Inlander 11/07/2024

EPA sets limit on toxic chemicals in Spokane River PAGE 12

TRENT ALLEY

Japanese-American history in Spokane commemorated PAGE 14

Fighting Fentanyl

By Samantha WohLfeil page

EDITOR’S NOTE

t’s difficult for most of us to comprehend the vast complexities in the fight against fentanyl.

Besides being occasionally exposed to the drug’s many ill effects, like seeing those in its throes passed out in public spaces, the average Spokanite may not have a full picture of the crisis.

After reading this week’s in-depth cover report by Samantha Wohlfeil, FIGHTING FENTANYL, we hope more people understand how challenging and multifaceted the issue is. It’s more than reviving someone from an overdose with Narcan. It’s bigger than just stopping the flow of drugs into the country, or even getting people into treatment. It’s a fight that will be long, exhausting and often unforgiving. From riding along with medical first responders to listening to the stories of people in recovery, our report peels back the curtain to reveal how and why this powerful drug keeps its victims so tightly in its clutches.

Yet there’s still hope. Users can recover and rebuild their lives. Some of these people are now working to fight the very drug that once controlled them, and lawmakers are increasing efforts to stop fentanyl’s flow into the community. Find the full story on page 20.

— CHEY SCOTT, Editor

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WHAT’S YOUR GO-TO COFFEE ORDER?

SARAH PETERSON

I love matcha, but there’s really no good matcha in Spokane that I have found. But I really like just an iced vanilla latte with cinnamon on top.

And is this your go-to spot?

Yeah. Because I can use [Gonzaga] Bulldog Bucks.

LANDON WILSON

The go-to coffee order is probably an iced green tea matcha latte from Starbucks.

Is that what you got today?

This is the pumpkin spice for the holidays. So I had to switch it up there just because of the season. But, the typical is straight matcha with regular milk, half sweet. That’s the move.

PERCY SIMPSON

OK, so, I’ve been making coffee for a really long time, and I almost always stick to pretty simple flavors. If it’s not just honey and cinnamon… right now it’s the brown sugar and maple.

You work here — do you have a favorite roast? I love our Colombian. All of our roasts are kind of medium. None of them are super light or dark, but it’s our lightest, and I think it’s really sweet.

MEGAN COZZA

Well, today I just had a drip coffee. I don’t like sweet coffee. So if I get a latte, I get a 12-ounce double with no flavor.

And do you have a go-to spot?

I like Arctos. I like Thomas Hammer. I avoid Starbucks. I try to stay local and support local coffee establishments.

MATT EMINGER

Probably be a random Redbull mixed drink. I always just go with, “Surprise me,” and they say, “Anything you don’t like or anything you can’t have?” and I say, “No. Anything goes.” And it’s usually pretty good.

Is that what you got today? No, today I went with a regular coffee.

INTERVIEWED BY JOHN BERGIN 10/31/2024, ARCTOS COFFEE & ROASTING COMPANY

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

The downtown Spokane doom narrative is self-reinforcing; sharing a different story about our vibrant downtown could be, too

BY ANTHONY GILL

rant Zona Blanca, pointing to crime and drug use as the reasons, and Larry Stone’s release of a familiar set of priorities for his new business association.

The narrative goes something like this: Downtown Spokane is in decline, is unsafe, is a hotbed of crime and unsavory activity.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. This story seems to go in waves, and it picks up every couple of years. I vividly remember when similar vague “concerns” were raised in 2014 about the STA Plaza, and even earlier about “street kids” loitering at a very specific corner of Wall Street and Spokane Falls Boulevard.

Over the past few months, it’s picked up again, spurred by Chad White closing his ceviche restau-

The problem is that the idea that downtown is bereft with petty crime and vagrancy is just not borne out in the data. As of late October and according to Spokane Police Department CompStat reports, year-to-date property crime was actually down more than 7% in the downtown area. For some types of crime, the decline is even more stark. Commercial burglaries are down 24%. Commercial robberies — considered a violent crime — are down 42%. Assaults? Down 10%.

The other almost more important problem is that this narrative is self-reinforcing.

