Inlander 10/19/2023

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VOL. 31, NO. 2 | COVER DESIGN: DEREK HARRISON

COMMENT 5 8 NEWS 18 CULTURE COVER STORY 21

FOOD 56 SCREEN 58 MUSIC 60 EVENTS 64

I SAW YOU 66 GREEN ZONE 68 BULLETIN BOARD 71

EDITOR’S NOTE

M

emories of 1993 come to me quickly. When the year began, I was really into Spin Doctors’ Pocketful of Kryptonite, and the epic “Death of Superman” that ran across multiple comic books. By year’s end, I was listening to Nirvana, and reading somewhat heavier fare in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s Cat’s Cradle.

Things change. Like me, that freshman in high school, and like the Inlander, which was born that year but has only grown bigger, gone full color, and spun off other publications and events.

Over the past 15 weeks, as we’ve been preparing for this issue — 30 YEARS OF INLANDER — I’ve thought a lot about the years that have passed since ’93. I’m astounded. Every Thursday for every one of those more than 1,600 weeks, the Inlander has never failed to come out. A weekly miracle, really.

Yet a miracle that took a lot of work by Ted, Jer and many, many others (see page 36). Over these three decades, the Inlander has become an indispensable Inland Northwest institution by remaining hyper-focused on local issues, unafraid of telling hard truths, and true to its mission of supporting and celebrating local people and businesses. And we’re family owned.

We know some of you have been reading this weekly miracle since the very beginning. Still more of you started picking us up more recently.

Maybe only 15 years ago, or perhaps just a few months. But even if this is your first issue, we celebrate you — our reader — and look forward to the decades to come.

— NICHOLAS DESHAIS, editor

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SPOKANE • EASTERN WASHINGTON • NORTH IDAHO • INLANDER.COM 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 one of our more than 1,000 NEWSRACKS where you can pick up a paper free every Thursday, call x226 or email frankd@ inlander.com. THE INLANDER is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia and is published at least twice per month. All contents of this newspaper are protected by United States copyright law. © 2023, Inland Publications, Inc.

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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

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WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT THE INLANDER? RONICA PENAR

[Responding while reading the Inlander.] That’s so hard because I love the Inlander. I love that it covers important topics without seeming too formal, and in such a way that feels relatable.

Do you read it every week?

I read it often, especially now that my students [at Mukogawa U.S. Campus] are reading it, so I’m even more in depth with it.

Seth Sommerfeld (x250) MUSIC & SCREEN EDITOR Samantha Wohlfeil (x234) BREAKING NEWS EDITOR Madison Pearson (x218) LISTINGS EDITOR

Eliza Billingham (x222), Colton Rasanen (x263) Nate Sanford (x282), Summer Sandstrom (x232) STAFF WRITERS

Chris Frisella COPY CHIEF

Young Kwak, Erick Doxey PHOTOGRAPHERS

CYNTHIA FAVARA

I just moved here in April. I like it because it’s good, local news, and it reminds me of an independent newspaper, which I think it is.

Yes, it is! Has it helped you connect to Spokane since you moved here?

Yeah, it’s given me ideas of what to do and what’s available, so that’s been helpful as a newcomer.

Amelia Troncone INTERN

Josh Bell, Mike Corrigan, Andy Dinnison, Kris Dinnison, Tony C. Duarte, Chase Hutchinson, E.J. Iannelli, Anne Flavell Mcgregor, Will Maupin, Jennifer Minuto Ranney, Rebecca King Shields, Andrew Strickman, Tom Quinn CONTRIBUTORS

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I honestly think that the “I Saw You” section and the “Cheers” is something I’ve not seen in another newspaper before. It really makes the Inlander unique in that way. It makes it feel more actually of Spokane, as opposed to a newspaper that doesn’t feel as integrated into the community.

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

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AMY GRASS

It’s where my parents get so much information just about, like, what’s going on and to keep local, I guess, and to keep an eye on what’s going on around town.

Do you read it yourself?

I haven’t in a while. I did when I lived with my parents because they would show me stuff that’s going on all the time.

Derrick King (x238) SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Leslie Douglas (x231) GRAPHIC DESIGNER Colleen Bell-Craig (x212), Raja Bejjani (x242) ADVERTISING ASSISTANTS

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

JOHN HOGARD

I like that it’s about the Inland Northwest specifically, about all of the things that people can find here. And all the joy that you can find here, because you don’t have to go somewhere else. This is a nice town.

What’s your favorite section?

The covers are always good. And it’s a great place for local businesses to advertise.

INTERVIEWS BY CHEY SCOTT 10/13/2023, ATTICUS COFFEE & GIFTS

OCTOBER 19, 2023 INLANDER 5

COMMENT | 30 YEARS OF INLANDER

THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO THE INLAND NORTHWEST

All those anniversary covers.

FEATURING:

Starry Nights and Ink-Stained Hands Remembering what we were thinking here at the Inlander as the birthdays have flown by

ARTS

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FOOD & DRINK

RECREATION

NIGHTLIFE

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6 INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

BY TED S. McGREGOR JR.

O

ver the past several months, our team here has been digging through old issues, and whether you just started or have worked here as long as I have, it’s a ton of fun. We’re sharing a bunch of those old memories this week in our 30th Anniversary Issue.

Meanwhile, I’ve been plowing through our old anniversary issues. Every time there’s a big birthday, we pause to reflect on what this all means and offer up a little nostalgia. Looking back at what I wrote every stop along the way tells a story, too.

More than three years before our first issue, I was already thinking about the Inlander. I made it the subject of my final project for my graduate degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. Here’s one early observation from that Aug. 2, 1990 report: “If a clever editorial plan was the only necessary ingredient to success, every competent mind with half a hankering would have his or her own magazine. Publishing is a tricky field because so many factors influence the potential for success…

Nonetheless, the editorial content is the crux of the whole package… It also gives the creative mind a vent and a voice in the community.”

For our inaugural issue on Oct. 20, 1993, I kicked this whole enterprise off by quoting Ansel Adams from his autobiography.

“The only things in my life that compatibly exist with this grand universe,” Adams wrote, re-

calling an epiphany he had camping under the stars at Yosemite’s Fletcher Lake, “are the creative works of the human spirit.”

And I guess I made a promise, too: “Here at the Inlander,” I told our hoped-for readers, “we will showcase the creativity that is thriving in this region. …

Clearly there are many challenges before us as a community. It all starts at the local level. Apathy starts with the individual, as does participation.

To participate, however, one must be informed…”

That first year went by in a flash, and we celebrated with a cake on the Oct. 19, 1994, cover that our former art director Chris Bovey described as “rainbow brite puked here.” My message? Help!

“One of the things that seems easy to forget is that we are a business, too,” I reasoned. “So a plea or a challenge… If you like what we stand for, or if you just want to help local businesses succeed, please support us.”

L

ife keeps happening, too. Anne and I were three weeks away from welcoming the first of our three sons when the Inlander turned five.

“We still get asked about where the Inlander

came from,” I wrote on Oct. 14, 1998. “It has really come from a simple place every week for the past 260 weeks: hard work. It’s said that labor is our most precious commodity, and those back issues reflect countless hours of the stuff by our sales staff, our production staff, the artists, photographers and writers who bring you a fresh, new paper every week.”

To really highlight our 10th anniversary, we busted out all the stops and published our first-ever glossy magazine in October 2003. (We even put Ted Sr. on the cover!) Today, of course, we publish lots of them. In my publisher’s note, I referenced a comment we were including from Nick Heil, who was a freelance writer in our very first issue and later our arts editor. As he was leaving town for a job at Outside magazine, he wrote: “I might be Spokane’s biggest booster if not for the simple fact that it just doesn’t seem to recognize what it has,” Nick wrote.

“And that it continues to lurch along, caught up in petty feuds, apologizing for itself, accepting mediocrity.”

Nick had it right: At that time, Spokane had self-confidence issues. “We at the Inlander try to challenge that mindset,” I added to his message, “in ways as subtle as a calendar listing and as audacious as a cover story. We simply don’t accept that Spokane is inferior to any city.”

Five years after that, the nostalgia was starting to hit, and in my piece for the Oct. 16, 2008, 15th Anniversary Issue, I recalled the pride at the office that first day, after we managed to get the papers out: “We all felt like we had just rolled the first Model T off the assembly line.”

At 20, on Oct. 24, 2013, we were no longer begging for help, like back in Year One; it was time to simply be thankful — a sentiment that holds to this day.

“Jer and I are humbled by how we have been embraced over these past 20 years… I believe our success reflects the vitality of our city and region. Everyone can take credit for our thriving newspaper. We owe great thanks to our staff — past and present — along with our readers and our advertisers. Spokane, Inland Northwest — you are amazing. It’s been a privilege for all of us here at the Inlander to reflect you in our pages these past two decades.”

FALL DINING SALE

We’ll set up your dining room You set the table and enjoy

M

usic is a through-line for all of this. The tunes we listened to around that first office provided the soundtrack for our aspirations. One song in particular has been with me throughout this journey: “Telegraph Road” by Mark Knopfler’s Dire Straits. I quoted extensively from it in our very first cover story, “Growth: Boon or Bust?” (We still have not answered that question, by the way.) For the 25th, I explained my obsession: “In its opening bars, the song encapsulates the birth of a Western town — from an individual act to a collective enterprise.”

A long time ago came a man on a track / Walking 30 miles with a sack on his back / And he put down his load where he thought it was the best / Made a home in the wilderness.

He built a cabin and a winter store / And he ploughed up the ground by the cold lake shore / And the other travelers came walking down the track / And they never went further, no, they never went back.

Then came the churches, then came the schools / Then came the lawyers, then came the rules / Then came the trains and the trucks with their load / And the dirty old track was the Telegraph Road.

“Newspapers came, too,” I continued, “as the health and growth of all American cities were attended by the basic act of sharing the news. ‘Telegraph Road’ is… a meditation on the tension between the freedom of the individual and the responsibility to the collective. And that tension (‘the rules’) propels the messy, glorious story of society. It’s the road that connects what we’ve been writing about for 1,300 weeks now.”

So here we are, 30 years old. I keep coming back to the people.

Readers, local business owners and our team. Working with so many great people has been a gift no business plan could promise.

So I tried to collect the name of every staffer, regular freelancer writer and contributing artist. (Apologies if I missed you!) There have been like 850 of us; you can see every name on page 36.

Over millennia, people working together have created cathedrals and spaceships, iPhones and vaccines. We’re human, we build stuff. Here in Spokane, starting in 1993, we built something, too. n

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OCTOBER 19, 2023 INLANDER 7

Spokane voters will decide whether camping should be outlawed in more than half the city. ERICK DOXEY PHOTO

ELECTION 2023

FIX OR FOLLY What will it look like if Spokane voters decide to ban camping near schools, parks, playgrounds and child care facilities?

M

ore than half of the city would be off limits to camping under a proposed ban going before voters next month.

Both the people promoting Spokane’s Proposition 1 — which would ban camping within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, playgrounds and child care facilities — and those fighting against it say they don’t want homeless encampments near places meant for children.

But they differ in what they believe will happen if city voters approve the ballot initiative, which asks whether Spokane city code should be amended to expand the existing camping ban.

Proponents say an expanded ban is necessary to break up Camp Hope-style encampments, arguing that police likely wouldn’t enforce the ban everywhere it applies, but could better enforce problem camps. Opponents say that even the threat of enforcement will likely push people to camp deeper in neighborhoods and on the outskirts of city limits, farther from services they need.

Under current city code, camping is already banned on public property, including conservation lands, along the Spokane River and Latah Creek and their tributaries, as well as under or near the railroad viaducts in downtown and within three blocks of congregate shelters.

Among those running for office, Mayor Nadine Woodward, City Council president candidate Kim Plese, and City Council candidates Katey Treloar, Earl Moore

8 INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL and incumbent Michael Cathcart support Prop 1. Mayoral candidate Lisa Brown, City Council president candidate (and current council member) Betsy Wilkerson, and City Council candidates Paul Dillon, Kitty Klitzke and Lindsey Shaw oppose Prop 1.

IMPACT IF PASSED

After hearing about Prop 1, Eastern Washington University Professor Robert Sauders mapped out the areas that would be affected. He says the 1,000-foot restriction around each location particularly piqued his interest.

“The GIS nerd in me said, ‘I know that’s a substantial portion of the city when you have that criteria,’” says Sauders, who teaches geography and anthropology. “This probably sounds reasonable to folks, but it’s a lot of the city.”

His map shows that, if enacted, the measure would ban camping in about 55% to 64% of the city, depending on whether you include the land at Spokane International Airport, which makes up about 9% of the city’s area.

“We as a city have positioned resources in a centralized area downtown that’s effectively going to be a no camping zone,” Sauders says.

If camping is pushed into the areas not covered by the ban, more visible encampments could pop up in parts of Rockwood, Cliff-Cannon, Lincoln Heights, Southgate, Grandview/Thorpe and Latah Valley, East Central, Northwest, and Indian Trail neighborhoods.

For what it’s worth, only part of the block that was

home to Camp Hope would fall within the 1,000-foot boundary from a school that the ban calls for.

ARGUMENT FOR

Clean and Safe Spokane, the political action committee promoting Prop 1, argues that the ban is needed because homeless encampments “endanger the lives of our children.” The group argues the camping ban would protect neighborhoods.

“This is a step in the right direction to help reduce the dangerous, dirty, and disruptive behavior inherent in homeless encampments around areas where our children learn, play, and grow,” reads the voters’ pamphlet argument “for” Prop 1 that was prepared by attorney Brian Hansen — who helped put the measure on the ballot — and Spokane City Council member Jonathan Bingle.

Camp Hope, in the East Central neighborhood, grew to more than 600 people at its peak last year, raising concerns about crime, refuse and dangerous behavior.

After seeing the impacts, the backers of Prop 1 looked to anti-camping policies in other cities and crafted the initiative to be compliant with Martin v. Boise. In that case, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined that cities can’t enforce camping bans if there’s a lack of shelter beds available, because it’s “cruel and unusual” for governments to make it illegal to simply exist outside if no indoor options are offered. ...continued on page 10

OCTOBER 19, 2023 INLANDER 9

NEWS | ELECTION 2023 “FIX OR FOLLY,” CONTINUED...

The Martin decision prevents cities from banning all camping when there’s no shelter space, but it doesn’t prevent cities from banning it in specific areas, says Mark Lamb, the Seattle attorney who is representing the proponents of Proposition 1. Hansen and John Estey, the chair of Clean and Safe Spokane, referred all questions to Lamb.

“It gives police in Spokane another tool in their toolbox when you have problematic encampments like Camp Hope,” Lamb says of Prop 1. “It’s a tool to say, ‘There are places that are not appropriate to have camping within the city limits.’”

A legal challenge to the measure will be heard on Oct. 25 before the state Court of Appeals, but that challenge has to do with whether voters have the legal authority to change city code via initiative.

If voters approve the measure, the legal question about whether the ban would be enforceable under Martin could be brought to court.

Progressive cities such as Los Angeles and Portland have banned camping within 500 feet and 250 feet of similar sensitive places, Lamb says.

“If we are challenged we’d be in the company of cities like Los Angeles and Portland,” Lamb says.

WHERE CAMPING IS BANNED UNDER PROP 1

Only part of Camp Hope would’ve been banned under Prop 1.

ARGUMENT AGAINST

Meanwhile, people who work in eviction prevention, homeless services and more argue that the ban won’t fix the issues that result in homelessness, or eliminate encampments, which would likely move to other areas. Ironically, the opponents argue, the measure could actually create large encampments.

“The unintended consequence of limiting space where people can exist means that encampments that are not prohibited by

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10 INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

MAP CREATED BY ROBERT R. SAUDERS, EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

City of Spokane, Spokane County, WA State Parks GIS, Esri, HERE, Garmin, SafeGraph, METI/NASA, USGS, Bureau of Land Management, EPA, NPS, USDA

AMY EDDY, M.D. UW School of Medicine ’10 Internal Medicine Residency Director, Spokane Teaching Health Clinic

Proposition 1 will look more like Camp Hope because of the limited space where they will be allowed,” according to the “against” statement that was submitted to the Spokane County Auditor’s Office about an hour too late to make it into the voters’ pamphlet.

The statement, prepared by three people including Terri Anderson, the statewide policy director for the Tenants Union of Washington State, argues that rent increases, evictions and severely low vacancy rates are actually driving homelessness.

“We don’t have a homelessness problem, we have a housing crisis,” Anderson says. “They’ll just be squished into smaller spaces that are probably more visible, and probably impacting neighborhoods. In many ways it’s probably going to make it worse.”

Julie Garcia, founder of Jewels Helping Hands, a homeless service provider that worked with other nonprofits to help those at Camp Hope, also contributed to the “against” statement.

“We as a community all agree that homeless encampments should not be near our schools or playgrounds or parks. But if we tell people where they can’t go, we have to tell them where to go,” Garcia says. “We are slowly and systematically removing people’s rights to exist.”

Garcia says that Jewels Helping Hands has already been finding more people in north Spokane in need of resources, as many started camping in the area of the Division Street “Y” and north into the county after Camp Hope closed. She says the community needs to invest in more wraparound housing services or sweeping encampments won’t fix anything.

“All it does is alienate those folks farther and farther from those services that help them exit homelessness,” Garcia says. “We continue to operate under the idea that if we wish them away, they somehow disappear. That is not the case. They’re going to move to where they’re allowed to be, and unfortunately that’s going to be into neighborhoods that are unprepared to care for them.” n samanthaw@inlander.com

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OCTOBER 19, 2023 INLANDER 11

NEWS | ELECTION 2023

South Spokane Square Off Activist against educator in the race to represent City Council’s District 2

BY NATE SANFORD

A

local progressive activist is running against a former educator to represent south Spokane’s District 2 on Spokane City Council this year.

Paul Dillon previously worked as vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho. He’s also worked as a legislative aide for state Sen. Andy Billig and former City Council member Jon Snyder.

Katey Treloar previously worked as an educator for Spokane Public Schools. She helped start a nonprofit that feeds hungry kids, and is the founder and owner of Executive Function Coaching, which coaches individuals with ADHD and other neurodiverse diagnoses.

Last week, the two candidates took questions from the Inlander and Spokesman-Review at a debate hosted by

12 INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

KSPS. The debate ran through a number of topics (see below) and ended with Treloar comparing Dillon’s social media posting habits to that of the former president. (“No one’s ever told me I sound like Donald Trump,” Dillon replied. “[I’ve] never voted for him.”)

Here’s where the candidates stand on the issues facing the city. Ballots will be mailed to voters this week and are due Nov. 7.

DEVELOPMENT MORATORIUM

Latah Valley residents are calling for a moratorium on new development on the city’s west flank because they’re concerned about road and fire infrastructure not being able to keep up with population growth.

Dillon says he supports a moratorium.

He says he used to live in the Grandview/ Thorpe neighborhood and saw firsthand the challenges associated with a lack of infrastructure.

“We shouldn’t be building more housing in a wildfire zone, especially after this summer,” Dillon says. “I am absolutely committed to getting that fire station built in my first term.”

Treloar also committed to getting a station built by the end of her term, but she’s wary of supporting a moratorium without a larger plan in place.

She says she wants to put together a committee of various stakeholders that can create a comprehensive plan with “timelines and accountability.”

“If that plan includes a moratorium, then I will support a moratorium,” Treloar says. “But I do not support a moratorium as a plan to make a plan.”

CAMERA READY

Paul Dillon and Katey Treloar

BUDGET

The candidates have different approaches when asked how they would balance the city budget, which is facing an unusually large $20 million shortfall this year.

Treloar says she would start by examining the City Council. She notes that the council’s budget has grown in recent years, and says she would want to find redundancies in positions that overlap on both the council and administrative side of city government. She also points to downtown as a revenue source the city needs to protect.

“It is essential that we have a clean and safe downtown,” Treloar says, adding that Spokane needs to support the businesses there so they don’t flee.

Dillon pushes back on Treloar’s calls to cut the council’s budget, arguing that the council’s staff has grown in recent years because council members are being asked to

do more. He says he wants to pass a “budget that helps working families that does not come at the expense of service cuts.”

But avoiding service cuts requires finding more money to fill gaps. Dillon proposes convening a “revenue stabilization workgroup” to find new sources of money. The workgroup, Dillon adds, would include business entities, small businesses, Avista and nonprofits.

TRAFFIC CALMING

In Spokane, money generated by speeding and red light cameras goes to a dedicated pot of money. This “traffic calming fund” traditionally goes toward infrastructure projects, like speed bumps and stop signs. This year, however, Mayor Nadine Woodward has proposed taking $2 million from the fund to cover gaps in the police department’s overtime budget.

Treloar argues that the current traffic calming process isn’t transparent and that she’s talked to families who were frustrated about not getting the projects they asked for.

“I really think that at this time, we need a safe and clean city,” Treloar says. “And because the use of our traffic calming funds isn’t exactly transparent, and it doesn’t have a process that everyone is aware of, that money would be better spent using it for police overtime.”

Dillon disagrees. “I don’t support raiding the traffic calming fund for police overtime,” Dillon says. “Our 27 neighborhood councils, they’ve come to expect this funding to go to what it was intended for.”

N E W

O N

S A L E

S A T U R D AY

FEB 10

8 :00 P M

FLUORIDE

This is an issue the candidates actually agree on. Spokane residents have three times voted against adding fluoride to the city’s water system. When asked if they would support fluoridation, both candidates say now simply isn’t the time.

“This is just not a priority for voters,” Dillon says. n

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NEWS | ELECTION 2023

A Voice for the Northeast

A popular conservative incumbent faces a progressive neighborhood advocate in northeast Spokane’s District 1

BY NATE SANFORD

M

Michael Cathcart and Lindsey Shaw

14 INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

ichael Cathcart is the only incumbent Spokane City Council member on this year’s ballot. He says he’s running for reelection because he wants to continue fighting for public safety and fiscal accountability in northeast Spokane’s District 1.

Before becoming a council member, Cathcart worked as an aide for former Republican state Sen. Michael Baumgartner, who is now the county’s treasurer. He also worked with the Spokane Home Builders Association and served as executive director of Better Spokane.

Cathcart is up against Lindsey Shaw, a progressive advocate who previously served as chair of the Logan Neighborhood Council. Shaw also served as a Community Assembly liaison for Spokane Parks and as a campus engagement coordinator for the Northeast Community Center.

“Once elected, I would definitely be bringing that neighborhood voice to the decision-making table, which I don’t think is currently represented there,” Shaw says.

District 1 covers much of northeast Spokane and is mostly bordered by Division Street to the west and I-90 to the south. The district has some of the city’s highest poverty rates, and both candidates say it’s been historically overlooked and under-resourced.

Shaw is a staunch progressive and has criticized Cathcart in her fundraising emails for describing himself shortly after he was elected as one of the most conservative voices on the City Council.

As a member of the council’s two-person conservative minor-

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ity, Cathcart is often outvoted by the City Council’s five-person liberal supermajority. But he stresses that he’s consistently been able to work with both sides to pass legislation. He highlights a number of recent collaborations with progressive council members, including his work with Council President Lori Kinnear on an upcoming resolution stating that the City Council will not be moving forward with fluoridating the water, and his collaboration with Council member Karen Stratton to require “good neighbor” agreements establishing expectations between homeless shelter operators and the surrounding community.

Cathcart also notes that his progressive colleagues chose him to serve as council president pro tem, allowing him to serve as president in Kinnear’s absence.

“For a person in the minority, in their first term no less, to be named council president pro tem is a pretty significant step,” Cathcart says. “It really indicates an ability to collaborate and work together.”

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The candidates disagree strongly on issues of homelessness and incarceration.

Cathcart, for example, supports Proposition 1, the November ballot measure that would criminalize camping within 1,000 feet of parks, playgrounds and child care facilities. (See our coverage on page 8.) He argues that it will protect children and families and ...continued on page 17

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OCTOBER 19, 2023 INLANDER 15

BUILDING HOPE: The Future of Attainable Housing for All A Comprehensive Look at Why We Oppose Building Moratoriums and Policies that Suppress New Home Construction

W

e believe in a future where housing is available to all the residents of

our city. Policies that suppress new home construction will stifle growth, hind economic development and the availability of affordable housing.

Our city is at a pivotal crossroads, where the decisions we make today will reverberate for generations to come.

