Letters for Wednesday, July 8

Pelvic exams in girls sports

With the recent Supreme Court decision to allow states to legislate trans girls’ participation in sports, Brian Heywood’s recent ballot initiative (IL26-638) is getting more attention. The initiative could require some girls to undergo invasive genital examinations if their eligibility is questioned, something no teen should be forced into.

Heywood suggests that, before they could play sports, girls undergo an invasive genital exam to determine their anatomy, expensive genetic testing to make sure there are two X chromosomes or have their testosterone checked.

Some will find these ideas unhinged, while others will find them offensive and dangerous. The biochemical analysis he recommends is flawed for plenty of reasons, not least the expense of genetic karyotyping (is that going to be popular in our rural counties?) or the huge variability in natural testosterone levels for girls throughout puberty and even throughout the day.

The pelvic exam proposal is especially perverse. All major organizations (ACOG, AAFP, USPSTF, AMSSM) advise against routine pelvic exams for asymptomatic adolescent females. The USPSTF goes as far as to say that harms caused by these unnecessary exams include “the psychological harms, pain and discomfort from the examination, and the potential for these to serve as a barrier for women to receive medical care.”

Washingtonians have a track record of rejecting Heywood’s outlandish but well-funded proposals. I think this will get similar treatment in November. Heywood’s dangerous idea risks direct harm to Washington’s girls; let them play without expensive tests or invasive exams.

Kevin Glover, M.D.

Spokane

Tighten the government’s belt

If you are in favor of contributing additional money for much needed library, park and other school improvements then there is a responsible way to accomplish such worthy goals.

Most Spokane homeowners who want to devote additional portions of their limited (or fixed) budget to property taxes must reduce other household expenses such as; food, clothing, medical, etc.

It would be great if we were able to devote some additional spending on our own much needed home improvements, a better car, college for kids, etc. But reality requires homeowners to prioritize. We must tighten our belt by adjusting other budget items downward.

Local city and county government leaders who believe strongly in prioritizing additional spending on library, park and school improvements should then demonstrate their priorities by offsetting government spending in corresponding amounts in other areas.

Previous levies have been turned down in the past because property owners will not approve additional taxes for libraries, parks or schools until local governments are willing to offset the increase with corresponding cuts in other city or county budget areas.

Before you vote “yes” for increased tax levies be sure to prioritize all your living expenses. How will you cut spending on other home budget needs? What if local governments, instead of imposing city and county budgets upon taxpayers without consent would be required to submit their proposed itemized budget to voters for public discussion at open meetings and then only receive funding when approved by a majority vote of property owners?

Dennis Schlotfeldt

Spokane

Logic favors a Conroy vs. Baumgartner rematch in November

First of all, a big thank you and ongoing kudos to The Spokesman-Review for continuing to report facts and publish opinions, regardless of their origin or political leaning. Every day, more and more media outlets are choosing profit over principle and sacrificing objectivity to avoid angering the current administration.

Second, there are some who say that we should not vote for Carmela Conroy to win the primary, because she already lost to Baumgartner in 2024. I believe it would be a mistake to draw that conclusion, and in fact, the opposite may be true. Rematches happen all the time – in sports (Ali-Frazier, Lakers-Celtics, etc.) and politics alike. Facing (and even losing to) an opponent the first time around yields a wealth of vital experience and information that can be utilized for valuable strategies during the next encounter.

Conroy won the 2024 primary against a very crowded field and then earned 40% of the overall vote in the general election – all of this in a presidential election year with Trump on the ballot, and outgoing McMorris Rodgers endorsing Baumgartner. Midterms favor the party out of power, and hopefully the District 5 electorate has had enough of disastrous Republican economic cuts, voted for and lied about by the incumbent congressman.

I am committed to fully supporting whoever wins the primary on Aug. 4, as we desperately need to unseat Michael Baumgartner. I firmly believe that person will be Carmela Conroy. I ask that you also will fully support the Democratic primary winner. Thank you!

John Cross

Spokane

Nuclear in Spokane

Reading the article about the “Hazardous waste removal at Calif. aerospace storage tanks starts Monday” (June 28) made me think about the glee with which many citizens and leaders in Spokane support a proposed aerospace hub here. Although it is touted as creating jobs, the negatives have not been fully explored. The company in California manufactures fighter jet and commercial aircraft windows, which sounds innocuous enough, but how did they wind up with tanks full of toxic chemicals with the capacity of exploding or causing a major spill, endangering 50,000 residents? The same scenario could play out here.

One might also wonder about the high tech that the proposed hub is advertising. “The Future of Aerospace is Here!” shouts the Tech Hub’s website. I imagine this future also envisions using plenty of AI, in turn requiring data centers destined to steal our water from us for cooling their high-density computing systems. Another thought is that the hub will be hosting Boeing and Lockheed Martin, two companies that are on the list of publicly traded companies significantly involved in nuclear weapons production. Such companies are prohibited from doing business with the City per Spokane Municipal Code making our city a nuclear weapons Free Zone which was passed in November 2022.

Please think twice before you support this Aerospace hub.

Linda Greene

Spokane

Clocktower appreciation

The picture and article (“Clocktower chimes again,” July 5) about the magnificent old Great Northern Clocktower making music again reminded me of standing outside that depot in the early ’50s, watching my grandpa, Robert Merchant, waving to our family from that seemingly gigantic diesel engine. He spent many years as a passenger train engineer on the Great Northern tracks between Spokane and Wenatchee. Those years included shoveling coal on steam engines and then being the engineer on both steam and diesel engines. As a young boy it was a thrill to visit Spokane and watch him gliding in, knowing a little secret: He prided himself on having the train come to a total stop at exactly the right place for passengers to get out by the depot … and without any kind of indication like a lurch or jolt that the train had stopped!

Compounding my appreciation for this memory is the fact that the musical repairs cost us taxpayers less than $20,000. Had that work been done in the other Washington these days it would probably have been accomplished with a no-bid contract and cost several million tax dollars. And many kudos to those bricklayers, hod carriers, and masons, many of them recent immigrants, who actually built the beautiful tower.

Bravo Spokane!

Bob Gregson

Spokane

Thank you

Although I enjoy reading The Spokesman every day, it is not often the news makes me smile, and I cannot remember when I read something that made me laugh out loud. However, although the headline was funny, when I read the line “an attempt to reach the snake … was unsuccessful” (“Rattlesnake wanting to read is found outside Auntie’s Bookstore,” July 2), I did just that. This article is just another example of the consistent journalistic integrity of our local paper: always presenting both sides of any story. This seemed like a great time to send a thank you not only for this article, but also the great coverage of local, national and international news and sports, great pictures of the local wildlife – including said snake, your internship program, the author series … the list could go on and on. Suffice it to say that whether we write to you to say it, all readers thank you for your great work. We all benefit from having a local paper, not all communities are so lucky, and we readers are very fortunate to have one of such excellent quality … and humor.

Victoria McDonald

Spokane

Really?

In the Sunday paper you featured a home for $20 million on the front page during a time of crisis for housing affordability (“What $20 million can get you in CdA’s booming luxury real estate market,” July 5).

How thoughtful.

Tommy Mowles

Deer Park