Letters for July 21, 2022

Is democracy dead?

Our democracy is in mortal danger because we no longer value truth. Supreme Court justices blatantly lied during Senate confirmations about respecting the precedent of Roe v. Wade. It is hard to imagine greater misconduct than a justice of the highest court deliberately lying to get the job, but many of us have either ignored or dismissed the lie as unimportant.

Unfortunately, it gets worse! The former president who used a sharpie and a weather map to lie about the path of Hurricane Dorian, promoted election fraud fairy tales and knowingly lied to his millions of followers claiming the election was stolen. He then summoned his followers and armed insurrectionists to storm the U.S. Capitol and stop the peaceful transition of power. The absolute worst is many of us refuse to acknowledge the truth or dismiss it as insignificant.

My lawn guy told me after applying pesticides, “The weeds are dead, they just don’t yet know it.” I’m afraid the same can be said about our democracy.

Jim Baumker

Liberty Lake

Sewage in Puget Sound suffocating our fish

Puget Sound is suffocating our fish. Eighty municipal sewage treatment plants are collectively dumping 26 million pounds of nitrogen into the Sound, causing fish to die and algae to bloom.

But don’t worry, Ecology is going to require that by 2040 the 100-year-old technology used to treat sewage in Tech heavy Seattle will be upgraded to 1980s technology. Maybe. Maybe not, its expensive to treat West Coast crap. And it’s hipster fun to blow up dams.

Save the fish, fix the West Coast effluent issues. Then let’s talk about destroying clean hydropower.

Jerry Bishop

Chattaroy

Vote Natasha Hill

Natasha Hill is just the right candidate to replace Cathy McMorris Rodgers who has been our representative in the 5th Congressional District for 18 years and continually votes against the welfare of the people in Eastern Washington. CMR has held the position long enough and it is time for a new representative who will be in touch with the people. Natasha grew up in Eastern Washington and still lives here, and is not just a strategic visitor.

Our present representative has voted against the welfare of women and families, which would seem unusual as she has given birth to three children while in office. She has voted against protecting women against violence, for unequal pay for women, for removing children’s access to school lunches and limiting needed health care. She is also against abortion even in cases of rape and incest.

We need a fresh, intelligent younger person to listen to us in the 5th District. Natasha has proven herself effective in functioning as an attorney and the running her own law office, doing an outstanding job serving on the Redistricting Committee for Spokane County this past year.

Natasha will advocate for the welfare of women and children and students. She will listen to constituents of every demographic group; she is in tune with what is needed in our Eastern Washington communities and she is honest. We need someone whose votes are consistent with what she says.

Vote for Natasha Hill in the upcoming primary election before Aug. 2.

Nancy Street

Cheney

Latah Valley is supported by Maggie Yates

I am a longtime resident of the Grandview/Thorpe neighborhood along the Latah Valley and U.S. 195 corridor. This corridor has experienced explosive growth without concurrent infrastructure improvements necessary to support this development.

For more than 20 years, our elected officials have promised to construct the needed infrastructure and dedicate critical funding to support more development in this area, but they have failed. Current residents of Latah Valley navigate dangerous roads, wonder if fire protection and emergency services will arrive in time, witness the erosion of wildlife corridors, agricultural land, and wetlands, and are subject to having no schools located in this area. Without any plan or vision for the future, Al French championed some of the first developments in this area when on the Spokane City Council. Now as a county commissioner, he has refused to have a conversation about the area’s current challenges, much less attempt to rectify them. Time and time again French has put the interests of developers over his constituents and the region’s long-term wellbeing. I am hopeful this will change soon in the upcoming election.

I am supporting Maggie Yates for Spokane County Commissioner. Maggie has already met with community members in our area and taken the time to listen, understand and take action to support our community. She understands the need to plan for growth and affordable housing in the context of infrastructure, land use, and the conservation of our natural resources. Join me in casting a ballot for our future.

Molly Marshall

Spokane

Atrocious roads/potholes

Indian Canyon Drive, the main road connecting Government Way to the Sunset Highway via the Indian Canyon Golf Course, should be renamed Wheel Alignment Boulevard to represent this atrocious pothole-infested route. Talk about a road needing major repair – Whoa!

Jeff Clausen

Spokane