Letters for Oct. 6, 2024

Ferguson sat on his hands

How has Bob Ferguson protected citizens of Washington? Ferguson sat on his hands when the protesters took over Seattle. Crime is Washington is higher than the national average. People are struggling to buy groceries, put gas in their vehicles, pay electric bills, but he wants to run on the abortion agenda only. Time for a change in leadership. I cannot wait to vote.

Lori Anderson

Spokane

Marshall for District 5 county commissioner

I am supporting Molly Marshall for District 5 County commissioner. We need someone who will put the needs of Spokane County first.

As a professional and 30-year member of the Air National Guard, Lt. Col. (Ret) Molly Marshall was a boom operator and later a pilot for the KC135 refueling tanker. She was the officer in charge of the 141st Fairchild Air Force Base command post. Her advancements in the Air Force demonstrate her collaborative and leadership skills. Within the Air Force she also worked with the Institute of Information Technology where she conducted research projects. There she learned the importance and skill of gathering accurate data for making informed decisions.

As a private citizen, Molly Marshall stepped up to collaborate with others and find solutions to issues impacting our community. She co-founded Citizens Action for Latah Valley to tackle infrastructure shortcomings, secure an extension to the Trolley Trail, and promote neighborhood preparedness for the threat of wildfire. Addressing safe water concerns is an additional area where she is demonstrating exceptional leadership and competency.

Molly is a leader who has always made the welfare and safety of others her priority. She will do the research to get the facts and collaboratively develop the best practical solutions to the problems facing our county.

We have much to gain by electing Molly Marshall for District 5 Spokane County commissioner.

Dean Lynch

Spokane

Be inspired for vote for Baumgartner

Michael Baumgartner is our choice for Congress.

Eastern Washington is blessed to have Michael Baumgartner running for Congress.

We first met Michael almost 15 years ago when he spoke at the Ponderosa Women’s Club in Spokane and from the start, we were very impressed by his talent, his experience, and his caring attitude for people.

Michael has deep roots in Eastern Washington. Like our four children, he is a proud WSU graduate. But he left the safety of the Pacific Northwest to serve our country in the Middle East through economic development and foreign policy initiatives. We also got to know Michael’s wife Eleanor, a former journalist who had worked alongside him amid the conflict in Afghanistan, and we have loved watching their family grow to include five amazing children.

Michael Baumgartner did a wonderful job of representing us in the state Senate. He worked to bring our new WSU medical school to Spokane, to get our North-South freeway funded and to make a courageous stand for Eastern Washington values every day in Olympia. His most recent role has been serving Spokane County as its treasurer.

We feel very fortunate that Michael wants to take his intellect, abilities and heartfelt desire to help others to the halls of Congress. We hope many citizens will watch the Spokesman/Northwest Passages 5th District congressional debate on Tuesday, and we hope you will be inspired to join us in supporting Michael Baumgartner for Congress.

Russ and Carol Roeber

Spokane

Vote no on I-2066, I-2117 for your grandchildren

As I write this letter, the tallies of death and devastation from Hurricane Helene in the South continue to mount. Over 130 people dead and counting; millions of others without power, water, food or communication; homes, businesses and towns destroyed. Forty trillion gallons of water damaged a lot.

That is how the climate change catastrophe is playing out around Asheville. Here in Washington state, the agents of climate change devastation may be different: uncontrollable wildfires (think Medical Lake), unbreathable smoke-filled air, deadly heat domes, drought, crop failures.

Without enforceable regulation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow the pace of atmospheric heat absorption, the disasters of future years will only grow bigger and more destructive year after year.

Washington state currently has laws in place to fight climate change and grapple with the existential challenges. But those laws are being threatened by two ill-conceived Initiatives on the upcoming ballot, I-2066 and I-2117. The initiatives would repeal important laws that are currently at work to slow climate change, so I urge voters to reject them both. Defeating I-2066 will keep in place sensible restraints on growth in use of natural gas; and defeating I-2117 will protect mechanisms that constrain and eventually reduce the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

I-2066 and I-2117 are bad deals for Washington. Vote “no” on I-2066 and I-2117, and your grandchildren will thank you.

Richard Steele

Spokane

How many more must die?

Sadly, there’s been another death on Pines Road, aka Highway 27, out in Spokane Valley. It was stated in The Spokesman-Review that the 73-year-old victim was “running” across Pines near Valleyway Avenue when struck by a car (“73-year-old man dies after being struck by vehicle in Spokane Valley,” Sept. 29). It was also stated that he “attempted to cross at an unmarked crosswalk.”

The reality is that there are no marked crosswalks on Pines except at the major intersections and where the Appleway Trail cuts through.

The intersection of Valleyway is quite busy as it’s an unofficial thoroughfare with a convenience store and smaller businesses located there. There’s not even a crosswalk up by the south end of the playing fields for North Pines middle school where there are apartments and townhouses located.

It’s shameful that our residents have to “run” across this busy four lane highway/road. Either the city of Spokane Valley or Washington State Department of Transportation need to add crosswalks to this major commuter road, even just painted ones without lights, at the places where people access businesses. And drivers need to recognize that pedestrians have the right of way at marked or unmarked intersections.

How many more pedestrian deaths will we see until there is change?

Theresa Schimmels

Spokane Valley