Letters for Nov. 6, 2024
Not going downtown anytime soon
As a nearly 70-year-old third -generation lifetime resident of Spokane, I must express my dismay about our once beautiful city.
My husband and I rarely visit the downtown core, as we live quite a ways from it. We attended an event on Nov. 2 and parked on Riverside in front of Our Lady of Lourdes cathedral. When we returned, the vehicle had been broken into. Nothing was missing (as far as we know.) Either the thief was interrupted, or there was nothing of interest to them.
To sum it up, it is doubtful that we will be going downtown anytime soon.
Kathy Fitchner
Nine Mile Falls
Don’t blame the past, work on the future
As a fourth -generation Spokane resident, I am saddened to observe our downtown in today’s world. How has our once fun and safe city deteriorated so far so fast? Most of the people I know do not go into the city during the day or especially at night. It is unpleasant and unsafe.
Blaming current and past leaders of Spokane does not solve the problem. There are no easy answers, but common sense should tell us that the police have to get tougher on the criminals among the homeless population. Without some additional degree of safety, we will end up with fewer businesses, fewer bars and restaurants and our city will be a skeleton of what it was only a few years ago.
Maybe this decay is unavoidable. Certainly, most cities have this same problem. If that is the case, this city and others can no longer ignore what is happening if they want to reverse this sorry urban trend. The city leaders need to step up and do something that will quickly make downtown Spokane safer for all of us.
Charles Willis
Spokane
Spokane is our paradise
Drove the newly finished and open Bigelow Gulch Connector. Wonderful! And a beautiful drive. And with the North Spokane Corridor under construction toward the final stages of completion, traffic will be easier in the area. Kudos to our elected officials and government staff.
Let’s stop for a moment to appreciate this marvelous community we call home. The exceptional educational schooling including the universities, community colleges and school districts. And we have health facilities which are the best in the country. And how our sports: Go Cougars, Vandals, Eagles, Pirates and Bulldogs! OK, and Huskies!
And the events including Bloomsday, Hoopfest, Ironman, Pig Out in the Park, the Lilac Parade, Art on the Green, the Spokane Interstate Fair and the North Idaho Fair in Coeur d’Alene, and Armed Forces Day at Fairchild. Do we need to remind that Spokane hosted a World’s Fair??
We have wonderful parks and walking and biking trails. And how about our beautiful mountains, rivers, lakes providing skiing, swimming boating, fishing, camping and hiking. Let’s not forget our wonderful aquifer providing excellent drinking water – we’ll drink to that!
And don’t forget that, unlike a lot of communities, we still have two printed newspapers – The Spokesman-Review and the Coeur d’Alene Press.
Best of all, we have each other! The Spokane/Coeur d’Alene community is truly a paradise. So, Hawaii, you’re not alone. Aloha!
George and Karen Miller
Spokane
Losing Madsen seems troubling
It is sickening, disgusting and not at all surprising that this paper dropped columnist Sue Madsen. Her columns were often regarding matters of local concern, in keeping with The S-R’s (supposed) primary thrust. Big problem, however: They made too much sense. I wrote to her once, and promptly received her handwritten reply. When this paper published leftist columnist Shawn Vestal for years I wrote him many times, even sent him one of the books I’ve written. Not even one time did he reply in any fashion – even to thank me for the free book.
Yeah, you dropped Sue Lani Madsen, but, again, not surprisingly, you continue to publish leftist “Blowhard” racist Charles Blow whose diatribes are not “local” – just as we readers have come to expect from The Spokesman-Review!
Ken Campbell
Deer Park