However, not all commissioners support the pause.

"It's been suggested that to be against data centers is to be anti-American," Commissioner Al French said.

French and Commissioner Kerns say they have been working on an ordinance that would regulate data centers and could be enacted by the end of August, allowing for the county to capitalize on the large financial benefits of a data center sooner rather than later.

"We have an opportunity to bring this industry into the community but on a cautious basis, to make sure that our existing community and the quality of life that we cherish is not impacted. And the economic benefits that are provided for it, including a significant amount of tax revenue for the county. And we're currently struggling with balancing our budget," French said.

Biggest takeaway -

District 5 County Commissioner Al French believes moratorium is not necessary, and said he may propose zoning rules that require a few hundred feet in between data centers and residential properties and limit noise to 65 decibels at the property line.

(The Center Square) – Divisions are emerging in Spokane as Democrats and Republicans on the Board of County Commissioners eye two different ways of responding to growing concerns with data centers.

The largely progressive Spokane City Council approved a one-year moratorium on data center projects last month as Avista Utilities paused negotiations with a potential large load customer.

Spokane County Commissioners Chris Jordan and Amber Waldref followed suit Monday, proposing a nine-month version for the county.

The idea immediately faced opposition from the three Republicans making up the rest of the board as the Democrats briefed their peers on Tuesday. Commissioner Al French announced plans to propose a zoning ordinance that they could vote on by the end of August to address their constituents’ concerns.

“We don’t need nine months,” French said during Tuesday’s weekly briefing meeting. “We already have a good understanding about the impacts of what these data centers mean and also what we can do to protect the community, and allow for this critical infrastructure to be developed here in Spokane County.”

The Republicans said the moratorium could give off the impression that Spokane is anti-development, pushing away projects that could provide valuable revenue to the county as they face a budget deficit.

French said the zoning ordinance proposal that he and Commissioner Josh Kerns are working on would define large-load data centers as 200 megawatts or more and limit them in heavy industrial zones. He said they could allow data centers that plan on using less electricity than that in light industrial zones.

The large-load customer that Avista was negotiating with had plans for a facility that would use up to 500 MW. Jordan said he spoke with the utility provider and found that only one customer in the county currently exceeds 25 MW, which is what he and Waldref proposed setting the threshold at.

“That could be the equivalent of half of the entire current power load of the county,” Jordan explained.

His and Waldref’s moratorium would pause the permit and application process for any future projects until towards the end of the next state legislative session to allow lawmakers to consider safeguards.

The temporary pause would also direct county staff to develop rules addressing where the county can site data centers; who the facilities would be defined in the county code; whether they should require a conditional-use permit; ratepayer protections; rules around noise, water use, efficiency, and more.

Other than the city of Spokane, officials in Seattle, Burien, Federal Way , Marysville, Millwood, Pasco, Skagit County and Snohomish County have all passed temporary data center moratoria of their own.

French and Kern’s zoning proposal would allow the process to continue under different interim rules.

Outside of defining large-load projects as 200 megawatts or more, French said he may propose zoning rules that require a few hundred feet in between data centers and residential properties, limit noise to 65 decibels at the property line, and require developers to pay for necessary infrastructure expansion.

“Infrastructure expansion for the data center should be paid by the developer,” he said. “No question at all, [it] should be paid for by the developer and that should not be passed on to the general public.”

French said the state Department of Ecology regulates water, so he wants to leave that part to them.

Kerns said the zoning ordinance is built upon best practices from the National Association of Counties.

Commissioner Mary Brooks explicitly joined French in opposition to a data center moratorium, while Kerns called the idea of taking nine months to develop regulations around data centers “laughable.”

Jordan and Waldref said they’re open to considering the zoning proposal and tackling this on a faster timeline than nine months, but still expressed support for pausing new applications in the meantime.

“If a complete permit comes through the door tomorrow, it [already] may be too late at that point to actually do any of these ideas,” Jordan responded Tuesday. “It sounds like there is an agreement here that some responsible rules are needed, but without a pause, the status quo rules are what they are.”

The board is entering a two-week recess, which county staff will use to examine the two proposals and reach out to various stakeholders before the board returns to the topic sometime around early August.

Hi, my kiddo has recently moved to the Spokane area from Oklahoma. Does the area get enough snow to require winter or snow tires? Are there any places that teach winter driving, other than doing driving lessons in winter? I've made sure their battery is rated for the colder temps there, and made sure they have a decent emergency kit. Just trying to help them be prepared before they have to face driving in the actual snow. Thx in advance for any tips.

Can anyone recommend a drywall company. Preferably a smaller company that does good work. We are looking to have the below work done throughout the house but want to start in one bedroom to see if the price / trouble is worth it.

Sand and or skim over current texture
Retexture (knockdown)
Retap and skim ceiling and potential light texture

Recommendations / referrals are appreciated!

Hey y’all, looking to get some junk tires removed from some new-to-me rims and some newer tires I scooped up mounted and balanced on those rims. I’ve called a few shops and been quoted around $160+, (tire Rama, discount tire, les Schwab) but was hoping of a better option in town I may not know about. I live near Garland but wouldn’t mind driving out to the valley etc for a better deal.
Thanks in advance!

I know it's going to be 100 degrees today but I'm thinking about skiing.

I (40M) moved to Spokane in June of '25 with my partner. She has a pass to Mt. Spokane and skis with me a fair bit but generally doesn't go as hard--I like to strive for 50 days a season (although I was just short with the bad snow last season). This means I ski alone a lot.

