Last week, officials with Spokane Public Schools and Spokane's city Parks & Recreation department announced a joint plan to fund renovations, replacements and future planning for the city's schools and parks. The proposal, titled "Together Spokane," would add funding for more than 200 projects throughout the city — that is, if voters see fit. In November, Spokane voters will likely see a 20-year $200 million construction bond from the school district and a 20-year $240 million levy from Parks & Recreation on their ballots. Both proposed ballot measures still need approval from the Spokane School Board and City Council, respectively. "This plan will benefit not only all of our students in one way or another, but really it impacts every neighborhood. All 29 neighborhoods get a project in this, no one is left out, and all our parks will see improvements. That's all 90 parks," Mayor Lisa Brown said at last week's announcement. Read more at Inlander.com. (COLTON RASANEN)
ROAD ARMADILLOS
The city of Spokane uses revenue from traffic cameras to fund traffic calming measures, and since 2022, it has asked Spokane's 29 neighborhoods which types of measures they want most. On March 3, the Spokane City Council will vote on whether to fund the next slate of traffic calming and adaptive design projects for 2025 and 2026 with more than $2 million. In a resolution crafted by Council members Zack Zappone, Paul Dillon and Michael Cathcart, there are 17 proposed projects — five in District 1, seven in District 2 and five in District 3. The proposed projects include things like speed humps, curb bumpouts, sidewalk improvements and flashing beacons at crosswalks. The resolution also includes $150,000 for new bicycle infrastructure enhancements this year. These bicycle enhancements are not predetermined, but the suggestions include different ways to physically separate bike lanes from car lanes, such as flex posts, curbs, planters or "armadillos" — small, manmade humps between lanes that resemble lines of armored armadillos lying on the road. The resolution needs four of seven votes to pass. (ELIZA BILLINGHAM)
ONE-YEAR RESPITE
After two years of uncertainty, North Idaho College learned this week that it has made enough progress to maintain its accreditation — for now. On Feb. 24, a month after NIC made its case to the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, the college learned that it had made enough progress to move from a "show cause" sanction (the final warning before a school loses its accreditation) to probation. "Through the evidence provided by the institution during the evaluation process, the Commission notes the significant progress in the past seven months as demonstrated by fulfilling six recommendations and moving two additional recommendations out of non-compliance," a Feb. 24 report from the commission states. Now, NIC has one year to rectify its final three areas of noncompliance. These include resolving all issues that led to votes of "No Confidence" from faculty, staff and students; adhering to institutional and NIC Board of Trustees policies specifically relating to professional conduct and ethics; and committing to "an environment respectful of meaningful discourse." (CR) ♦
