Letters for May 11

Bike lanes need a cleaning

Spokane wants to be a bike-friendly city, which is great. The powers that be keep adding bike lanes, some of which are on narrow arterials. The problem I have run into is they are not kept free of debris. Most that I have used, this year and last, are covered in gravel, broken glass and various car parts. Someone will eventually get injured trying to avoid the mess. A quick wash with just a water truck would do wonders.

Randy Peterschick

Spokane

Common sense policies for dependable energy

Thanks to Mitchell Roland for the May 5 article “Washington challenges federal blocking of wind energy development.”

Attorney General Nick Brown touts wind as one of the “fastest growing, most innovative and cleanest resources in the country.” Many also think it’s one of the least dependable and most expensive – and highly dependent on government subsidies to operate. The scam started years ago when Washington voters passed Initiative 937 that required utilities to have 15% of their energy production come from renewables like wind and solar (excluding hydro) by 2020 increasing to 27% by 2016. Washington state voters voiced their opinion by passing the pro natural gas Initiative 2066 during the November 2024 election.

Hopefully, Brown will change his focus from promoting his parties unrealistic and damaging “clean energy” political narrative and start promoting common sense policies that result in a future of dependable, secure and affordable energy for every Washington citizen and business.

Ed Walther

Moses Lake

Honor the flag

At Tesla Tuesday, a group of four or five boys waved flags and banners supporting Donald Trump and Elon Musk. As always, an adult male shouted rude comments through his bullhorn. It’s unclear if the adult men (two or three) were the boys’ parents; there was very little interaction between them. Supporting Trump and Musk isn’t an issue. Freedom of speech is a foundation of our American democracy. What is very disturbing is the desecration of the American flag. It was dragged on the ground and used as a cape – tied around one boy’s neck as he was riding his bike through the demonstrators across the street from the Trump/Musk supporters.

I sincerely hope that all parents, regardless of political views, and especially the parents of these boys, will help their children understand how to honor the flag rather than use it in such a dishonorable way. Thousands and thousands of Americans have fought and died to protect what our American flag represents. Even though the Tesla Tuesday demonstrators were not treated respectfully, the flag should be given utmost respect.

Colleen Woods

Spokane

Abundant salmon return: A vision

Could you imagine fishers catching salmon to their heart’s content? There was a time when salmon were so abundant that smoked salmon stands on the side of the road were common. Today, salmon are in such short supply on the Lower Snake River, all Washington anglers are limited to catching a combined total of 407 spring chinook.

The fight for salmon continues with increasing barriers.

In January, Rep. Newhouse and Sen. Risch proposed legislation that, if successful, would prevent lower Snake River restoration and push critically endangered salmon and orcas closer to extinction. Rep. Baumgartner supported this bill.

This bill isn’t about solving problems – it’s about silencing progress. It ignores decades of scientific consensus, tribal leadership and community voices calling for bold action to restore salmon, protect orcas and modernize our energy system.

Let’s be clear: Lower Snake River Dam removal isn’t a radical idea – it’s a practical one. It’s how we build a resilient energy grid that works in the face of climate change, invest in 21st-century transportation and irrigation infrastructure and bring life back to a river system – while honoring our commitments to tribal nations who’ve stewarded this land for millennia.

Let’s not get dragged backward. We need our elected leaders to stand up for the future – not for outdated systems that are killing our salmon and hurting our economy.

The Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative is a roadmap forward. The Newhouse-Risch bill is a dead end.

Erica Tuell

Spokane