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veryday, as I ride my bike to work, I cross the Monroe Street Bridge and I see a lot of things. I see tags and graffiti in the bison-headed shelters, which also give refuge — more and more — to people sleeping on the cold, concrete benches. Those same pavilions — giving shelter from the wind, rain and prying eyes of passing motorists — have become popular over the past year for people smoking off of aluminum foil. I go slow and give people warning of my approach, aware that I shouldn’t be riding on the sidewalk but certain that it’s wiser than joining the armada of automobiles impatiently heading to work. This morning, an SUV whizzed by me, tapping its brakes for a red light before barreling straight across four lanes of oncoming traffic. From the bridge, I see the orange fencing on the under-construction Post Street Bridge, my preferred route, which was supposed to be done last year at a cost of $18.5 million, but will now open next year for $23.5 million. It’s election season, and my ride reminds me every day of the world we all share. People far less fortunate than me. People addicted to a powerful and dangerous drug. Delayed, expensive infrastructure. Laws being flouted. So grab your ballot, read this season’s ELECTION 2023 coverage and vote for the world you want to live in. — NICHOLAS DESHAIS, editor

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WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HALLOWEEN MONSTER? EMMALEE APPEL

I am going to say Mothman because I think he is really cool. I think he is technically an urban legend, but he looks so cool in all the portrayals of him. What does Mothman do? He just exists, he’s like this big moth that’s also part man. Like a werewolf but a moth.

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I feel like I have to go with a skeleton. The idea of skeletons being able to move without anything other than just bone is pretty dope. It’s pretty classic for Halloween, and I think it is underrepresented in the horror genre.

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I like witches because I just think they are really misunderstood. Why are they misunderstood? I think a lot of the time, witches were healers or they were doing good things. I just think that they are not Halloween monsters at all, but we have turned them into such a thing.

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ing James I had a morbid fear of violent death. His mother, Mary Queen of Scots, was beheaded by Elizabeth I. In 1605, there was an assassination attempt using a Brobdingnagian cache of gunpowder. Then there were the witches. Sailing with his 13-year-old bride from her native Denmark, his ship was nearly wrecked by raging seas. James blamed witches, who he believed had conjured the storm. James was author of the King James Bible, and his Daemonologie (1603) was the manual of the 17th century Protestant witch persecutions. (See the 1922 Swedish-Danish film Häxan.) James was openly gay. In a grim irony, as inquisitors were battling the witch scourge armed with James’ manual, when bundles of kindling were exhausted in the burning of witches, gay people were used to fuel the flames. Seventeenth century Europe was rife with destruction and despair: Religious schism, devastating war, climate change, famine and plagues. It seemed that God had abandoned humanity, with evil remaining to haunt the forsaken. This terrifying milieu produced the most savage witch persecutions in European history. It hadn’t always been that way. Earlier witches were venerated as practitioners of “white magic” — healers and guardians of the field and flock. Out of that tradition came the good witch Strega Nona and the 1815 Grimm tale it was based upon.

ith the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Inquisition fanatically prosecuted any deviation from orthodoxy — even Martin Luther admonished his Protestant brethren “to not suffer a witch to live.” Now the witch was a malevolent, nocturnal spectral riding a broom accompanied by demons to Satanic orgiastic rituals and feasting on children’s flesh. (See Francisco Goya’s witch paintings of 1797-98.) Shakespeare’s witches in Macbeth (1623) concoct a brew of “eye of newt, toe of frog” to arouse dead souls. Consider the evil witches in Grimm’s Hansel and Gretel or in Russian folklore’s Baba Yaga. There is credible evidence that parents engaged in infanticide and filicide attributing these acts to witches or Jews in the latter’s fictive “blood libels.” This “evidence” justified some witch persecutions and pogroms. The most bizarre evidence to convict a witch was the discovery of a “witches’ teat,” an extra nipple allegedly used to suckle the witch’s animal imps. Eighty percent of witches persecuted in the 17th century hysteria were women. Even the word hysteria is derived from the Latin root for uterus. Freud believed hysteria to be exclusively

he malady of misogyny that gestated the evil progeny of witch hysteria persists. Like the Puritans, today the “godly” brandish biblical verse to scourge women who transgress patriarchy. The persecuted in this latest crucible include the daughters of Sinead, the sisters of AOC, and women who defy those unknowable cider house rules by consorting with an angel of deliverance and refusing to wear the court’s letter “A.” They are the women who shattered a glass ceiling, not femme fatales of Mad Men locker room derision like Lydia Tár or Elizabeth Holmes, but who played the game fair and square on an uneven field. And they are the Barbies who prefer Kim to Ken. Alas, perhaps it is instructive that the Salem persecutors may have had this belated epiphany from the King James Bible: “Judge ye not or ye too will be judged.” n John Hagney taught high school and college history for 45 years. He was a U.S. Presidential Scholar Distinguished Teacher. His oral history of Gorbachev’s reforms was the first work on the subject and has been translated into six languages.

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a female malady. The feminization of madness, the conviction that women were psychologically and intellectually weak and thus prostrate to the temptations of the flesh and prone to sin, were pernicious patriarchal constructs. The Malleus Maleficarum (The Witch’s Hammer, 1486) ordained “that witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable.” Milton affirmed women’s subservience to man in Paradise Lost: “He for God, she for God in him.” The women who were persecuted as witches were usually single or widowed, of lower economic status, and did not conform to the societal strictures expected of women. Alleged witches’ confessions were extracted through torture or the “swimming test.” Torture included thumbs screws, bone crushing leg vices, and the strappado. In the swimming test, the accused was bound and submerged in water. If she survived, she was judged a witch and burned; if she drowned she was innocent. In 17th century Europe, an estimated 50,000 to 80,000 witches were executed. The witch carnage in Europe dwarfs the 1692 Salem hysteria with 20 persons executed. (See Stacy Schiff’s The Witches.) Several variables converged on late 17th century Salem to intensify paranoia: A succession of cold winters and crop failures, the “papist” French assailing pious Protestant communities in neighboring New York, and the colony being besieged by violent Indian attacks, the latter which “obliterated a third of New England’s towns, pulverized its economy, and claimed 10% of the male population,” Schiff wrote. Puritan minister Cotton Mather sermonized in 1691 that the Apocalypse was imminent. Surely Satan’s handmaidens were afoot. The Salem accusers were 10 girls ages 11-19. The rigid restraints imposed on Puritan adolescent girls and the Puritan doctrine of the irredeemable sinfulness of the individual with women most predisposed to guilt rendered these accusers prostrate to Puritan patriarchal control and suggestion. These repressed adolescent girls, guilted further by the “unclean” outset of menses, discovered power and authority through incriminating elders as witches. In the trials of the accused, the girls’ histrionics were compelling. When the alleged witch attempted to defend herself, the girls were consumed with “fits” accompanied by seizures, violent contortions and bloodcurdling screams, as if possessed by the accused. Some of the afflicted girls claimed that they saw a “black man” speaking in the ear of the defendant, a then-common reference denoting an indigenous person. Even at the time, there was evidence that the afflicted girls had perjured the accused. Years later, one of the girls recanted her accusations insisting she was coerced by a minister. In 1697, the judge and the Salem jury apologized. None of these accusers was tried, punished or publicly reprimanded. The witch fever abated, but the disease was only in remission. The contagion surged again in the 19th century in anti-Catholicism and the first Red Scare initiated by the 1886 Haymarket executions. In the 20th century, the 1919-20 Red Scare and the McCarthyism of the 1950s are proof again.

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OCTOBER 26, 2023 INLANDER 7

JUSTICE

THE CRIMINALS OF

COV I D

U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref’s team is prosecuting COVID fraud. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

A strike force led by local U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref is working to uncover millions of dollars in pandemic relief fraud

t the height of the COVID pandemic, small businesses nationwide were stymied by shutdowns meant to slow the spread of the virus. In an effort to soften the effects of these shutdowns, the federal government approved relief funding to keep these businesses open. But what seemed like a ray of hope to many looked to others like a once-in-a-lifetime chance to cash in. Between the Paycheck Protection Program (an $800 billion program that provided businesses with funds for up to eight weeks of payroll costs) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (that helped meet up to $2 million in business-related expenses), there were billions of dollars available nationally for business owners. Many of these funds ran out quickly due to high demand — and fraud, according to Vanessa Waldref, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.

8 INLANDER OCTOBER 26, 2023

BY COLTON RASANEN “When we saw that money was running out, we knew we needed to do something about it,” says Waldref, who became the region’s chief federal law enforcement officer in October 2021. This led Waldref and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to form a task force supported by a group of federal agencies — including the Small Business Administration (SBA), the FBI and the Office of Inspector General — to track down this fraud. Similar task forces have formed across the country in an effort to find the billions in pandemic relief that were stolen or wrongfully obtained. By launching the Eastern Washington strike force, Waldref’s team has been able to more quickly charge people with defrauding these relief programs. Previously, such cases took much longer to prosecute, she says. Since its inception in February 2022, the Eastern Washington COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force has indicted

more than 20 people for fraudulently obtaining pandemic-era relief funds, including Arkansas resident Tyler Keith Andrews, who pleaded guilty late last month to a scheme that fraudulently obtained more than $16.5 million in pandemic-era relief in the Inland Northwest, the largest such case, so far, in the region. While Waldref says an exact total for fraud in Eastern Washington is hard to know, the SBA estimates that more than $100 billion was taken across the country, making up around 10% of the funds that were approved by Congress. With about $27 billion in pandemic loans being disbursed throughout the Evergreen State, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, some estimate that $1 billion in COVID fraud may have occurred in Washington state alone. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Fruchter, who leads the ...continued on page 10

OCTOBER 26, 2023 INLANDER 9

NEWS | JUSTICE “THE CRIMINALS OF COVID,” CONTINUED... Fraud and White Collar Crime Unit and works under Waldref, says the regional strike force has already recovered about $4 million in fraudulent funds with millions more that will come back through restitution. Whether that comes in wage garnishments or some form of repayment plan, Waldref and Fruchter say it is a major step in accepting responsibility for those who have been convicted. “We should be able to trust the public to not defraud the government,” Waldref says. “We’re hoping that this sends a deterrent message to fraudsters in Eastern Washington.”

‘FRAUD FEE’

Andrews, the 37-year-old Arkansas resident, was charged with 11 felonies — one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, seven counts of wire fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft. His is the most significant fraud case investigated by the regional COVID fraud strike force. In a plea agreement that was approved by U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice, Andrews pleaded guilty to the count of wire fraud conspiracy while all other charges will be dismissed. By signing the plea agreement, Andrews admitted to facilitating dozens of fraudulent loan applications for people in the Inland Northwest, with the help of co-defendant Yuriy Pavlovich Anishchenko, according to the indictment. As part of this scheme, Anishchenko would find more than a dozen new “clients” for Andrews to file fraudulent loan applications for, the indictment said. Fruchter, who worked to prosecute Andrews’ case, says Andrews was charging a “fraud fee” of around 10% to everyone he helped defraud the government. “He was sort of this ringleader in the center of all these different cases of fraud,” Fruchter says. The rest of the fraud came from businesses that Andrews claimed to own in both Arkansas and Colorado, amounting to

another $3.25 million in fraud, according to the indictment. According to Andrews’ plea agreement, he could face up to 20 years in prison and another three years on supervised release, however Waldref’s office agreed to recommend a sentence at the low end of the sentencing guideline range. He will also be required to pay restitution. While an amount and payment schedule will likely be set at sentencing, Andrews has agreed to pay not less than 10% of his net monthly income. His sentencing has been set for January 2024. (Anishchenko’s case is still pending.) Andrews’ guilty plea may mark the largest case brought forward by the regional COVID fraud strike force, but his case is just a small tributary in the river of fraud flooding the nation.

PROSECUTION CONTINUES

Andrews may have taken the opportunity to create his own fraudbased business, but many of the cases that have been charged are more straightforward. Some received funds for their actual business but were accused of misspending the money for personal gain. In August, Benjamin Castilla, owner of Columbia Basin Netwerks, a Kennewickbased IT services business, admitted that he used $107,534 of the federal funding to buy a recreational vehicle for his personal use. In a settlement, he’s agreed to repay the cost of the RV and all of the CARES Act loan funding that he received. His company obtained about $73,000 in PPP funds, according to the ProPublica “Tracking PPP” database. The rest of his fraudulent funds came in the form of economic injury disaster loans. In the case of West Richland resident Jimia Cain, her reported

“We should be able to trust the public to not defraud the government. We’re hoping that this sends a deterrent message to fraudsters in Eastern Washington.”

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business, Americore Construction, didn’t qualify. Between false statements and fictitious tax and payroll documentation, she was able to obtain more than $337,000 in fraudulent funds — $71,900 in economic injury disaster loans and $265,267 in PPP funds — between July and August 2020. Realistically, Americore was not an active business during any relevant time periods, did not have any employees and should not have received any relief funding. In June 2023, Cain was sentenced to 15 months in prison and three years of federal supervision after her release. She will also be required to fully repay her ill-gotten loans. A Spokane Valley couple, Raymond and Jennifer Hilderbrand, are the latest notch in the task force’s belt. On Tuesday, the pair was indicted on eight fraud charges for obtaining $363,000 in economic injury disaster loans, which, according to the indictment, they converted to another of their businesses that was not eligible for those funds. With billions of dollars of fraudulently obtained relief funds still unaccounted for, many of the cases charged by the regional COVID strike force can seem insignificant compared to others. Some cases have dealt with fraud amounts as low as $50,000 — or about 0.005% of the estimated $1 billion stolen in Washington. However, Fruchter says that prosecuting these cases is just as important as any other case. In 2022, Congress voted to extend the statute of limitations on fraud related to PPP and EIDL from five years to 10. Fruchter, who started prosecuting such cases during the 2008 mortgage fraud crisis, says he expects the strike force to operate for at least another few years. His experience tells him that other crises will come up before the ten-year deadline to prosecute pandemic-era fraud. But, really, only time will tell. n coltonr@inlander.com

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OCTOBER 26, 2023 INLANDER 11

NEWS | POLITICS

Gimme Shelter Conservative businessman Larry Stone threatens to sue local TV stations over an attack ad against Woodward and his East Trent homeless shelter BY NATE SANFORD

s Election Day bears down on Spokane like a runaway train, political attack ads are coming out in full force. So are the lawyers and legal threats. Last week, local businessman and deep-pocketed conservative donor Larry Stone threatened to sue local TV stations if they didn’t stop airing an attack ad criticizing Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward’s handling of the city’s 350-bed homeless shelter — which is housed in an East Trent Avenue warehouse Stone owns and leases to the city. “I just think it’s really wrong that they’re saying those things,” Stone says. Mark Lamb, Stone’s attorney, sent cease-and-desist letters to KHQ, KREM, KXLY and Comcast claiming the video is false, defamatory and materially damaging to Stone’s reputation. The letter demanded the companies pull the ad or face legal consequences. KHQ station manager Jason Ramsey says his station plans to keep airing the ad, noting that “it is difficult to find anything that rises to the level of defamation outlined in the cease-and-desist letter.” Elaine Wong, a spokesperson for Effecttv, Comcast’s ad sales division, says the company plans to keep airing the ad because it “complies with Effectv’s ad content guidelines.” Last week, KXLY General Manager Teddie Gibbon told the Spokesman-Review that the station planned to pull the ad but declined to comment further. (KREM didn’t respond to our emails.) Woodward’s re-election campaign is also calling foul. On Thursday, her campaign said it had filed a complaint with the state Public Disclosure Commission about the “wildly inaccurate” ad. The ad was paid for by the Spokane-based Citizens For Liberty and Labor, a political action committee that has raised more than $350,000 this election season and is backing Woodward’s opponent, Lisa Brown. Jim Dawson, Eastern Washington director of Fuse, a progressive organization that partners with the left-leaning PAC, says that Stone is being a “rich bully” and that the legal threats are unfounded. “That he is making these threats is kind of absurd, but it’s also in line with the undue influence he has on local politics,” Dawson says.

THE AD

The 30-second advertisement, which doesn’t actually mention Stone by name, features Edie Rice-Sauer, the retired executive director of Transitions, a homeless services organization. “I know every dollar counts,” Rice-Sauer says, addressing the camera. “That’s why I’m really disappointed in Mayor Nadine Woodward.” Cut to a photo of Woodward with an ominous color filter. Dramatic piano music swells. Headline from a July 2023 Range Media article flashes on screen. “She enriched a political donor while bankrupting our shelter system. Leasing his warehouse, which didn’t even have running water, for more than fair value and using our money to increase the value of his property.”

12 INLANDER OCTOBER 26, 2023

Animated $100 bills rain down on exterior shot of the warehouse. “We deserve better. Elect Lisa Brown.”

