Developers worry delay will restrict housing market further, traffic really is down, and other headlines

ON INLANDER.COM

NEWS: Local spice company Spiceology starts helpchefs.com to help chefs.

COLUMNS & LETTERS: Local writers, poets, and journalists continue to contribute poignant pieces about this strange moment to be living through, and the growing list of their entries can be found here.

IN OTHER NEWS

Traffic really is down in Spokane, but whether the state is doing enough remains to be seen
At the request of Gov. Jay Inslee, traffic data is being analyzed daily to see whether people are taking his stay home order seriously, and those numbers could inform further restrictions, the Spokesman-Review reports.

With 200,000 expected to die in U.S. even with stay-home orders, Trump says avoid gatherings until May
As President Donald Trump expanded the guidelines to avoid social gatherings and work from home if possible for the entire month of April, Congress could consider a fourth wave of relief sometime soon, the New York Times reports.

Realtors, developers worry ban on residential construction will tighten market further
With Spokane already facing a tight housing market, developers worry that their projects that have been put on hold by the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order will become targets for crime, and their delay will only serve to tighten the rental market further, KXLY reports.

Working around a virus to remain compassionate
One Seattle family took the Seattle Times with them as they said goodbye to their father, who'd survived the war in Vietnam, an escape by boat, cancer and strokes, only to have coronavirus take his life, leading to workarounds for the most basic grieving rights, from holding a loved one's hand as they pass, to their burial arrangements.