It's not too early to start thinking about summer weekends spent strolling around outdoor markets, food vendors and performances in Spokane. The Downtown Spokane Partnership, in collaboration with Numerica Credit Union, just announced a set of mini event grants to help local organizations host multicultural events on Wall Street on select Saturdays from July through September this year. They've set aside $5,000 for the grants, so that up to 10 groups could receive $500 to put toward a small block party. DSP has put out similar smaller grants to support festivals like Tacos y Tequila and Spokane's Lunar New Year celebrations, which have grown exponentially since their inception. Anyone who receives the grant will also be able to take advantage of DSP event resources like tables, chairs, tents and event permitting assistance. Applications may be submitted until March 28 and can be found at downtownspokane.org/mini-cultural-grant. (ELIZA BILLINGHAM)
FUNDING FOR FREEMAN
Last year, voters in the Freeman School District, home to 890 students, twice opposed tax levies that would have funded security and technology updates. Now, after the Feb. 11 special election, it's a different story for the district, which received approximately 52% of the vote in support of its latest request. Freeman School District's recently passed two-year $3.2 million levy is smaller than the previous $5 million levy the district put on the ballot twice in 2024. Funds from the levy will be used to increase school safety by adding security cameras and updating door access controls. Additionally, the district will replace student computers and update the traffic flow at Freeman Elementary School. It's estimated that the voter-approved levy will cost homeowners $1.20 per $1,000 of assessed property value, which is a lower tax rate than that of the district's levy that expired in 2024. (COLTON RASANEN)
OBJECTIVELY REASONABLE?
The Washington Legislature is debating a bill that would require municipalities to use objectively reasonable rules to regulate sitting, lying, sleeping, or keeping warm and dry on public property. House Bill 1380 requires city codes to be objectively reasonable when regulating the time, place and manner someone is on public property. Under the bill, an individual charged with a violation may bring a lawsuit in state Superior Court to challenge the "objective reasonableness" of a law regulating sitting, sleeping, or keeping warm and dry. According to bill sponsor Rep. Mia Gregerson, D-SeaTac, "objective reasonableness" is left vague in the bill so it can be defined later in litigation. She stated at a Feb. 12 hearing that it's a term used in other contexts, but not in city or county statutes. Gavin Cooley, CEO of the Spokane Business Association, opposes the bill, stating in a press release, "It provides a false fallback and distracts us all from the real and urgent work of actually addressing homelessness." Spokane's state Reps. Natasha Hill and Timm Ormsby are co-sponsors for the bill. (VICTOR CORRAL MARTINEZ)
CORRECTION
The Feb. 6 story "Fed Up" inaccurately stated that Washington law allows manufactured home owners the first right of refusal or the first chance to buy their park if it goes up for sale. The law simply requires park owners to notify residents if the property is going up for sale.
