Inlander 07/06/2023

6-12, 2023 | SUPLEXING NE’ER-DO-WELLS SINCE 1993

How Relentless Wrestling is building a local, independent pro wrestling scene

by

ROOK KELLY

EDITOR’S NOTE

New Year’s Day, 2020, and the world felt wide open to me. A new decade had begun, and I was ready for it. So was a certain viral contagion, but that was weeks into that unknowable, exciting future, and I was in Mexico City heading to Arena México to see la mejor lucha libre del mundo

The Best Wrestling in the World.

For those unaware, as I was, Arena México is the “cathedral of lucha libre,” the term for professional wrestling in Mexico that’s characterized by stunning colorful masks and high-flying acrobatics, which have come to define pro wrestling everywhere.

My guide into the world of lucha libre, a Mexican journalist named Adan, filled me in on all the good guys and bad guys, families and dramas. He told me how the moves are largely orchestrated, and winners predetermined, so when I stepped into the pulsing arena I expected to simply laugh at the spectacle.

Well, I did laugh. And I gasped. And I cheered. A lot. Walking out of this frontal, sensory assault, I was astounded. As I stood at the metro station, I slipped on the yellow mask Adan had given me and felt transformed. This sport I’d disregarded since childhood had its claws in me.

I was reminded of this day as Seth Sommerfeld told me of his idea for this week’s cover story, SPOKANE SMACKDOWN. As he followed the local indie wrestling scene over the last few months, I did my best to hide my jealousy. But deep down, I know I have a luchador waiting to get out and put the hurt on someone. Read on, and you may, too.

— NICHOLAS DESHAIS, editor

YOUR DISTRICT 3 CANDIDATES PAGE 8 STATE OF INNOVATION PAGE 6

GUNS AND HORSES PAGE 19

GET OUT! PAGE 38

THE INLANDER is a locally owned, independent newspaper founded on Oct. 20, 1993. Please recycle THE INLANDER after you’re done with it. One copy free per person per week; extra copies are $1 each (call x226). For ADVERTISING information, email advertising@inlander.com. To have a SUBSCRIPTION mailed to you, call x210 (78 per year). To find

July 14 the podium

July

AUGUST 9 first interstate center

october 6 First Interstate Center

october 14 the podium

october 19 First Interstate Center

october 15 the podium

COMMENT

STAFF DIRECTORY

PHONE: 509-325-0634

Ted S. McGregor Jr. (tedm@inlander.com)

PUBLISHER

Jer McGregor (x224)

GENERAL MANAGER

EDITORIAL

Nicholas Deshais (x239) EDITOR

Chey Scott (x225)

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

Derek Harrison (x248)

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Seth Sommerfeld (x250)

MUSIC & SCREEN EDITOR

Samantha Wohlfeil (x234)

BREAKING NEWS EDITOR

Madison Pearson (x218)

LISTINGS EDITOR

Eliza Billingham (x222), Nate Sanford (x282), Summer Sandstrom (x232)

STAFF WRITERS

Chris Frisella COPY CHIEF

Young Kwak, Erick Doxey

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Sylvia Davidow, Ben Vandehey INTERNS

Josh Bell, Bill Bryant, Bill Frost, Will Maupin

CONTRIBUTORS

ADVERTISING

Skip Mitchell (x247)

ADVERTISING & BUSINESS

DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Carolyn Padgham (x214), Kristi Gotzian (x215), Autumn Potts (x251), Claire Price (x217)

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Tracy Menasco (x260), Stephanie Grinols (x216)

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Tamara McGregor (x233)

ADVERTISING OPERATIONS MANAGER

Kristina Smith (x223)

EVENT & SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER

PRODUCTION

Ali Blackwood (x228)

PRODUCTION TEAM MANAGER, CREATIVE, DIGITAL & MARKETING

Tom Stover (x265)

PRINT PRODUCTION & IT MANAGER

Derrick King (x238)

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Leslie Douglas (x231)

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Colleen Bell-Craig (x212), Raja Bejjani (x242)

ADVERTISING ASSISTANTS

OPERATIONS

Dee Ann Cook (x211)

BUSINESS MANAGER

Kristin Wagner (x210)

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE

CIRCULATION

Frank DeCaro (x226) CIRCULATION MANAGER Travis Beck (x237)

IF YOU WERE A WRESTLER, WHAT WOULD YOUR NAME BE?

DORI LARAISO Spikey Dimples.

Why Spikey Dimples? Because I can be a little mean, but also sweet.

TORI AMICARELLA Amigorilla. I used to get called that in high school.

So it’s like getting back at your bullies? Exactly!

SARAH GIESEKING

Cherry Bomb!

Any specific reason as to why you chose Cherry Bomb?

I wanted something that was, like, oomph! Power!

CADEN ROLLER

I’ve been waiting my whole life to be asked this: Rollin’ Thunder. Because my last name is Roller.

COLE OLAFSON

The only thing I can think of is kind of a dumb answer.

I think you should say it. Thor Tholgan.

FAMILY LAW Divorce

Spousal Maintenance / Alimony

Child Support Modifications

Parenting Plans

AUTO INJURY • CIVIL LITIGATION

Craig Mason

W. 1707 BROADWAY, SPOKANE, WA | 509443-3681

Discover the benefi ts of Customized Medications Compounded for you and Your Pets

Our staff is expertly trained & certifi ed in prescription compounding and we are ready to serve you in our state of the art facility at our new location at 1802 N Monroe St.

• Custom Compounding for People & Pets

• Flavor & Dosage Form options for veterinary prescriptions

• Bio-Identical Hormones

• Customized Preservative-Free, Dye-Free and Allergen-Free Products

• Low-Dose Naltrexone

• Hormone Consultations

• Nutrition Counseling for Wellness, Weight Loss & Athletic Performance

• Professional Grade Supplements Including: Thorne, Ortho Molecular, Metagenics, Design for Health, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics

• Pharmacist formulated CBD

Innovation is the Answer

People are ready to mobilize to fight climate change, but they crave pragmatic solutions — and some good old fashioned optimism

BY BILL BRYANT

Only a few years ago, Gov. Jay Inslee sermonized that climate change could kill humanity, using terms like “existential threat” and the “11th hour” — but not anymore. Maybe he’s realized if you tell people who are struggling to make rent or pay for their kid’s braces that they’re going to die, they will mentally check out. Either they won’t believe it, or they will — but won’t want to think about it.

Fortunately, the governor struck a new tone when he recently wrote that “we need to focus on messages of confidence and optimism and a can-do spirit. … Despair is just deadly.” Props, governor. This is the shift we need if we are going to unite and solve the challenge of climate change.

when its founder, Benji Backer, then a University of Washington freshman, came to talk with me about a new organization he had founded. At the time it was more of a club. Fast forward six years to last week, and ACC has over 20,000 members on campuses across the United States, and a full-time staff of 10. ACC helped create the congressional Conservative Climate Caucus, which is now the third largest caucus in the House of Representatives.

Hours Mon-Fri 8:30 am – 6:00 pm | Sat 9:00 am - 1:00 pm 509-343-6252 | Fax 509-343-6251 | korupharmacy@gmail.com

Last week in Salt Lake City, the American Conservation Coalition (ACC), a group of politically conservative people under 30 whose top priority is climate change, held its annual meeting. In the final session of a three-day conference, ACC’s founder laid out his vision for a new environmental movement. It hit me that the left and center-right were beginning to strike a similar chord.

I was introduced to ACC six years ago

“We have real problems, but we must help people believe we can solve them,” Benji told the 300 ACC leaders. “It’s time to create an environmental movement of optimism, not fear. Of pragmatism. Of solutions, not rhetoric. It’s time to focus on our opportunities to improve the world.”

After the final meeting, Benji explained over a celebratory beer that when we start looking at climate change as an opportunity to improve the world, we can motivate people to become involved.

Benji Backer took an idea at the University of Washington and turned it into an organization of 20,000 student climate activists. GAGE SKIDMORE PHOTO

That Backer and Inslee are striking a similar tone yields hope climate change can transcend partisan politics and become a challenge America rises to. But changing the tone is only half of how we will engage people; the other half is accountability. And while Inslee has moved away from fear mongering, I’m not sure he and the Democratic legislature want to embrace a results-driven strategy.

That’s something many of the conservatives I met in Salt Lake City demand. They support the government spending money to address climate change, as long as funds help communities adapt — or support policies and innovations that can be scaled-up by China and India, where the need is great. Conservatives want accountability, not new rules that drive up prices without reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Unfortunately, in Washington we are getting new rules and pricing schemes that won’t affect the planet’s climate — and aren’t models for China and India. If Washington Democrats require people to abandon natural gas in their homes and pay the highest gas prices in the United States (while neither have any affect on climate change), people will disengage, believe there’s nothing we can do and land somewhere between disgruntled and pissedoff. Americans will sacrifice, but not for something that won’t make a difference.

While Washington’s new taxes and standards won’t reduce temperatures and will increase gas prices, the revenue the state’s cap-and-trade scheme generates could fund innovative projects that would reduce CO2 emissions.

Innovation could be Washington state’s greatest contribution to reversing climate change. Rather than spending billions tearing down dams, we should pioneer salmon-safe hydro generation that could be used around the world. We should lead the exploration of harvesting the power of tidal currents. We should transform the Tri-Cities into Earth’s center for research, development and manufacturing of modular nuclear technology. Boeing, Alaska Airlines, Washington State University and the Port of Seattle should redouble their initiative to develop commercially viable aviation biofuels. But when one looks at how the legislature recently spent nearly $600 million of new climate tax revenues, little went to supporting innovation.

In 2024 we should elect a governor and state auditor who commit to evaluating how every one of those dollars was spent and quantify how that expenditure either reduced emissions, helped a community adapt or developed a model other countries could adopt. If an expenditure can’t meet quantifiable benchmarks, cut it. Demonstrating results will help people believe we can stall or reverse climate change. Creating a slush fund for pet projects and favorite constituencies will increase cynicism.

Benji Backer’s new environmental movement is grounded in such pragmatism, but also in optimism. He reminded the crowd that through sheer determination, previous generations of Americans rose to meet the challenge of their time. He encouraged his generation of climate activists to equally engage, learn from past errors, and pragmatically build the future.

Unknowingly, those center-right climate activists were echoing the “optimism and a can-do spirit” that left-leaning Inslee now espouses. Both parties should seize this moment, abandon the politics of fear, ensure accountability, and unite behind a new environmentalism that motivates people to take pragmatic steps forward. n

Bill Bryant, who served on the Seattle Port Commission from 2008-16, ran against Jay Inslee as the Republican nominee in the 2016 governor’s race. He is chairman emeritus of the company BCI, is a founding board member of the Nisqually River Foundation and was appointed by Gov. Chris Gregoire to serve on the Puget Sound Partnership’s Eco-Systems Board. He lives in Winthrop, Washington.

ELECTION 2023

DISTRICT 3 JAMBOREE

The race to represent northwest Spokane is a crowded, ideological buffet

BY NATE SANFORD

Six people are running to represent northwest Spokane in this year’s Aug. 1 primary election.

Almost all of the District 3 city council candidates agree that housing, homelessness and public safety are the biggest issues facing the city. But their backgrounds and plans for addressing the problems differ in significant ways.

They all say they’ll work to set partisan politics aside and work with all sides of the aisle, but each comes with their own distinct political background: progressivism, environmentalism, libertarianism, conservatism and even a sort of new age mysticism.

Read on for a guide to this year’s most crowded and ideologically diverse Spokane City Council race.

EARL MOORE

Earl Moore wants people to know that she’s a big supporter of Spokane’s police.

In early May, she showed that support by organizing a protest outside City Hall to oppose a city council resolution calling for an investigation into police Chief Craig Meidl’s communications with downtown business owners.

Protestors waved signs that read “Support Spokane police” and “Investigate City Council.” Mayor Nadine Woodward showed up and gave a short speech in support.

“Please, quit stalling and attacking our chief,” Moore told council members at an open forum that night.

...continued on page 10

The Shadle water tower in northwest Spokane ERICK DOXEY PHOTO

NEWS | ELECTION 2023

“DISTRICT 3 JAMBOREE,” CONTINUED...

Moore is a precinct committee officer for the local GOP and a retired respiratory therapist. She’s lived in Spokane for 45 years, and decided to run for office because she wants to be a “voice of reason” and make politics less divisive.

She’s also a devout Christian, and says that if elected, she wants city council meetings to open with a prayer — Jewish, Christian or Muslim, it doesn’t matter. She would also want to change the rule that limits open forum time to 15 public commenters.

“As elected officials working for the people that come, we should listen to everybody,” Moore says.

Moore says she was glad to see a recent unanimous vote to approve the Police Guild’s contract. When asked about the recent city council vote giving Spokane’s police ombudsman authority to directly investigate the chief, Moore says she doesn’t have enough information, but that she believes that council members need to let the mayor do her job.

Moore stresses her commitment to unity. As an example, she says she recently met with Council member Zack Zappone because she had concerns about the pride-themed crosswalks the city was painting in parts of the city.

But Moore says Zappone was able to answer her questions and reassure her.

“We had a good conversation,” Moore says. “If the day comes when I can’t sit down and talk and listen to anybody that I’m not in agreement with, that’s very disappointing to me.”

CHRIS SAVAGE

Chris Savage shows up to literally every single Monday night city council meeting.

Most candidates can’t say the same. And if you want to fact check Savage’s attendance record, you can go back through the archives and watch recordings of old meetings. He intentionally sits in the same spot on the right side of the council chambers — the part of the room that gets picked up on the City Cable 5 cameras.

“I want to make sure that people know that I’m not just talking a big game,” Savage says. “I want people to see that there’s actual evidence, because I think people need that consistency.”

This is Savage’s third time running for Spokane City Council. He ran for the District 3 seat currently occupied by Zappone in 2021 and got 4.3 percent of the vote in a crowded primary.

Savage says he’s learned a lot from his past campaigns, and is feeling significantly more momentum this year. He says he’s raised more than double what he did at this point in the race last time he ran. He’s also earned endorsements from local GOP and former council members Mike Fagan and Bob Apple.

When he watches council meetings on Mondays, Savage says he generally finds himself agreeing with council members Michael Cathcart, Jonathan Bingle and very occasionally Karen Stratton.

Savage is the board chair of Meals on Wheels, and currently works as warehouse manager at Project Beauty Share, a nonprofit that provides makeup and hygiene projects to women and families in need.

KITTY KLITZKE

Kitty Klitzke was almost appointed to the District 3 council seat in 2014 after then-Council member Steve Salvatori resigned early. Stratton, who is stepping down after reaching her term limit this year, was appointed instead.

Klitzke has a long history working on local policy issues.

After working as an Army reserve medic, Klitzke spent 15 years with Futurewise, a nonprofit focused on preventing urban sprawl, and preserving farm and wildland. She’s also been a board member for the Spokane Regional Transportation Council and the Spokane Regional Food Policy Council.

As a council member, one of Klitzke’s biggest goals is to update the city’s comprehensive plan, which charts out the city’s long-term goals for growth.

“It decides your levels of service for police, fire, jail beds, intersection congestion, all of that stuff,” Klitzke says. “It decides what our city looks like and how well it functions. And so for me, that’s a super important thing.”

Klitzke says she agrees with the spirit of the city council’s recent pilot program allowing the construction of denser housing types, like fourplexes, citywide, but she also thinks the law came with unintended consequences.

She says some neighborhoods — mainly Indian Trail, Five Mile and Latah Valley — lack the transit networks and other infrastructure necessary for dense development. She wants to see more development on vacant lots in the city’s urban core.

“Why are we building giant apartment complexes way out in these areas that aren’t particularly safe to build on?” Klitzke says. “It only works when you have the infrastructure, otherwise it has serious impact. So while I agree with it in most of the city, those three areas are a big challenge.”

Klitzke stresses that she isn’t talking about the classic “neighborhood character” not-in-my-backyard argument against density.

“That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about clear infrastructure problems,” Klitzke says.

ESTEBAN HEREVIA

Esteban Herevia describes himself as a mediator and strategic planner. Unlike most politicians, he has first-hand experience with housing insecurity, and is currently a renter.

“I don’t have a place of privilege,” Herevia says. “I don’t come from a place of power. I truly am showing up because I care about how policy impacts each and every one of us.”

Herevia currently works as a strategist for health justice and belonging at Washington State University’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. He also used to work as CEO of Spokane Pride.

“My bread and butter really is in transforming systems to ensure that all people are represented and that the systems actually work for folks,” Herevia says.

Herevia’s campaign has recently been shadowed by allegations that he engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a student while he was employed in a supervisory role at Whitworth University.

Chandler Wheeler, who outlined the allegations in a public Facebook post in May, does not say that any overt sexual contact happened between the two. But Wheeler does claim that Herevia abused his power as a mentor by fostering an intimate relationship with Wheeler while they were young and struggling with financial insecurity after coming out as trans to an unsupportive family.

Wheeler says the pair texted near-daily and regularly spent time together in private. Herevia invited Wheeler to stay on his couch after their family kicked them out. He also bought Wheeler alcohol when Wheeler was 19 and Herevia was 27. In hindsight, Wheeler describes a sea of red flags and alleges that Herevia was pursuing them romantically.

Herevia acknowledges that it was a mistake to buy Chandler alcohol and let them stay on his couch, but he denies having romantic intentions.

