News Roundup: 6/24

I’ve been debating different ways to revive this blog. I’m much more active these days over at Bluesky and The Inlander, but I also want a way to highlight interesting and useful news, and provide a helpful resource for local pro-housing, pro-urbanist advocates. In lieu of other models, I’m going to start with a simple regular news roundup, and possibly a bit of commentary here and there.

If you like what you see, subscribe and share. I’ll try to keep it going if there’s genuine interest. (Also, this is one of the reasons I like the newsletter model: it allows periodic or occasional exploration.)

So, without further ado:

What I’m Reading

• The conditional use permit for the Spokane Falls zipline has been approved by City Council. The line will run from near the Downtown Library to Redband Park in Peaceful Valley.

• Federal grant delays and cancellations are seriously harming nonprofits like Family Promise and SNAP, which provides food and energy assistance to local families. Already SNAP has had to lay off three people, with three more layoffs coming July 1.

• A recent report that half of Spokane’s homeless population “moved to Spokane after losing housing” is fatally flawed and does not align with best-practice survey methodologies. Results from the 2025 Point-in-Time Count, which does meet those standards, will be available in July.

• Rep. Julia Reed (D-Seattle) and Alex Brennan, Executive Director of Futurewise (for which I serve on the board) recently spoke with David Roberts of Volts about the fantastic new state transit-oriented development bill.

• Parts of the H.O.M.E. Starts Here plan to reduce chronic homelessness passed last week. Here’s Mayor Brown’s perspective on the plan.

• Two local orgs are merging to form the Inland Northwest Energy Innovation Cluster. The new nonprofit will work to support and grow the region’s smart energy technology industry. Local firms, like Itron and Engie Impact, are already heavily engaged in this space, so it’s a good pivot.

Development Proposals

• A predevelopment conference has been filed for a set of six townhomes at 1614 S Hogan St in South Perry. The fantastic Matt Hutchins of CAST Architecture, designer of the “Spokane Six,” is the architect.

• A predevelopment conference has been filed for a set of eight townhomes at 1728 E Hartson Ave, also in South Perry. It’s being called “The Switchback,” and given its location, will require some street and utility work.

• A predevelopment conference has been filed for a triplex at 226 W Courtland Ave on the North Hill bluff. This one will require similar work on utilities and streets nearby.

Looking to join the conversation? Find me on Bluesky! We’ve developed a growing local community there, and I’ve put together a Spokane list to get you started.