Letters for Wednesday, Sept. 10

Schumacher does the work

I’m excited to endorse Judie Schumacher for Liberty Lake City Council, Position 6.

I’ve volunteered alongside Judie for years. She doesn’t just talk about serving; she shows up, does the work and makes thoughtful, values-driven decisions.

While current council members rush through ideas without proper research, pit neighbors against one another and focus on the past, Judie participates in conversations (even the difficult ones) to fully investigate, strategize and implement long-term solutions.

It’s time for Liberty Lake voters to evolve from representatives who served 10 to 20 years ago and recognize that today’s challenges require fresh leadership. Liberty Lake deserves a council with the skills to move forward.

Liberty Lake deserves leaders who show up, listen and lead us forward together. Please join me in voting for Judie Schumacher.

Kyla Scott

Liberty Lake

With Baumgartner, money talks

Remember when Mike Baumgartner was first elected, promising to work for everyone in the 5th District?

That’s hard to do when he continues to severely limit face-to-face contact with his constituents.

Example: For the past five months, Baumgartner has refused to hold town hall meetings in Spokane that would be free and open to all of his constituents.

The last one was on March 17!

Other Republication representatives are holding public town halls meetings across the U.S., but not our own “Money Talks” Mike.

But if you have the cash, Rep. Baumgartner is more than willing to spend time with you.

Example: In a recent mailing to his supporters, Baumgartner announced an Aug. 17 private, invitation-only fundraiser (at an undisclosed downtown location) that charges $3,500 per person for a half-hour “Roundtable” with him.

Don’t have $3,500?

For $1,000, you can buy your way into the “Photo Line” and $250 gets you into a “VIP Reception.”

The cost of everything is going up, but these prices are steep just to be able to talk face-to-face with our local congressman.

The message is clear from Baumgartner: “If you got the money, I got the time.”

Richard Sola

Spokane

Logan is a champion for community justice

Judge Logan has dedicated herself to Spokane Municipal Court with unwavering commitment. The challenges surrounding unhoused persons in Spokane – like in many cities – are deeply complex and multifaceted. These issues cannot be blamed on one person, nor solved by a single judge. Yet Judge Logan has consistently stepped up, offering leadership and innovation in the pursuit of community safety.

In 2013, Judge Logan founded the Spokane Community Court. This court addresses the root causes of low-level offenses, requiring participants to complete weekly community service, engage with services and remain crime-free.

Judge Logan’s work has earned widespread recognition. Her Community Court received the Justice Hero Award from the Center for Justice, was named Program of the Year by the Misdemeanant Probation Association and earned both the Access to Justice Committee Judicial Leadership Award and the APEX Award from the Washington State Bar Association.

Today, Spokane’s Community Court serves as a Mentor Court for the Center for Justice Innovation. Courts from across Washington and the United States visit Spokane to learn from this well-established and impactful program. As a judge with a Community Court, I have had the fortunate opportunity to be mentored by Judge Logan’s program.

Judge Logan’s Community Court tackles the difficult realities of substance use disorder, and other issues affecting individuals experiencing homelessness. For those interested, I suggest attending a Community Court session at the Downtown Spokane Library to see for yourself how the program works.

Judge Angelle M. Gerl

Spokane

CV board members should support public education

As a retired resident of Spokane Valley, and a father to five former K-12 students, I take real pride in supporting our Central Valley schools through my taxes. I have no hesitation about this investment; it strengthens our community, supports our children and ensures the future of Spokane Valley.

What troubles me deeply, however, is seeing CVSB Vice President Pam Orebaugh devote her position on the school board to advancing “biblical governance” and aligning herself with the Mountain States Policy Center’s agenda to use public education funds for private school choice programs. These are not policies that strengthen our schools. On the contrary, the group’s Education Savings Accounts siphon taxpayer money away from our classrooms, teachers and students, redirecting it to private and religious institutions.

I cannot reconcile how someone entrusted with the stewardship of our public schools can simultaneously promote mechanisms that weaken their funding. Serving on a school board should mean defending and improving public education, not exploiting the public purse for a narrow religious or policy agenda.

Our community deserves board members who put education first, who focus on academic excellence, fiscal responsibility, and the well-being of every student. I urge my fellow Central Valley residents to demand that our school board return to its core mission: strengthening public schools for all, not undermining them with divisive ideology.

Grant Fredericks

Spokane Valley

Strengthen long-term care: Approve 8201

When my father needed 24-hour care, I couldn’t afford it. As an only child, the stress and expenses quickly mounted, and I personally felt the effects of the long-term care crisis that more and more Americans are experiencing.

That’s why I’m looking forward to voting “approve” on Measure 8201 on this year’s ballot. If passed, this measure will strengthen Washington’s long-term care fund and make it an even better resource for Washingtonians who need help.

Measure 8201 will allow the WA Cares Trust Fund to be invested by the independent, nonpartisan Washington State Investment Board to maximize returns in the same way the board invests other state benefit and pension funds. This will increase investment returns by $67 billion over the next 50 years – that’s money that can be used to strengthen benefits for people with disabilities and aging adults without costing taxpayers a penny.

Leaders of both parties have endorsed 8201, and a supermajority of Democratic and Republican lawmakers approved 8201 to go before voters. So, let’s vote “Approve” on this commonsense measure and strengthen our long-term care fund for those who need support the most.

Sam Hatzenbeler

Seattle

Maringo Meadows housing development

My Spokane Daily Chronicle paper route via stingray bike went to the east dead end of Maringo and north to Upriver Drive on Herald, Farr and Locust roads. Garland too.

That “meadow” pretty much from Farr to Raymond was known as the “islands” in 99206 parts of Pasadena Park east of Argonne 50 years ago. Popular horse trails and bike paths down where there are rock outcropping islands in the river. Rock station KJRB even had a day long music festival there in 1981. Had to have law enforcement direct traffic on and off Upriver Drive.

But to claim a hundred or so new half-million-dollar-plus homes near the river is going to help a housing crisis is ludicrous. There is no housing crisis. Inventories aren’t moving. There is an “affordable” housing crisis. But a new tract with $3,000 monthly mortgage payments isn’t going to help any housing crisis.

Losing that open space and loading Upriver Drive or Maringo with more traffic is a bad self-serving idea.

Mike Reno

Newman Lake