“I welcomed them into my life more like a sibling, or like close friends, and I recognize that doing so had consequences,” Herevia says. “I want to assure folks that it has been time since then, I’ve actually had some really critical professional development since that relationship… I can assure you that it won’t happen again.”

Wheeler has called on Herevia to drop out of the race and release a public accountability statement. Herevia says he is currently working on a statement, but doesn’t plan on dropping out.

“I’ve taken the time to consider and I’ve also sought out advice and it felt like it was still appropriate for me to run,” Herevia says.

Herevia says he knows his opponents on the right may use the issue to attack him if he makes it through the primary.

“It would be a pretty typical attack response for somebody like me, an out gay man of color living in Spokane who’s led a progressive organization,” Herevia says. “They were going to attack me either way.”

Herevia says WSU’s investigation into the allegations is ongoing.

EARL MOORE CHRIS SAVAGE KITTY KLITZKE ESTEBAN HEREVIA RANDY McGLENN

DARREN McCREA

RANDY McGLENN

Randy McGlenn previously served as chair of Libertarian Party of Washington, and ran three unsuccessful campaigns against state Rep. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, for a seat in the state Legislature.

He’s now pivoting to city politics because he wants to be an advocate for neighborhoods and build up the neighborhood council program. He spent several years as chair of the East Central Neighborhood Council, and currently serves as community assembly representative for the West Central Neighborhood Council.

During that time, McGlenn says he grew frustrated by neighborhood councils losing some of their control over things like traffic calming funds and Community Development Block Grants. If elected, he says he will focus on empowering neighborhood councils and regularly attending meetings in his district.

“A lot of our neighbors feel like they say one thing and City Council does another, and that really hurts participation in our neighborhood council programs,” McGlenn says.

On policing, McGlenn says he thinks it’s possible to have accountability and an effective police department. He supports talk of strengthening the ombudsman’s office, and also the recent ordinance giving police authority to arrest people in city parks after hours. He’s on the fence about laws making public drug use a misdemeanor.

He doesn’t believe in criminalizing drug use, but recognizes the quality of life issues and wants to give police tools for deterrence.

Like the other candidates, McGlenn says he’s committed to being nonpartisan and working across the aisle. But he acknowledges that his background with the libertarian party does inform his beliefs. He sees libertarianism as combining the best of both worlds — a Democratic appreciation for civil rights and personal freedoms mixed with a Republican focus on financial sustainability and government constraint.

“I think being a libertarian, in this particular setting, really frees me to focus on issues from the very moderate perspective,” McGlenn says. “I think we have a good meld of political philosophy that can really drive some effective solutions that will really build a broader consensus.”

DARREN McCREA

Darren McCrea has a picture of Dr. Seuss’s Lorax on his yard signs.

“I speak for the trees,” he says. “What I’m trying to get people to see is that our trees are in peril.”

McCrea is a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes and a long-time cannabis activist. In 2003, he opened SpoCannabis, the first medical marijuana dispensary in Eastern Washington. He says the plant has been crucial in helping with his medical issues, and he has spent years advocating for its legalization. He’s currently advocating for legalizing psychedelic mushrooms.

McCrea hasn’t raised any money, but says he’s still confident in his candidacy because unlike the other candidates, he’s solely focused on the existential threat of climate annihilation.

“We can’t stop it, there’s too much CO2 up there already,” McCrea says. “So what we do is we try to mitigate the impact and we address food insecurities.”

Towards the end of our interview, McCrea takes out a plastic box full of dried-out poop and sets it on his dining room table.

“I’ve got proof that Sasquatch is real right here,” he says.

The preserved stool sample is roughly the size of a cantaloupe. McCrea found it about a year ago while walking near the Spokane River. He won’t say exactly where, because he’s worried about hunters showing up.

McCrea claims the undigested pieces of grass and a long, wiry red hair fragment are evidence of the creature’s existence.

“Grab that part and hold that hair up to the light bulb,” McCrea says. “There’s nothing out in the woods that’ll shit like that.” n

nates@inlander.com

| BRIEFS

Gone, Gone Geese

Sandpoint euthanizes 170 geese at City Beach. Plus, a nationwide effort to solve MMIP cases; and Spokane’s ‘missing middle’ program is working.

First they rounded them up and permanently tagged them with numbers. Then they selectively shot at them. Then they systematically gassed them to death. While it might sound like a holocaust of “honkers,” the city of Sandpoint says the recent CO2 gassing of 170 geese was a necessary step in its efforts to get rid of the geese that like to live (and poop) at its popular City Beach park. The city, claiming the geese present a public health risk, paid the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services $5,000 to gather the geese and kill them. The action took place June 23. Concerned neighbors warn that unless the artificially sandy and grassy area is changed, other geese will move in, as it’s currently an ideal habitat for them. As if to prove the point, a handful of geese were already back in the park days after the action. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)

MMIP JUSTICE

Help is on the way through a nationwide effort to finally seek justice for missing Indigeous people, and the Inland Northwest is part of it. Ten attorneys and coordinators are to be stationed throughout the country as part of the Department of Justice’s new Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Regional Outreach Program. One attorney will be assigned to the Eastern District of Washington to address the high levels of violent crimes experienced by the Tribal communities within the region. The program aims to prevent and respond to missing or murdered Indigenous people and coordinate with Tribal, state and federal governmental agencies to create a comprehensive response to this crisis. The program will assist with investigating unresolved MMIP cases and crimes and developing relationships and fostering communication between different government and Tribal agencies to address these issues with more urgency in the future. The creation of this office follows years of protests and calls for action to address MMIP issues, many of which have gone unreported or unaddressed in the past. (SUMMER SANDSTROM)

MORE MISSING MIDDLE

Last year, in the midst of a historic housing crisis, Spokane City Council members passed the Building Opportunity and Choices for All ordinance, which allows for the construction of up to four residential units on any residential property in the city. The ordinance was a one-year pilot program set to expire in mid-July, but last month city council members voted to extend the pro-density law through the end of 2023. The extension gives the city more time to work on a more permanent version, which likely won’t be ready until the end of the year. According to the city’s tracker, the ordinance has resulted in 355 predevelopment units, 25 units in review and 30 unit permits issued. In May this year, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed a similar law that legalized duplexes and fourplexes in most neighborhoods across the state. (NATE SANFORD)

July 9

This GrammyAward winning band celebrates 25 years of making music live together bringing audiences to their feet night after night.

Charley Crockett

July 21

Rising Country Star Charley Crockett is a legend in the making, recently nominated for three Americana Awards - Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year.

Morgan Wade

July 22

Hot to the County music scene, Morgan Wade debuts her new album “Psychopath.”

See her at a small venue while you can. She’s about to get BIG ya’ll.

Sandpoint’s unwanted visitors. JANE FRITZ PHOTO

More Housing, Less Parking

A proposal out of Spokane City Hall would eliminate the need for parking spots in new housing

BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM

Turns out a parking spot can be a lot more expensive than its monthly fee. Building designated parking for apartments is a hidden expense that can drive up rent — but local leaders want to change that.

On July 10, Spokane City Council members will vote on temporarily eliminating off-street parking requirements for new housing within a half-mile of public transit stops, as well as for residences in the city’s “Centers and Corridors” identified in Spokane’s comprehensive plan for development. The proposal is co-sponsored by city council members Zack Zappone and Jonathan Bingle.

Current zoning laws typically require residential developers to provide one off-street parking spot per unit. Parking requirements for residential buildings have already been eliminated in downtown Spokane. The proposed policy is set to last just one year.

“It impacts environment and sustainability by improving infrastructure for transit and less reliance on cars, but it also addresses affordability,” Zappone says. “It makes housing cheaper by reducing the cost per unit.”

Because of the housing crisis facing the nation as well as Spokane, the effort to incentivize affordable housing development appeals to both sides of the aisle, according to Zappone and Bingle.

Building one parking space can cost up to $50,000, according to Matt Edlen of Edlen & Co., a developer for

the Warren Apartments building on Riverside Avenue and Browne Street in downtown Spokane. Parking can eat up to 15 percent of a developer’s budget, says Zappone.

A parking spot can never generate the amount of money it costs to build, Edlen says, so the expense often creeps into other areas, mostly rent. Relaxing regulations would let developers decide how much to spend on parking — if developers choose lower upfront expenses, it could result in lower rents.

Still, developers will likely continue to build parking because the market demand is high, Edlen says. In downtown Spokane, zoning laws don’t require any off-street parking, but it’s a top priority amenity for many renters. About half of the units in the Warren have access to a parking space, though about 80 percent of residents want a spot, Edlen says.

Bingle doesn’t expect developers to abandon parking entirely. “I just want to give them an option, depending on what’s going on,” he says.

According to Spokane’s Housing Needs Assessment, the city hopes to build 6,000 new housing units by 2037. Bingle hopes to reach this goal sooner, in order to relieve city stressors as quickly as possible.

If this new proposal is adopted, the council would collect data to determine how much the reduced require-

ments incentivized growth in one year.

“What I would like to see is the amount of projects that are coming to our pre-development team in the next year that are interested in this,” Bingle says.

Since the interim ordinance would be in place for a year, the focus would be on gauging interest and creativity in the planning stages, not counting fully constructed buildings, Bingle says. The policy would probably need to be in place for two to five years before the city feels an impact.

Still, the proposed change has precedent.

“It’s something that’s been actually happening around the country,” Zappone says, in cities like Richmond, Virginia; Bend, Oregon; Anchorage, Alaska; and San Diego. According to Zappone, San Diego saw a 400 percent increase in affordable housing proposals after eliminating parking requirements.

“If they choose to eliminate some parking, it could increase the livability space of the housing,” Zappone adds. “So that could be another metric too. Are we seeing this type of development impacting the types of housing that’s being built?”

The council would also monitor for adverse impacts, like street parking getting too crowded. Another determining factor could be the strength of Spokane’s public transportation system. If it’s popular enough to attract people who might normally otherwise use a car, it could help decrease the demand for parking.

“Transit is definitely a key partner for all of development,” Zappone says. “We are fortunate to have a transit agency that is focusing on transit-oriented development and a city that is aligning with that.”

Zappone adds that the City Line, a new 6-mile bus rapid transit route connecting the city from east to west, is improving transit, and that a generational shift toward busing and biking is helping reimagine urban spaces with fewer parking spots. n

elizab@inlander.com

City leaders say a proposed city law could encourage more downtown residences, like the Warren apartments, which only has parking spots for half of its units. ERICK DOXEY PHOTO

30 YEARS OF INLANDER

1993 - 1994

Just a couple issues after we launched the Inlander on Oct. 20, 1993, we rolled out the obligatory personal ad section, where singles could meet. Somehow we gave it perhaps the least sexy name in the history of dating: “Lines of Introduction.” … In a 1993 story titled “Affordable housing becomes an oxymoron in Spokane,” sources were bemoaning how just two years prior you could get a rental house (yes, a house) for $300 a month and now it had gone up to $400! Hey 1993! Cry us a river! … On Sept. 14, 1994, we did a cover story about quilts. Yeah, you read that right — quilts. … Then, on Dec. 14, 1994, we declared Spokane to be “Bookville, USA.” Because, why not?

IN THE NEWS

In a Nov. 3, 1993, story by Gonzaga journalism professor Mike Kirkhorn, we looked at the troubled WEST FIRST stretch of downtown Spokane. “Five years from now, drugs and sex no longer will be sold,” he wrote. “If ambitious plans for the district materialize… residents will feel safe again.” And as the city drove the bad behavior out (to other parts of town, sadly), that’s just what happened, as now it’s home to a variety of trendy shops and restaurants, connecting downtown to Browne’s Addition.

CULTURE BEAT

On Nov. 24, 1993, we checked in with the musical sensation from Coeur d’Alene BLACK HAPPY on the eve of a packed gig at Outback Jack’s. Comparisons to other big bands were coming fast at the time, but our writer Tony Duarte wasn’t having it: “Black Happy doesn’t sound like the Chili Peppers, it doesn’t sound like Pearl Jam… It sounds like Black Happy, and Black Happy sounds like fun.” A year later, Duarte would write about how they had broken up.

ON THE COVER

In 1994, Spokane had a real horse racing track, Playfair. Our writer, Nick Heil (now of Outside magazine), detailed “A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A RACE HORSE” on Aug. 3, 1994. It was really more like a day in the life of Fred Hepton, a mainstay trainer who started in the sport in 1956. His horse, Convergent Zone, won his race that night, but Heil missed a $28 payout when his pick for second place lost — by a nose. The last race at Playfair was Dec. 17, 2000.

LOCAL FOLKS

In 1993, the U.S. Speaker of the House from little old Spokane, TOM FOLEY, was landing in the Inlander news section on the regular, as he was entering a reelection year. The headlines were getting ominous. “Foley’s style under scrutiny” and “Critics follow Foley’s ascent” — that last one punctuated with this Dec. 12 quote: “He’s in deep trouble — of course, we say that every year. But I think he is this year.” Who said it? Then-Chairman of the Spokane County GOP George Nethercutt, who would famously defeat Foley less than a year later. After 10 years of service in Congress ending in 2005, Nethercutt wrote a column for the Inlander from 2011-20. Foley died in 2013.

— TED S. McGREGOR JR.

Coeur d’Alene’s Black Happy “sounds like fun.”

BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM

Delighting Alighting Passengers

From the Firenze Santa Maria Novella rail station in Florence, Italy, to the University of Florence’s School of Engineering, a tram passes two public gardens, three piazzas, a palace, a fountain and two historic landmarks, all in just over a mile. Beauty transforms even a mundane commute into a mini city tour, to say nothing of the attractions that people travel from all over the world to see, like the Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo and Michelangelo’s David.

When Juliet Sinisterra studied abroad in Florence decades ago, she began to understand how beauty could transform a place.

“The art was integrated into the urban fabric,” she says. “You’re just constantly arriving at either beautiful architecture or sculptures or a museum — it’s just part of that movement through the city.”

CITY LINE OPENING DAY CELEBRATION

Sat, July 15 from 11 am-2 pm, free & all ages Ride the City Line all afternoon for free and enjoy free food, live music, games and more at five parties happening along the new route, in Browne’s Addition, Downtown, the University District, Mission Park and Chief Garry Park. More info at spokanetransit.com/cityline

Sinisterra, who worked as an architect and urban designer, is now CEO of Spokane’s University District. The semester in Florence helped her decide to consult for Spokane Arts and the Spokane Transit Authority in 2021 as they designed public art installations along the STA’s new City Line.

The City Line is a 6-mile bus rapid transit route connecting Browne’s Addition to Spokane Community College. Something of a cross between light rail and bus, the City Line is the first bus rapid transit route in the Inland Northwest.

Melissa Huggins, Spokane Arts’ soon-departing executive director, advocated to make the new line even more unique. She created a project to beautify every stop along the new rapid bus route. Bus stops were grouped by neighborhood, and community

leaders collaborated closely with nine local artists to produce designs celebrating each neighborhood’s identity.

The attractive stops add to the City Line’s charm, making the ride more appealing to locals and tourists alike. Even without palaces and piazzas, a morning bus commute can become a moment to appreciate the beauty of home.

Hip-hop. Anime. Basketball. Joshua Thomas’ designs are colorful and cartoonish, a pop of color and blast of hope on paper, T-shirts or buildings. Thomas is the founder and designer of Lejit Designs, an illustration, branding and UX company out of Liberty Lake, though his work is cropping up everywhere: Eastern Washington University, Priest Lake, and downtown Spokane.

Thomas’ first public art installment was a red-and-yellow mural on First Avenue that brightened up the boarded windows of the Carr Sales lighting store, which closed in 2018. In 2021, Thomas filled the empty, somber downtown Spokane space with an action-packed celebration of gaming, childhood and fun.

“A lot of the work you get to do for public art, you can feel a level of importance and a level of community that sometimes is lacking in traditional design work,” Thomas says.

Also in 2021, Spokane Arts put out a call for applications on the City Line art project. Huggins had spent the past year and a half gauging neighborhood enthusiasm for public art and the City Line itself.

Eventually, community leaders got so excited that they wrote thick briefs to introduce their neighborhood’s history, geography

After STA’s City Line transit route launches this month, taking the bus becomes like a trip to the museum

History-inspired scenes by Jiemei Lin at a stop on the new City Line. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

and demographics. As part of the application process, neighborhoods requested initial sketches showing how an artist would weave the information into one cohesive, appealing design.

“The neighborhoods were super active,” Huggins says. “Not only in creating the framework for these descriptions that the artists were drawing from, but then they also got to interview the artists and pick their favorite artists. Then once the artist was selected, they also gave rounds of input before the design was finalized.”

Applicants could choose which neighborhoods to apply to. Thomas’ first choice was the group of stations STA dubbed the “symphony district,” which includes stops near the Fox Theater, the Knitting Factory and the former Carr lighting building.

“I have loved music for as long as I can remember,” Thomas says. “I just felt a very strong kinship with the description they gave of the symphony station and the history and all of the people that had been through there. I had done a mural already in that area — I love that area, right?”

The symphony district leaders loved Thomas, too. He set to work distilling his affection into visible, serviceable design.

Art is featured on the same four elements at every bus station — a glass shelter panel, a tall metal flag, waste bins and a railing panel. These are necessary parts of the structure and are covered by federal grant money. The City Line art project is the first in the country to use federal transit funding to promote public art.

Sinisterra reviewed each individual artist’s work, but also needed to ensure some kind of cohesion between all nine neighborhood designs. For instance, each artist was required to use a certain percentage of the STA line’s signature purple to match the buses pulling up to the stop.

