets should be safe for everyone.
Brown was on Post Street to sign an ordinance that highlights the city’s commitment to "Complete Streets."
"So what is a ‘complete street’? It's a roadway designed to safely accommodate everyone who uses it," she said. "Again, pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers, public transit riders, regardless of age or ability."
When the original ordinance was proposed in 2010, it wasn’t very popular. It eked out a 4-3 win from that City Council.
But this year, the current City Council passed an updated version unanimously.
“Complete Streets 2.0” adds references to the Pedestrian Master Plan and the Bicycle Priority Network to city code.
It also aligns Spokane with state law, which puts the city in a better position to compete for transportation grants.
OR, WA on DOJ's sanctuary state list
The U.S. Department of Justice released a list this week of cities, counties and states it plans to possibly sue because of immigration sanctuary policies.
Oregon and Washington both made that list. Both states prohibit police and county sheriffs from participating in immigration raids, holding people for ICE or sharing information with ICE, with some exceptions.
The U.S. Justice Department has already sued New York, Colorado, Illinois and a handful of cities. They argue sanctuary laws jeopardize public safety.
State Attorney General Dan Rayfield says Oregon’s sanctuary law has been on the books since 1987 and survived legal challenges during President Trump’s first term.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said the state’s sanctuary law makes Washington safer by encouraging people to trust local police.
Texas is the only state that keeps data on the legal status of people arrested for crimes. Academics who study that data have found undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than other groups.
Doctors warn spending cuts will make reproductive health care less accessible
In the wake of federal cuts to Medicaid, experts are worried that rural hospitals will start to close labor and delivery units.
That’s because they’re expensive to run and often the first units to be cut.
"That means you are leaving people away from care, unable to access care, having to travel long distances [to] care, and basically threatening people's lives, because when you have to travel long distances to care, that means if you are in trouble, you may not get care in time," said Dr. Keemi Ereme, an OBGYN at UW Medicine.
Republicans say they’re cutting Medicaid to save money and to keep people from abusing the program.
Medicaid covers about half of all the prenatal care and deliveries in the U.S.
So, Dr. Ereme said the cuts to Medicaid will mean some women will forgo prenatal care altogether… and more pregnant women will die.
Protections may come for wolves east of Cascades
A court ruling this week could lead to more protections for gray wolves in Eastern Washington and Oregon—but it’s not guaranteed.
Federal Judge Donald Molloy weighed in on last year’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision to deny ‘Endangered Species Act’ protections to wolf populations east of the Cascades and in four neighboring states.
He ruled the agency didn’t look closely enough at the latest science—and didn’t account for all the threats that gray wolves face.
And he ordered Fish and Wildlife officials to re-do that work. For now, gray wolves east of the Cascades are NOT federally protected.
It’s not clear how long it will take the Fish and Wildlife Service to decide whether to stick with its original decision—or reverse it.
Table tennis players take to tourneys in Spokane
Spokane’s latest big sporting event involves paddles and ping pong balls.
Table tennis players without disabilities are at The Podium, competing in two feeder tournaments that qualify them for higher-level World Table Tennis events.
Saturday starts the four-day International Table Tennis Federation Elite Championships for athletes with disabilities.
More than 300 athletes from more than two dozen countries are participating.
U.S. National Coach Mark Hazinski told SPR News table tennis is becoming a more viable career for American players.
"Back in my generation it was hard to live in the U.S. and make a living," he said. "I played in different leagues in Europe to kind of help support my table tennis career, but nowadays we have a major league table tennis in the U.S. so a lot of our top-level players don't have to travel internationally to play. They can still stay here. A lot of colleges are offering scholarships now for players."
The competitions will continue through August 12 at The Podium. Some are not open to the public.
But Spokane Sports says the public can buy tickets and attend games on Friday and Saturday
- - -
Reporting by Eliza Billingham, Amelia Templeton, Eilís O'Neill, Courtney Sherwood and Doug Nadvornick