‘POLITICAL HACKS’

The Trent shelter has been a widely publicized flashpoint ever since Stone bought the warehouse and started leasing it to the city more than a year ago. Brown has called the shelter the “single biggest mistake” of the Woodward administration and a “humanitarian and financial disaster.” Critics have argued that Stone got a friendly deal and is overcharging the city’s taxpayers for a warehouse with inadequate facilities. (He gave Woodward the maximum allowable $1,400 in 2019 and again this year, though the money was later returned out of concern that she couldn’t take money from someone doing business with the city.) “It was just all done behind the scenes,” says Spokane City Council member Zack Zappone. Stone’s supporters say the price is fair, and that Stone was only trying to help the city, which was struggling to find a location for a permanent homeless shelter. “Stone is trying to do something good for the community, and his reward is to have a bunch of political hacks attack him,” says Lamb, the lawyer, adding that Stone is a private citizen who isn’t running for office. (Lamb has represented other conservative causes and politicians before, notably Prop 1, the homeless camping ban Stone helped put on the November ballot; and former state Rep. Matt Shea during the House Republican caucus investigation into his alleged participation in domestic terrorism.) Stone has dropped $290,000 on independent expenditures this election season. Much of it has gone toward the Good Governance Alliance, a conservative PAC that has far outspent progressive groups and launched a barrage of attack ads against this year’s liberal candidates. None of those candidates has threatened to sue, but they have said the ads are divisive and misleading. Stone says he doesn’t keep track of the ads. “I understand that negative advertising is horrific, and I hate it,” Stone says. “But it’s the way politics are done.”

‘I DIDN’T WANT TO OWN THE BUILDING’

During a series of interviews earlier this month, Stone insisted that his purchase of the Trent shelter was driven solely by a desire to help the city. His involvement in the debacle began in winter 2022, when Stone says then-City Administrator Johnnie Perkins reached out to him to ask for help finding a building the city could use as a permanent homeless shelter. “They knew I understood industrial,” Stone says. “So I gave them two Realtors. And the Realtors — independent of me — found this building.” The warehouse was available for sublease, but Stone says the owner was wary of the city’s plans to use it as a homeless shelter. “That’s when I said, ‘I’ll buy it,’” Stone says. “I didn’t want to own the building. ... I only did it because it was clear to me that if I did not buy this, there would be no place for the homeless.”

Stone negotiated with the owner to purchase the building for $3.5 million in March 2022. “What I told the city is: ‘If you want it, I’m going to hold on to it, but I won’t hold it forever. I know you’ll go through misery with the City Council because they’ll make a big political game of it,’” Stone says. “I knew what I was getting into.”

CONFIDENTIALITY OF REAL ESTATE

After a period of negotiation — and hesitation from the City Council — the city approved a contract to lease the building from Stone for $26,100 a month in June 2022. When a group of council members toured the building that spring, they saw a flier from the previous owner advertising the building as available for sublease at $21,000 a month. In the cease-and-desist letters, Lamb said the ad’s claim that Stone charged “more than fair value” and was “enriched” by the deal is false. He pointed to the prior owner’s reluctance to lease to the city and said Stone spent $583,000 on improvements to make the building habitable for use as a shelter. (The improvements were required by the city’s contract.) Lamb also claimed that Stone got an offer from a private party that would have only required $50,000 in improvements. If Stone was actually out to make money, Lamb argued, he could have taken the other offer and been financially better off by at least $500,000. In a statement, Woodward’s campaign also said the video’s claim that the shelter lacks running water is false because the shelter does, in fact, have flush toilets and plumbed sinks — in the parts of the building reserved only for staff members. The 300-plus homeless people

Larry Stone YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

who stay there each night use outdoor porta-potties, showers and hand washing stations. Council members approved funding to install indoor bathrooms and showers in May, but the plans stalled amid concerns about investing taxpayer money to improve a building owned by Stone, not the city. The installation would cost $1.45 million — just slightly more than the $1.41 million raised by the Good Government Alliance to boost conservatives candidates this year. When council members tried to exercise an option-to-buy clause in the contract, they said Stone asked for $8 million. Stone, citing the “confidentiality of real estate transactions,” declined to comment on whether the figure is accurate, but says he was still willing to negotiate in good faith. “To say that that’s a bad place for those people who have no investment in society, who are, many of them, very destructive, and they’re getting all these things for free that you and I worked for — to say that it’s a bad place to live, I just think that’s very hypocritical,” Stone says. Citing concern about the shelter’s effectiveness and steep price tag, some council members want to end the lease early and wind down the shelter next year.

THE MUSIC OF

HARRY POTTER STAR WARS LORD OF THE RINGS

AND MORE

EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE

The attack ad relies heavily on reporting from Range Media, which started during the pandemic and has published a number of critical articles about the Trent shelter. Luke Baumgarten, the founder and editor-in-chief of Range, is also the co-founder and creative director of Treatment, the advertising company that produced the attack ad. PDC records show that the Liberty and Labor PAC paid Treatment $12,500 for “development of video ads” earlier this month. The Good Government Alliance described this as a conflict of interest last week. In a news statement, the conservative group referred to Range as a “radical advocacy organization disguised as a credible media outlet.” (The alliance has spent at least $527,936 on attack ads this year, many of which wrongly suggest that progressive candidates are “radicals” who want to defund the police.) Baumgarten rejects the assertion that Range is a partisan outlet. He also says that, the moment he started Range, he cut himself off from any campaign-related work at Treatment. The vast majority of Treatment’s work isn’t campaign related, Baumgarten says, adding that he has significantly limited his involvement in the company. “Literally 100% of the day-to-day business decisions get made by the team,” Baumgarten says. “I know nothing about what happened in the making of that ad.” The Good Government Alliance also called attention to Range’s connection to the Smith-Barbieri Progressive Fund, which donates heavily to liberal causes and candidates in Spokane, and has given Range a $35,000 grant and a $67,000 loan. Baumgarten says that Range maintains full editorial independence from all of its funders and that the publication hasn’t received any additional grants from the progressive fund. Range’s mission, Baumgarten says, is to highlight voices traditionally not included in media coverage. “What we’re trying to do is explicitly nonpartisan,” Baumgarten says. “Because at some point there’s going to be a Democratic mayor or something that’s going to need to be held to account in exactly the same way that we’ve tried to hold Woodward to account.” Carl Segerstrom, the former Range reporter who wrote the Range articles featured in the ad, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that, in his opinion, “the ad expands on the reporting in ways that are misleading and don’t reflect my reporting (which I stand by) accurately.” Segerstrom, who left Range earlier this year to take a job at the Empire Health Foundation, added that he never wrote that Stone is getting rich off Trent — just that Stone was getting a lot of public money for a building he purchased in what the city’s chief financial officer described as a “public-private partnership.” Despite repeated requests, Stone never agreed to an interview with Range, Segerstrom said. n nates@inlander.com

S A T U R D AY

OCTOBER 28

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NEWS | LOCAL BUSINESS

Taking the Dip Sunny Day Real Estate’s Dan Hoerner steps aside to let Monumental Booking’s Ryan Levey take over managing The Big Dipper BY SETH SOMMERFELD

t’s hard to say the Spokane music scene is thriving right now. Lucky You Lounge recently shuttered its doors and some of the best local bands barely play shows around town anymore because Spokane audiences aren’t super supportive. It can sometimes be a bleak scene, so any good news is welcome. One positive development? The Big Dipper is now under new management. Over the course of the summer, the couple that had been running the Big Dipper for years — Sunny Day Real Estate guitarist Dan Hoerner and his wife, Dawson — made way for Monumental Booking founder/owner Ryan Levey to take over as the man in charge. Under Levey’s watch, Monumental had been booking the majority of shows that take place at the Dipper — primarily metal and hardcore punk shows (which is arguably the healthiest music subculture in town). While the Hoerners kept the Big Dipper a going concern for Spokane concertgoers, Dan’s increasing time

14 INLANDER OCTOBER 26, 2023

The Big Dipper has long been a welcoming venue for all-ages. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO commitment to Sunny Day Real Estate was leaving the burden of work on Dawson’s plate while he was on the road touring. The couple thought it was the right time to let someone who could focus more on the venue’s operations take the reins. “Dawson and I have been doing it for 10 years, and it is time to have some young blood in there,” Dan said this summer. “We’re getting older and have three kids. It’s been really fun, but really challenging. And I want to see the Dipper continue to grow, and Ryan really has just an incredible finger on the pulse of music in Spokane.” “It’s just the combination of them wanting to retire from that role and me post-pandemic getting better at my role as a promoter and taking the next step up,” remarks Levey. “That’s really the next goal as an independent promoter — to get your hands on a venue. And being that I was booking 40 shows a year there, it made sense for me to kind of go in and give it a shot. I just never thought it would be the Big Dipper, because I’ve been going there since I was like 16.”

he Big Dipper has long been a key cog in the Spokane musical ecosystem as the one small venue committed to being an all-ages space. That accommodating environment means not only that kids can go see touring rock shows by acts too small to play the Knitting Factory or Spokane Arena, but also the venue hosts many young bands’ first concerts. Turns out it’s kinda hard to have a thriving music scene when most folks under 21 aren’t allowed into concert spaces. “It’s an option to see some of these smaller and up and coming bands, and there just really isn’t anywhere else like that,” says Levey. “That’s one of the reasons why the Big Dipper stands out from everywhere else, that and the fact that it has so much history and a certain charm to it that you just don’t really find anywhere else.” “I played my first show at the Big Dipper,” says Dan Hoerner. “I was 20. I was not a professional musician — I

was as amateur as amateur gets. And it was hugely impactful for me. It made me feel like there was a possibility that I can keep doing it, and here I am, however many years later, still doing it. It’s really important for a town, especially the size of Spokane, to have a place where amateur musicians can play on the same stage as professional musicians. That mixing of those worlds.” Levey takes over the Big Dipper as a single-member LLC. The building itself is owned by Ryan Spickard, who became the executive of the estate after the building’s longtime owner, Ryan’s uncle Steve Spickard, died earlier this year. While Levey is known for booking metal and hardcore music via Monumental, he’s striving to offer a wider sonic palette at the Big Dipper, including adding more shows by artists playing hip-hop, punk and other genres. “Something that I’ve kind of tried to do since returning from the pandemic is branch out and do different styles. But now with having control of the venue, it makes it even easier. Having the bar to help compensate certain costs for running the event helps out,” says Levey. “The best venues are the ones that have that diversity. And that’s one thing that I’d love to have a lot of with the Big Dipper. I’ll always do metal and hardcore, just because I’ve been doing that since I was 19. But now, I’m 35 and I listen to all sorts of stuff. I’ve never pigeonholed my ears to one genre by any means.” For the most part, Levey doesn’t want to overhaul the Big Dipper. He’s not looking to reinvent the wheel or turnover the staff. The main goal is to book even more shows to keep the space busy, do some maintenance and slight redesigns for the space (a few fresh coats of paint, tweaking the layout of the side stage and some of the viewing areas to improve functionality, etc.), and potentially add food options. The Spokane music scene may be forever in flux, but at least the circle pit at the Big Dipper will continue spinning. n

NEWS | BRIEFS

Appropriate Appropriation?

Nighthawk Lounge Free Live Music at Coeur d’Alene Casino!

Spokane City Council moves $6 million in pandemic funds toward Trent shelter. Plus, a local gas pipeline expands; and Sen. Murray wants free community college.

Every weekend, you’ll find live music at the Nighthawk Lounge with local bands playing past midnight. For a more relaxed vibe earlier in the evening, choose the option of live acoustic music in the Chinook Lounge.

he city of Spokane is once again using one-time money that was intended for something else. On Monday, City Council members voted 6-1 to put the city’s remaining $6.1 million in federal COVID-relief money toward operating costs to keep the 350-bed East Trent Avenue shelter afloat through the winter. Of that money, $1.2 million was supposed to go to a mobile medical program and $300,000 was to be for eviction defense, but the city couldn’t find a qualified provider to take on the contracts. Another $4 million was to The Trent shelter. ERICK DOXEY PHOTO go to an affordable housing project, which the city now plans to fund with the city’s affordable housing sales tax, called the 1590 Fund. Council member Michael Cathcart, the sole “no” vote, said the vote was a misuse of the 1590 Fund, and he raised larger concerns about the city’s ongoing reliance on one-time money to fund the shelter. Other council members agreed, and accused the Woodward administration of failing to provide a plan. But they also argued that the fiscally dubious use of one-time money is still preferable to shutting the shelter down as winter approaches. The money allocated Monday will run out in less than a year, and it’s unclear how the city will fund the shelter after that. (NATE SANFORD)

Karma's Circle FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27 TH & SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28 TH 8:30 PM - 12:30 AM NIGHTHAWK LOUNGE Karma’s Circle is a rocking cover band playing a mix of classic rock, country, current hits and more!

Coeur Comedy Series DARAN HOWARD THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2 ND 7 PM | NIGHTHAWK LOUNGE

GIVING IT SOME GAS

Despite concerns from Pacific Northwest politicians, tribes, environmental groups and residents, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the expansion of a natural gas pipeline that passes through the Inland Northwest last week. The Gas Transmission Northwest Xpress pipeline stretches from British Columbia to California, crossing through North Idaho and Eastern Washington (including Liberty Lake and Spokane Valley). Pipeline owner TC Energy will expand the capacity of the existing line by increasing the power of compressor stations in Idaho, Washington and Oregon. Opponents worry that the project will add to greenhouse gas emissions in the region and questioned the safety of increasing pressure on the decades-old line. According to FERC’s certificate for the project, “the operation and reasonably foreseeable downstream [greenhouse gas] emissions could potentially increase emissions by 8% in Idaho, by 0.7% in Washington, and by 1.1% in Oregon” in coming years. Opponents plan to petition for a rehearing. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)

Let us treat you to an evening of laughs! Daran Howard and opening act comedian Lynn Solomon will be at the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel’s newest event Coeur Comedy Series. Must be age 21 or older.

GETTING SCHOOLED

Students across the country may get to go to college for free under a federalstate partnership proposed in the U.S. Senate. On Monday, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and eight other Senate Democrats introduced the America’s College Promise Act of 2023, which would make two-year technical and community colleges free for many students. If passed, the federal and state governments would work together to fund tuition waivers. “The problem is: for far too many students, these opportunities are simply out of reach — and that’s got to change,” Murray said in a statement. To be eligible for the proposed waiver, students would have to attend an eligible institution more than half-time and qualify for in-state tuition. So far, no Republicans have signed on to co-sponsor the bill. (COLTON RASANEN)

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OCTOBER 26, 2023 INLANDER 15

Nadine Woodward (left) and Lisa Brown. YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS

16 INLANDER OCTOBER 26, 2023

Being mayor is a tough job, why do these two want it?

BY NATE SANFORD

adine Woodward and Lisa Brown are in the final stretch of a grueling application process for one of Spokane’s toughest jobs. Come November, whoever wins will have the dubious honor of being in charge of all the city’s problems. As mayor of Washington’s second-largest city, they’ll be the public face when things go wrong — the name taken in vain when a driver hits a pothole. Their list of responsibilities will include, but not be limited to: a $20 million budget deficit, a growing homelessness crisis, housing unaffordability, an influx of fentanyl, political and social polarization, crime, wildfires, and the growing specter of climate change. “You get credit for the good times, and you take responsibility for the bad times, even when it’s not your fault,” says Dennis Hession, who was Spokane’s mayor from 2005 to 2007. “Expect this to be your seven-day-a-week job.” The salary is actually pretty good — $176,500 a year plus health care and other benefits. But that’s still a lot less than most private sector executives make when they’re sitting at the top of an organization with more than 2,000 employees and a billiondollar budget. “The buck stops with you. All of the issues land in your lap,” says Woodward, 61, who took office on Dec. 30, 2019. “All the concerns and the complaints and the challenges really rest on you. But you don’t always have all the authority to face those challenges and address the concerns in the way you want to.” The public scrutiny is relentless. Woodward says not being able to please everybody is one of the more difficult parts of being mayor. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. “People were upset that I wasn’t in the Pride parade, then they were upset that I was in the Pride parade,” Woodward says of the annual LGBTQ+ event. And unlike many other political positions, the role of mayor doesn’t come with much upward mobility. “I don’t think it lends itself well” as a career stepping stone, Brown says. “Except for Mayor Pete, maybe.” Brown, 67, is referring to Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who vaulted to the Cabinet-level position of U.S. transportation secretary under President For more election coverage, Joe Biden after running for visit inlander.com/election2023 president in 2020. Mayor Pete is an outlier. “Mayorships are definitely not the path to the congressional seat or the Senate seat or anything else like that,” says John Powers, who was mayor of Spokane from 2000 to 2003 and worked in economic development in the Seattle-area after leaving office, only recently returning to Spokane. Brown and Woodward have spent the better part of a year arguing — incessantly and contentiously — about why they’re the better pick for the job. But why do they want the job? They both have plenty of connections, and could easily find one of those vague consultant jobs that doesn’t involve hard work or everyone being mad at you all the time. But for some reason, these two are determined to be mayor. ...continued on next page

OCTOBER 26, 2023 INLANDER 17

A BRIEF AND NON-EXHAUSTIVE LIST OF THE ISSUES IN THE SPOKANE MAYORAL RACE

ther than a shared love of dogs, there isn’t much that mayoral candidates Nadine Woodward and Lisa Brown agree on. The list of disagreements is long, and it can be hard to keep track of it all amid the candidates’ attack ads and late-night tweets. Here are a handful of key issues separating the candidates.