Thomas decided to take it a step further, ditching his original idea and adopting the entire STA palette in order to get the highest saturation of colors into his design.

“Honestly, some of your best ideas always come from technical limitations,” Thomas says. “Any time one door closes, another one opens. In my experience, the door that opens tends to be something that’s far more interesting than the one if everything had just gone exactly as planned.”

For the symphony district stops, Thomas depicts instrumentalists, singers, comedians and dancers in bold, blocky cartoons. In the Chief Garry neighborhood, Danielle Davis incorporates kindergarten drawings of dinosaurs and other sixyear-old musings from the local elementary school, a public time capsule complete with names and ages of the young artists. Jiemei Lin depicts the history of downtown’s international east end with scenes of indigo dyeing and a long-forgotten instrument parade on the glass.

“For residents, for commuters, and also for visitors, you’re going to learn something about Spokane — its history and its culture and its characteristics — as you move through those stations,” Huggins says. “This is transformative for Spokane.”

Public art “activates public spaces,” she says. An abandoned place can feel unsafe. But color and community investment change that.

“Being able to see some of the playful, beautiful art as you’re commuting to school or commuting to a job — ideally it brightens people’s faces,” Sinisterra says. “It provides a lightness that sometimes we lose in the urban environment.”

Getting people to enjoy riding public transit is a huge task in most American cities. But Huggins believes that “being delighted” is possible at a bus stop, if it’s beautiful and educational and surprising.

Spokane isn’t Florence. But that doesn’t mean it can’t learn something from the Italian city, and other cities all over the world famous for charming spaces and easy, enjoyable transit.

“We hear so much fear about urbanism in the downtown,” Sinisterra says. “[Art] has a role to tell stories and to create the energy that helps people feel lighter and more connected and part of a place. We have to feel a part of our place or else we’re not gonna protect it. It is a really lovely way to pull [people] out of their day-to-day and just see something that’s lovely and playful and fun and celebrates their city.” n

THE BUZZ BIN

AMERICA THE STREAMABLE

Seven movies “about” ’Merica: flicks titularly related to the U.S. of A.

BY BILL FROST

The Fourth of July is behind us — how patriotic are you feeling? Me, I can barely muster the motivation to light a sparkler to rah-rah-rah for the red, white, and blue, much less crank out a column on star-spangled TV. So, I simply typed “’Merica” into streaming database Reelgood.com — laziness is this country’s birthright — and it spit back these movies. DJ, please cue up “Proud to Be an American,” or “YMCA,” and let’s get this BBQ started.

AMERICAN PSYCHO 2 (2002)

Except for a scene tacked on to insert Patrick Bateman into the narrative, American Psycho 2 has absolutely nothing to do with 2000’s American Psycho, not even a feigned appreciation for Huey Lewis and The News. To better understand serial killers, criminology student Rachael (Mila Kunis) becomes one herself, eliminating her college competition for Quantico’s FBI Academy — can’t knock the hustle. If nothing else, American Psycho 2 is Kunis’ best role since Meg Griffin.

AMERICATHON (1979)

In the distant future of 1998, the U.S. has run out of oil, paper money is worthless, and the country is about to be repossessed by a Native American cartel. Then new-agey President Chet Roosevelt (John Ritter) has an idea: A telethon to save America. Americathon is as relentlessly stupid as a MAD magazine issue come to life (Wiki “MAD magazine” and “telethon,” kids), but it does have a young Meat Loaf battling the last functioning muscle car in the nation.

AMERICAN SATAN (2017)

Nobody Hollywood rock band The Relentless crosses paths with The Devil (Malcolm McDowell — a Brit, so this Satan isn’t even American), who says he’ll make them superstars if they perform a human sacrifice for him. They do, he does, and the de rigueur montage of sex, drugs, and rock-star debauchery ensues. This Hot Topic debacle is hellishly terrible, but yet was somehow spun out into a slightly-less-terrible TV series (Paradise City, also streaming on Tubi).

BEAVIS & BUTT-HEAD DO AMERICA

(1996)

A stone-cold American road-trip classic, following stone-dim delinquents Beavis and Butt-Head (both voiced by Mike Judge) as they travel the country in hopes that “heh, we’re gonna score, heh-heh.” They don’t (spoiler), but Beavis & Butt-Head Do America does boast the highest critical score of any movie here, and features Beavis (as Cornholio) wiping his bunghole with the Declaration of Independence 30 years before Orange 45.

GOD BLESS AMERICA (2011)

Disgusted with American culture, middle-aged Frank (Joel Murray) and deranged teen Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr) go on a killing spree, taking out reality TV stars, religious protestors, and right-wing political pundits. The trail of blood ends at an American Idol-style singing competition show (it’s like this movie read my mind).

AMERICAN JOYRIDE (2011)

Ty (Alex Petrovich) and Crystal (Katherine Randolph) are redneck lovebirds on the run from a psychotic loanshark — so of course they record their Deep South crime spree in hopes of selling it as a reality show (hey, we know TLC would be all over it). American Joyride is just another Natural Born Killers ripoff, a subgenre already perfected by 1994’s underrated Love and a .45 (Renée Zellweger’s finest hour), but it’s still good for some gonzo shaky-cam kicks.

AMERICAN BIGFOOT (2017)

A Bigfoot goes on a rampage in Ohio after its cub is killed by a drunk with a gun (hence the American modifier), and it’s headed straight for a campground for dryhumping teens called Kampout (the movie’s original title). Like Cocaine Bear on a 5-Hour Energy budget, American Bigfoot plays more like a comedy than a horror flick, headlined by what appears to be a roid-raging Muppet and that guy from Gremlins (Zach Galligan). We can lose Ohio, it’s fine. n

LITERARY CONNECTIONS

Looking for a fun way to reach your reading goals this summer? Spokane Public Library has you covered with its BOOK CLUB KITS, totes filled with eight to 10 copies of the same book, a list of discussion questions, and tips for starting a book club. Library cardholders can check out these bags for up to eight weeks, or can select a desired book club title online to pick up multiple copies at any local branch. For kids participating in summer reading challenges, creating a book club can be an engaging way to connect with friends and win a free book as a prize at the end of the summer. (SUMMER SANDSTROM)

META AIN’T BETTA

Writer/director Wes Anderson has certainly never shied away from quirk. After his exacting visual aesthetic, it’s his most recognizable calling card. But Anderson gets a little too meta for his own good with the new ASTEROID CITY. The core of the film — a small desert town hosting a celebration of young inventors gets quarantined after an unexpected extraterrestrial visit — pops with delightful imagery and bang-up performances from the star-studded ensemble cast (Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks and many more). But the whole thing (including the obvious COVID parallels) gets undercut by the film’s bizarre framing — the actual story is a play, and it keeps cutting back to a black-and-white film documenting the creation of the play. This whole meta angle adds almost nothing to the film and slows the whole pace down while undercutting the ending. It leaves a promising film feeling more like moondust than a shooting star. (SETH SOMMERFELD)

THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST

Noteworthy new music arriving in stores and online on July 7.

TAYLOR SWIFT, SPEAK NOW (TAYLOR’S VERSION). Tay Tay finally gets around to doing a redux of her best album. Before you come after me for that take, Swifties, I only ask this: “Why you gotta be so mean?”

JULIE BYRNE, THE GREATER WINGS. Folk singer Julie Byrne’s songs caress listeners like a tender and gentle embrace, bolstered on her new album with delicate synths, keys, and harp backings.

PJ HARVEY, I INSIDE THE OLD YEAR DYING. Citing soundtrack composers as one of her influences this time around, the beloved British alt-rock singer songwriter taps into a certain cinematic grandeur on her 10th album. (SETH SOMMERFELD)

Red, white, blue and... stupid?

Give It a Shot

Cowboy Mounted Shooting is as Western as Eastern Washington gets; meet local rider Courtney Bock and her horse, Stella

BY MADISON PEARSON

Red and yellow balloons are dotted across the landscape, “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” by John Denver plays through a Bluetooth speaker, and everyone is dressed like a cowboy straight out of a spaghetti western.

But this isn’t a Wild West-themed birthday party. No, this is the practice arena for the Northwest Mounted Shooters.

Cowboy mounted shooting is about as niche as you can get in terms of equestrian sports, but in the past few years, it’s gained popularity due to features on ESPN and other sports outlets.

The objective is to navigate a set course on horseback while negotiating a pattern and firing a pistol to eliminate the 10 balloons attached to stakes through the arena. All shooters are equipped with two pistols, each loaded with five black powder theatrical blanks. No actual bullets are involved in mounted shooting, hot embers from the powder blanks pop the balloons from up to 20 feet away.

Every Wednesday evening, members of the Northwest Mounted Shooters club drive out to a practice area — horses in tow— and make sure they’re in tip-top shape for upcoming competitions.

The sun is beating down, but it’s the least of the riders’ worries. One participant just purchased a horse, and it’s nowhere near ready for competition.

The shooters trade tips and tricks for how to train the horse and even offer to take him for a ride around the course themselves to gauge his trainability.

During this particular session, they’re also preparing for a weekend of competition over in Idaho, participating in the Rusty Palmer Memorial Shoot as well as the 25th annual Coeur d’Alene Shoot at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, July 7-9.

The shooters mount their horses after equipping them with sport-specific saddles, safety equipment and even huge earplugs made specifically for fluffy horse ears. Each rider has two pistols on their hips, some even sport fancy, custom holsters.

To an outsider, the sport looks a tad daunting with the guns and everything, but for these shooters, it’s like riding a bike. They’re ready to enter the arena and get down to business.

For Courtney Bock, mounted shooting marries two of her favorite hobbies: shooting and horseback riding.

“When I was five I took horseback riding lessons,” Bock says. “I showed English side saddle for a long time. But when I got to high school, my parents gave me an ultimatum. They said I could either get a new show horse or go to college. I figured I should probably go to college.”

Bock ended up participating in rodeos and barrel racing while in college. In 2010, she had her first introduction to mounted shooting.

“I saw some people online doing it, and I thought, ‘Well that looks fun!’” she says. “I was out shooting one day, and Rachel Peters, our club president, invited me to try out mounted shooting. I started out without a horse, and I had pretty cheap equipment. Now that I’ve been doing this for about 12 years, I’ve worked my way up to better equipment, more horses and higher purse prizes at competitions.”

Bock’s adventures in the mounted shooting world are documented on her Instagram, @themountedshooter, where she posts course runs, photos of her four horses and tips on how to become a mounted shooter for those interested in the sport.

The relationship between a shooter and their horse is key to being a successful mounted shooter. Bock’s horse Stella knows her job and performs it well.

“When we’re out there and something goes wrong, I know that it’s my fault,” she says. “I trust my horse completely, she knows what she’s doing.”

Stella wasn’t always the athlete she is today. Like most partnerships, it took time for Stella and Bock to become the dynamic duo they are now.

When Bock bought Stella from a ranch in Arizona after retiring her original shooting horse, Copper, she started over completely and treated Stella like she’d never been ridden, least of all while a gun was being fired by her rider.

This slow-but-steady training started with trail riding, barrel racing practice, and getting Stella used to the sound of gunfire over the course of a few months, paired

with some tough love. Soon enough, Stella was ready to enter competitions on the regular and has been Bock’s main horse for five years.

The honey-colored horse’s coat shines golden in the early summer sun, typical of palominos. She’s reserved and well-mannered while standing tied up to Bock’s horse trailer and munching on hay, but as soon as Stella steps hoof into that arena, she’s an entirely different horse — focused, energized and ready to win.

When their turn is up, Stella and Bock get ready to navigate the newly set up course by taking a moment to gain speed. Dust kicks up as Stella bolts down one side of the course. Bock takes aim.

POP, POP, POP, POP, POP!

She takes out all the red balloons in about eight seconds flat. The duo rounds a barrel at the other end of the course and on her way back, Bock now aims for each yellow balloon.

As the dust settles, it’s clear that all 10 balloons have been decimated.

All of the time spent together outside of competition has paid off. Bock and Stella are a force to be reckoned with. As Bock dismounts, her hands shake a bit and she laughs.

“The day that I get off of the horse and don’t shake with adrenaline is the day I’ll quit forever.” n

Rusty Palmer Memorial Shoot • Fri, July 7 at noon

Coeur d’Alene Shoot

July 8-9 at 9 am

Both events free, all ages • Kootenai County Fairgrounds • 4056 N. Government Way, Coeur d’Alene • cmsaevents.com

Follow the Northwest Mounted Shooters on Facebook and at northwestmountedshooters.weebly.com

Courtney Bock and her palomino horse, Stella, aim for greatness. ALEX CALLAGHAN PHOTOS

RELENTLESS

Inside the world of Spokane’s indie pro wrestling scene

BY SETH SOMMERFELD

Chase James is ready for his crowning achievement. Seven years after starting his pro wrestling journey, Spokane’s “Hometown Hero” is about to have a match for the Pacific Northwest Championship — the top prize in Relentless Wrestling, the local independent wrestling company he co-founded and runs.

For those who only know World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE, formerly WWF) — and the jacked Adonis superstars like Hulk Hogan, the Rock and John Cena — the 32-year-old James doesn’t fit the central casting mold. He’s no tiny dude, but his build is more that of an everyman than a ’roided up genetic freak.

It’s a near perfect low-70s sunny day in early June and the wrestling ring set up on the grass outside Trailbreaker Cider in Liberty Lake for Relentless Wrestling’s second anniversary show is set to be the stage for James’ triumphant moment.

There’s just one problem: There’s a 7-foot tall behemoth standing in the ring with a microphone telling the very real story about how doctors ordered him to stop wrestling due to a heart condition.

The giant in question is Jackson Price, one of James’ best friends and also a co-founder of Relentless.

And while the actual Chase James loves his pal, Chase James the wrestler is having none of the sob story. That’s because the beloved babyface “Hometown Hero” recently turned heel and became a bad guy. James storms to the mat and berates Price with insensitive jokes about his ailment, and tells him to get out of his ring so he can have his title match.

...continued on next page

Wrestling superhero Jaiden soars at Chase James during Relentless Wrestling’s second anniversary show outside Trailbreaker Cider.

YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

PRO WRESTLING

But the joke turns out to be on James, when the brand new general manager of Relentless Wrestling — James’ actual fiancee, Ashley Kersey — enters the ring. She bluntly informs her partner that he loses too much to get a title shot and, to his shocked dismay, instead books him in a match with the popular masked superhero, Jaiden.

It’s just another wild day in the world of Spokane’s blossoming indie wrestling scene, but one that emphasizes one major theme: Relentless Wrestling is a family.

THE RISE OF INDIE WRESTLING

In the decades after the downfall of World Championship Wrestling, the only visible professional presence for most Americans was WWE, with its touring and nationally televised programs. But for the committed wrestling nerds, tiny independent promotions like Ring of Honor were thriving and serving as a breeding ground for talent that would eventually rise to WWE superstardom. The success of smaller promotions that didn’t really try to compete with the soap opera “sports entertainment” aspects of WWE found their niches and devoted fanbase. Soon independent wrestling was booming in many major markets.

Extremely talented wrestlers who weren’t deemed WWE material because they were too small, couldn’t cut promos (aka talk well on the mic), or had gimmicks that wouldn’t translate to a mass audience found themselves traveling town to town putting on top-tier matches in tiny gyms and bingo halls.

Across the state in Seattle, DEFY Wrestling was founded in 2017 and grew to be one of the best indie promotions in the country. But in Spokane, things were more bleak. There would be promotions that would pop up

from time to time for a few shows, but it was often amateurish, untrained “backyard wrestling,” which lacked any sort of polish. They were more of a morbid car crash fascination than a professional entertainment product, giving Spokane a bad reputation among the pros.

Frustrated by this, James decided to do something about it in 2021. Along with co-founders Jackson Price and Andy Yank (owner of Brothers Flooring and Design), James decided to try to put on a proper indie wrestling show in June 2021 at Trailbreaker Cider. They called it Relentless Wrestling.

“Relentless came about because I wanted something to show my friends and family,” says James. “I had so many friends and family members that knew that I was a wrestler, but they didn’t know what that meant. In their mind it was like Hulk Hogan or the goofy side of wrestling. They didn’t see people going through doors, hitting each other with chairs, or getting busted open, or doing flips and slams. … I remember going in and I was like, ‘If we sell 70 tickets, I’m gonna be happy.’ And I think our first show we ended up doing like 160 tickets.”

From years in the ring, James knew a network of talented indie wrestlers he could bring to Spokane. Over the two years of operations, this has included former WWE stars like Gangrel and Carlito and rising indie stars like WARHORSE and Tom Lawlor. The goal for the founders was to put on a well-rounded show that wasn’t sloppy and could be appreciated by audiences of all ages.

“The cool thing about wrestling is that there’s something for everyone: You’re gonna see violence, you’re gonna see comedy, you’re gonna see love, you’re gonna see horror, you’re gonna see a little bit of everything,”

says James. “This isn’t the 30-minute TV storyline soap operas, you’re gonna see young hungry guys that are here to beat the shit out of each other and have a fun time. Once you experience it, you won’t want to miss it.”

