Opinion letters for Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Trans athlete position misinformed

I found it very disappointing that the president of the Bloomsday board wrote an ill-informed and anti-trans letter to this paper.

Dori Whitford is a former teacher, longtime Bloomsday board member and girls cross country coach. Instead of spreading hate and making kids’ (these trans girls are kids, remember) lives harder, she should be supporting all athletes.

Schools are underfunded. Why do we spend money on athletics when it could instead go to academics? We have been told that participation in athletics enhances brain function and learning. We have been told it enhances social skills and helps kids make friends and have a sense of belonging. Trans kids deserve all of this the same as cis kids.

Let’s be clear here … there are very few trans athletes, so the idea of them having their own category is worthless. Sports is sports. Very few high school athletes end up being professionals in adulthood. Is it worth causing female trans athletes’ serious distress and disenfranchisement? There is so much misinformation out there about gender identity, transitioning, timelines and physical strength. We don’t need someone who holds the positions that Dori does spreading misinformation.

She needs to be off the Bloomsday board and not be a coach. Support all athletes!

Tori Bailey

Spokane

Nice lawns show pride

Personally, I was offended by a statement in the Water Wise Workshops article (April 7) that stated that 83% of the residential water we use in the summer is wasted. I like a green lawn, not a lot full of weeds, dust and junk. A big percentage of the homes in Spokane look like they are abandoned, or part of a slum landlords’ collection of rental properties. A good-looking lawn and yard shows pride of ownership, and a caring for our community, not to mention the oxygen renewal it provides.

I see commercial properties every day watering in the middle of a 90-degree day instead of at night like they should. I also see this on city properties like the parks. If the city is worried about its residents using too much water, why are they continuing to grant building permits for new homes? Making everyone pay for the city’s poor urban planning is irresponsible. I would like this town to look nice not only for its residents, but also for visitors. Right now, it mostly looks like a town full of poorly maintained rentals. This whole scenario is also reflective of the city’s unwillingness to address the aging infrastructure. Might as well make the poor yard quality match the poor street quality, right? Quality leadership hasn’t been a hallmark of this city for a long time now, and it’s clear going forward that isn’t going to change.

Mike Noble

Spokane

Baumgartner on wrong side of immigration issue

I applaud the letter of Maureen Schneider (Letter to the Editor, April 4). It is clear that Michael Baumgartner is willing to deny funding to his constituents if they disagree with him. His stance on the state’s position with regard to the Keep Washington Working Act is basically supportive of acts of ICE in which they have illegally taken prisoner individuals who have not committed illegal acts, yet are sent out of the country, or to maximum security sites in the U.S. Does Michael support the denial of due process rights to these individuals? Michael must be overjoyed with the Spokane Valley’s meaningless passage of support for Donald Trump’s cruelty.

It is one thing for arresting known criminals for deportation. It is a whole other thing to remove folks from the streets who have no affiliation with gangs and who have not been convicted of criminal acts. Baumgartner is clearly on the wrong side of this issue, as well as other issues too numerous to review here.

David McKinney

Spokane