If people only ever hear negative things about downtown from people — sometimes from those who own businesses there, many times from people who rarely visit — then why would anyone

Despite a feeling of out-of-control crime among some citizens, the statistics about downtown Spokane paint a different picture. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

ever come? Suddenly the narrative becomes reality, people stop go ing downtown because people say they feel uncomfortable there, and a spin-off version of the much-hyped “urban doom loop” is born.

Now, none of this is to say that downtown doesn’t have some real challenges that go beyond narrative. Too many people experience homelessness in our city, many of our services remain too concentrated in the core, and addiction remains a nationwide public health crisis. My day job is in place management, so I know firsthand how difficult these problems are to solve.

But in most downtowns (and indeed, often in our own!), major stakeholders play a role in solving problems, rather than simply pointing them out and demanding that someone else solve them.

In Seattle, caseworkers for people experiencing homelessness are funded in part through business improvement districts and work alongside district ambassadors downtown and in Ballard and the University District. In Walla Walla, the downtown organization’s effective pandemic-era street closure has morphed into a year-round, beloved public plaza that has boosted visits (and sales for nearby retailers) far above pre-pandemic levels. The Downtown Bellingham Partnership has played a major role in encouraging more people to live in that city’s core, even boosting public outreach for specific housing development projects there. And downtown organizations across the country have created small business incubators and creative enterprise programs to fill vacant retail spaces, support entrepreneurs and boost foot traffic.

Spokane’s downtown business and institutional leaders should be thinking along similar lines.

“…in most downtowns… major stakeholders play a role in solving problems…”

Could organizations like the Downtown Spokane Partnership work with the city to provide additional outreach and caseworkers? The business improvement district already funds a “clean and safe” team; could funding some outreach professionals for homeless services be added to the mix?

Could surface parking lots be quickly repurposed to provide broader economic benefit, perhaps with vendor fairs, markets, entertainment and other programming? Temporary activations like these are proven to bring more people to urban cores, as seen from Detroit to Atlanta to Manhattan, and we’ve seen our own success with renewed programming in Riverfront Park.

Could marketing of existing programming be better amplified? Right now, in part because of this narrative, too few people are hearing about the fun, exciting, engaging things happening downtown. Are business owners, property owners and organizations on TikTok? Are they working with influencers to share fun events and experiences you can have downtown?

Could we do more to tell people about the benefits of living downtown? Right now, only about 3,000 people live downtown, but if there were 5,000, or 10,000, visitors would be less likely to pay notice to bad actors or inconveniences because there’d be more of everyone around. We don’t tell a good enough story about the joys of walking to work, enjoying a concert on a Saturday, grabbing a coffee or a craft beer, or running along the river right outside your front door.

If stakeholders embrace a spirit of optimism and pride first — even in recognition of challenges and setbacks — I truly believe that we can build a stronger, more resilient downtown.

Because joy, like doom, is self-reinforcing. When we build a more compelling message and back it up with real experience, and when stakeholders work together to create and then sell a vision, minds can and will change.

So let’s get to work and bring this vision to life. n Anthony Gill is an

Solid Wood

House Rules

Spokane rental units are required to be registered, but not everyone knows that; now they might have to pay the fee

BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM

Whether you agree with it or not, Spokane’s rental registry is law.

Under an ordinance passed unanimously last year, all landlords are required to obtain a smallbusiness license and register their property with the city.

But not everyone is complying. Some landlords vocally oppose the registry, while others just don’t feel like their particular situation necessitates a business license. Others still don’t know about the requirements and don’t realize they’re out of compliance.

To incentivize registration and add consequences for not complying, Spokane City Council voted 5-2 to

update the municipal code last month: Now, landlords who are not licensed and registered are not allowed to raise rent or evict tenants.

November and December are the annual renewal periods for the registry. In 2025, code enforcement will start issuing civil infractions to properties that are not in compliance.

City Council member Michael Cathcart, who supported the ordinance that created the registry, feels the city hasn’t done enough outreach to educate landlords and tenants about it.

“We haven’t told you about it, we don’t know how

you’d know about it, we’ve not issued any citations to anybody who hasn’t been in compliance to get that word out, but now we’re going to jump to this radical, sort of nuclear option,” Cathcart said before voting against the new restrictions during the Oct. 14 City Council meeting.

Supporters of the ordinance said the new consequences are in line with the intent of the registry, which they say benefits both tenants and landlords.