Economic Growth and Jobs A thriving economy hinges on robust infrastructure. Public infrastructure projects not only create jobs but also fuel economic growth. Over the past decade the city council has adopted policies that suppress new home construction and recently imposed

investment to North Idaho and created upward pressure on both home prices and rents.

Affordable Housing and Infrastructure The need for affordable housing and public infrastructure is intertwined. The focus needs to be on infrastructure planning.

Restricting housing development not only hampers the creation of infrastructure

necessary to support new housing it drives up housing prices and rents. Restricting home construction is not a substitute for infrastructure planning and simply encourages housing investment to move outside the city.

Let us support policies that encourage

a building moratorium totally stopping

housing investment in Spokane. We can

actions have hampered the creation of

families that have been locked out of the

construction in Latah Valley. These

important infrastructure, shifted housing

shape a future that holds hope for housing market.

Join the Building Hope campaign and be a part of shaping our city’s housing future.

Visit our website at www.buildingforthefuture.org for more information and to show your support.

NEWS | ELECTION 2023 “A VOICE FOR THE NORTHEAST,” CONTINUED... help to direct people experiencing homelessness toward services.

“There should not be a debate around protecting children,” Cathcart says.

Shaw is opposed to the proposed camping ban. She argues that many people experiencing homelessness have children.

“I understand that it’s not always families camping, but I feel like it’s really out of touch with what a lot of families are facing in the northeast,” Shaw says.

Like every other progressive running for office this year, Shaw also opposes Measure 1, a county ballot measure that would raise the sales tax by 0.2% to fund a new jail and other public safety measures. Jail isn’t always the answer, she says.

Cathcart supports the measure and argues that the money it will generate would help fund a number of much-needed public safety programs for the city. He says safety is by far the biggest concern he hears from constituents, and that his focus on the issue is part of what sets him apart from Shaw.

“I think there has to be accountability, there has to be a way for us as a community to be safe,” Cathcart says.

Spokane’s police department is understaffed and struggling to fill a number of vacancies. Cathcart says he wants to encourage more lateral hires for the department and reform the city’s laws to allow it to be more targeted in its recruitment.

“There shouldn’t be a reason that we can’t go to, say, Seattle or Tacoma or Vancouver, Washington, and look at their publicly available records, identify their absolute best officers and say, ‘Hey, we’d love to have you come work for us in Spokane,’” Cathcart says.

Shaw, however, says she wants to be more focused on local recruitment. She wants to see more youth-focused programs in local high schools that can encourage young people to pursue a career in law enforcement.

“Having somebody from the area become a police officer, maybe then they are not as scary and they’re more of a helper,” Shaw says.

HOUSING

Shaw says she’s especially focused on issues of housing affordability and renter protections. She has a slate of proposals that include requiring six months notice before rent increases, streamlining the application process and capping security deposits to first month’s rent.

Shaw criticizes Cathcart for voting against a landlord-tenant reform ordinance earlier this year that would’ve required landlords to give notice to tenants if the unit has a history of mold, meth or other contaminants. Cathcart argues that he had actually fought to include the language about notice for contaminants but was told by the city’s legal department that the notice would face legal challenges.

“We had legal concerns over a number of the provisions in there,” Cathcart says. “It went too far, it wasn’t planned out well.”

Cathcart stresses that he did end up voting for a different slate of landlord-tenant reforms that he feels go a long way toward holding bad landlords accountable without raising housing costs across the city.

Cathcart points to Spokane’s Building Choices and Opportunity for All ordinance as one of his proudest first term accomplishments. The interim law, which is in the process of being made permanent, essentially legalized the construction of dense “missing middle” housing citywide.

Shaw says she isn’t familiar enough with the specifics of the law to comment, but, in general, she says she wants to see development concentrated along the city’s centers and corridors where infrastructure is already in place to support it. n nates@inlander.com

OCTOBER 19, 2023 INLANDER 17

THEATER

Third Time Lucky Like the character in Roald Dahl’s Matilda, supporters of Lake City Playhouse are fighting for what they believe in

BY E.J. IANNELLI

T

he story of Roald Dahl’s Matilda is one of a precocious girl who overcomes negligent parents and a tyrannical headmistress to find freedom and fulfillment. In short, it’s about surmounting major obstacles with a little ingenuity and camaraderie. And telekinesis.

For Lake City Playhouse, which is about to stage a new production of the children’s-novel-turnedWest-End-musical, Matilda herself might seem like a kindred spirit. The Coeur

Eloise Peltekian (center) says playing Matilda is her “dream role.”

YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

18 INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

d’Alene-based community theater has faced its share of hardships just getting this show off the ground. The current run marks the third time that they’ve attempted to bring it to the stage.

The first foray was, like so many things, scuppered by the pandemic. Lake City Playhouse held auditions for the show but then closed its doors in early 2020 on account of COVID precautions. When the theater reopened a little over a year later, it was, according to Matilda director and Playhouse Board President Brooke Wood, in a comparatively strong position. ...continued on page 20

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CULTURE | THEATER

How to use THIS

PULL-OUT SECTION

Pull down then out

NOT your new Nokia phone

Lake City Playhouse’s latest production is directed by Brooke Wood (below). YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS

“THIRD TIME LUCKY,” CONTINUED...

“We had shut down in time, we had saved our money, we had received some donations, and we were really smart with it. So we were coming out of COVID with some money to do some things to the building, like update our heating system, update our AC, update some of our lighting,” she says.

Thus began the second attempt to stage Matilda. But then a primary water pipe broke below the main floor.

“It cracked, and the water went into the basement, which is where all of our costumes were,” she says. “And it was located underneath our bathroom, which also blew out all of our bathroom pipes.”

That left the costumes and bathrooms ruined. When they tore into the walls to assess the damage, they uncovered additional structural defects. Meanwhile, the cost of materials skyrocketed, and their insurance company determined that reconstructing the historic building’s bathrooms to meet mandatory ADA compliance wasn’t the same as replacing them — and therefore wasn’t covered. On top of that, feral cats got into the unoccupied building and caused further damage. The total repair bill was around $125,000.

Despite the setbacks, which rendered the facility itself virtually unusable, Wood and her colleagues chose to soldier on by raising the money to save the theater and finding a way to produce shows. When the nearby Salvation Army Kroc Center gifted Lake City Playhouse time on its stage, they decided to give Matilda a third go.

“At one time, we thought maybe we’d

20 INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

do something different. But we had already paid for the rights to this show. It would have been like losing $9,000. So we recast Matilda, because my original cast was now three years older... but I told the adults that if they were willing to stay with us, that role would be theirs,” says Wood.

Three key actors stuck it out.

“My Miss Trunchbull is the original Trunchbull.

My librarian is the original librarian. And my Mrs. Wormwood is the same actress. And what’s really funny is that some of the kids that were little in the first cast are now playing the teenagers in this show,” she says.

A

s if to highlight the demand for what Lake City Playhouse offers, 80 children auditioned during the most recent casting call. Among them was 9-yearold Eloise Peltekian, who was cast in the title role. Although she’s only been on stage for about a year, she’s participated in several local Christian Youth Theater productions during that time and has also done professional voiceover work.

“It’s like my dream role. Before I even knew they were doing Matilda I learned the song ‘Quiet.’ I saw both films, and I read the book,” Peltekian says.

Since then, along with “Quiet,” the song “Revolting Children” and its accompanying

dance have become a high point for her.

“It’s a really good show, and I really like the character of Matilda. One of my favorite parts of it is that I get to hang out with all my friends. I have a friend named Kylie who’s playing Lavender, and she’s Matilda’s best friend in the show. So I don’t have to act too much when I’m meeting her for the first time.”

Enabling that space for friendships and socialization, says Wood, “speaks to the fact that we need brickand-mortar theaters” like Lake City Playhouse.

“The biggest thing about Matilda is that it gives us the opportunity to have a lot of different ages on stage. That’s an important piece of what community theater is — allowing people who are in their 50s to work with a child who’s 7, and for all of them to experience this together and learn from each other,” she says.

“But I’ve loved Matilda since I was a kid. Anything that talks about being strong and fighting for what you believe is right is the most important message we can give to people.” n Matilda • Oct. 20-29; Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm • $30 • Salvation Army Kroc Center • 1765 W. Golf Course Rd., Coeur d’Alene • lakecityplayhouse.org • 208-676-7529

NOT tickets to Mrs. Doubtfire

YES! A celebration of 30 years of Inlander!

Now you know how!

PULL-OUT & KEEP!

30TH

ANNIVERSARY

WE SAW YOU We were attracted from the moment we first spotted you in a supermarket.

Bold and artistic on the outside, and it didn’t take long to see there was a lot going on inside.

Decades later, we like where this relationship is going. Thanks for 30 great years, Inlander.

Insured by NCUA. (509) 326.1954 | stcu.org

22 30 YEARS OF INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

THE INLANDER’S FOUNDING STAFF OCTOBER 20, 1993 EDITOR & PUBLISHER Ted S. McGregor Jr. DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS J. Jeremy McGregor ARTS EDITOR Andrew Strickman ART DIRECTOR Rebecca King Shields CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Mike Corrigan, Tony C. Duarte, Anne Flavell McGregor, Nick Heil, Kathy Mulady Miller, Marc Shaw, Ed Symkus CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS Joe Guarisco, Tom Quinn, Mark Alan Stamaty MASTHEAD DESIGNER Caroline Hagen CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Don Hamilton, Eric Sohner, Gloria Gottesman PILOT FOR AERIAL PHOTO OF SPOKANE Tom Shanks ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR René Vercoe Miller ADVERTISING SALES REPRESENTATIVES Jeanne Peirone McGregor, Marsha Runge CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING MANAGER Jennifer Minuto Ranney PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS Jody Chatalas, Ed Lewis INTERN Mareisa Baiz

ON THE COVERS

You may notice this week’s front cover looks a little different than normal. To celebrate our 30th, we busted out the original Inlander logo designed by Caroline Hagen, then of Moscow, Idaho. Featuring Bodoni and Gill Sans fonts, her logo graced our front pages from the very start through Jan. 3, 2002. Starting with the Jan. 10, 2002, issue, we redesigned our logo and page design; you can see it on the cover of this pullout section. Seattle designer Mark Evans chose the font Interstate to anchor the new look — it’s literally the same lettering you see on the highway signs everywhere. For the Feb. 16, 2012, edition, we debuted our current design, when then-Managing Editor Jacob Fries and then-Art Director Chris Bovey chose the red ribbon treatment and Gotham — best known as the font used by the Obama presidential campaign. We also simplified things, just going with INLANDER. Still, plenty of our old-school readers continue to call us THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST INLANDER, and we’re cool with that.

FRONT AND INSIDE COVERS DESIGNED BY DEREK HARRISON

Dinosaurs came back to life, a show about nothing ruled television and some kooks started a newspaper in Spokane.

Read on as some of them share what it was like at the dawn of Inlander.

T

he year was 1993, and big stuff was Big stuff was happening in the Inland Northwest, too. People were trying to pump up the lohappening in the world. Bill Clinton was cal arts scene via a Davenport Arts District, but going to fix health care. (Still not fixed!) the Davenport Hotel was shuttered. Civic leadDavid Letterman moved to CBS, introducing ers wanted a new arena to replace the creaky America to Conan O’Brien. And you could old Spokane Coliseum, affectionately known buy a share of Apple stock for what a charging as the Boone Street Barn; they commenced adapter costs today. There were big changes for beating their heads against a wall me, too, as after 10 years away from Spokane, I called Spokane voters for two moved home. years. And tireless defender of I’d been thinking about starting a weekly paper in my homeall things Spokane and Eastern town since I was at journalism Washington, Speaker of the school in Missouri back in 1990; House Tom Foley, was about to in Boston, with my wife Anne in get an early retirement. There grad school, we actually started was a lot for us to cover. plotting. I had the SpokesmanSo on Oct. 20, 1993, we Review delivered to our Cleveland rolled out The Pacific Northwest Circle apartment to keep up with Inlander for the first time. (It what was going on. I convinced my took 26 of us!) Then another. just-graduated-from-UW brother, And another. And now this one, Inlander All Star Jeanne Jer, to join as my partner; our mom, celebrating those 30 years. To McGregor — aka “Mom” commemorate the occasion, I asked Jeanne, stepped up to sell ads — and write more than a few checks to keep some members of our founding staff making payroll. (We did pay her back!) My (along with other old friends) to share their Boston friend Andrew Strickman moved West to thoughts about what it was like around here in join the adventure, then Jennifer Minuto Ranney 1993, along with reflecting on this improbable was hired as our first Spokane employee. Ads concoction — powered by the hearts and souls went out to find writers and artists. (I hoped of everyone who ever was a part of our team there would be some!) Great ones who became — that we have called the Inlander every single mainstays answered that first call, like Mike Corweek since. rigan, Tony Duarte and Tom Quinn.

— TED S. McGREGOR JR.

OCTOBER 19, 2023 30 YEARS OF INLANDER 23

MIKE CORRIGAN Freelance writer; later a staff writer

D

owntown Spokane was a pretty sleepy place in 1993.

With the exception of about a dozen bars, a handful of restaurants and a few decent live music venues, downtown all but shuttered up after 8 pm. Teenagers cruising Riverside still held dominion on Friday and Saturday nights. The Davenport Hotel was largely unused and staring down the wrecking ball.

The Fox was a ratty discount theater.

But that was beginning to change as a handful of local entrepreneurs began investing in the renovation of downtown properties that had been languishing for decades. It seemed risky then, but the initial results were successful enough to attract more investment and waves of additional projects throughout the 1990s and early 2000s that would radically transform downtown.

The Inlander was part of that transformational wave, reporting on it and spotlighting local arts and culture in ways that presented a distinct alternative to the local daily paper.

The live music scene in 1993 was actually pretty healthy, it just needed an ally in the local media to spread the word. As someone who was passionate about local music, I was excited to be in a position to help with that, both as a freelancer and later as a staffer.

I had some writing experience when I first came on but was a total newb to the world of journalism — and the concept

Mike’s interest in vintage buildings had him covering the salvation of both the Davenport Hotel and the Schade Brewery, where Bernhardt Schade (seated on the keg) kept the good times flowing from 1902 until Prohibition.

TONY C. DUARTE Freelance writer; later a staff writer

W

hat was it like around here in 1993? As a longtime resident of Spokane, I feel as though I can answer this question in two ways.

First, since we live in technologically advanced (ha!) times, I will approach it in tech terms: Spokane in 1993 was like a start-up that had only achieved a few rounds of funding from the angel investors — World’s Fair, Bloomsday, Hoopfest — so it was still very much a work-in-progress.

Second, I think Spokane of 1993 was like one of my favorite sketches from Monty Python’s Flying Circus — the Vocational Guidance Counsellor sketch. In it, Mr. Anchovy, a chartered accountant, would like to be a

24 30 YEARS OF INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

lion tamer and is willing to purchase his own hat (with “lion tamer” written on it that lights up in big neon letters at night so you can tame them after dark when they’re less stroppy).

Like Mr. Anchovy, Spokane was a chartered accountant — but with big lion tamer dreams.

The Inlander — excuse me, Pacific Northwest Inlander — was, for me, a breath of fresh air in the stagnant and stodgy SpokesmanReview-dominated media landscape of 1993 Spokane. It felt as though it was almost rebellious to be writing about something like Boo Radley’s, which some people back then considered to be subversive (in the bad way… because it was definitely subversive in the good way!) in addition to being an outright silly concept

As the Inlander’s resident Cougar fanatic, of course Tony covered the Cougs’ return to the Rose Bowl in 1998 after a 67-year drought.

A lot can happen in 30 years... of weekly deadlines. But I found a lot of support and encouragement there from my editors.

Those first offices in the Georgetown Building behind KXLY were pretty cramped and chaotic. It seemed like magic to me, how a tiny crew of staffers hunched over tiny Mac Classic computers (with 9-inch monochrome screens and questionably reliable 3.5inch floppy drives) somehow managed to produce a newspaper every week.

And I’ll always appreciate the opportunity the Inlander gave me to indulge my passion for Spokane history, bringing readers along as I explored and reported on the renovation of some of the most iconic downtown properties including the Davenport, the Fox, the Montvale, the Legion Building and the old Schade Brewery building, where my note-taking was frequently interrupted by pigeon attacks.

It was frantic, chaotic, challenging and the best of times for me. With some of the best people I have ever met. Talented, creative, kind, hilarious people all dedicated to helping Spokane thrive culturally and making the Inlander the best weekly newspaper it could be. n

y l l a t o TNew Website!

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for a business. After all, who in their right mind was going to buy a punching nun hand puppet?

With the S-R ignoring such frivolities of the time and the internet not glowering down upon us in all its information-gathering modes, the Inlander was the only place to go to find out about fart cushions, robot toys and punching nun puppets… and Spokane was a better place for it.

I have many fond memories of the Inlander — most of which I am unable to recount due to three reasons.

1. A massive loss of brain cells over the years. (Vodka is the culprit.)

2. Legal reasons. (My lawyer politely suggests that my recollections could incriminate me.)

3. Others perhaps not viewing my recollections as fondly as their recollections.

However, we did very well one year in the media division of Hoopfest — of this, everybody associated with the Inlander at the time must agree was a very good thing and would certainly qualify as a favorite memory. n

OCTOBER 19, 2023 30 YEARS OF INLANDER 25

IC MUS

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KRIS DINNISON Co-owner of Boo Radley’s, which was featured in a story for our debut issue; later a freelance writer

I

26 30 YEARS OF INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

playing, or what authors were coming to town, or which plays were being staged. If we had enough going on as a city to fill this weekly paper with interesting events and content, then maybe we weren’t the cultural wasteland we had sometimes convinced ourselves we were. I think the Inlander helped Spokane see itself differently.

That first piece Tony Duarte did in the Inlander about Boo Radley’s meant a lot to us. We still cherish the photo that ran with the article, and it was a real vote of confidence for us as brand-new business owners.

Later I became a freelancer for the Inlander; I always learned something when writing a piece for the paper. For me, interviews with famous people were the most nerve-wracking, but always turned into the most interesting conversations.

My favorite interviews were probably with Harry Connick Jr., who was lovely and so generous, and with Patty Duke. She was so candid about her struggles and so gracious to let me talk to her for so long. So I’m grateful to the Inlander for giving me opportunities to learn and stretch myself as a writer. n

WO R

3

pokane was a simpler place in 1993. Or maybe we’ve all gotten more complicated...

With a lot more going on culturally in Spokane, we needed something to track it all for us in a way that the Spokesman wasn’t doing (or didn’t want to do…). It also coincided with a conscious effort by the Spokesman to quit getting small local advertisers and only concentrate on the big fish.

There was a definite niche left for small local advertising.

I made lots of friends who worked at the Inlander. Best Of Inlander parties — some more raucous than others. I remember traipsing around the empty Davenport (first Best Of party?) with Tony Duarte, who spent his childhood running the halls because his dad was the hotel barber. Still buddies with Tony to this day. It was fun to run parallel to y’all over all these years. Happy 30th. Just remember Boo Radley’s is your older sibling by a couple of months! n

remember how quiet things were at street level back in 1993. It seemed like everyone left downtown at 5 pm. But I also feel like there was a pretty good band and bar scene, too. Lots of great local bands and places to see them like Henry’s and the Big Dipper. Houses and apartments were inexpensive. Spokane still had that “great place to raise a family” image, so a lot of young people were still fleeing to Portland and Seattle.

We knew a lot of amazing, creative, interesting people, so some of them must have been sticking around. The fact that we were able to open Boo Radley’s in 1993 and have it be successful tells you that some of the weirdos must have stuck around.

For me it’s hard to separate the Inlander starting from Boo Radley’s opening. They happened almost simultaneously, and it seemed like, “Yeah.

That makes sense for Spokane at this moment.”

The great thing about the Inlander was that they could draw attention to a lot of the cool little events and happenings and pockets of creativity that were going on, and highlight them in ways the daily paper wasn’t doing. So suddenly everyone had a place they could go to find out who was

RTS

The Dinnisons’ story graced the first issue of the Inlander (photo by Eric Sohner); for their 1993 holiday season ad, they introduced Spokane to St. Elvis.

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OCTOBER 19, 2023 30 YEARS OF INLANDER 27

In front of our second office on the corner of Ash and Dean (left to right): Jer, Ted, Andy Strickman and Nick Heil. Below: Tamara, now our Advertising Operations Manager, and Jer in 2018.

JER McGREGOR Director of Operations; now General Manager

E

arly in 1993, my brother Ted posed a question that, at the time, I had no idea would change the trajectory of the rest of my life. It was something like, “What do you think about moving back to Spokane and starting a weekly newspaper with me?” When you’re 23, you’re kind of looking for adventure, so I thought about it for a bit and said yes.

Then the adventure began.

I suppose the saying that ignorance is bliss might apply to starting a media company in your hometown as much as anything. Ted seemed pretty sharp at business as he figured out how we could rent some office space and lease a copier — and even hire some employees. We spent months working on that first issue, during which I was deep into setting up the distribution plan (with some much needed help from my sister-in-law, Anne, smooth talking businesses into letting us distribute).

Finally the big day came to publish Issue No. 1, and finishing it took all night. The next day out we went to Spokane Print & Mail in Hillyard to watch issues rolling off the press. We printed way too many, but what did we know?

I’d lined up as many of my friends as I could to “take a route” so we could get the Inlander out to the people, and off we went.

It was exciting to be doing something that seemed

28 30 YEARS OF INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

meaningful and full of potential.

That night we went out to celebrate and ended up at the Big Dipper. Somehow the Inlander had worked with Gonzaga University and we already had an intern for our first issue. Mariesa (Mouse, as she was known) brought along one of her college friends, Tamara, to meet the Inlander crew. Again, I didn’t know it at the time, but that chance encounter also changed my life. Tamara and I got married in 1999 and have two amazing kids — Caley and Mason.

The next day Ted reminded me that we now run a “weekly” and another edition was due in a matter of days. The rest is history, or at least 30 years of it.

I

n getting ready for the 30th anniversary, my brother asked me to comment on significant memories. I remember our 25th anniversary, and feeling like the Inlander had really arrived. We have a great staff, a cool headquarters in Kendall Yards and a strong connection with the active people of the Inland Northwest. Then, fast-forward less than 18 months later, when Spokane, and the world, suddenly came to a screeching halt. The pandemic was devastating for so many, in so many different ways. As seemingly everything shut down in a matter of weeks, it was scary and unprecedented.

I wondered what the Inlander was going to do, how would we work our way through it. Well, we ended up doing what I feel like Inlander is supposed to do. We found partners in the community, and then we found a way to help. With the support of community-minded organizations and the approval of civic leaders, we ended up being a part of the community’s official effort to support both businesses and in-

dividuals through the challenging times. Our entire team was tasked with directly communicating with more than 1,000 impacted businesses — writing stories, providing promotion, designing pages and websites that connected locals with local businesses. It was hard, but it was also important. Getting feedback from business owners knowing their community cared and was trying to help — that gave them fuel to keep going and was powerful to hear.

In addition to the year-long Back to Business program, the Inlander also launched the Give Guide Initiative in partnership with Innovia and also the Great Dine Out that supported over 180 area restaurants in partnership with 14 area banks and credit unions who put aside their usual competitiveness to step up in a time of need.

Inlander helped a lot, and I’m proud of that — it’s what I think we’re supposed to do. But like most things, it never would have happened without help. People like Jack Heath and Ezra Eckhardt stood up, and our County Commissioners saw the wisdom of allowing us to play an important part in the recovery effort. But most of all, Marty Dickinson. She is just a special person. The pandemic took a chunk out of just about everyone, and it got me, too. But it also ended up being a moment for the Inlander to shine a light in a dark time.

If I had anything else to say on this 30th anniversary, it would simply be thank you. Thanks to our amazing Inlander staff who have worked hard every day for 30 years to inform, entertain, connect, distribute and collaborate.

Thanks to all our advertisers who choose to connect with the active people of the Inland Northwest through the pages of the Inlander. And most of all, thanks to our community-engaged readers. Keeping you informed and connected to everything our amazing community has to offer is the reason the Inlander exists. n

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OCTOBER 19, 2023 30 YEARS OF INLANDER 29

Built by Anne’s dad, Tom, the Inlander light table has endured since Day One. Here it is, in use today, with an old cover separation showing the cyan, magenta, yellow and black layers.