WRESTLING IS FOR EVERYONE

It shouldn’t need to be said in our post-modern pop cultural landscape, but pro wrestling isn’t a real competition. But that doesn’t mean it’s fake, merely that the winners and losers are predetermined in order to further larger storylines. The best way to think of it is as a cross between stage performance and improvised physical fighting. They might plan out some beats of the matches — backstage during the show I watched as two performers go through a series of moves they want to perform almost like two little boys coming up with narratives for battles with their action figures — but much of wrestling is called on the fly in the ring.

Part of the goal of pro wrestlers is to do everything they can to make it look like they’re hurting each other while actually keeping each other safe. But there’s real wear and tear on the performers’ bodies. James alone has torn his meniscus multiple times, dislocated his ribs, tore his calf, sliced his eyelid completely open, dislocated his shoulder, suffered multiple concussions, and broken his hand “probably every three to six months.”

“You learn in wrestling that you’re always going to be injured, so you learn to work around your injuries,” says James. “I think it was most shocking for my fiancée because every other week something’s injured. So now she’s not even fazed by it.”

...continued on page 24

“CHASE JAMES IS RELENTLESS,” CONTINUED...

From left: A Tom Lawlor suplex, an aerial attack from Ricc Rodrigez, and WARHORSE putting Keita in the Scorpion Death Lock of Death. YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS

PRO WRESTLING

“CHASE JAMES IS RELENTLESS,” CONTINUED...

The ring isn’t soft. The steel chairs are steel chairs. The chops are legit. And in Washington state it’s illegal to blade (intentionally cutting yourself in a match to cause bleeding), so if you’re seeing someone bleeding or with a dollar bill stapled to their body… they did that the hard way.

“I’ll literally be bleeding because I got busted open, and after the match [and someone will] come up and go, ‘Man, how did you fake that?’” James says with a laugh. “‘What part?’ And they’re like, ‘When he took that staple gun and stapled a poster to your head.’ And I’m like, ‘…he stapled it to my head.’”

The thing that’s probably most overwhelming to newbies about attending an indie wrestling show is the pure intensity of the fans. Any good indie show features almost nonstop chanting from the fans ranging from “This is awesome! This is awesome!” when things are firing on all cylinders, to “Holy shit! Holy shit!” when a wrestler takes a dangerous dive. Relentless certainly fits that bill. While it might not be the most family-friendly environment if you’re a stickler for cursing, there is something wonderfully wholesome in a twisted way about seeing a pack of elementary school girls in the front row flipping off the wrestlers they don’t like.

“We’re looked at as weirdos and freaks, because we enjoy falling down or watching people fall down,” says Relentless fan and trainee Tim Beamis. “Yeah, we’re weird, but we’re also super welcoming to outsiders coming in. I’ve brought a few people that have never been to a show to a Relentless show, and they had a blast.”

While Relentless usually operates inside Trailbreaker Cider, the second anniversary show brings the ring outdoors for a day of body slamming festivities. In addition to being a wrestler, Chase is the booker for Relentless and plans out the match card, so he’s got a lot on his plate. Wrestling shows like Relentless can run for three hours with an intermission, and there’s plenty of entertainment packed into that time slot.

There are suplexes on the grass. Wrestlers soar out of the ring to pummel their unsuspecting opponents. One competi tor slams full speed into a stack of metal kegs while trying to attack his opponents. The performers come out to entrance music ranging from Madonna to Taking Back Sunday to New Kids on the Block. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor theatrically removes his jorts (to reveal another pair underneath). Kids run around carefree on the grass while the violence occurs in-ring. As the sunlight fades, a bank of lights dramatically illuminates the last few matches as bugs buzz around in its glow. An impromptu table is concocted out of kegs and a door, which of course leads to a splinter shattering top rope move. Fans kiss the biceps of a showboating WARHORSE.

In addition to James’ impromptu battle with Jaiden (which James wins), there are a handful of standout matches and moments. The fan-favorite hardcore tag team Most Violent (Drexel and Funnybone) brutalize their cowardly opponents Flaming Aces, only for the heels to pull out a sneaky win and literally jump the fence and run away to avoid more punishment. The lone women’s match on the card is a stellar one, pitting “The Emo Queen” Brooke Havok against strongwoman Amira. The last match of the night features New Japan Pro Wrestling standout Lawlor battling his stablemate Danny Limelight in a TV-worthy affair. And the first act of the show ends with a shock as the amped up, face-painted WARHORSE captures Relentless’ Pacific Northwest Championship by knocking off longtime champ Keita.

All the wrestlers seem to be in fantastic spirits at Relentless. And the No. 1 reason why is the Relentless fans.

“I’ve had other indies that I’ve canceled on just to be here because I like the vibe so much,” says the new champion WARHORSE. “I can’t quite explain it, but the energy is different here. There’s a certain level of investment that you can feel. These fans are different. They know that if they come to a Relentless Wrestling show, they’re in good hands because they’re gonna hold on to the edge of their f---ing seats.”

MORE PHOTOS

Head to inlander.com to see a slideshow of Relentless and its wrestlers

“The Emo Queen” Brooke Havok celebrates a win under the stars. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

“I like that there were small children that give my opponents the finger. I’ve never been such an influence on the youth of America before as I am here in Spokane,” says Drexel. “The energy that we get up here in Spokane, it’s pretty insane. The fact that when we wrestled a superhero, when the superhero came through the curtain, the crowd chanted “You f—ed up!” just for walking out to face us — that’s never happened in any other place.”

Drexel’s tag team partner Funnybone is much more blunt about it: “I like the fans. I like that they hand me dollar bills to staple to dumbasses.”

The performers also rave about the atmosphere James creates as the man in charge.

“Chase knows what he wants, but he doesn’t control everyone. He doesn’t force it. It’s more organic here,” says Keita. “You don’t get a lot of promoters like that.”

“Chase is the grinder,” says Relentless co-founder York. “He’s the glue that makes everything come together. We wouldn’t actually have this if it wasn’t for Chase, because he can have his mind on his company and Relentless Wrestling 24 hours a day.”

In addition to having a fan response, booker and family vibe that keeps bringing wrestlers back to Spokane, there’s also an inclusivity that Relentless Wrestling provides without having to be loud about it. James consistently books queer and non-binary wrestlers like Brooke Havok, Kieta and Kidd Bandit.

“I love the fact that they are inclusive but don’t present their product in that way,” says Kieta, who is bisexual. “We should be booked on our talent and that’s exactly what Relentless does, showcase what we do no matter how we identify, it’s definitely the hidden promotion in the LGBTQIA+ community.”

CHASE-ING THE DREAM

Relentless almost never came to pass. Three years ago, James was on the verge of death. His pelvis was shattered into three pieces, all of his ribs were broken, as was his tailbone. Doctors had to pump fluid out of his lungs and he lost a lot of blood. But this wasn’t some in-ring catastrophe. James was in a high-speed car crash where his vehicle hit a telephone pole and a brick wall.

“They pretty much thought I was gonna die, but then I kicked out at two just because I’m that much of an entertainer,” jokes James.

But pro wrestling has been pumping through James’ body since he was a kid. So while doctors told him he might be confined to a wheelchair for nine months, he ended up only rolling around for three, and was back in the ring within weeks of being able to walk again.

“That was very scary,” says Naomi Vinson, James’ mom. “He wanted to get back in the ring sooner than we thought he should. But Chase does Chase. He can take a bump.”

Mom knew her little boy was a wrestling fanatic since his early days. Born Chase James Wilson, he called Spokane home but sort of grew up all over the place. His parents were traveling vacuum salespeople and they all lived, with Chase’s two brothers, in a motorhome. Nomadic life makes it hard to maintain childhood friendships, so James turned to pro wrestling to keep him entertained. When he was able to hang out with pals, they’d often act out the moves of their favorite WWF stars, like the Hardy Boyz, on a trampoline.

“My friends growing up were my wrestling action figures,” says James. “I used to go to bed every night, and I would say in my prayers that I wanted to grow up to be a pro wrestler. That was all I ever wanted.”

...continued on next page

RELENTLESS REGULARS

WARHORSE

Current Relentless Pacific Northwest Champion

CHARACTER: Macho Man Randy Savage meets the Ultimate Warrior meets ‘80s metal meets CAPS LOCK meets energy drinks (or what if the “Powerthirst” video was a personw)

LISTED WEIGHT: 4,000 pounds of raw heavy metal

FINISHERS: Scorpion Deathlock of Death + Elbow Drop of Death @JPWARHORSE

KEITA

Two-time Relentless Pacific Northwest Champion

CHARACTER: “The Ruler of Realms”: A fearless warrior king type who is willing to fight to protect what is right.

FINISHER: Find Your Fate (Twist of Fate variation)

ENTRANCE MUSIC: “Te Kill Ya” (A custom theme for Keita) @KeitaYourHeart

BROOKE HAVOK

CHARACTER / NICKNAME: The Emo Queen

FINISHER: PTSKnee (Twist of Fate into a one-knee Codebreaker)

ENTRANCE MUSIC: “Cute Without the E” by Taking Back Sunday @BrookeHavok

DREXL

NICKNAME: The Homicidal Artist

CHARACTER: Violent and spooky hardcore masochist

FAVORITE MOVE: Paper cutting his opponents

ENTRANCE MUSIC: “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads @TheDevilDrexl

FUNNY BONE

CHARACTER / NICKNAME: Demigod of Death

UNOFFICIAL NICKNAME: Demon Dick (He has his own very NSFW OnlyFans account)

FINISHER: Demon Spike (Draping Fire Thunder Driver) @Demi_GodOfDeath

AMIRA

CHARACTER: Classic strong woman

LISTED WEIGHT: “About 20 really large house cats, give or take.”

ENTRANCE MUSIC: “Squirrel Power!” by John Kiernan (A custom made theme for Amira)

@amiraiswrestler (Twitter) | @amiraissquirrel (IG)

JAIDEN

CHARACTER: “Basically I’m kinda like Miles Morales meets Sonic the Hedgehog when I get in the ring. Obviously, I’ve got the superhero get-up. Big on that Marvel vibes, big on the anime vibes.”

FINISHERS: Plus Ultra Driver (A variation on Kenny Omega’s One-Winged Angel) + Superhero Splash

ENTRANCE MUSIC: “Holding Out for a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler @ThisIsJaiden

“I love the fact that they are inclusive but don’t present their product in that way. We should be booked on our talent and that’s exactly what Relentless does.”

PRO WRESTLING

“CHASE JAMES IS RELENTLESS,” CONTINUED...

But wrestling became an afterthought when Chase was 19 and his father was diagnosed with cancer and eventually succumbed to the disease. To find a release for his emotions, James started mixed martial arts training. He moved to Seattle when he was 20, and parlayed a random driving contest by Subaru into a job being a stunt driver and spokesperson for the car company, thanks in large part to being a car guy and having automotive knowledge. In 2015, he moved back to Spokane, eventually starting his own business — Tier One, the Liberty Lake auto shop that also specializes in building race cars.

Back in Spokane, James stumbled across a low-rent wrestling school and realized he could actually pursue his childhood dreams of competing in the squared circle. However, he quickly realized Spokane’s wrestling training options were not legit, so he began checking out wrestling schools in Seattle and Portland before eventually finding a home at the Buddy Wayne Academy in Everett (now known for producing All Elite Wrestling star Darby Allin and Buddy’s teenage wrestling prodigy son Nick Wayne). Every Saturday James would wake up at 5 am, drive to Everett, train for three or four hours, and drive home.

“My goal with wrestling was always to be the guy that can have a good match with anyone,” says James. “And I finally feel like I’m getting at that point where you can put me in there with someone who’s been doing this for years or someone who has their first match and I’m gonna be able to put on a fun match that the crowd is going to enjoy.”

SMACKDOWN IN THE SHED

With Jackson Price on the sideline due to his heart condition, James is the only local wrestler who’s a regular part of Relentless Wrestling. But he’s hoping it doesn’t stay that way for long.

On a thunder-storming night two days before the Relentless anniversary show, James is standing on his head in a large shed in the backyard of his Otis Orchards home. On Thursday nights, this slightly leaky structure turns into Relentless Athletics, a new school for aspiring

pro wrestlers that opened at the start of the year.

A ragtag group of just under two dozen wrestling fans surrounds him as he shows off his technique in the center of the ring.

It’s an eclectic crew on hand. The youngest of the bunch is 15, while the oldest is 43. The energetic kid measures just 5-foot-4 and 120 pounds, while the largest participant stands 7-feet tall and tips the scale at 320 pounds. There are only two women in the bunch of trainees, one of which is James’ fiancée Ashley.

The students wait patiently for their turn in the ring to do the basics, though with this many people, rotations sometimes take around 45 minutes. The students do head rolls, shoulder rolls, run the ropes, put each other in head locks, and take back bumps on the mat while James watches and gives tips on posture, footwork, and selling (making things look real and dramatic for spectators). After months of training, the trainees are anxious to start suplexing each other and jumping from the top rope, but James still emphasizes the basic core elements of professional wrestling.

...continued on page 28

Saturday July

Tom Lawlor picks up a win after powerbombing Danny Limelite through an impromptu table. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

PRO WRESTLING

“[Chase] is laid back and really cool,” says the class’ eldest member, Tim Beamis. “He’s willing to give us time and let us work at our pace so that we’re not gonna do it wrong. Even if it takes 1,000 times, we’re gonna get it right.”

For years, James had resisted teaching wrestling, but he eventually felt his hand was forced because so many locals wanted to train.

“I was getting messages every week from at least one person going, ‘Hey, how can I become a pro wrestler?’” says James. “And I kept telling everyone, ‘Sorry, there’s nothing really here.’”

The problem was that wasn’t entirely true. There were people willing to train aspiring wrestlers, but they lacked the expertise to do so, which infuriated James because he felt people with wrestling dreams were being swindled. So he decided to hold a wrestling tryout/seminar in January and if attendance was good he’d consider starting his own school. There ended up being 25 people at the tryout, so he started a class and 23 folks showed up. “And then I was just like, ‘Crap. There’s a lot of people that want to do this. And they’re all so hungry, and they all have a lot of talent,’” says James.

It’s an energetic and supportive environment at Relentless Athletics. James also doesn’t leave any students behind, as long as they put in the work and follow his instruction, even doing extra training sessions on the side pro bono to help those struggling to keep up with certain aspects of the classes.

“It gets weird a lot of times, especially because I’m probably the least athletic one there,” says trainee

Heather Lynn. “It’s just kind of like, you gotta go for it. I’ve been telling myself for the longest time I wanted to give it a shot and train, and the stars finally aligned and I got to do it. For me personally, I’ve always told myself, ‘I want to get thrown through a table.’ That’s what I want to work towards.”

CONSIDER THE BRUISING

For those who still insist pro wrestling is fake, consider the red handprint bruise strewn across my chest as I type this story up. I returned to Relentless Athletics a few weeks after my initial visit to do some boots-on-the-mat journalism. Over the course of a couple hours, James walked me through the basics of the squared circle: I rolled, I back bumped, I ran the ropes, I grappled… the whole nine yards.

The hardest element of the in-ring experience wasn’t landing on the unforgiving mat (it’s barely padded wood) or hitting the cable ropes at high speed. Rather, it’s turning your brain’s protective instincts off. The biggest struggles weren’t the falls, but when my body reflexively tried to prevent my intentional falls, which led to the actually painful landings. You wouldn’t think swinging your legs out and landing chest first would break your brain, but my legs kept instinctively trying to stop my descent, thereby making things much worse.

But with James’ coaching, I made it through the evening bruised up quite a bit but still in one piece. To cap the night, James suplexed me to the canvas and gave me a flesh-on-flesh chest chop that echoed throughout the shed with a loud slap. There is something strangely

satisfying about enduring the painful bits and making it out on the other side, a sort of masochistic achievement that surely is one factor in these indie wrestlers continually putting their bodies through hell for the public’s amusement.

PUTTING THE HOME IN “HOMETOWN HERO”

While Relentless continues to grow its local fan base — selling out many of its shows — James spends much of his time mentally wrestling with the future of the company.

For him, Price and Yank, Relentless isn’t about maximizing profit. It’s a passion project, a high-level hobby they want to ride out as long as people keep showing up. Essentially, money made at a show is poured back into next month’s show. The co-founders almost recoil when talking about the financial aspect of the business.

“Wrestling was designed, in the old carny way, to just take money from people,” says James. “So it was never about being good. It was never about being the best. It was never about being entertaining. It was about how much money can you take from the fans. And for me, it’s never been about that. I have a really good day job, so wrestling isn’t my income. For me, it’s just pure passion.”

This March, Relentless ran its first big non-local show, heading to Los Angeles and running an indie show the same week WrestleMania was in town. It was certainly an achievement for a promotion out of the Inland Northwest that wasn’t even 2 years old at the time, but James still had reservations about putting on a card where the majority of the diehard Relentless fanbase couldn’t attend.

And while he did wrestle during WrestleMania week and has plenty of friends succeeding in AEW and WWE, James no longer really harbors dreams about headlining major pay-per-views with the biggest wrestling companies on the planet. He’s reached a level of contentment with wrestling being a joyfully violent pastime and not the only driving factor in his life.

“This is one thing that I always struggled with,” James admits. “Because when I first started, that was the goal — go to WWE or AEW. And I have a lot of really talented friends who are now signed with those companies. And I saw what they were getting paid and I was like, that’s not enough for me to move to Florida to do that. So it became this point for me where I was like, ‘Why am I doing this?’ For me, it was realizing that it’s an

But the actual Chase James? For the Spokane wrestling

DO YOU KNOW THE HOT DOG MAN?