I talk to plenty of people on chairlifts but have not had any luck making any ski buddies. I find the transition between "You seem rad, have a great day," and "we should exchange info" difficult.

I'm wondering if anyone would have interest in a sort of informal ski club this season? Possibly doing some carpooling, riding together, exploring new terrain (I tree ski alone but I know I shouldn't), maybe an occasional crock pot in the lodge and some beers?

I've been skiing since I was 3 and am an advanced skier, but I generally don't go crazy the way I did when I was younger. I'm still a first chair kind of guy. Have passes to Mt. Spokane (weekday night skiing for the win) and Lookout Pass (storms!) but was able to get to Silver, 49, Red and Whitewater last year as well.

Anyway, just looking for likeminded people. Totally open to intermediate/beginner folks as well but I'm less likely to ride long with absolute newbies (see you at the lodge though?).

Anyway, does this sound appealing to you, or does it sound like something that already exists and I can join? Making friends is tough these days and I'd love to meet more folks who are passionate about the things I love.

I don’t hate this at all

Was driving home from getting Boba today and passed Cliff Park with my husband and decided to take a little stroll. We got to the flat mid area but couldn’t go up the big stairs to the very top because there was a gate put up blocking it. Does anyone know why? We didn’t try to get around it but one could.

If you’re still deciding who to vote for in the August 4 primary, here’s a chance to meet one of the candidates in a pretty relaxed setting.

Andrew Bartleson, an independent candidate for Congress (WA-05), will be hanging out at Allie’s Vegan Pizzeria this Friday, July 24, from 6:00 to 7:00 PM. It’s not a formal town hall or debate. Just an opportunity to grab some pizza, ask questions, and have a conversation before filling out your ballot!

Where: Allie’s Vegan Pizzeria 1314 S Grand Blvd #6

When: Friday, July 24 6:00-7:00 PM

Whether you’re already familiar with Andrew or just curious to hear what he has to say, everyone’s welcome. Ballots are already arriving, so if you’re still making up your mind, this seems like a good opportunity to meet a candidate face-to-face.

Are you a young adult in Spokane looking to make some friends? More details & registration links for events mentioned below can be found here! https://linktr.ee/newrootsspokane

• 8/1 @ 9 AM - Character Design Class (learn some concepts and theories that make a great character design!)

• 8/7 @ 6 PM - Walk Into The Weekend (get paired up, yap & meet cool new people)

• 8/15 @ 10 AM - August Trash Walk (show up & help cleanup some trash around Redband Park)

• 8/29 (PENDING AN EVENT TO BE PUBLISHED; may be another trash cleanup event or something different in the works involving painting 3D printed characters)

• 9/12 @ 10 AM - September Trash Walk (cleaning up some streets around the SCAR Office)

• September/October date TBD - Meet Your People (vote on the event date & the top date will get picked; event will have short intros, engaging games & a post hangout at Radio Bar)

*More events to be added!

Have an idea for an event you'd like to co-host? Let's chat! 📸 Photos are from our first official meetup, and two from our most recent trash cleanup events.

Not really ranting or raving but kinda the only flair that seemed appropriate.

I’ve noticed a lot of older WA tags that are delaminated. Remember when license plates lasted forever?

When can I get Fiber in Cheney it's driving me crazy !!!

Some folks were handing out these flyers during my drive home from work. I do not know Mr. Merson, the folks/entities handing out the flyers, or any of the circumstances. Just figured it would be good to pass along. I DID check the city of Spokane’s missing person site and he is listed as a missing person with a SPD case number.

My dog decided that socks were delicious snacks. He quit eating and we took him to Hunter Vet to figure out what the problem was and after an X-ray they determined he had foreign material obstructing his intestinal track.

He needed emergency surgery and they were going to send us to the emergency hospital since their surgeon was on vacation.

The office staff contacted the surgeon and he agreed to step away from his vacation and perform the surgery saving us thousands of dollars.

They went above and beyond to save my dog’s life and they deserve a positive shout out to recognize their compassion and kindness.

If you’re looking for a place to take care of your animals I recommend them.

Reminder that Canada is WA's largest trading partner, having significant impacts on Spokane and the whole state overall.

The first big chunk of our election coverage went live today with more to come throughout the week! You can find candidate questionnaires with candidates' word-for-word responses on a variety of hot button issues at the link above for the following races:

- Fifth Congressional District

- Third Legislative District, Position 2

- Sixth Legislative District, Position 1

- Sixth Legislative District, Position 2

- WA State Supreme Court

- Spokane County Auditor

EDIT: We know the image says 2024....it was a problem with our social media scheduling app that has now been fixed. We promise, this is our 2026 elections guide!

Hello hello! Im part of Visaul Shotz photography! And we’ve been seeing this strange couple session trend. We struggle to have a lot of “strangers” on our social medias like insta and that. So I’m coming to Reddit ! Would any single people be interested in doing this ? Photos would be free and you’d have a cute session (hopefully) we’d just ask if we could document it social media !

Please feel free to comment here or message me on Instagram !! My Instagram is stargurl_mari

(I’ll attach some pictures we’ve taken so you get a feel)

Nate Powell's Super PAC, which has taken only 1 donation from a dark money Delaware corporation ($300,000) is spending money on attack ads against Democratic candidates, specifically Carmela Conroy

https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00948059/2000889/