Letters for June 2, 2024

Hard-right husbands pretend ignorance

What does Spokane have in common with Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas whose wives are hard right followers? We have county prosecutor Larry Haskell’s wife, Lesley Haskell, who too has a history of hard-right politics. Lesley Haskell sent an email to Mayor Brown regarding the vandalism on the Pride crosswalk downtown. Fire was used to deface the colorful crosswalk! The Spokesman reported on the email Lesley Haskell sent and she wrote: “seems like only you care about one side. The people do not want this. Accept that.” She wrote Brown should listen “to the opposition instead of threatening prosecution.” She doesn’t see a problem of setting fire to the Pride crosswalk. We are dealing with homophobic people.

Larry will again, like Alito and Thomas, deny any knowledge of his wife’s actions or beliefs. Alito’s wife is responsible for flying the American flag upside down on their personal flagpole, but apparently her husband didn’t notice and take action to correct it. Thomas’ wife is/was heavily involved in the stolen election movement.

I can’t believe that Haskell, Thomas and Alito don’t know their wives’ political views and their actions. The two justices can’t be impartial, nor can Larry Haskell in some charging situations. It’s discouraging and deeply concerning these people are staunch supporters of Trump. The hard-right GOP is a threat to our democracy and is creating a policy of hate. Where are the moderate Republicans?

Chris Powell

Spokane

Baumgartner fails to understand

Michael Baumgartner, hoping to become our next 5th District U.S. Congressman, in your article of May 24 (“Baumgartner produces impromptu ad”) cites the usual Republican talking points: inflation, taxes, defunding the police, restricted vehicle pursuits and the border crisis.

What he fails to mention is that 1) inflation, now way down, is most likely due to COVID spending meant to avoid a possible recession; 2) tax increases were avoided by prior mayor, Woodward, by depleting our rainy day funds; 3) defunding has not occurred as the article noted; 4) pursuit policy has been addressed at state level as you noted; and 5a) illegal aliens commit less crime than native residents (according to everything I have read) which seems like common sense; and 5b) Republicans defeated, in the past two weeks, a bipartisan border bill that gave Republicans almost everything they asked for relating to the border because Trump did not want to lose his ability to criticize Biden (who does deserve some criticism) in an election year.

The real reason I write is to point out his most glaring omission: Because he will be, and most Republicans are, in the pocket of the NRA (now a marketing arm of the gun industry), he will not fix the public safety issue largely due to, if not exacerbated by, too many guns!

Kim Anderson

Spokane

Baumgartner exploits tragedy

“Unseemly” was the first word that came to my mind when I read The Spokesman-Review article about Congressional candidate Michael Baumgartner filming an impromptu campaign ad. It was done immediately following the tragic suspected murder in the Garland District, taping the ad just a few yards from where the shooting occurred (“Baumgartner produces impromptu ad,” May 24).

In retrospect, “unseemly” is probably too polite to describe Baumgartner’s behavior. Synonyms include crude, in poor taste and indecent. It would seem that all these words apply. Not only was it inappropriate for Baumgartner to trade on tragedy, but what he said during the filming was patently false.

The police have not been defunded, as he claimed. Instead, the police funding has increased, as demonstrated specifically in the Spokane City budget. On the other hand, what Baumgartner failed to mention was the need for gun safety. He politicized the moment in the worse way. Consider Baumgartner’s base instincts, as this example illustrates, when you have your ballot in hand in August. We do not need a congressional representative who uses someone’s personal tragedy to gain a personal/political advantage.

In closing, I will add one more adjective to describe Baumgartner’s behavior: disgusting.

Mary Winkes

Spokane

Let the children walk

I’m certain the Spokane Public Schools mean well … but our children get so little exercise now many of them have become overweight, a few, even obese. Our ancestors all walked miles to school. I’ll wager the majority of people reading this newspaper right now walked a couple of miles to school as well.