ANNE FLAVELL McGREGOR Freelance writer; now Editor of Inlander Health & Home

W

hen I arrived in Spokane in the late summer of 1993 with my new husband Ted Jr. and his plan to start a weekly newspaper, I remember being impressed with the sunny skies compared to where I grew up outside of Portland. It was probably lucky that I was preoccupied with the weather as, having never been a part of a family business, I had no idea what I was getting into.

I remember one of my first tasks was cold-calling businesses to see if we could distribute our new paper at their locations. It was a testament to the open-heartedness of Spokane that most everyone said, “Sure!” to a “newspaper” no one had seen yet.

We got our office set up with stuff the Crescent had gotten rid of at a going-out-of-business sale. We opted for big, authoritative desks and mid-century side chairs. My dad converted a dinner table I bought at a garage sale

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pleased with that first issue as it rolled off the press. Then we loaded papers in our cars and drove off to deliver them to all those cheerful folks who agreed to take a chance on us.

In the first issue, under my maiden name Anne Flavell (to avoid too many McGregors on the masthead), I contributed a scintillating story on the arrival of new property assessments and the accompanying tax increases. Then, as now, people were not happy. One time Ted decided to do a groundbreaking story on teens cruising on Riverside. On a Friday night, we hopped in our old Buick comfort sedan, where he decided he would be the “cruising” driver so he could “relate” to the kids. I was in charge of documenting his encounters, furiously scribbling notes in the passenger seat. So, no, not weird at all! n

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while I was in college into a light table, complete with a cutting mat. (It’s still at Inlander HQ today.) It felt like a real office — we were a newspaper! We even had a reception desk!

That cutting mat was key because we had to print each element — story, photo or ad — and cut them out carefully with an Exacto knife, then run the bits of paper through our waxer to stick them onto our proofs. We were pretty proud of that first stack of glued-up pages we took over to the printer in Hillyard. I took a little video with our wedding-gift video camera of Ted and Jer looking

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TOM QUINN

Freelance illustrator and writer

N

ineteen ninety-three was a big year for me.

It was when I had begun teaching at the Spokane Art School and started getting freelance jobs. One of them was my first mural, on the corner of Sprague and Division, of marmots.

I brought Ted some samples of pictures I had been doing for such obscure magazines as The Greyhound Review and Freshwater and Marine Aquarium, and they got me a regular spot doing the cartoon for “The Last Word” feature.

At that time, other people had cell phones, computers, scanners and fax machines. I had none of those things.

I had to come to the Inlander’s office to pick up the article I was illustrating, then draw it and deliver it by deadline.

After about a year, I tried my hand at writing. The first piece I wrote was reprinted across the country on “Alternet,” whatever that was. It took me a while to get used to a reality every

Tom’s first Inlander illustration depicting how a guy from Boston moving to Spokane might feel. (That guy was a real person: Andrew Strickman, see page 35.) professional writer knows: When you write for publication, you get edited. “At least this never happens to artists,” I thought.

But sometimes it did. When I got an assignment to draw Martha Stewart, I wasn’t sure what to caricature. She did have a prominent overbite, I thought, so I gave her one in her picture. Somebody on the staff must not have liked the smile I gave her.

I was shocked to see my picture of Martha Stewart with a bizarrely white smile. I had been Photoshopped, and I didn’t even know what that word meant.

By 2002, I stopped getting requests for illustrations and stopped submitting written compositions. I figured it was just as well. I was already older than most of the people on the staff in 1993, and now I’m downright old.

The Inlander is a young people’s magazine. I wish it a glorious future. n

JENNIFER MINUTO RANNEY Classified Advertising Manager, first employee hired in Spokane

I

was born and raised in the area, and to me Spokane in 1993 was rather sleepy — great for families and not especially interesting if you were in your twenties (which I was when I started at the Inlander). Spokane felt casual and comfortable, like a favorite frayed sweater, and in my mind lacked a certain sophistication of other cities our size. But it was my favorite sweater.

At the time, I handled the Personals and remember a man who recently moved from the East Coast calling in to place an ad. He said he was looking for a woman who held a “Prada purse in one hand and FiloFax in the other.” I responded, “Are you open to a woman with Starbucks in one hand and a snowboard in the other?”

I will never forget my interview at the Inlander, when

32 30 YEARS OF INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

Ted McGregor said he wanted to start a Seattle Weekly type of publication in Spokane. And while I knew Spokane was hungry for something to shake it up, I wasn’t quite sure it was quite ready for that! I felt the Inlander would either become one of the best things to happen to our city or would go down in flames. Either way, I wanted to be part of it.

The Inlander wrote about new business, championed new ideas and thoughtfully challenged old ideas. The Inlander helped spark imagination of what was possible.

It got our city excited, and I saw people advocate for the changes they wanted to see more than I ever had before.

Spokane was, indeed, ready for an alternative weekly paper!

My favorite memories boil down to three words: “The Best Of…” I got excited every time we held the annual Best Of readers poll, and I could not wait to see who won. In the beginning, I was the one who tallied up all of the entries that came in (old-school tallying on notebook paper).

And then there was the culture of the office. I don’t know if I have ever worked at a place where I laughed

Back in the day, Jenn compiled Best Of ballots by hand as they came in the mail; here’s our first Best Of issue from 1994.

as much, or as hard, as when I worked at the Inlander.

My co-workers were some of the smartest, funniest, most dedicated people I had ever met.

I am proud to this day to say I was the first employee of the Inlander! To be on the ground floor of something that continues to be innovative and celebrates Spokane will always be an honor. n

OCTOBER 19, 2023 30 YEARS OF INLANDER 33

REBECCA KING SHIELDS Art Director

I

’ve forgotten much of my life since 1993, but in reminiscing the standout events of the past 30 years, working for the Inlander holds a prominent place on my list.

I was thrilled to be hired as art director by Ted and Jer for the brand-new arts and entertainment newspaper. It was hard not to be caught up in the enthusiasm of the McGregor family’s dream venture, a family business, including their mom Jeanne. It was all the more exciting because Spokane seemed to be on the precipice of metamorphosing from a small town to a city with a lot to offer. I believe the Inlander was a valuable player in promoting the forthcoming change.

The initial Inlander staffers were great! Savvy, talented, energetic and ready to tackle the vision. Everyone

34 30 YEARS OF INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

worked long and hard, scrambling to get out the first issue on Oct. 20, 1993. There was unquestionably a learning curve with the logistics of publishing and printing the newspaper, but after some trial and error, the bugs were ironed out.

A standout memory centered around the day Spokane had one of the worst ice storms on record, occurring on Tuesday, Nov. 19, the day the Inlander went to press. Fortunately, I had just finished the cover design and downloaded it onto a disc when a falling branch from a tree in my backyard took down the wires to the house.

My electricity was out! You could look outside and see transformers popping all across the city. It wasn’t long before all the streetlights and stoplights also went off. The streets were dark and icy, along with everything else. Regardless, the paper must go to press! Despite the dark, icy streets, I managed to get the cover art to the printer. (More luck: Our printer never lost power, so they were able to print the issue.)

Beloved GU Coach Dan Fitzgerald almost didn’t get his story out as Ice Storm hit the Inlander mid-production.

Whether creating computer generated art, setting up compositions and photographing them, going on photo shoots or collaborating with numerous gifted illustrators whose art would be incorporated into the final cover, I loved designing the covers.

During those first years of the Inlander, I can’t begin to tell you how often I heard, “I read it in the Inlander.”

I would feel that little gush of pride knowing I was part of the team. After 30 years, there’s no question as to the success of the McGregors’ groundbreaking newspaper dream. n

ANDREW STRICKMAN Arts Editor, first employee hired from Boston

T

o a guy moving from Boston, who listened to a pre-release cassette of Counting Crows’ August and Everything After on repeat during the drive cross-country (amazing that I-90 took me all the way there), Spokane was this amazing well of promise. I remember arriving and feeling as if I’d entered a place stuck in a Twilight Zone between the “old days” and a vision of a modern future. There were industrial artists and amazing musical acts, innovative and exploratory chefs who needed a hungry audience and a Valley that wasn’t ready for change. But most importantly there was this new weekly newspaper, the Inlander, that was trying to make sense of this dichotomy and introduce Spokane to both the new, and the old, finding a throughline of passion and commitment to making the Inland Northwest the best place in the world to live, love and experience life.

The Inlander didn’t officially come to town to shake

Of many great stories during his three years in Spokane, Andy’s profile of the late, great Harold Balazs remains an all-timer.

things up, but by merely existing, we began to create a counter-narrative to the normal day-to-day that had been standard fare for many years. Of course there’s the memorable story of the representative at the Chamber of Commerce who questioned me derisively when I reported that we were a new newspaper in town. “Why would we need another newspaper?” she asked with a sneer.

Well, because we brought a different perspective to a city that valued perspective. Even though the Inlander wanted to live and work and report within existing structures, we didn’t feel that we needed to abide by the old way of doing things to communicate the value and passions of the Inland Northwest.

My favorite memories were of the relationships we built, the camaraderie of doing something different and somewhat maverick in service to a city and region we all loved, and the many late nights spent producing every inch of that paper for more than three years.

In 1994, we first wrote about this newfangled technology called the Internet. But I’ll never forget the night later that year, in April, when we got out from behind our computers and produced a concert at the Met with a band known then as the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies and heard the news that Kurt Cobain had been found dead. It was as if a gut punch had hit our entire audience at once. And then the Daddies went on and played a blistering set. n

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W BU TH PAP

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Amanda Jones • Amanda Witherell • Amy Alkon • Amy Cannata • Amy Garman • Amy Miller-Krezelak • Amy Sinisterra • Andrea Lorentz Tobar • Andrea Palpa

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Hector Azion • Heidi Groover • Henry Matthews • Herbert I. Schiller • Hilary Korabik • Houston Tilley • Howard Hardee • Howard Stoddard • Howie Stalwick • Hu

Jack Nisbet • Jack Ohman • Jacob Albert • Jacob Fries • Jacob Grief • Jacob Jones • Jacob Thomas • James Fallows • James Galbraith • James Heimer • James Ridgeway

Jason Crosby • Jason Vest • Jay McGregor • Jay Walljasper • Jean Russell • Jeanne Inman • Jeanne Peirone McGregor • Jeff Drew • Jeff Echert • Jeff Elliott • Jeff Ferguson • J

Jennifer Vogel • Jer McGregor • Jeremy Baggott • Jerry Dolezal • Jerry Hughes • Jerry Kraft • Jerry Labardee • Jess Walter • Jessie Hynes • Jessica Kennedy • Jessica M Jocelyn Whitfield • Jody Chatalas • Joe Conason • Joe Guarisco • Joe Hamilton • Joe Konek • Joe O’Sullivan • Joe Preston • Joel Barbour • Joel Comfort • Joel Hartse •

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Leonid Bergoltsev • Lesley Hazelton • Leslie Douglas • Leslie Duncan • Libby Wagner • Lillian Piel • Linda Birch • Linda Hagen-Miller • Lisa Brown • Lisa Fairbank

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Marsha Runge • Marshall Peterson • Martin Kane • Marty Demarest • Mary Berryhill • Mary Bookey • Mary Bruno • Mary Cronk Farrell • Mary Franey • Mary Jane Butt

Matt Thompson • Matt Wuerker • Matt Zambito • Matthew Roberts • Maureen Davidson • Max Cannon • Max Weiss • McKenna Fuhrman • Megan Dhein • Megan Kir

Michael Gregory • Michael Horswill • Michael Kirkhorn • Michael Korfhage • Michael LLoyd-Owen • Michael Mahoney • Michael Stanford • Michal Bennett • Michele M

Miles Bergsma • Mindy Cameron • Miranda Hale • Mitch Finley • Mitch Gilbreath • Mitchell Ryals • Molly O’Hara • Molly Steele • Nance Van Winckel • Nancy Janzen • N Nic Renshaw • Nicholas DeCaro • Nicholas Deshais • Nicholas Geranios • Nichole Bogarosh • Nick Heil • Nick Pontarolo • Nina Shapiro • Norman Solomon • Oliva

Paul Lindholdt • Paul Quinnett • Paul Seebeck • Paula Bronstein • Peg Marshlain • Pete Fretwell • Pia K. Hansen • Piper McGregor-Thornburgh • Polly Powell • Quinn W

Randy Matin • Ray Pride • Ray Ring • Rebecca Bowe • Rebecca King Shields • Rebecca Rison • Regina Corbin • René Vercoe Miller • Renée Sande • Rhea Beume

Rob Glatzer • Robert Borosage • Robert Carriker • Robert Herold • Robert M. Witter • Robert Meyers • Robert Scheer • Roger Downey • Roger Naylor • Roger Nels

Samantha Wohlfeil • Samuel Priddy • Sander Wolf • Sara Edlin-Marlowe • Sarah Munds • Sarah Schmidt • Sarah Torres • Sarah Wellenbrock • Sarah Wurtz • Scott And

Seth Sommerfeld • Shaelah Riggins • Shaliane Jones • Shann Ray • Shannon Barnes • Shannon Bedard • Shannon Wood • Sharma Shields • Shelby Criswell • Sheri Boggs

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Tami Linane-Booey • Tammy Marshall • Tammy McGregor Tracy • Tara Dowd • Tara Roberts • Tara Steinmetz • Taryn Hecker • Taryn Phaneuf • Tatum Hartley • Taylor

Tery Garras • Tess Farnsworth • Tess Weaver • Thea Skokan • Therese Frare • Thom Caraway • Thomas Heflick • Thomas Karier • Tiffany Harms • Tiffany Patterson • Tiin

Tom Quinn • Tom Simpson • Tom Skierka • Tom Stover • Tom Tomorrow • Toni Bradfute • Tony Bamonte • Tony C. Duarte • Tracy Menasco • Tracy Newton • Travis Be

Verne Windham • Wade Sumner • Walter Kulash • Wanda Tashoff • Wayne Hunt • Wendy Wahman • Will Durst • Will Maupin • Will Simons • William Carlson • Willia

WE UILT HIS PER

en • Alicia Hauff • Alicia Purvis-Lariviere • Alison Highberger • Alison Kartevold • Alison Roberts • Ali Blackwood • Alla Drokina • Allen Best • Allison Strong

ant • Andrew Matson • Andrew Strickman • Andy Borowitz • Angela Bagby • Angela Duarte • Angela Rendall • Ann M. Colford • Anna Clausen • Anna Vodicka

s • Ayad Rahmani • Azaria Podplesky • Barbara Loste • Barret Cook • Bekka Rauve • Ben Cater • Ben Kromer • Ben Long • Ben Salmon • Ben Tobin • Beth Swilling

ostwick • Bob Grothe • Bob Horowitz • Bob Legasa • Bob Stokes • Bonnie Amstutz • Brad Blegen • Brad Skillman • Bradley Bleck • Brett Anderson • Brooke Marshall

Bothwell • Caleb Walsh • Caley McGregor • Camille Awbrey • Camryn Barker • Candy Redl • Candy Widmer • Cara Gardner • Cara Strickland • Carey Jackson

n • Caroline Knapp • Carolyn Padgham • Carrie Scozzaro • Carrie Kekahuna • Carrie Scozzaro • Carrie Wisdorf • Carson McGregor • Casey Murphy • Casey Negreiff

ss • Charlie Hamm • Charlotte Lepp • Chase Hutchinson • Chef Boy Ari • Chelsea Bannach • Chelsea Martin • Chey Scott • Chic Burge • Chris Carlson • Chris Coyle

is Toft • Chris Whetzel • Christian Rose • Christine Triano • Christoper Weir • Christopher Bovey • Christopher Clancy • Christopher Dreher • Christopher Frisella

e Price • Claire Rudolph Murphy • Clark Burland • Clarke Humphrey • Clint Burgess • CMarie Fuhrman • Coby Stites • Cole Gamble • Cole Smithey • Colleen Bagdon Cornelia Li • Cortney Harding • Courtney Logue • Craig Ettinger • Craig Winzer • Curtis Woloschuk • Cynda Smith • Cynthia Mills • Cynthia Taggart • D.J. Calkins

n • Dan Zevin • Daniel Guidera • Daniel Levitas • Daniel Walters • Danielle Toussaint • Darcy Caputo • Darin Z. Krogh • Darren Balch • Darren Davidson • Dave Ballard

Wilk • David Magee • David Medaris • David Moberg • David Morris • David Opie • David Teller • Deanna Boggs • Deanna Pan • Deborah Bruce • Deborah Harper

Dezi Nagyfy • Diana Claitor • Diane Daugherty • Diane Lewis • Don Clarke • Don Hamilton • Don Kardong • Donella H. Meadows • Dorothy Isenberg • Dorothy Kraft

izabeth Carey • Elizabeth Pepin • Elizabeth Strauch • Ellen Welcker • Emalee Gillis • Emily Bazelon • Emily Guidinger Hunt • Emily Stone • Emily Walden • Emma Noyes

yson • Fabian Medina • Falon Klidy • Frank Beacham • Frank DeCaro • Franny Wright • Fred Bowman • Fred Moody • Fred van Guilder • G. Pascal Zachary • Gabe Strine

andoval • Gloria Gottesman • Gordon Young • Guy Hand • Hannah Mumm • Hannah Nordhaus • Heath Harmon • Heather Havrilesky • Heather Irwin • Heather Villa

ugh Imhof • Hugh Russell • Ian Williams • Inga Laurent • Ira Gardner Jr. • Isaac Handelman • Isamu Jordan • Ivan Munk • J. William T. Youngs • J.C. Duffy • Jac Archer

y • Jamie Albertini • Jan Myhre • Jane Fritz • Jane Lavagetto • Janet Harris • Janet Pier • Janet Reynolds • Jann Harris • Janna McKinney • Jasmine Booey • Jason Baxter

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Moll • Jill Cavendish • Jill McMahan • Jill Morgan • Jim Campbell • Jim Finley • Jim Hightower • Jim Poyser • Jim Sutherlin • Jo Miller • Joanne Scribner • Joanne Williams Joel Smith • Joelle Fraser • Johanna Platt • John Allison • John Arthur Wilson • John Gaetano • John Griffith • John Grollmus • John Hagney • John Mujica • John Myers

Josef Mueller • Josh Bell • Josh Kelety • Josh Quick • Joshua Smith • Joy Mizzoni • Joy Scott • Julia Broderson • Julia Mullen Gordon • Julian Powers • Julie Krig • Julie Morin

s • Katherine Vandergriff • Kathi Evaneski • Kathie Durbin • Kathy M. Newman • Kathy Mulady Miller • Kelly Milner Halls • Ken Garduno • Ken Olsen • Ken Perkins

ey Jones • Kimberley Marlowe • Kirsten Harrington • Knute Berger • Kory Turnbow • Kris Dinnison • Kristen Birchett • Kristen Black • Kristi Gotzian • Kristin Wagner

White • Lauren Gilmore • Lauren McAllister • Lauren McKeever • Lauren Roddis • Lavonne Hollenback • Lawrence Hatter • Leah Sottile • LeAnn Bjerken • Leilani Rego

ks-Rossi • Lisa Johnson • Lisa Leinberger • Lisa Prevost • Lisa Waananen Jones • Lloyd Dangle • Lonna Baldwin • Lou Maxon • Luis Brigman-Harris • Luis Cabrera

atera • Marianne Love • Mariesa Baiz • Marina Gulova • Marjorie Baumgarten • Mark Alan Stamaty • Mark Doerr • Mark Hertsgaard • Mark White • Marlene Mahaffey

ters • Mary Lou Reed • Mary Mosman • Mary Stover • Mary Tyrie • MaryAnn Johanson • Mason McGregor • Matt Benoit • Matt Bogue • Matt Mignanelli • Matt Milligan

rk • Megan Perkins • Meghan Fitzgerald • Meghan Kirk • Mehgan Rodimel • Melanie Mavrides • Melissa Huggins • Merri Lou Dobler • Michael Bowen • Michael Daubel

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Welsch • Quinn Western • Rachael Skipper • Rachel Dolezal • Rachel Liebrock • Rachel Orvino • Rachel Siemens • Raevyn West • Raja Bejjani • Raja Bose • Randall Brink

er • Rhonda Reeves • Ric Gendron • Richard McMahon • Richard Reeves • Rick Anderson • Rick Romero • Rick Singer • Rob Brezsny • Rob Curran • Rob French

son • Roger Ralston • Ron Lahr • Rona Smith • Ronald Myers • Rose Poirot • Ross Carper • Russ Sprinkle • Ruth Gellart • Ryan Crocker • Sam Ligon • Samantha Holm

derson • Scott Fralick • Scott Getchell • Scott Layton • Scott Leadingham • Scott Renshaw • Scott Shuger • Serena Carlson

s • Sherman Alexie • Sherry Jones • Sierra Crane-Murdoch • Simeon Mills • Siouxsie Deymonaz • Skip Mitchell • Skyler Strahl

s • Stephen Engelhardt • Stephen Schlange • Stephen Wing • Steve Davis • Steve Duda • Steven Brodsky • Steven Heckroth

zanne Bamonte • Suzanne Pate • Suzanne Schreiner • Sydney Angove • T.J. Tranchell • Tamara McGregor • Tami Carlson

r Phillips • Taylor Weech • Ted Drozdowski • Ted Rall • Ted S. McGregor Jr. • Terren Roloff • Terri Schlichenmeyer • Terry Bain

INLANDER STAFF, REGULAR FREELANCE WRITERS AND CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS: 1993-2023 ORIGINAL STAFF OF OCT. 20, 1993, IN RED

na Teal • Tim Bross • Tim Casebeer • Tim Connor • Tim Daniels • Tina Sulzle • Tod Marshall • Tod Nelson • Todd Goodner • Tom Bowman • Tom McArthur • Tom McGirk

eck • Travis Chapman • Travis Charbeneau • Travis Heringer • Trent Quintero • Trent Reedy • Trevor Rendall • Trish Kinney • Tuck Clarry • Valerie Buck • Valerie Chance

am Duffy • William F. Wilbert • William Frost • William Jennings • William Stimson • Wilson Criscione • Young Kwak • Zach Dundas • Zach Hagadone • Zach Johnson

Hardly Trivial

GET OUT YOUR CRAYOLAS!

Test your local knowledge with three-decades worth of Inlander trivia

Along with our trivia contest and crossword puzzle, meet our No. 1 fan, Mortimer Marmot. Sadly, he’s currently rendered in line art.

What’s a good Inlander reader to do? Why, color him in of course! Send your completed art to coloringcontest@ inlander.com and we’ll feature some of your best entries in an upcoming issue. If you want to download a PDF to make your own copies, just scan this QR code or visit inlander.com/coloringcontest.

— COLORING PAGE ART BY ALI BLACKWOOD

BY SETH SOMMERFELD

W

e like to think that the journalism we do at the Inlander is anything but trivial. That said, when you’ve been covering the Inland Northwest for three decades, there’s plenty of trivia to be found when poring over our archives.

With that in mind, we’ve compiled 30 questions to quiz our readers on 30 years of Inlander history. Are some of the questions damn near impossible? Yep! Good luck to all y’all! ...QUIZ STARTS ON PAGE 40

Ups and Downs, Inlander-Style

BY DAVID LEVINSON WILK

D

avid Levinson Wilk is a TV writer and crossword constructor. He is the head writer of The $100,000 Pyramid and The Chase, two game shows that appear on ABC. Since publishing his first crossword puzzle in The New York Times while in college, David has written over 10 collections of crossword puzzle books. David self-syndicates a crossword that appears in weekly papers across the country, including the San Diego Reader, Salt Lake City Weekly and (of course!) the Inlander. Watch for Inlander-specific clues in italics.

ACROSS

1. “You are what you ____” (Inlander motto) 5. Does a no-no in pinball 10. Alternative to “Arf!” or “Woof!”

14. “I could ____ horse!”

15. Poppycock 16. Dept. formed after the 1977 oil crisis 17. Many a Mideasterner 18. Like the builders of Machu Picchu 19. “Whose woods these ____ think …” (Robert Frost) 20. Zone for Colo. clocks 21. Uni- + bi22. Inlander’s backyards 24. Sushi bar tuna variety 25. Somewhat 27. “Stronger than pain” sloganeer 28. Lots and lots of… or, put another way, a limited number of 30. Cold War inits.

