April 16 letters
Another Iran deal
Hopefully President Joe Biden will make nuclear deals with Iran and North Korea. However, it is equally to be hoped that he does not repeat the fatal flaw of the first Iran deal: It imposed a waiting period for the inspection of suspected sites. This would have allowed them to move the materials for making a nuclear weapon – such as enriched uranium – to a second site during the waiting period for the first site; then when the second site would come under suspicion, it would have a waiting period during which the material could be moved to a third site; and so on. (That is why a future president may cancel the deal again.)
Alvin Blake
Spokane
Anti-American bills
Republicans are looking more and more anti-American by the week. Their “blue lives matter” stance was shot down when 12 of them voted against honoring Capitol Police for their bravery on Jan. 6, just recently. Appreciating law enforcement is vital for America.
Then, we have Republicans challenging the cornerstone of American existence namely, your right to vote. In Republican-led Legislatures across the country, bills have been and are being planned to restrict Americans right to vote. Georgia is a prime example of voter suppression exhibited right in front of our collective faces. Their recently passed restrictive law would allow state legislators to overturn election results they don’t like. Also, it is now a crime to provide water to voters standing in line to vote, in Georgia.
Anti-American for sure. We citizens must stand up for our country’s continued democratic existence. Our congressional representatives need to hear from us in supporting voting rights, not voting suppression.
J. Gary Kavanagh
Spokane
Albi site is better
Any change moving the Spokane School District stadium from Albi to downtown must go back to the voters.
The guest editorial by athletic directors (April 11) simply reinforces the “inside job” perspective of the public.
The top-rated “Thought Survey” by District 81 – taking the highest rated of 4.2 down to the start of comments rated 3.7 – show that opposition to a downtown stadium ran 9 opposed for every 1 in favor. And the “Thought Survey” favored the motivated insiders.
The public is adamant that the stadium NOT be downtown because (a) it defies their vote (b) the streets cannot handle the traffic, (c) the Civic Theatre will be impacted, (d) Riverfront Park will suffer noise pollution and intermittent crowds will impede access, (e) the parking is insufficient, (f) downtown is unsafe for teens, (g) parking will be insufficient as the touted 500 spaces are not 5,000, (h) development should occur in other areas, even the creation of a “Stadium District,” in the near-northwest Albi area, (i) Albi has one-level and extensive parking that aids the handicapped and elderly access, (j) high schoolers won’t shop downtown nor attend restaurants, (k) road congestion will drive actual shoppers and restaurantgoers away from downtown – those reasons and more, including statements from recent residents of Spokane who said putting all venues near each other (as in Seattle) is a traffic nightmare.
Those in favor of a downtown stadium must return to the voters and convince them, not merely clang gongs claiming wide support.
Craig A. Mason
Spokane