Follow up on my testimony on Monday's (11/13) City Council Meeting

Why not try real solutions?

The SCAR Blog

Building community with accountability and equity.

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The State of Surveillance in Spokane

As officials prepare more Flock cameras to roll out across Spokane County, here’s what you need to know.

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Column: When State Terror Comes to Town

‘We blew past “constitutional crisis” months ago, leaving “experts” squabbling about it in the rearview mirror.’

Spokane could finally ban warrantless ICE arrests at ticketed street festivals

Welcome to CIVICS, where we break down the week’s municipal meetings throughout the Inland Northwest, so you can get involved and speak out about the issues you care about.

Icing out ICE: Spokane outlaws warrantless immigration enforcement at events on public property

Spokane’s City Council passed the “Safe and Welcome in Spokane” ordinance, requiring federal immigration officers to obtain a warrant before entering permitted events on public property when organizers have requested…

SCAR Issues: Housing, Evictions, and Housing Justice P2 – Talk with City Council Member Paul Dillon

SCAR Issues: Housing, Evictions, and Housing Justice (Part 2 – Conversation with City Council Member Paul Dillon) In this installment of SCAR Issues, Justice Forral sits down with Spokane…

SCAR Issues: Housing, Evictions Housing Justice part 1

SCAR is investigating housing, evictions, and housing justice in Spokane Washington. In part 1 we interview Terri Anderson, the director of the Tenant’s Union of Washington State. Terri talks…

What happened to expanding the Office of Police Ombudsman’s limited investigative abilities?

On June 29, 2023, Spokane City Council passed an agreement limiting the Office of Police Ombudsman's independence, requiring chief-approved investigations. This move contradicts the voters' demand for thorough, independent oversight…

Follow up on my testimony on Monday’s (11/13) City Council Meeting

Point of Disorder

On Monday night, an activist read a transcript of a city council meeting at a city council meeting. The entire city council walked out.

Faith leaders call on Woodward to formally support separation of church and state

The letter comes after the mayor appeared at a Christian nationalist event in Spokane.

Racist statue removal stalled: ‘Who is this wait worth it for?’

The Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander community has asked for the removal of a monument they call ‘racist and misleading.’ A mayoral veto and an empty city council seat stand in the…

Why not try real solutions?

Spokane could just decide to love its community more. Everyone wants less crime, but leaning on police to do all the work just creates more prisoners. We need to actually…

As Larry Stone stonewalls, Spokane City Council grudgingly invests in shelter he owns

Members of the Spokane City Council say it has become increasingly clear that developer Larry Stone, of the Stone Group of Companies, has no intention of selling the Trent Avenue…

Haskell Backs Off — The role of systemic racism (Part 2)

This is a reposting, originally published via Substack by Jerry Leclaire on May 24th, 2023. On Monday, May 22nd, Kip Hill’s article in the Spokesman reported “Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office…

Prosecutorial Discretion and Racial Prejudice (Part 1)

This is a reposting, originally published via Substack by Jerry Leclaire on May 22nd, 2023. In criminal legal cases (as opposed to civil cases) it is the County Prosecutor’s decision…

“I’ve seen situations where cops need to protect themselves … This wasn’t one of them.”

Rough arrest of unhoused man sparks demands of reform and questions of why de-escalation protocols weren’t followed.

Sexual assault, harassment reports at Trent highlight dangerous oversight gaps at Spokane shelters

The city doesn’t have regular quality control measures, or guidance and protection for whistleblowers.

Update: Tenant-Landlord Ordinance C36330 1/20/23

Over the past week, there have been significant changes made to the Tenant-Landlord Ordinance C36330. As of this post, the current document accessible to the public on the city’s website…

Update on the old East Central Library

Council votes unanimously on Resolution 2023-0001, establishing a specified process, timeline, and criteria for a request for information (RFI) from the community to lease the former East Central Library building…