33. Chicago trains 34. Part of a dance or recipe 35. Risky email button to hit accidentally 37. Community-first vibes 40. Do advance work at a hospital 42. ____ Spumante (Italian sparkling wine) 46. Jemison in the International Space Hall of Fame

47. “Queer Eye” stylist Jonathan Van ____ 48. You vote, we publish 50. “Cavalleria Rusticana” baritone 52. Kodak film brand 54. Tic-tac-toe win 55. Event where alumni mingle 58. Egyptian viper 59. Lisa Leslie’s WNBA position 60. Operates, as a booth 61. Frustrations of the week 63. “Yeah, and ... ?”

64. Ye ____ Shoppe 65. H.S. class for science whizzes 66. Sinn ____ (Irish political movement) 67. Exam 68. Early Great Plains residents 69. Since 1993, price of an Inlander

DOWN

1. Make a new pile 2. Eavesdropping range 3. Simultaneously 4. Pat gently 5. Also the age to move out of mom’s basement 6. Ancient region of modern Turkey 7. “Funky Cold Medina” rapper Tone ____ 8. Outdoor furniture wood

38 30 YEARS OF INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

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32. Utah’s capital, in brief 35. 33 1/3, 45 and 78, for short 36. “Sorry to say…”

38. Capital of Vietnam 39. Poem of homage 40. Pub order with a rhyming name 41. Tax returns?

43. Supermarket worker 44. 1982 film that is #2 on AFI’s “100 Funniest American Movies” 45. “If you ask me …”

46. Inlander’s spirit animal 48. Deep-voiced singers 49. Abbr. before a credit card date 51. Small box on a map 53. “West Side Story” heroine 56. California city whose name sounds like a surprised two-word greeting 57. ____ baby (epithet for Jaden Smith or Maya Hawke, e.g.)

62. “Charlotte’s Web” monogram 63. “Ferris Bueller’s Day ____”

9. “Auld Lang ____” 10. Check the sum again 11. Come apart 12. Be under the weather 13. Bells and whistles 21. Sunbather’s goal 23. ____ soul (nobody) 26. Either Burr or Hamilton, on 7/11/1804 29. Church recess 31. Dalmatian mark

57

43

62

63

TEACHING MARMOTS TO READ SINCE 1993

THE PEOPLE IN

OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

1993-1997

1.

TANYA RIORDAN

Name one of the four local merchants that ran an ad in the first edition of the Inlander that’s still in business?

Policy and Advocacy Director for Save Our Wild Salmon Why is the Inlander important to you?

Important topics and community conversations can often get prematurely swept away by the next big headline or news cycle. The Inlander is often one of the only local news formats that provides thoughtful, accessible journalism regarding important community issues — creating a more thorough and lasting dialogue and understanding.

2.

Which of the following breweries was NOT operating in the Inland Northwest in 1995? a. Northern Lights b. Birkebeiner Brewery c. Golden Hills Brewing d. Fort Spokane Brewery e. T.W. Fisher’s

Why do you pick up the Inlander every week?

Mostly I read the Inlander to hear and learn more about pressing community issues — and the various perspectives that the Inlander shares and represents. I don’t always agree of course, but it’s helpful to understand how others are approaching issues.

3.

Jess Walter’s first book, Every Knee Shall Bow, was published in 1995. Who or what was the nonfiction book about?

4.

What was the title of J. William T. Youngs’ 1997 book that went deep to chronicle Expo ’74? a. The Devil in the White City b. The Fair and the Falls c. Indecent Expo-sure d. On the Forefront of the Riverfront

5.

What notable multipurpose events venue opened in 1995?

6.

What major U.S. retailer opened its first Spokane store in 1996? a. Trader Joe’s b. IKEA c. Walmart d. Best Buy e. Costco

7.

How many potholes were reported in Spokane in 1997? a. 2,649 b. 27 c. 564 d. 8,791

Bonus question: What 1998 movie did Jess Walter play the heavy in?

Powwow couture

1998-2002

8.

What did Avista change its name from in 1998?

AL FRENCH

Republican Spokane County Commissioner

9.

One of the nation’s biggest powwows was first held at Post Falls Greyhound Park in 1998. What was its name?

10.

Which team did Gonzaga men’s basketball defeat in the famed “slipper still fits” NCAA Tournament game to reach the school’s first Elite Eight? a. Florida b. UConn c. Duke d. Purdue

11.

In Amy Cannata’s August 1999 story “Down in the Dumps,” she wrote about Forbes’ rankings of 162 places to do business. Where did Spokane rank?

12.

What type of (struggling) new ranching did the Inlander report on in 1999?

a. Elk b. Bison c. Llama d. Ostrich

13.

As reported in a June 2000 Inlander story, which Spokane church has a carillon — an instrument made up of 49 bells weighing between 17 and 5,000 pounds?

14.

Name two of the four icons the Inlander formerly used to rate the urgency in which readers should go see a movie we reviewed? ...continued on page 42

40 30 YEARS OF INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

What’s your favorite Inlander story you’ve read?

Some of my favorite and most memorable articles have been written by community activists challenging the status quo, speaking up about harmful systems and ideologies, and offering a glimpse into the impact on people’s lives through sharing their personal stories and experiences. (SSa)

Why do you pick up the Inlander each week?

I appreciate the coverage you provide and having a balanced source of news. Doing what you’re doing, reminding the community about the role you’ve played in shaping Spokane in the last 30 years is important because a lot of the time we have a tendency to forget that. This serves as a friendly reminder to say, “Oh yeah, I remember that.”

Do you have a favorite story that we’ve written?

Oh, I’ve been here since the beginning of time, so there are way too many to count. (CR)

SHARMA SHIELDS

Author and writing education specialist at Spokane Public Libraries What’s your favorite Inlander memory?

The first memory that comes to mind was Mike Bookey’s article about me when my first novel, The Sasquatch Hunter’s Almanac, was published [“Monsters & Demons,” Jan. 22, 2015]. I was terrified for the article to be published, because I came clean to all of Spokane in it, admitting to lies I’d told publicly when I was in high school (lies that landed me on the front page of the Spokesman-Review and much more) and spoke about my getting sober. I expected all of Spokane to react angrily to the piece — letters to the editor about what a horrible person I was, like I endured when I was 17 — but this didn’t happen; the effect was healing for me. Young Kwak took a great photo for the cover of me standing in a haunted forest, and the profile was nominated for an Association of Alternative Newsmedia award.

I’m grateful to the Inlander for the chance to be so vulnerable in my hometown and to have my novels uplifted in this profound way. (MP)

COMPILED BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM, MADISON PEARSON, COLTON RASANEN, SUMMER SANDSTROM, SETH SOMMERFELD, SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL

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OCTOBER 19, 2023 30 YEARS OF INLANDER 41

THE PEOPLE IN

OUR NEIGHBORHOOD RICK MISTERLY Co-owner of Quillisascut Farm

Why is the Inlander important to you?

Until quite recently, a copy of the Inlander was my usual request for anyone coming up from Spokane.

For someone in rural Stevens County, this was the only way to stay informed with what was happening in the big city. For an independent perspective, the Inlander provides the best coverage of many topics, but the arts and culture stories are my favorites.

Also, when we are lucky enough to read a piece of short fiction by one of Spokane’s talented writers we should all realize how lucky we are that this publication exists. I am happy to say that now I can pop into my local branch of the Stevens County Rural Library and grab a copy. That is, if I get there before they have all been snatched up by others in my community eager for a good dose of progressive reportage and culture. (EB)

AMBER WALDREF Democratic Spokane County Commissioner

Why do you read the Inlander?

What I love about the Inlander is that, obviously, it’s free to the reader which makes it accessible to everyone in our community. It’s a wonderful way of leveling the field of access. It covers a variety of things from arts to politics to culture, to what’s going on in our region. It’s pretty amazing that a publication can cover key news but also arts and culture in the same newspaper, and it’s done well.

Do you have a favorite story that we’ve published?

I definitely have a favorite cover, the one in the Salish language [“es yoyotwíl̓ šm n̓ qelixʷcnm” or “The Salish Resurgence,” Nov. 17, 2022]. I loved it! It was such an amazing way to recognize history and culture. We’re so used to picking things up primarily in English but the entire cover was in Salish, which reminds folks of where we all came from and who was here before us. I also enjoy your coverage of affordable housing and homelessness. The Inlander has done a good job of digging deep into the why — not just that homelessness has increased — but looking at the root causes. You’ve done a good job at having some really challenging pieces. It’s writing that’s just as good as you would see in other larger publications that people have to pay for. (CR)

JESS WALTER Author

Why is the Inlander important to you?

I’m constantly impressed by the paper, its features, its in-depth reporting and writing, and its arts coverage. I think it has been a big part of the growth and renaissance of Spokane over the past 25 or 30 years.

At a time when more than a fourth of all newspapers have folded, and when so many alternative papers have struggled or cut their production or gone out of business (from the Village Voice to the Stranger), it’s remarkable to have such a smart, steady second source of written news in Spokane. (EB)

42 30 YEARS OF INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

Gonzaga’s McCarthey Athletic Center

2003-2007

15.

People were upset about the “skyrocketing” price of Gonzaga men’s basketball season tickets at the new McCarthey Athletic Center (which opened in 2004). How much were the cheapest season tickets? a. $250 b. $1,000 c. $400 d. $699

16.

What weather-ignoring profession was the first category in 2003’s Best Of issue?

17.

In 2006, the Metropolitan Performing Arts Center was renamed the Bing Crosby Theater.

What was the venue’s original name when it opened as a movie theater in 1914? a. Spokane Cinescope b. Clemmer Theater c. MGM Reel House d. Kirtland Cutter Theatre

18.

Which local politician proposed that Spokane should host historical walking tours in the year 2008 after taking a trip to Switzerland? (We have them now!)

Cannabis became legal in Washington state on Dec. 6, 2012. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

2008-2012

19.

Fill in the blank: In 2010, scientists at the University of Idaho made national headlines for discovering a rare “Giant Palouse _____” — the first time the species had been found and collected in decades.

20.

Which restaurant did Guy Fieri NOT visit when shooting an episode of Diners. Driveins and Dives in 2010? a. Ruins b. Elk Public House c. Hills’ Restaurant and Lounge d. Frank’s Diner e. Waddell’s Pub & Grille

21.

David Condon was elected mayor in 2011, despite garnering only 33% of the vote in the mayoral primary. Who won that primary with nearly 60% of the vote?

22.

What was the nickname for the civil union law Washington had in place for same-sex couples before marriage equality passed in 2012? a. Here But Queer b. Same Love Law c. Everything But Marriage d. The Pink Divide

23.

What other state joined Washington in legalizing cannabis in 2012?

THE PEOPLE IN

OUR NEIGHBORHOOD RICH COWAN

Producer at Studio A and co-founder of North by Northwest Why is the Inlander important to you?

I think it’s essential for the vibrancy of our community. It’s a fantastic, weekly paper that is really up on things. They’re doing in-depth journalism. I think that’s essential for any community, particularly a community the size of Spokane.

These Spokane guys had a movie made about them.

2013-2017

24.

What nerdy Spokane event celebrated its 10th anniversary in May 2016?

25.

What icon with a Spokane cinematic connection graced the cover of the Dec. 1, 2016, Inlander issue about ’80s nostalgia?

26.

What type of chemicals used at Fairchild Air Force Base were found to be polluting the municipal water supply for Airway Heights in May 2017? a. Glyphosate b. PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) c. Nitrates d. Fluoride

JUST HOW INLANDER ARE YOU?

2018-2023

27.

What star-studded 2018 movie was based on an actual long-running competition between former Gonzaga Prep students and inspired an Inlander cover story?

28.

Before becoming mayor of Spokane, Nadine Woodward worked as a TV newscaster at which two local stations?

29.

Which animal did the city of Sandpoint deem a public nuisance in 2020?

a. Rats b. Deer c. Geese d. Racoons

30.

In 2023, the Inlander celebrated how many years in its Kendall Yards offices? (Its sixth headquarters since 1993!)

Zero correct answers - Welcome to town!

It’s pronounced Spo-can, not Spo-kane.

4-7 - We appreciate you picking up the issue, Gen Z reader.

8-10 - At least you probably know what the Trash Goat is.

11-13 - Producing better results than the north-south freeway construction.

14-17 - Has purchased “Spokane Doesn’t Suck” merch and believes it.

18-20 - More coolly mellow than Bing Crosby.

21-23 - Have you considered a side gig as a local tour guide?

24-27 - A scoring threat that would rival Adam Morrison.

28-29 - All hail the Ken Jennings of Spokane.

30 - So when can you join the Inlander staff?

LaRAE WILEY

Executive Director of the Salish School of Spokane Why do you read the Inlander?

To see what’s going on in the arts world, to check the ads for new restaurants, to see honest treatment of our local struggles to build a good society.

Do you have a favorite story that we’ve published?

Many years ago, like maybe 12, 13 years, the Inlander did a cover story on local efforts to revitalize Salish languages. The piece was written by Kevin Taylor, and it was, and may still be, one of the best pieces written about the work to bring back our local Indigenous languages [“Saving Salish,” May 27, 2009]. It was ground-breaking to have that as the cover story, and it began something big that culminated in the Salish language Inlander cover from the fall of 2022.

What can we do better?

Keep being brave! Tell truth to power! Bring out community visions for what our future can hold if we work together to beat inequity, and take responsibility for climate change. (CR)

Go to page 65 for the answer key and calculate your score!

1-3 - You do know we put these issues out every week for free, right?

Do you have a favorite or most memorable story from the first 30 years of the Inlander?

It might be a little self-serving, but back in 1998 we did a movie here called The Basket. And the Inlander did a cover story on it [“Homegrown Cinema,” Aug. 18, 1999]. And I think that really helped spark interest in that [film]. It started playing at the AMC and played for 12 weeks there. But it spurred interest and then MGM bought it. So I think you could say the Inlander contributed to the success. (SS)

BRIAN RITTER General Manager of the Fox Theater

Inlander HQ YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

Why is the Inlander important to you?

I appreciate the arts coverage and the support that the Inlander gives to all of the performing arts.

Why do you pick up the Inlander each week?

To find out what’s going on in town. And I also appreciate the coverage of local news.

Do you have a favorite local concert you’ve seen over the past 30 years?

Well, there were two. We did a concert with David Byrne in 2009 here at the theater [“It Will All Make Sense,” Feb. 12, 2009]. That was amazing. And then we also did a solo Chris Cornell concert in 2016 [“Chris Cornell mesmerizes for three hours at The Fox,” ran online July 21, 2016]. Both days were pretty electric in the halls. When you have the opportunity to present someone who you personally admire and are a fan of, that can also be that bonus.

Do you have any favorite local performers?

You know, I was a big fan of Supersparkle. (SS)

OCTOBER 19, 2023 30 YEARS OF INLANDER 43

THE PEOPLE IN

OUR NEIGHBORHOOD KURTIS ROBINSON

President of the Spokane NAACP, founder of I Did the Time Why is the Inlander important to you?

You all have had such an intentionality about being authentic about the subjects that you’re going after.

You take a real look. You walk it through: How do we get a balanced perspective about this, what’s the real truth? And you try to tell that story in a way that not only captures the meat of the issue and the context that people need to know, but you present it in a very palatable way that’s easy to digest.

Do you have a favorite story that you remember?

One story that meant something to me, Daniel [Walters] did it, on the Larry Haskell’s wife issue and naming the cognitive dissonance that people have [“Lesley Haskell, wife of Spokane County Prosecutor, calls herself ‘White nationalist,’ uses N-word as slur,” ran online Jan. 27, 2022]. I appreciate that when I pick up the Inlander it’s not just gonna be about the meaty stuff, it’s community, and human family, arts, festivals, places to eat. I just love it. (SW)

CELESTE SHAW-COULSTON

Owner, Chaps Diner & Bakery and Cafe Coco Happy anniversary Inlander! There is commitment in your reporting. It’s complicated to be the voice with a focus on ordinary and extraordinary people. You are the storytellers with diligent purpose. Your story and my story became our story. For 30 years within your pages, our history has been revealed only to be eclipsed by objective stories of here and now, or in the pursuit of an inspiring future. You have blazed the trail to illuminate our community as an unbiased, impartial resource.

DAVE SCHAUB

Executive Director of the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy Why is the Inlander important to you?

I love the format, first of all. A local weekly is just a great way to deliver content and update the community about events and happenings in a way that is really digestible for me.

What’s a favorite story you remember reading?

Most recently, I loved Tim Connor’s piece on swimming in the Spokane River with redband trout [“Wild Redbands, the River and Me,” Sept. 14, 2023]. And that’s really tied to the work that we do at the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy. I like your environmental coverage and that one in particular was a great personal narrative of Tim’s relationship with redband trout, and by extension the river and the people that work to protect the river. (SSa) NOTE: These interviews have been condensed.

For full versions, visit Inlander.com

44 30 YEARS OF INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

Best of the Inlander The greatest, trendiest and most interesting stories we’ve published over the last three decades

BY NICHOLAS DESHAIS

1993

There’s a lot of talk these days about the state of DOWNTOWN SPOKANE. The visible homelessness. The vacant office space. Well, we’ve been talking about it for a while. In November 1993, we looked at West First Avenue.

“Five years from now, drugs and sex no longer will be sold,” we wrote. “If ambitious plans for the district materialize… residents will feel safe again.” That’s just what happened, at least on this stretch of town. Now it’s home to a variety of trendy shops and restaurants, connecting downtown to Browne’s Addition.

1994

We called it. In a February 1994 story about the “INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY,” we predicted that “one day every television will be transformed … into a personal computer terminal.” We could’ve gone further and said that your phone will be a computer, TV and more. It’s just not a phone anymore. It’s where you play Wordle. Or Pokémon. Or whatever.

1995

Before we became all-consumed by our phones, let’s face it, we were bored. That explains the phenomenon of CRUISIN’ RIVERSIDE. In June 1995, we headed downtown for a ridealong with Spokane police on a busy Saturday night. “When you really think about it, cruising seems to be the silliest thing imaginable,” wrote Associate Editor Amy Cannata. “But upon further reflection, and after spending some time among the cruisers, you see it’s all part of that crazy thing called growing up.”

1996

Remember like a month ago when it was nearly 100 degrees, then, a day later, it wasn’t? Or that August week when it was super hot, then super windy, then catastrophic fires destroyed parts of Medical Lake and threatened Spokane? Or that fall night in 2019 when wet snow came down while leaves were still on the trees, wreaking havoc across the Inland Northwest?

Or windstorm 2015? Well, all of that was yet to come in 1996 when ICE STORM crippled the region with 1.24 inches of freezing rain, coating everything in a thick sheet of ice. Back then, we wrote about it as if it were a once-in-a-generation reminder of nature’s fearsome power. Now,

we’re getting used to the wild weather patterns of global weirding, and wondering what’s next.

1997

In February 1997, longtime columnist Robert Herold took aim at plans for a LINCOLN STREET BRIDGE. If you haven’t heard of it, that’s because Herold had particularly good aim. It was a terrible idea. City leaders and some downtown property owners hatched plans to convert the Monroe Street Bridge into a four-lane span for one-way traffic, and paired it with a new bridge — right over the Spokane Falls — of equally/disastrously wide one-way traffic. Thanks to dogged coverage by Herold, who passed away last year, and lots of lovers of the Falls, the Lincoln Street Bridge was quietly scuttled.

1998

Remember when AVISTA was called Washington Water Power? That was the topic of a big story in December 1998 that explored the growing trend of deregulation in the energy industry. Local WWP investors fretted about losing “Washington” in the name, worrying the new moniker was a harbinger of less local control. They had good reason to worry: The deregulation that led to the Avista name also led to Enron, the Texas-based company that was the darling of financiers before it was revealed that the company, valued at $101 billion, was engaged in accounting fraud. That company’s eventual bankruptcy sent shocks through the world economy. In the meantime, Avista is still headquartered in Spokane and sends shocks — I mean electricity — to hundreds of thousands of people in Washington, Idaho and Oregon.

1999

As the century ended and the people of the world fretted about Y2K (look it up, Zoomers), we looked back. In separate issues, we marked the 25th anniversary of EXPO ’74, which we’ll oh-so-certainly mark again as the Spokanedefining event turns 50 next year. And we celebrated the 10th year of the Inland Northwest-spanning CENTENNIAL TRAIL, which has only grown in length and popularity since.

As was once ungrammatically said, Spokane is near nature, near perfect.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE

INLANDER FOR 30 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE! FULL MENU

A TRULY UNIQUE 2000

If you don’t remember the name JIMMY MARKS, a curse be upon Spokane City Hall. In a February 2000 issue, we wrote about Marks, who said more than once that he put a curse on the city. He also sued the city of Spokane, eventually winning a $1.43 million dollar settlement related to a police raid of the Marks’ home. The Marks, a Romani family, called the police raid “armed robbery” while the police pointed to evidence from 35 burglaries recovered at the scene. At Jimmy’s funeral, his son said the curse had been lifted.

WHISKEY & RESTAURANT

2002

Where once was Dishman, Opportunity, Trentwood, Veradale, part of Greenacres, and East Spokane, now there is the CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY. That was the gist of a May 2002 cover story on Valley residents voting to incorporate as a real deal city. “They look like a city, they act like a city, they just need to draw a line around it and become a city,” said Dennis Scott, who ran the campaign for the incorporation effort. Twenty-plus years later, we still wonder: Where’s the city’s center?

2003

There once was a beautiful Art Deco building called the Rookery Block in downtown Spokane.

In 2003, it sat empty. This was just three years after River Park Square opened. The bustling new mall and the spate of old empty buildings was the subject of an April 2003 cover story called “Empty Spaces.” The story’s first big photo was of the Rookery Block, and its caption wondered if the building would be rehabilitated, replaced by a skyscraper, or turned into “yet another surface-level parking lot.” Three years later, we found out the answer. It joined the many PARKING LOTS of downtown Spokane.

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2001

As the Inlander turns 30, an age that no self-respecting hippie can trust, it’s a good time to reflect on the troubled state of journalism in which this weekly has endured and thrived. One sign of how bad it’s been is the round of lay-offs the SPOKESMAN-REVIEW had in 2001, when its newsroom was reduced by 25 people to 150. Like with every other paper in the nation (thanks, internet!), more layoffs and difficult times were to come over the years. Yet the daily is still pumping out news and remains locally owned. Just like the Inlander. As the Spokesman’s management told us in a 2001 story, the paper “will remain one of the country’s top papers of its size [which keeps changing].”

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2004

When you feel down and think things are just getting worse and worse, remember 2004. When it was worse. The IRAQ WAR was ramping up, and more and more people began to wonder if it was necessary or a good use of our nation’s troops and money. The elections — including the one between President GEORGE W. BUSH and JOHN KERRY — were largely run on misinformation and hateful language surrounding GAY MARRIAGE. We covered it all from our little corner of the world. ...continued on next page

3809 S. GRAND BLVD @REMEDYKITCHEN

OCTOBER 19, 2023 30 YEARS OF INLANDER 45

THE PEOPLE IN

Outreach Manager at Odyssey Youth Movement

“BEST OF THE INLANDER,” CONTINUED...

Why is the Inlander important to you?

I grew up in Harrison, in rural North Idaho, and the Inlander was a window into news in the broader Inland Northwest. Reading the Inlander gave teenage me the ability to envision a future beyond my small hometown. I have many great memories of reading the Inlander with my mom when we’d visit the Jamba Juice in Coeur d’Alene.

2005

Is there an ideal way to celebrate a 30th anniversary?

Last year was [Odyssey’s] 30th anniversary. We had a very fun, very gay brunch at the Ruby River Hotel where we debuted our archive collection with pics and documents dating back to the very early days of Odyssey’s existence. But, we also set aside time at the brunch to look ahead to the next 30 years, to how we can continue to build on the work we’ve done to expand the fight for LGBTQ+ youth equity.

Honoring the past by looking towards the future seems like a pretty ideal way to celebrate. (CR)

ANA TRUSTY

Communication Director for Mujeres in Action Why is the Inlander important to you?

It keeps me up to date with local happenings and also the news portion is pretty in depth. It has serious stories that I get to learn more about what’s going on in the area.

Do you have a favorite story that you remember?

