The Spokane City Council has developed an on-line survey to find out what is important to people.
“We want to know what’s important to our citizens as we move ahead with plans for the coming year,” says Council Member Michael Allen, who led the effort to create the survey. “We are simply looking for yet another way to make our City government more accessible and open to our citizens.”  (more…)

At last night’s CdA City Council meeting the Mayor broke a voting tie to allow wine and beer to be sold at the new Parkside Tower across the street from McEuen Field.  Do you think they’ll allow the wine to be served on the 3rd floor public plaza that LCDC funded?  This building got $820,000 in LCDC help, with $100,000 marked for the public plaza.  The tricky part is that the “public” plaza is on the 3rd floor, so you have to go up the elevator or stairs to find it!

The City’s Pulse Newsletter, By Mary Souza

In his letter to the Editor today, LCDC Executive Director Tony Berns explains why there is a footprint on his tongue.
(more…)

Admit it–you’ve all been going through Ed Corridor withdrawal, haven’t you?  Well, wait no more, Dan and I both attended last night’s final Ed Corridor meeting, which was held in Post Falls.  (more…)

The City’s Pulse Newsletter

By Mary Souza,  November 10, 2008

Our United States Presidential election is now over.  It has been a long, intense campaign and I join my fellow citizens in hoping for a quiet return to normalcy. But whether the outcome makes you happy or sad, there is a loathsome lesson to take from this 2008 election: Sexism is alive and well in America.  (more…)

Some comments on the Open Session Thursday post caught my eye yesterday.  The discussion was about the tax impact of urban renewal being 4.2% more for every property owner in Kootenai County.

Commenter “reagan” wrote this: “…so that means that for about $134 per year i get riverstone movie theater and all the restaurants and shops, the pond where they have summer concerts in the evening, the new library, the soon-to-be kroc center. what a deal!”

So my question is this:  Is it ok to bypass voter approval on major public projects?

Ok, people.  The elections are over and now we can focus on local issues.  What  successes or problems in our community do you think are important now?

Here’s an excerpt from an excellent Wall Street Journal Opinion column by Harvey Golub, former chairman and CEO of American Express: (this part is actually the end of the piece)

How can we tell if Congress begins to understand its role in causing the problem and what it must do to help solve it? Here are some signs:

– If Congress passes a stimulus package that simply gives people money — like this year’s $168 billion stimulus package, which was mostly rebates — they don’t get it. Rebates will not stimulate the economy and will not solve the underlying problem.  (more…)