Spokane’s Hot Dog Bob is one of downtown’s friendliest attractions

Bob Dog. The Dog Master. Bob the Hot Dog Man. Robert Hetnar’s list of nicknames could rival Beyonce’s. The devotion of his fans probably could, too.

Come September, Hetnar will have been selling hot dogs on the corner of Spokane Falls Boulevard and Howard Street for 11 years. He’s a lunch spot, a tour guide, a community watchdog and a clock for downtown. The wheeled cart of Spokane Dogs is a semi-permanent attraction for locals and visitors alike. Handing out one of America’s most iconic foods, Hetnar himself becomes part man, part myth, part hot dog hat. Slinging sausages isn’t for the faint of heart, but at 67, he plans on doing this “forever.”

Every year around when the St. Patrick’s Day parade is coming, two red and yellow umbrellas pop up outside Boo Radley’s and O’Doherty’s Irish Grille. The silver cart underneath is filled with relish, ketchup, and buns, but also mango mustard, sauerkraut, and cream cheese.

When Hetnar is ready to start serving around 11 am, he dons an orange apron and 18-inch-tall hot dog hat. A regular at O’Doherty’s says seeing Bob the Hot Dog Man is like seeing a robin, each a “harbinger of spring.”

But it wasn’t always like this. After Hetnar retired from the city’s wastewater management department, he was looking for another way to make some dough. He settled on sausages, thinking he could set his own hours,

BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM

make a quick buck, and save money on advertising, since he figured “there is no one in America that doesn’t know what a hot dog is.

“My children all told me I was crazy,” Hetnar says. “I told them the net result is, if it works, great. If it doesn’t work, I’ll make it a planter in my backyard.”

The first year was a major money loser. The second year he barely broke even. The third year, Hetnar started to make a profit. And he started working 50 to 60 hours a week.

“People do not realize this, and it’s a mistake I made, too,” Hetnar says. “I’m only open 11 to 4 for five days a week, so I’m only open 25 hours a week. They think that’s a very light schedule.”

Out in the elements, guarding the corner across from Riverfront Park, Hetnar witnesses more of Spokane than most.

“I honestly do love this,” Hetnar says. “I enjoy dealing with the people downtown. I’ve had my picture taken by everybody — from Australia and New Zealand, through Russia, through South America. I’ve had pictures sent out to both Japan and China.”

ENTRÉE

Get the scoop on local food news with our weekly Entrée newsletter. Sign up at Inlander.com/newsletter.

What people don’t see is the prep and the cleanup and the grocery runs and the private events. Every morning before he drives downtown, Hetnar makes a new batch of beef broth and spices to boil his sausages and infuse them with more flavor.

Hetnar grew up in the food industry. When he was 10, his family moved to the Virgin Islands, where his father bought a restaurant and bar. When Hetnar was 21, he moved from St. Croix to Spokane for cheaper rent and has stayed ever since. Except the winters, of course, when he can’t sell hot dogs outside and heads south to family in Florida.

Hetnar credits his hot dog hat for most of the attention. But he’s also the person who will spot lost tourists and offer directions, or get to know the homeless folk who come by, or greet every businessperson who walks by.

“That makes me feel so special,” Hetnar says, “when a youngster, a 4- or 5-year-old, walks up, tugs on my apron and goes, ‘That was the awesomest hot dog in the whole world!’”

At 10 am on a Thursday, some regulars spot Bob and come over. “You’re early!” one man says, as he casually starts setting up Bob’s plastic sidewalk sign.

“Yeah, nothing’s ready yet,” Hetnar says with a welcoming smile.

The rhythm starts and the tempo picks up as Hetnar greets and feeds the summer lunch crowd. The song starts in earnest when the hot dog hat comes out. n

STREET FOOD

Every summer, Bob Hetnar is slinging dogs from his downtown corner.

YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

You’re a Grand Old Hot Dog

Any way you slice it, hot dog history is American history

BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM

On Thursday, June 23, 1898, The Spokesman-Review recounted a baseball game between Seattle and Spokane teams. The reporter noted that a Seattle fan tried to shake the confidence of Spokane’s star first baseman by shouting, “Leslie Belt is a hot dog!” It’s the first archived news reference to hot dogs in Spokane.

The insult is mildly offensive and downright American.

Though the national food is probably hamburgers, hot dogs have achieved unique mythical status in the country’s psyche, simultaneously connotated with national independence, baseball, the American dream, and regional identity. The humble hot dog can be seen lurking in the background of nearly every national memory. July is national hot dog month, and it’s time to give it the credit it’s due.

Sausage is the perfect zero-waste innovation. It developed broadly across cultures as a way to use and preserve meat. Each sausage encapsulated its maker’s identity — every city, butcher or grandmother had different meats and spices at their disposal, developing different grinds and flavors that taught the history of the region in every bite.

Frankfurt, Germany, claims credit for the invention of the finely ground “frankfurter,” though Vienna — or “Wien,” in German — fiercely debates the origins of the “wiener.”

Either way, European immigrants brought their sausages to America. They also brought their favorite pets — specifically, dachshund dogs. Jokes about Germans, sausages and their long skinny dogs were conflated with the commercialization of “hot dogs,” and the name stuck.

At the turn of the century, hot dog carts were the perfect vehicle for an upwardly mobile immigrant. Hot dogs were cheap and portable, a fitting meal for a nation becoming infatuated with efficiency, mass production and convenience.

Upton Sinclair published The Jungle in 1906, a disgusting foray into industrialized meat, as hot dogs took the country by storm. Hungry lunchers started to wonder, what kind of mystery meat lurked in the anonymous brown-beige grind?

Janet Riley, president of the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council and self-proclaimed “Queen of Wien,” assures Americans that hot dogs are filled with exactly the quality of meat you’d buy at a butcher store.

Feel free to watch a video on the council’s website to see blocks of frozen beef ground into “meat batter,” a brown sludge that flows out of pipes, funnels into casing, then is smoked and sealed.

Hot dogs have survived years of bad press. In 1922, the Spokesman ran “Is Hot Dog Meat, or What?” Almost a hundred years later, NPR ran a story about researchers claiming each hot dog could take 36 minutes off the eater’s life.

Throughout history, organizations have run to the wiener’s defense. In 1922, the United Master Butchers of America wanted to introduce “national legislation making the calling of a perfectly respectable wienerwurst a ‘hot dog’ a felony … for a wienerwurst in its natural state is cool, and there isn’t even a scintilla of dog meat within 40 rows of apple trees in it.”

But the hot dog doesn’t need a defender. It’s charming, winsome and politically savvy on its own. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt served King George VI hot dogs at a Hyde Park picnic in June 1939, the two signaled a new era of US-British cooperation — an alliance that eventually stopped Hitler.

In fact, every U.S. president since FDR has been photographed eating a hot dog, with the possible exception of Jimmy Carter. (One Reddit user posits this might have been a reason Carter lost reelection.)

Japanese royalty, Miss Universe candidates, and Fidel Castro have all gotten photo ops with the beloved snack. In 1959, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev ate a hot dog for lunch in Des Moines, Iowa, and is rumored to have conceded, “We have beaten you to the moon, but you have beaten us in sausage making.”

Just like sausage, hot dogs are central to regional identity. Maine’s favorite frankfurters are neon red, a Philadelphia dog includes a fish cake and slaw, and Chicagoans stack everything on a weiner except ketchup, which is strictly verboten.

On Independence Day alone, the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council estimates that Americans eat 150 million hot dogs. During the entire “peak hot dog season” from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the council says the U.S. consumes 7 billion hot dogs — that’s 818 hot dogs every second.

If nothing else, consider the friendships that have ended over a simple question: Is a hot dog a sandwich? The “Queen of Wien” weighs in: “Limiting the hot dog’s significance by saying it’s ‘just a sandwich’ is like calling the Dalai Lama ‘just a guy.’”

The hot dog somehow spans culture and class, disgust and delight, poverty and prosperity, maybe even sacred and secular.

So next time you order a ballpark frank, grab a Costco dog, or microwave an Oscar Meyer wiener, ponder this delicious history of human survival, success and silliness. n

Hot dogs may as well be America’s national food. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

A WILD AND WORTHWHILE RIDE

Joy Ride offers up an amusingly raunchy comedy about friendship and Asian-American identity

It’s a shame that no studio would have ever released Adele Lim’s comedy Joy Ride under its original intended title, Joy F— Club, because that play on the title of 1993’s influential Asian-American drama The Joy Luck Club perfectly captures the proud yet irreverent approach that Lim takes to her subject matter. There’s just as much authentic emotion in Joy Ride as in a movie like The Joy Luck Club, but there’s also enough raunchy humor to put the movie on the same level as spiritual predecessors like The Hangover and Girls Trip

It’s the grounding in specific emotion that makes the humor in Joy Ride succeed, even when the tone gets a bit uneven in its final act. The vulgar jokes begin in the opening flashbacks of the main characters as children, when Audrey Sullivan and Lolo Chen are the only two Asian kids in their ultra-white Pacific Northwest town. They form a bond that takes them into adulthood, when the driven Audrey (Emily in Paris’ Ashley Park) is a successful lawyer, and the snarky Lolo (Sherry Cola) is an aspiring artist living in Audrey’s guest house.

Audrey, who grew up with adoptive white parents, is assigned by her self-proclaimed “ally” of a boss (Timothy Simons) to travel to Beijing and close an important deal for the firm, after which she’ll secure a promotion. She

BY JOSH BELL

brings Lolo along as both translator and moral support, although Lolo is more interested in convincing Audrey to finally seek out her birth mother. They’re joined on the trip by Lolo’s awkward, K-pop-loving cousin nicknamed Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), and when they arrive in Beijing, they meet up with Audrey’s college friend Kat (Everything Everywhere All at Once’s Stephanie Hsu), who’s launched a successful career as a soap opera actress in China.

making her feature directorial debut, finds a perfect combination between relative newcomers Cola and Wu, Broadway veteran Park and Oscar nominee Hsu. They’re all fully committed to the comedy and to the personal relationships. Thankfully, Joy Ride remains focused on the core friendship, without any distracting romantic subplots.

JOY RIDE

Rated R

Since this is a comedy about an uptight lawyer hoping to land One Big Client, of course Audrey’s plans immediately go off the rails, and the foursome end up in increasingly ridiculous — and often hilarious — situations. These hijinks range from attempting to hide drugs from the cops to impersonating a K-pop group. There are a lot of creaky plot contrivances in the screenplay by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao, but the characters are so likable and fun to watch that it’s easy to forgive the occasional leaps in logic or the lack of details in Audrey’s supposedly all-important business deal.

Directed by Adele Lim

Starring Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu

That doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of explicit sexuality, though, and Joy Ride is even more graphic at times than fellow recent R-rated comedy revival No Hard Feelings. Sometimes it gets a little too cartoonish (especially during an extended music video fantasy sequence), which makes the eventual shift into sentiment somewhat jarring. Still, those various elements work together to create a complex portrait of Asian-American identity, without sacrificing any dick jokes.

As is the case in other crazy-vacation comedies, the key to Joy Ride is the chemistry among the leads. Lim,

Chevapravatdumrong and Hsiao worked together on the underrated Comedy Central series Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens, which has a similarly chaotic sense of humor and a similarly subversive take on the Asian-American experience. If Joy Ride occasionally feels like an extended sitcom episode, at least it’s the kind of show that you’d be eager to watch again next season. n

The hijinks never overwhelm the bonds of friendship in Joy Ride

By the Book

The atmospheric literary drama The Lesson offers restrained thrills

BY JOSH BELL

With title cards dividing it into individual chapters, including a prologue and an epilogue, director Alice Troughton’s The Lesson self-consciously resembles its literary subject matter, and it’s almost surprising that the movie itself isn’t a literary adaptation. Alex MacKeith’s screenplay is full of dry wit, but it’s the performances that bring it to life, adding depth and emotion to the subtle moments of manipulation and deceit.

There’s something vaguely unsettling about the Sinclair household from the moment that aspiring novelist Liam Sommers (Daryl McCormack) arrives to work as a tutor for the university-bound Bertie Sinclair (Stephen McMillan). Bertie’s father is legendary author J.M. Sinclair (Richard E. Grant), who’s been holed up for years supposedly working on his next book. Liam is an admirer who wrote his thesis on J.M.’s work, but Bertie’s mother, Hélène (Julie Delpy), emphasizes that Liam is there solely for Bertie.

Like much of what all the Sinclairs tell Liam, that turns out to be a lie, and soon J.M. is enlisting Liam’s help, at least for minor computer issues and some proofreading. Liam gets drawn further and further into the family’s internal turmoil, which has been fueled by the suicide of their older son two years earlier. Liam, too, seems to have ulterior motives, although the characters’ intentions are conveyed mostly in furtive glances and pointed insinuations.

At times The Lesson is too subdued for its own good, and the tension builds so slowly in the first half of the movie that it sometimes seems like it isn’t there at all. Isobel Waller-Bridge’s playful yet stately orchestral score hints at the deviousness underneath each interaction, without ever becoming a distraction. Troughton, a veteran of British TV making her feature debut, gives The Lesson a sense of chilly detachment, even at the sprawling, verdant Sinclair estate, with its vast gardens and private lake. This is the kind of upper-class home where the butler always

ALSO OPENING

INSIDIOUS: THE RED DOOR

The fifth entry in the horror franchise is actually a sequel to the first two installments, with Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne returning to tap into the supernatural, jump-scare horrors that haunt the Lambert family. Rated PG-13 SOUND OF FREEDOM

When government agent Tim Ballard (Jim Caviezel) feels like his department isn’t doing enough to stop child sex trafficking, he becomes a vigilante to try to free kids being held captive in Colombia.

Rated PG-13

refers to Liam as Mr. Sommers, no matter how often he insists otherwise.

THE LESSON

Rated R

Directed

That stiff reserve makes the breaks in decorum even more notable, and the conflicts burst out into the open in the third act, giving Delpy the chance to play a sort of highbrow femme fatale. When Hélène fixes her gaze on Liam, it’s alternately withering and sultry, and sometimes an enticing mix of both. It wouldn’t be quite accurate to call The Lesson an erotic thriller, but there are some thrillingly erotic moments, especially between McCormack and Delpy. The actors don’t get to drop their careful restraint often, but when they do, they make the most of it.

Just as the famous, pompous J.M. looms large over his family, so too does Grant loom large over the movie, perfectly capturing a particular kind of erudite snobbery. He makes J.M. alternately amusing and pitiable, with an undercurrent of sadness behind every cutting remark. There’s also an unspoken but persistent racial component to the Sinclairs’ treatment of Liam, a Black man in a realm that is still overwhelmingly white. The Sinclairs never hesitate to remind him of his status as an employee, whenever they judge that he’s overstepped the bounds of his position.

The potential for social commentary remains mostly in the background, though, and the climax, while producing some thrills, comes as a slight letdown. The characters remain somewhat inscrutable, even when they lay out their plans clearly and directly. That can engage the audience by keeping viewers guessing, but it also makes it tougher to feel satisfied with a given character’s downfall or triumph. The movie ends up as calculating and aloof as the people it depicts. n

by Alice Troughton Starring Daryl McCormack, Richard E. Grant, Julie Delpy

There’s a little too much subtlety to The Lesson’s literary thrills

‘Can You Hate Yourself and Still Deserve Love?’

Pummeling Detroit rock band Protomartyr gets comparatively optimistic on Formal Growth in the Desert

BY SETH SOMMERFELD

No one has a stage presence quite like Joe Casey. The 46-year-old singer of the Detroit post-punk band Protomartyr looms over an audience when he takes the stage, plants himself at the center with a statuesque resolve, grabs the mic with one hand while clutching a drink in the other and begins barking gloomy lyrics at the crowd. It’s a blend of snarling intimidation, disaffected nonchalance and mordant bleakness that lacks a true parallel in the rock world, but it’s one that makes every Protomartyr show a captivating experience.

It’s certainly an aesthetic choice for Casey, but one that’s less forced and more a result of not really being a rock singer till his mid-30s, adapting to Protomatyr’s early bar band surrounding and watching other singers who he felt were at least slightly disingenuous up on stage.

“I never sang before, and I have a very low voice,” says Casey. “When we first started, we played on shitty equipment in shitty bars with shitty sound systems. So I didn’t really have to worry about hitting the notes or anything like that. But I also didn’t want to be a performatively

Joe Casey (second from left) doesn’t purely wallow on the new Protomartyr record. TREVOR NAUD PHOTO

punk kind of performer. Because I hated going to shows back in those days and seeing singers that would come into the audience and try to confront the audience in some weird way or be overly theatrical. Which is fine, like some people can do it really well. But I’m like, ‘There’s no way I’m gonna be able to do that. It’s gonna be fake. So I’m just gonna try to stand stock still and keep my eyes open.’”

That said, he does remain a bit befuddled about how people react to him keeping booze in hand while singing, despite it being a thing that was commonplace among many old crooners.

“People were like, ‘I can’t believe he sings with a drink in his hand!’ It’s like, that’s kind of an old [mannerism]. That’s nothing new,” says Casey.

Protomartyr’s menacing noise has drawn raves since the band’s early days, with guitarist Greg Ahee, bassist Scott Davidson and drummer Alex Leonard laying down dark and unnerving rock soundscapes over Casey’s literary and almost free-associative poetic musings on existential bleakness and the rotting world, which he delivers in his spoken/sung baritone.