I actually went back to the archives to see if any story kind of spurred my memory and saw the Rachel Dolezal one. Just the title itself is hilarious [“Black and White,” June 18, 2015]. I was impressed that, wow Spokane, there’s a lack of diversity here if that happened. You all do such an amazing job. It’s real journalism and it’s readily available. I also like the fun part, like the Jeers and I Saw You, those are what I read first. (SW)

BILL BROOKS

Republican Kootenai County Commissioner Why is the Inlander important to you?

I like the Inlander a lot. It’s the depth of the articles.

When I was in radio (I love news) I really hated what we used to call rip-and-read news that came in at the radio station on a teletype. You could always tell when somebody dashed into the studio and ripped off the articles that were ticking off, that came in on a long roll of paper. A bad journalist, who wasn’t a journalist at all, would always do rip-and-read, they would never read the story first. They’d run into the control room and read a handful of stories. Some were accurate and some were not. The Inlander is not rip-and-read. You take your time and you get into a lot of different aspects of the story and don’t just go for the cheap shots.

Do you have a favorite story that you remember?

I thought you did an excellent job on the Béla Kovacs thing [“Appraising Failure, Sept. 29, 2022].

Somebody needed to write that story and do that research, and you guys did. He’s exactly who we don’t want in government. (SW)

46 30 YEARS OF INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

Nearly 20 years ago, in January 2005, a handful of staffers went searching for ways to THINK BIG. The ideas they gathered were creative and, frankly, way ahead of their time. So I’d like to put them out there once again, in hopes we move forward in this quickly aging 21st century.

Merge Spokane and Spokane Valley into one city. Connect the Spokane airport, Coeur d’Alene and points between with light rail. Build more downtown housing. Create a river-centric city and green economy.

2006

In early 2006, a narrative began to unfold in what would become the decade’s most gripping local chronicle: the killing of OTTO ZEHM, who died after a violent confrontation with Spokane police officer Karl Thompson. Our first coverage of the troubling event came in October 2006 in a story about Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Tucker’s early decision to not file any charges in Zehm’s death. In 2011, a federal jury found Thompson guilty of using excessive force and lying to investigators. Later, former Assistant City Attorney Rocky Treppiedi, a key architect behind the storyline blaming Zehm for his own death, was fired. Then-Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perez would label the city and police department’s handling of the investigation an “extensive cover-up” and a “violent abuse of power.”

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2007

In February 2007, we took a hard look at the situation for HOMELESS PEOPLE in Spokane County. Even then, we reported that ending homelessness “may never happen,” but we found signs of progress, including new funding for homeless programs and a growing economy. Of course, as we know now, the economy tanked (more than once) and homelessness in Spokane is still very present. And growing. In 2007, less than 1,500 people were homeless in Spokane.

Now, almost 2,400 people are.

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My first cover story for the Inlander ran on Dec. 4, 2008, and it was about how MEDICAL MARIJUANA — legal for 10 years by then — was still treated as an illegal drug, with truly sick and ailing people forced to go to the darkest shadows to procure the only thing that helped with their pain. And the story began with what I still consider one of my most compelling leads, which was about a local man who was nearly killed in a fire as a child, which led to full-body scarring and, later, a brain tumor: “When David Van Scyoc smokes a joint, he cradles it in a hand with no fingers. He takes a hit through remade lips, below a nose that’s been rebuilt and on a face created out of destroyed flesh and scar tissue.” Van Scyoc died in 2013.

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S P O K A N E

C O U N T Y

L I B R A R Y

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Congratulations to the Inlander for

30 years of telling stories about the region!

2009

Members of the Spokane, Kalispel, Colville, Coeur d’Alene and Moses-Columbia people have spoken the SALISH LANGUAGE for a very long time. In a May 2009 cover story titled “Saving Salish,” staffer Kevin Taylor reported on the fight to preserve the language for future generations. At the time, there were only a handful of elders who could speak the language. Today, that number is growing. Last November, we published another cover story: “es yoyotwíl̓ šm n̓ qelixʷcnm” or “The Salish Resurgence.” JR Bluff, director of language for the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, spoke to us for both stories. “Now I have 50, 60, 70 kids that can pray in the language,” he said last year.

2010

We reported on a lot in 2010, but the foundation was a nearly staff-wide effort examining the criminal justice system. We ran numerous stories as part of what we deemed the INJUSTICE PROJECT — about the lack of accountability when a cop uses excessive force, the broken juvenile criminal system, how people continue to pay for crimes long after they’ve served their sentences.

But the best was the first, “Reasonable Doubt,”

by Jacob H. Fries, about three men wrongly imprisoned due to shoddy detective work and lazy prosecution. In 2012, the men were released from prison after their convictions were overturned.

2011

In January 2011 we wrote about a new development in Spokane called KENDALL YARDS, and the trend of people wanting smaller homes.

At the time, just 30 units had been sold in Kendall Yards. A “state-of-the-art, energy-efficient 1,100-square-foot house” could be had for less than $160,000. How times have changed. We’ve seen the “tiny homes” and #VanLife trends come and go, and watched in horror as the median home price went from about $150,000 in 2011 to upwards of $400,000 nowadays. We also watched, more hopefully, as Kendall Yards has continued to grow, including in 2013 when we moved into our own brand-new building overlooking the Spokane River gorge.

2012

In April 2012, we wrote about the catastrophic ICE AGE FLOODS that swept through the Inland Northwest, drastically reshaping the landscape. It was an edition well worth remembering largely because of the illustrations by Jeff Drew accompanying the story. They weren’t his first for us — those came with the Scholastic Fantastic issue of 2010 looking at innovative research at local universities. Drew is still in the stable of illustrators we rely on to make the paper look amazing.

His most recent work for us included this year’s Scholastic Fantastic and, in September 2022, he put a marmot on a bike riding across the Monroe Street Bridge for our story, “Biketown.”

2013

In 2008, Washington wildlife managers found evidence of the first breeding WOLF PACK in a quite long time. Five years later we wrote about how, after nearly 50 years on the Endangered Species List, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service proposed removing federal protections for gray wolves nationwide, throwing wolf advocates, game managers, ranchers, conservationists and hunters into a pitched battle about the future of the animal. The wolf remains protected in Washington state. In Idaho, they can be killed without a permit if they “molest or attack” livestock or other domestic creatures.

We’re looking forward to your next chapter.

2014

Part of the Inlander’s mission is to support the arts and LOCAL MUSIC. That came to sonic fruition in May 2014 with the very first Volume! music festival. For years, we’d had an annual “Bands to Watch” issue, with one-night showcases for those bands and musicians. That grew and transformed into a festival with, as we said then, “80 bands. 5 poets. 1 big party.” Sadly, COVID put the festival on ice, but local music continues.

For now. As our Music Editor Seth Sommerfeld has written about more than once, but most recently when Lucky You Lounge closed its doors: Support local music or it will cease existing.

2015

Spokane used to have more print newspapers.

The Spokane Daily Chronicle and the Local Planet, to name two defunct brethren. Then, in early 2015, a new newspaper showed up. THE BLACK LENS, led by editor and publisher Sandy Williams, published its first monthly edition in January 2015 and focused on all topics pertaining to the Black community. We wrote about it in an article called “A New Voice.” Sadly, the publication went on hiatus after it published its January 2022 edition, and Williams, who also founded the Carl Maxey Center, was killed in a plane crash with her partner, Patricia Hicks, later that year.

2016

Mind your p’s and q’s. In this case, we’re wondering why Washington state politicians in 2016 were so focused on TRANSGENDER RIGHTS — a fight that often, and still, finds itself in the bathroom — and we have a lot of Qs. Initiative 1515 aimed to restrict bathroom and locker room access for transgender people. The initiative never made it onto the ballot due to a lack of the necessary signatures. We reported on the issue in June 2016. The story centered on the experience of Jamie Breedlove, a transgender woman who didn’t transition until her 60s.

“My peace is I’m going to die as Jamie, not Jim,” Breedlove said. She died one year later after a battle with cancer. ...continued on next page

Spokane County Library District has been serving the Inland Northwest since 1942 and counting, with over 1.5 million stories and more on our shelves. www.scld.org

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OCTOBER 19, 2023 30 YEARS OF INLANDER 47

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2017

In September 2017, a nightmare visited the Inland Northwest when a 15-year-old student came to FREEMAN HIGH SCHOOL with a gun and a warning for his friends. By 10 am, Ami Strahan’s son, Sam, was dead. We wrote about Ami and her struggle to stay alive that December. “My friends thought I was going to off myself,” she told us then. “They were all very worried because I had a really rough few weeks.

I just didn’t want to live anymore, and they all heard me say that over and over.” In 2022, the shooter was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

2018

In 30 years of weekly publishing, we’ve done it all. Short news briefs and picks for the week’s not-to-miss events. Long cover stories that stretch over thousands of words. And, beginning on Sept. 13, 2018, a serialized novel, just like Dickens and Dostoevsky did it. When we published the first installment of MILLER CANE: A TRUE & EXACT HISTORY by local author Samuel Ligon, he didn’t quite know where it was headed. By the end of 2019, when the story concluded, our readers knew well the episodic tale of a fraudulent historian who made his living as a conman with a heart.

2019

Before Barbenheimer was Inlander. In October 2019, Chey Scott and Samantha Wohlfeil dove deep into HANFORD, where the nuclear bomb was born. We called Hanford a “place of profound contrast” and looked at both the environmental toll and cultural impact the site has had on the surrounding Tri-Cities area.

But while this summer a lot of us became acquainted with the man behind the bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer, his name was only used once in our Hanford coverage. It came when we wrote about Atomic Ale Brewpub & Eatery in Richland, which had many beers on tap at the time, including Oppenheimer Oatmeal Stout. Sadly, this beer is no longer available and Oppenheimer, turns out, wasn’t a communist.

2020

We were on a roll at the beginning of the year, with two big cover stories looking at the population boom and extreme politics of North Idaho. Then, COVID. Yet we persisted. And on March 26 we wrote “A Quiet Place” about the suddenly changed world. It was our first issue after lockdown. We worked from home for more than a year. And we didn’t miss a single weekly issue of the Inlander.

48 30 YEARS OF INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

2021

We kept reporting and publishing throughout the pandemic and covered a lot of stuff, but our biggest stories remained focused on COVID. In October we published “Exodus,” a cover story about how employees of the SPOKANE REGIONAL HEALTH DISTRICT were fleeing in droves. It wasn’t just the stress of a global public health crisis or the related upheavals in politics. Instead, workers described a “culture of fear” and a gaping chasm between the administration and staff.

2022

We ended 2022 with a number of stories showing how times have changed in the Inland Northwest. We profiled apartments and made a case for building more of them around town.

We described the ways in which Spokane could become a city of bikes. We wrote about the resurgence in Salish speakers in the region.

But one of the biggest changes, at least politically, was the retirement of SHERIFF OZZIE KNEZOVICH, who hung up his Stetson after 16 years on the job and headed to Wyoming (where he continues to track and comment on local politics).

2023

And we keep going. This year we’ve covered sponsorships for student athletes, the littleknown seed bank in the Palouse, how local politicians get trolled, the giant condors that once populated our skies, and why our roads are becoming more dangerous. We used stats to compare the Inland Northwest to nine other metros, and we made our own beer. We wrote about the heartbreaking search of a father looking for his homeless son, and went behind the scenes of Spokane’s own indie pro wrestling circuit. We looked into the bustling book arts community, and the blooming ranks of professional sourdough bread bakers. But the most impactful of all this year’s work was our close look at SECOND AND DIVISION, Spokane’s most notorious intersection, where fentanyl, homelessness and the law meet with sometimes disastrous consequences. And we’ll keep writing more. n Nicholas Deshais was a staff writer and news editor for the Inlander from 2008-12; he’s been the editor of the Inlander since September 2022.

GINGER EWING

Executive Director and co-founder of Terrain Why is the Inlander important to you?

In a world where 30-second sound bites reign supreme, I appreciate the Inlander’s wide-ranging coverage of various subject matters and the caliber of writers the paper has staffed over the years. The Inlander, in a way, is also how Terrain began. Our cofounders were introduced to each other after being featured in a 2008 cover story by Luke Baumgarten and Joel Smith [“Twenty Under 30,” April 10, 2008].

And if that weren’t serendipitous enough, it’s also how Luke and I met. He interviewed me for that same story, we began dating and were ultimately married seven years later. So it’s safe to say that the Inlander has had a huge impact on me both personally and professionally.

Why do you pick up the Inlander each week?

The stories I cherish the most are the stories not being covered by anyone else, and that expose the diverse underpinnings of our city as a whole. That punk show being held in someone’s basement, the pop-up art show focused on Black maternal health, or public fixtures like Tambourine Man, who make Spokane, Spokane. (MP)

DENNIS HESSION

Former Mayor of Spokane and City Council President Why do you pick up the Inlander?

Being a weekly gives you an opportunity to not be just a newspaper. You’re not trying to cover what happens every day, so your focus gets to be a little more directed and you get to focus on specific issues and people. I like the Inlander because it’s a little edgy, often you’re more willing to probe a bit and you get more insights than you might otherwise not get covered if you were more superficial.

Do you have a favorite story from us?

I do remember one about the Rookery building, and my efforts to save the Rookery [“Rookery or Snookery?” Nov. 24, 2005]. In my political career, I’ve been a subject of many articles, so I have a bit of a different perspective. You’re not always quite happy how you’re written about. (CR)

AMANDA PARRISH Executive Director of the Lands Council

Why is the Inlander important to you?

I think that the Inlander is really deeply in touch with our community. Your stories are just so community-driven, and I really learn about all parts of the Inland Northwest through the Inlander.

Do you have a favorite story of ours?

I remember one of the articles that really stands out was all the coverage about Juggalos [fans of hip hop duo, Insane Clown Posse]. I think this was like back in 2010 [“A Family Affair,” June 9, 2010]. I just love highlighting all these sort of small, niche community groups and covering their perspectives.

What do you look forward to reading the most?

I really appreciate the opinion pieces and the diversity of people writing those opinion pieces. (SSa)

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OCTOBER 19, 2023 30 YEARS OF INLANDER 49

In Search of Love Back in the day, personal ads in the Inlander aimed to help people find a perfect match in an off-line world

BY ANNE McGREGOR

Y

oungsters, gather ’round for a tale of how your ancestors searched for a mate.

These starry-eyed romance-hunters were not so different from yourselves in many ways, except that they were faced with an unconnected world.

For example, communicating over a distance greater than 20 feet required speaking — out loud — into a telephone that was physically attached to a wall by a curly cord. Sharing a photo was an arduous and time-consuming task — taking a picture, developing the film and mailing it via the U.S. Postal Service. Nor were there vast stores of filtered photos and dubious personal info available to right- or left-swipe. No, when it came to finding love, the options were limited to flirting in neon-lit bars or on blind dates.

That is until the world of print provided an astonishing opportunity to advertise oneself to the masses.

The Inlander hopped right on this new expressway to companionship, introducing our upcoming “Lines of Introduction” in the very first issue. “We proudly present this intelligent and inexpensive way to meet new people in the Inland Northwest,” said our ad announcing the service (soon renamed “The Personals”). It was all very adorable: a Renaissance-inspired marketplace of people, arrayed under the sweet logo of a cherub and featuring charmingly naive ads, such as this one: LET’S MAKE SWEET MUSIC SM, 24 YO, professional songwriter/musician ISO beautiful F who can sing or play an instrument & have fun making some music. Also must love outdoor activities & be serious about life & having fun.

To find out more about this Disney prince of a single male, for the rate of $1.75 a minute, interested parties could leave a voice message for their dream date.

This type of advertising went crazy and became so lucrative that at a convention for alternative newsweeklies in Nashville in 1996, AT&T sponsored a huge red carpet event at the Parthenon for publishers that had all the trappings of an Oscars after-party. And as the personal ads business ballooned, those ads began to get a lot more, well, personal:

50 30 YEARS OF INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

HARD-UP AND DESPERATE SWM, 50, looks older & fatter. Mean, bossy, possibly schizophrenic, hates skiing, hiking, camping, music, long walks. Loves Las Vegas, vodka, intelligence. Call me if you smoke.

We can’t help but hope he was able to find October 1997’s “Rose Colored Glasses,” who would appear to be a possible soulmate: ROSE COLORED GLASSES Broke, laughs too loud, doesn’t act her age, hates to dress up, won’t wear makeup, won’t dance, too smart, too strong, too honest, too picky, too weird. Has a kid & way too many animals. Now for the bad news: Thinks you’re fantastic.

A somewhat unsettling trend toward perhaps nostalgic, animalistic views of “finding someone” seemed to develop in 1999: HUNTING SEASON IS HERE This doe is hunting for her stag for romance, trips, activities, with LTR in mind. DWCP, HWP, 5’2” retired, 62. N/S City raised, now country. Who you’re doing things with is the important thing. Multi-faceted — like indoor & outdoor activities.

BEAR IN MIND OK if you’re hairy, husky & muscular — we have a match.

I’m HWPWM, 5’9” 210 lbs, blue eyes and what it says above, all at 37yo. ISO same to work out with, ages 30-50.

Then there was this young woman with excellent self-esteem as well as very strong preferences, who might have had trouble finding someone who ticked all her requirements for a “special guy” prior to the advent of the Personal Ads: BLONDE BOMBSHELL SWF, 30ish seeks a special guy — no beady-eyed, pot smoking, beer guzzling, skirt chasing, game playing, baggage toting, convicted felon, unemployed, crossdressing, whine bags mama’s boys need apply. None of that HWP stuff either — I want real stats. Redheads are not a plus.

Must have hair and teeth.

Personals Abbreviations ISO — In Search Of YO — Years Old N/S — Non Smoker N/D — Non Drinker P — Professional

D — Divorced HWP — Height-Weight Proportionate LTR — Long-Term Relationship

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The personal ads also gave people license to explore whether someone they briefly encountered might have developed an interest in them.

These ads were congregated in an “I SAW YOU” section: PETUNIA GODDESS Have seen you selling roses all summer. You smoke Marbs & wear clogs. Dinner & a movie?

GREAT HAIR I saw you leaving N.W. Hair Co., gorgeous red hair. Me — white Jag conv. I honked. Great hair. Let’s do lunch.

YOU AND I HAVE MET You are pretty, petite, caring, thirty-something or less, and a non-smoker. You have introduced yourself as Diedre, Alicea, Sonya and Angela, among others. Our paths have crossed many times but the timing was never right. It’s right for me now! How about you?

Probably not.

And then there were the happy announcements, perhaps more appropriate to a personal card to be kept in one’s dresser drawer, that our readers couldn’t seem to help but share with the world:

We can only hope she saw the ad and they drove off into the sunset in his white Jag with her red hair aglow. The I SAW YOU section also revealed that, in general, there was no inappropriate time to seek out true love:

WE’VE WORKED TOGETHER… For four years. Now, I love you, and I’m so very glad. I think your girls are great.

LUNG-OLOGIST Gruff, but with a sparkle underneath that not even a night on-call could extinguish. Short dark hair, glasses, the omnipresent tweed coat. You intubated Grandma, now you’re causing me to have respiratory distress.

ow is probably a good time to mention that in the late 1990s, near the end of a busy workday, one of our sales reps answered the phone. It was a guy wondering how these personal ad things worked. She explained the system, and that sometimes they do really help you find someone. If you’ve watched any Hallmark movies, you know where this was headed: Yes, they got married, and he never had to pay $1.75 per minute.

As online dating sites and apps proliferated in the early 2000s, personal ads faced robust competition. The last time The Personals section appeared in the Inlander was on Dec 28, 2006, when there were just 15 lonely hearts listed, tucked in a small corner of the classified section.

They were replaced by Cheers & Jeers/I Saw You, which remains a reader favorite to this day. n

PAWNSHOP TEDDY BEAR You: Todd at Shamrock. Me: pawned my wedding ring.

Now I’m single; how about you? Unity, respect and faith are great.

Still, there were times we ached with the knowledge that, despite the advent of the personal ads, sometimes making a connection is a long shot: BANK AMERICA QUEEN Tall Lady, we both rode from 19 to bottom. You were tall, light brown hair. Both were 40ish. Contact me… Please.

wsqspokane.org

We hope they all lived happily ever after!

N

Yes, all of the above are actual ads reprinted from old issues of the Inlander.

OCTOBER 19, 2023 30 YEARS OF INLANDER 51

YE AR S A shared beginning and a continued partnership we value dearly.

Congratulations to the Inlander on three decades of achievement and your positive influence on the Inland Northwest community.

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52 30 YEARS OF INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

CULTURE | LITERATURE

Monster Mash Kim Fu blurs the lines between reality and fantasy in 2023’s Spokane Is Reading pick, Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century

BY MADISON PEARSON

A

s children, we believe monsters are hiding under beds and inside of our closets, lurking in the dark and waiting for the right moment to strike. As adults, we have the common sense to know better.

But monsters still lurk in the shadows, their forms have just changed a bit. Ghosts become scarily realistic AI chatbots and the feeling of falling into a never-ending abyss becomes the inevitability of climate change.

Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu was selected as Spokane Is Reading’s community-wide read for 2023. In the short story collection, the Seattle-based author details these “monsters” of the future through 12 stories featuring fantastical descriptions and the blending of science fiction, horror and magical realism.

Ahead of her two Spokane is Reading events on Oct. 26 at the Spokane Valley and Central libraries, we spoke with Fu about her writing process and where the inspiration for her strange and surreal prose comes from.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

INLANDER: Where did your love of writing begin?

FU: It’s been a lifelong thing. I have this box of old diaries, and there’s one from when I was 6 labeled “Book Two.” So there was presumably a Book One, but that just means I’ve been writing since before I can remember.

I remember being in first or second grade and stapling together a bunch of little horror stories that I had written. I just always wanted to write. I really liked

reading books and then sort of emulating whatever I was reading at the time.

Did you always aim for the strange, or did that just come about by you emulating what you were interested in reading?

As a reader, especially as a teenager, I really enjoyed reading science fiction and fantasy and continued to love magical realism and genre-bending books. But my first two novels were actually much more straightforwardly realist. And even though I love the fantastical as a reader, I think I felt really intimidated by it for a long time. I would have these fantastical or speculative science fiction concepts in my mind, and then they would fall apart the more I thought about them because I felt like I had to have every aspect of them completely figured out.

When I started to work on these stories in 2017, I felt like I finally sort of broke through that and felt ready to give myself permission to write those small, human stories within these fantastic concepts and not get so hung up on the mechanics forever.

A lot of the stories begin with a really gripping, impactful first line. Is that something that comes to you first or later in the writing process?

It really depends. A few of the stories were driven by that first line in a way. The story “Twenty Hours,”

Seattle author Kim Fu is heading to Spokane for two free public talks about her short story collection. L D’ALESSANDRO AUTHOR PHOTO the first sentence of that story was actually inspired by a sentence in another short story by Elizabeth McCracken, “The Goings-On of the World,” and I still remember it. “One morning, in the last week of May, I got up, got dressed and killed my wife.”

It’s a totally different story than mine, but that sentence was just killer. I felt like that sentence could’ve gone in a million directions, so I took it and tried to figure out where I would go with it and settled on “After I killed my wife, I had 20 hours before her new body finished printing downstairs.” It was my own take on her brilliant line.

What is your definition of a monster?

I saw Kevin Brockmeier read recently, and he told a story about when he was a student. He wrote a story that had no ghosts Kim Fu in it, but his professor deemed it a ghost story. And I really, really love that anecdote because, in this book, none of the stories have a literal monster in them. So for me, that means that the whole story is structured around this one thing that is so big that it gives us kind of a point of focus. You can look into the eyes of this emotion and now it has a physical shape. It literalizes an abstract feeling into this thing that’s chasing you or that you can fight or be defeated by.

That’s how I believe monsters function here. n Spokane Is Reading: Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu • Thu, Oct. 26 • Free • Spokane Valley Library (1 pm), 22 N. Herald Rd. • Central Library (7 pm), 906 W. Main Ave. • spokaneisreading.org

OCTOBER 19, 2023 INLANDER 53

CULTURE | DIGEST

THE BUZZ BIN

Ladies in Lycra at the end of the trail. ELIZA BILLINGHAM PHOTO

NOT RIDING SOLO

LIT HEADLINER For 25 years and counting, Spokane has become a literary mecca for several days each spring in celebration of Eastern Washington University’s Get Lit! Festival. Last week, Get Lit! announced its 2024 featured headlining author: CARMEN MARIA MACHADO! Machado has been all over the literary scene of late as two of her books — In the Dream House and Her Body and Other Parties — have been generating plenty of buzz. Both are excellent reads with sharp prose and deep examination of existing as a woman in modern society. Come April 2024, Machado is set to participate in several events for Get Lit!’s 26th iteration. Read her books beforehand to get an idea of what this author is all about. (MADISON PEARSON)

A loner learns to love group cycling with Spokane Bicycle Club

BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM

“W

hat kind of a cyclist are you?” asks Eileen Hyatt, who’s leading the Friday morning ride.