CITY BUDGET

Brown says the city’s looming $20 million budget deficit is largely the result of the Woodward administration’s mismanagement. Woodward says the shortfall is largely the result of inflation and other factors putting stress on cities everywhere, and that her proposed budget has creative solutions that will effectively balance the city’s checkbook. To fill gaps in the police department’s budget, Woodward has proposed using money from the city’s traffic calming fund — which takes money from speeding and red light cameras, and is traditionally used to pay for infrastructure projects like speed bumps and stop signs. Brown thinks that’s a misuse of the fund.

HOMELESSNESS

Woodward is a big supporter of Proposition 1, which would expand the city’s camping ban (see page 24). She argues it will keep children safe. Brown is opposed, and says that telling people where they can’t camp will just shuffle people around without solving the larger problem. Brown thinks the city’s 350-bed homeless shelter on East Trent Avenue has been a “humanitarian and financial disaster,” and wants to wind it down over the next year and replace it with smaller facilities. Woodward defends the shelter, arguing that it keeps hundreds of people off the streets every night and provides services. Both candidates support the idea of a regional approach to homelessness, but Brown has concerns about diverse voices being included at the table, and Woodward has concerns about the City Council’s desire to slow the project’s timeline. Brown says she would be interested in looking at a safe parking lot program similar to programs in 10 other Washington cities, where unhoused people living in their cars could have a “place with security and services” and be reconnected to housing. Woodward thinks the idea would be unsafe and has latched onto the proposal with campaign signs that read “Hey Lisa, NOT in my lot!”

HOUSING

Brown supports calls for a development moratorium in Latah Valley because of concerns about a lack of fire and road infrastructure. Woodward doesn’t support a moratorium, and argues that development can help create infrastructure while restricting development could worsen the housing crisis. Woodward doesn’t support the city’s landlord-tenant law passed at the beginning of this year because she’s worried about losing “mom and pop” landlords being burdened by more restrictions. Brown supports the law because she’s worried about more evictions.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Brown is opposed to county Ballot Measure 1 (See page 24), which would raise the sales tax by 0.2% to fund a new jail and other public safety measures. She says it’s a blank check that isn’t clear about how the money will be spent. Woodward is a supporter; she says that a new jail is necessary and that the share of money that goes to the city could be used to fund more police. Woodward thinks “radical” statewide police reforms have tied officer’s hands behind their backs. Brown thinks Woodward is deflecting blame for problems she is responsible for. Brown thinks the Spokane Office of the Police Ombudsman needs to be strengthened and given authority to compel interviews with officers during investigations. Woodward says doing that would result in the department losing officers. — NATE SANFORD

18 INLANDER OCTOBER 26, 2023

“THE WEIGHT OF THE CITY,” CONTINUED...

BECOMING A POLITICIAN

Woodward says there was never a “lightbulb” moment. Her interest in politics came gradually, across decades of work as a broadcast TV journalist for KXLY and KREM. “I loved election night coverage,” Woodward says. “That was kind of the Super Bowl of news, so to speak.” The live updates. New ballot drops trickling in. Excitement and uncertainty. Woodward says she especially enjoyed getting to meet and interview the candidates. In 2019, as Woodward’s contract with KXLY neared its expiration date and the next mayoral race loomed, rumors began to swirl about a possible Woodward run for mayor. Woodward was already well-known because of her years on Spokane television, and it wasn’t totally unprecedented for someone to make the jump from broadcast news to politics: former KXLY anchor Ron Bair was elected mayor of Spokane in 1978. He decided not to seek reelection because the office was putting strain on his marriage and finances — the salary was just $9,000 back then, equivalent to about $47,000 today — and thus began a threedecade streak of one-term Spokane mayors that lasted until David Condon’s reelection in 2015. Woodward announced her candidacy for mayor one month after her contract with KXLY expired. “I loved my job as a journalist telling the stories of people doing great things for the city they love, and I wanted to be those people,” Woodward says. “I wanted to make the biggest impact I could, and I felt that the office of mayor would definitely allow me to do that.” Woodward came into the job with no experience in elected office. She argues that it’s a good thing she’s not a career politician. “Being able to listen to the community, that’s one of the skill sets that I think journalists parlay very well into elected office,” Woodward says. If elected, Brown will be the opposite. She’s spent the better part of three decades in various positions at the state level, most of them elected, though she pushes back on the “career politician” label and notes that she’s also spent decades working in higher education. Before getting involved in politics, Brown worked at Eastern Washington University as an associate professor of economics. In the early 1990s, someone from the Washington State Labor Council reached out and asked if she’d be interested in running for elected office at the state level. “[With] the passion I had for public policy, it seemed like a good next step,” Brown says. “Especially with my friends at the time, we had a true grassroots campaign.” Brown was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1992 with 64% of the vote. “It was also good timing because it was the quote-unquote year of the women,” Brown says, referring to label commentators used to describe

“

the unusually large number of women elected to the U.S. Senate that year, including U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. Brown still has fond memories of the first big piece of legislation she worked on — it’s part of what cemented her passion for public policy, and the reason she decided to run for reelection again and again and again. It was the Cooper Jones Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Education Act — named for a Spokane teenager who was hit and killed by a motorist while riding his bike. Brown recalls Jones’ parents and a group of bike and pedestrian safety advocates coming together to work on the bill.

A global health pandemic. Summer protests. Our first riot. ‘Defund the police.’ A workforce shortage. Inflation. Camp Hope.” “Their courage to come forward and turn their grief into something positive for the whole state really inspired me,” Brown says. “That kind of became a model for me.”

UNPRECEDENTED TIMES

To say that Woodward’s first term in office came with unexpected challenges is an understatement. “A global health pandemic. Summer protests. Our first riot. ‘Defund the police.’ Housing crisis. A workforce shortage. Inflation. Camp Hope,” Woodward says. “Any one of those things would have been a big challenge.” During her run for reelection, Woodward opens many of her campaign speeches by enumerating that same list and highlighting the unprecedented times she faced in her first term. Brown has accused Woodward of deflecting responsibility toward factors outside her control. But Brown does acknowledge that the pandemic was unique. “When this mayor says things aren’t going well… there’s always somebody that’s blamed,” Brown says. “Even the pandemic, which, granted, that was a challenge. Not going to question that one.” Woodward says the days of navigating the pandemic from the city’s emergency operations center, while City Hall was largely empty of its 2,000 employees, was especially challenging as a new mayor trying to learn the inner workings of city government. The pandemic also shuttered many of the community appearances that are expected of mayors. Woodward says people often ask if she would have run for mayor if she’d known what was coming. She says she would. “If we knew what we were going to face in life, we wouldn’t get out of bed sometimes. But it is what it is,” Woodward says. “When you’re called to do something, there’s a moment in your life when you realize there’s something else for you. I said, ‘You know, I think I’m being

called for servant leadership.’” The pandemic was an especially challenging time for America’s mayors. The limited resources of municipal government clashed with the fallout of a pandemic and rapidly worsening homelessness crisis. A 2020 Boston University Menino Survey of Mayors found that 46% of mayors felt there was a “large gap” between the federal assistance funding available and what was needed. In a survey the following year, three in four mayors said residents were holding them responsible for homelessness, but only 19% said they felt like they had any control over the issue. A lot of pandemic-era mayors ran for re-election but lost amid a dramatic drop in approval ratings. Others simply decided not to run again, citing burnout from the pandemic, protests and associated challenges. But Woodward says the trials of her tumultuous pandemic term weren’t enough to dissuade her from running again. “I would love to know what this job is like without all of those challenges,” Woodward says.

FROM THE STATE TO THE CITY

In 2018, Brown ran to represent Washington’s 5th Congressional District against the Republican incumbent, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers. Brown lost the election but won the vast majority of precincts in the city of Spokane. She says people started reaching out and asking if she’d consider running for mayor, but Brown didn’t feel like it was the right time. In January 2019, Gov. Jay Inslee appointed her to become director of the state Commerce Department. Brown says the work allowed her to see the connections between local and state government more clearly, and got her thinking more seriously about the idea of running for mayor. “Infrastructure projects, clean energy grants, small business support, housing and homelessness… I saw all those connections much more from the perspective of Commerce than I had seen them as a legislator,” Brown says.

“

handling that situation that got me seriously thinking about having somebody in that office who would not re-create that debacle.” Brown says she didn’t decide to run for mayor until late December of last year. She consulted with family, gave Inslee a heads-up and took the plunge. She acknowledges that it’s unusual for people to leave state-level politics to run at the city level, but says she wanted a challenge. “I think local government is going to be harder,” Brown says.

‘BEST JOB IN AMERICA’

Throughout his term at the beginning of this century, Powers was embroiled in controversy surrounding the city’s River Park Square parking garage, a yearslong debacle that saw the city financially tangled up in a public-private partnership to revitalize downtown with a parking lot that failed to pay off. Powers describes the time as “very contentious, very divisive.” “I went into it thinking I could mediate a quick resolution,” Powers says. “Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way.” Powers ran for reelection in 2003 but was defeated in the primary with just 20% of the vote. Regardless, he looks back at his time as mayor fondly. “If you love your community and you want to help it move forward, if you’ve got some thoughts and ideas and ability to build a team and support around it, it is the best job in America,” Powers says. Hession faced a challenging economic situation and controversy over a city’s garbage pickup strategy. After being appointed mayor when Jim West was recalled by voters, Hession ran for re-election in 2007. He was defeated by Mary Verner. (Verner didn’t respond before deadline. Condon declined to comment.) But, Hession, too, says he enjoyed being mayor and wouldn’t trade it for anything. “You make many, many interesting but challenging decisions every single day,” says Hession, who returned to his law practice after leaving City Hall. “You have your finger on the pulse of the city all the time every day, and that’s incredibly gratifying to say that’s part of your job.” Despite the contentious attacks, public scrutiny and polarization this election cycle, Brown and Woodward say they share that same sincerity about the job. They both describe it as a calling, a desire to serve the city they love. Both candidates deny having any greater political ambitions. “This is the culmination of my public sector leadership. This is it,” Brown says. “In terms of career accomplishments, I’m not seeking any. For me, it really is truly about service.” Woodward feels the same way. “This is my way of giving back to a city that welcomes me and has been very, very good to me,” Woodward says. “I have no intention of running for any other office, I’m not looking for a political appointment of any kind or my next political opportunity. This is it.” n

This is the culmination of my public sector leadership. This is it. For me, it really is truly about service.”

Then came Camp Hope. Throughout 2022, Woodward’s city government clashed repeatedly with Brown’s Commerce Department over the 600-person homeless encampment in Spokane’s East Central neighborhood. Brown’s mayoral ambitions became clearer, and people started to speculate. Woodward has suggested that Brown intentionally delayed Camp Hope’s closure to harm her politically and boost Brown’s mayoral ambitions. Brown says that’s completely false. “It was just the opposite,” Brown says. “Really, it was my frustration with how the city was

OUT OF OFFICE FOR YEARS, RIGHT-WING FIREBRAND MATT SHEA STILL MANAGED TO BECOME A FLASHPOINT IN THIS YEAR’S ELECTIONS

t’s been nearly four years since he was shunned by his own party for alleged domestic terrorism and religious extremism, but former state Rep. Matt Shea, a Spokane Valley Republican, still managed to stir up drama during this year’s election season. On a Sunday evening in late August, while the sky burned hazy with wildfire smoke, Shea stood on stage at a Christian worship and concert event and gave a short speech where he condemned the “problem” of same-sex marriage and encouraged the crowd to YOUNG KWAK PHOTO “vote our faith.” Then he invited a surprise guest on stage: Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward. Video of Woodward praying with Shea and hugging him as she left the stage spread quickly and triggered widespread condemnation. Mainstream politicians tend to stay very far away from Shea. The “controversies” section of his Wikipedia page has eight subsections — including “‘Biblical Basis for War’ manifesto,” “violent right-wing chat group,” “Road rage” and “Ukrainian children.” Woodward released a damage control statement the next morning saying that she didn’t know Shea would be at the event and that his politics are a “threat to our democracy.” But the controversy only grew. National news outlets picked up the story of a mayor standing with an extremist, and Woodward’s mayoral challenger, Lisa Brown, was quick to use a photo from the event in fundraising emails. Woodward wasn’t alone on stage. She was joined by Spokane City Council candidate Earl Moore, who said in a statement that she didn’t know Shea would be there and that she stands “strong against hatred of any kind.” Spokane Valley City Council candidate Jessica Yaeger, who is also the Spokane County chapter chair of the right-wing political group Moms for Liberty, appeared on stage with Shea as well. She declined to comment when the Inlander asked about the incident. Several weeks into the controversy, Woodward’s campaign released a statement arguing that Brown also had appeared alongside someone with a problematic history. In this case, Brown had attended a campaign event at a retirement community that was co-hosted by Michael Poulin, who served time for attempted murder in the 1970s and then in the early 2000s for sabotaging electric infrastructure. Brown said she wasn’t aware of his history and called the comparison baseless. More than a month after the Shea incident, the Spokane City Council voted 4-3 to pass a resolution formally denouncing the mayor’s actions. Conservatives called the vote a political stunt and a waste of time. Liberals said it was necessary for council members to send a strong message against hate. During a late September debate hosted by Rotary Club of Spokane #21, Brown said that Woodward had apologized for the mistake and that it was time to move on. But the specter of Shea is hard to escape. At a KHQ debate two weeks later, Brown brought the incident up again when candidates were asked about combating extremism in the wake of a string of anti-LGBTQ+ vandalism this month. “Who you stand on the stage with matters,” Brown said. “Leadership matters when you tweet about rainbow crosswalks and then rainbow crosswalks are vandalized.” Woodward says she’s a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, and she highlights that the first person she hired as mayor was a member of the community. — NATE SANFORD

OCTOBER 26, 2023 INLANDER 19

PRESIDENTIAL PITCH

Betsy Wilkerson (left) and Kim Plese. YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS

Betsy Wilkerson and Kim Plese walk two distinct paths for Spokane City Council leadership

ecently, the two candidates for Spokane City Council president have contrasted their support for the police department, how they’d address homelessness, and how they’d fix the relationship between the mayor’s office and City Council. Council member Betsy Wilkerson’s pitch? She’s the more experienced candidate and best ready to lead the seven-member government body. Not only has she been on the council for three years, she’s the owner of a residential care home, helped lead the Carl Maxey Center in East Central and has served on many nonprofits, including the Innovia Foundation. “You may not like me, but I know the job,” says Wilkerson, 68. “And you cannot, absolutely cannot walk in on Day 1, sit down in that seat and run that council office. There’s just no way.” Her opponent, Kim Plese, 61, argues that she’s the change the council needs and that she’s prepared to lead, though she’s never been elected to public office. She owned Plese Printing for 32 years — selling it last year before an unsuccessful bid for county commissioner — and was the president of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Spokane County for two years, where she led a board of more than 30. “I look at the way our City Council meetings are run, and I think they are run a little loosey-goosey as opposed to what I would like to see,” Plese says. “Structurally, I would be a little more stringent.” As Election Day approaches, the two have been hyperfocused on support for the police department. Plese claims Wilkerson doesn’t support police, noting that she decried the sudden relocation of the East Central police precinct into the old East Side library last year. (Wilkerson had worked to solicit ideas from the community for that space before Mayor Nadine Woodward made the decision to move police into the building.) Plese also questions why Wilkerson didn’t immediately provide police with surveillance footage from the group home she owns when they were investigating a nearby murder in 2020. Wilkerson explains that she wasn’t against a police precinct in East Central (which already existed in a nearby church) and says the council-approved process to find a tenant wasn’t followed. As for the footage, Wilkerson says she asked police to get a warrant to ensure

20 INLANDER OCTOBER 26, 2023

BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL that her bases were covered as a state-licensed facility for vulnerable clients. “The warrant was the quickest way to get the video. Otherwise each member in my house would have had to sign off on a release of information,” Wilkerson says. Plese argues that a negative perception of how police may be treated in Spokane has contributed to the department’s hiring struggles. “Right now we have such a huge shortage of police officers,” Plese says. “They know that she has made it clear that she doesn’t support our police officers. To me that’s the biggest thing is the support that they need out there in the community.” Wilkerson defends her voting record, noting she supported a recent update to the police contract, including pay raises, and voted to pay for new police vehicles and training. “I would be supportive of an increased recruitment to our five universities … because I think if our officers are more homegrown, they know this community and there’s more of an ownership and connection to the city,” Wilkerson says. “I think [the] compensation and benefits package was also an issue, but once that contract was resolved I think that’s one of the biggest recruiting tools we have now.”

