Latest

Is French fried? Probably not.

A rundown of the local races we’ve been covering and where they stand today. What’s set in stone, what’s too close to call and what the local landscape will look like heading into next year.

By Erin Sellers, Luke Baumgarten and Aaron Hedge

/ 7 Nov 2024

COLUMN: Why student-led organizing gives me hope

Litter a lot? That could be a gross misdemeanor

CIVICS: Traffic Calming in Spokane, homelessness contracts, Liberty Lake tackles “the climate element,” and Spokane Public Schools get a new board member.

By Erin Sellers and Aaron Hedge

/ 4 Nov 2024

Part of High Bridge Park set to be leased to American Indian Community Center for $1 a year

The Tax that 99.95% of People Don’t Pay

I-2109 | The details you need to vote on repealing a capital gains tax that raises hundreds of millions of dollars for education and early learning — a tax that fewer than 1 tenth of 1 percent of people ever pay.

By Luke Baumgarten

/ 4 Nov 2024

What the failure of Initiative 2117 means for Spokane’s transit

Al French and Larry Haskell at odds over French’s claims on West Plains contamination progress

County Commissioner French said the county had hired an attorney to “draft agreements” to pipe water to residents with forever chemical contamination. Prosecutor Haskell told Commissioner Chris Jordan the county was planning no agreements.

By Aaron Hedge

/ 2 Nov 2024

What do your council candidates want to do about climate change?

SRHD board defers treatment services decision again

The drawn-out process on studying the possibility of privatizing opioid treatment services is starting to have real consequences.

By Erin Sellers

/ 1 Nov 2024

Allegations against Washington gender-affirming surgeon stir fears of backlash for trans patients

A visual guide to the power the Spokane County Commission wields

The boards and commissions that make the county work, what they do, and how members are appointed (it’s really interesting we swear). And, what could change across the county if Al French loses his reelection bid.

By Erin Sellers

/ 31 Oct 2024

Most WA federal rulings found immigrant detentions flouted due process

RANGE is going on air with KYRS with our very own radio show

Starting November 7, you can join Luke Baumgarten and Erin Sellers every Thursday from 3 to 4 pm on KYRS Thin Air Community Radio (92.3 & 88.1 FM and streaming online) for Free RANGE.

By RANGE

/ 30 Oct 2024

WIDE RANGE: Keep Big Bird, kill journalism?

PODCAST: The stakes for employees of SRHD's opioid Treatment Services if it goes private

Union Representative Suzie Saunders sat down for an interview with RANGE to outline the stakes for employees and patients, should the Board of Health vote to continue down the road to privatization for Treatment Services.

By Erin Sellers

/ 28 Oct 2024

Ghost of last month’s meeting: Will privatization of SRHD’s Opioid Treatment Services move to the next step?

CIVICS: Happy Halloween and welcome to CIVICS where we cover all the scariest regional decisions.

By Erin Sellers and Aaron Hedge

/ 28 Oct 2024

Spokane County Board of Commissioners, D5: Al French vs. Molly Marshall

At the heart of the tight race for the seat covering the southwestern-most parts of the county: debate over PFAS contamination and the pace of development.

By Aaron Hedge

/ 25 Oct 2024

WA State Senate, D4: Leonard Christian vs. Miguel Valencia

Public safety is top of mind in Spokane Valley, which will send a new state senator to Olympia in a couple of weeks. One candidate sees that issue as being much bigger than cops and includes healthcare, childcare and food security.

By Aaron Hedge

/ 23 Oct 2024

A visual guide to the power the Spokane County Commission wields

A familiar face returns to Spokane in Brown cabinet reshuffle

Former council member Jon Snyder is biking his way back to Spokane to serve as the city’s first Director of Transportation and Sustainability, a new cabinet-level position that will, apparently, not cost the city a cent.

By Erin Sellers

/ 23 Oct 2024

What’s coming in Spokane’s bike and active transportation infrastructure in 2026