Letters To The Editor

Spokane matters

New couplet wrong way to go

Re: Lincoln-Monroe-Post-Wall Street couplet proposal.

As a resident of the Corbin Park Historic District and president of the Corbin Park Homeowners’ Association, I oppose constructing an additional West Side couplet. There are already two that bisect the near area: Ruby-Division and Ash-Maple. If the couplet systems had been successful, there would not be a need for another one. Obviously, these stopgap systems have not been effective alternatives to the northwest traffic problem.

It’s also my opinion, as a real estate broker who heavily promotes the Corbin Park Historic District (the only official historic district in the city of Spokane which is on the local, state, and national registers of historic places), that the proposed couplet - situated just one block from the park - would have a substantial negative impact on property values and upon the character of the peaceful neighborhood. All nearby blocks and neighborhoods would be similarly affected. It would also have the potential of turning the neighborhood between Post and Monroe, with its historic residences, into a no man’s land - as has been demonstrated between Division and Ruby.

It is for all of the above-cited reasons and more that I oppose the couplet proposal. Spokane needs to preserve character and quality of life in long-established and historic neighborhoods. Spokane needs to solve the problem, which is moving traffic in an expeditious manner to and from the core, by building a long overdue northsouth freeway system which effectively serves the northwest quadrant. Gina McKenzie Spokane

Apply covenant sanctions evenly

In regard to covenants, one size fits all.

If I were the woman who was recently put out of the day care business for violating a covenant, I would do some investigating in my neighborhood to find out how many lawyers, certified public accountants, insurance agents, Web sites, etc., are working out of an office set up in homes. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Ed B. Booher Airway Heights

We like new theater but not garage

My husband and I may be responsible for part of the deficit in parking receipts at River Park Square. We are avid moviegoers and we were very enthused when the AMC opened.

We are still excited about the AMC but we’ve abandoned the parking garage. The payment system had us waiting five to 15 minutes in line each time to pay. To add insult, there was a close-by automated machine for payment that was continually out of order. We now choose to walk up to six blocks and pay the parking meter.

Would we prefer to park in a more convenient, covered place? Of course.Will we try the parking garage again? It’s a long shot. The parking garage is losing twice: we’re not only avoiding it once or twice a week, we’re telling others about it too! Judy Gregory Spokane

Maybe I should give hands-on help

As a citizen of Spokane, I am concerned about some of the suggestions and direction of our new City Council. I have a funny feeling that instead of healing and doing what’s best for Spokane, we’re on the verge of turmoil.

For the past four years I have been working on a project to provide affordable housing but I am feeling forced to help protect our city. I can’t believe that with just a few months before we elect a strong mayor we’re talking about hiring a new city manager. The best won’t apply and the cost of the search and hiring process will fall onto the citizens.

Because of such fears as these, I am considering running for City Council president or mayor. I have been asked to run in the past, maybe now is the time. Mel Carter Spokane

Bright spot becomes a memory

Watching fire destroy the El Toreador Restaurant sent me searching for words to express condolences.

The smell of good food, the warmth and the cheer; a drink if you please, spirits or beer. Coming together to play and to sing; not a cabaret but our feet were flying in spite of the rules.

Enjoying ourselves under Martha’s watchful eye; and when we weren’t, she always knew.

Loved ones we lost were well-remembered. Irish or not, the wake was healing.

Open-mike nights, letting us stay for “just one more,” then directing us firmly toward the door. Sometimes the nudge was welcome.

Thank you for the memories. Connie Jo Rose Spokane

BUSINESS AND LABOR

Farmers must fend off corporations

As a consumer, I express my thoughts on Richard G. Jones’ Jan. 27 letter regarding the public’s need to know the full extent of the crisis the American farmer is in. I’m concerned about the large corporations, both domestic and international, taking over control of our food supply. Chickens were the first to be vertically integrated. The majority of all chicken and egg production across this country is controlled by large corporations. Poultry farmers in most cases are hired hands on their own farms. The large corporations found chickens so easy to integrate that now they have taken over 60 percent of the pork production and are busily working on beef, milk and grain.

