It may seem odd to think about snow in August, but recently I’ve been pondering barriers. To reach a hospice patient in rural Spokane County last February, our team battled treacherous roads and even climbed a massive snowbank to get to the patient’s house and deliver needed care. You might not expect that of hospice and, like me, may not even be aware of what hospice entails until someone close to you receives a life-limiting diagnosis. When this happened to a family member 11 years ago, I discovered what hospice truly is: care with dignity, which allows patients to remain at home in their last days while honoring their life and their wishes. Hospice, in short, provides patients with peace of mind and body, all while enabling families to give quality care to their loved one, with expert support to lean on while doing so.

Homelessness is not just an urban problem, and neither are the solutions.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has wasted millions in taxpayer dollars to create wolf management policies it has chosen not to follow.

In recent spats with constituents and civic leaders, Spokane Valley Mayor Rod Higgins has asserted his right to dictate the terms of the public comment period at Spokane Valley City Council meetings. Whether it is rigid adherence to a three-minute time limit (a time limit he previously reduced from six minutes) or his admonishment that public comment is a “privilege, not a right,” the terms and existence of a public comment period at Spokane Valley City Council meetings are totally at the mayor’s discretion.

A recent article in The Spokesman-Review seems to blame physicians for overprescribing medication.