Slogan won’t change city

Whether or not the new Spokane slogan “Creative by Nature” is better than “Near Nature, Near Perfect” is debatable. But even at the $230,000 rebranding cost, it’s putting lipstick on the pig that is some of Spokane.

Two days earlier was the story of the vulgar signs in Hillyard put up by a defiant “bikini barista” owner that pollutes that neighborhood. What it didn’t mention was that while Spokane failed to reasonably regulate indecency, Spokane Valley did exactly that, which is why the business moved from there to Spokane. I was at the Spokane City Council hearing when heartfelt public testimony, mostly regarding protecting children, was belittled by a majority of council members, and Mike Fagan’s proposed regulation was soundly defeated.

Spokane was once considered “a great place to raise children.” We have “progressive” civic leaders who would love to make it more like the sophistication of liberal Seattle where 82 percent of households have no children.

Pretty slogans don’t change the fact that the character of Spokane is diminishing and we are losing what is truly important.

Paul Unger

Spokane