In June, Protomartyr delivered its sixth album, Formal Growth in the Desert. And the weird thing about it? It’s kinda optimistic? Don’t get it twisted, the group isn’t suddenly making sunny pop that will be featured on the Barbie soundtrack or anything. But there is a certain pep to some of the instrumentation on a few tracks. And while Casey still finds himself wrestling with loss and the sorrow in the world, there’s a sliver of lyrical light to be found that contradicts his usual artistic hopelessness.

“I think there’s always been some humor and some levity in every Protomartyr record. But I think the difference is that when I started, I was a very depressed 35-year-old man. And now, I’m a very depressed 46-year-old man,” Casey sardonically states. “And so it’s just the nature of how you look at the world. I find people my age can get very negative about the future and things like that. And I try to be a contrarian. So I thought, ‘I’m gonna try to be positive about the future. I think everything’s gonna go great.’ But then you have to deal with that innate pessimism I have. So it’s kind of a tradeoff.”

Formal Growth pushes somewhat against Protomartyr’s typically barebones guitar/bass/drum/ vocals format, adding in elements like synths and steel guitar at select moments. There’s a vigor to the record, one that Casey felt like he needed to prove that he still had something left in the tank after the music industry halting in the face of the COVID pandemic.

“It was probably the longest break between records just by nature of what was happening. And I wanted to make sure that I didn’t lose a step, and I just didn’t want to just slowly sing over everything,” Casey says. “And luckily, like the band was coming in with songs that were uptempo. When you do them live, you’re obviously more energetic, and I wanted to make sure that

was in there, because sometimes you can kind of get dulled by the studio.”

There’s also a contrast in approach, where a track like “3800 Tigers” dips into dance rock territory.

“That was definitely one where I was like, ‘OK, this one sounds lively and upbeat, in a weird way. So I’m going to try to think of lyrics that would fit that,’” Casey says. “You can’t go in with a song that sounds like that and be like, ‘I’m just gonna, like, complain about the troubles of the world or troubles in my life.’”

But Casey still finds his spots to cut to the core of the human condition with a beautiful bluntness. Nothing on Formal Growth hits quite as hard as the tail end of the song “Polacrilex Kid” when the singer starts repeating this line: “Can you hate yourself and still deserve love?”

“I think it’s very universally relatable, that you can be down on yourself. And I think a lot of times — I don’t want to turn to a self-help guru or anything like that — but it’s important sometimes to focus on your own headspace before you can consider being open to the idea of love or helping other people.”

That lyrical question actually gets an optimistic answer a few songs later on “Rain Garden” as the newly married Casey proclaims: “I am deserving of love / They’ll say it’s just a love song / But love / But love has found me.”

It’s these types of musical moments that reward close listening to Formal Growth and lead Casey to describe the LP as a “headphones record,” where listening intently in solidarity can open up the full Protomartyr experience.

“At first, Protomartyr records kind of hit you fairly bluntly. You know, it’s me shouting through a lot of it,” Casey wryly remarks. “But if you take the time to listen to ’em again and again, then you can kind of hear sonically what’s happening. There’re a lot of things in the background. What sounds like bass, guitar, drum and voice changes quite a bit with what we added in the studio. And then lyrically, it’s always nice when somebody’s like, ‘Oh, I finally figured out what the hell you’re talking about’ after looking at the lyrics. [Laughs] People don’t necessarily have to do that to enjoy us, at least I hope not. But it’s a nice little bonus, if you want to kind of look up things.”

Protomartyr has a special weapon on this tour in support of Formal Growth — alt-rock titan Kelley Deal of the Breeders. Deal rounds out the band’s sound with backup vocals, keyboards, and guitar, which Casey appreciates, considering “the Breeders are always doing something more exciting.”

Protomartyr will always have its cynical edge that cuts with a sharp viciousness, but the band has grown. And even in this world filled with hate and self-loathing, Casey — just like the rest of us sad sacks — is deserving of love. n

Protomartyr, The Smokes • Sat, July 8 at 8 pm

• $20-$25

• 21+

• Lucky You Lounge • 1801 W. Sunset Blvd. • luckyyoulounge.com

FOLK OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW

The term “old-time folk” can best be distilled as the type of music that you’d imagine being equally at home on stage at a square dance or jamming around a Southern campfire. If you’re looking for a modern dose of that traditional sound, you’re gonna have a hard time topping Old Crow Medicine Show. The Grammy-winning Virginia string band brings a rockin’ energy to their revivalist live shows, blending slide guitar, banjo, harmonica, fiddle, mandolin, stand-up bass and more to create twangy sonic treasures, like those found on the group’s latest LP, Paint This Town

— SETH SOMMERFELD

Old Crow Medicine Show, Willie Watson • Sun, July 9 at 7:30 pm • $35-$70 • All ages • The Fox Theater • 1001 W. Sprague Ave. • foxtheaterspokane.org

Thursday, 7/6

ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Summer Concert Series: Ed Shaw

J THE BIG DIPPER, Sweat, The United F---ing States, Crusty Mustard

J BRICK WEST BREWING CO., Kyle Richard and Friends

J CARLIN BAY RESORT, Just Plain Darin

CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Thursday Night Jam

CHECKERBOARD TAPROOM, Weathered Shepherds

J COEUR D’ALENE PARK, Browne’s Addition Summer Concert: 133rd Washington Army National Guard Band

EAST CITY PARK, Entertainment in the Park: Paul Busch

J HISTORIC DAVENPORT HOTEL, Dr. Don Goodwin

J KNITTING FACTORY, Zepparella

LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, Cortége, Twin Void, Children of Atom

J THE NEST AT KENDALL YARDS, Hardwood Heart

J PINE STREET PLAZA, Music on Main: Morgan Brothers Band

J RIVERSTONE PARK, Riverstone Summer Concerts: Nu Jack City, Pat D’Angelo

SPOKANE ARENA, Alabama, The Marshall Tucker Band

J J THE FOX THEATER, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Deer Tick ZOLA, Mister Sister

Friday, 7/7

J BRICK WEST BREWING CO.,

DJ Matt Shuman

JAM THE DISCO BISCUITS

If there are two genres most likely to have fans show up to a concert… ummm… chemically enhanced… it would be electronic music and jam bands. Well, why not kill two birds with one stone? (Note: No birds were harmed in the writing of this blurb.) The Disco Biscuits have carved out a unique niche as a “livetronica” act, mixing elements of jam rock and EDM into their standout live sound. The fusion of the contrasting style makes for a lush trance sound to send you to a different mental plane while grooving the night away on the floor of the Knitting Factory. Expect plenty of long, improvised renditions of songs from the group’s new album Shocked! during this midweek chill out sesh.

—

SETH SOMMERFELD

The Disco Biscuits • Wed, July 12 at 8 pm • $35-$40 • All ages • The Knitting Factory • 919 W. Sprague Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com

CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Whack A Mole

J THE COEUR D’ALENE RESORT, JoJo Dodge

J GORGE AMPHITHEATER, Dead & Company

J THE GRAIN SHED - CEDAR TAP HOUSE, Open Mic at The Grain Shed Taproom

J HISTORIC DAVENPORT HOTEL, Dr. Don Goodwin Trio

LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, Victress Voice Music Collective

J J PANIDA THEATER, Graham Nash

PARK BENCH CAFE, Bob Riggs

J PARK BENCH CAFE, Under the Trees Concert Series

PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Baker, Thomas and Packard

THE RIDLER PIANO BAR, Just Plain Darin

Saturday, 7/8

BECK’S HARVEST HOUSE, Dallas Kay

J BING CROSBY THEATER, Bohemian Queen

J BRICK WEST BREWING CO., Jimmy Nuge

CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, The Longnecks

J THE COEUR D’ALENE RESORT, Sean Kavanaugh

J COLBERT TRADING CO., Just Plain Darin

CONKLING MARINA & RESORT, Steve Starky

DAHMEN BARN, Paradox

J GORGE AMPHITHEATER, Dead & Company

J HISTORIC DAVENPORT HOTEL, Brent Edstrom Trio

J HUCKLEBERRY’S MARKET, Talmadge + Kassandra

J J BONES MUSICLAND, J Bones Concert Series

J J BONES MUSICLAND, Vika and the Velvets, B-Radicals, Gabriella Rose, Azariah

LIVE AT ANDRE’S, John Fullbright, Dan Walker

J LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, Protomartyr, The Smokes

J MIX PARK, Dave Long

PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Hannah Siglin Trio

J REPUBLIC BREWING CO., Milonga

ROCKET MARKET, Low Class Bluegrass

ZOLA, Blake Braley

Sunday, 7/9

ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Summer Concert Series: One Street Over

BECK’S HARVEST HOUSE, The Teccas

J COEUR D’ALENE CITY PARK, JamShack

J THE COEUR D’ALENE RESORT, Red Books Trio

J HISTORIC DAVENPORT HOTEL, Michael Milham

HOGFISH, Open Mic

J JIMMY’S DOWN THE STREET, Sidewalk Sunday: The Black Jack Band

J SOUTH HILL GRILL, Just Plain Darin

J J THE FOX THEATER, Old Crow Medicine Show, Willie Watson

Monday, 7/10

J THE BAD SEED, The Imagine Collective

BRICK WEST BREWING CO., Live Karaoke

J = THE INLANDER RECOMMENDS THIS SHOW

J = ALL AGES SHOW

J EICHARDT’S PUB, Monday Night Blues Jam with John Firshi

MARYHILL WINERY SPOKANE, Kori Ailene RED ROOM LOUNGE, Open Mic Night

Tuesday, 7/11

J BING CROSBY THEATER, Toad the Wet Sprocket

LITZ’S PUB & EATERY, Shuffle Dawgs

J RIVERFRONT PARK, Just Plain Darin ROCKET MARKET, Sean Kavanaugh

ZOLA, The Night Mayors

Wednesday, 7/12

BECK’S HARVEST HOUSE, Jake Rozier

CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Wednesday Night Jam

J D-MAC’S AT THE LAKE, Chuck Wasileski

DAHMEN BARN, Bridges Home

THE DRAFT ZONE, The Draft Zone Open Mic

J J KNITTING FACTORY, The Disco Biscuits

PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Bob Beadling RED ROOM LOUNGE, The Roomates

ZOLA, Brittany’s House

Coming Up ...

J J THE PODIUM, Jimmy Eat World, Manchester Orchestra, Middle Kids, July 14, 7 pm.

J J THE FOX THEATER, Charley Crockett, July 21, 8 pm.

J J PAVILION AT RIVERFRONT, Incubus, Bad Flower, Paris Jackson, July 22, 6 pm.

J J PAVILION AT RIVERFRONT, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Ziggy Marley, Mavis Staples, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, July 26, 6 pm.

J J PANIDA THEATER, Jeff Tweedy, Le Ren, July 26, 7:30 pm.

J J WAR MEMORIAL FIELD, Fest at Sandpoint: Gary Clark Jr., July 28, 7:30 pm.

J J EMERGE, Cicada Sessions: Heat Speak, July 29, 6:30-9 pm.

J J GORGE AMPHITHEATER, Boygenius, Carly Rae Jepsen, Illuminati Hotties, July 29, 8 pm.

J J PAVILION AT RIVERFRONT, The Head and the Heart, Father John Misty, Miya Folick, Aug. 6, 6-10 pm.

MUSIC | VENUES

219 LOUNGE • 219 N. First Ave., Sandpoint • 208-263-5673

ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS • 4705 N. Fruit Hill Rd., Spokane Valley • 509-927-9463

BABY BAR • 827 W. First Ave. • 509-847-1234

BARRISTER WINERY • 1213 W. Railroad Ave. • 509-465-3591

BEE’S KNEES WHISKY BAR • 1324 W. Lancaster Rd.., Hayden • 208-758-0558

BERSERK • 125 S. Stevens St. • 509-315-5101

THE BIG DIPPER • 171 S. Washington St. • 509-863-8098

BIGFOOT PUB • 9115 N. Division St. • 509-467-9638

BING CROSBY THEATER • 901 W. Sprague Ave. • 509-227-7638

BLACK DIAMOND • 9614 E. Sprague Ave. • 509891-8357

BOLO’S BAR & GRILL • 116 S. Best Rd., Spokane Valley • 509-891-8995

BOOMERS CLASSIC ROCK BAR • 18219 E. Appleway Ave., Spokane Valley • 509-368-9847

BUCER’S COFFEEHOUSE PUB • 201 S. Main St., Moscow • 208-596-0887

THE BULL HEAD • 10211 S. Electric St., Four Lakes • 509-838-9717

CHAN’S RED DRAGON • 1406 W. Third Ave. • 509-838-6688

COEUR D’ALENE CASINO • 37914 S. Nukwalqw St., Worley • 800-523-2464

COEUR D’ALENE CELLARS • 3890 N. Schreiber Way, Coeur d’Alene • 208-664-2336

CRUISERS BAR & GRILL • 6105 W Seltice Way, Post Falls • 208-446-7154

CURLEY’S HAUSER JUNCTION • 26433 W. Hwy. 53, Post Falls • 208-773-5816

EICHARDT’S PUB • 212 Cedar St., Sandpoint • 208-263-4005

FIRST INTERSTATE CENTER FOR THE ARTS • 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. • 509-279-7000

FOX THEATER • 1001 W. Sprague Ave. •

509-624-1200

IRON HORSE • 407 E. Sherman, Coeur d’Alene • 208-667-7314

IRON HORSE BAR & GRILL • 11105 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley • 509-926-8411

JOHN’S ALLEY • 114 E. Sixth St., Moscow • 208-883-7662

KNITTING FACTORY • 911 W. Sprague Ave. • 509-244-3279

LEFTBANK WINE BAR • 108 N. Washington St. • 509-315-8623

LUCKY YOU LOUNGE • 1801 W. Sunset Blvd. • 509-474-0511

MARYHILL WINERY • 1303 W. Summit Pkwy. • 509-443-3832

THE MASON JAR • 101 F St., Cheney • 509-359-8052

MAX AT MIRABEAU • 1100 N. Sullivan Rd., Spokane Valley • 509-922-6252

MILLIE’S • 28441 Hwy 57, Priest Lake • 208-443-0510

MOOSE LOUNGE • 401 E. Sherman Ave., Coeur d’Alene • 208-664-7901

MOOTSY’S • 406 W. Sprague Ave. • 509-838-1570

NASHVILLE NORTH • 6361 W. Seltice Way, Post Falls • 208-457-9128

NORTHERN QUEST RESORT & CASINO • 100 N. Hayford Rd., Airway Heights • 877-871-6772

NYNE BAR & BISTRO • 232 W. Sprague Ave. • 509-474-1621

PEND D’OREILLE WINERY • 301 Cedar St., Sandpoint • 208-265-8545

THE PODIUM • 511 W. Dean Ave. • 509-279-7000

POST FALLS BREWING CO. • 112 N. Spokane St., Post Falls • 208-773-7301

RAZZLE’S BAR & GRILL • 10325 N. Government Way, Hayden • 208-635-5874

RED ROOM LOUNGE • 521 W. Sprague Ave. •

509-838-7613

THE RIDLER PIANO BAR • 718 W. Riverside Ave. • 509-822-7938

SEASONS OF COEUR D’ALENE • 1004 S. Perry St. • 208-664-8008

SPOKANE ARENA • 720 W. Mallon Ave. • 509-279-7000

SOUTH PERRY LANTERN • 12303 E. Trent Ave., Spokane Valley • 509-473-9098

STEAM PLANT • 159 S. Lincoln St. • 509-777-3900

STORMIN’ NORMAN’S SHIPFACED SALOON • 12303 E. Trent Ave., Spokane Valley • 509-862-4852

TRANCHE • 705

THEATER LEGENDARY COYOTE

Coyote is a central character in many Native American mythologies, and its legacy lives on through the one-person play According to Coyote. Created by John Kauffman and first performed in 1987, the play is an anthology of stories from the Plateau tribes that aims to introduce the audience to stories of Coyote’s mischievous adventures while also informing about geological and historical events occurring throughout the region. These stories have a long history of being passed down orally through generations, and According to Coyote continues this tradition in tandem with music and dance. Produced by Spokane Ensemble Theater, this weekend’s encore run of According to Coyote marks its return to Spokane after a successful premiere and subsequent Pacific Northwest tour last year.

— SUMMER SANDSTROM

According to Coyote • Fri, July 7-Sun, July 9 at 8 pm • $7-$12

• All ages • Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture • 2316 W. First Ave. • northwestmuseum.org • 509-456-3931

GET LISTED!

Submit events online at Inlander.com/getlisted or email relevant details to getlisted@inlander.com. We need the details one week prior to our publication date.

FOOD & DRINK LAKESIDE LIBATIONS

For those of us city folk who haven’t been up to Sandpoint in a while, I highly recommend making it a priority this summer. Besides camping out all day along the sandy shores of Lake Pend Oreille to splash around in the water, there are many ways to enjoy this scenic North Idaho gem: shopping, arts, dining, recreation and more. Among the lakeside town’s many summer draws is the annual Sandpoint Beerfest, hosting more than two dozen of the region’s beer, cider and seltzer makers. Held on the grassy lawn of Trinity at City Beach, attendees are invited to set up chairs and sunshades to enjoy live music from popular local band Tennis while sampling through the festival’s lineup. Tickets include a commemorative glass and six tickets, redeemable for a half pour each or a full pint for two. Kids soda tasting tickets ($10) are also available at this family-friendly event.

