Look Back, Look Ahead

Sat., Jan. 1, 2000

The last quarter of the 20th century was a period of tremendous change for the Spokane Valley.

Between 1975 and 1999, we built thousands of houses and made a high-tech home for a whole new local industry.

We reclaimed a polluted lake, cleaned up our river and began to enjoy its beauty from a new hiking and biking trail.

We tried - over and over again - to incorporate a city in the Valley.

Inside today’s Valley Voice, we look at the changes of the last 25 years — and at how we as a community dealt with them.

And on this first day of the year 2000, we’re also taking a look ahead.

We invited Valley residents to do a little reflecting and some crystal ball gazing and tell us what they think life in the Spokane Valley will be like a quarter-century from now. Today’s Voice offers a collection of reader-written essays that provide a sneak preview of Valley life in the year 2025.

We hope you enjoy this fourth and final installment of our yearlong project, 100 Years of Valley Living.

See pages 2-10

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Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

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There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.