“In looking at the original rental registry, it was very clear in the law — if you are not part of the registry then you will not be operating a rental unit in the city of Spokane,” council member Paul Dillon said.

THE GOALS

The main goal of the registry is to ensure all rental properties are inhabitable, safe and maintained regularly.

One simple advantage of the list is contact information. Landlords who live far away are sometimes hard to contact, says Jason Ruffing, code enforcement supervisor for the city of Spokane. Phone numbers usually make resolving issues — such as a dangerous tenant, a leaking roof or a plumbing issue — a whole lot quicker.

“If we do see deficiencies, we have a faster way to get in contact with them, as opposed to just depending on a mailed notice,” he says.

Gary Dennis lives in a Spokane duplex and rents out the other half. He’s not sure why the rental registry should apply to cases like his. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

“HOUSE RULES,” CONTINUED...

The original ordinance’s two requirements cost landlords money. A small-business license in Spokane costs about $130 per year. Plus, there’s an annual $15 per unit fee to register. The yearly registry fee specifically helps fund the code enforcement staff needed to inspect all the rental properties across the city.

“I’ve been in many rental homes and saw wires hanging out of light sockets and outlets that don’t operate and tenants having to use a bucket of water to fill the back of the toilet tank because their plumbing is not working,” says Terri Anderson, the interim executive director for the Tenants Union of Washington State.

“Now with the rental registry, not only can tenants call code enforcement to have them take a look, … [but] the rental registry provides the revenue to pay for that,” she continues. “Otherwise taxpayers have to pay for code enforcement, and that just doesn’t really seem fair.”

Ruffing and his team of code inspectors respond to all kinds of issues reported to 311, the city’s complaint hotline. This year, the hotline has received more complaints than ever — more than 270, most of which are related to substandard building issues. Nearly two out of every three complaints stem from rentals.

When inspectors respond to a building complaint at a rental property, they first check to see if it’s registered. If it’s not, the inspector will explain how to comply with the law while also dealing with the complaint.

Code enforcement is also proactively inspecting rental properties that are registered. A team of four started inspections in May, and so far they have completed over 700 inspections at registered rentals in six months.

“When we do an inspection at a property and we find no violations, or only very minor

violations, that’s an indication to us that we probably don’t need to spend a lot of time there,” Ruffing says. “Over time, we will be focusing our time on the properties that need our attention most. But it takes some time to get there.”

An additional benefit of the registry is data collection. Not only could the registry help pinpoint troublesome properties, but it could also help the city understand if small “mom and pop” landlords are disappearing from the rental market. Once the registry is a few years old, it could reveal how many small landlords are selling to larger developers, which is a concern for affordable housing advocates.

“At this point, it’s pretty much industry standard for a code enforcement department that there would be a rental registry and inspections program,” Ruffing says.

As of Nov. 1, there were 4,796 properties listed on the rental registry, representing about 24,000 rental units. Based on 2020 census estimates, that’s probably about half of the existing rental units in the city.

THE REALITY

Gary Dennis first moved into his home in the Lidgerwood neighborhood in 2017. He rented half a duplex for himself, his dog Sammy, and a few friendly garden gnomes. They all got along very well with his next-door neighbor in the other half of the duplex.

In 2020, Dennis’ landlords decided to sell. But they worried that a new owner might jack up rents for their tenants. So they worked with Dennis to sell him the property, waiving as many fees as they could so he could buy the home with a Federal Housing Administration loan and a modest, cashed-out retirement fund.

Now, Dennis is technically the landlord of

Mariah McKay and her husband are landlords at Haystack Heights near the South Perry District. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

the property. But he shares an inside wall with his tenant and thinks of her as a neighbor, not a client.

“I just bought this to try to make sure I wasn’t homeless when I got to Social Security age,” Dennis says. “It wasn’t that I looked at it as, ‘Oh, I’m going to make a lot of money.’ I can’t pay the mortgage by myself. I depend on her to keep a roof over my head.”

Dennis works from home so he’s always around to help with leaky faucets, burned out lightbulbs or washing machine troubles. He charges his neighbor a below market rent so she can afford to live there on a service industry salary. He wants her to stick around because she’s quiet, respectful, and a great friend to share the garden and patio barbecue with.

