Letters for Jan. 10, 2024

Sidewalks also deserve focus

It’s great to see Spokane paying more attention to clearing bike lanes. However, I also want them, my city of Spokane Valley, and the other cities in the region to focus on a problem that’s even bigger – sidewalks.

The streets are plowed onto sidewalks. The cities don’t enforce requirements for property owners to clear sidewalks even without the plowed snows, and people struggle. It’s not just folks such as me who struggle to climb over the piles of ice and snow. I regularly see wheelchair-bound people having to be in the busy streets because the sidewalks are impassable.

Many people walk to get to stores, bus stops and elsewhere. A lot of them don’t have the disposable income or the health to use a bicycle. While I support helping more people use bicycles, sidewalks need to be a focus.

David Teich

Spokane

Vote to bring our schools out of the past

Years after purchasing my house, located between Cheney and Spokane, I came across an old autobiography from the man who built my home. It starts in 1911. Despite the author being an educator as an adult, he admitted that he wasn’t a fan of education as a child. While in college, he met the love of his life. She was attending college in Lewiston to become a teacher. He was so impressed by her that he decided to follow in her footsteps.

In his book, he speaks of early teaching jobs he and his wife had in the 1930s. Teaching in schools where he would keep a fire going at night so the school would be warm in the mornings. There are examples of how the schools relied on the community they were in to function. It amazes me that here we are, nearly 100 years later, and we still face many of the challenges the teachers faced long ago.

Our schools still depend on the communities around them. While we don’t come together to build buildings, we do vote.

In the next month, ballots will be coming out with levies and bonds to support school programs as well as keeping up with the growth. Let’s show our investment in the future of our community and support for our children by casting our ballots.

Zachary Zorrozua

Cheney

Get rid of policy to limit our letters

The ideal role of a newspaper is to report verified and unbiased news, both locally and globally, in a sincere effort to inform. It can also provide local access to services, products and community events as well as a public format for free editorial expression.

I expect the good people at The Spokesman-Review to realize that, more often than not, local is global and vice versa, for how we are truly and intricately affected and connected on this little old planet we all inhabit. It is a grave mistake disguised as homey preservation to limit letters to the editor to local concerns only. I strongly advise The Spokesman to correct this dangerous dalliance in censorship immediately.

Rhea Giffin

Coeur d’Alene

Representatives should work together for good

Sounds like Mayor Lisa Brown did a good job picking Dawn Kinder to lead the battle against homelessness and affordable housing. Local initiatives often work because of the on-the-ground knowledge of the situation.

Let’s hope Brown and Kinder will work with Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers to bring in federal initiatives as well, like a renter tax credit that helps keep families experiencing low income housed by not having to pay over 30% of their income for rent.

The federal expanded Child Tax Credit also helped families afford rent and food at the same time, until it expired. By working locally and nationally, our elected officials can solve difficult problems together. Each of us can help by encouraging our representatives at all levels to do just that.

Willie Dickerson

Snohomish, Wash.