Walla Walla City Council
Named in 35 stories. Back to all names
- Jan 13, 1865Locking Down the County JailWalla Walla’s City Council moves to secure the jail with a high fence to stop well-meaning citizens from helping prisoners escape.County Jail, Walla Walla, WA
- Aug 1, 1883Walla Walla Council Defends Debt to Build City HallA finance committee report from 1883 reveals the staggering debt and tax burden required to build Walla Walla’s civic infrastructure.Walla Walla, WA
- Aug 14, 1883The $250 Purse Nobody Could SpendWalla Walla saloonkeepers pooled money to buy a friendly license ordinance. Then the councilman they thought was theirs voted the wrong way.Mill Creek, Walla Walla, WA
- Sep 8, 1883The Price of HospitalityWalla Walla's city council debates how much it should pay to entertain railroad tycoon Henry Villard.Walla Walla, WA
- Jun 2, 1903Walla Walla Tells the Gas Company: Put Your Wires Underground — and Pay UpA 25-year gas and electric franchise goes before the council tonight, rewritten to bury every wire on Main and Alder and to hand the city a grand total of $7,750 by 1928.Walla Walla, WA
- Jun 20, 1903The Mayoral Candidate Who Wanted to Open the City’s BooksRunning on a platform of transparency, Frank S. Dement challenged the city's plan to purchase the Thomas ranch for $25,000, calling for a 'business administration' that prioritized public oversight.Walla Walla, WA
- Jun 26, 1903The Conflict of Interest Scandal at City HallWalla Walla voters are presented with evidence that Mayor Gilbert Hunt allegedly funneled city and school district contracts to his own private manufacturing company.East Alder Street, Walla Walla, WA
- Jul 22, 1903City Council Faces Tensions Over Prostitution and BudgetsIn their final session of the term, Walla Walla councilmen navigate budget disputes and the first-ever petition to remove bawdy houses as public nuisances.Walla Walla, WA
- Aug 5, 1903Mayor Hunt’s Vision for a Growing Walla WallaFacing a housing and infrastructure boom, the mayor calls for a new city charter and a shift toward modern public works.Boyer Avenue, Walla Walla, WA
- Aug 8, 1903Walla Walla Questions Paying Twice for Water RightsCity officials and the press lock horns over a costly, potentially unnecessary land acquisition for a municipal gravity water system.Walla Walla, WA
- Aug 19, 1903Walla Walla Commits to Major Infrastructure OverhaulCity Council moves to shore up Mill Creek and repair crumbling streets in a session of ambitious public works.Walla Walla, WA
- Aug 24, 1903The Fight for Safer StreetsWalla Walla's decaying wooden sidewalks are proving hazardous, prompting a push for modern cement alternatives.Walla Walla, WA
- Aug 27, 1903The Argument for a Public Pleasure GroundWalla Walla's growing population needs a designated space for leisure and outdoor entertainment, and the paper proposes using water works revenue to fund it.Walla Walla, WA
- Sep 2, 1903The City Council’s Red Light DilemmaWalla Walla officials discuss zoning 'houses of ill fame' away from residential districts after a formal complaint.Walla Walla, WA
- Sep 2, 1903The Unkept Promise of Walla Walla's Telephone WiresCity council is urged to enforce a year-old franchise agreement requiring the telephone company to bury its unsightly street-level wires.Walla Walla, WA
- Sep 23, 1903The Price of a Local HomeWalla Walla shifts the financial burden of securing a charitable home to the county commission, sparking a debate over the scope of municipal responsibility.Walla Walla, WA
- Sep 23, 1903City Council Weighs Engineer's Mill Creek Water PlanA new proposal for a gravity water system faces heavy criticism for its staggering cost and potential legal entanglements over water rights.Mill Creek, Walla Walla, WA
- Sep 23, 1903The Struggle for Walla Walla's WaterAn engineer’s report declares Mill Creek the city's only viable future lifeline, dismissing local springs and wells as inadequate for a growing population.Mill Creek, Walla Walla, WA