o address homelessness, Plese supports Proposition 1. That measure, also before city voters this election, asks whether the city should expand its camping ban to within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, playgrounds and child care centers. “[Trent Resource and Assistance Center, or TRAC,] is not sustainable, but I said in the last debate we have to keep that open. Winter’s coming. I’ve heard, ‘Oh there’s not enough beds,’ but that would be the first place that I would direct people to go to,” Plese says. “It’s not safe to have these huge encampments.” Plese says the expanded ban is necessary to deter homeless campers who she is unsure have any ties to the community. “I can’t believe that those people that are in our parks or along our river are new people that have all of a sudden become unhoused. I think more and more people are

coming to our community because we’re so compassionate,” Plese says. “What it really comes down to is getting people in treatment.” Wilkerson opposes Prop 1, arguing that it won’t solve the issue of public camping and will make matters worse for neighborhoods where people may move to sleep. She would support funding smaller shelters throughout the city. “In the mental health world we have many mental health facilities throughout the city that coexist in neighborhoods. Mine is one of them,” Wilkerson says. “But they are not more than, like, 70 people. A neighborhood can absorb 70 people. A neighborhood cannot absorb 300.” The city-funded TRAC houses up to 350 people. Wilkerson says she also supports the idea of a secure, staffed parking lot, since many who become homeless initially live in their cars and have jobs. According to the National Vehicle Residency Collective, 10 cities in Washington state have such lots, but not Spokane. “You’re telling me where they can’t be, nobody is talking about where they can be,” Wilkerson says. “It’s unrealistic. You’re pushing them into neighborhoods, you’re pushing them down to the river, you’re pushing them further up north, you’re pushing them into the valley. We think we’re solving one problem, but I think we’re creating more.” Each candidate argues that she would best dispel the tension between the administration and the council. Wilkerson says she hasn’t run a negative campaign because she knows once the election is over officials will need to collaborate. “I’ve been in organizations for a very long time, and it really does come down to communication and compromise,” Wilkerson says. “It’s not about Betsy or the other council members or the mayor. It really has to be about what’s in the best interest for the citizens of Spokane.” Plese promises that if she wins, she’ll do her best to work with everyone, including Wilkerson, who would continue serving the remainder of her term as a council member. “I certainly hope that our community gives Nadine Woodward another chance with someone that is running the council that will do whatever it takes to help this community move forward and heal,” Plese says. n

SPOKANE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 1

LINDSEY SHAW

MICHAEL CATHCART

MICHAEL CATHCART, 37, is the only incumbent City Council member running for reelection this year. He’s fighting to keep his seat representing northeast Spokane’s District 1. His challenger is LINDSEY SHAW, 42, a progressive advocate who previously served as chair of the Logan Neighborhood Council. District 1 has some of the city’s highest poverty rates, and both candidates say it’s been historically overlooked and under-resourced. But while Cathcart says he’s fought for the district and made significant strides during his first term, Shaw argues that neighborhood voices still aren’t being listened to and that many of the policies Cathcart supports — like making being in city parks after hours an arrestable offense — are “out of touch” with the community. Like every other conservative running for office this year, Cathcart supports Proposition 1 and Measure 1 (see page 24). Shaw, along with every other progressive candidate this year, opposes both. Before being elected to the council in 2019, Cathcart worked with the Spokane Home Builders Association and served as executive director of Better Spokane. Shaw has served as a Community Assembly liaison for Spokane Parks and as a campus engagement coordinator for the Northeast Community Center. (NATE SANFORD)

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SPOKANE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 2 The race to represent south Spokane’s District 2 pits PAUL DILLON, 40, a local progressive activist who previously worked for the local Planned Parenthood, against KATEY TRELOAR, 42, a former educator at Spokane Public Schools. This has been one of this year’s more combative City Council races. Dillon often accuses Treloar of keeping her political views too close to the chest and hiding her connections to the Republican Party. Treloar, on the other hand, often accuses Dillon of being divisive and too open about his politics — namely on Twitter, where Dillon doesn’t shy away from criticizing the current mayor. Treloar’s campaign has raised a record-breaking $157,000 — more than any council race in history, not counting council president races. The candidates have clashed over a number of issues, including a proposed development moratorium in Latah Valley. Dillon supports it, arguing that the area lacks fire and road infrastructure necessary to support a growing population. Treloar is wary of committing to a moratorium without a more concrete plan with “timelines and accountability” in place. Treloar unsuccessfully ran for Spokane School Board in 2019. She runs a company she founded that coaches people with ADHD and other neurodiversities. Dillon previously worked as a legislative aide for state Sen. Andy Billing and former City Council member Jon Snyder. (NATE SANFORD)

PAUL DILLON

November 7 General Election

SPOKANE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 3 KITTY KLITZKE

EARL MOORE

Two newcomers to elected office are running to represent Northwest Spokane on City Council this year. They don’t have a lot in common. EARL MOORE, 78, is a retired respiratory therapist who has also served as president of the respiratory Care Society of Washington and as a precinct committee officer with the local Republican Party. KITTY KLITZKE, 46, has spent much of her career advocating for environmental and land use causes through her work with organizations like Futurewise and the Lands Council. She’s also served on the Spokane Regional Transportation Council and various other city committees. In interviews and debates, Moore repeatedly stresses how much she loves and appreciates Spokane’s police officers. On her campaign website, Moore has photos of herself testifying at City Council earlier this year and delivering a petition in opposition to council’s plans to investigate the police chief’s communications with a group of downtown property owners. Klitzke often highlights her appreciation for boring-but-important policy wonk stuff like “infrastructure concurrency,” “capital facilities planning” and the city’s comprehensive plan updates. (NATE SANFORD)

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OCTOBER 26, 2023 INLANDER 21

CULTURE WAR CURRICULUM J

The right-wing focus on race and gender is influencing some local school board races this year

aime Stacy knows hope is an action, that’s why she’s letting it drive her campaign for the Mead School Board. “Hope allows us to build a sustainable house of education around a plan that says, ‘You belong, you have a purpose, and you’re included here,’” she says. If elected, Stacy hopes to ensure that all students feel they belong and to extend support to students, teachers and parents, specifically when it comes to curriculum and mental health. She would also be the first Black woman to ever serve on the district’s school board. Her opponent, Jennifer Killman, hopes to expel what she calls “social agendas” from the school district in an effort to improve academic performance. She says this includes Critical Race Theory (or CRT, which isn’t taught at Mead, or any other K-12 school in the Inland Northwest), books with questionable content, and LGBTQ+ issues. While Killman believes that teachers should be able to answer student inquiries on these topics,

BY COLTON RASANEN she doesn’t think any of them belong in current curricula. The issues separating Stacy and Killman aren’t unique to their school board contest. They’re echoed throughout school board races across the Inland Northwest and the country. In California, a conservative majority on the Temecula Valley Unified School Board voted to ban CRT in December 2022 on their first day in office, according to a Politico report. At least five other California school boards have banned or condemned CRT too, even though it isn’t taught outside collegiate settings. The Mead School Board tried to ban CRT and gender studies in September 2022, but fell short in a 2-3 vote. Travis Ridout, a political science professor at Washington State University, says campaign messages such as these are often used as a way to turn out like-minded voters. “These issues are how they send messages to other far-right voters,” says Ridout. Ridout has been teaching political science for 20 years. In that time he’s seen the political landscape become less civil and more polar-

ized. Part of that, he believes, is because local politics have overwhelmingly become nationalized. Ridout remembers a time when folks may have voted for a Republican president but then also elected Democrats to county or city positions. Now, he says, politicians trying to find bipartisan solutions are often lambasted for “selling out” to the other side. He doesn’t expect this to change anytime soon. “There’s nothing in the present situation that makes me think that this is a little phase,” he says. “Our politics are really calcified as they are.”

edical Lake, with a population of just over 4,800, had the most crowded primary ballot in the entire state with 17 candidates running for four spots. Dennis Schilling, who hopes to fill the District 3 seat on the Medical Lake School Board, believes that “LGBTQ ideology” is disruptive and has no place in a K-12 school system. He says that state laws are taking away from students’ academic success, and if elected, he’d want

Races for the Mead School Board have been dominated by national rightwing talking points. ERICK DOXEY PHOTO

22 INLANDER OCTOBER 26, 2023

to find ways to improve on the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) report card. (Medical Lake School District outpaces the state average for test scores.) Schilling also thinks the state is overstepping its boundaries with the implementation of Social Emotional Learning — an educational framework that focuses on children managing their emotions and establishing relationships, according to the state Professional Educator Standards Board. Schilling believes parents should teach this to their children, not schools. “Washington is pushing hard on these issues,” he says. “It feels like they’re trying to separate kids from their parents.” His opponent, incumbent Laura Parsons, has a long history in Medical Lake politics. She was first elected to the school board in 2019 and previously served four terms on the Medical Lake City Council — including a stint as mayor pro tem. She believes that rhetoric like Schilling’s that’s found its way into school board races is “hateful” and shouldn’t have a place in any school district. “A lot of [LGBTQ+ youth] are hiding who they are in Medical Lake,” she says. “Their lives are already hard enough, and I don’t know why any adult would want to make it harder for them.” Roughly 0.5% of adults in Washington state — about 33,000 people — identify as transgender, according to research published in June 2022 by the UCLA Williams Institute. Transgender youth between 13-17 make up 1% in the state, or about 5,000 people. As of Oct. 1, 2022, five students in the Medical Lake School District identified as Gender X, according to OSPI. Gender X indicates a student who doesn’t identify as male or female, however, this technically only applies to gender-nonconforming and nonbinary students. There’s not much a school board director can do to change laws passed by the state Legislature and signed by a governor. Schilling says that won’t dissuade him. “One of my goals as a school board member would be to examine these laws,” he says. “They’re pretty broad and vague.”

here are more than 50 contested school board races in the Inland Northwest, and not every race follows these trends. In Cheney, for instance, school board candidates are focused on addressing population growth and improving schools through an upcoming bond, not hot button issues of race and gender. After serving two terms, Cheney School Board member Stacy Nicol decided against seeking re-election. This left the spot open for a newcomer. One candidate, Bill Hanson, says he wouldn’t have sought election if Nicol had decided to seek another term. He thinks that student vaping is one of the biggest issues to tackle. His opponent, John Boerger, spent 14 years as a school board director in Lake Stevens. He thinks the district’s main focus should be on how to handle the continuous growth that the city has experienced. Both candidates support the district’s upcoming bond. “I totally get where [the school board] is coming from, and I’m totally on board with it,” Hanson says. “If voters reject it, I would be excited to look at some other options.” “I think you always run that risk of people not wanting taxes to raise, but if we’re proactive, we can best respond to our students’ needs,” Boerger says. “I would make that a priority to make sure we have facilities to help students.” n

SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL BRISCOE

YAEGER WOODARD

MERKEL CHASE

HATTENBURG

Spokane Valley voters have choices to make this November: Six candidates are running for three open City Council seats. Each position on the Spokane Valley City Council is voted for at-large, rather than in specific districts. Since current Council member Brandi Peetz is not running for re-election, two political newcomers — JESSICA YAEGER and RACHEL BRISCOE — are vying to fill her spot. Yaeger saw overwhelming support in the primary election, but Briscoe says she’s not worried about making up the difference. The two candidates boast the largest financial support in the city with nearly $40,000 raised between them. Another race pits threetime council hopeful AL MERKEL against the council’s longest-serving member ever, incumbent ARNE WOODARD. The final race will see incumbent TIM HATTENBURG try to defend his seat against former Spokane County Treasurer ROB CHASE, who also served one term as a state representative from 2021 to 2022. While each candidate has differing views on how to address the city’s issues, most agree that city infrastructure like housing and public safety are where the City Council should focus its attention. (COLTON RASANEN)

COEUR D’ALENE CITY COUNCIL

Coeur d’Alene voters have three nonpartisan, citywide City Council races to decide on this year’s ballot. City Council Seat 1 incumbent CHRISTIE WOOD, who was first elected in 2019, faces BRIAN WINKLER. Wood served in the Air Force and then worked for the Coeur d’Alene Police Department for 26 years. She is president of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, and formerly served on the North Idaho College Board of Trustees before leaving amid issues with Todd Banducci, another trustee. She is endorsed by the unions representing Coeur d’Alene firefighters and police officers. Winkler grew up in Northern California and was an officer in the Marine Corps. He worked in technology for IBM in Nebraska and then Amazon Web Services in Seattle, where he became a Republican precinct committee officer. He moved to North Idaho in late 2021. He is endorsed by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC). The race for Seat 3 includes incumbent DAN GOOKIN, who was first elected in 2011, and CLARK ALBRITTON. Gookin grew up in San Diego and created the For Dummies book series. He has lived in Kootenai County since 1993 and still works in technology. At a recent Republican women’s lunch the mic was yanked out of his hands as he was chastising county Republicans for refusing to denounce white supremacy. Albritton also grew up in San Diego and went into a career in technology. He moved to Coeur d’Alene in 1999. Among the issues he is concerned about are “globalist liberal” and “globalist utopian” influences. He is endorsed by the KCRCC. In the race for Seat 5, incumbent DAN ENGLISH faces challengers ROGER GARLOCK and ROB KNUTSON. First elected in 2015, English is a longtime professional counselor who grew up in Coeur d’Alene. He served for 15 years as the Kootenai County clerk and helped start Anchor House/Idaho Youth Ranch and North Idaho Youth for Christ. Garlock grew up in California and has lived in Coeur d’Alene since 2003. He has worked with at-risk populations in the area providing drug counseling and mentoring and at local nonprofits. He currently works for Andy’s Heating and Cooling. He is endorsed by the KCRCC. Knutson has lived in Idaho about seven years and has worked as an environmental scientist and program manager in the utility industry for more than two decades. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)

OCTOBER 26, 2023 INLANDER 23

If voters approve Measure 1, a new jail could be built directly behind the existing jail, below. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

SPOKANE COUNTY MEASURE 1 SPOKANE CITY PROPOSITION 1

Voters inside Spokane city limits are being asked whether the municipal code should be updated to expand the city’s ban on camping. Currently, camping isn’t allowed on public property, near the river and its tributaries, under and near the downtown railroad viaducts, and near congregate shelters. If voters approve Proposition 1, camping would also be banned within 1,000 feet of all K-12 schools, parks, playgrounds and child care centers. Proponents argue that the measure is needed to safeguard children from criminal behavior. They argue it will enable police to shut large encampments like Camp Hope, parts of which were within 1,000 feet of the Libby Center school that serves highly capable students in East Central. Opponents argue that the measure could actually result in more Camp Hope-style concentrated encampments because it would so severely restrict camping, banning it in more than half of the city. They argue that more supportive housing options with wraparound services are needed to address the issues that contribute to homelessness. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)

24 INLANDER OCTOBER 26, 2023

Spokane County voters are being asked to pass a 0.2% sales tax increase that would cost 20 cents more for every $100 purchase in the county. The tax would be spent on public safety, criminal justice, correctional facility construction and behavioral health programs. Spokane County would receive 60% of the estimated $1.7 billion that the tax would bring in over the next 30 years. County leaders plan to spend $540 million or more of the revenue (including interest payments) building a new jail and a corrections center north of the existing downtown jail, which would remain open. The remaining 40% of the revenue would go to cities and towns in the county based on their percentage of the county’s population. Proponents argue that the county’s jail facilities are overcrowded, unsafe and deteriorating, and that more beds are needed in addition to space for programming that could reduce recidivism and address substance use disorder and other health issues. Opponents argue that without a more detailed plan for where the remainder of the money would go, the tax would effectively be a “blank check” to government entities. Some argue that investing in community services, behavioral health and rehabilitative programming should be a higher priority than incarceration, which has disproportionately impacted communities of color and poorer people. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)

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KOOTENAI COUNTY OPEN SPACE BOND

Kootenai County voters are being asked whether they support the county’s plan to develop new public parks and preserve scenic areas. The open space and park development bond would enable the county to issue up to $50 million in bonds to buy and develop land into recreational spaces, with an emphasis on preserving parts of the Rathdrum Prairie.