It’s not just about the money, either – although the reduction the district is talking about would service only 250 students at a cost of $840,000. That doesn’t make sense.

Let’s reconsider this plan. The health of our students and the health of our budget come this August when the whole district takes a vote. Let’s hope they vote no.

Carolyn Santantonio

Spokane

Vote Fennessy for judge

I endorse Timothy Fennessy for Superior Court Judge. He has served for eight years in this capacity and is well known by his fellow judges and lawyers for his high intellect, work ethic, independence and fairness.

Two other candidates for this position, Mr. Andersen and Mr. Van Winkle, neither of whom have judicial experience, have commented in this paper that Judge Fennessy’s demeanor on the bench is “rude,” and thus he is not fit.

Van Winkle admits that he has never been in Judge Fennessy’s courtroom, but he is nevertheless “not a fan.” This is much like criticizing the umpire when you have never been to the ballpark.

I have tried cases in Spokane County, including before Judge Fennessy for 46 years (now retired and no need to curry favor). Judge Fennessy is the obvious choice to be returned to the bench for an additional four years to continue his good work there, and he has my vote.

Martin Salina

Spokane

Gray wolf mortality has not skyrocketed

Gray wolf mortality has not “skyrocketed” in Washington as Susan Kane-Ronning claimed in her May 21 guest column (“Washington should think carefully before downlisting wolves”). It is Washington’s wolf population, the denominator, that has skyrocketed since wolves began returning to the state about 16 years ago. Mortality, the proportion of wolves dying annually, has ranged between 10 to 12% since that time.

Gray wolves in Washington are not endangered. A mountain of data demonstrates that wolves do not meet the state’s legal definition of “endangered;” in fact, its wolf population is quite healthy. The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission should follow the department staff recommendation to downlist wolves from state-endangered to sensitive at its June meeting. Legal protection of the wolf would not change with the recommended revision in status and resources would be better directed to many other state wildlife species whose statuses are truly grave.

Kim Thorburn

Spokane

French created bigger problem

The May 27 Spokesman-Review article (“French pitches bold water solution”) on Al French’s unrealistic plan states, “By bringing a whole new source of drinking water to the West Plains, French hopes to avoid having to tackle the difficult prospect of treating the contamination.”

Indeed, Commissioner French has a history of avoiding PFAS cleanup. He, along with fellow Airport Board members, failed to report PFAS when it was detected in 2017 and after 2021 even though reporting became mandatory.

Moreover, in 2021, when Spokane County was asked to administer a grant of $450,000 to further investigate the extent of the contamination in private wells, Commissioner French removed it from the commission’s meeting agenda.

If Commissioner French had fulfilled his duty to his West Plains constituents by acknowledging PFAS contamination at the Spokane airport, we would now be seven years into the remediation process. PFAS chemicals have had seven years to continue their migration into wells and toward the Spokane River.

Eileen Martin

Spokane

Racism strikes again

So now children are the target of racial harassment in Coeur d’Alene. Recently, middle-aged white men made racist gestures and remarks at a group 11- and 12-year-old students from the Coeur d’Alene Tribal School.

Last March, Coeur d’Alene Mayor Jim Hammond declared, “This is not who we are,” regarding the racial hate crimes directed at the University of Utah women’s basketball team.

First of all, it’s no accident Richard Butler’s Aryan Nation compound flourished in Hayden Lake. The obvious reason is that there was already a solid population of like-minded white supremacists present in this region.

Addressing the most recent occurrence, Hammond said, “There ought to be some kind of consequence for people who are that disrespectful.”

Well, don’t hold your breath on that one. It was Hammond’s own city attorneys who declined to press charges against Post Falls High School student Anthony Myers, after he allegedly used a racial epithet and referred to a sex act at the Utah contingent. Prosecutors gave Myers a free pass because his desire was to be “funny.” Anyone who would shout racial epitaphs at a women’s basketball team or children is nothing but a bully and a coward.

Dan Keenan

Spokane