Dennis says he didn’t know about the registry until he read about it in the news. He was surprised, because he feels like he doesn’t need code enforcement to make sure he maintains his property — it’s his home, too.

Dennis would happily volunteer for the rental registry to help collect data. But he doesn’t see why he needs to pay for code enforcement that he doesn’t need or a business license that he doesn’t think accurately reflects his situation.

“I am not a business,” Dennis says. “What changes in my world because I have a business license? Can you now sue me as a business? Do I have to get business insurance?”

considered selling the duplex. Last year, his insurance doubled. His property tax has increased by 50% since 2020. Plus, he’s worried about what will happen if his neighbor decides to move out — tenants only have to give a 20-day notice to move out, while landlords in the city are now required to give a four- to six-month notice if they’re going to raise rent more than 3%.

“If I were to receive a notice to vacate, I would lose next month’s income,” he says. He could sell the duplex for a lot more than he bought it for a few years ago. Every time he hears about more fees and regulations, it rekindles his desire to “get rid of my headache.”

“It doesn’t have to be this adversarial,” he says. “Why don’t you send me a letter and say, ‘Would you voluntarily register? We’d like to keep track of how many small landlords versus big landlords are out there so that we can watch the demographics of how the industry changes.’ I would have gone, ‘You know what? I don’t like big business. I’m happy to join so that you can monitor how many mom and pops are being eaten up by corporate America.’”

NEXT STEPS

So far, Ruffing and his team have been focusing on helping people comply with the law. But in the new year, they will start writing citations for landlords who are not registered, which is a civil infraction.

“Landlords are competing for the best tenants. Making sure everyone has appropriate housing actually supports that.”

But in the same way that a small business owner could work from home, even landlords that live onsite should be considered small business owners, Dillon says. Council member Jonathan Bingle agrees, though he voted against the additional restrictions last month because he thinks they miss the point.

“I think that if you’re doing something to generate income for yourself, if it exceeds a certain threshold that the state has defined, yes, you are a business,” Bingle says. “Now, at the same time, I think you can make exceptions for certain sizes of businesses and that’s what I wish this legislation would have done. Who they’re really trying to get after are the slumlords. People like Gary are not slumlords.”

Mariah McKay, another landlord who manages 24 units with her husband Jim Dawson, is also in favor of a registry. But she says there are complications that small businesses face.

“The biggest thing our small business has faced is not being able to afford potential legal fees if we needed to rely on the court system to resolve a residential dispute,” she says. “There’s not an easy way to resolve small disputes and that, I think, encourages landlords to not be proactive in managing their tenant relationships in their properties. It leads to a posture of neglect that is not our style or our values.”

Regardless of licensing and registration, there are plenty of other reasons that Dennis has

To avoid writing citations, the city is trying to identify properties that might be in violation and contacting them during this renewal season.

“We’ve identified a lot of them ourselves, and we’ve been sending letters about the program and the need to register those properties to those owners,” Ruffing says. “Then in December, we will also be doing a utility bill stuffer for some additional outreach for a lot of those single family home rentals. It’s hard to know that they’re rental properties — apartment buildings are usually a bit more obvious and easy to find, but we’re hoping that the utility outreach can help us reach some more people.”

Properties that are offering rents below market rate are eligible for a waiver of the $15 per unit fee, which is often passed on to the tenant. Landlords can ask for help getting onto the registry or any clarifying questions they have by emailing codeenforcement@spokanecity.org.

Tenants can check if their rental unit is registered by going to aca.spokanepermits.org and searching their address under the Code Enforcement tab. Make sure to select “Rental Registry” from the dropdown “Record Type” menu.

With a more accurate registry, McKay hopes that current tenants and landlords will be protected, and that the data will help the city make smarter decisions about where to invest housing funds.

“By providing a better public record of the housing that’s available and the housing that we need that might not be available, [we can use] those numbers to make a case for more strategic funding going toward affordable housing,” McKay says. “Landlords are competing for the best tenants. Making sure everyone has appropriate housing actually supports that.” n elizab@inlander.com

Sweet Salvage

Spokane wants historic teardowns to go to good use. Plus, Idaho wants phones banned in all schools; and NIC report hedges on achievements before January decision.