“Well, I don’t own any Lycra,” I say. That explains enough, apparently.

It’s Spokane Bicycle Club’s 50th anniversary this year, and I’m joining one of their group rides to find out what all the fuss is about.

I grew up using my bike to get to school or work around the Chicago suburbs. Now that I’m new to Spokane, I’ve been casually pedaling along the Centennial Trail, Riverside State Park, and the Palouse Highway.

I’m not trying to race anyone. I just like the exercise and exploring — and more than anything, I love the excuse to be alone.

So as I cruise up to the cyclists gathering at the entrance to Fish Lake Trail, I keep asking myself, Why would anyone take such a perfectly solitary activity and make it, uh, social?

This isn’t your typical cycling group. I’m sure Spokane Bicycle Club has plenty of middle-aged men with those silly little bike hats. But today’s handful of riders are all women, mostly retired, but who all rock bike shorts with the confidence I wish I had.

Some women have been riding or racing their whole lives. Some are transitioning from other sports.

A few are new to Spokane, while others have each neighborhood memorized. They ride together each Friday morning to exercise, chat, and learn about safe routes to get around the city.

More than just a “third place,” the rides are a resource. What’s missing in safe bicycle infrastructure is made up for in an informal pooled knowledge about side streets, traffic patterns and shortcuts.

Hyatt herself is a longtime bike education advocate. For years, she worked with schools and the Spokane Regional Health District to teach students and citizens how to bike safely and legally. In its 50

54 INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

years, the club has helped draw bicycle maps for Spokane County, put bicycle lanes in transportation plans, raised money for the Centennial Trail, and pushed to put bike racks on buses.

We chat while we wait for all the women to arrive — favorite trails, best bike vacations, injuries, the usual.

I off-handedly mention that I can’t put my bike in my little car. Hyatt, on my right, immediately leans over.

“After the ride, don’t leave until I show you how to take your front wheel off,” she says.

We start cruising down the Fish Lake Trail, an old railroad that was converted to a smooth, paved path more than a decade ago. I learn from the women next to me about cycling culture in England, teaching anatomy at local universities, and why it’s okay that I have no idea what I’m doing with my life. We reach the fence that abruptly cuts off the trail, past which trail advocates and rail companies can’t agree on how to extend the path over modern day train tracks. It’s another project SBC is working on, Hyatt says.

Our only choice is to turn back. We’re back to where we started after riding about 17 miles, a meager feat for these aging but agile athletes. With the patience and attention of a teacher, Hyatt shows me how to release my brakes, open the quick release and lift my front wheel off. She makes sure I know how to align it properly when I put it back on, too. Now I can join the group for some of their other rides around Spokane, or explore far off trails in the Palouse or Idaho. I feel unstoppable.

“But next time, please wear bike shorts,” Hyatt pleads. I thought my athleisure joggers were acceptable, but apparently they’re still too risky for a bike safety advocate, too loose to be flapping around close to my gear chain. I look at the women, at the trail I just learned about, and at my perfectly installed front wheel. Maybe I do have the confidence to wear bike shorts after all. I guess it’s good to not always ride alone. n

ON THE MOVE After more than five years in the heart of Spokane’s West Central neighborhood, local creative reuse nonprofit ART SALVAGE has outgrown its red brick walls and is in the process of settling into a new, bigger home not too far away. While an exact date hasn’t been set for its reopening in early November at 610 E. North Foothills Drive, supporters can look forward to plenty: a bigger retail floor, more capacity for donations, an improved volunteer space, better ADA accessibility, a dedicated classroom, free parking and easy bus line access. Art Salvage was founded in 2014 with the mission of diverting materials from the waste stream and sharing how everything from fabric scraps to plastic bottles can be repurposed to make useful and beautiful things. Learn more at artsalvagespokane.com (CHEY SCOTT) THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST Noteworthy new music arriving in stores and online on Oct. 20.

BLINK-182, ONE MORE TIME….

With guitarist/singer Tom DeLonge back in the fold for the first time in over a decade, the pop punk kings look to return to their incredibly hooky and irreverent highs.

THE ROLLING STONES, HACKNEY DIAMONDS. Hey blokes, being the second-best rock band to release a long-awaited LP this week isn’t a bad consolation prize (//insert winky tongue-out emoji)!

MARIA BC, SPIKE FIELD. If you’re looking to get lost in calming waves of tender sonic darkness this fall, then Maria BC might be the soundtrack of your season. (SETH SOMMERFELD)

CULTURE | FILM

‘We Need to Be Seen’ New documentary from Latinos en Spokane shares the often untold stories of local immigrants

BY SUMMER SANDSTROM

M

any stories of the disparities and inequities experienced by Latino immigrants go overlooked, but a new documentary, The Immigration Resident, shines a light on these experiences and the consequent advocacy occurring in Spokane.

“It’s been convenient for our society to have this invisible presence of immigrants because it has been convenient for corporations, for people that are hiring child labor, for people that are not providing health benefits,” says Jennyfer Mesa, founder and executive director of Latinos en Spokane, a nonprofit dedicated to creating systemic change and providing services to empower Latino immigrants in Eastern Washington.

“We need to be seen,” Mesa says. “We are here, and we are more than essential.”

The Immigration Resident, made in partnership with On the Horizon Films, was funded by the Empire Health Foundation’s Amplifying Community Stories grant, which Latinos en Spokane was awarded in 2021 with the objective of developing a film highlighting its work.

The documentary is set to premiere at Latinos en Spokane’s first major fundraiser on Oct. 20, which includes cocktails and dinner prior to the screening. Event proceeds are marked for establishing an immigration legal department within the organization.

The Immigration Resident highlights the work done

by Latinos en Spokane, which was founded in 2017 by Mesa, Misael Vences and Alberto Alberty, alongside interviews with local scholars, Latino immigrants and immigration advocates.

To director Fernando “Nando” Galarza Carter — also the founder of On the Horizon Films — these are stories that continue to affect many Latino immigrants in the region but often don’t receive widespread attention, something he hopes The Immigration Resident accomplishes.

“Sometimes when you watch something on the news it kind of comes and goes, like you only see it for like a couple of seconds,” he says. “These stories are important because you get to follow their story.”

Carter adds that although immigration issues seem to have fallen to the sidelines compared to a few years ago, they were never fully resolved.

“It’s important to know what’s going on and that these things are still happening,” he says.

Mesa adds that many national stories about the challenges and barriers Latino immigrants face are occuring in Spokane as well.

“We’ve done a lot to protect immigrant families,” says Latinos en Spokane founder Jennyfer Mesa, top, pictured in the film.

“We tend to think that these issues are far from us because they’re at the border, they’re far away, or we just see them in the news media,” she says. “But a lot of the issues that we see in the news are impacting us here.”

D

ania Salgado came to the U.S. with her three daughters from Honduras, seeking treatment for her youngest daughter’s leukemia. Salgado and her daughter were rejected from numerous hospitals throughout the southern U.S. for lacking legal permanent resident status.

Some states, however, provide health care to children who aren’t legal immigrants, including Washington. Salgado’s daughter was able to receive treatment upon moving to Spokane.

Even so, Mesa says stories like theirs highlight unjust systems creating barriers for many Latino immigrants.

“Latinos and immigrants are systemically excluded from so many systems in our Nando Galarza Carter community,” she says. “If you EDGAR CHEN JR PHOTO

are undocumented here in this country, you don’t have access to health care.”

The Immigration Resident also tells local stories of children being detained and separated from their families for weeks to months on end.

“There are kids from here, they are neighborhood kids, they’re not just at the border,” Mesa says. “They continue to be separated from families, and there continue to be these camps that are there detaining children and imprisoning children. We heard about it for a little while, but where did that news go?”

Mesa and Carter also hope The Immigration Resident showcases the accomplishments of Latinos en Spokane and other community advocacy groups here, and that it inspires more people to take action and raise awareness of the experiences of Latino immigrants in the city.

“Locally and here in the state, we’ve done a lot to protect immigrant families over these last five years,” says Mesa. “I think that the more we share these stories, the more we share about these realities, facts, data, the better we can do.

“I hope this film can open people’s perspectives of these realities.” n The Immigration Resident Premiere • Fri, Oct. 20 from 5-9 pm • $150 • Montvale Event Center • 1019 W. First Ave. • latinosenspokane.org • 509-558-9359

OCTOBER 19, 2023 INLANDER 55

Tase T. Lentil (center) celebrates in Pullman.

AGRICULTURE

TAKING OUR PULSE Who is eating our Palouse lentils?

BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM

L

ate August is Tase T. Lentil’s time to shine.

The 5-foot-something, anthropomorphized legume mascot celebrates Pullman’s National Lentil Festival with live music, a 5-kilometer run and the world’s biggest chili bowl.

He dances, poses and puts in the work to make sure people fall in love with lentils. But after the festivities, he and his kin all but disappear.

About 45,000 acres of lentils were planted in Washington state in 2022, producing over 43 million pounds of food, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A pound of lentils has more protein than a pound of steak, despite hav-

56 INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

ing one-tenth the carbon footprint. Lentils take little to no fertilizer, fix nitrogen back into the ground and don’t need irrigation. A recent study suggests that the carbon footprint of the entire life cycle of all American pulse crops — legumes harvested for their nutritious edible seeds, like beans, peas and chickpeas — could be offset by a small farm of 110 wind turbines.

Palouse lentils could be an affordable, healthy and environmentally conscious choice for Inland Northwest foodies and chefs concerned about eating local. But despite Tase T.’s efforts, lentils and other pulse crops aren’t ending up on local

NATIONAL LENTIL FESTIVAL PHOTO

restaurant menus or downtown dinner tables.

Why? The abundance of lentils is actually part of the problem. Major processors buy and sell thousands of pounds of lentils at a time. Nearly 90% of U.S. lentil crops are exported to Spain, Turkey and other international markets that gobble them up by the ton.

No restaurant in Spokane is ready to buy a literal ton of lentils. But there aren’t many smaller companies nearby that can repackage 2,000 pound totes into manageable 10, 5, or 1 pound bags. So when chefs scan grocery aisles for menu inspiration, they aren’t seeing many local legumes.

Downtown diners don’t see them either, except on rare occasions like the new savory lentil and tomato stuffed pastries created by chefs Tony Brown and Peter Adams at Ruins.

Most people assume they don’t want to eat lentils. But Josh Lorenzen, executive chef at vegetarian-focused RÜT Bar & Kitchen on the South Hill, has had success getting people to try plant-based food they’ve never had before.

“There are a lot more adventurous people [in Spokane] than I thought,” Lorenzen says. “People are willing to pay for it if it’s presented to them in a way that’s comfortable to them.”

But most chefs aren’t creating cozy, exciting lentil dishes, and the cultural imagination around legumes still doesn’t extend much past lumpy lentil soup. So when Pullman finishes the world’s biggest bowl of chili, the lentil harvest is shipped off to the rest of the world. Eastern Washington forgets about Tase T., his friends, and all their benefits to body and planet.

A

aron Flansburg is a fifth-generation farmer on the Palouse and the current chairperson of the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council. He farms about 2,000 acres of rotating crops, from soft white wheat to spring barley or canola, to pulse crops like chickpeas, peas or Pardina lentils.

Typically, wheat is the most valuable crop for the area, he says, but that can vary. If fertilizer prices are up, he might choose to plant lentils, which he doesn’t have to fertilize. Lentils also put more nitrogen in his soil, which could make the next year’s wheat crop even better.

When he grows lentils, Flansburg sells his crop to Spokane Seed. Pardina lentils, also called Spanish browns, are the primary lentil grown in the Palouse.

“They’re a firmer lentil than the large green lentils are,” Flansburg says. “So when cooked, they have a firmer mouthfeel and would be typically used as a whole lentil in soups or the like. That’s my favorite kind of lentil to grow and to use, personally.”

Flansburg isn’t alone. Spaniards love Pardina lentils, which were originally grown in the Pyrenees mountains between Spain and France and are stars of traditional Spanish stews. Now, most of Spain’s lentils are grown in the Palouse. Andrew Fontaine, president of Spokane Seed, says that his com-

pany alone provides over 80% of Spain’s lentils every year.

Flansburg’s lentils most likely end up on the Iberian Peninsula. If he grows peas or chickpeas, Spokane Seed probably sells them to major companies like Campbell’s, Heinz, General Mills and Goya, which may ship them across the country or across the world. With such huge customers, it’s not financially reasonable for Spokane Seed to sell to smaller markets. If locals are looking to go to the farmer themselves, buying direct is usually impossible.

“There’s a guy that I got a call from just really out of the blue who is a body builder in California,” Flansburg says. “He was eating a vegetarian diet, if not a vegan diet, and he loved lentils. And he says, ‘Well, how can I get lentils from you directly?’ And I had to tell him, ‘I don’t have a way to clean them safely enough and thoroughly enough for me to sell them directly to you.’”

A

n exception to this farm-to-buyer snag is Palouse Brands, run by Sara and Kevin Mader and their family. They decided to become a “vertically integrated” farm that does everything from planting to packaging so they could control where their crops end up.

Their women-led team of growers, packagers, branding pros and customer service employees enables them to sell their product directly to local consumers.

“It makes Palouse Brand extra special that we’re able to work with them and that they’re a family farm in our region that wants to be able to sell lentils and pulses more locally,” says Michelle Youngblom, crop promotions manager at LINC Foods, a cooperative dedicated to connecting small Northwest farmers to local eaters.

LINC offers Palouse Brand beans and lentils as a plant protein add-on to their subscription-based, community-supported agriculture (CSA) boxes.

Both Palouse Brands and Youngblom create recipes to help people imagine new ways to use lentils, like a red lentil soup with crispy leeks, a spring onion salad with lentils, lentil tacos or breakfast burritos. About 15% of LINC box subscribers tack on the plant-protein option every week, Youngblom says.

But LINC doesn’t sell to restaurants, and chefs buy mostly from huge wholesaler chains like US Foods and Sysco, says Lorenzen at RÜT. US Foods carries one kind of lentil — Pardina lentils from the Palouse, incidentally — packaged nearby in Moses Lake. But the national chain’s outpost in Spokane Valley doesn’t advertise those lentils for the local, ethical, versatile product that they are. They’re easy to overlook, especially if you’ve never met Tase T. Lentil himself.

The key might be creating “added value” products, says Fontaine at Spokane Seed, like how chickpea acceptance increased when hummus and chickpea pasta became popular. Lentil pasta or blended beef and lentil burgers might be what puts lentils on the map and gets local chefs to create even more new dishes with Palouse products.

“I’d like to see more [lentils] be used domestically,” Flansburg says. “It’s an important part of our supply of people who are consumers. Local use is an advantage.” n

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It turns out this Martin Scorsese fellow might be good at directing films.

REVIEW

The Blood Cries Out From The Ground Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio give two of the best performances of the year in Martin Scorsese’s shattering Killers of the Flower Moon

BY CHASE HUTCHINSON

T

here are few mainstream films you’ll see as immense as Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. This is not a reference to its runtime of 3 hours, 26 minutes (of which it deserves absolutely every second), but to its ambition. Taking on a bloody chapter in America’s violent trajectory nearly erased from our collective memory because of those who would rather see it forgotten, it is a confrontation with the colonialism, greed and betrayal at the core of this country. Specifically, it takes us back to the 1920s when members of Oklahoma’s Osage Nation were murdered for the wealth they acquired after being forcibly displaced onto land rich with oil. Crucially, it is not some twisty mystery to be solved.

Instead, it’s about the unending cruelty and exploitation happening in plain sight. In other words, it is the story of America with all its stomach-churning hypocrisy and brutality on full display.

At the heart of this is Mollie Kyle, played by an always revelatory Lily Gladstone (a relative unknown, seen previously in 2016’s Certain Women and this year’s The Unknown Country), whose family and life are under threat from those seeking to take all they can from the Osage people. She must get approval to spend her own money and marries a white man in an arrangement that’s sinister right from the start. Her new husband Ernest

58 INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a greedy man willing DiCaprio brings this into focus as her final resonant lines to do just about anything for money. He claims to love cut his gutless man down into nothing.

Mollie though will always defer to his uncle William How Scorsese navigates all of this is similarly Hale (played by Scorsese standby Robert De Niro), who focused as he remains both willing to take bold risks has made himself “King” and weasels his way into Osage and never let a moment rest without drawing us deeper business for his own self-serving ends. into the moral rot that runs through all the beautifully What makes Killers of the Flower Moon so shattering is shot landscapes. Just as there is oil bursting free from the measured yet menacing way this all unfolds. Time the land, there is a poison at the core of this history that begins to slip away for Mollie as she desperately tries to steadily takes hold. As he has throughout his past films, take action to stem the tide of death. Perfectly embodyScorsese makes room for potent reflections on the iming her character, Gladstone is outstanding even as she mense cost of this cruelty. often fades into the background the longer that the film This includes one of the most unexpected yet efgoes on. This is less a criticism as it is a call for people to fective endings he’s ever done, taking one of his biggest seek out her other aforementioned work swings in a career that’s never lacked them. as well as the upcoming Fancy Dance, The precise details of this require being KILLERS OF which ought to get as much attention as somewhat vague, but it sees the veteran THE FLOWER MOON this film for how it more fully brings her filmmaker acknowledging his own part in Directed by Martin Scorsese to the forefront. the story being told in a manner that’s not Starring Lily Gladstone, That being said, every scene we get Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro entirely uncritical. Such a moment and the with Mollie is flooring because of how way it operates in conversation with the perpetually good Gladstone is. There is never a moment entire journey of the film proves to be as devastating as that feels wasted as every single choice she makes brings anything Scorsese has ever done. It is a moment of deep us further and further into what could otherwise be a mourning in which the historic loss that the film excathankless part, one that she molds into something magvated piece by piece is put together in one final acknowlnificent. One scene toward the very end between her and edgement of a wound that may never fully heal. n

SCREEN | REVIEW

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MOVIE TIMES on Even an uncaged Cage can’t fully elevate Butcher’s Crossing.

How the West Was Dull

Nicolas Cage stars in a slow, ponderous adaptation of the Western novel Butcher’s Crossing

BY JOSH BELL

E

arlier this year, Nicolas Cage starred in The Old Way, a meat-and-potatoes Western with a simple plot about a man seeking revenge for the murder of his wife. It’s basic and predictable, distinguished only by a typically committed performance from Cage and a surprisingly evenly matched performance from his young co-star Ryan Kiera Armstrong.

Cage’s new Western, Butcher’s Crossing, has higher artistic ambitions than The Old Way, but director and co-writer Gabe Polsky never quite realizes those lofty goals. Instead, Butcher’s Crossing is most successful when it resembles The Old Way, in tense sequences that allow Cage to dig into his character’s fractured psyche.

Cage’s dedicated buffalo hunter Miller isn’t really the movie’s protagonist — that’s Will Andrews (Fred Hechinger), a naive Harvard student and minister’s son who decides that he needs to find meaning in his life by heading to the Western frontier.

He arrives in the small Kansas town of Butcher’s Crossing in 1874, intending to seek work from J.D. McDonald (Paul Raci), an old family acquaintance.

When McDonald fails to offer him the rugged experience he desires, he instead connects with Miller, who’s putting together an expedition to a supposed hidden Colorado valley full of bison who are prime for hunting.

It sounds like a fool’s errand, but Will is just the fool for the job, and he offers Miller every penny he has to finance the outing. They’re joined

by Miller’s longtime camp manager Charley Hoge (Xander Berkeley), a grizzled drunk who clings to his Bible, and expert skinner Fred Schneider (Jeremy Bobb), an unsavory type who insists on being paid upfront. The journey is fairly straightforward, and Miller turns out to be as good as his word, leading the group to a herd of buffalo who’ve been untouched by the rampant hunting of recent years.

B

ased on the 1960 novel by John Williams, Butcher’s Crossing is more contemplative than thrilling, even with an extra element of menace between the characters added for the BUTCHER’S CROSSING movie. Once they arrive at the hunting ground, Rated R Miller becomes increasingly fixated on annihiDirected by Gabe Polsky lating the entire massive herd, even though it Starring Nicolas Cage, would be impossible for the group to carry that Fred Hechinger, Jeremy Bobb many hides back to Kansas to sell. The cycle of killing and skinning the buffalo, and eating their meat every day, takes a toll on everyone in the crew, and they all become slightly unhinged over time.

Will serves as the Ishmael to Miller’s Captain Ahab, alternately enabling and tempering his obsession with destroying every last buffalo. With a bald head and a thick black beard, Cage makes for a THE NIGHTMARE striking figure, and he can give Miller a sense of BEFORE CHRISTMAS: sinister danger just in the way he chews on a piece of 30TH ANNIVERSARY meat. As the immature, untested big screen newcomWhat’s this? What’s this? er, Hechinger is a bit outmatched, especially with An animated fare. What’s Bobb and Berkeley capturing a more compelling mix this? A spooky love affair.

What’s this? Jack and Sally’s of anguish and anger in their respective characters. reprise, Halloween schemThere isn’t much psychological depth to Will’s ing. Santa’s sack, but with a journey, making the melancholy ending feel more scare! What’s this? Rated PG like an anticlimax rather than a somber reflection.

Rachel Keller is stuck in the thankless part of the THE PIGEON TUNNEL Butcher’s Crossing prostitute who symbolizes Will’s Master documentarian Errol Morris dives deep into ideals of love and purity, a throwback to outdated the story of former British gender portrayals of vintage Westerns. spy John Cornwell, better Polsky is best known for directing sports docuknown under his espionage mentaries like 2014’s Red Army, and he awkwardly novelist pen name — John leans into the movie’s environmental message with le Carré (Tinker Tailor Solclosing title cards about the near-extinction of the dier Spy, etc.). Centered on the late author’s final buffalo thanks to aggressive hunting. While Polsky long-form interview, it’s delivers some gorgeous vistas of the Montana shootan exploration of fact and ing locations, he can’t translate Williams’ story into fiction in the shrouded equally powerful drama. He aims for something etheworld of spies. Rated PG-13 real and meaningful, but probably should have just At the Magic Lantern embraced the potential for propulsive pulp thrills. n (Streaming on Apple TV+)

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PAGE 62 OCTOBER 19, 2023 INLANDER 59

COVERS

SUCH A

PITY Puddles Pity Party mixes gorgeously sung, reinterpreted covers, humor and melancholy for a one-of-a-kind experience

BY SETH SOMMERFELD

C

lowns are pariahs in our pop cultural landscape. The Joker is out there terrorizing Gotham City. Krusty is a bit of a drunkard. Ronald gives the kiddies greasy things to eat, while Pennywise eats the greasy kiddies (which is generally frowned upon). While clowns have literally existed across world cultures for over four millennia, our current moment might be the nadir of the oft-white faced comedic entities.

Thankfully, Puddles exists.

At first blush, our cultural training might lead us to assume that Puddles is one of the less than desirable kinds of clowns. The Pagliacci-esque performer is a towering 7-foot presence adorned in a flowing white Pierrot costume with fuzzy black balls dotting its frontside. Puddle’s complexion is whiter-than-snow, save for four red accents above and below his eyes, a painted red nose and black lips. A worse-for-wear golden crown with a P on it rests askew atop his elevated dome. But more than any of that, the thing that stands out when first gazing at Puddles is the melancholy presence of his demeanor. While he’s clearly more of a sad clown than some cheap Spirit Halloween-style scary clown, it’d still be easy to be unnerved by his initial presence.

But then Puddles opens his mouth and starts singing.

Holy shit.

60 INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

There’s plenty of clowning around when it comes to Puddles Pity Party.