- Sep 24, 1903The Battle for Walla Walla’s TapIn 1903, hydraulic engineer Otto Weile presented a landmark report to the city council, arguing that the future of Walla Walla’s growth depended on securing the waters of Mill Creek.Mill Creek, Walla Walla, WA
- Sep 24, 1903The Water Under Walla WallaAs the city weighs Mill Creek against artesian wells, old-timers warn that riparian lawsuits could drown the project.Mill Creek, Walla Walla, WA
- Oct 13, 1903Fire Loss Fuels Push for City Water SystemAfter a devastating local fire, the city council faces allegations of corruption, backroom dealing, and profit-seeking at the expense of public safety.Mill Creek, Walla Walla, WA
- Oct 15, 1903Two Plans, One Spring, and a $25,000 HoldupWalla Walla's council will let voters choose between a $191,000 pipeline up Mill Creek and a cheaper gravity system at Thomas Springs — but the editor suspects a land speculation scheme is baked into the ballot question.Walla Walla, WA
- Oct 15, 1903The Fire Chief They Tried to BlameAfter a bad showing at the Whitehouse-Crimmins fire, the mayor and council concede the apparatus is worn out — then look for a scapegoat in a twelve-year veteran of the department.Walla Walla, WA
- Oct 28, 1903The Struggle for Walla Walla’s Gravity Water SystemCity officials and private citizens spar over the future of the municipal water supply as debates over Mill Creek and private rights boil over.Mill Creek, Walla Walla, WA
- Nov 3, 1903City Council Tries to Oust Civil War VeteranA local editor slams council members for attempting to remove a poundmaster who served in the Union army and lost his son in the Philippines.Walla Walla, WA
- Nov 5, 1903The Battle for Walla Walla's Water SupplyCity Hall is under pressure to decide between the Smith-Boyer-Thomas springs and the Mill Creek plan, with a local newspaper demanding the choice go to the voters.Walla Walla, WA
- Nov 14, 1903City Council Caught in Illegal Power PlayLocal officials in Walla Walla are accused of violating the city charter to oust a veteran from his position as poundmaster.Walla Walla, WA
- Nov 18, 1903The Town Council Invites the Cattle to RoamIn a baffling policy shift, the city abolishes the poundmaster, effectively turning the downtown streets and the courthouse lawn into free-range grazing land.Courthouse, Walla Walla, WA
- Nov 28, 1903Lewiston Beats Walla Walla to a Carnegie Library—Will the City Council Act?As tiny Lewiston secures a $25,000 Carnegie library, The Statesman demands Walla Walla's council accept Andrew Carnegie's offer and secure the city's claim to a 'Greater Walla Walla.'Walla Walla, WA
- Dec 2, 1903Walla Walla Says Yes to Carnegie's $25,000 LibraryThe city council unanimously accepts Andrew Carnegie's gift for a free public library—and pledges $2,500 a year to keep the doors open.Walla Walla, WA
- Dec 11, 1903The Bank Tax StandoffA citizen letter details how the Walla Walla City Council's compromise with a local bank cost taxpayers thousands, while the courts later sided with the Assessor's original valuation.Walla Walla, WA
- Dec 16, 1903City Neglect Leaves Walla Walla Streets in 'Abominable' ConditionCitizens and business owners plead for repairs to East Alder Street and local alleys, warning of potential lawsuits over property damage.East Alder Street, Walla Walla, WA
- Dec 19, 1903The City Streets Are Now Bottomless Mud PitsWalla Walla business owners urge the city to scrape the main thoroughfares, claiming current conditions are worse than those found in small country villages.Walla Walla, WA
- Dec 21, 1903The City of Mud and Broken PromisesBusiness owners in Walla Walla are demanding the city address the 'execrable' state of downtown crosswalks, suggesting that hiring unemployed men to clean them is both a public service and an economic necessity.Walla Walla, WA
- Jan 6, 1910The Cemetery Crisis in Walla WallaA growing city faces a grim reality as its burial grounds reach capacity and legal disputes stall expansion.Walla Walla, WA