BY INLANDER STAFF

In May, a century-old home tucked in the middle of the Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center campus was demolished by a parking lot management company. For decades, owner Mary Gianetsas refused to sell her home — with stained glass windows, original fixtures and hardwood floors — to the hospital. The 1906 house was henceforth called Mary’s Place. After her death, her family eventually sold it, but before it was demolished for hospital parking, preservationists salvaged as much material as they could. On Monday, Spokane City Council unanimously passed the “Mary’s Place Preservation Ordinance.” It requires anyone demolishing buildings that are at least 50 years old and eligible for historic designation to salvage as many materials as possible for reuse or preservation. The Historic Preservation office is now tasked with guiding demolition applicants to dismantle salvageable materials as carefully as possible. The goal is both preservation and promoting a circular economy that decreases waste and encourages new business opportunities for recycling. (ELIZA BILLINGHAM)

NO PHONE ZONE

Idaho Gov. Brad Little issued an executive order on Oct. 31 called the “Phone Free Learning Act” in collaboration with state Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield. The order encourages all Idaho schools to adopt a district-wide policy restricting cellphones in class by the end of the 2024-25 school year. The order incentivizes school districts to adopt a policy by offering a one-time $5,000 award. If a school district has already implemented a cellphone restriction policy, they can receive a $5,000 reimbursement for expenses incurred rolling it out. In the executive order, Little states, “I join many leaders, including the Superintendent of Public Instruction and my legislative partners in recognizing cellphone use is happening in schools and that cellphones and social media present negative effects on student mental health, development, and learning.” Starting this school year, the West Ada School District, the largest in Idaho, adopted a policy to restrict cellphone use in classrooms but allowing them during lunch. At a press conference announcing the executive order, Owyhee High School senior Addilyn Lewis praised the policy, saying, “Ever since West Ada adopted a phone free policy in classrooms, my grades have gone up and I feel more productive. I am grateful for the policy.”

(VICTOR CORRAL MARTINEZ)

ENOUGH PROGRESS?

Last month, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities made its final visit to North Idaho College before commission members will determine if the school can keep its accreditation after nearly three years of uncertainty. The commission released a peer-evaluation report that commends the progress witnessed during the Oct. 14-15 visit to NIC. The report listed a slew of improvements, from updated governing board policies and more efficient board meetings to a reduction in institutional risks and a tentative sense of improved morale across campus. However, the report also states that the evaluators “saw reasons to be cautious” of these improvements. “In interviews onsite, no one expressed high confidence in the sustainability of the board’s current trajectory,” the report states. The commission’s final decision on NIC’s accreditation will be made in January. For now, the report states that the Board of Trustees needs to maintain its progress for the school to possibly return to good standing.

(COLTON RASANEN) n

Capping Chemicals

After more than

a decade of litigation,

the EPA has released a plan to reduce carcinogenic chemicals in the Spokane River

BY COLTON RASANEN

Nearly half a century ago, the Environmental Protection Agency used the Toxic Substances Control Act to ban the use and production of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. Experts found that the chemicals, which were generally used in industrial lubricants and paints, easily built up in the environment and could cause liver damage, reproductive issues and even cancer.

Though the chemicals are no longer produced, they still find their way into our waterways through industrial and municipal wastewater, stormwater and groundwater, according to the EPA. PCBs have been found in waterways nationwide, including the Spokane River, which was listed as “impaired” by the chemicals in 1996.

Now, after decades of work to reduce those contaminants in the river, and 13 years after a federal lawsuit was filed to require the EPA to limit the amount of PCBs allowed in the river, a Spokane River plan has finally been released.

Last week, the EPA published a total maximum daily load for PCBs that will limit the concentration of the chemical that’s allowed in the river to 1.3 picograms per liter. Also referred to as a TMDL, the tool is a sort of pollution budget that quantifies the maximum amount of a specific pollutant that a water body can contain while still remaining safe.

Right now, PCB concentrations in the Spokane River range from 30 to more than 150 picograms per liter, depending on the location of the test, according to the EPA.

Washington state already has a standard

for the allowable concentration of PCBs — 7 picograms per liter — however, EPA Region 10 spokesperson Bill Dunbar says it was important for the federal agency to implement the more stringent standard established by the Spokane Tribe of Indians in 2013.

