Letters for March 11

Thorpe housing development is a wildfire risk

We watched the L.A. fires in horror. The causes are no mystery. Chaparral in Southern California is prone to wildfire. Add urban development and potential disaster becomes the real thing. The picturesque Los Angeles hillsides were especially deadly. Wildfire doubles in speed with every 10 degrees of slope. Some of the fires jumped freeways, spreading into older neighborhoods.

The Department of Natural Resources, under Hilary Franz, recently opened the Thorpe property, near the Pullman Highway, to a thousand-home development. The parallels to L.A. are scary. Spokane’s ponderosa pines are L.A.’s chapparal. Our Pullman Highway, their 101. Our South Hill Bluff, their Pacific Palisades.

A disaster is easy to imagine. Wildfire starts in the new development and grows quickly, closing the Pullman Highway, the city’s primary access to the Thorpe property. Since firefighters can’t reach the blaze, it jumps the highway, sweeping up the ponderosa pine hillside and across the homes at the top. Burning along the bluff, fire jumps High Drive, reaching the rest of South Hill within hours. Meanwhile, the blaze races up the hillside above the development itself, destroying both Eagle Ridge and Grandview/Thorpe.

Maybe the DNR, far off in wet Olympia, could do some imagining, too. It could imagine hot, dry Spokane summers and a development set in a pine forest with almost no access to emergency services. Franz wrote in the Spokesman that AI will save us. Maybe. But we don’t need AI to predict fire on the Thorpe property, once a thousand homes are built.

Paul De Palma

Spokane

Religion in schools

Organized religion is the equivalent to a cult trying to indoctrinate our children and force teachings upon them in the safety of our schools. Our blessed neighboring state is proposing a new law to have every classroom in Idaho plaster a poster of the Ten Commandments. This is a clear violation of the students’ First Amendment right, freedom of religion.

House Bill No. 238 proposes this. Do you know what happens if this passes? It opens the door that the First Amendment keeps closed and locked up tight. The door of religion being forced open on us all, in ways you couldn’t possibly imagine.

This door is open in Louisiana. Who knows what’s next for them. Forced prayer in schools? Forced baptism? Prayer every night before bed for a god you don’t believe in? Other beliefs flushed out and cleansed, just to really stick true to the First Commandment? Who knows, maybe camps will be set up for religious cleansing. What kind of “divine” punishment will be cast upon the nonbelievers?

My ask to you is to understand the consequences of opening that door. Our First Amendment right is thrown out the window and we deserve our right to religion. We deserve that journey of religion if you so choose to believe. We deserve the right to believe in any god, not just one. To the people of Spokane, please, don’t let this reach us. More than our freedom of religion is at risk.

Chapin Dyck

Spokane

Baumgartner’s schoolboy crush

When our democracy is in turbulence, we must count on our legislative representatives to stand up for the citizens that they represent, both Democrats and Republicans. I am most impressed with Michael Baumgartner, Spokane’s legislative representative as he personally met Donald Trump for the first time during the joint session of Congress.

In his own words published on X, “I enjoyed meeting President Trump for the first time after his address to Congress. I took the brief opportunity to mention our mutual friend Mike Leach and we had a warm exchange about the “great, great coach.” What a great introduction! In further statements in the same posting, he notes “I’m sure at some point in the future I will have an opportunity to discuss substantive policy with the President, but I’m also looking forward to some hopeful lighter moments to share Leach stories.”

Sadly, Baumgartner has seemingly adopted a schoolboy crush on the president and has forgotten his assignment of representing his constituents in Eastern Washington. Assuming the president will not seek out Baumgartner on a daily basis to discuss national and international events, but when he does reach out, I’m betting that Michael will take the opportunity to put world problems aside and focus on who their mutual friends may be.

Like “Where’s Waldo,” Michael is MIA in Eastern Washington and perhaps could make better use of his time coming home and addressing the concerns of the constituents for which he serves.

