Letters for July 23, 2023

Idaho ignores maternal mortalities

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis likes to say that his state is “where woke goes to die,” though more accurately it’s where old people go to die. By contrast, Idaho can credibly make the claim that Idaho is where women go to die. This is the next – but not the last – step in the Idaho Freedom Foundation and extremist state legislators’ campaign to shred our basic rights of citizenship.

Idaho’s censorship of public health data about maternal mortality follows recent and ongoing censoring of history, art and literature, all in service of a broadly bigoted, anti-democratic and un-American religious agenda that strips women of ownership of their most basic property right, namely ownership and control of their own bodies.

Idaho is the only state in the nation that refuses to compile and study data about maternal mortalities. Any state government that takes away established rights and forces American citizens to give birth against their will qualifies as tyrannical Big Government in my book. Doubly so if it callously disregards and ignores information that affects how many women will actually die before, during, and after the state government forces them to give birth against their will. And this is Christianity, really?

Chris Norden

Moscow, Idaho

Support Klitzke for City Council

I am excited to support Kitty Klitzke for the District 3 City Council seat. I have known Kitty for many years. We worked together at the Lands Council, where she worked hard to protect Spokane’s environment and worked well with our neighborhoods. Kitty went on to work at Futurewise, helping north side neighborhoods like Five Mile, Indian Trail and West Central. She helped protect the Spokane River by making sure the City Shoreline Plan protects the river, wildlife, and resources we all love. Kitty is a lifelong Spokane resident and lives in West Central, which is also where I have lived for over two decades.

She is a veteran, a parent and grew up in Hillyard, attending Rogers High School. Kitty led the effort to adopt a neighborhood notification ordinance to require the city to provide neighbors with notice of actions impacting their communities.

Kitty is not afraid to work with groups that might have differing views. She brought together many different voices to help pass STA’s Yes on Buses Initiative, including the county, businesses, and many others.

With Kitty Klitzke on the Spokane City Council our neighborhoods will have a strong ally and hard worker who values our distinct neighborhoods.

Mike Petersen

Spokane

Parking fees put damper on Hoopfest

I have been encouraging my grandsons to play at Hoopfest the past few years. So this year, one of my grandsons played and I was so excited and went to watch, leaving myself an hour to find the court and a parking place. I barely made it in time because none of the folks running it knew where anybody was playing, and on top of that, it cost me $28 for one hour!

Staying in Idaho from now on.

John Rubert

Hayden

Disappointed in downtown Fourth of July celebration

The July 4 celebration in downtown Spokane this year was not, by any means, ADA compliant. There was no way a disabled person could climb that hill by the clocktower to the port-a-johns, let alone get into one. And the restrooms at the carousel building were so trashed that they will never get them all unclogged.

Another problem: separating two-thirds of the people from the music and leaving them sitting to wait until 10 p.m. for fireworks.

I will never attempt to go to that event again … until they open up the performance to everyone and ban the dangerous Lime scooters and bikes from the park at large events. Oh, and put the port-a-johns back under the Washington Street bridge where they used to go at Fourth of July celebrations, and not on top of a poorly lit hill, where everyone can access them.

And also, upon leaving, hundreds of people crossed the wooden bridge near the carousel in complete darkness. Kids, dogs, strollers, people using canes and walkers, and carrying their chairs and blankets fighting for footing around scooters and bikes. It was very unsafe, and very precarious for those people with mobility issues.

Jennifer Bates

Spokane

Savage for City Council

As a longtime resident on the northwest side of Spokane that has been very involved with many civic and governmental organizations, I just want to urge voters in District 3 to vote for Christopher Savage for City Council. He has run for City Council two previous times in District 3 and cares deeply about the direction our city is going. Savage is pragmatic and involved. Our city could use someone with his energy and conservative values to counter the wasteful direction our City Council has gone with our tax dollars. He will focus his energy to use our tax dollars on police, fire and city services that benefit Spokane.

Victor Frazier

Spokane

Neighbor Day left out

I am truly amazed at The Spokesman-Review. On June 10, an annual event, Felts Field Neighbor Day, was not even mentioned in the Sunday morning Review. Neighbor Day is an event that invites the neighbors from Spokane and Spokane Valley to visit one of the finest general aviation airports in the state, if not the country. Neighbor Day was not mentioned anywhere in the following Sunday paper or Monday or Tuesday. The Review found it appropriate to give front page coverage to the Pride-plus community for their Pride event. Regardless of how I feel, I have no problem with the Review sticking up for the Pride community, but when an event like Neighbor Day takes place in your city, at a facility that has an annual economic impact of over $151 million and attended by over 12,000 people, does not even get a mention, I find that deplorable. Shame on The Spokesman-Review. I have been a subscriber since 1973. Will I continue? Yes, but I hope the Review can mend its ways.

John Miller

Spokane Valley