Regional News

Washington Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz is in Spokane building support for her proposal to create a state fund for wildfire prevention and forest health projects.

Franz toured a parcel of private land near Riverside State Park this morning [Wednesday] where crews are thinning trees and removing debris.

A local group has formed to try to save 48 acres of farmland in the Vinegar Flats neighborhood in southwest Spokane.

The current owner of a parcel known as the Pilcher property has applied for and received conditional approval for a permit that would allow for 94 homes to be built on land that is zoned agricultural. There are no immediate plans yet to build the development.

On Tuesday, for a second day in a row, Washington legislators continued to approve or deny a pile of bills.

The House voted today to double the penalties for drivers stopped for using phones and other electronic devices while driving through school zones.

Both the Washington and Idaho legislatures were on duty during this federal Presidents’ Day holiday.

In Olympia, Washington legislators used Presidents’ Day as an opportunity to approve a large number of bills. At least three focused on health care and prescription drug costs.

The national curling championships hosted by Eastern Washington University last week are now in the books. The event gave local officials a chance to prove Spokane can host high-profile events in yet another sport.

Spokane has an impressive track record when it comes to hosting regional and national level sporting events.

A Portland comedian originally from Libya is taking legal action U.S. Customs and Border Protection after he says he was illegally detained in Spokane.

Mohanad Elshieky says federal officers took him off a bus and questioned him at Spokane’s Greyhound station in January 2019.

A new AARP survey asks respondents about their experiences with prescription drug prices, and it finds support for some legislation pending in the Washington legislature to deal with those costs.

Today on Inland Journal, we wade into the world of sports with two stories, one a visit to Cheney, where the U.S. Curling Association is holding its 2020 national championship. And correspondent Tom Banse tells us about the potential expansion of sports betting in Washington. We’ll also talk with Eastern Washington Democratic congressional candidate Chris Armitage.

But first, pregnant women and marijuana.

Chris Armitage is the first announced challenger in 2020 to Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), who is running this year for a ninth term. Armitage is a Democrat.

On Saturday USA Curling will crown its men’s and women’s champions after a week of competition at Eastern Washington University.

The game is in growth mode. It’s flying high after an American team won Olympic gold in 2018. Its governing body hopes this newfound popularity will allow curling to become more established, long term, in the U.S.

The presidential election process is well underway with the New Hampshire primary now in the books.

Down ballot races are starting to come to life too with candidates announcing their campaigns, introducing themselves to voters and raising money.

One of those candidates is Democrat Chris Armitage, who is challenging Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers. Armitage is an Air Force veteran who spent his time stateside at Fairchild.

The Spokane City Council Monday night heard from several residents upset with plans to expand the Centennial Trail in their neighborhood.

The city is poised to begin work on the trail from Boone Avenue along Summit, through Mission and West Point.

A two year long debate has led to a new name for an old community center in Spokane.

The Spokane City Council on Monday night renamed the longstanding community center in the city’s East Central neighborhood after the late civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr.

Washington State University researchers have tackled the issue of why pregnant women use marijuana. They’ve released a new study that explores the reasons. They also looked at the confusion among the women about how their marijuana use affects their babies.

The best men’s and women’s curling teams in the U.S. are competing for national championships this week in Cheney, Washington. The sport features four-person teams sliding heavy rocks down a sheet of ice toward a target. It’s one of the most popular sports in Canada and it’s slowly gaining in popularity here in the States.

Washington legislators marked an important deadline day today [Friday]. Bills must have passed out of their initial committees or else they’re eliminated from consideration for the session.

Not all of the bills introduced have big, sweeping ramifications, such as this year’s proposal to officially eliminate the death penalty in Washington.

Most bills are smaller in scope.