Letters To The Editor
IN THE PUBLIC EYE
Yipes “Waaaaa” was right
After reading Doug Clark’s comments about Chris Anderson in his Oct. 10 column, it is obvious that once again The Spokesman-Review has gone off the deep end in an exaggerated attack on an individual with whom you disagree. While running an errand that afternoon, however, it became apparent that Mr. Clark was very close to the mark.
What did I hear but Mr. Anderson whining to a local talk show host about how badly he has been treated by the Review, suggesting boycotts of the paper and of local businesses.
Boycotts could result in less business, which could lead to employees being let go. I guess that with the extra time on their hands, these employees could have the time to apply for unemployment insurance. And because they are not actively seeking employment, they would have time to call into local talk shows.
Mr. Anderson, as a self-proclaimed standardbearer of the conservative cause, you are a hypocrite. I would suggest that you reinstate your subscription to The Spokesman-Review and look under “unskilled/semiskilled.” There are plenty of openings which, when added to your councilman’s salary, will maintain a reasonable standard of living.
Your application for an unemployment insurance payment without seriously trying to find work is an abuse of the system, certainly unethical and probably fraudulent. Unwarranted use of the unemployment insurance program raises costs for all employed people.
True conservatives try to fix bloated government programs, Mr. Anderson, not abuse them for personal gain. Don McManus Spokane
Councilman should be going places
Chris Anderson, please pack your bags and go back to California. Perhaps you can find a cure for your diarrhea of the mouth there. Marjorie Masek Spokane
Who knows? Maybe Justus is blind
Having saved Spokane from the twin evils of science and progress, perhaps Ken Withey and his fellow gang bangers need to find a more deserving venue for their unique brand of civic incivility.
How about Justus, Mont.? Tom Schaaf Colbert
Don’t sanitize record of violence
An article in the Oct. 12 Spokesman-Review quotes O.J. Simpson as saying he had been wrong to get physical with his wife Nicole. That could mean anything from playing golf to making love. In reality, Orenthal James Simpson clenched his size extra-large hands into fists of rage and beat the woman he promised to love, honor and cherish, the mother of his two children, bloody.
Enough with the euphemisms, O.J. I dare you. Katie Sokol-Droter Spokane
GOVERNING SPOKANE
Great chance to change for better
If Columbus had worried about the unknowns he faced, he wouldn’t have found the New World. On Nov. 7 we can take a bold step toward a new future for Spokane County by adopting the proposed charter and claiming a new form of self-government for ourselves.
This proposal has been 15 years in the making. Hundreds of visionary citizens have worked toward this opportunity since 1980, when a study by the Stanford Research Institute first proposed a new government structure for Spokane County. Since then, the Spokane Area Development Council, Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce, League of Women Voters, Spokane Inland Empire Foundation and the Citizens League have proposed government reform for Spokane County.
In 1992, by 68 percent, we voted yes to the unified charter process and elected 25 freeholders to draft a new government charter. Now we have the opportunity to continue to move ahead toward this goal set so long ago.
This is a one-time chance, 15 years in the making. A second chance would take years. Our problems won’t wait. Don’t let this slip through our fingers.
Inform yourself and vote on Nov. 7 for self-government for Spokane County. Kelly G. Clothier Spokane
Accept challenge of more democracy
The proposed city-county charter is an admirable step toward democracy for Spokane County.
I urge everyone to pay special attention to articles VI, VIII, IX and X. Please, do not let the buzzword “consolidation” blind you to the inherent force of these democratic provisions. The new responsibility that this charter turns over to the citizens may be an uncomfortable burden for a time, but I believe we can get used to it. Ron Myers Spokane
WASHINGTON STATE
Avert this disaster of a law
In his Oct. 4 letter, Dave Roseleip displayed incredible ignorance about the misnamed “private property rights” referendum, R-48, and of the consequences if it becomes law on Nov. 7.
The most egregious problems with R-48 are the financial impacts on taxpayers. The Institute for Public Policy and Management, University of Washington and Evergreen State College have published an Economic Impact Study of the Property Rights Initiative. It says, “Because of defective and inconsistent language in R-48…” extensive litigation will result in large court costs to the state to establish the legal scope of R-48, which is the most extreme “takings” legislation in the United States.
This study did make “relatively exact” estimates of the R-48-required economic impact in three possible scenarios. Estimated annual costs for that new bureaucracy range from $305 million to $986 million. The unbelievably bad R-48 impacts for potential takings compensations, to pay polluters to not pollute, to pay developers to conform to local zoning ordinances, to pay special interests to conform to current laws such as clean air, clean water, meat inspection, etc., would cost from $3.8 billion to $11 billion - over $2,200 for every state resident.
Our state Legislature has the responsibility and authority to provide relief to individual taxpayers from unjust regulations. R-48 doesn’t do that.
One of the 13 goals in the state Growth Management Act is to provide more effective protection for individual property rights. R-48 would so hamstring GMA as to render it useless.
