Spokane County News

Receive FREE access by logging in to or creating your Spokesman.com account. Slightly more than 30,000 ballots for the Aug. 5 primary had been returned to the Spokane County elections office by Thursday, pushing turnout to about 10.5 percent countywide.

The Washington State Department of Health believes some local water systems are at risk after severe storms moved through the area on Wednesday and they have issued some boil-water advisories.

The City Council is expected to vote on resolutions to place a proposed street levy and a proposed bond for Riverfront Park on the ballot in November at its regular meeting on Monday at 6 p.m. in City Council Chambers, lower level of City Hall, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. This is also the last opportunity for public comment before the vote.

Severe thunderstorms that moved through the Spokane area knocked out power to more than 60,000 customers and damaged dozens of homes.

Offers free workshops on labor market and career preparation information, including assistance with resumes and cover letters.

Receive FREE access by logging in to or creating your Spokesman.com account. Angel's owner had to be placed in a care facility and there was no one who could care for her.

Spokane County commissioners are seeking applicants for openings on the Spokane County Library District board of trustees and the Civil Service Commission.

On Sunday, it became the largest wildfire in the history of our state as 300,000 acres - the equivalent of 470 square miles and counting have burned so far - stretching from Kittitas County to Okanogan County and even further east to Spokane County.

Receive FREE access by logging in to or creating your Spokesman.com account. Two men have been sentenced to prison terms after pleading guilty to manslaughter in a pair of unrelated slayings dating back to May 2012.

Members of local law enforcement agencies said they heard an increased number of creative excuses for impaired driving after recreational marijuana was legalized in early July.

Members of local law enforcement said they heard an increased number of creative excuses for impaired driving after recreational marijuana was legalized in early July.

Receive FREE access by logging in to or creating your Spokesman.com account. Debate over the need for a new Spokane County Jail has become a key issue in this year's campaigns for sheriff and county commissioner after a candidate in the sheriff's race produced a radio ad pegging the potential cost at $300 million.

You might think the rain that fell across the Inland Northwest Tuesday morning would make quick work of fires raging throughout the state, however while the moisture is a relief, there's still plenty of work to do.

Receive FREE access by logging in to or creating your Spokesman.com account. Spokane's slow but steady economic pulse picked up in June as the county's jobless rate fell to 5.6 percent, the first time it dipped below 6 percent since 2008, the state Employment Security Department said.

Spokane County's unemployment rated dropped by 1 percent in June, nearing the state average as it fell to 5.6 percent.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the Watermelon Hill Fire, burning in Lincoln and Spokane County, Washington.

Receive FREE access by logging in to or creating your Spokesman.com account. The Watermelon Hill fire about 7 miles southwest of Cheney has grown to about 13,000 acres, fire officials said this morning.

How are your tomato plants growing? If you're having troubles with them, or have in the past, you're not alone.

Authorities said the fire jumped the lake and started burning in Spokane County.

Jeremy B. Jeske, 43, a Spokane County Sheriff's deputy, has been charged with two counts of insurance fraud in connection with a case that was investigated by Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler's Special Investigations Unit.