Spokane

Rebuilding Together Spokane will partner with Gonzaga University on April 13th and 16th to continue a longstanding effort to preserve and revitalize the Logan neighborhood.  Approximately 250 volunteers will conduct a home improvement blitz to help low-income or elderly homeowners in need.  Gonzaga Trustees and Regents will kick-off the effort, working from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on April 13th, as part of their spring meeting. They will prepare and paint a home at 1204 E. Ermina Ave. Then, from 8 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday, April 16th, volunteers from Rebuilding Together Spokane (RTS) will collaborate with Gonzaga students, parents, alumni and Logan residents to improve several homes in the neighborhood. The students, of which approximately 120 are expected to participate, are part of the campus organization, April's Angels.  This marks the 17th consecutive year April's Angels will have performed a full day of work in April assisting others.

Re-paving begins soon on a well-traveled stretch of Grand Boulevard, and when it's done, new trees will line the route. Starting Monday, work to plant 38 of what the city calls "utility-friendly" trees will begin. But, that means 19 damaged, declining or what the city calls "poorly placed" trees will be removed. The replaced trees will be planted this fall after the repaving project that stretches from 29th Avenue to High Drive is complete. The city wants to plant more trees that are of "ulility-friendly size", meaning they don't interfere with underground and overhead utility lines. The city and Avista have faced backlash in the past for pruning trees along the same stretch of road.

Business has been looking fantastic for the Main Market Co-op. According to General Manager, Jeanette Hamilton, February was the best month ever for sales and March was looking to beat that. With that success comes positive changes and developments.Recently, the Co-op changed their hours to be open earlier to allow for customers to grab a cup of coffee and a selection of baked goods on their way to work. They've also opened their very own bakery department to add more selection to their already diverse baked goods. 

This week, the entire Dry Fly Distilling team (four people), flew down to Portland, Oregon for the 8th Annual Craft Spirits Conference hosted by the American Distilling Institute.  

Mark your calendars! A lot of businesses have put together fundraisers for relief efforts in Japan, but this one is an event starring local bands and artists for Spokane for Japan. 

April is "Our Kids, Our Business" month in the Inland Northwest, right? So where are all the pinwheels?  The symbol of the month-long campaign has always been the pinwheel.  Up until this year thousands of pinwheels were planted all around Spokane in April, to draw attention to "Our Kids, Our Business." If you drive past Providence Sacred Heart Hospital you might have noticed that there are no pinwheels this year.

Tom Guthrie knows there's a formula for a successful restaurant: great food, a good them and outstanding service."I realized Spokane doesn't have anywhere to go for a great Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich so I thought the economy is getting a bit better so now was a good time to open this restaurant," said Guthrie.Guthrie opened Spike's on March 5th and says business has been great.

April's not normally the time to think about heating your home, but it might be the best time to sign up for help to pay your heating bills.Spokane Neighborhood Action Programs, which helps homeless and low-income families, says now is the time to make an appointment for heating assistance help for next winter.  They have a total of 6,000 appointments, and more than half are still available.  If you wait until fall, you may get turned away due to the high demand.  Go to , or call (509) 456-7111, for more information.

Quietly tucked among the buildings of Spokane's Browne's Addition is a 3 story building that appears to be at home in the historic district just as much as the Patsy Clark Mansion or The Campbell House. The building looks as though it was pulled up from the streets of some European town at the turn of the 1900's and transplanted in Spokane, with a small shop on the main floor and living space on the second and third floors. Inside people are treated to the delights of the bicycle world with a taste of when bikes were made for casual trips around the neighborhood to the need for speed and plenty of cutting edge technology. is a bike shop like no other in Spokane. Looking through the windows or walking into the shop and you are instantly taken to a world where bikes are more than toys, more than just aluminum, steel or carbon pieces and parts. The bikes are artwork, they are crafted, they are visions, they are dreams. From the beautifully lugged frame of a to the seamless elegance of carbon , Steve's On Cannon Street offers a bike for just about anyone's desire.

Rusty has been back home with the Fulkerson family for less than a week. There seems to be no end to the hugs and kisses from his family. Even though there is so much love in the family, there are still the issues of his health. The ear mites took a toll on the area around his ears leaving open wounds that are now healing. Layers of matted fur, over grown since last winter had taken over his entire body. He needed a haircut to allow for new growth of healthier hair. Yesterday afternoon Stephanie Fulkerson brought her "handsome boy", as she called him, to Hot Dogz Grooming, 1028 W. Shannon Ave. No amounts of combing could remove the mats. Rusty was ready to face the razor. Below is a progress of his hair cut. He was given what the groomer called, a Hawaiian cut. He got to keep his mane, the fluff to his tail and the hair on his boots. Even after the shave, Stephanie still called him, a "handsome boy."