Citizens need to learn about R-48. It can bankrupt our state. Reject 48 on Nov. 7. Julian Powers Spokane
Be smart defeat Referendum 48
In a recent letter, former Stevens County Commissioner John Hodde stated his support for Referendum 48. Hodde’s position surprises me. As a constitutionalist, Hodde is well aware our state Constitution well supports citizens’ property rights.
Most surprising is that Hodde, as an opponent of bloated government, supports redundant legislation which will only add additional layers of regulatory bureaucracy.
As a longtime Stevens County resident, I oppose Referendum 48. My property has been and continues to be damaged by county activities, but so far I have declined to dun a county that has been traditionally linked with poverty. Passage of the referendum is all the inducement I need to find a hungry, junkyard-dog of a lawyer and sue the county.
Initiative 164 (now Referendum 48) was bankrolled by big developers and big timber interests - nearly $300,000. It was going nowhere until they started gathering signatures. I-164 had the highest number of fraudulent signatures in state history - almost 40,000.
It is the wage earners, homemakers and retirees who are fighting R-48. Major backers are special interest groups such as the Building Association of Washington, Washington Association of Realtors, Boise Cascade Corp. and Plum Creek Timber Co.
Opponents include the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, Washington State Senior Citizens Lobby and Washington Association of Churches. Which faction do you the taxpayer identify with?
Don’t be an industry dupe. Vote no on Referendum 48. Owen Berio Springdale, Wash.
PLAYING BALL
Clueless in Marinerland
In regard to the article, “East Side lawmakers not willing to play ball” (Oct. 11):
Rep. Steve Fuhrman from Kettle Falls, how dumb can you get? Comparing the Mariners to a child who doesn’t want to hear no. If funds are not found for the new stadium ,do you expect them to say, “Gee, we’re disappointed but we respect you for saying no.”? I think not.
Other cities in other states have already expressed interest in acquiring the Mariners, with stadiums waiting for them. I think major league baseball is a recreational asset for the entire state and should be supported as such, just as are other recreational attractions.
It has been very uplifting to pick up the newspaper lately and read with pride and excitement about the magical Mariners, rather than about domestic violence, racism, juries and gang wars.
I am an East Side resident and I support the new stadium. Kathy Larson Spokane
It’s a corporate-socialist rip-off
Owners of big time sports franchises are passing themselves off as private enterprise, while they divide socialistic revenues between themselves and the players. Instead of reinvesting in their businesses, they hold out their hands to the taxpayers when facilities are needed.
Sports franchises were private enterprise when they earned their profits at the gate and built their own facilities. Their owners could qualify for their titles. No one was forced to contribute because they could choose not to attend the games.
Owners of private businesses couldn’t pay their employees as much as $7 million per year because their payrolls come out of profits that must first be earned.
Conglomerate corporations sponsor telecasts that provide most of the money for the ridiculous salaries of ball players and other athletes. They, in turn, pass the added cost on to consumers by inflating prices. Everyone who buys those products is forced to contribute indirectly to those ridiculous salaries, whether or not they view the games or events.
They are forced because boycotts would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, in today’s publicly owned, conglomeratized marketplace. When people are forced to contribute to something against their will or without their knowledge, it can be called private enterprise, but neosocialism might be a more accurate description.
If taxpayers are to provide the facilities for these private enterprise impostors, taxpayers should have a representative at the table when the socialistic revenues are divided. John Smerer Spokane
OTHER TOPICS
Don’t be distracted by side issues
Our options are Christie Querna and Rocky Treppiedi for District 81 school board.
Treppiedi sends the message he lives on the right side of town and therefore deserves our vote. Querna stresses her many years of volunteerism in district schools, and that she’s in the position of not needing to work for a living and so has time to devote to school board matters.
What academic, student development issues do these candidates stand for?
While I applaud volunteerism, we need many more residents helping in whatever capacity they can offer. Yet that’s not a reason to elect Querna. Indeed, it’s plausible that, with the number of years she’s been involved in district schools, perhaps she is as much a part of the problem as a potential solution. Is Querna’s support from district employees for the “right reasons” - students achieving their potential, the best prepared and educated students possible, etc. - or is it because she isn’t going to change anything?
Treppiedi is best known for dragging out a case against members of Spokane’s Gypsy community (without resolution, for too many years), and for his role in seizing a CBS new crew’s tape. If Treppiedi disagrees with a book, will he attempt to seize it?
The highest quality education for all students in our schools is the task. To achieve this, changes must be made. District student outcomes reflect a system that’s at best average. That is unacceptable. What will Treppiedi and Querna do, within available resources, to improve the quality of education? Steven Neumiller Spokane
Disappointment in store for alums
How nice. The West Valley Class of 1945 got a tour through a grocery store where their old alma mater used to be. They would have enjoyed it more if it had been through their beautiful, historic school that had been converted into senior citizen apartments, instead of into another grocery store. Jeanne Batson Spokane