Letters for Thursday, Aug. 28

Idaho legislators missing in action

After months of calls for in-person town hall meetings with our Washington, D.C., delegation, Sen. Mike Crapo decided to appear in public. Sort of.

On Aug. 20, Crapo met with agricultural leaders to discuss, among other things, the estate tax and small business deduction being made permanent and the tax-free threshold on the federal estate tax being increased. One large hops farming operation here will receive an added $95 million to their already $80 million Specialty Crop Research Initiative grant. Well, it’s nice to see at least one grant escape Trump’s poison pen.

On Thursday, Crapo met privately with a group of about 50 people at an event sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, the Virginia based organization founded by billionaires, Charles and David Koch. “Undeniably, the AFP was the biggest ally we had in getting the One Big Beautiful Bill across the finish line,” crowed Crapo. Absolutely – to the tune of $20 million dollars, dedicated to the bill’s passage.

This will bring cold comfort to the 40,000 Idahoans who will lose their Medicaid provided health care; the 35,000 people enrolled in the health care marketplace who will now face large premium increases; the 21,000 residents who will experience a reduction in SNAP benefits; and the 8,000 Idahoans who will lose SNAP benefits entirely.

No wonder Crapo, Risch, Fulcher and Simpson are avoiding “We The People.” The only Americans they care to see prosper are ones whose campaign contributions are followed with zeroes.

Vickie Fadness

Lewiston

Motorcycle parking

“Not only have legal terms changed, the landscape changed, but also our lots, what we’re doing” (“County ups parking fees, fines, enforcement hours,” Aug. 25). Yes, as far as I can tell, the county is the same as the city in disincentivizing a simple way to address more efficient parking. In other places, they’ve added motorcycle parking. One way is to turn a pair of parallel parking street places to eight slanted motorcycle spaces. Another way is to add some to lots.

Motorcycles are not only more gas efficient, they get more people into the same spaces. Forward thinking jurisdictions provide less expensive parking for the smaller vehicles. One reason I haven’t been downtown in years is that neither the city nor the county chooses that option.

David Teich

Spokane Valley

Ombudsman program needs volunteers

Thanks for publishing the story about what is happening in some Spokane nursing homes, bringing needed attention to the impacts of issues like short staffing on vulnerable residents (“Watching her fade away,” Aug. 24). The Eastern Washington Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program with advocates for the rights of nursing home residents to receive the highest quality of care and to ensure their rights are respected. Unfortunately, our program is severely understaffed. Currently, we have only 19 volunteers in our region. Pre-COVID the program averaged about 40 volunteers. Of the 19 nursing homes in our region only 63% have a regularly visiting ombudsman assigned to the nursing home.

Once a volunteer ombudsman is trained and certified they are assigned to a facility, and they visit that facility on a regular basis serving as an advocate to help residents with getting the care that they need. For some residents, the ombudsman is the only person that visits them. The regularly visiting ombudsman builds a relationship of trust with residents where residents feel comfortable sharing their concerns about their care. The Eastern Washington Regional Ombudsman Program will be conducting training in October and is in desperate need of volunteers. We encourage members of the community to get involved in helping ensure our most vulnerable neighbors receive the care and dignity that they deserve.

More information about the Eastern Washington Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program can be found at www.snapwa.org/long-term-care-ombudsman or by calling (509) 456-7133.

Aaron M. Riley

Spokane