Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

Street fix up will cost us plenty

Spokane will be asked to approve a $37,300,000 bond issue this fall to repair our crumbling city streets. Before voting I urge you to consider:

Repaying these bonds will cost us taxpayers at least $53 million, including interest.

The last bond issue to repair our streets has not been repaid and won’t be until 1997.

Most of this money would be used to resurface about 46 miles of arterials at a cost of about $1 million per mile. Little of this money will be used to repair our secondary residential streets. Past history indicates we will see little or no improvement in street conditions in spite of this enormous cost.

Renters will bear the cost of repaying these bonds right along with homeowners because landlords cannot absorb the increased tax and must raise rents to maintain a reasonable profit. Also, businesses must pass on the cost of additional taxes to their customers.

I hope our new city manager and director of planning and engineering services will develop a workable plan to maintain our streets without appointing additional commissioners and hiring more consultants to do their jobs. Ray O’Keefe Spokane

How does our garden grow? Ugly

We recently had a visitor from Tokyo. In the process of showing her the finer points and sights of our fair city, I saved Manito Park for the end of our two-day sightseeing tour. I made the mistake of saving the Japanese Gardens for the end of our park tour.

I am sad to say that I have never seen the Japanese Gardens in such a poor state. I was embarrassed and ashamed of the condition of that section of the park.

The grass had not been mowed for an interminable amount of time. The Koi pond was dark green with algae, and all the fish were at the surface, seemingly struggling to get enough oxygen to survive. It looked as though several other species of fish have been introduced to the pond; it certainly is not occupied only by Koi.

The bridges over the stream and pond are in need of a fresh coat of paint.

It was bad enough riding around our pothole-ridden streets, without having to see such a lovely place in such a shambles. Will the city have to float a bond issue to bring the park back to where it was, or is this just an off year for the maintenance crew? Leo Ohanesian Spokane

Oppose casino in Airway Heights

On July 6 Airway Heights, a city of about 3,800 residents, celebrated a spirit of pride in the community at a town festival. The July 5 article, “Reaching new heights,” described the growth and development of Airway Heights in glowing terms: new convenience marts, a new community center, new homes, new post office, new library and even sidewalks.

The small-town spirit of community will be forever lost if Carnival Hotels and Casinos is allowed to establish a $17 million empire in the name of the Kalispel Tribe. Airway Heights will go the way of little Deadwood, S.D. Within three years, the local state’s attorney reported that child abuse was up 43 percent and domestic violence was up 80 percent. Filings for divorce jumped 500 percent.

Casinos have hurt Atlantic City, too. Retail businesses declined by one-third four years after casinos were legalized.

A recent study showed that up to one in 35 people in Washington state has a gambling problem. Experts on problem gambling claim for every dollar gambling revenues bring into a state, citizens will pay out between $3 and $7 in hidden costs, such as law enforcement. The Atlantic City Police Department figures that each casino brings with it an average of 1,000 crimes a year.

The impact on greater Spokane will be significant. This decision should not be Airway Heights’ to make alone. Families and businesses should contact Spokane County Coalition Against Casinos, P.O. Box 730, Airway Heights, 99001 to learn what you can do to prevent this threat to our community. Penny Lancaster Spokane

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Out with illegal aliens

I don’t want my tax dollars paying for illegal immigrants’ welfare. I want my tax dollars spent identifying these thieves and deporting them.

Our government already spends billions of dollars loaning money to the Mexican government.

We cannot allow everyone from Tijuana to Teirra del Fuego who can walk to steal across our borders in the middle of the night. That’s why we have borders and immigration laws.

Our ancestors and we have worked hard to develop and protect our resources and this society. If these illegal immigrants want what we have, let them stay in their wonderful Mexico and work for it.

I’m tired of them trying to turn the United States into a bilingual nation and have us the taxpayers foot the bill. Defend American laws. Identify and deport all illegal aliens. Henry Warlow Hope, Idaho

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Nethercutt record asset for Kaun

Rep. George Nethercutt says he is satisfied with his record on the environment. Well I’m not. Nor am I satisfied with his votes in general, and I’m not alone.