— CHEY SCOTT

SPORTS BRICKY BALBOA

Yo, Adrian! Spokane Boxing Gym and Brick West Brewing Co. are hosting the second annual Brick West Boxing card, a youth boxing exhibition on the brewery’s First Avenue plaza. Spokane Boxing Gym is a home to anyone looking for fitness and family — classes for men and women train mental and physical endurance, strength, and confidence. This community event celebrates the skill, athleticism and strength of young boxers, whether they’re dreaming of a championship belt or not. Bring your friends, either human and furry, to Brick West’s family- and dog-friendly patio to learn how to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. Tickets are available just a few blocks down from the brewery at Spokane Boxing’s gym, 115 S. Jefferson St. Guzzle your egg yolks and find your gray sweatsuit, these kids are gonna fly now!

— ELIZA BILLINGHAM

Sandpoint Beerfest • Sat, July 8 from noon-5 pm

All ages • Trinity at City Beach Lawn • 58 Bridge St., Sandpoint • events.beerfests.com/e/sandpoint-beerfest

Spokane Boxing Youth Boxing Card • Sat, July 8 at 2 pm • $10 • All ages • Brick West Brewing Co. • 1318 W. First Ave. • brickwestbrewingco.com • 509-279-2982

Kellen Lewis performs as Coyote YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

VISUAL ARTS ART APLENTY

In need of a calming activity after a wild Fourth of July? Luckily, July’s first Friday is packed with incredible work by local artists. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you should know about Hannah Charlton. Charlton’s solo show “The Illuminated Book of the City of Ladies” opens at the Terrain Gallery and is full of her intricate illuminated manuscripts. Dan McCann’s exhibition “Nothing to be Afraid Of” at Spokane Art School, meanwhile, features work depicting the fears found in everyday life and gives off some seriously eerie vibes. New Moon Art Gallery is showcasing a collection of nudes in its newest exhibition, “Lifting the Veil,” and the circular gallery at Entropy downtown features art by local tattoo artist and illustrator Christina Villagomez, a must-see for lovers of monochromatic art.

— MADISON PEARSON

• Spokane, locations vary • Details at firstfridayspokane.org

First Friday • Fri, July 7 from 5-8 pm

SPORTS & OUTDOORS NEAR NATURE

Adventure is out there, and you won’t have to go far to find it. This weekend, Spokane’s Camp Sekani Park and Boulder Beach become a haven for outdoorsy folks. From riding the trails to dipping into the cool water, Spokatopia offers many activities for anyone to become one with the nature around them. Bring your own bike from home or test ride the latest and greatest mountain, gravel and electric bikes provided. Thirty-plus miles of cruiseable mountain trails as well as the paved path of the Centennial Trail make for a quality outing with friends and family, while the Spokane River offers reprieve on a hot summer’s day. There are many different styles of paddle boards and kayaks worth trying out leisurely, or an eight-person voyage with the Spokane Canoe & Kayak Club. And for those that just want to relax, live music, food trucks and local breweries add ambiance to this experience.

— SYLVIA DAVIDOW

I SAW YOU

ENCHANTED BY YOUR DUDES ROCK

ENERGY On Thursday I saw you and your friend leaving the Perry Street Market, driving a light brown van with a British steering setup. You had the windows down and did the cleanest tightest U-turn I’ve ever seen, I was the tatted person with curly blue hair standing amazed on the street corner. When you saw my face you made a rock on-type gesture, I didn’t catch it really because I was hit by the coolness of the whole situation. Dudes rock, we should hang out and you can tell me some van lore.

CHEERS

SPOKANE TRANSIT NEEDS HELP. About five weeks ago I Jeer-ed that a bus never arrived and three of us waited about an hour for the next bus. By fortunate happenstance, I was able to get STA supervisor Jay G.’s attention as he was driving by. He radioed STA dispatch and learned the driver never showed up at STA to drive the route. He also advised me a substitute driver was approaching my stop. My thanks to Jay G. for his immediate, professional, courteous, & sympathetic response to my situation. STA still needs more drivers to meet its service requirements for riders. I encourage qualified people to apply to work for STA.

THANK YOU FOR YOU Dear S.C.R.A.P.S.

Thank you for what you do and try to do. The animals are a product of their past environment. I wish they knew, that’s it not their fault.

HAMMOCK SAVED THE DAY To the couple who shared their hammock (used it like an umbrella) while walking to see Aladdin, your kindness is much appreciated. Although my shoes got drenched, the rest of me was dry. Courtesy lives in Spokane — and you are ambassadors!

CELEBRATE HARD WORK The Supreme Court justices have been working so hard on so many important cases, and yet private business owners have to take everything into their hands as always in order to get things done, in this case, rewarding the justices properly. Business owners understand how to motivate people! There is one justice who seems to be left out, however — Brett Kavanaugh. He deserves a special trip just like the others, so I am going to give up my seat on the next submersible run to the Titanic — that seat will just go to waste unless he takes it! Bon voyage, Brett!

FLAT TIRE SUPER HERO WITH THE GROOVY SOCKS Hey Shawn/Sean, we just wanted to let everyone know there are still super heroes out there. We got a flat tire when taking our dogs to Grant Park but hadn’t noticed it as we pulled in to parking lot. You hollered, “Do you know you have a flat?” from the patio of the Lantern Tavern. We’re in our 60s and 70s and you left your party and came over and changed our tire for us. When we tried to buy you a beer for your efforts, you refused and said, “That’s what people do for each other.” You are an awesome soul and the world needs more like you. Thanks again, friend, for being kind and making the world a better place. From, two old foggies and their mutts.

JEERS

REGISTER THIS I’m outraged at your outrage against expired vehicle registration. How, exactly, does this delinquency affect you at all? There are heavy fines for late payments, or worse, impound!! Are you aware that if someone has 2 unpaid parking tickets, they can not renew their tabs until those tickets are paid in full? Legislators had no problem signing the 17 billion “move ahead Washington” bill into law, Spokane is getting a whopping 0.4 percent piece of that pie. Enough of your petty perspective, take a few steps back and look at the big picture.

SELFISH PRICKS Hey bad neighbors on West Seventh — you suck for having your landscapers start throwing big rocks

around in the alley at 7 am on weekdays! But you super suck every day, letting your dogs constantly bark in your garage/ outside all the time. We lose sleep, can’t keep our windows open, and can never really enjoy warm weather on our patio because of YOU. You’re selfish and your neighbors don’t like you.

a meeting that included many business/ property owners, the results were the same. Pride flags were approved. However, after this vote, an addendum to this approval was was suggested and passed. If a light pole was directly in front of your building, the property/business owner could choose to say “no” to the flag. And say “no” you did, which is very disappointing. There is

SELFISH JUNKIES This is not going to be popular. I’m just going to say what everybody’s thinking. How many free narcans are we going to give out? How many times are we going to waste our resources on someone that’s hell bent on dying?

CITY COUNCIL LIBERALS PLACATING CONSERVATIVE AND SWING VOTERS BY THROWING THE WORKING CLASS UNDER THE BUS A TALE AS OLD AS TIME. Our liberal city council just voted to make “park trespassing” a misdemeanor. Thanks for giving the police an even greater license to harass the working people that pay for those parks and working class people are more likely to need parks because they don’t have large outdoor property of their own. Tell me why I can’t get a cop to show up for nothing but there’s four of them just stationed at the Apple store? The police don’t care about the working class and neither does the Spokane City Council.

GREEDY MUCH? Dear Greedy Much. Actually, the sales tax on Colton WA is 7.9% for 2023. I’d suggest you write a letter to the WA State Attorney General’s office regarding this blatant tax fraud.

RE: VEHICLE REGISTRATION You forgot to read subsections one and two. The first says if you’re given two plates, one goes on the front and one goes on the back. The second says if you are only given one plate, it goes on the back. It may have been awhile since you’ve purchased a car, but the RCW indicates you may have only one plate.

GARLAND’S PRIDE GOOF The North Hill Neighborhood Council voted to have Pride flags hanging on eight of the light poles and many of the business owners/property owners didn’t agree with the vote. This controversy was covered in the media, even the Inlander. After another vote in May, at

one lone flag flying on Garland/Howard. This flag knows what it feels like to be marginalized and made to feel “othered.” It is standing loud and proud.

WHITHER SPOKANE Regarding the race for City Council president: If you are undecided, look at the type of leadership that has ruined the once-great cities of San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, New York, etc. The progressive social experiment has already been conducted. We don’t need to try it in Spokane.

RE: ILLEGAL DRIVING In answer to your question, I believe the answer is “both.” Local drivers are becoming more stupid and are also inconsiderate. As briliantly written several weeks ago, I hope that as accidents occur because of these fools (who speed, don’t signal properly, tailgate, pass illegally, and run stop signs/lights) that ONLY THE PERPETRATORS will be seriously injured or killed and not innocent people or animals.

UPRIVER DRIVE MOTORCYCLE RIDERS To the a-hole motorcycle riders who ride at extreme/excessive speeds down Upriver Drive from the Greene Street Bridge to Argonne weaving in and out of traffic between 6 pm and 9 pm, the speed limit is 30 or 35 mph. I hope when you have an accident, you only kill yourself and not someone else whose life you’ve put in jeopardy.

THE SUMMER SWELTER So, are we to expect three months of 90-plus heat every year? What happened to the three degree increase?

EUTHANIZING Jeers to Sandpoint City Councill. To kill over 150 Geese just so you can have your BEACH? What a disgrace. You could have hired youth ecology corps to clean beach, hire someone with trained dogs to run the Geese off. Why be so insensitive to GODS Creatures? Shame on you.

BEING CARDED DISRESPECTS SENIORS

“Yes, if your boss requires you to check all IDs no exceptions, fine. I’ll buy my alcohol at establishments where they have respect for people who are obviously senior citizens. No, state law does not require you to check people who are obviously over 40, no matter what you have been told. No one has ever been fined for selling alcohol to a senior citizen who doesn’t have ID. However, if checking IDs is at your discretion, why disrespect seniors? Is it a power play to show who’s the boss? You really need to show you’re the Alpha Dog? FU! I’ll spend my Social Security check somewhere else. I’m sure you could care less." n

NOTE: I Saw You/Cheers & Jeers is for adults 18 or older. The Inlander reserves the right to edit or reject any posting at any time at its sole discretion and assumes no responsibility for the content.

“

EVENTS | CALENDAR

COMEDY

GABRIEL RUTLEDGE Rutledge is a past comedy competition winner and has made numerous TV appearances. July 6, 7:30 pm, July 7, 7:30 & 10:15 pm, July 8, 7 & 9:45 pm and July 9, 7 pm. $10-$30. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com

ART MEETS COMEDY Comics perform improv inspired by local artists’ work. July 7, 5-9 pm. Free. Shotgun Studios, 1625 W. Water Ave. shotgunstudiosspokane.com (509-688-3757)

INK BLOT The Blue Door Players analyze each night’s audience, Rorschach style. July 7-28, Fri at 7:30 pm. $9. Blue Door Theatre, 815 W. Garland Ave. bluedoortheatre.com (747-7045)

JOSH FIRESTINE The Tacoma-based comedian draws from his experiences as a husband, father and veteran. July 9, 4 pm. $20-$26. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com (509-318-9998)

COMMUNITY

INLAND NORTHWEST SPECIAL COLLECTIONS TOUR: ELI FRANCOVICH

Spokane journalist and Return of the Wolves author Eli Francovich discusses how research shapes his nonfiction. July 6, 11 am-noon. Free. Central Library, 906 W. Main. spokanelibrary.org

TWEEN LIBRARY CARNIVAL Tweens are invited to test their skills with games to earn prize tickets. Ages 8-12. July 6, 2-3 pm. Free. North Spokane Library, 44 E. Hawthorne Rd. scld.org

WORLD TRAVELER TEEN ESCAPE

ROOM Practice teamwork by solving puzzles, riddles and conundrums to escape the room. The limit is 8 people per group. Ages 13–18. Registration is required. July 6, 2-3 & 3:30-4:30 pm. Free. Otis Orchards Library, 22324 E. Wellesley Ave. scld.org (893-8390)

FIRST FRIDAY ART & FOOD TRUCK

RALLY Celebrate First Friday at the Spokane Valley Farmers Market and enjoy food from local food trucks. July 7, 4-8 pm. Free. CenterPlace Regional Event Center, 2426 N. Discovery Pl. spokanevalleyfarmersmarket.org

ALL WHEELS SWAP MEET Spokane’s largest indoor car swap. See classic cars and shop vendor goods. July 7-9; Fri-Sat from 9 am-6 pm, Sun from 10 am-2 pm. $8. Spokane County Fair & Expo Center, 404 N. Havana St. spokaneswapmeet.com (509-362-7237)

FEED THE BUFFALO This tour includes farm history, a talk on bison and a Q&A session. Everyone gets an opportunity to meet, greet and hand-feed the bison. Fri-Sat from 12:30-1:30 pm through Sep. 2. $6-$7. Win-Tur Bison Farm, 4742 W. Highway 231. winturbisonfarm.com

KURONEKOCON A three-day celebration of anime, video games and Japanese culture featuring cosplay events, panels, gaming, arts and crafts and more. July 7, 11 am-10 pm, July 8, 10 am10 pm, July 9, 10 am-4 pm. $35-$200. DoubleTree by Hilton City Center, 322 N. Spokane Falls Ct. kuronekocon.com

POST FALLS FESTIVAL This annual festival includes a parade, live music, vendors, food trucks, movies in the park

and more. July 7-9; Fri-Sat from 11 am-8 pm, Sun from 11 am-4 pm. Free. Q’Emiln Park, 12201 W Parkway Dr. postfalls.gov

STAR FEST This event centers around the Tanabata, star-crossed lovers who meet this one night, with cultural booths, vendors, Japanese food, shaved ice, entertainment, a cosplay/costume competition and more. July 7, 3-10 pm. Free. Unitarian Universalist, 4340 W. Whistalks Way. fb.me/e/12xqDksLI

WHEATLAND BANK HORSE & CARRIAGE RIDES Enjoy an 8-minute loop through the scenic Riverfront Park and downtown Spokane. 28, Fri from 5-9 pm through July 28. Free. Downtown Spokane. downtownspokane.org

HISTORIC WALKING TOURS Join local historian Chet Caskey to learn the history of the Spokane Falls, Expo ‘74, the Clock Tower and more. Sat at 10 am and noon through Aug. 26. Free. Riverfront Park, 507 N. Howard St. riverfrontspokane.com (509-625-6600)

HOMEBUYER EDUCATION SEMINAR

Explore all of the major aspects of the home-buying process in an unbiased format with SNAP Spokane instructors certified by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. July 8, 9 am-2 pm. Free. North Spokane Library, 44 E. Hawthorne Rd. scld.org

MURDER AT THE POE’S RAVEN PARTY

The town gossips are chattering about the disreputable people on Eddie Poe’s guest list. July 8, 6-9 pm. $29-$39. Crime Scene Entertainment, 2775 N. Howard St. crimesceneentertainment. com (208-369-3695)

EVENTS | CALENDAR FILM

FREE KIDS MOVIES: KUNG FU PANDA

Po, a lazy, clumsy panda, secretly dreams of becoming a kung fu legend. July 3-7, daily at 9:30 am. Free. Garland Theater, 924 W. Garland Ave. garlandtheater.com

MOVIES IN THE PARK A series of familyfriendly movies shown outside in Sally’s Park. Bring blankets and/or lawn chairs. Snacks and drinks for purchase. Fridays at 7:30 pm through Aug. 4. Free. The Salvation Army Spokane, 222 E. Indiana Ave. spokane.salvationarmy.org

FREE KIDS MOVIES: THE BAD GUYS

After a lifetime of legendary heists, notorious criminals Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, Mr. Piranha, Mr. Shark and Ms. Tarantula are finally caught. July 10-14, daily at 9:30 am. Free. Garland Theater, 924 W. Garland Ave. garlandtheater.com

OUTDOOR MOVIE: BACK TO THE FU -

TURE & TRIVIA Dress in your best 80sinspired garb and participate in trivia about the film. July 12, 6:30-10:30 pm. Free. Commellini Estate, 14715 N. Dartford Dr. commellini.com (509-466-0667)

MOVIES AT THE PAVILION: UP! Watch the Disney-Pixar movie under the Pavilion. Bring a lawn chair, blanket and your own food and drinks. July 12, 8:30 pm. Free. Pavilion at Riverfront, 574 N. Howard St. riverfrontspokane.com

SURPRISE SUMMER FILM SERIES Audiences won’t know the film until it begins. Follow the Panida’s social media for clues. July 12, 7 pm and Aug. 16, 7 pm. $5. Panida Theater, 300 N. First. panida.org

FOOD

RIDE & DINE Enjoy a scenic gondola ride, live music and a barbecue meal on the mountaintop. Fridays from 3-8 pm through Sep. 1. $8-$51. Silver Mountain Resort, 610 Bunker Ave. silvermt.com

COEUR D’ALENE BREWFEST More than 30 beers and ciders, food, yard games and live music. Tickets include six 5 oz. beer pours and a commemorative glass. July 8, 1-7 pm. McEuen Park, 420 E. Front Ave. cdadowntown.com (208-769-2252)

FINNRIVER CIDER TASTING Featuring 14 ciders, including favorites, limited releases, and new ciders. July 8, 2-8 pm. Coeur d’ Alene Cider Co., 1327 E. Sherman Ave. (208-704-2160)