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Two-thirds of voters have to approve the measure for it to pass. It would cost homeowners an estimated $8 per $100,000 of assessed value per year. For a $500,000 home (only taxable on $375,000 after the homeowner’s exemption) taxes would increase $30 next year. The bonds would be paid back over 20 years, and the county anticipates the total cost, including 3.7% interest, would come to about $72 million over those two decades. The county identified several goals for the bond money, including preserving natural open spaces; developing new community gathering places, recreational trails, dog parks, and other amenities residents request; connecting existing trails to each other; and protecting the Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, preventing traffic increases, and preventing the overloading of wastewater treatment facilities by preserving open land that would otherwise be used for high-density development. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)

GENERAL ELECTION: NOVEMBER 7TH CHELAN COUNTY Miranda Skalisky Wenatchee School District School Board Director, District 4 WALLA WALLA COUNTY Jeff Robinson Walla Walla City Council, Position 5 WHITMAN COUNTY Deb McNeil, Pullman Mayor SPOKANE COUNTY Lisa Brown, Spokane Mayor Betsy Wilkerson, Spokane City Council President Lindsey Shaw, Spokane City Council, District 1 Paul Dillon, Spokane City Council, District 2 Kitty Klitzke, Spokane City Council, District 3 Rebecca Long, Cheney City Council, Position 2 Jacquelyn Belock, Cheney City Council, Position 6

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OCTOBER 26, 2023 INLANDER 25

Let Isaiah Daniels entertain and enchant you at his latest original show. YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS

Isaiah Daniels weaves modern magic with antique illusions to bring “Do Spirits Return?” to Spokane BY CHEY SCOTT

HALLOWEEN

A SPIRITUAL CONNECTION 26 INLANDER OCTOBER 26, 2023

or early residents of Spokane, entertainment choices in the days leading up to All Hallow’s Eve probably didn’t look or sound all that different from what local magician Isaiah Daniels is planning a century and a half later. In the final decades of the 19th century, the spiritualist movement was at its peak, luring the curious public to seances and other occasions during which mediums allegedly contacted the spirits of those mortally departed. Ever heard of the famous Fox sisters and their “rappings?” By cracking their foot and leg joints beneath long skirts, sisters Catherine and Margaretta hoodwinked countless people into believing the raps were messages from the dead. In 1849, the Fox sisters — later revealed to be frauds — held the first paid demonstration of this spiritualist effect in Rochester, New York. For folks today who either believe in or are simply agnostically curious about the afterlife, Daniels has several old-timey spiritualist tricks up his proverbial sleeves that he’ll showcase during his latest family-friendly performance, titled “Do Spirits Return?” “Our show involves some of that history, and we have some characters in the show that perform kind of in the way that [the Fox sisters] would, at a table in the traditional seance sense,” he explains. “And then we have some other characters from throughout that era, like the Davenport brothers, who were more of magicians who took the aesthetic of spiritualism and created different kinds of demonstrations and whatnot. It’s super interesting how magic and spiritualism kind of intertwine.” Daniels, 25, can barely remember a time when he wasn’t enthralled by magic. His first taste of intrigue into the world of illusions was at age 6, when a magician performed for his kindergarten class. “I don’t remember his name, and I hardly remember his face, but I remember some of the tricks he did, and it just kind of stuck with me since then,” Daniels says. “I’ve been doing magic pretty much my whole life. As I got older, it obviously got a lot better, and then I honed in on my skill set.” Those skills range from fire-eating to levitation, and everything in between. Daniels is entirely self-taught, and seeks to discover and learn older magic tricks that aren’t commonly showcased much these days — especially techniques that have nearly disappeared with time. While he’s now a seasoned performer, landing a multiyear residency at Silverwood Theme Park just after graduating from Gonzaga Prep in 2016, Daniels fondly recalls his first-ever paid gig. In middle school, he performed for residents of a Spokane nursing home. “From there, it started becoming more and more of a professional deal,” he says. ...continued on page 28

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CULTURE | HALLOWEEN “A SPIRITUAL CONNECTION,” CONTINUED... As October comes to a close, however, Daniels is also wrapping up his Silverwood stint for good, and looking toward a future that most likely involves embarking from Spokane for new opportunities.

hile “Do Spirits Return?” may be one of Daniels’ last visual treats for local audiences, it also won’t be the first time he’s performed a version of it. Five years ago, he debuted the show’s first iteration at Riverside Place, in downtown Spokane’s former Masonic Temple, exploring common effects from ghost hunting TV shows, plus techniques from Victorian-era spiritualism. “We kind of tackled whether or not that stuff is real, and used magic as the basis for like, well, if we can replicate this…” then audiences can come to their own understanding, he explains. “This time around, it’s less of the skeptical side of things, and more ‘come have a good time,’ but most of the effects are still based out of this era of spiritualism.” During spiritualism’s fever pitch, Daniels says professional magicians like Harry Houdini “were going out and using their skill sets to be like, ‘This isn’t real.’ So it’s very interesting, a lot of the esoteric themes in magic stemmed from this era.” One such demonstration he’s featuring in “Do Spirits Return?” is an effect called table turning. The act involves a randomly chosen audience member invited onto stage who places their hands on a table at which a few other people are also seated, hands also resting atop. The person — and audience — then see the table moving as if by its own accord. “It’s almost like an Ouija board effect, but on a bigger scale,” Daniels says. “That was something that got a lot of attention back in the day because the spiritualist wasn’t involved. It’s kind of rare, but magicians still do that kind of demonstration today. You’re going to see it just like they would have done it back in the day.” I then ask if Daniels can explain the truth behind table-turning’s effect, or if he plans to reveal its workings to his audience. “If you pay attention in the show, you will get hints at how certain things are done,” he says. “How we’ve structured it, right off the bat, we’re going to tell everyone that everything you’re about to see is just magic. That being said, we worked really hard to make sure that everything you’re going to see is impossible” to be caused by a supernatural force. “Then we just kind of leave it up to them to think about the correlation between, you know, the demonstrations that we’re doing and maybe some of the phenomena they’ve experienced or that might be real in life. There’s kind of a gray area there, but we want to leave it that way.” Overall, Daniels says this new iteration of “Do Spirits Return?” feels modern, yet with a Victorian flair. The costumes he and his on-stage assistants are wearing have an old-timey gothic look, and the show includes period music, remixed. Several of the effects will be captured by a live camera feed and projected onto a screen for better visibility. “It’s kind of like an updated version of something they would have done back in the day, without the guise of ‘this is real.’ And it’s not going to be very scary. Most of the show is kind of beautiful and elegant.” n Isaiah Daniels Presents: Do Spirits Return? • Fri, Oct. 28 at 8 pm • $32 • All ages • Bing Crosby Theater • 901 W. Sprague Ave. • bingcrosbytheater.com • 509-227-7638

28 INLANDER OCTOBER 26, 2023

CULTURE | LITERATURE

Magical Memoirs Two regional authors explore motherhood, mental health and patriarchal pressure in their new books BY SUMMER SANDSTROM

antasy allows us to escape the harshness of reality, either illuminating unseen truths or shrouding it beneath a thick haze. Two new releases from Spokane-based authors — Spinning Tea Cups: A Mythical American Memoir by Alexandra Teague and out takes/ glove box by Maya Jewell Zeller — explore themes of motherhood, mental health, and the beauty and dangers of fantasy through autobiographical lenses. Zeller’s out takes/ glove box, which was awarded the New American Poetry Prize by poet Eduardo Corral, is a collection of poems divided into five sections, beginning with the narrator pulling an old reel of film out from the glovebox of a junked car. “The book is like a cabinet of curiosities, it keeps trying to show you a fractured self through different means,” Zeller says. “It gives a string of images that create an imagistic narrative through outtakes or what would be left on the cutting room floor after the making of a documentary.” Zeller’s poems incorporate themes of myth and fantasy, something particularly evident in the third section that’s told through the voice of a woman who used to be a mermaid. This character, she says, is an expression of the “struggle of trying to voice oneself in a world where we don’t believe women.” “Mothers are always trying to tell our stories, and because we’re forced into the Madonna-whore complex in America, once you have children, you’re discarded,” Zeller says. “You may as well be a mermaid because that’s not real either.” The subsequent section is presented as a collection of spells seeking to balance the narrator’s work and domestic life, while navigating social systems that inhibit her ability to have both a family and career. “Our systems in America are just set up against anyone with a uterus,” Zeller says. “If you have a uterus and you want to use it to birth a child, you don’t have a clear path forward in your career, and this book shows what happens when a person tries that.” Finally, the narrator returns to the original documentary of outtakes, and in the last poem Zeller writes, “being a mother made me feel like a myth.” “It kind of is a treatise against women not being believed, a treatise against trying to function fully in late capitalism as a mother in America,” says Zeller. “It’s telling a story that patriarchy doesn’t want to tell.”

eanwhile, Teague’s Spinning Tea Cups: A Mythical American Memoir is a memoir composed of nine prose essays about Teague and her family’s stories, escaping reality via the fantasy genre and struggles with mental health. The project began from a poem Teague was

attempting to write as a response to her nephew committing suicide in 2015, but she felt it wasn’t a medium that allowed her to deep dive into the trauma and undiagnosed mental health issues experienced within her family. Spinning Tea Cups begins with stories of the author’s mother’s possible visions and psychic abilities, delves into stories of loved ones battling undiagnosed mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, and Teague’s own mental health experiences. More broadly, the collection focuses on her family’s history of dysfunction and grief while also highlighting the creativity and love that coexisted with it. “I wanted it to be nonfiction because a lot of what I wanted to do with it was question the stories that I had been raised with, and also the stories that weren’t getting told in my family that maybe could and should have been,” she says. Teague says that the stigmas surrounding mental health issues and suicide create barriers that prevent many from receiving help, and that American culture places an emphasis on productivity over emotional well-being. “I don’t think that there’s enough space often for grief either,” Teague says. “Inhabiting grief allows us to then heal from it gradually and move on to other emotions.” “In different ways, I hope that the book makes space for people to feel less ashamed to talk about their own difficult stories, and also the things that they found beautiful within it,” she adds. Both Teague and Zeller are reading from and leading discussions about their books during a joint release party at Spark Central, with special guests and fellow Inland Northwest writers Laura Read and Kate Lebo. Spinning Tea Cups, released on Oct. 15, and out takes/ glove box, which comes out on Nov. 1, will both be available for purchase from Auntie’s Bookstore at the event. “I hope this helps them feel permission to speak or to share their art, their truth or their justice in the way that they need to share it.” says Zeller. n Spinning Out: Motherhood, Myths, & Madness • Thu, Nov. 2 at 7 pm • Free • Spark Central • 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. • spark-central.org • 509-279-0299

CULTURE | DIGEST

THE BUZZ BIN

Fresh sushi and bullet trains are only the start of Japan’s allure. CHEY SCOTT PHOTOS

After a memorable 17-day escape to Japan, I wish the U.S. had these six things BY CHEY SCOTT

s it’s often touted, international travel lets us view the world from new perspectives. Seeing how people in vastly different cultures than ours live allows us to reframe our own existence on this pale blue dot, including how we can improve our communities back home. After returning from a truly incredible 2.5-week trip to Japan, never has this concept been more clear to me. My partner and I spent months researching and planning our first trek (of what we hope will be many more) across the country, going in a clockwise loop from Tokyo with stops in Manazuru, Odawara, Hakone, Osaka, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Kanazawa and Shirakawa-go. While I could write volumes about the incredible things we saw, ate and experienced — from a traditional tea ceremony in Kyoto to the truly magical setting of Shirakawa-go, a centuries-old village in the mountains — for this piece I’ve decided to list six observations about life in Japan that I now miss, and wish we had in the U.S.

1. ULTRA-EFFICIENT PUBLIC TRANSIT

It’s widely known that Japan — a country of 125 million people, about 62% of the U.S. population, on a landmass slightly smaller than California — has one of the best public transit systems in the world, and I can’t overstate how efficient, punctual and easy it was to get around. The shinkansen, or bullet train, was my favorite — imagine if there was a shinkansen connecting Seattle and Spokane, or a route up the entire Pacific Coast?! We also rode dozens of local trains/subways and buses, plus ferries, cable cars, an unmanned elevated train and more.

2. A SENSE OF SAFETY

When getting around via the aforementioned transportation, I never once felt unsafe or had anxious thoughts of what I’d do in the event of an active shooter. There’s not even a security screening before getting on the shinkansen. Why? At the core, it’s because Japan’s super-strict gun laws make it incredibly onerous to obtain a personal firearm, thus ownership is essentially minuscule compared to the U.S. The Japanese perception of guns is also totally different than here — people don’t want to own them — and violent crime rates are a fraction of America’s.

3. EASY ACCESS TO CHEAP, HEALTHY FOOD

A SPINE-TINGLING TOUR If you’re looking for a fun, leisurely activity to get pumped up for the spookiest day of the year, look no further than the Spokane Public Library’s self-guided HAUNTED DOWNTOWN WALKING TOUR! This tour gives you a taste of some of Spokane’s best ghost stories — some are more well-known while others are pure speculation. Walk by the city’s supposedly haunted buildings and read about their eerie history with the help of an interactive map created by library staff. Did you know that employees at the Old Spaghetti Factory have reported seeing ghosts in the train car booth? Have a blast walking around, but don’t anger the specters. You might get a flying meatball to the head. Find the map at spokanelibrary.org/2021/10/ haunted-downtown-walking-tour/. (MADISON PEARSON)

While we ate tons of amazing food — the freshest sushi, Osaka’s famous okonomiyaki — many snacks and on-the-go meals came from… 7-Eleven! The “conbini,” or convenience stores, are everywhere (Family Mart and Lawson are two other ubiquitous chains) and sell a huge variety of fresh, prepackaged meals like onigiri rice balls, salads, fruit and other snacks, plus ice cream, booze, fried food, donuts, etc. On average, we’d spend less than $10 total for a quick meal when pressed for time. And it was all really good!

4. A CULTURE OF RESPECT

With so many people sharing limited space, residents of Japan’s massive cities are constantly aware of their impact on those around them. That means no eating or talking on the phone while riding the train, as it can disturb others. People keep left in train stations and on elevators, leaving space to the right for those in a hurry. Yet politeness and courtesy abounds in every interaction — at stores, restaurants, hotels and elsewhere. As guests, we made sure to follow these and other cultural norms, but sadly saw numerous less-considerate fellow tourists.

5. NO TIPPING

My point about affordable food also applies to restaurants. In addition, tipping is simply not practiced in Japan, and service-centric businesses operate under the belief that customers shouldn’t have to pay extra to receive excellent hospitality, which we certainly did. Even more, the super-favorable dollar-to-yen exchange rate (during our trip, it was somewhere in the range of $1 to ¥148), our average bill for two at most places was in the $20-$30 range, including drinks!