Physicians for Social Responsibility gave Nethercutt an “F” in its Children’s Environmental Health Report Card for 1995.

Nethercutt also got a zero rating from the League of Conservation Voters for 1995. That means he almost never voted favorably on environmental issues important to these groups. Nethercutt’s scores place him squarely among the most radical anti-environmentalists in Congress.

In similar ratings, Nethercutt got zeroes from the National Education Association, AFL-CIO, Teamsters, Peace PAC, Americans for Democratic Action and others.

The National Coalition for Senior Citizens rates Nethercutt at 10 percent. Again, no votes favorable to teachers, labor and peace groups, and very few favorable to seniors. Nethercutt is no moderate on these issues, either.

Who does Nethercutt represent? Not us. We live in God’s country. Our environment is our most important asset. We cannot afford to have a radical antienvironmentalist in Washington.

We need moderation on labor, education and senior citizen issues, too. Bring Nethercutt home. Send Sue Kaun to Congress. Terrence V. Sawyer Spokane

Elected means qualified?

In response to Doris Aaron’s July 10 letter (“Trust these qualified people”), does she really believe that just because a person holds a certain position that he is fit, proper and qualified for that position? I bet politicians love her! Nadine Presta Spokane

Uncle Sam riding down escalator

America is the greatest country in the world, but I can barely abide the stupidity and arrogance of its people. Consider these facts:

At the end of World War II the United States dominated world markets. We’re now the largest international debtor. So what? We are a very rich country - really!

Our murder rate is 50 to 100 times that of Europe, the United Kingdom and Australia. We are closest to Canada, with only about five times their murder rate.

So what, you say. We could use a few less people and we have the word’s best health care system so that makes up for it. Is that really true?

Recently the World Health Organization rated the U.S. 16th of 32 industrial counties, which was somewhat encouraging inasmuch as an earlier study ranked us about 40th in infant mortality rates.

Education: In spite of District 81’s beautifully orchestrated fund-drive extolling our world class education system, we are at the bottom of the barrel of the leading industrial countries. Of course, they don’t have the advantage of our futuristic thinking, but they can read and write.

If all this dampens your day, take heart. There’s New Age philosophy, which, while not solving any problems, certainly makes the long, downward slide much more fun. After all, we have one of the world’s largest drug markets.

I love this country and used to think of myself a superpatriot. But, as former Colorado governor Richard Lamm recently lamented, we’re robbing our children of their heritage and spending their money. Bill Bender Spokane

Idaho senators helped kill reform

The campaign finance reform bill presented recently by a coalition of Senate Republicans and Democrats included a number of potentially objectionable features.

This bill would force broadcasters to provide candidates 30 minutes of free, prime evening time, require that broadcasters sell candidates advertising time for half the lowest rate and would ban all direct political action committee contributions, which might be unconstitutional.

These measures were necessary as incentives for candidates to agree to voluntary spending limits. Previous court decisions have held involuntary spending limits unconstitutional. Just as public financing of presidential campaigns has led every major party candidate to agree to spending limits, easier access to television could have the same effect on congressional candidates.

The bill would bar incumbents’ from using their franking privilege for free mass mailings during a year in which they seek reelection. Bundling contributions under relatives’ or employees’ names to get around contribution limits and personal use of campaign contributions would be prohibited. The bill would set new contribution limits and require greater disclosure.

Fifty-four senators were willing to start taking political control of the government away from the rich and begin giving it back to the people. But because a minority that included Idaho Sens. Larry Craig and Dirk Kempthorne refused to cut off a threatened filibuster, the bill was defeated.

I was disappointed in my senators’ performance, suspicious of their motives and am not persuaded by their weak excuses. Russ Moritz Sandpoint

Perot voters just spoilers

Now that Ross Perot’s on-again, off-again candidacy is on again, I only hope the Perot voters of 1992 have learned their lesson.

How do these people think the Clintons got into the White House when 58 percent of the vote was against them? A vote for Perot instead of Dole is a vote for Bill and Hillary. Jonathan H. Lundquist Spokane

THE ENVIRONMENT

Want fire-prone firs? Go get ‘em

I blush to confess that for a long time I thought that the timber industry, with the promise of Sen. Craig’s forest health bill, was still lusting after the last of our old-growth forests.