Drivers who use Freya to get up and down the South Hill will want to take another route next week. Freya will be closed at 11th Avenue from the morning commute Monday until the evening commute Friday night.The closure is part of a project to replace a 36" water main with a 42" water main. The project started last year and is primarily affecting people who live on 11th. But, the project has to cross Freya and that will lead to next week's closure.City engineers suggest drivers take Thor/Ray and avoid Freya altogether during the project.?

Prepare for heavy machinery and construction crews.  Hatch Road and Perry Street from 57th Avenue to 43rd Avenue will be torn up this spring.

If you're driving through North Spokane, watch your speed on arterials.  Here on North Addison Street you can see your speed first hand. 

February 1 was the day the doors opened on Wild Dawgs at 102 N. Howard in downtown Spokane. Tucked into the building is a poster, the only sign, and that has some provacative innuendo attached to it.Many of the negative comments are quieting and the food is now speaking loud and clear. Only nine bunned items are offered, 5 are hotdogs and 4 are sausages.Wild Dawgs also serves nachos and cookies along with beer and wine. They are gourmet items, loaded with an all-beef dog, cheese and then a multitude of ingredients and they will fill you up. Sarena used many local companies to make her shop work, furnishing by Concept Home, Buns by Franz Bakery and the T-shirts design and printing also local.

The Spokane County Conservation District is holding it's annual Tree and Shrub Seedling Sale.  http://www.sccd.org/treesale/index.shtml  More than 30 varieties of native trees and shrubs will be for Friday, April 8th from 8am-5pm and Saturday, April 9th from9am to 3pm.  Tree varieties in Douglas Fir, Ponderosa Pine, and Western Larch.  Deciduous trees include Mountain Ash and Quaking Aspen.  Trees are sold in bundles.  5 for $9 and 10 for $18. Other prices vary.  All the trees and shrubs are sold on a first come, first serve basis.  People have lined up outside for the doors to open in year's past to get the best selection.  The sale is at the Conservation District Building at 210 North Havana just south of the Spokane County Fairgrounds.

Every dog has its day, but Maximus is having his week. The K-9 officer has captured four suspects in as many days.The latest suspects were captured in the 5000 block of Lacey Street in the Hillyard neighborhood late Tuesday night.Officer Michael Russo and Maximus' handler Paul Gorman responded to a possible burglary in progress at a vacant house.

A crash between an SUV and AMR ambulance briefly shut down an intersection on Spokane's South Hill Wednesday morning. The crash happened just after 4 a.m. at Southeast Boulevard and 29th. Spokane Police say the driver of the Honda SUV was traveling north on Southeast Boulevard and drove through a flashing red light just as the AMR ambulance, traveling east on 29th, was driving through on a flashing yellow.The ambulance crashed into the SUV, nearly sending it into a nearby building. Two people from the SUV and two paramedics were sent to the hospital. The ambulance was not carrying a patient. The driver of the SUV will be cited for not stopping at a flashing red light. The intersection was shut down for about ninety minutes.

Spokane's Public Information Office just released this statement regarding low radiation levels detected in Washington:The City of Spokane announced today that state and local agencies have been informed by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) air monitor has detected trace levels of radiation in connection with Japan's nuclear emergency. The City agrees that the miniscule amounts of radioactive iodine are millions times lower than levels that would be a health concern.  

If you need a job this summer, I know where you need to be on April 16, 2011: Avista Stadium.The Spokane Indians are hosting a gigantic job fair. They need 75 people to fill part-time positions this summer. The jobs range from concessions and greeters to ticket takers and even bat boys.Dress nicely, bring a resume` and be at Avista Stadium at 10:00 AM on April 16th!

The old downtown YMCA is quickly turning into a pile of rubble.  The demolition, which started in mid-February, should be completed later this month.  The city of Spokane plans to restore the site back to its natural state by late summer.So far, there's been no sighting of the beaver that lived under the building.  We'll keep you posted.  And, if you're interested in checking out the new Y (which is very nice - and very popular!) here's their .

Kids being treated for cancer at Sacred Heart Childrens Hospital now have a new way to get around when they can get out of their rooms, thanks to a little boy and his family who know exactly what they're going through.Monday, 2-year old Cash Hyde and his dad Mike drove in from Missoula and donated two very special little cars to the hospital's oncology floor. The cars, called "Reggae Runners" are toddler cars, outfitted with IV poles. That way, kids who are being treated at the hospital can cruise around the floor and see something other than the inside of a hospital room, all while getting their life-saving treatments.Cashy and his dad know exactly how important that free time can be. They spent several month in a Salt Lake City hospital last year, while Cashy was being treated for cancer and a Stage 4 brain tumor.

Urban Forestry crews will be removing seven Austrian Pine trees, Wednesday, from the entrance to the parking area at Friendship Park in the Nevada/Lidgerwood neighborhood.  The city says the trees are obstructing traffic and have "significant structural issues".  Later this spring, three deciduous trees will be planted in their place.