Adams Elementary media specialist Julie Custer reads “Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum” to second-graders Oct. 5. SR photo/J. Bart Rayniak

There are a lot of stories to highlight from today's Valley Voice, so let's get started. We hae city council candidate Q&A stories from Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake. Today we are highlighting Dean Grafos and John Carroll in Spokane Valley and Shane Brickner and Keith Kopelson in Liberty Lake. The rest of the candidates will be featured in Saturday's Valley Voice.

A complaint has been filed with the PDC against Spokane Valley City Council candidate Marilyn Cline alleging that she is running a hairdressing business out of her home without declaring in on her financial affairs statement. Reporter Lisa Leinberger has a story on how a grant fromTarget allowed Adams Elementary to buy books for its library and volunteers also showed up to redecorate.

The city of Spokane Valley and Spokane County are in the early stages of discussions about turning the old Milwaukee Railroad right-of-way into a mixed use trail. At one point the city wanted to use the land, which is still owned by the County, to extend Appleway Blvd. to the east.

Liberty Lake Mayor Wendy Van Orman presented her proposed 2012 budget to the city council this week. It calls for reducing the city's new utility tax to three percent while purchasing a new police car, getting a new records management system for the police department and completing phase two of the city's arboretum.