Ken Kohli’s letter of July 7, “Industry critic doesn’t understand,” forces me to revise that view. Kohli observes that our white pine stands have been replaced by a dense lot of unhealthy fir trees because they haven’t been regenerated by sufficient logging. “Regenerated,” I suppose, after previous logging and blister rust.

Kohli’s prescription is to log so that pines will get every bit of the sunshine they require and the mature ones that remain will not be wasted in catastrophic fires. He didn’t exactly say what it is that he wishes to log, but he must mean that he wants to go in and clean out all those combustible firs and understory. He surely could not mean that he wants to log out the merchantable old trees and leave the fire hazard behind.

I can’t imagine how the Intermountain Forest Industry Association members are going to do that and still make enough profit to pay any executive bonuses, but I’m sorry for the skepticism with which I once regarded Sen. Craig’s bill, and I hope that Kohli will keep us posted with occasional letters on the progress of the cleanup. Harley E. Barnhart Post Falls

THE MEDIA

Why keep abreast of ‘Pocahontas’?

When I read the July 10 article, “Busted,’ by Melissa Dribben (column, Region) I had a hard time understanding what she was griping about.

I’ve watched all of the Disney animated films, and the heroines’ “endowments” didn’t strike me as any big deal. Of course, the reason for that may have been that I was paying more attention to the nicely formed male characters.

I can’t ever remember seeing men’s clothing fit so flatteringly in real life. And how many 16-year-old girls have a father with an upper body like Ariel’s daddy? The years certainly have been kind to good ol’ King Neptune, haven’t they?

And just don’t get me started on how the Beast’s thick fur seemed to rise and dip in just the right places over his generous upper half and his narrower hindquarters.

Was I just imagining that the men in “Pocahontas” were turning their backs to the audience a bit more than the women did?

I’m sure Dribben is equally disturbed about men being portrayed in an unrealistic and “suggestive” manner as she is about the women being done so. There’s probably a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why she concentrated solely on how the females were “done an injustice.”

There’s also probably a very good reason why she paid to see these scandalous productions. After all, she must have gotten a clear shot of these “top-heavy” temptresses in the advertisements that came out weeks before the films even reached the theaters. Rosalind McKinsey Spokane

Story really Gran Prix de Gripes

Staff Writer Dan Webster’s article (“Tour de Tape,” IN Life, July 12) on tape tours of Spokane started out very interesting. I anxiously turned to page D5 to read more about my hometown.

What I learned was that Webster was hot, he does not have air conditioning in his car, his mind wanders, cars sped by him on Grand, he views fireworks in a crowd, etc. What started as a delightful and educational article became a negative one.

Harla Jean Biever evidently worked diligently on this project. Let’s hope the woes of Webster won’t hurt sales.

We are hungry for interesting, uneditorialized, nonjudgmental articles. Kay Anderson Spokane

Story about Phams a good one

I compliment Staff Writer Putsata Reang on her front page story about the Pham family and their dangerous escape from Vietnam to the United States.

I have known “John” and Bich over 10 years and have found them to be a very hard-working, customer-oriented dry-cleaning couple deserving of the recognition given to them.

The story was very informative and well written. Greg Frost Spokane

BUSINESS AND LABOR

‘Rarely’ cut off power, indeed

I read with utter disbelief the story about Washington Water Power Co. scheduling a service cutoff to a woman on life support. Who gave WWP, a monopoly and public trust, the power to decide life or death?

I was even more appalled to read the quote from the WWP representative who said WWP rarely decides to cut off power to persons on life support. WWP should never be allowed to cut off power to persons on life support.

They spend millions on ads and flyers to tell us what a good neighbor they are. WWP should spend less on selfcongratulatory PR and put those funds into a reserve for the truly helpless who must have access to power to survive. If we have given WWP a monopoly than we should demand more social and public accountability.

How difficult can it be to arrive at a humane solution, rather than an autocratic, inhumane procedure? Speedy Rice Spokane