Letters for Friday, June 26

Avista data center proposal

I am deeply concerned about the news that Avista – a for-profit corporation – has entered into discussions with an unnamed entity seeking to gain power contracts for a large data center in Spokane County. While Avista answers to its investors with the mission of delivering profits, our community is at risk of suffering huge environmental damage and eliminating future job-generating economic development opportunities.

Thank you, Spokane City Council, for passing a one-year moratorium on data centers. This is a first step in our community defining the best use of limited resources and committing to protecting our watershed and environment. Now I urge the Spokane County Commissioners and the Utilities and Trade Commission to join in pausing or stopping this proposed project.

If the proposed 500-megawatt data center moves forward, that power supply will be dedicated to a data center and will be unavailable for our growing county or for future job creation like the Aerospace Hub. Data centers only create limited jobs during their construction and then they simply consume power and water resources for no community gain.

We need a countywide moratorium on data centers and a commitment to a transparent process of evaluating long-term impacts. Avista’s profits should not drive this decision.

We must urge our elected and regulatory officials to look out for community needs and to plan for our future as a growing and thriving population that already is experiencing reduced water availability, climate change impacts and large power cost increases.

Carolyn Casey

Spokane Valley

Powell’s take on ICE detention facilities

This letter is regarding the June 23 Spokesman-Review article detailing the platform of Nate Powell, an independent candidate for Washington’s 5th Congressional District (“Firefighter Nate Powell thinks Eastern Washington is ready for an independent cage fighter for Congress”). Mr. Powell’s support for establishing ICE detention centers in Eastern Washington betrays a dangerous lack of understanding regarding the agency’s operations and oversight. While he suggests that Washington state would maintain authority, the reality of the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma proves otherwise; its operator, the GEO Group, has repeatedly barred state inspectors, leaving issues like structural decay and toxic water unaddressed while operating without a unionized workforce.

The track record of such facilities is devastating. At the Tacoma center alone, the Washington State Department of Health has received more than 3,500 formal complaints. These include more than 900 documented cases of medical neglect, reported fatalities and suicide attempts, alongside 172 allegations of sexual assault. Furthermore, reports of food contaminated with metal, plastic and insects underscore a systemic environment that bypasses local law enforcement and basic human standards.

It is alarming that Independent Nate Powell and Republican Michael Baumgartner seem prepared to welcome corporate-run ICE facilities into our region. As the August primary election nears, voters must consider whether they want leadership that advocates for the expansion of internment camps and the broader reach of ICE within our local communities.

Linda Gunshefski

Walla Walla

A better solution to homelessness

While I agree that we need to make downtown a safer, friendlier place, I disagree with Mr. Frazier’s solutions (“Spokane’s downtown in jeopardy,” June 24). It is well-established that the best way to tackle homelessness (not all of the homeless are addicts, by the way) is to provide housing for them.

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, housing the homeless accomplishes these things:

Health: Lowers the number of emergency department visits by 80%.

Crime: Reduces the number of jail days by 130%. And reduces the probability of committing a crime by 80%.

Employment: Increases the probability of reporting employment by 24 percentage points.

It is less expensive and better for everyone to make sure everyone has a home. We don’t let dogs go homeless, why do we let our people?

Becky Gray

Spokane