Letters for Jan. 12, 2025

Council raises

What is the justification for giving the Spokane City Council members a 36.5% annual salary increase when the city is staring down the barrel of a $50 million budget deficit?

Hank Bynaker

Airway Heights

Correction: Council members received a 3.5% salary increase from 2024 to 2025 and will receive 3% increase in 2026. The council president will receive the same percentage increases. The mayor received a 2% increase this year and will receive a 2% increase in 2026. The Spokane Salary Review Commission determines pay for the City Council and the mayor. 

Bill off target

I have just been informed that HB 1152, “Storage Requirements for Firearms Security,” is being discussed in the Washington state Legislature.

My understanding of this bill is that as a homeowner, if a criminal breaks into my house and steals my firearm, I am responsible. That would be a complete asinine law. I keep my firearms available in my house to protect my family. To secure it to stop anyone breaking in from taking it would restrict my use of it in case of an emergency.

Also, this bill would make me a criminal if the weapon is stolen by a convicted felon or used in a robbery or shooting. That is ridiculous.

Let’s get back to the real world and make the person who breaks into my house or car the criminal.

The three so-called citizen representatives that submitted this bill are originally from Illinois (Beth Doglio), Oregon (Amy Walen) and Korea (Cindy Ryu). They do not represent the average Washington resident.

Fred Phillips

Chewelah

Dog-free park

On Jan. 7, a large front-page picture of the Northwest section of the paper showed two owners playing with their “good dogs” at Post Falls’ Q’emiln Park. While I have no doubt that they are indeed good dogs, the park has many posted signs stating that dogs are not allowed. A quick look at Visit North Idaho confirms that dogs are not allowed. I much appreciate happy pictures of local interest, but the photographer should take care to not depict behavior that breaks laws and/or regulations.

Gayle Tenbrink

Liberty Lake

Clean your storm grates

One side effect of the wet weather we’ve had lately is that it’s knocked remaining leaves off of the trees and washed them into the street. You may have also noticed some sizable puddles in the streets recently, which are sometimes caused by blocked storm drains.

This week’s drier forecast is an opportunity to get out on our blocks with our rakes and brooms and clean the storm grates, and maybe all along the street along the gutters or sidewalks. By taking this simple action, we can benefit our streets and the river by helping the stormwater system work well. You also might get to know your neighbors better when they come out wondering what you’re up to!

Bruce Howard

Spokane

More needed to make city walkable

Apart from the Centennial Trail and a few neighborhoods, there’s not a lot of opportunities for a good walk in Spokane. In nine years as a student at a K-8 school, I never walked to school despite it being two miles away from my house. The prospect of being hit by a speeding car on a busy four-lane road always deterred me. An article from the Spokesman in January 2024 even confirms my fear, stating that pedestrian/car accidents increased 40% from 2022 to 2023. Do I want to try walking in a city with these shocking statistics? I think not.

So let’s not kid ourselves; Spokane has a long way to go before it becomes a truly walkable city. But investing in making our city more pedestrian-friendly will do more than make a few walkers happy. As people stroll about the city and see all the wonderful businesses that Spokane offers, they will spend more, growing the economy. In addition, walking has been shown to improve health, so this change is looking out for the well-being of our citizens. Finally, with an increase in pedestrian traffic comes a decrease in car traffic, which is better for our environment. We are a city known for events that thrive on walking – Bloomsday and Hoopfest, for example. Let’s make our city thrive on walking too!

Evelyn Kelly

Spokane