SANDPOINT BEERFEST Featuring 20+ regional beers, ciders and seltzers to taste along with a commemorative glass. July 8, 12-5 pm. $25-$35. Trinity at City Beach, Sandpoint. sandpoint.com

BRUNCH WITH A VIEW Enjoy brunch at Nectar in Kendall Yards. July 9, Aug. 13, and Sep. 10, 11 am-1 pm. $20. Nectar Wine and Beer, 1331 W. Summit Pkwy. nectarwineandbeer.com (509-951-2096)

CAMP COCKTAIL: PARIS This class focuses on drinks from Prohibition-era Paris. Learn, create and taste three storyworthy cocktails. July 9, 5-7:30 pm. $75. Hogwash Whiskey Den, 304 W. Pacific Ave. raisingthebar.com (509-464-6541)

ICED TEA & PORCH READS Sample iced teas with contrasting flavors and get suggestions for books that pair well with them. Registration required. July 12, 3-4 pm. Free. Deer Park Library, 208 Forest St. scld.org (509-893-8300)

A TASTE OF ITALY In this hands-on cooking class, make handmade pasta, an easy, allergy-friendly pesto and more. Advance registration is required. July 12, 5:30-8 pm. $30. Second Harvest, 1234 E. Front Ave. secondharvestkitchen.org

CRAVE! NORTHWEST The 3-day festival showcases chefs and tastemakers from around the region. July 13-15 from 6-9 pm. $15-$224. CenterPlace Event Center, 2426 N. Discovery Pl. cravenw.com

MUSIC

WALLACE BLUES FEST Live blues from regional and national acts. July 7-8, 12-10 pm. $20-$45. wallaceblues.com

MUSIC ON MAIN This annual event features live music, a vendor market, food vendors, artists and more. July 8, 10 am10 pm. Free. Ritzville. ritzvilleusa.com

MUSIC ON MONDAYS: 4 PEACE An acoustic Americana band with overtones of Bluegrass, 60s, pop and folk rock. July 10, 6-7:30 pm. Free. Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave. cdalibrary.org

ARBORETUM SUMMER CONCERT An evening with local musicians directed by Dan Bukvich. July 10, 7-8:30 pm. Free. U of Idaho Arboretum & Botanical Garden, 1200 W. Palouse River Dr. idaho.edu/class/music

POP SUMMER CONCERT: BEN KLEIN AS ELVIS Ben Klein, local Elvis impersonator, performs in tribute to the King. July 11, 6:30-8:30 pm. Free. Prince of Peace Lutheran, 8441 N. Indian Trail Rd. popspokane.org (509-465-0779)

SPORTS & OUTDOORS

SPOKANE INDIANS VS. EVERETT

AQUASOX Promos include Dollars in Your Dog Night (July 6), Fireworks Night

(July 7) and Marvel’s Defenders of the Diamond Night (July 8). July 6, 6:35 pm, July 7, 5:09 pm, July 8, 7:05 pm and July 9, 1:05 pm. $8-$22. Avista Stadium, 602 N. Havana St. spokaneindians.com

SCENIC CHAIRLIFT RIDES Ride the chairlift up the mountain with options to hike back down. July 1-Sept. 30, Fri-Sun from 10 am-3:30 pm. $9-$13. Lookout Pass, I-90 Exit 0. skilookout.com

COEUR D’ALENE SHOOT Watch regional cowboy mounted shooters compete in various courses in this two-day shoot.

July 8-9, 9 am. Free. Kootenai County Fairgrounds, 4056 N. Government Way. cmsaevents.com (208-765-4969)

NATIVE & XERIC PLANT MASTERY SERIES This four-part class teaches how to replace lawns with native plants and more. July 8-29, Sat from 2-3 pm. $10-$30. Ritters, 10120 N. Division. 4ritter.com

KAN TRAIL RACE A 10k, 25k or 50k race on mountain trails of Mt. Spokane State Park. July 8, 7 am-5 pm. $59-$129. Mt. Spokane State Park, 26107 N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. ponderosaracing.com

RIVERFRONT SKATE NIGHT A skate night for all ages/abilities. BYO skates or rent for $5. July 8, Aug. 19, Sep. 16, 6-9:30 pm. Numerica Skate Ribbon, 720 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. riverfrontspokane.com

THE SHOOTOUT AT SILVER MOUNTAIN

A 3D Archery event for participants of all ages and skills. July 8-9, 7 am-5 pm. $50$175. Silver Mountain Resort, 610 Bunker Ave. silvermt.com (208-783-1111)

SPOKANE BOXING: YOUTH BOXING

CARD Purchase tickets at Spokane Boxing (115 S. Jefferson St.). July 8, 2 pm. $10. Brick West Brewing Co., 1318 W. First Ave. fb.me/e/198QcCy8v (509-279-2982)

SPOKATOPIA The outdoor adventure fest features opportunities to try new sports, see demons, bike the Centennial Trail, try new outdoor gear and more. July 8, 9 am-6 pm. $5-$15. Camp Sekani, 67070 E. Upriver Dr. spokatopia.com

CDA GARDEN TOUR This tour highlights some of the area’s most unique private and community gardens. July 9, 10 am-4 pm. $20. cdagardenclub.com

MOORE-TURNER HERITAGE GARDENS

TOURS Step back in time and experience this garden as it looked in 1915. July 9, 11 am. Free. Moore-Turner Heritage Gardens, 507 W. 7th. heritage-gardens.org

BASIC YOGA Strengthen, stretch and release muscle tension with instructor Robin Marks. July 11-Aug. 15, Tue from 9-10 am. $80. John A. Finch Arboretum, 3404 W. Woodland Blvd. spokanerec.org

RIVERFRONT MOVES: VINYASA WITH RARE WELLNESS This class offers foundational postures, transitions and supportive breath techniques. July 11, 6-7 pm. Free. Pavilion at Riverfront, 574 N. Howard St. riverfrontspokane.com

SANDPOINT ANTIQUE & CLASSIC BOAT SHOW This event features a boat show and a boat parade. July 14-16. $10-$40. Sandpoint. inlandempireacbs.com

THEATER

THE SOUND OF MUSIC A stage adaptation of the beloved musical. Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm through July 9. $50-$65. Schuler Performing Arts Center, 880 W. Garden Ave. cstidaho.com

ACCORDING TO COYOTE An encounter with the richness and vitality of Native American culture using age-old traditions of music, dance and theatre. July

7-9, daily at 8 pm. The MAC, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org

MY 80-YEAR-OLD BOYFRIEND Based on the true story, this musical reveals the thrill of chasing your dreams. Presented by Idaho Repertory Theatre. July 7-9; FriSat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm. $5-$25. The Forge Theater, 404 Sweet Ave. uidaho. edu/theatre (208-885-6465)

VISUAL ARTS

LINDA HYATT CANCEL & JOHN SEBASTIAN: DREAMS ARE MADE OF THIS Linda Hyatt Cancel and John Sebastian showcase their fine art paintings. July

6-Aug. 25, Wed-Sat from 11:30 am-5:30 pm. Free. Trails End Gallery, 204 E. Main St., Chewelah. (509-936-9181)

NEW WESTERN VIBE Contemporary takes on Western images. Featured artists include Terry Lee, Sheila Evans, Lance Green, Sara Taylor and more. July

1-30, Wed-Sun from11 am-6 pm. Free. The Art Spirit Gallery, 415 Sherman Ave. theartspiritgallery.com (208-765-6006)

STAN MILLER A watercolor and egg tempera painting exhibition with 60 paintings and prints. The Spokane-based is internationally recognized. Daily from noon-6 pm through July 31. Free. Barrister Winery, 1213 W. Railroad Ave. barristerwinery.com (509-465-3591)

THE WYETHS: THREE GENERATIONS A collection of works by N.C. Wyeth, one of America’s finest illustrators; his son Andrew, Andrew’s son Jamie, and extended family members. Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm through Aug. 20. $7-$12. The MAC, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org

DAVID SMESTAD: RESONANCE Geometric art by the Pullman-based artist. July 7-29, by appointment. Reception Fri, July 7 from 5-8 pm. Free. Kolva-Sullivan Gallery, 115 S. Adams St. kolva-sullivangallery.com (509-458-5517)

HANNAH CHARLTON This show features a collection of illuminated manuscripts based on The Book of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pizan. July 7-29, Thu-Sat from 4-7 pm. Free. Terrain Gallery, 628 N. Monroe St. terrainspokane.com

JERRY MUDGE, SANDY MORAN, NANCY HARRIS This showcase features photography by Mudge and quilts by Moran and Harris. July 7, noon and July 8, 12-5 pm. Free. Avenue West Gallery, 907 W. Boone Ave. avenuewestgallery.com

MARIAH BOYLE, HARRY MESTYANEK & SARAH BARNETT Featuring Boyle’snew B&W drawings, Mestyanek’s ceramics and Barnett’s painings. July 7-29, Fri-Sat from 12-8 pm. Free. Saranac Art Projects, 25 W. Main Ave. sapgallery.com

SHANNON NOEL: JOON + 30 YEARS

Noel spent hours training Mary Stuart Masterson to paint for Benny and Joon as it was filmed in Spokane. For this show, she revisits Joon and uses the film as inspiration. Reception: July 7 from 5-9 pm. Gallery hours by appointment only. Free. Hamilton Studio, 1427 W. Dean Ave. hamiltonstudio.com (509-327-9501)

INTRO TO SOULCOLLAGE Stacie Dagres guides participants through the cardmaking process. Materials provided, no art experience required. July 11, 6-8 pm. $40. Unity Spiritual Center Spokane, 2900 S. Bernard St. soulcollage.com

WORDS

3 MINUTE MIC Readers may share up to 3 minutes’ of content. All ages. July 7, 7-8:30 pm. Free. Auntie’s, 402 W. Main Ave. auntiesbooks.com

NORTHWEST PASSAGES: LUIS ALBERTO URREA Urrea discusses an overlooked story of women’s heroism in WWII in Good Night, Irene. July 7, 7 pm. $7. Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. bingcrosbytheater.com

PATHWAYS FORWARD: DISABILITY

PRIDE A virtual discussion between local panelists about intersection of disability and LGBTQ+ identities. July 12, 12-1 pm. Free. ywcaspokane.org (509-378-5804)

K. S. WRIGHT Author K. S. Wright reads from her debut novel, answers questions and autographs books. July 15, 7 pm. Free. Potlatch Public Library, 1010 Onaway Rd. latahlibrary.org n

A Supreme Conundrum

Can the high court’s recent ruling impact Washington’s cannabis industry?

BY WILL MAUPIN

Washington legalized cannabis more than a decade ago, but only in recent years has the state attempted to undo the outsize harm that previous cannabis policy had on minority and marginalized groups. Advocates worry that effort may soon be undone by a recent ruling from the Supreme Court.

It was as recently as 2020 that Washington state made an official push to create a “social equity” program when it comes to cannabis.

The point of that program was, essentially, that previous anti-cannabis policy had disproportionately targeted minority groups in the state in a negative way. Recognizing that, the state would aim to undo that disproportion-

ate harm by allowing minority and previously targeted groups a greater share of the limited legal cannabis licenses allowed in the state.

Effectively, Washington planned to pursue an affirmative action approach to cannabis licensing.

On June 30, the Supreme Court ended the era of affirmative action with a 6-3 ruling against the practice, specifically in terms of college admissions.

In the wake of this recent federal Supreme Court ruling, will Washington’s approach stand?

Cannabis news website Marijuana Moment published an op-ed by Khurshid Khoja of the pro-cannabis legal lobby of Greenbridge Corporate Counsel, titled, “How To Save Marijuana Social Equity Programs From The Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Ruling.”

Khoja writes that the ruling could have “massive consequences for cannabis social equity licensing programs across the country” but noted that “restitution to people harmed by criminalization while also withstanding judicial scrutiny” is possible.

Washington’s cannabis social equity program, as defined by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, “is intended to reduce accumulated harm suffered by communities subjected to impacts from the historical application and enforcement of cannabis prohibition.”

Affirmative action for cannabis remains in a gray area federally, much like the broader federal policy on

cannabis, which defines cannabis as an illegal drug. Simultaneously, Washington state law finds it to be a legal substance under specific regulation.

The question then becomes: can Washington attempt to undo historical wrongs by giving more cannabis licenses to minority groups?

“Some existing social equity programs have already been attacked and even invalidated on the grounds that they violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution,” Khoja writes.

Those attacks existed even before last week’s ruling by the Supreme Court overturning affirmative action.

Washington’s social equity program has so far survived any such attacks, but recent rulings by the Supreme Court add another layer to the complicated relationship between the state’s ability to regulate cannabis how it sees fit and the federal government’s ability to override a state’s policy.

Until a federal cannabis law is decided, this creates yet another gray area for legislators and citizens to navigate.

Khoja offers a solution, however. By concentrating “relief to those individuals who were actually arrested, convicted and/or incarcerated (and the immediate families they were separated from), in a completely raceneutral manner,” these social equity programs may have a chance to survive in this new era. n

WARNING: This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming. Cannabis can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. For use only by adults 21

GREEN ZONE

BE AWARE: Marijuana is legal for adults 21 and older under Washington State law (e.g., RCW 69.50, RCW 69.51A, HB0001 Initiative 502 and Senate Bill 5052). State law does not preempt federal law; possessing, using, distributing and selling marijuana remains illegal under federal law. In Washington state, consuming marijuana in public, driving while under the influence of marijuana and transporting marijuana across state lines are all illegal. Marijuana has intoxicating effects; there may be health risks associated with its consumption, and it may be habit-forming. It can also impair concentration, coordination and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. Keep out of reach of children. For more information, consult the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board at www.liq.wa.gov.

WARNING: This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming. Cannabis can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. For use only by adults 21 and older. Keep out of the reach of children.

1. “Pirates of the Caribbean” star 5. Gorilla, e.g.

8. Japanese beer brand whose name translates to “morning sun”

13. Jai ____

14. ____ house

15. “You dig?” reply

16. Lauderdale neighbor

17. Isn’t equivalent?

18. WNBA star Taurasi

19. With 38- and 54-Across, helpful phrase from a person with connections (and a hint to this puzzle’s italicized clues)

22. Tupperware stock

23. TV alien played by Robin Williams

24. Latin for “womb”

26. Got to second base, maybe

29. NBA star Thompson

E-MAIL:BulletinBoard@Inlander.com

PHONE:(509)444-7355

INPERSON: 1227WestSummitParkway Spokane,WA 99201 to advertise: 444-SELL

30. Jazz great Fitzgerald

31. With less delay

33. Place to conduct forensics

36. “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” host

38. See 19-Across

39. “It’s ____!” (“I’ll see you then”)

41. Lean-____ (shelters)

42. Homes that may have butlers

45. Glenn Frey hit “The Heat ____”

46. “The Voice” host Carson

47. “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” director

49. “Memento” star

52. Nickname followed by -dore or -dora

53. Scratchy voice

54. See 19-Across

59. Words before earliest or least

61. Indiana neighbor

62. On

thanks”

Plot” conspirator

33. Verbally attack

34. Yours, to Yves 35. “Molto ____!”

37. Big Apple debut of 1998

40. Craps, e.g.

43. Supermodel Wek

44. Waits to publish, as an article 46. TV advice show co-created by Oprah

48. Lil Wayne’s “____ Carter V”

49. Strollers through Covent Garden

50. Seriously vex 51. “Ad ____” (2019 space film)

55. Claim of innocence

56. “I get it now”

57. What a tightrope walker walks on 58. #carpediem

Play where the big winners play.

SIGNUP ANDGET EXTRA PLAYCASH

SCAN THE QR CODE TO LEARN MORE

Reward Your Play!

Join the rewards club that gives you more! You’ll instantly be eligible for gas discounts and as a Coeur Rewards Club member, you’ll earn points every time you play with your card. You can redeem these points for Extra Play Cash, merchandise, restaurants, gas, and more. Joining is free and easy. Plus, you’ll receive $10 Extra Play Cash just for signing up. Stop by the Coeur Rewards booth today!

valid ID to join Coeur Rewards. Sign up offer is valid for new Coeur Rewards members only.

THE BEST GAMES. THE BIGGEST SMILES.

Home of the hottest new games anywhere.

With the most million-dollar jackpots in the Inland Northwest and a friendly team that treats you like family, Coeur d’Alene Casino gives you the enhanced gaming experience you deserve. Skilled gamers know this is the place to play the newest, most dynamic games, with fast payouts that let you receive your jackpot winnings in under six minutes. Experience a comfortable, vibrant and winning atmosphere where locals matter!

Open for Fun 24/7!

You can now play your favorite video gaming machines around the clock. The winning never has to end, come enjoy our 24/7 casino floor.

SHOP & DINE WITH YOUR COEUR REWARDS CARD

Make your dollars go further with Coeur Rewards. Discounts for dining and shopping vary based on tier and begin at the Legend Coeur Rewards card level.

FUEL YOUR FUN!

Get gas at a discount. Simply swipe your Coeur Rewards card at the Coeur d’Alene Casino’s Conoco station location to get 5 to 25 cents off per gallon. The higher your Coeur Rewards tier, the bigger your reward!

Must present Coeur Rewards card and a valid ID at the time of the transaction. Dining discount applies to items intended for the card holder and may be extended to one dining guest. Additional restrictions may apply. See the Coeur Rewards booth for more details.