6. CLEAN AND ABUNDANT RESTROOMS

The great toilet paper shortage of 2020 introduced us sloppy Americans to the wondrous bidet, a feature of public restrooms that’s standard across Japan. Beyond that, though, public bathrooms were easy to find, free to use, and the majority were also very clean. Other common features (at least in the ladies’ room) were fully enclosed stalls, a bag storage shelf behind the toilet, and fold-down baby seats. Toilet seat disinfectant was also commonly provided in lieu of those terrible tissue paper seat covers. It’s no small thing to reliably find a clean restroom when you have to go on the go! n

ON THE MOVE Since 1996, the BLUE DOOR THEATRE has brought laughter and creativity to the community from its home in the Garland District. But as the theater continues to grow, with increasing numbers of kids and adults attending its shows and classes — plus the recent opening of its new Spokane School of Improv — it’s time for a change of scenery. Early next year, the Blue Door Theatre is relocating to downtown’s historic milk bottle-shaped building on Cedar Street and Fourth Avenue. Plans for the new space include a 90-seat main stage and a 50-seat black-box theater, compared to the Garland location’s 69-seat theater. The Blue Door is hoping to raise $200,000 to help cover construction expenses; donations can be made at bluedoortheatre.org. (SUMMER SANDSTROM) THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST Noteworthy new music arriving in stores and online on Oct. 27. THE MOUNTAIN GOATS, JENNY FROM THEBES. Singer-songwriter John Darnielle composes his first sequel — a rock opera based on a character from 2002’s All Hail West Texas. Judging by the new songs the band played at its recent stop at the Fox, the LP has plenty of rich storytelling and bangers. PAWS, PAWS. The wildly underrated Scottish melodic indie punk outfit reconvenes and returns to the raw DIY production of PAWS’ roots on the group’s fifth full-length record. SHABAZZ PALACES, ROBED IN RARENESS. The always-progressive and spacey Seattle hip-hop outfit returns with a dark, more minimalist mini-LP, as if it’s exploring the sonic space that exists between black constellations. (SETH SOMMERFELD)

OCTOBER 26, 2023 INLANDER 29

Restaurant quality mushrooms — at home! YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS

COOKING

Just for Fungi Family-owned Gem State Mushrooms offers gourmet fungi to homecooks and professional chefs all year BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM

eorge Viaud likes to understand how things work. He’s a self-educated software engineer, the chief technology officer of a large ad tech company, and a guy who got hopelessly lost in a Google search. “One day, I was just curious: How do they make mushrooms?” Viaud says. “I started looking into it and before you know it — down the rabbit hole. Then I’m like, I think this is something I can get into. But I need help.” Paul Platt is Viauds next-door neighbor and his brother-in-law, a vice president at a national solar company with an operations background and a green thumb. “Paul’s got an amazing ability with things that live and grow,” Viaud continues. “So I said, ‘Hey Paul, do you want to grow mushrooms?’” Growing mushrooms sounded like a fun idea to Platt. Then Viaud asked his wife, Jennifer, to join, and Platt asked his wife, Stephanie, to join, and together the two couples founded Gem State Mushrooms in 2019. Gem State Mushrooms in Coeur d’Alene grows gour-

30 INLANDER OCTOBER 26, 2023

met mushrooms for fine dining and home kitchens alike. The Viauds and Platts are committed to the highest quality “culture to table” produce, while also educating their community about the delightful diversity of edible fungi. This past summer, Gem State sold at the Kootenai County Farmers Market and partnered with local chefs to create new recipes for mushroom lovers and skeptics alike. This coming winter, Gem State Mushrooms is not only continuing to sell high-end fungi to high-end restaurants, but they’re also offering a CSA-like subscription box so that everyone can access fresh ’shrooms all year. “In our everyday life, we don’t always get to do things that can really impact the community,” Viaud says. “So that was also nice, other than just wanting to understand how things tick.”

ince Gem State Mushrooms grows its mushrooms indoors in a carefully controlled environment, they can grow and harvest year-round. The farm

produces about a dozen varieties of gourmet fungi, from blue, pink and golden oysters to king trumpet and lion’s mane mushrooms. This winter’s CSA boxes will be available weekly through online preorder at gsm.farm. Customers can choose different sized boxes, from 8 ounces to 1 pound, or as many pounds as a family wants to eat. Gem State offers two types of boxes: a lion’s mane-only box, due to the mushroom’s growing popularity in health and wellness circles, and a grower’s choice varietal pack. Prices are the same as at this year’s farmers market season — one 8-ounce box for $12, two 8-ounce boxes for $20, or three for $30. It’s not hard to go through a pound of mushrooms a week, the two couples say. Stephanie and Jennifer developed a recipe for faux crab cakes made with lion’s mane mushrooms. Paul loves pickled king oysters or Hungarian mushroom soup, and George perfected tempura fried golden oysters. And they’re not gatekeeping their ideas. “One thing that sets us apart from a farmers market

GOUDA MUSHROOM MAC Recipe by chef Cynthia Monroe Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS 3 cups heavy cream 1 pound gouda cheese, shredded ½ onion, minced 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 jalapeño, minced ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce ½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce 1 pound oyster mushrooms, sliced

is that we like to give recipes with our mushrooms,” Stephanie says. Gem State asked chef Cynthia Monroe, a culinary instructor at Spokane Public Schools’ skill center NEWTech Prep, to create and demonstrate new mushroom dishes at the farmers market. Monroe thought she didn’t like mushrooms, but once she started cooking with Gem State’s blue oysters, she was hooked. Monroe threw mushrooms into everything she usually ate, from salads to sliders to tacos. If she could convince skeptical market-goers to taste her samples, they were usually just as happily surprised as she was. “They came back and said, ‘I want to be vegan,’” Stephanie says, laughing. But there isn’t one diet or eating style that is more popular than others among Gem State’s clientele. “Everybody who likes mushrooms and loves steak loves mushrooms on their steak,” Paul says. He also says that Stephanie and Jennifer are the “muscles and brains” behind getting their mushrooms to the community. Gem State has been featured in classes at The Culinary Stone, showcased at regional culinary festivals like Crave!, plus they’ve partnered with chefs Caleb Hansen at Terraza and Rory Allen at Table 13 for special paired meals. But they’re just as happy sharing ideas one on one with customers at the market. “We were hosted at someone’s house just to talk about mushrooms,” Jennifer says. “They’re wanting to know where their food comes from. They really want to meet the farmer and know their practices.”

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Pan-seared sea scallops with Gem State Mushrooms at Table 13.

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A lot of work goes into “demystifying” mushrooms, which, for how common they are, still seem pretty exotic to many consumers, Paul says. “They’re not animals, they’re not plants, so what are they?” George asks. In the four years that he’s been growing mushrooms, George hasn’t lost his fascination with fungi. “A pinhead of mycelium, a tiny little sample of mycelium that starts on a petri dish, will yield hundreds if not thousands of pounds of mushrooms,” he says. “So what that also means is that if anywhere along with that process, something goes wrong, and you’re unaware of it, you won’t be successful at the end of the day. It’s very humbling. Just when you think you’ve got things figured out, something will come and get you.” Growing mushrooms is a 24/7 job for George, Jennifer, Stephanie and Paul, on top of their other full-time jobs and families. There are fungi and finances on the line, which might stress other sets of in-laws. But it’s “a labor of love,” Paul says, in more ways than one. “We know we have a good time together,” Jennifer says. “Stephanie and I think that’s like a priority. We’re all working together, and you just have to laugh. There are hiccups and there’s frustrations and we’re humans. But at the end of the day, you have such love for each other, right? At the end of the day, what we’re doing is just such a happy, wonderful thing.” n

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REVIEW

THE FAUX IN OUR STARS The sci-fi relationship drama Foe raises questions but fails to explore them BY MARYANN JOHANSON

he year is 2065, we’re told as the dusty — in more ways than one — Foe opens. Planet Earth is dying, and governmental plans are afoot to move the entire population offworld. As part of that unlikely scheme, artificial humans called simulants are being developed. And so one evening, Terrance (Aaron Pierre) arrives at the remote farmhouse where Junior (Paul Mescal) and Hen (Saoirse Ronan) live. He’s a representative of a corporation that is working with the government on that offworld-relocation project, and he is sorry and/or delighted to inform Junior that he has been chosen to work at an orbiting facility. Junior has been conscripted, basically: He cannot refuse. But no worries! The company will leave a simulant of Junior with Hen to keep her company while he is away in space. Wait, what? Now, you might think that the whole rationale for the technology of simulants would be that they could do nasty, dangerous work in orbit and elsewhere offplanet to prepare for the arrival of actual humans (see: Blade Runner.) That would still be horrific, because wouldn’t replicant faux-humans who are nevertheless indistinguishable from actual humans also be beings worthy of dignity and respect and pesky things like rights? Sure, Foe broaches such ideas... but it only broaches them. It fails to genuinely explore them.

This is a movie, like so many others recently, that is ostensibly science fiction yet doesn’t have much of a grasp on the genre and its potential to explore the human condition. It wants to take advantage of sci-fi’s cachet, but director and co-writer Garth Davis seems to believe that just touching on ideas is enough, leaving the audience to speculate about the ideas… on the unlikely chance they’re still sufficiently engaged to keep thinking about Foe after the credits roll. Davis — who adapted the script with Iain Reid, based on the author’s novel — is crafting a metaphor about the stagnation of a romantic relationship. The central couple’s struggling, perhaps dying relationship echoes the struggling, dying natural environment around them. See, Hen and Junior’s farm is a small, hardscrabble place in the American Midwest, home only to a handful of chickens and a few still-living trees that Hen lovingly nurtures with reclaimed shower water; it hasn’t rained in years, and the landscape is beyond parched. Junior’s ancestral connection to the farm is what keeps him there; it has been in his family for generations. Hen is struggling with living

in this left-behind place, and fair enough. But we’re never quite sure what she ever saw in Junior and his farm in the first place. It’s a cinematic conundrum, because Ronan and Mescal are two of the finest young actors working today, and their performances here are very good. But there isn’t much chemistry between them, nor is there much chemistry between them and the mesmerizing Pierre as Terrance. Bizarrely, Terrance will be living with the couple for many months, so that he can observe them and learn as much as possible about their relationship so that the Junior simulant will be as realistic as possible. (If this level of involvement is required to make a single simulant, how can this possibly be done at the sort of scale that the stated intentions of the project would require?) Foe makes too much of the “surprise” that, of course, one of these three will be replaced by a simulant at some point. And it makes far too little of the ramifications of that inevitability. Foe makes too much of sweaty global warming; a golden incandescence suffuses Mátyás Erdély’s gorgeous cinematography of rural Victoria, in Australia, which stands in for the American Midwest. But it makes far too little of the horror of a dying planet. Foe insists that the problems of these three little people amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. And they simply don’t. n

FOE

Rated R Directed by Garth Davis Starring Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal, Aaron Pierre

32 INLANDER OCTOBER 26, 2023

Even two of our best young actors can’t launch Foe into rarified air.

SCREEN | REVIEW

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DICKS: THE MUSICAL

Starring Megan Mullaly, Bowen Yang & Nathan Lane

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Dicking Around

The shock-comedy camp of Dicks: The Musical has plenty of pizzazz.

MOVIE TIMES on

Musical comedy Dicks: The Musical gets by on vulgar, low-budget charm BY JOSH BELL

t’s no surprise that Dicks: The Musical got its The movie clocks in at only 86 minutes — start at sketch-comedy institution the Upright including end-credit bloopers — so it only slightly Citizens Brigade, since the movie written by overstays its welcome, and there are enough and starring Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp often hilariously bizarre bits to sustain most of that feels like an overgrown comedy sketch. Jackson slim running time. As performers, Jackson and and Sharp are relative newcomers with only a Sharp can be overly showy and histrionic, and handful of minor screen credits each, but Dicks: they’re easily outshined by the famous co-stars The Musical could pass for the film debut of a they recruit, including Yang, rapper Megan Thee long-running comedy troupe, complete with the Stallion as Craig and Trevor’s boss, and Nathan awkward transition to long-form narrative. Lane and Megan Mullally as the duo’s estranged Groups like The Kids in the Hall and The parents. State are clear influences on Jackson and Sharp, Lane and Mullally practically take over the who also draw from transgressive queer filmmovie once they show up, as Craig and Trevor makers like John Waters for their deliberately hatch a Parent Trap-style scheme to get their button-pushing film. Dicks: The Musical was first parents back together. Both parents are deeply produced as the even more inappropriately titled disturbed, and the veteran performers fully two-man stage show Fucking Identical Twins, and embrace that weirdness, committing to even the Jackson and Sharp reprise their roles nastiest, most inexplicable as those title characters. Craig (Sharp) DICKS: THE MUSICAL scenarios that Jackson and and Trevor (Jackson) are introduced Sharp put them through Rated R as absurdly exaggerated alpha males, (look out for the horrific Directed by Larry Charles their performative heterosexuality puppet creatures known Starring Aaron Jackson, Josh Sharp, obviously masking some deeply reas Sewer Boys). They also Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally pressed desires. An opening title card bring full commitment facetiously lauds the “bravery” of the gay stars to the Broadway-style musical numbers, which for playing straight characters. makes the foul-mouthed songs even funnier. Craig and Trevor are both inconsiderate Like the 1999 South Park movie Bigger, Longer & jerks who take what they want, brag about all Uncut, Dicks: The Musical mocks musical theater the women they have sex with, and excel at so effectively because its creators have such clear their meaningless industrial sales jobs. When affection for the form. their company’s two offices merge, they’re pitted Director Larry Charles is best known for his against each other for the top sales position, but collaborations with Sacha Baron Cohen, most that competition takes a turn when they realize notably on Borat, and his staging is functional but that they’re actually identical twins, separated at lacks the level of spectacle that would make Dicks: birth and each raised by one of their parents. The Musical a more immersive parody. The delibJackson and Sharp look nothing alike, but as erately ramshackle sets and the establishing shots the movie’s narrator, God Himself (Bowen Yang), lifted from vintage stock footage have a certain insists, you just have to go with it. That applies kitsch value, but they also keep Dicks: The Musical to pretty much everything in Dicks: The Musical, from transcending its sketch-comedy origins. which undercuts any potential criticisms of its After all its outrageousness, the movie turns sloppy production values or lack of credibility earnest in a final plea for love and acceptance, by pre-emptively criticizing itself. The ironic which deflates a bit of the intended taboo-breakself-deprecation wears thin, as does the strained ing. Jackson and Sharp try hard to shock, but like edginess of the vulgar dialogue and outlandish their characters, they’re ultimately just desperate scenarios. for approval. n

ALSO OPENING AFTER DEATH

Propagandistic Christian outlet Angel Studios presents a movie filled with interviews with people who claim to have had out-of-body, neardeath experiences. Rated PG-13

FREELANCE

In this action comedy, a retired special ops soldier (John Cena) gets in over his head when he takes a gig as a bodyguard for a journalist (Alison Brie) working on a story about a dictator, only for a military coup to break out. Rated R

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Intrigue is in the air (literally) in this CGI-animated tale set in the world of anthropomorphic insects. The titular spider Inspector Sun must crack a murder case on a luxury airplane. Rated PG As part of Studio Ghibli Fest, Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved surreal classic about a 10-year-old girl who unexpectedly enters the world of Japanese Shinto folklore spirits. The first anime to win an Oscar returns to the big screen for five days (Oct. 28-Nov. 1). Rated PG

MONUMENTALSHOWS.COM

THE BIG DIPPER HALLOWEEN COVER SHOW OCT 27 & 28 • THE BIG DIPPER

PAGE 36 OCTOBER 26, 2023 INLANDER 33

POP

The Grass Is Greener

Spokane’s Brett Hite found success by trading soccer cleats for Frenship BY AZARIA PODPLESKY 34 INLANDER OCTOBER 26, 2023

Brett Hite (left) swapped soccer pitches for musical pitches. ALEX POWELL PHOTO

o one is as surprised by Brett Hite’s success as a musician as much as Brett Hite. The son of athletic parents, the Spokane native played soccer through adolescence. After graduating from University High School, he attended the University of Washington on a soccer scholarship. Degree in hand, Hite thought professional soccer might be his next step. He spent time with the Seattle

Sounders organization (without a contract) and considered an offer from a team in Ohio. But tired of feeling like he was always recovering from an injury, Hite found himself at a crossroads. “I was like ‘What’s the long-term plan here?’” Hite says. “Some of my buddies [were] in [Major League Soccer]. It’s glamorous looking, but they’re still making shit for money. I was like, ‘If I’m going

to be broke, I might as well go down [doing] the thing that holds my attention the most right now.’ And that was music.” Hite said his parents had encouraged an interest in the arts, but weren’t sure how to facilitate that interest. He took drum lessons when he was 7, then again when he started junior high. Watching his friends play guitar at school, Hite’s musical interests shifted. His mother and grandparents bought him a starter guitar that he spent hours playing after soccer practice. Hite’s first concert, Amy Grant with his mother, didn’t stoke an interest in performing. But something about seeing a friend’s band at the Big Dipper — sounding “terrible and awesome all at once” — did. After college, and still hooked on the idea of performing live, Hite moved to Los Angeles and started going to concerts nearly every night. Six months into attempting to figure things out, a bout of meningitis forced Hite to move home. This setback was a blessing in disguise, however, as he sat with his keyboard and guitar all day, every day. Three years later, Hite decided to give LA another shot. This trip was more successful. While working at Lululemon, Hite met James Sunderland, his partner in the electro-pop/rock duo Frenship. Before the pair talked music, they bonded over drinks after work. Hite said neither of them drink anymore, and they laugh about the “shenanigans” they got into. “Throughout all that debauchery, we’d yell, ‘There’s big ships, little ships and the best ship is friendship!’ and that was where the name came from,” he recalls.

ith their health in mind, Hite and Sunderland curbed their wild ways and wrote a few songs. The first, “Kids,” received more of a response from friends and family than anything he or Sunderland had released separately. With a few more songs under their belts, the pair pursued a publishing deal, eventually clicking with Prescription Songs, and they began building a team of people they enjoyed writing with, including Emily Warren. During one of their sessions with Warren, the trio, along with Scott Hoffman of Scissors Sisters, wrote “Capsize.” Big-name artists like Rihanna considered recording the song, but it never made the final cut. After so much hurry-up-and-wait, Hite and Sunderland were at a breaking point as a band. They decided to release the handful of songs they had left and move on to other things. “Capsize” made the cut. Upon release, the song quickly racked up more than 100 million Spotify streams before it was ever played on the radio. This caught the attention of Columbia Records, which signed Frenship and released 2016’s Truce EP. “Capsize” currently has more than 630 million Spotify streams. “Well, shit, for better or worse, we have a career now,” Hite recalls thinking. “We always wanted that, but then in the end, it was a bit of an accident of how we actually became artists.” Lows often accompany those record business highs. Hite recalls having to be creative with his

word choice when responding to a reporter asking about the economics of the music industry to avoid being sued by “Company X” for violating a nondisclosure agreement. “We had a song that was top 10 on the global Spotify charts and it was multiplatinum throughout the world, and I was going to go buy a new car and I wanted a BMW X5, but I had to lease a Honda CRV,” Hite told the reporter to explain how bad Frenship’s record deal was. “[Record deals] tend to not feel good at one point or another, so if you can at least enjoy the people that you’re working with and make sure you’re not completely getting screwed on the economic side of the deal, then it’s at least a bit more sustainable,” Hite adds.