What emerges from the depths of the clown’s diaphragm is a rich operatic baritone with a stunning range of emotional complexity. Puddles peddles in reinterpretations of pop songs, often giving unthinkably fresh new life to tunes seared into our collective psyches. Hearing him find new sonic spaces in ultra-famous songs from artists like Billie Eilish, Cheap Trick, Kid Cudi and Britney Spears borders on the experience of hearing an entirely new song. Puddles has been a frequent collaborator with the viral retro pop reworkers of Postmodern Jukebox, where’s he’s found new emotional cores in tracks like Tears for Fears’ “Mad World,” Blink-182’s “All the Small Things,” Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida,” and most notably Lorde’s “Royals,” which turned him into a viral sensation in 2013 and has garnered over 33 million YouTube views to date.

And while he also popped up as a competitor on America’s Got Talent in 2017, Puddles is most in his zone when putting on one of his cabaret concerts known as Puddles Pity Party.

In a world filled with anti-clown pop culture propaganda, the soaring bliss of a Puddles Pity Party does its part to joyfully counterbalance the narrative.

P

uddles doesn’t speak.

Oh sure, he sings. But he’s essentially a mime when not belting out a melody.

Needless to say, that makes interviewing him for a story like this… ummm… difficult.

Thankfully, Puddles’ “confidant and consigliere” Mike Geier — who also happens to be a large man who apparently sings in a baritone (huh… weird coincidence!) — can chat in place of his white-faced friend. Geier first “encountered” Puddles while working as a bartender at Star Community Bar in Atlanta back in 1998 and was immediately struck by the uniqueness of Puddles’ character.

“That melancholy look in his eye,” recalls Geier. “His quietness and presence of quietness I found very intriguing. Because, you know, a bar environment is loud, and kind of nutty with lots of noise going on. And he was quiet. His presence was really intriguing, because I can’t stop talking sometimes.”

When pressed about why Puddles seems so permanently melancholy, Grier offers up this tidbit: “I’m pretty sure something his meemaw said sort of hangs with him — ‘Life is a series of disappointments.’ And he thinks that’s really funny. That’s true, but it’s funny for somebody to say that to a kid.”

Instantly, Grier became a “key part” of Puddles support team who, along with engineer/ musician Tim DeLaney, helps craft the unique arrangements that Puddles brings to the songs he performs in their Atlanta studio. Sometimes that arises from a cappella renditions revealing an invigorating starting spot, while other times it’s more of an organic group effort.

“I do think Puddles hears everything like there’s a sad banger,” says Grier. “Like with emo it was these kind of sad songs that move fast and hard. But he hears that emotional quality in everything.”

“I think he listens to the songs,” Grier continues. “Sometimes if you really listen, you can hear the real meaning or another meaning within a song. And sometimes it will just be that it’s got a

beautiful melody. Like on a Billie Eilish song, the beautiful melodies are just right there — you can’t avoid them. But like an Ozzy Osbourne song, some of the other adornment or musical aspects of it might take the center stage, but when you pull that away it reveals this other beautiful melody or beautiful meaning that has been sort of obscured by the hardness of a song. You feel that sensitivity within it. There’s a delicious sensitive center.”

As anyone who’s seen a rendition of a Puddles Pity Party knows, it’s not merely a clown emotively singing solitarily on stage.

During Puddles’ set opening for Tenacious D at Northern Quest Casino in 2022, the full stage show was on display. He has a screen playing oft-humorous images to accompany the songs (including lots of Kevin Costner clips… like a lot, a lot of Kevin Costner clips), cardboard guitars of questionable playability, costumes for audience participation and more. It’s an amusing and somewhat disorienting mix of media, but there’s rhyme to the reason.

“Puddles likes what he likes. And he likes a lot of different things. It seems random, but it’s actually not random. It’s the fabric of his personality. You might like very, very different things, but they’re not random, because you are the context of those things,” says Grier. “Puddles likes Kevin Costner films, and he likes coffee, and he likes sad songs, but he also likes how funny it is when you turn a happy song into a sad song.”

Grier emphasizes that there’s nothing to fear when it comes to Puddles. The whole goal is to cultivate a welcoming environment for musical catharsis with a dash of humor.

“When Puddles encounters someone who is afraid, he goes the other way. Puddles may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but he is for everybody.

He understands his parameters,” says Grier.

The unique odyssey that has been Puddles and his Pity Party doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon, and the traveling show will set up shop at the Knitting Factory on Oct. 24.

“I always get the feeling that he’s just — to borrow from Bob Dylan — keep on keeping on,” says Grier. “He seems to be a traveler, so there’s always going to be something up around the next bend. He loves this old adage: ‘When you come to a fork in the road, take it.’”

In the weird times that are modern existence, there’s something about Puddles that just makes sense. When everything seems so messed up and everybody is harboring repressed emotions from a tenuous past few years, a huge clown finding the inherent sadness in our beloved pop songs doesn’t feel that strange. If anything, there’s an oddly comforting magic to the communal experience of Puddles Pity Party.

“One of his new things is there’s a loneliness epidemic. And Puddles is trying to sort of address that a little bit,” says Grier. “Because he’s always sort of felt like it’s a sad and beautiful world, and it’s OK to be sad — to feel those feelings. And it’s kind of better when you’re feeling melancholy to be with other people. It doesn’t make it go away. It just makes it a little bit better.”

“You may feel like you’re alone, but come on out, and we’ll all be alone together.” n

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Puddles Pity Party • Tue, Oct. 24 at 8 pm • $30-$55 • 21+ • Knitting Factory • 919 W. Sprague Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com

OCTOBER 19, 2023 INLANDER 61

MUSIC | SOUND ADVICE

EDM APASHE

T

he first time you throw some Apashe on the playlist, your friends might give you a look for changing the vibe. Why’d you switch from EDM to classical music all of a sudden? Ah, but did you? Before long, the swelling orchestral melodies and choral voices intermingle with heavy bass, hip-hop and maybe even a quick music history lesson, like the satisfying line in “Lacrimosa” informing listeners: “That was Mozart.” With his new brass orchestra tour, the artist showcases the staying power of live instruments at what’s sure to be a danceable show with dubstep influence.

— SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL Apashe • Sun, Oct. 22 at 8 pm • $30-$55 • All ages • Knitting Factory • 919 W. Sprague Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com

J = THE INLANDER RECOMMENDS THIS SHOW J = ALL AGES SHOW

RAP ALL-DAY TREY

H

Thursday, 10/19

e may have decamped our neck of the woods for Seattle, but rapper All Day Trey still has the sunny side of the Inland Northwest coursing through his veins.

The MC’s self-dubbed “sunshine rap” radiates with positive, queer-friendly vibes, and helped him become a fav among Pullman and Spokane hip-hop heads. ADT returns to town in support of his new album Sunrise to Sunset, a 10-song collection of abounding bright and melodic positivity in the face of mental health struggles. Considering the buoyant spirit he brings to the stage every time he picks up a mic, Trey’s gig at District Bar should feel like a warm and joyful homecoming.

— SETH SOMMERFELD

J THE BIG DIPPER, Cold Hearts, Vilegloom, Decline of Order, Midnight Drive BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Inland Empire Blues Society Monthly Boogie CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Thursday Night Jam CHECKERBOARD TAPROOM, Weathered Shepherds J THE GRAIN SHED TAP HOUSE, Haywire J HISTORIC DAVENPORT HOTEL, Dr. Don Goodwin J MCCRACKEN’S PUB AND BBQ, Carli Osika J QQ SUSHI & KITCHEN, Just Plain Darin ZOLA, The Night Mayors

All Day Trey • Fri, Oct. 20 at 9 pm • $10 • 21+ • District Bar • 916 W. First Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com

Friday, 10/20

AK ASIAN RESTAURANT, Gil Rivas J THE BIG DIPPER, Fallstar, The Undertaking!, Lightworker, No Home, False Visions BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Karma’s Circle BRYAN HALL THEATRE (WSU), Student Recitals: Harrison Gaal, Zachary Simmons CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Steam Boat Rocks CHINOOK LOUNGE (CDA CASINO), Sam Leyde CURLEY’S, Pastiche J THE DISTRICT BAR, All-Day Trey J THE GRAIN SHED, Haywire J HISTORIC DAVENPORT HOTEL, Thomas Pletscher Trio IRON HORSE (CDA), Royale KNITTING FACTORY, Spooky Perreo LORD STANLEY’S, Third Frequency Fridays MOOSE LOUNGE, Dirty Betty

62 INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

NIGHTHAWK LOUNGE (CDA CASINO), Bruiser PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Bright Moments THE RIDLER PIANO BAR, Just Plain Darin J SPOKANE TRIBE CASINO, Britain’s Finest: The Complete Beatles Experience ZOLA, Starcourt

Saturday, 10/21

J BECK’S HARVEST HOUSE, Devon Wade Band, Just Plain Darin BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Karma’s Circle J CAFE COCO, B CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Cary Fly CHINOOK LOUNGE (CDA CASINO), Sam Leyde CURLEY’S, Pastiche THE DISTRICT BAR, The Steel Wheels, Jenny Anne Mannan DRY FLY DISTILLING, Son of Brad

J HISTORIC DAVENPORT HOTEL, Brent Edstrom Trio IRON HORSE (CDA), Royale J KNITTING FACTORY, Mersiv, Jon Casey, Deadcrow J KNITTING FACTORY, Big Bubble Rave MOOSE LOUNGE, Dirty Betty NIGHTHAWK LOUNGE (CDA CASINO), Bruiser PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Jona Gallegos J REVIVAL TEA COMPANY, Helmer Noel RIVAURA, Wiebe Jammin’ ZOLA, Blake Braley

Sunday, 10/22

J BECK’S HARVEST HOUSE, Sam Leyde Band, Honey Soup J BIG BARN BREWING CO., Dylan Hathaway J THE BIG DIPPER, D.R.I., Deathwish, Crusty Mustard

CURLEY’S, Kosta La Vista THE DISTRICT BAR, Billy Raffoul J HISTORIC DAVENPORT HOTEL, Dr. Paul Grove HOGFISH, Open Mic J J KNITTING FACTORY, Apashe J QQ SUSHI & KITCHEN, Just Plain Darin

Monday, 10/23

J THE BIG DIPPER, The Sound That Ends Creation, Last, Lich, Xenoplasm THE DISTRICT BAR, Martin Sexton J EICHARDT’S PUB, Monday Night Blues Jam with John Firshi RED ROOM LOUNGE, Open Mic Night

Tuesday, 10/24

J THE BIG DIPPER, Urethane, The Emergency Exit, Better Daze, Not For Nothing THE DISTRICT BAR, Spafford

J KNITTING FACTORY, Puddles Pity Party LITZ’S PUB & EATERY, Shuffle Dawgs OSPREY RESTAURANT & BAR, Jason Lucas J THE PODIUM, ZHU, NOIZU ZOLA, Lucas Brown and Friends

Wednesday, 10/25 BARRISTER WINERY, Front Porch Rockers THE DRAFT ZONE, The Draft Zone Open Mic J OSPREY RESTAURANT & BAR, Just Plain Darin PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Bob Beadling RED ROOM LOUNGE, The Roomates J TIMBERS ROADHOUSE, Cary Beare Presents J ZEEKS PIZZA (GU DISTRICT), Mel Dalton ZOLA, Brittany’s House

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 Berney Dr., Wall Walla • 509-526-3500 ZOLA • 22 W. Main Ave. • 509-624-2416

An Evening with Keillor & Company featuring Garrison Keillor, Prudence Johnson, Dan Chouinard & Dean Magraw

7:30 PM | Sat. April 27th, 2024 | The Fox Theater | Spokane, WA Garrison Keillor’s celebrated radio broadcast A Prairie Home Companion ran for forty years. These days, his shows are packed with humor, limericks. song, sing-alongs and of course News from Lake Wobegon.

Tickets On Sale 10AM FRIDAY OCTOBER 20th

Visit www.foxtheaterspokane.com for tickets F R E E TA L K O N C H R I S T I A N S C I E N C E F O L L O W E D B Y O P E N Q & A F R E E TA L K O N C H R I S T I A N S C I E N C E F O L L O W E D B Y O P E N Q & A

CHRISTIAN What it it is is CHRISTIAN What and how and how SCIENCE heals SCIENCE itit heals The The prayer prayer that that heals heals distinguishes fact distinguishes fact from from fiction. fiction.

Only Only what’s what’s sourced sourced from from God God — — what’s what’s perfect perfect and and indestructible — is real. indestructible — is real.

November November 5 5@ @ 2:00pm 2:00pm Sunday Sunday L O C AT I O N L O C AT I O N

Spokane Valley Library Spokane Valley Library 22 N. Herald Road 22 N. Herald Road Spokane Valley WA Spokane Valley WA

C O N TA C T C O N TA C T

509 624 1637 509 624 1637 www.FCCS-Spokane.com www.FCCS-Spokane.com

Michelle Michelle Nanouche, Nanouche, CSB CSB

Christian Science practitioner Christian Science practitioner and teacher and teacher Member of the Christian Science Member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship Board of Lectureship SPONSORED BY: SPONSORED BY:

First Church of Christ, Scientist First Church of Christ, Scientist Spokane WA Spokane WA

OCTOBER 19, 2023 INLANDER 63

COMEDY SWIFT-TONGUED TAYLOR

It rules that Taylor Tomlinson should be a fixture in our comedic lives for decades to come. The Californian stand-up isn’t even 30 yet, but she’s already established herself as one of the genre’s top performers with a gleefully brash attitude and lack of fear when amusingly riffing on the challenges in her life, like an engagement that fell through and a bipolar diagnosis.

She may have over 2.5 million TikTok followers, but that’s not a case of viral shallowness, as she honed her craft the old school way, grinding through sets at clubs. Her uproarious specials Quarter-Life Crisis and Look At You showcase both her sassy youthful vigor and her seasoned expertise.

— SETH SOMMERFELD Taylor Tomlinson • Thu, Oct. 19 at 7 pm • $30-$160 • First Interstate Center for the Arts • 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. • firstinterstatecenter.org

64 INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

COMMUNITY SUSTAINABLE SWAPS

BENEFIT DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY

Halloween Costume Swap • Dates and times vary • Free • Various Spokane County Library branches • Details at scld.org

Fantastic Plastic • Sat, Oct. 21 from 5-8 pm • $50 • 21+ • nYne Bar & Bistro • 232 W. Sprague Ave. • odysseyyouth.org/masquerade • 509-325-3637

Halloween only comes once a year, but for some, buying a brandnew costume each time the holiday rolls around just isn’t viable.

With this and eco-friendly consumerism in mind, the Spokane County Library District is hosting multiple Halloween costume swaps for the thrifty souls among us. Bring in your gently-used costumes and accessories from years past and trade them in for a new-to-you item to wear this year. There are still several swaps happening before Halloween at the following libraries: Deer Park (Oct. 19 from 3:30-5:30 pm), Moran Prairie (Oct. 25 from 3:30-5:30 pm), Fairfield (Oct. 26 from 3:30-5:30 pm) and North Spokane (Oct. 28 from 3-5 pm) as well as one after Halloween at the Argonne library (Nov. 2 from 3:30-5:30 pm), for those looking to swap out for something new to wear next year.

— MADISON PEARSON

Take a break from the monotony of life and jump into a world of pink and fun at Odyssey Youth Movement’s annual masquerade fundraiser. This year’s theme is “Fantastic Plastic,” inspired by the Barbie movie, and it all goes down at nYne Bar & Bistro. Proceeds go toward supporting Odyssey Youth Movement’s programs and various resources for LGBTQ+ youth in the region, which includes its South Perry center — recently the target of multiple instances of hate-driven vandalism — and advocacy programs. Tickets not only offer entry to the masquerade, but also include dinner, a myriad of games and activities, and one drink from the bar. There are also drag performances, a live painting created by local artists that attendees can bid to win, and various auction items. Grab your bejeweled mask and get ready for an evening of Barbie-themed fun.

— SUMMER SANDSTROM

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.

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COMEDY THE ACE OF SPADES

If you’re looking for someone who has snark in spades, it’s hard to top David Spade. The sharp-witted comedy mind has had massive audiences rolling since the ’90s, whether as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, teaming with Chris Farley in the buddy comedy touchstones Tommy Boy and Black Sheep, hosting various catty TV shows, showing up in his buddy Adam Sandler’s films or taking the stand-up stage. Spade has a knack for delivering a cutting punchline with a playfully snide boyish bite without seeming weasley or unlikeable. As the first comedian to take the stage at Spokane Tribe Casino’s new Spokane Live performance space, Spade will get to christen the room with laughter and be a good test of how good the spot is for stand-up shows.

— SETH SOMMERFELD David Spade • Sat, Oct. 21 at 8 pm • $48-$125 • All ages • Spokane Tribe Casino • 14300 W. U.S. Route 2, Airway Heights • spokanetribecasino.com

30TH ANNIVERSARY ANSWERS Hardly Trivial

THEATER MAXIMUM EFFORT

Dahveed Bullis has cemented himself as a central figure in the local theater community, winning national awards and co-founding the Spokane Playwrights Laboratory. Currently, as Stage Left Theater’s Artist in Residence, Bullis is directing the world premiere of his play, Minimum Wage, a story about a single father and aspiring actor who gets by working at a fast-food joint.

With themes inspired by Bullis’ own life, Minimum Wage is the culmination of eight years of work. In our Sept. 20 Fall Arts preview issue, Bullis describes the show and its protagonist: “So there’s this Tennessee Williams play, and he brings it up all throughout the show, but he doesn’t have time to practice.

And throughout the [script] we get to see all of the other characters get put in situations where they’re making impossible choices.” Minimum Wage has four more showings before the curtain closes one last time on Sunday, Oct. 22.

— CHEY SCOTT

1. Boo Radley’s, Global Credit Union, Hospice of Spokane, KXLY-AM 920 2. C 3. Randy Weaver and the Ruby Ridge Standoff 4. B 5. Spokane Arena 6. C 7. A 8. Washington Water Power 9. Julyamsh 10. A 11. 161st 12. D 13. St. John’s Cathedral

14. Diamond (Don’t miss this film) | Thumbs up (Worth $7) | VHS tape (Wait for the DVD) | Turkey (Save your money) 15. C 16. Best Local Letter Carrier 17. B 18. Lisa Brown 19. Earthworm 20. D 21. Mary Verner 22. C 23. Colorado 24. Lilac City Comicon 25. Madonna 26. B 27. Tag 28. KREM & KXLY 29. C 30. 10 Years Bonus Jess Walter answer: The Basket

Ups and Downs, Inlander-Style R E A D T I L T S R U F F H O O E Y E N E R E A T A I N C A N A R E I A R A B T R I K E N D A L L M S T A T A D A D V I L A H I U S S R E L S S O M A N Y R E P L Y A L L S T E P S H O P L O C A L P R E A D M I T A S T I N E S S B E S T O F M A E T M A X O O O A L F I O A S P C T R R E U N I O N J E E R S O K S O M A N S A P B I O F E I N O L D E I O W A S F R E E T E S T

Minimum Wage • Thu, Oct. 19-Sat, Oct. 21 at 7 pm and Sun, Oct. 22 at 2 pm • $20-$25 • Stage Left Theater • 108 W. Third Ave. • stagelefttheater.org

OCTOBER 19, 2023 INLANDER 65

time and space. Haven’t we waited long enough? You are my twin flame and soulmate.

CHEERS

I SAW YOU LOL Y’all been campaigning, I mean hard, for this new jail. But you couldn’t just wait to use this new park hours ordinance as a pretense to beat the tar out of a man who did absolutely nothing wrong. I’m not voting “yes” to raise my own taxes, when you employ deputies that cost us tens of millions of dollars for use of force lawsuits on a routine basis. Y’all are nuts.

I WOULDN’T WAFFLE ABOUT YOU I saw you on Friday the 22nd at the farmer’s market on Monroe. You were purchasing a pumpkin waffle while I was looking at the mini succulents. You had the most amazing smile and showed such patience and compassion for those around you. Date sometime?

TO THE SPECIAL GIRL I MET AT LUNCH You told me that you love reading this section of the Inlander so I decided to write, I can’t wait to see this. I loved hanging out with you, wandering around downtown, walking the Centennial Trail and seeing you at awe of the beauty of the woods on our hike. I loved taking you to the top of the Empire State Building in downtown and holding your hand. Time flew by so fast with you I wished I got to spend more time with you today. I can’t wait to get to know you more; you are an amazing, beautiful, gorgeous, and extremely smart woman. I can’t wait to go on an adventure with you again. Hopefully it’s rain free on our next adventure.

RE: TERESA,THIS ONE IS ABOUT YOU Mr. B, I am right here waiting. Our energy transcends

KUDOS TO JUDGE FEARING He deserves praise for addressing racism in the Spokane County Prosecutor’s and Sheriff’s offices. He showed further bravery in not cowing to the good ole boys’ ignorant and unsurprising response by attacking him instead of taking a hard look in the mirror.

In all fairness, Spokane’s lead prosecutor, Larry Haskell, might not be the best judge of racism. His wife declared herself a white nationalist and used the n-word to denigrate a Black person. Yet, he insists she’s not racist. Hmmm. Okay. Perhaps Judge Fearing had a point when he said they didn’t understand racism.

LARRY STONE INTERVIEW Cheers to the Inlander for the Larry Stone interview. It was more enlightening than any political ad or town-hall discussion, especially with Stone casually sharing the fact that the Trent shelter represents only 1.6% of the total square footage he owns. And yet he’s pumped over $200,000 of his own money into this election, expecting a return on investment. If his skullduggery gets Mayor Nadine re-elected, none of the city’s homeless or drug problems will go away.

But at least he’ll be guaranteed to continue profiting off of Spokane taxpayers.

LOCAL VOICES APPRECIATED Here’s to KYRS Thin Air Community Radio, at 88.1 and 92.3, broadcasting from Spokane’s Central Library and celebrating 20 years with a pledge drive now. I love the local culture, conversations, and music programming you’ve given us. Your talented staff and volunteers bring new voices to my attention. Keep the beat alive, KYRS! RE: TAILGATERS I, too, find it hilarious to obey the law and follow the posted speed limit when someone is riding my butt. Slow down! You’ll be all of 30 seconds later than you would’ve been otherwise.

RE: WHERE DO I SWIM? Amen. They should replace every surface parking lot with a swim pool. For the children.

HBD INLANDER! Happy Big Three Zero to the good folks at the Inlander! Keep the party going!

LOCAL CSA GEM Thank you to Agape Farms for hosting such a flavorful and varietyfilled CSA this season! I appreciate your hard work to incorporate fruit in the box and applaud your commitment to regular communication and high quality produce.

Can’t wait to partner with you next year!

“

SPOKANE MUSIC SCENE I’m going to throw this in the Cheers section because I’m an eternal optimist. With Lucky You Lounge closing, the community is looking to the other smaller venues to pick up and seek out bands we might otherwise miss out on.

There’s a big hole in our musical hearts now

than the “”big black GMC 4x4”” that was tailgating you on Washington. Everyone has something going on that you dont know about. Maybe this person was in a hurry for a reason. Ever consider that? Threatening to “”hit the emergency flashers, feign a stall, and come to a complete stop”” is ridiculous and immature. You would cause an accident just to teach a total stranger a lesson in driving? Do you not see the irony in your statement?! Grow up, move over, and get over yourself. You’re the problem on the road, and your hybrid doesn’t fix that. “

Our energy transcends time and space.

Haven’t we waited long enough?

HIDDEN NOTE IN PAJAMAS This morning I bought a pajama set at Walmart and discovered a note with $10 in the front pocket. The note was from Patricia Jean Bishop’s children stating 9/28 was their mother’s birthday and she loved being cozy and was known to give her last dollar to help a stranger. The note requested I buy something fun in Patricia’s honor. Just wanted to let her children know I will honor the request.

GREED IS NOT GOOD I was impressed with Spokane County Treasurer Michael Baumgartner’s column in the Inlander about the PAC-12 and the need for politicians to regulate and stop the greed in college football. We need more Republican elected officials like him to take that attitude, not only with college football but also with oil companies, financial institutions and many other large corporations who do business in the United States. They need to sound less like Gordon Gekko from the movie Wall Street (greed is good) and point out more frequently that greed is not good.

Greed is obviously fueling college football as Baumgartner points out. However, it is also a key factor as to why gas, food, retail and housing related prices are higher today.