I’m concerned about our Washington dairy farmers when I, as a consumer, ask for butter at a local Spokane restaurant and am told they do not serve butter!

What will grocery prices be when large corporations have full control of our food supply? I know if a family farmer is pricing our food, he would ask for a fair price plus a reasonable profit. He has no million-dollar CEO on his board.

We do need to support our farmers but farmers need to do their part. They are so efficient in production and so lax in their marketing methods.

Look at what OPEC has done by banding together. Delores Jones Spokane

Business should adopt ESOPs

The Newspaper Association of America’s take on “evil estate taxes” sounds more like a paid political announcement by the Cowles family.

The world is a smaller place; the United States of America 280 million people. A successful family business ends up with a too big a piece of the pie if passed on generation after generation.

A successful business has many good employees that support it. Haven’t these family newspapers heard of employees stock ownership plans? Occasionally, one even hears of a grateful owner giving his company to his employees. If the son or daughter is really worth their salt, the employees can hire him as president of the company.

An alternative to the current estate taxes would be a 100 percent estate tax with $100,000 grants to every child who turned 19. This young adult would then have a good start his on own small business, tech school or college. Of course, provisions could be made for dependent spouses and children but that’s in the details. Let’s give each kid in America an equal chance. Leonard Butters Spokane

THE ECONOMY

Bigger boom means bigger bust

Today, many ordinary people have the money to spend on whatever tickles their fancy, at whatever the price. This abundance of money in the hands of so many working people has created a carefree, buying society like we’ve never had before.

Naturally, manufacturers and service providers know this. They also know that today most people are not only able but willing to pay whatever prices they put on their products and services. So, unlike in years past, they do not have to find new, cheaper ways of producing their products and rendering their services to undercut their competitors anymore.

Even the stock market experts are puzzled by these seemingly endless booming economic times, and by the stock market’s escalation to ever new heights. The market, which is ruled by greed and fear, has so far been able to overcome its fear-caused downtrends with greater greedy resurges. I’m afraid the longer these abnormal conditions last, the worse time we will be facing when things return to normal again - worldwide.

You no doubt have seen films where a cartoon character climbs a ladder, runs out of rungs and his feet continue to climb onward out into empty space. When will the stock market run out of rungs on its ladder, realize it is treading air and plummet down to terra firma again? This fall will be from greater heights and no doubt will be more hurtful than in 1929. Rudy Mahler Spokane

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Intent key to honesty question

Re: “Mr. Liar goes to Washington” (Jan. 2).

Does columnist Doug Clark owe Rep. George Nethercutt an apology?

When Nethercutt made his original campaign promise to limit his terms in office to three, he was announcing his intention then - his state of mind at that time. If, in fact, he intended to limit his length of time in office at that time to only three terms, he was telling the truth. The fact that Nethercutt later changed his mind on the subject cannot transform his earlier truthful statement into a lie - a breach of a campaign promise perhaps but not a lie.

There’s a big difference. Lies affect a person’s credibility. A breach of promise may affect one’s reputation for sound judgment but not his reputation for honesty. Furthermore, if Nethercutt later changed his mind to run for a fourth term because of justifiable circumstances occurring after the original promise, he probably deserves praise more than condemnation. He was bright enough to recognize the significance of the changed circumstances and change his mind, notwithstanding the inevitable criticism he would suffer.

So, Clark, do you have persuasive evidence that Nethercutt, at the time he made his original campaign promise, did not intend to limit his terms in office to only three? If not, you may well have libeled Nethercutt. Bill Scott Liberty Lake

Best we can do is ensure opportunities

Rebecca Nappi’s Jan. 24 editorial reviews and comments on the reportedly widening gap between our richest and poorest citizens. It is evident that Nappi is somewhat fearful of potential problems arising from this gap.

She neglects to point out there are two distinct groups of rich folks: those whose income derives from inherited wealth and those who achieve wealth through their own efforts. Likewise, there are two groups of poor: those who can’t achieve and those who can but elect not to.

A political cartoon on the same page suggests there is an International Brotherhood of Rich People who support George W. Bush, implying that he will favor the rich. This all-too-typical Democratic Party description of all Republicans ignores rich Democrats like the Kennedy clan, whose members live extravagantly while pleading the cause of our poor.