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ite and Sunderland recently released the Base Camp EP through ONErpm. The EP, along with previously released songs like “All My Friends” and “How a Man Dies,” marks an intentional move by Hite and Sunderland to be more vulnerable in their songwriting, something Hite says his Christian upbringing made it difficult to do as a younger musician. “Early days we always wrote with some kind of optimistic, hopeful umbrella over everything,” Hite says, noting his beliefs have shifted over time. “It was like ‘Oh, I’m going through a hard time, but it’s going to be fine.’ Literally the lyrics of our biggest song is ‘I’m fine.’” On “Copenhagen,” Hite and Sunderland sing about struggling with nationalism in the face of countless shootings across the country. On “Pretend” (which features King Henry), Hite was inspired to repeat “It’ll be OK, it’ll be OK” after watching their publisher try to comfort her son, who lives with brain tumors, as he experienced a seizure. “I watched that and knew that she was talking to herself as well as him,” Hite says. “It was such a heavy thing to witness. The next day we had this session, and I was like, ‘There’s nothing else that I can talk about right now.’ … These songs are written to accompany moments and to accompany people in these emotions. They’re not necessarily written to solve them.” The freedom Frenship has felt in their songwriting has translated to the stage. At the end of the first leg of their current tour, Hite and Sunderland were forced to perform acoustically after the venue didn’t have a piece of gear they needed to put on their show as previously planned. Both left that concert thinking they could be on to something and are looking forward to bringing a more authentic show to audiences, performing as a two-piece and ditching the click track that dominated past shows. “That’s on us, with each other, to make sure that both of us feel safe to screw it up or to take it in a direction that we don’t usually go to see how that feels,” Hite says. “That’s the exciting part to me is that it feels like we are in that space now.” n Frenship • Wed, Nov. 1 at 8 pm • $20 • 21+ • The District Bar • 916 W. First Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com

HAUNTED TRAIN!

Inland Northwest Rail Museum OCTOBER 26, 2023 INLANDER 35

MUSIC | SOUND ADVICE

LOCAL HEAVY ROCK KADABRA

t’s no magic trick. In fact, Spokane’s own Kadabra is building up quite the international, heavy psych rock world by keeping things relatively simple. Formed in 2020, guitarist/singer Garrett Zanol (who also fronts Indian Goat) and the band lean into massive heavy rock riffs with echo-y effects to create driving psychedelic and atmospheric music for headbanging stoners. Earlier in October, the band put out its second LP Umbra, which keeps the heavy and dark party going. Kadabra will be playing the new album in full at their gig at the District. Don’t miss it because, in an all-toofamiliar refrain for top Spokane bands, Kadabra doesn’t play a ton of local shows (*whispers* because it’s easier to get people to come out to gigs in big cities). For more on Kadabra, read our interview with Zanol on Inlander.com. — SETH SOMMERFELD Kadabra, Death Chant, Itchy Kitty • Fri, Oct. 27 at 8 pm • $15 • 21+ • District Bar • 916 W. First Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com

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

NEO SOUL ABRAHAM ALEXANDER

Thursday, 10/26

Abraham Alexander • Sat, Oct. 28 at 8 pm • $18 • 21+ • District Bar • 916 W. First Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com

Friday, 10/27

AK ASIAN RESTAURANT, Pamela Jean J J THE BIG DIPPER, The Big Dipper Halloween Cover Show: Night 1 BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Bruiser CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Steve Livingston and Triple Shot CHINOOK LOUNGE, Mike McCafferty CURLEY’S, Chasing Eos J THE DISTRICT BAR, Kadabra, Death Chant, Itchy Kitty EMERGE, Bailey Allen Baker J THE GRAIN SHED, Haywire J HEARTWOOD CENTER, Object Heavy, Biddadat IRON HORSE (CDA), Rock Candy MOOSE LOUNGE, The Happiness MULLIGAN’S BAR & GRILLE, Son of Brad NIGHTHAWK LOUNGE, Karma’s Circle

36 INLANDER OCTOBER 26, 2023

f you happen to be a fan of the Texas smooth, neo soul and bluesy folk rock of Leon Bridges and Gary Clark Jr., then checking out their Lone Star State collaborator Abraham Alexander is a must, as he blends both artists’ styles into something all his own. The Greece-born, Texas-raised singer-songwriter showcases a stirring emotional depth — unafraid to be both vulnerable and strong — while also singing with a swoon-inducing sensuality. His 2023 debut LP Sea/Sons delves into his personal history — the strength of his mother who helped the family immigrate to the states only to be killed by a drunken driver, the pain of dealing with his abusive father, the grace of his eventual adoptive family — with an open-hearted resolve that can send empathetic vibrations into a listener’s soul. — SETH SOMMERFELD

J THE BIG DIPPER, Drift Away, Dragged Out, Cynical Suffering CHECKERBOARD TAPROOM, Weathered Shepherds CRUISERS, Noah Vonne, Bluphoria THE DISTRICT BAR, Acid Mother’s Temple J GRANT PARK, DJ Battle: Gorilla vs Banana KNITTING FACTORY, Spooky Rave J MCCRACKEN’S PUB AND BBQ, Mike McCafferty J QQ SUSHI & KITCHEN, Just Plain Darin THE STEAM PLANT, Joel Haugen J J WEST CENTRAL ABBEY, Karyn Ann, Vonnie Kyle, Hannah Siglin ZOLA, The Night Mayors

ONE TREE CIDER HOUSE, Kori Ailene PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Ponderay Paradox J ROSE GARAGE BREWING CO., Just Plain Darin SPOKANE VALLEY EAGLES, Stagecoach West ZOLA, Wasted Genius

Saturday, 10/28

J BECK’S HARVEST HOUSE, Kevin Shay Band J J THE BIG DIPPER, The Big Dipper Halloween Cover Show: Night 2 BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Bruiser CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, The Longnecks, Belly Dancers

CHINOOK LOUNGE, Mike McCafferty CRUISERS, Sovereign and the Non-Prophets, Nathan Chartrey, Jake Rozier CURLEY’S, Chasing Eos J THE DISTRICT BAR, Abraham Alexander IRON HORSE (CDA), Rock Candy J KNITTING FACTORY, TesseracT MOOSE LOUNGE, The Happiness NIGHTHAWK LOUNGE, Karma’s Circle PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Ben Vogel J REVIVAL TEA COMPANY, Exzac Change & Matisse SPOKANE VALLEY EAGLES, Sharky and the Fins THE WINE HOUSE, Son of Brad ZOLA, Blake Braley

Sunday, 10/29

J ADELO’S PIZZA, PASTA & PINTS, Brassless Chaps J BECK’S HARVEST HOUSE, Kevin Shay Band CURLEY’S, Theresa Edwards Band THE DISTRICT BAR, Snacks at Midnight, Left on Tenth HOGFISH, Open Mic IRON HORSE (VALLEY), Into the Drift Duo J SIEMERS FARM, The Walleye

Monday, 10/30 J EICHARDT’S PUB, Monday Night Blues Jam with John Firshi

J THE FOX THEATER, The Black Jacket Symphony Presents: Eagles’ Hotel California

Tuesday, 10/31

LITZ’S PUB & EATERY, Shuffle Dawgs OSPREY RESTAURANT & BAR, Echo Elysium ZOLA, The Night Mayors

Wednesday, 11/1

J THE DISTRICT BAR, Frenship, Gavn RED ROOM LOUNGE, The Roomates J TIMBERS ROADHOUSE, Cary Beare Presents J ZEEKS PIZZA, Nate Ostrander ZOLA, Brittany’s House

November 2023 November 3RD – 6TH FRI

Regular Session

SAT

Matinee Session

SUN

MON Monday Night Bingo

FRI

5 Drawings for Sloth Blankets Regular Session

MON Dauber Day Monday Night Bingo.

November 10

— 13

BINGO HELD UPSTAIRS ALL WEEKEND FRI SAT

FRI

Black Friday Bingo Regular Session – $5 Buy-in (minimum electronic buy-in $25). All regular games pay $1,000.

November 17TH — 20TH

Regular Session SUN

November 24TH — 27TH

Regular Session

SAT

Regular Session

Boss Bonus Cash Drawings & Sloth Socks Bingo Regular Session Boss Bonus Cash Drawings 5 Drawings for $1,000 Cash. Sloth Socks Bingo All bingo winners receive sloth socks! Sloth Socks Bingo

SAT

Matinee Session Regular Session

SUN

Pendleton Blanket Regular Session 15 drawings in celebration of Native American Heritage Month

MON Monday Night Bingo

Matinee Session

Veterans Day Bingo Matinee Session Regular Session All Veterans receive an additional $100 on Bingos. Must have a military ID. Offer valid for both bingo sessions.

Regular Session SUN

Sloth Socks Bingo Regular Session – $5 Buy-in (minimum electronic buy-in $25). All regular games pay $1,000.

MON Monday Night Bingo

REGULAR BINGO SESSIONS Admissions opens Session begins

FRI & SAT

SUN

4 PM 6 PM

11 AM 1 PM

MATINEE-STYLE BINGO SESSIONS Admissions opens Session begins

SAT

MON

11 AM NOON

4 PM 6 PM

Session types and hours are subject to change on holidays and during other special event celebrations. Please see the Bingo venue for more details.

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W I N T E R

Monthly in the Inlander

S E R I E S

October – February

OCTOBER 26, 2023 INLANDER 37

COMEDY MY RIBS HURT

The Garland Theater is a beloved Spokane landmark best known for its array of retro movie screenings. Raise your hand if you knew they hosted a monthly comedy showcase as well! That’s what I thought. Spokane funny guy Josiah Carlson (above), founder of the Spokane Comedy Film Festival, hosts Funny Funny Funny Joke Joke Joke every first Thursday. His goal is to take full advantage of the Garland’s spacious theater to showcase as much local, regional and national comedic talent as possible. November’s show is headlined by Jade Esteban Estrada, a renaissance man of sorts — he was a scratch vocalist for the Backstreet Boys and a choreographer for Latina diva Charo! This comedy experience is as unique as its venue, so go support a local gem and local comedy all in one go. — MADISON PEARSON Funny Funny Funny Joke Joke Joke • Thu, Nov. 2 from 6:30-9 pm • $15 • Garland Theater • 924 W. Garland Ave. • garlandtheater.com

WORDS IF WALLS COULD TALK

For those of us lucky enough to live inside beautiful, old buildings, imagining the lives of past residents who traced our same footsteps can be an entertaining and even eerie exercise of the imagination. That’s sort of the premise behind Carla Crujido’s debut short story collection, The Strange Beautiful, which weaves magical tales of the residents of a historic Spokane apartment building — a very real place on the lower South Hill called the Mt. Vernon Apartments — throughout the past century. The Strange Beautiful was released last month. Before an evening reading at Auntie’s, Crujido is also hosting an in-person workshop called “Writing Everyday Magic” at the Central Library as part of the Spokane Writers Conference. — CHEY SCOTT Carla Crujido: The Strange Beautiful • Fri, Oct. 27 at 7 pm • Free • Auntie’s Bookstore • 402 W. Main Ave. • auntiesbooks.com

38 INLANDER OCTOBER 26, 2023

WORDS THE WRITE STUFF

Whether you’re an aspiring novelist or seasoned professional, the 7th annual Spokane Writers Conference can help writers at any stage of their career develop their style and find inspiration for new literary works. Through 18 workshops and panels at the Central Library (Friday) and Spokane Valley Library (Saturday) across its two-day run, attendees can learn about a variety of writing styles and gather tips and tricks from professionals in different fields, including the Inlander’s own Arts & Culture editor Chey Scott. This year’s conference covers everything from poetry and children’s literature to researching, revising and publishing. The conference is free, but make sure to register online in advance for any sessions you plan to attend. — SUMMER SANDSTROM Spokane Writers Conference • Fri, Oct. 27 from 10:30 am-4:30 pm (Central Library); Sat, Oct. 28 from 9:30 am-5:15 pm (Spokane Valley Library) • Free • spokanewriterscon2023.rsvpify.com

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.

COMMUNITY SKELE-FUN

There’s still time to put together some plans for Halloweekend! There are events happening all around the Inland Northwest for spooky, scary skeletons of all ages. For families and young kiddos, check out Brick West’s Brick-orTreat event featuring a fall vendor fair with free candy at each booth. Brick Buy Brick in Garland is hosting a LEGO Halloween party with a monsterbuilding contest for kids. For a more low-key trick-or-treating experience, head to Goodwill on the South Hill for a trunk-or-treat event that’s sure to be a hoot. If you’re looking to live it up this weekend, head to the Wonder Building for Neon Moon: A Halloween Honky Tonk. This party has live music, a mechanical bull, flash tattoos and line dancing. For even more fun, check out our Halloween event roundup on Inlander.com. Be spooky, scary and safe! — MADISON PEARSON See Inlander.com for details and more Halloween events.

MONEY ANSWERS FOR PEOPLE WHO TEXT WITH ONE FINGER.

MUSIC NERD TUNES

It may be hard to believe for the youngsters out there, but there was a time when nerdy stuff like video games, superhero comics, sci-fi films and fantasy novels were considered… well… actually nerdy and not the widely accepted core of mainstream pop culture. The thought of a symphony orchestra “cheapening” themselves with such trivialities would’ve made high-culture patrons fall out of their seats with aghast incongruity. But now the Spokane Symphony is leaning into its geeky side with Symphonic-Con, a program loaded with beloved music from Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, the Uncharted video games and more. These days, that’s simply following the money. — SETH SOMMERFELD Spokane Symphony Symphonic-Con • Sat, Oct. 28 at 7:30 pm • $25-$64 • The Fox Theater • 1001 W. Sprague Ave. • spokanesymphony.org

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OCTOBER 26, 2023 INLANDER 39

SERENDIPITY I saw the most handsome man with the finest beard driving a blue truck. I see blue trucks everywhere now. The first time you made me dinner you confessed that you hadn’t felt in years until me, you never thought you’d feel again, you thanked me immensely. We in eight months deep now and you are steadfast, rock steady. We going strong through it all. You my mountain, my sunshine, my king. Will you be my forever? RYAN, FROM THE SV MALL Hi, I picked you up in an Uber on 27th Ave. in Spokane Valley. You were taking your daughter to a family Halloween get-together on Lyons in CDA. We talked the whole way and had a lot in common. I should have given you my number or asked you for yours. If you read this or know this person, please reach out to me.

I SAW YOU TOOL CONCERT You and I were sitting in Section 221 at the Tool concert. I was sitting in 18, and you were in 19. All the concerts you’ve been to was pretty awesome. This is my first time posting on here. If you’re interested in getting together for coffee, just respond back. I had to leave in a hurry, my family was down in the floor section. NUDE MAN My girlfriends and I were walking through Kendall Yards on Oct. 18 when we happened to see a nude man (you) in his window. And might we say, very nice, sir. Very nice. Keep up the good work. TOOL CONCERT TOO Sat next to you at the Tool Concert. We were sitting in Section 221, Row N. We talked music, and you were lucky enough to go to Power Trip! If interested, let’s get together for coffee. S. TOOL CONCERT ONCE MORE We sat next to each, talked about the about music, and had a lot come of that. I’m sorry I didn’t talk much. I was so into the concert. I had to get out of there fast, my family looking for me. We leaned legs together, that was nice. I haven’t been with anyone for three years. I think I’m ready. ROCKET MARKET MEETUP Last Saturday, Rocket Market at lunchtime, we chatted about how you were a regular at the deli. I hope your burrito was tasty! Even though my friend and I sat near you on the patio, I never got the chance to ask your friend how his lunch was, but wanted him to look my way — any chance you’d introduce us?

CHEERS INLANDER, WE LOVE YOU Seriously guys, you kill it! Every issue seems to brighten my day, enlighten me to a topic of area of Spokane I hadn’t known, and after reading the 30-year issue... Geez what an accomplishment and a staple of this awesome region. You’re embedded in the community and legit one of the best parts of living here. Every grocery store run, coffee shop, gym... I ALWAYS check the stand on my way out for the latest issue. Love you guys YOKES CHECKER Checkstand #1 at the Yokes in Airway Heights. This goes out to MY FAVORITE CASHIER. YES, YOU LADY!! YOU are the sweetest gal... I love coming in and seeing your beautiful smile and hearing your contagious laughter! You brighten my day as we talk shit about all the wierdos!! You’re so much more than a cashier, you’re my therapist, my sunshine on a cloudy day, my sense of reason at times, and you are a friend. I appreciate you and all that you do!! Next time make sure you don’t have the intercom on when we are talking. Lol lol!!! YOU STAY AMAZING LADY!! CHEERS ARE BETTER THAN JEERS! Keep it up you great people out there. This is how we overcome the bs! INSPIRED BY CARLA PEPERZAK I attended the dedication of Peperzak Middle School on Saturday and was amazed at the thoughtfulness put into the ceremony, the layout and design of the building (way to

go, Integrus Architecture), and the way that the school has embraced the importance of recognizing the past to inform and guide teaching our youth to be kind and intentional. Thank you for selecting Carla Peperzak as the namesake for this school to inspire the next generation of courageous and strong leaders.

