Service providers, emergency responders, civil servants and politicians all agree: Spokane has an overdose crisis. But because of inadequate data collection, no one knows exactly how bad it is.
Community leaders say better data is good, but transparency, communication and access that affirms are all vital pre-requisites to governing alongside communities, not at them.
Board members said the district lacks the funds to comply with a proposed law requiring school districts to include queer historical literature. They also say the state is overstepping its boundaries.
A bill being debated in the legislature would pause hospital system consolidation to preserve patient access to specific forms of care. Opponents argue, “God Bless mergers.”
The legislature is working to boost representation in public school literature, reduce pollution, control the rent, improve workplace conditions for strip club workers and bust hospital monopolies.
After more than 6 years of patchwork testing and remediation of a chemical spill no one truly knows the scale of, a new water program will greatly expand the testing area and get a more holistic picture of the poison in West Plains wells.
Spokane Valley Mayor Pam Haley nominated three people to the city’s powerful Planning Commission without interviewing any of the eight candidates. When a freshman council member called the candidates himself, Haley accused him of breaking the rules.
