Fireworks Delay Shows Who Really Runs Spokane Letter Of The Week: From July 6

If there was any doubt as to Spokane’s status as one of the few remaining oligarchies, the front page on July 4 surely eliminates it.

The fireworks, a traditional ending to our celebration of a people’s uprising against an aristocratic system, were delayed. Why? So that the relative few who can afford the exorbitant prices at the Opera House wouldn’t be disturbed. Could the performance of “Hello Dolly” have been started a half-hour earlier?

So, the masses waited while the privileged few enjoyed their entertainment. I wonder how many of our elected city and county officials were at the Opera House? How many property developers? More to the point, what group of Spokane’s self-identified elite influenced the Opera House management’s decision?

It isn’t as if the people had an alternative other than driving to another city. The same people who can afford Opera House prices have decreed that the common folk can’t be trusted with fireworks. Property might be harmed. So, we waited, tired children in tow, for our local aristocracy to finish its entertainment so we could watch the taxpayer-funded fireworks. R.A. Carter Spokane

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