“

We are being safe, so you can kiss my pyromania loving a$$!

PRECIOUS FREEDOM Ladies, please take a moment to appreciate our freedoms; to drive, to go to school, choose how we dress, our company, and our right to vote. My friend’s family are still living in Iran, once a progressive country of high culture, literature and art, now a repressive regime of fear and terror that nobody there wants except the unvoted-for leaders. Look at the intractable faces of the cruel men in charge. Young women are publicly beaten to death for not adhering to the dress code. Something to consider as you pursue your day zooming along our streets. Many persons worked and sacrificed so we can enjoy our lives here. Be grateful and remember to vote — it’s a precious freedom.

JEERS ANTISEMITISM As I read a book, titled “All The Light We Cannot See,” I think of a conversation I had with an elderly person, talking about her neighbor’s purchase of their new house, using a racial slur and stereotypes about Jewish people. Even though I quietly said, “Don’t talk that way,” I knew she wouldn’t understand. So painful, so sad for the ignorance. PYROPHOBIA We’ve been in our home less than a year, and you’ve wasted the taxpayers’ money by calling the fire department on us THREE times. I moved out of the city to get away from jerks like you, yet here you are! Just so you know, we are not gonna stop burning and are now starting to plan many parties, just to say Thank You for noticing us! Get a life, loser! We are being safe, so you can kiss my pyromania loving a$$!

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.”

40 INLANDER OCTOBER 26, 2023

ARREST PROP 1 Most Spokane County citizens currently pay sales tax of 9%. A certain county commissioner thinks that’s not enough. He wants you to pay more so he can build a new jail. The need for a new jail is debatable. Our sales tax is the most regressive tax we have and hurts families. Read my lips, “No more sales taxes!”

WHO WILL BENEFIT Jeers to the property developers, Realtors, auto dealerships, and dark-money interests that are spending money to fearmonger and influence our votes. A cynic might conclude they were trying to destroy our town. Indeed, it was under their candidate’s reign, the incumbent mayor, when we witnessed Camp Hope and a noticeable increase in the homeless population. The situation grew so dire, a misguided homeless woman, desperate for housing, set fires in our neighborhoods. Of course, there’s also the $26,000 monthly lease for a homeless shelter. For a building that doesn’t have working bathrooms. In fact, a true skeptic might ask who is it that benefits when people hop in their cars and flee downtown to the newly built tracts of homes for sale in the suburbs?

”

THE FORMER NEWSREADER Who is now the mayor misquotes a book again. She should have her latest attack ad labeled BORED OF THE LIES. Please stop, you’re embarrassing yourself.

WHY INFLATION? Inflation was caused when our president suddenly injected trillions of dollars into the economy, which in turn people started spending, which in turn caused demand, which in turn caused prices to raise, which also in turn caused supply issues (remember those?). Then of course, to make up for the rise in prices for things, wages went up, which in turn caused prices to rise even further because the cost of business was, of course, passed to the consumer, and this same cycle continues and continues. And who is hit hardest? Those on fixed incomes (aka people who worked their whole lives for a good retirement) with so-called “costof-living” increases, which do NOT reflect actual cost increases. JEERS TO CRYBABY LARRY STONE “If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.” You’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for nasty attack ads against political leaders you don’t agree with. And you threaten lawsuits because another PAC hit back? Maybe you didn’t realize that politics is a tough business, it’s for the big kids, not crybabies. If you don’t like how the game is played, stay home. WALK ON THE RIGHT I wasn’t talking to your kids, I was talking to YOU. YOU are the one on the wrong side of the hall. You walk on the right side, not on the left side, or down the middle. You choose to do that, or choose to stay still, because I’m not going to move for you.

DISFUNCTION IS THE GOAL “Jeers to Cathy McMorris Rodgers for tripling down on her support for Jim Jordan as House speaker. Jordan acts as a “legislative terrorist” (I’m quoting a Republican legislator here) and as a coup-enthusiast. He is the last person who should serve as speaker. CMR has been in Washington, D.C., too long. We’re exhausted with Congress members who continue to collect their paychecks and yet do nothing but vote for obstruction and chaos.” I AM A JERK It was 1967 or ‘68 at Rogers High near Sadie Hawkins day. You, a sweet, nervous, lovely young lady asked me to the dance, and I replied with a snarky, viscious remark that was cruel and unnecessary. I am so sorry. I hope you were able to forget and forgive me. I have not. I am jerk and apologize. n

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

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

COMMUNITY

GHOST BALL This evening includes silent and live auctions, a photo booth, costume contest, dancing, and more. Proceeds benefit Elevations Spokane. Oct. 28, 7 pm-midnight. $100. Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. elevationsspokane.org/ghost_ball THE PUMPKIN BALL This annual gala raises funds to support Vanessa Behan’s vital mission of keeping kids safe while strengthening and supporting their families. Ages 21+. Oct. 28, 5:30 pm. Davenport Grand Hotel, 333 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. vanessabehan.org HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL AND PET COSTUME CONTEST This event features costume contests, canine games, carnival games for humans and plenty of treats. All proceeds benefit Central Valley High School. Oct. 30, 4-6 pm. By donation. K9 Country Club Spokane, 19223 E. Appleway Ave. k9ccspokane.com

BECK’S HARVEST HOUSE FALL HARVEST FESTIVAL The festival features a pumpkin patch, corn maze, children’s games, food trucks, fresh produce and more. Daily from 10 am-6 pm through Oct. 29. Free. Beck’s Harvest House, 9919 E. Greenbluff Rd. becksharvesthouse. com (509-238-6970) TERROR ON SIERRA A haunted house featuring various scares and haunts. Daily from 7-10 pm through Oct. 31. $5. Terror on Sierra, 619 E. Sierra Ave. horrormediaproductions.com (509-202-2698) NORTH IDAHO COLLEGE CTE TRICKOR-TREAT Families can trick-or-treat through the halls while learning about NIC’s programs. Oct. 27, 3-6 pm. Free. North Idaho College Parker Technical Education Center, 7064 W. Lancaster Rd, Coeur d’Alene. nic.edu SPOOKWALK The walk guides participants through Browne’s Addition to hear tales of mystery, murder and mayhem. Oct. 27-29 from 6:30-8:30 pm and 7-9 pm. $25. Browne’s Bistro, 1924 W. Pacific. friendsofcdapark.org (509-850-0056) BRICK OR TREAT! This Halloween family trick-or-treat event features local vendors selling crafty products and handing out free candy for the kids. Oct. 28, 4-8 pm. Free. Brick West Brewing Co., 1318 W. First Ave. bit.ly/Brick-or-treat CORBIN PARK WITCHES RIDE Ride your bike around Corbin Park dressed in your best witch regalia. Oct. 28, 4-5 pm. Free. Corbin Park, 896 S. Corbin Rd. facebook. com/corbinparkspokane FINCH ARBORETUM FALL LEAF FESTIVAL This annual family event gives everyone a chance to play in the leaves, celebrate trees, check out vendors and explore the Arboretum. Oct. 28, 11 am-2 pm. Free. Finch Arboretum, 3404 W. Woodland. my.spokanecity.org/parksrec GHOUL OL’ FASHIONED FUN Participate in Halloween and fall inspired activities all around the camp grounds. Dress in costume for a chance to win a prize. Oct. 28, 11 am-3 pm. $5. Camp Dart-Lo, 14000 N. Dartford Dr. campfireinc.org GOBLIN PARTY Come dressed in your Halloween costume and enjoy games, prizes and more. Oct. 28, 4-7 pm. Free. Spokane Gallery and Framing, 409 S. Dishman Mica Rd. facebook.com/spokanegalleryboutique (509-747-0812) GUIDED TOUR: MEMENTO MORI Join museum educator Linda Strong for a tour of Campbell House. Explore American mourning rituals and spiritual beliefs,

COMEDY JESSIE JETSKI JOHNSON Johnson is a music school drop-out and trumpet player turned stand-up comedian. Oct. 26, 7:30 pm. $20. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com ADAM CAROLLA Carolla is the host of the Adam Carolla Show and has appeared on various TV programs. Oct. 27, 7:30 & 10:15 pm and Oct. 28, 7 & 9:45 pm. $40-$85. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com IMPROVISED MURDER MYSTERY Inspire the cast with characters, watch the mystery unfold and help solve the case. Oct. 27, 7-8:30 pm. $10. Harding Family Center, 411 N. 15th St. levitytheatre.com NO CLUE A fully-improvised murder mystery comedy show. Fri at 7:30 pm through Nov. 3. $9. Blue Door Theatre, 815 W. Garland Ave. bluedoortheatre.org COLIN JOST Jost serves as a head writer for Saturday Night Live and is the co-anchor of the Weekend Update sketch. Nov. 2, 7:30 pm. $40-$148. The Fox Theater, 1001 W. Sprague. foxtheaterspokane.org FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY JOKE JOKE JOKE This unique comedy experience takes full advantage of the theater’s projector system, combining stand-up comedy, live sketches and other mixedmedia elements. November’s guest headliner is Jade Esteban Estrada. Nov. 2, 7:30-9 pm. $15. Garland Theater, 924 W. Garland Ave. garlandtheater.com

such as seances. Oct. 28 from 4-4:50 pm. $8-$10. Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org (509-456-3931) HAUNTED TRAIN CARS Walk through the museum’s train cars that have been turned into a haunted attraction for the season. Oct. 28, 6-9 pm, Oct. 29, 5-8 pm and Oct. 31, 5-9 pm. $6. Inland Northwest Rail Museum, 23700 Sprinkle Rd. inlandnwrailmuseum.com (509-796-3377) LET’S INVESTIGATE: PUMPKINS Measure, weigh, float, and explore pumpkins together using scientific methods. This program is intended for ages 3-11 with an adult. Oct. 28, 11 am-noon. Free. South Hill Library, 3324 S. Perry St. spokanelibrary.org (509-444-5331) NEON MOON: A HALLOWEEN HONKY TONK This Halloween party includes live music, a mechanical bull, flash tattoos, a photo booth, food and more. Costumes encouraged. Ages 21+. Oct. 28, 7 pmmidnight. $10-$25. The Wonder Building, 835 N. Post St. esrhospitality.com SOUTH HILL TRUNK-OR-TREAT Collect candy from Halloween-themed trunks. Oct. 28, 6:30-8 pm. Free. Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest, 2927 E. 27th Ave. discovergoodwill.org SPARK-O-WEEN A day of creative learning and trick or treating. Activities include slime-making, story writing and more. Costumes welcome, but not required. Oct. 28, 12-5 pm. Free. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. spark-central. org (509-279-0299) TRICK-OR-TREAT PRACTICE PARTY This event is an all-inclusive trick-or-treat practice party for children with special needs and community members. Oct. 28, 2-4:30 pm. $10. The ISAAC Foundation, 606 W. Sharp Ave. theisaacfoundation. configio.com (509-325-1515) WONDERFUL & STRANGE HALLOWEEN A Twin Peaks-themed Halloween party featuring live music from The Bookhouse Boys. Oct. 28, 6-10 pm. Free. Black Lodge Brewing, 206 N. Third St., CdA. blacklodgebrewingco.com (208-640-6298) LEGO HALLOWEEN PARTY A party featuring LEGO-building contests, games, snacks and more. Come dressed in costume. Oct. 29, 5-7 pm. Free. Brick Buy Brick, 3915 N. Monroe St. brickbuybrickspokane.com (616-808-6555) TRUNKS OF TREATS Come dressed in costume to play games, win prizes and more. Oct. 29, 12-3:30 pm. Free. New Horizons Community Church, 3122 W. Lincoln Rd. nhccspokane.com WSU FLAG RAISING CEREMONY A cel-

ebration of the annual CougsFirst! Spokane Show and the issuing of a proclamation by Mayor Nadine Woodward. Oct. 30, 10:30 am. Free. Spokane City Hall, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. cougsfirst.org CAMPBELL HOUSE HALLOWEEN Wear your costume for a family-friendly Halloween experience. Complete a scavenger hunt and make crafts on the sun porch. Includes candy, games and more. Oct. 31, 5-7 pm. $5, kids 3 and under free. Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org COUGSFIRST! A showcase of Cougarowned and managed businesses featuring a keynote speech by President Kirk Schulz, a kids carnival, photos with Santa Butch and more. Nov. 1, 3-7:30 pm. Free. Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. cougsfirst.org MEND-IT CAFÉ FOR KIDS Learn to alter, upcycle and mend your clothes. Register at link to attend. Nov. 1, 4-5 pm. Free. Indian Trail Library, 4909 W. Barnes Rd. spokanelibrary.org (509-444-5331) SPOKANE HUMAN RIGHTS CHAMPIONS AWARD BANQUET An awards gala featuring dinner, drinks, a silent auction, a guest speaker, entertainment and an awards presentation. Nov. 2, 5-8 pm. $48. Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. spokanecountyhumanrightstaskforce.org (509-279-7000)

FILM HOCUS POCUS 30TH ANNIVERSARY A villainous comedic trio of witches are inadvertently resurrected by a teenage boy in Salem. Oct. 26-28 at 5 pm. Garland Theater, 924 W. Garland Ave. garlandtheater.com (509-327-1050) KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service. Oct. 27, 4 pm & 6:30 pm, Oct. 28, 4 pm and Oct. 29, 7 pm. $8. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org (208-882-4127) HALLOWEEN 45TH ANNIVERSARY Michael Myers escapes and returns to his hometown. Oct. 28-30 at 3 & 7:10 pm and Oct. 31 at 7:30 pm. Garland Theater, 924 W. Garland Ave. garlandtheater.com LEE VS. LI: HONG KONG HEROES DOUBLE FEATURE A double feature celebrating the power of Hong Kong martial arts cinema. Oct. 28, 6:30-10:30 pm. Free. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. ]uidaho.edu/ class/hias (208-885-7110) THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW The Garland’s annual Halloween week-

FOOD & DRINK HARVEST FEST & APPLE PALOOZA Indulge in various apple treats throughout downtown shops and vote for your favorite. Tickets include bite-sized treat tastings from all participating locations. Oct. 28, 10 am-3 pm. Free. Downtown Coeur d’Alene, Sherman Ave. cdaowntown.com MURDER MYSTERY & DINNER Show off your sleuthing skills as you piece together clues and uncover “who dunnit” during this event with Crime Scene Entertainment. Oct. 28, 6 pm. $85. Commellini Estate, 14715 N. Dartford Dr. commellini. com (509-466-0667) HALLOWEEN COCKTAIL DINNER: ZOMBIE PROM A four-course dinner menu paired with Halloween-inspired cocktails featuring dishes like squid ink pasta and lamb with marsala. Dress in your best zombie attire. Oct. 29, 5-8 pm. $85. Tavolata, 221 N. Wall St. ethanstowellrestaurants.com (509-606-5600) ITALIAN DESSERTS COOKING CLASS Chef Jeremy Regnere teaches how to make Italian desserts. Oct. 29, 4-6:30 pm. $85. The Kitchen Engine, 621 W. Mallon Ave. thekitchenengine.com SUWANEE’S THAI STREET FOOD Watch a demonstration of Thai cooking by Suwanee, a chef and food blogger. Oct. 29, 2-3 pm. Free. Shadle Library, 2111 W. Wellesley Ave. spokanelibrary.org ALL HALLOWS EVE DINNER Enjoy a five-course menu by the Davenport’s culinary team. Each course is paired with wine and five different historical stories of the Davenport. Oct. 30, 6-8 pm. $160. Historic Davenport Hotel, 10 S. Post. davenporthotelcollection.com DINNER WITH A MEDIUM A threecourse meal and conversation with medium Melissa Henyan. Nov. 2, 5:30-9 pm. $65. Honey Eatery & Social Club, 317 Sherman. honeyeateryandsocialclub.com

MUSIC STUDENT RECITAL Wyatt Salus, Yeseul Kim, Nathaniel Ballard and Brayden Schultz perform works by Barney Kessel, Pat Metheny, Charlie Parker and more. Oct. 27, 3:10-4 pm. Free. Bryan Hall Theatre, 605 Veterans Way. music.wsu.edu

TEAM

BOOMER’S BIRTHDAY BASH

POSTER GIVEAWAY

Presented By:

Fri. 10/27 vs. Kelowna Rockets

Sat. 10/28 vs Everett Silvertips

Help us celebrate Boomer’s birthday with all his mascot friends!

First 3,000 fans receive a Chiefs team poster courtesy of Avista. Stick around for post-game autographs.