THANKS FOR ENTERTAINING ME Cheers to everyone who submits messages to this section, especially to the Jeers section. I find such joy in reading the often trivial ramblings of my fellow community members. It is honestly hilarious. Every week, I read through this section (in its entirety) while I sip my tea. I not only giggle, I laugh out loud, which I’d like to think adds years to my life.

Lighten up, Spokane! Or don’t and continue providing me with my weekly dose of pure entertainment. And thank you so much to

SOUND OFF 1. Visit Inlander.com/isawyou by 3 pm Monday. 2. Pick a category (I Saw You, You Saw Me, Cheers or Jeers). 3.

Provide basic info: your name and email (so we know you’re real). 4. To connect via I Saw You, provide a non-identifying email to be included with your submission — like “petals327@yahoo.com,” not “j.smith@comcast.net.”

66 INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

the staff at the Inlander. Keep it coming!

that LY (and Bartlett) have closed their doors.

Cheers to the many years of memorable and intimate concerts Spokane had the pleasure of hosting, BIG thanks to those two venues and cheers to the many more years to come as the community rallies around this void!

JEERS KOOTENAI COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Remember when you said you’d expand the courthouse to get people out of the jail quicker? We don’t have enough courthouses to process people? You caved to the “support law enforcement blindly” for reelection while turning your back on real issues. You are cowards. Building a bigger jail only leads us to being more like Spokane, but you don’t want to admit that. Listen, for juvenile offenders who are stealing guns, committing property crimes, etc. (in Kootenai) you just look forward to them filling your adult jail in 5-10 years.

Trust me, I’ll have the data to prove it in that time. KC isn’t about helping — the sheriff gets hard because he pretends to lock-up bad guys, yet 65% of them are small probation violations! Look it up, folks: nonviolent offenders = a bigger jail!

NICE TRY Jeers to the developer who made the eight-minute-long video (advertised across the whole back page of the Inlander last week). Apparently your solution to homelessness is to change the zoning laws in my cozy single-family home neighborhood, so you can get rich “Curing Spokane.”

RE: “I SLOW FOR TAILGATERS” “I know your hybrid makes you think you are better than the rest of us. Especially better

”

RE: JEERS TO HUMANITY Climate change is a concern buddy, but we need better solutions other than “Republicans Bad.” Maybe we should come down on the MegaCorps since they’re the big polluters.

Especially when they operate in foreign countries like China.

RE: RE: DEAR STUPID To the person who wrote “Not everybody is familiar with all the roads around here and what they mean. Be a little more easy on your judgements,” you totally made the point of the original author who complained about cars illegally driving on the Centennial Trail on Upriver Drive. If YOU don’t understand that cars passing other cars by driving in bike lanes and on running/walking trails is illegal, you should really not be driving in Spokane! Duh! Duh! Dumb! Where is traffic enforcement?!?!

RE: DEAR STUPID If you’re more concerned with how people perceive Spokane than the safety of people walking on the sidewalk, there’s something wrong with you. n

THIS WEEK'S ANSWERS H A S R E S E W L A M P O P E N E D E X I T A L L T E E N I E T E A S N G O N O W W H E R E W A S I A R E A S E L U T I O N F R U I T N I N J A H E R R M S D O S N A N O S P A D T H A I S S A C T S O O P S Y A R E S O M O N T N G A O U I U S E S A G A M E O U T A G E S G E T T I N G T O Y E S T O R I N O S R A J E D I Y O A K A M M G M O V E N B A N G P E E T S E E E

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

BENEFIT BEDTIME STORIES SPOKANE Northwest writers Jess Walter, Charles Johnson, Sharma Shields and Simeon Mills unveil original short stories created just for the event. Oct. 20, 6 pm. $150. Chateau Rive, 621 W. Mallon Ave. humanities.org JACOB JOHNS FUNDRAISER Benefit show supporting the recovery of Jacob Johns, an Indigenous artist and activist, featuring poetry by Alyssa Matuchniak and Micah Bournes. Oct. 20, 7-9 pm. $10.

Shotgun Studios, 1625 W. Water Ave. facebook.com/ShotgunStudiosSpokane THE IMMIGRATION RESIDENT PREMIERE This film highlights Latino struggles with immigration laws, global pandemics, the Trump presidency and systemic community barriers. Proceeds benefit Latinos en Spokane. Oct. 20, 5-9 pm. $150. Montvale Event Center, 1017 W. First. latinosenspokane.org AN EVENING FOR FRIENDS Brad Corrigan of Dispatch performs a benefit concert supporting Project id. Oct. 21, 7 pm. $75-$125. Montvale Event Center, 1017 W. First. projectidspokane.org FANTASTIC PLASTIC This event features dinner, games, activities and fundraising in support of Odyssey Youth Movement.

Ages 21+. Oct. 21, 5-8 pm. $50. nYne Bar & Bistro, 232 W. Sprague Ave. odysseyyouth.org (509-474-1621) ISAAC’S BOOKSHELF BLOOD DRIVE Donate blood or a new book in memory of Isaac Brincken. Oct. 21, 11 am-3 pm.

Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main Ave. auntiesbooks.com (509-838-0206)

COMEDY JOSH BLUE Blue was the winner of Last Comic Standing’s fourth season. Oct. 19, 7:30 pm, Oct. 20, 7:30 & 10:15 pm and Oct. 21, 7 & 9:45 pm. $25-$35. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com TAYLOR TOMLINSON The California native comedian has been featured on Conan, The Tonight Show and has two Netflix specials. Oct. 19, 7-10 pm. $30$80. First Interstate Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. firstinterstatecenter.org DAVID CROSS Cross is known for his stand-up performances and his role as Tobias Fünke in Arrested Development.

Oct. 20, 7-9 pm. Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. bingcrosbytheater.com DAVID SPADE Spade is an actor, comedian and television host best known for his tenure on Saturday Night Live. Oct. 21,

8 pm. $48-$125. Spokane Tribe Casino, 14300 W SR Highway 2. spokanetribecasino.com (877-789-9467) NICK HOFF Hoff is a stand-up comedian who has been on MTV, and was featured in in Netflix’s Comedy Festival. Oct. 22, 7 pm. $20. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com

COMMUNITY HALLOWEEN COSTUME SWAP Combat waste by sharing and trading gently used costumes with other community members. Oct. 19, 3:30-5:30 pm. Free. Deer Park Library, 208 Forest St. scld.org SLIGHTLY SPOOKY CELEBRATION Participate in spooky crafts and activities.

Costumes welcome as long as they are not scary. Oct. 19, 4:30-5:30 pm. Free.

Fairfield Library, 305 E. Main St. scld.org THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE This monthly event includes live music, gallery cruising, gallery talks, lectures, artist workshops and demonstrations, periodic exhibition openings and special Campbell House programing. Third Thursday of each month from 5-8 pm. $7.50-$10.

Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org WSQ QUILT SHOW An annual quilt show hosted by the Spokane chapter, featuring 500+ quilts, vendors, demos and more.

Oct. 20-22; Fri-Sat from 10 am-6 pm, Sun from 10 am-4 pm. $15. Spokane County Fair & Expo Center, 404 N. Havana. wsqspokane.org/quilt-show BACKSTAGE GEAR EXCHANGE Exchange, buy, and sell audio, lighting, stage equipment and instruments. Oct. 21, 1-6 pm. Free. VIP Production Northwest, 724 N. Madelia St. backstagegearexchange.com (509-747-4804) HOLISTIC FESTIVAL This festival features 50 booths of holistic products including essential oils, soaps, crystals and a number of free health scans. Oct. 21, 10 am-5 pm. $6. CenterPlace Event Center, 2426 N. Discovery. holisticfestivals.com TRUNK OR TREAT ON THE RIVER The celebration features decorated trunks, treats and the chance to win prizes. Oct. 22, 1-4 pm. Free. Ruby River Hotel, 700 N. Division St. trunkortreatontheriver.eventbrite.com (509-323-2585) HOMELESSNESS: THE BIG PICTURE Carol Tevenan explores the reasons for homelessness with panelists Fawn Schott, Linda Ziehnert and Matthew Hurd from Community Frameworks. Oct. 24, 12-1:30 pm. Free. Central Library, 906 W. Main Ave. spokanelibrary.org

WHO IS HAUNTING YOUR HOUSE? Spokane Public Library’s Archivist and Special Collections Librarian guides you through the steps of researching your house’s history. Oct. 26, 3-4 pm. Free.

South Hill Library, 3324 S. Perry St. spokanelibrary.org (509-444-5331) SPOOKWALK The walk guides participants through Browne’s Addition to hear tales of mystery, murder and mayhem.

Oct. 27-29, daily from 6:30-8:30 pm and 7-9 pm. $25. Browne’s Bistro, 1924 W. Pacific Ave. friendsofcdapark.org BRICK OR TREAT! This Halloween family trick or treat event features local vendors selling crafty products and handing out free candy for kids. Oct. 28, 4-8 pm. Free.

Brick West Brewing Co., 1318 W. First Ave. bit.ly/Brick-or-treat

Lakewood. northidahowinesociety.org TASTE OF NEW ORLEANS A six-course dinner crafted by Chef John Folse. Each course pays homage to the rich Creole and Cajun traditions of New Orleans. Oct. 21, 6-9 pm. $150. The Coeur d’Alene Resort, 115 S. Second. bit.ly/47SItB2 RAMEN FEST The annual festival features authentic ramen ($15), mochi desserts ($7) and inari sushi ($7). Cash preferred. All proceeds support the temple.

Oct. 22, 11 am-2 pm. Free admission.

Spokane Buddhist Temple, 927 S. Perry St. spokanebuddhisttemple.org FALL BEER DINNER A five-course dinner by chef CJ Callahan paired with five beers from YaYa, Uprise and Whistle Punk.

Oct. 24, 5 pm. $100. Radio Bar, 2408 W. Northwest Blvd. radiobarspokane.com HARVEST FEST & APPLE PALOOZA Try various apple treats throughout downtown shops and vote for your favorite.

Oct. 28, 10 am-3 pm. Free. Downtown Coeur d’Alene, Sherman Ave. cdaowntown.com (208-415-0116)

FILM BEETLEJUICE 35TH ANNIVERSARY A recently deceased couple haunt their former home and contact Beetlejuice to scare away the home’s new inhabitants.

Oct. 20-22 at, 2:55 & 7:30 pm. Garland Theater, 924 W. Garland Ave. garlandtheater.com (509-327-1050) SEEDS OF VANDANA SHIVA This documentary tells the life story of Gandhian eco-activist Dr. Vandana Shiva. Oct. 22, 2-4 pm. By donation. Create Arts Center, 900 Fourth St. createarts.org PRIVATE VIOLENCE DOCUMENTARY & CONVERSATION This film explores themes of domestic violence. A conversation follows with Safe Passage advocates. Oct. 23, 4:30-6:30 pm. Free. Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front. safepassageid.org THE EXORCIST When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests. Oct. 25, 7-9 pm. $8. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org (208-882-4127) HOCUS POCUS 30TH ANNIVERSARY A trio of witches are inadvertently resurrected by a teenage boy in Salem. Oct. 25-29 at 5 pm. Garland Theater, 924 W. Garland Ave. garlandtheater.com

MUSIC GONZAGA FALL JAZZ SAMPLER All seven Gonzaga jazz ensembles and the concert choir perform Will Todd’s “Mass in Blue.” Oct. 19, 7-8:15 pm. Free. Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center, 211 E. Desmet Ave. gonzaga.edu/mwpac MUSIC FROM THE PALOUSE This concert features regional talent collaborating in a variety of chamber music ensembles.

Oct. 19, 7:30 pm. University of Idaho Administration Building, 851 Campus Dr. uidaho.edu/class/music/events SPOKANE SYMPHONY MASTERWORKS 3: MORIHIKO Conductor Morihiko Nakahara returns with a program of romantic selections including Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major by Mozart, Lavil Okap by Sydney Guillaume and Symphony in E Minor by Amy Beach. Oct. 21, 7:30 pm and Oct. 22, 3 pm. $19-$68. The Fox Theater, 1001 W. Sprague. foxtheaterspokane.org STUDENT CHAMBER RECITAL Students from the University of Idaho perform chamber music selections. Oct. 21, 7:30 pm. University of Idaho Haddock Performance Hall, 709 Deakin Ave. uidaho.edu/ class/music (208-885-6231) HYMN FESTIVAL A festival concert of hymns accompanied by trumpet trio, handbells, choir, audience, and organ.

Oct. 22, 3-4:15 pm. Free. Zion Lutheran Church of Millwood, 8304 E. Buckeye Ave. spokaneago.org (402-319-1716) SOLSTICE WIND QUINTET This five-

FOOD & DRINK NORTH IDAHO WINE SOCIETY: WINE OF ITALY AND GREECE Explore the boutique wines from Italy and Greece with Brandon Krebs, the National Sales Manager representing the wineries. Light appetizers are available. Oct. 20, 7-9:30 pm. $30-$35. Lake City Center, 1916 N.

piece wind ensemble performs standard repertoire as well as new works. Oct. 22, 3 pm. Cutter Theatre, 302 Park St. cuttertheatre.com (509-446-4108) JARABE MEXICANO Celebrate Dia de los Muertos with bordeno soul music. Oct. 28, 7:30 pm. $10-$35. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave. artinsandpoint.org

THEATER & DANCE 12 MINUTES MAX SPOKANE FALL EDITION This event seeks to foster experimentation and the development of a choreographic work from its initial stages to the first public encounter. Oct. 19-20, 7-9 pm. $20. Vytal Movement Dance Space, 7 S. Howard St, Ste. 200. quieroflamenco.com (509-601-3303) DRACULA A reimagining of Bram Stoker’s classic novel where villains and damsels in distress are replaced by all-toohuman monsters. Oct. 7-29; Wed-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm. $15-$28. Spokane Civic Theatre, 1020 N. Howard St. spokanecivictheatre.com (509-325-2507) WHITE CHRISTMAS Veterans Bob Wallace and Phil Davis follow a duo of beautiful singing sisters en route to their Christmas show at a Vermont lodge. Oct. 19-29; Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sat-Sun at 1:30 pm.

Regional Theatre of the Palouse, 122 N. Grand Ave., Pullman. rtoptheatre.org DISNEY ON ICE: FROZEN & ENCANTO Disney stories are brought to life by figure skaters. Oct. 20-22; Fri-Sat at 7 pm, Sat-Sun at 11 am and 3 pm. Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon. spokanearena.com MATILDA Matilda Wormwood is a fiveyear-old with the gift of telekinesis who overcomes many obstacles. Oct. 20-29; Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm. Lake City Playhouse, 1320 E. Garden Ave. lakecityplayhouse.org (208-673-7529) RETIREMENT IS MURDER A play set in a retirement center by Sandpoint local Teresa Pesce. Oct. 20-23 and 27-28 at 7 pm. Sat, Oct. 21 also at 2 pm. $17. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave. panida.org THE WIZARD OF OZ Dorothy Gale is swept away by a tornado from her Kansas farm to the magical land of Oz. Fri-Sat at 7 pm, Sat-Sun at 2 pm through Oct. 29. $12$16. Spokane Children’s Theatre, 2727 N. Madelia. spokanechildrenstheatre.org THURSDAY EVENING SWING Drop-in beginner and progressive lessons and social dancing. Thursdays from 6:30-9 pm. $5-$10. Woman’s Club of Spokane, 1428 W. Ninth. syncopationfoundation.org

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51

W I N T E R

Monthly in the Inlander

S E R I E S

October – February

OCTOBER 19, 2023 INLANDER 67

Cannabis raised $466 million in tax money this year.

MONEY

The Invisible Green Line Washington continues to inhale money from Idaho thanks to disparate cannabis policies

BY WILL MAUPIN

T

he Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board recently released data showing how much money was spent statewide on cannabis in fiscal 2023.

In fiscal 2023 — July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023 — roughly $1.26 billion was spent on recreational cannabis in Washington. That led to an excise tax haul of $466 million statewide.

In other words, the state made a ton of money off legal cannabis.

The raw numbers may be interesting on their own, but when you apply some geography to them, they tell an even more interesting story: Washington state not only made a ton of money off legal cannabis, but it appears that it made a ton of money off another state — Idaho — simply because that other state has not legalized cannabis.

68 INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

The four Washington counties that border Idaho are head-and-shoulders above the rest of Washington’s counties when it comes to money spent on cannabis per person.

Spokane County, which borders Idaho’s Kootenai County, the most populous county in the northern half of Idaho, averaged $242.98 in cannabis sales per resident in fiscal 2023, well above the Washington state average of $158.19 per person.

The same can be said for two of Spokane’s neighboring counties that border Idaho — Whitman ($241.67 per resident) and Pend Oreille ($347.66 per resident) — as well as Asotin County in Washington’s southeast corner (a whopping $576.55 per resident).

Those are the only four counties in Washington that share a border with a state where cannabis remains

illegal. (Cannabis is legal in Oregon and in the Canadian province of British Columbia.) They’re also consistently, year-over-year, among the top counties in the state in percapita spending on cannabis.

Since at least 2020, three of those four counties have ranked among the top-three within the state every year when it comes to cannabis spending. Only Pend Oreille — the least populous county that borders one of the least populous parts of Idaho, relatively speaking — has shown any sort of fluctuation in these statewide rankings.

Washington counties that border Idaho continue to inhale tax dollars thanks to Idaho’s refusal to legalize recreational cannabis. But, it seems, regardless of which side of the invisible state line people live on, they will spend money on cannabis. n

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OCTOBER 19, 2023 INLANDER 69

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.

NOTE TO READERS

EVENTS | CALENDAR

Be aware of the differences in the law between Idaho and Washington. It is illegal to possess, sell or transport cannabis in the State of Idaho.

Possessing up to an ounce is a misdemeanor and can get you a year in jail and up to a $1,000 fine; more than three ounces is a felony that can carry a five-year sentence and fine of up to $10,000. Transporting marijuana across state lines, like from Washington into Idaho, is a felony under federal law.

ADULT BEGINNING DANCE Learn the basics of swing and ballroom dancing.

Every Friday from 6-7 pm through Dec. 29. $10-$35. Create Arts Center, 900 Fourth St. createarts.org (447-9277) CIRQUE ITALIA An underwaterthemed circus experience featuring gymnasts and aerial performers. Oct. 20-23; times vary. $15-$55. Spokane Valley Mall, 14700 E. Indiana Ave. cirqueitalia.com (9417048572) JUMPIN’ AT THE WOODSIDE A social evening where dancers can try swing for the first time, ask for advice, and feedback and more. Mondays from 7-9 pm through Dec. 18. $5. Jumping Jackalope Axe Throwing, 226 W. Riverside. syncopationfoundation.org/spokane FOURTH FRIDAY CONTRA DANCE All of the dances are taught and called by Susan Dankovich to live music from Reel Friends. No experience required.

Fourth Fri of every month from 7-10 pm. $6. Sinto Activity Center, 1124 W. Sinto Ave. sintocenter.org HALLOWEEN HAFLA A performance

by Spokane-area belly dancers. Ages 21+. Oct. 28, 4:30-6 pm. Free. Chan’s Red Dragon on Third, 1406 W. Third Ave. fb.me/e/TCXtJrco RUNWAY Spokane’s premier drag experience hosted by local queen Sativa St. James. Every Saturday from 8-10 pm. $5. Globe Bar & Kitchen, 204 N. Division. globespokane.com

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70 INLANDER OCTOBER 19, 2023

VISUAL ARTS DEB SHELDON: WHERE DO IDEAS COME FROM? A collection of sculptures created out of found items. The pieces represent an exploration of the origins of ideas. Thu-Sat from 4-7 pm through Oct. 28. Free. Terrain Gallery, 628 N. Monroe. terrainspokane.com JAMES ALLEN: EXCAVATING BOOKS An exhibition featuring books that have been carved out to tell new stories. Mon-Fri from 10 am-4:30 pm and Sat from 10 am-2 pm through Oct. 26.

Free. Bryan Oliver Gallery, Whitworth, 300 W. Hawthorne. whitworth.edu KEIKO VON HOLT & CHERYL HALVERSON Van Holt and Halverson showcase their watercolor paintings.

Thu-Sat fron 11 am-4 pm through Oct. 31. Free. Avenue West Gallery, 907 W. Boone Ave. avenuewestgallery.com MARCUS JACKSON: LOVE’S AUSTERE & LONELY OFFICES Jackson’s photographs portray the organic beauty and complexity of people and places. Oct. 20-Dec. 30; Tue-Fri from 12-5 pm, Sat from 10 am-3 pm. Free.

Moscow Contemporary, 414 S. Main St. moscowcontemporary.org MEL MCCUDDIN: LIFE IS A STAGE A display of late artist’s final works. Oct. 7-29, Thu-Sun from 11 am-6 pm. Free.

The Art Spirit Gallery, 415 Sherman Ave. theartspiritgallery.com JOSEPH TOMLINSON: WHERE DO I DRAW THE LINE? This show is a workin-progress highlighting current work.

Mon-Fri from 10 am-5 pm through Oct. 27. Free. Spokane Art School, 503 E. Second. spokaneartschool.net FARM GIRL QUILT SHOW The threeday show features 600+ quilts on display, master quilter demos, and over 50 merchants and vendors. Oct. 20-22; Fri-Sat from 10 am-6 pm, Sun from 10 am-4 pm. $15. Spokane County Fair & Expo, 404 N. Havana. wsqspokane.org

GREEN BLUFF GRANGE CRAFT FAIRE This arts and crafts fair features 40+ local vendors selling their goods. Oct. 14-29, Sat-Sun from 10 am-4 pm. Free.

Green Bluff Grange, 9809 Green Bluff Rd. becksharvesthouse.com TEEN PRINTMAKING WORKSHOP In this two-hour workshop, students learn the basics of printmaking and leave with a small completed project.

Oct. 23, 5:30-7:30 pm. $35. Emerge, 119 N. Second St. emergecda.com

WORDS LILAC CITY LIVE: HALLOWEEN SPECIAL Host Ryan Tucker and guests plan to mystify at this creepy edition of the quarterly “late-night” talk show. Oct. 19, 8-10 pm. Free. Central Library, 906 W. Main Ave. spokanelibrary.org SARAH CONOVER: SET ADRIFT In January, 1958, a renowned sailing family was lost in a storm in the Bermuda Triangle. Sarah, suddenly an orphan, grew up never knowing her parents and grandparents. RSVP online. Oct. 20, 7 pm. Free. Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main Ave. auntiesbooks.com MARCUS JACKSON POETRY READING Jackson reads from his poetry collection and BookPeople sells his books. Oct. 20, 6:30-8:30 pm. Free.

Moscow Contemporary, 414 S. Main St. moscowcontemporary.org LORA SENF: THE NIGHTHOUSE KEEPER The local author celebrates the release of her new middle-grade horror novel, The Nighthouse Keeper.

Oct. 21, 5 pm. Free. Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main Ave. auntiesbooks.com NORTHWEST PASSAGES: TOM MUELLER Mueller introduces heroic patients, including a Hollywood stuntman and body double, who risk their lives to blow the whistle on how they’ve been mistreated. Oct. 23, 7 pm. Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center, 211 E. Desmet Ave. spokesman. com/northwest-passages BITTERSWEET: A WRITING WORKSHOP A 2.5-hour writing workshop with Sarah Conover addressing the terrain of grief. Oct. 24, 1-3:30 pm.

Free. Shadle Library, 2111 W. Wellesley Ave. spokanelibrary.org AN EVENING WITH SABRINA IMBLER Imbler discusses their most recent collection, How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures and how it relates to gender, family and more. Oct. 24, 7:30 pm. Free. Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center, 211 E. Desmet Ave. gonzaga.edu/mwpac (509-313-4776) SPOKANE IS READING: KIM FU Fu, author of Spokane Is Reading’s community-wide read Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, discusses the book. Oct. 26, 1 pm. Free. Spokane Valley Library, 22 N. Herald Rd. spokaneisreading.org CARLA CRUJIDO: THE STRANGE BEAUTIFUL Discuss Crujido’s newshort story collection set in Spokane across a century. Signing to follow. Oct. 27, 7 pm. Free. Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main Ave. auntiesbooks.com SPOKANE WRITERS CONFERENCE An annual two-day event organized by Spokane County Library District and Spokane Public Library. All workshops are free and open to the public. Oct. 27 and 28. Free. Central Library, 906 W. Main Ave. spokanelibrary.org (509444-5336) n

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