Michael O. Pearson

Spokane

Baumgartner is a leader

Recently, there have been numerous reader letters criticizing Rep. Mike Baumgartner concerning his recent suggestion that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy resign for his disrespectful Oval Office demeanor. Criticism has ranged from “towing the party line” to “kissing the ring” and other obnoxious and uninformed rants. Ukraine is a complicated story that reaches back many decades and cannot be understood by making simplistic accusations against the outstanding 5th District congressman.

Zelenskyy was and still is a foreign actor. Rep. Baumgartner is Eastern Washington born and raised, a WSU and Harvard, Kennedy School graduate, former state department employee and now elected congressman. Mike is always responsible and forthright with his public statements even when others disagree. That is how real leaders act and what they do.

Ed Walther

Moses Lake

Spokane homelessness

People experiencing homelessness in Spokane often face a combination of factors such as drug abuse, mental health challenges and domestic violence. These factors often lead individuals to become homeless as they attempt to escape their problems.

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, the third leading cause of homelessness is domestic violence, while mental health issues rank fifth.

One possible solution to help those experiencing homelessness in Spokane is increased support and resources. The city offers valuable resources, such as shelters for temporary housing and food pantries to help those in need. Organizations like Second Harvest and Generation Alive also contribute by raising funds and collecting donations to support individuals facing food insecurity.

As a student at the Community School, I have been involved in efforts to raise money and collect food for those experiencing food insecurity. These efforts are crucial in addressing the immediate needs of those without stable housing.

Kaidyn Jones

Spokane

Trans youth under fire

The lives of transgender youth are at stake. We need officials in Washington state to advocate and fight for our rights to gender-affirming care, and the only way they’ll do that is if we speak up and be loud about the injustice in our country. The Trump administration is aiming to take away our autonomy over our bodies and our lives by making gender-affirming care a crime.

My name is Koda, and I am proud to represent my transgender and genderqueer siblings. I identify as transgender-nonconforming, and I see gender-affirming care in my not-too-distant future. But that could all change if gender-affirming care is outlawed.

Restricting gender-affirming care will have a huge impact on the mental health of trans youth, and it’s already happening in other states. A recent study at Yale shows that mental health risks like self-harm and suicide for trans individuals are much higher than cisgender individuals, but much lower after or during gender-affirming care, whether it be HRT or a surgery. These surgeries are not just for comfort; they are lifesaving.

I’m not arguing that 13-year-olds should get top surgery – no one is. I am only asking that trans youth are not denied gender-affirming health care in their later teen years and into young-adulthood.

So, whether it’s contacting local representatives, joining advocacy groups, or participating in upcoming protests or rallies, speak up. Speak out against this injustice.

Koda Weber

Spokane

Graffiti needs a home in Spokane

I often find myself strolling through Spokane, watching as graffiti comes and goes. It’s hard to walk down a street without finding at least one tag. While I personally appreciate graffiti, seeing it as art, I’m aware that others do not. We must create balance between allowing our city to embrace graffiti art without letting it turn into defacement.

In the early 2000s under Interstate 90 downtown, there was a skate park that also served as a graffiti wall. Naturally, having a hidden public space attracted some undesirable people, leading the city to replace what was known as UTF (Under the Freeway) with Riverfront skate park. While Riverfront skate park is a great addition to the park, its development effectively removed a space for hundreds of local graffiti and street artists to practice.

This raises an important question: Where do we expect the inevitable flow of taggers to go now that we’ve eliminated designated spaces? The city of Spokane expects graffiti artists to disappear if we try to hide their art, but this assumption is misguided.

Spokane has had a rich graffiti culture since the early ’90s, with many renowned artists, including the infamous OMT crew. Yet, despite this, graffiti is still seen as an eyesore rather than creative expression. A change in perspective would help the city continue to thrive. We must open a safe space for local graffiti artists to show off their art.

Mason Proctor

Spokane