Today's headlines:
- The Spokane County Board of Commissioners voted to extend a moratorium on data centers until June of 2027.
- Construction of Spokane’s North-South freeway reached a new milestone this week.
- SPR’s Lisa Leinberger visited April Eberhardt — the executive editor of Spokane’s Black Lens newspaper — in her brand-new office.
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Spokane County won’t accept any permit applications for data centers through June 1, 2027.
The Spokane Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously yesterday to extend the pause during its regular meeting.
The commissioners agreed that this will give the state legislature time to discuss data centers during next year’s session. The 2027 Washington State Legislature convenes on January 11.
During the meeting, County Commissioner Al French said the county does not have the authority to ban data centers.
AL FRENCH: “So, if we can’t ban it, we’ve got to develop regulations to mitigate the impacts. That’s what this zoning ordinance is about.”
Before public comment, Planning Director Scott Chesney announced that the updated draft ordinance can now be found on the County’s website, for anyone to look over.
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Construction of Spokane’s North-South freeway has reached a new milestone.
Washington Department of Transportation spokesman Joe McHale says crews recently installed the girders that will support the freeway from Alki Avenue south to Sprague Avenue.
JOE MCHALE: “Having these girders set over Sprague Avenue is an exciting milestone. It's exciting to see this thing really start to take shape and understand that there is light at the end of the tunnel now.”
Next is the pouring of the concrete deck, which is scheduled for late fall or early spring.
JM: “So now folks who are using that busy arterial, Sprague Avenue, who are driving, whether it's to Avista Stadium or it's Costco or Home Depot, the businesses, residents in that area, they're now going to be driving underneath the future North Spokane Corridor. So it's visible.”
McHale says construction of the final phase of the freeway, the connection with Interstate 90, is scheduled to begin next spring or summer.
He says work on other segments continues. The section that crosses over the Spokane River should be done by the end of this year or early next.
The department says the full length of the freeway, from Highway 395 in the north to I-90 in the south, could be ready for drivers by the early 2030s.
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Governor Bob Ferguson is warning voters that without a new tax on millionaires, Washington parents could see daycare costs rise. State Government reporter Sarah Mizes-Tan has more.
Ferguson spoke at a childcare center in Seattle on Tuesday and warned that without the new tax, certain childcare subsidy programs would suffer.
He talked specifically about the Working Connections Child Care program, which subsidizes over 50,000 children statewide to attend daycares. Without extra revenue from the new tax, he said daycare costs would rise.
The tax will take a 9.9% cut of household income over $1 million, starting in 2029. Five percent of this revenue is earmarked for education and childcare. The rest would go towards filling budget gaps.
The state is currently in a budget deficit. Ferguson has warned of dire cuts ahead. Voters will be weighing in on repealing this tax this November.
I’m Sarah Mizes-Tan, reporting.
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YWCA Spokane is asking for help with seasonal donations.
The team is looking for gently used boots and shoes, and new socks, as the temperatures get lower.
The donations are going directly to Our Sister’s Closet. That’s a free clothing space for people in need, which typically stocks women’s clothing.
Erica Schreiber is the director of community engagement for YWCA Spokane.
ERICA SCHREIBER: “Being able to get shoes that fit well and keep them warm and new socks can make a tremendous difference when someone’s trying to achieve some goals in their life or focus on getting to safety and not having to worry about whether they have the right footwear or the right jacket to help them navigate the colder months.”
Donations can be dropped off at YWCA Spokane on Tuesdays, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
If you’re in need, Schreiber says these services are open to you at this number: 509-789-9280.
Call that number and leave a voicemail to schedule an appointment to visit Our Sister’s Closet.
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Whitworth University is launching a fast-track occupational therapy doctorate pathway.
University officials say this will allow students to earn their bachelor’s and doctor of occupational therapy degree in six years. It usually takes seven.
The pathway allows students to complete three years of their undergraduate education. Then, during their fourth year, they transition into the occupational therapy program.
Whitworth says this will address the need for more occupational therapists.
Those interested can find out more online at whitworth.edu.
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The Association of Washington Business Institute has a new executive director: Meagan Darrow.
She’ll take over the role starting on October 28. Darrow is taking over the AWB after working with the American Diabetes Association as director of the Pacific Northwest market.
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The Black Lens newspaper has been serving Spokane’s Black community since the late Sandy Williams founded it in 2015.
It operated as an independent paper — until three years ago, it allied with the Spokesman-Review. Now the Black Lens is reasserting its independence.
SPR’s Lisa Leinberger visited the paper’s executive editor, April Eberhardt, in her new office.
If the Black Lens is Spokane’s hub of Black stories, its executive editor, April Eberhardt, is its curator. She came to the paper in 2024. She moved to Spokane in 2017 when her husband transferred to Fairchild Air Force Base.
APRIL EBERHARDT: “And when I saw the paper, I was like, ‘Here’s a whole Black newspaper in Spokane. Wow. Spokane’s got something here.’ So, that’s how I connected with Sandy. I don’t remember exactly when, but I said, ‘You have a Black newspaper,’ and she kind of was very welcoming. And I wrote for it a few times, put some poetry in there.”
When Williams died in 2022, Natasha Hill took over as editor. She was elected to the state legislature in 2024 and pulled back from her duties at the Black Lens.
Eberhardt was chosen as the new editor. At the time, the monthly newspaper became allied with the Spokesman-Review. It was an insert inside the paper. It was a way to keep the paper alive after Williams’ passing.
AE: “We were a prototype. We were an experiment. And in that process, we learned how to recalibrate so that Sandy’s legacy could continue. And that work was done by Black hands and feet.”
Earlier this month, Eberhardt posted a statement on the Black Lens’ Instagram account to clarify the relationship with the Spokesman-Review.
It says the support of community partners provided infrastructure and resources that played an important role in re-establishing the Black Lens.
AE: “And the history of the Black press stems from not waiting for our stories to be told, not letting the picture get painted by people who don’t live it, who don’t know it and who have agendas…There’s never a shortage of Black stories. So, I’m going to find them, too. If I have to ask a friend to tell her friend to let me interview them, it’s just what comes from that.”
Under Eberhardt’s direction, the Black Lens has moved out from under the Spokesman’s umbrella..
The monthly paper is now its own nonprofit organization and its own publisher.
AE: “Slowly, we’re moving toward our own independence, being careful about the partnerships we create to help continue. There’s a lot that goes into creating a paper. So, we found a lot of resources. We hired our own layout designer—a Black woman. And what I will say is that we are in no formal agreement with anyone but ourselves.”
Eberhart recently signed a contract with the 808 Building on East Sprague for its office. Before that, they were in the Schoenberg Center on the Gonzaga campus.
AE: “So, right now we haven’t decorated. It’s been a transition to really get our legs really strongly up under us.”
She’s glad that she can rent more space for events in the building, since it’s a co-op space. She now has a place to store previous issues of the paper.
But now, she’s deciding how the paper gets printed and finding content contributors. She’s gathering subscriptions and working with her board of directors to find new funding opportunities without the help of the Spokesman-Review.
AE: I answer to a board of directors that govern the Black Lens. We seek our own resources. We make our decisions on what works best.
The Black Lens publishes monthly. You can also find it at blacklensnews.com.
I’m Lisa Leinberger, reporting.
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SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting today was contributed by Lisa Leinberger, Doug Nadvornick, Ember Braun, Sarah Mizes-Tan and Audrey Nelson, today’s host and producer.
Web support is provided by Anna Gyure Havlek.