Nappi correctly states there is need to increase understanding of each other. The gap between rich and poor exists not only within our country but between the various countries which make up our world.

The gap between the haves and have-nots has always existed and always will exist. We should always be mindful to help the absolutely helpless. Our responsibility is to try to see that everyone has the opportunity to improve their lot through their own efforts and abilities. This includes achieving in school and completing high school at the very least. A large majority of good jobs do not require a college degree but every one of them requires the ability to learn and willingness to perform. William H. Allison Medical Lake

What, no veterinary insurance?

Re: State of the Union Address

President Clinton forgot to propose health care insurance for my dog! Ellen Porter Spokane

THE ENVIRONMENT Breaching is worth a try

I assumed that breaching the four dams on the lower Snake River meant blowing them up. Not!

This breaching doesn’t literally mean to break down the dams, only to lower the soil and rocks at one end of each damn to allow fast-flowing water to bypass the dams, to try to save the salmon. The dams would be mothballed, not destroyed.

There is no guarantee this would save the salmon, but science says this is the best hope for salmon. If it doesn’t work and extinction occurs, the dams could be backfilled and restored.

We must be willing to subsidize all those who will be hurt by the bypassing. Any additional funds needed to supplement presently appropriated dollars and subsidies will be a sound investment.

Potlatch Corp., whose mill daily dumps millions of gallons of heated water into one of the reservoirs, could be subsidized if it really can’t afford to build its own cooling towers, as warm water is deadly to salmon.

Meanwhile, we catch and release. Will there be nothing to release, no salmon? Scientists can’t guarantee that the salmon will be saved but they can pretty well guarantee that without cooler, fast-moving water, extinction on the lower Snake River will occur.

Support bypassing the dams. Call your congressmen, now. Mary C. Ruud Sprague, Wash.

We can afford breaching experiment

When the costs of breaching the Snake River Project dams are weighed against benefits that incorporate morality (Bible) and the components of the emerging “new economy” (Thomas Power, 1996) of the dawning century and millennium, the conclusion becomes clear. These dams don’t make sense.

The “new economy” depends on sustainable uses of natural resources and a desirable, salmon-inhabited, natural environment that provides the spiritual context for a fulfilling life.

An honest evaluation confirms that breaching provides the best opportunity for salmon recovery in the Snake River region. None of the lost (and highly subsidized) benefits from breaching are unable to be reasonably mitigated (Sierra Club, 1999). But costs to our region, in terms of the value of the Western lifestyle and to the above stocks of not breaching are high and forever (Cecil Andrus 1998, Snake River Salmon DEIS).

If breached, the project infrastructure will remain. And, if recovery doesn’t succeed, dirt can be replaced and business as usual can continue. We will lose only 50 or 70 years of short-term profit out of the sacred and infinite scheme of evolution.

As the only species blessed or perhaps cursed with the capacity to discern and choose good from evil, we are obligated to abide by God’s expectations and the laws of country (Ezekiel 34:2-4, Isaiah 24:4-6, Endangered Species Act; treaty obligations). In this unprecedented period of prosperity, we can afford to give it a selfless try. Give these magnificent indicators of ecological health a chance! It’s the right thing to do. David A. Jensen Spokane and Wenatchee

IN THE PAPER

Powells’ story not newsworthy

It’s ridiculous that The Spokesman-Review allows Chris and Pete Powell to publish their personal agenda concerning a Washington State Patrol detective who conducted a license fraud investigation that involved them. Can anyone call The Spokesman-Review and have his or her personal agendas published in your paper? It’s a very one-sided viewpoint that’s extremely biased and not newsworthy.

As retired state troopers, Chris and Pete Powell know the WSP will not comment during an active investigation. It’s also very unlikely that a state agency like the WSP would send Chris a “Dear John” letter if he was “just having coffee” at the Spokane office where the investigating detective works.

Most of us are intelligent enough to read between this newspaper’s bias lines and know that this is another fine example of irresponsible journalism that’s been cultivated by the Powells and their friend, Doug Clark. Gil Binsfield retired WSP trooper, Spokane