Public Periscope

A new battleground?

Some Sprague Avenue businessmen didn’t like the proposed south Valley arterial, which county commissioners effectively have killed by withholding funding. The expressway would have run near Fourth Avenue, taking traffic off Sprague. … Environmentalists likely won’t be thrilled with a possible alternative. County engineer Ross Kelly has been told to dust off plans for a road between the Valley and the South Hill. … The most practical proposal, Kelly said, is one suggested some 20 years ago: Link 29th Avenue on the South Hill to 32nd Avenue in the Valley. Upcoming studies will look at cost and need. … The road would cut across Tower Mountain just a few blocks south of the Dishman-Hills Natural Area and dissect a migration route used by elk and other wildlife. So says Tom Rogers, who led efforts to set aside the natural area in the 1970s.

Oh, that clock tower meadow

City Councilwoman Bev Numbers probably should have taken just a minute to remember where in Riverfront Park she was last Tuesday at a media event to bemoan the national debt. The Concord Coalition’s show was scheduled to begin at noon but seemed to be running late. … “What time is it? I don’t have a watch,” Numbers asked as she waited by the platform. … Had she looked up, she would have realized she was standing in front of the city’s largest timepiece, the old Great Northern railroad station’s clock tower.

Yo, Rinny

At first glance, Mike Davis seemed to be the most unusual candidate in this fall’s county commissioner’s race. A quick read of his campaign announcement suggested he looked like Rin Tin Tin. … Although the wonder canine might be a welcome change at the courthouse, there was a better explanation. That picture of a German shepherd in the upper left corner of Davis’ announcement wasn’t Davis, a Wildrose Prairie farmer. It was illustrating his theme of becoming “the county watchdog.”

, DataTimes MEMO: “Public Periscope,” published Mondays, is compiled by Jim Camden from staff reports. If you have a question about government, growth or development, we’d like to help find an answer. Write us at The Spokesman-Review, Box 2160, Spokane 99210. Or call Cityline at 458-8800 on a Touch-Tone phone, then press 9120 to leave a message. Or send E-mail to jimc@spokesman.com.

This sidebar appeared with the story: HOT TOPICS Wednesday: Spokane County Medical Society and Bruce Miyahara, state secretary of health, will discuss a plan to turn the Spokane County Health District into a county agency. 7 a.m., Room 265, Deaconess Health and Education Center Building, 910 W. Fifth.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by Jim Camden from staff reports