Legislation to help stop elderly abuse has passed both chambers on its way to Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk for a signature. 7,800 reported complaints of financial exploitation and 5,400 reports of neglect in 2015 led to the championing of a bill to help stop the abuse. It would create a new category of crime for elderly abuse, including stealing from them as well as physical abuse, with stricter penalties and an extension on the current statute of limitations for the crimes.

Pearl Jam and Live Nation are working together to renovate Key Arena. The group is able to move forward with the $564 million proposal without first securing a major professional sports team in the NBA or NHL because of the expected concert revenue. “We’re going to build it, and we believe they (teams) will come.”

Bellevue traffic cameras outpace tickets issued compared to police officers. Cameras reportedly issue around 90 tickets a day and have shown a 10% decline in tickets from last year.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray wants to remove coal companies from the $2.5 billion in pension assets held by the city. He has asked the Seattle City Employees’ Retirement System board to, “divest any holdings the fund has in companies whose primary business is the mining or burning of coal.” He has also requested a legal and fiduciary re-evaluation of the board’s position on fossil fuels.

City of Spokane officials’ mistake caused the bulldozing of dozens of trees when scraping a mile-long road on South Hill bluff this week. The road was never approved by the city. The City of Spokane, Avista and The First Tee of the Inland Northwest have issued an apology for the bulldozing, which they have called a “misunderstanding.”

Fixing the Rotary Fountain in Riverfront Park will cost $1 million. The Spokane Park Board and the Riverfront Park Committee have voted to fix the fountain, the committee chair saying, “I feel we need to deliver the south end of the park in first-class fashion.” The fountain initially cost $1.25 million but has been rendered useless due to mechanical failures.

Spokane County Commissioner Shelly O’Quinn is resigning her post in June so that she can become the CEO of the Inland Northwest Community Foundation.

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