“The most direct way people come into contact with PCBs is through eating fish,” Dunbar says. “So we established a formula that said if the average American eats this much fish, they have this much risk of cancer.”

Initial data showed the average American doesn’t eat much fish, generally ingesting about a quarter of an ounce or “about the amount you could place on a cracker” per month, Dunbar says. However, when the data was made specific to Indigenous communities that have historically relied on fish for sustenance, that total jumped to more than 30 ounces of fish ingested per month.

To make fish safe for those communities, the total maximum daily load was set at a far more stringent threshold that is currently unattainable.

Normally, the state’s Department of Ecology releases these types of pollution limits for waterways in the state — a TMDL for dissolved oxygen in the Spokane River, for example, was released in 2009. But due to a 2011 federal lawsuit from the Sierra Club’s Upper Columbia River chapter and the Center for Environmental Law and Policy, the Spokane River TMDL for PCBs needed to be created by the EPA.

The concentration of PCBs in the Spokane River is 20 to 100 times higher than a recent limit set by the EPA.

SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL PHOTO

“We started this process early on in the 2000s, but the EPA eventually developed the TMDL as a result of that lawsuit,” Ecology’s Water Quality Manager Adriane Borgias says. “We’re not part of that agreement, but you know, we still have that responsibility to work with local governments and businesses to ensure that the river meets water quality standards.”

Now that the EPA has set the PCB limits, Ecology has been tasked with creating a plan to implement them on the river. Due to the ambitious restriction level, Borgias anticipates that her department’s implementation plan will likely take years to complete, though she says work to reduce the contaminants can still be done before that plan is completed.

Reaching the EPA’s goal is also complicated by technology limitations: Ecology is working to figure out how to test for the contaminant at such low concentrations. For context, Borgias says that detecting 1 picogram per liter would be equivalent to finding a single penny hidden somewhere in the state.

“We do have analytical standards and methodologies that we could get to around 170 picograms per liter, but to actually see something as low as 1 would be really difficult. We’re talking about just molecules,” Borgias says. “I don’t think we can even calculate exactly how long that would be [to meet the EPA’s limit].”

Without the technology to reduce PCBs to the required level in the short-term, the EPA will allow Ecology to gradually lower the concentration in the river by requiring upgrades at wastewater treatment plants, implementing stormwater controls, and enforcing more stringent PCB limits for the river’s biggest polluters.

The top five PCB dischargers in our area are Kaiser Aluminum, Inland Empire Paper Company, and the wastewater treatment plants for Spokane County and the cities of Spokane and Liberty Lake.

These polluters have continued to reduce their PCB loads into the river, but it’s still not enough to reach the new limit. Dunbar, with the EPA, thinks that the technology needed to detect minuscule PCBs in the river will be developed by the private sector in the next decade or so.

The EPA’s plan has been a long time coming for local environmental groups, such as the Spokane Riverkeeper and the Sierra Club, which have spent more than a decade advocating for the pollution limit through community education, scientific research and legal action.

However, following the release of the TMDL, both groups expressed disappointment about the plan because they believe relying on water samples alone will not sufficiently reduce PCB levels in the river.

“The hope was that we would get something that addresses the critical concern around PCB contaminants within fish,” Spokane Riverkeeper’s Water Protector Katelyn Scott says. “The river has a fish advisory because of PCBs, and there isn’t a plan for fish tissue testing or even sediment testing.”

Scott explains that PCBs often accumulate inside the fish that eat the chemical (in other fish) as well as in the sediment at the bottom of the river. Without testing fish tissue or sediment, she says that the river will never have a chance to reach the EPA’s lofty goal.

The EPA plan does have a provision that would include sediment testing behind Long Lake Dam, Scott says, but that’s not where most of the contamination is.

“We know the highest concentration is near where the old General Electric site is [off Mission Avenue] and not at all down by Long Lake,” she explains.

Borgias at Ecology says she understands Scott’s concern, but she emphasizes that while the plan doesn’t include these types of testing, it also doesn’t exclude them from being used if the state agency decides they’re needed. Borgias says the TMDL operates as more of a roadmap, so these other types of testing could ultimately show up in Ecology’s implementation plan.

“This is a super complex problem that will take a long time to figure out what will work and how this will all actually come into play to improve our water quality. It’s just a tool to help us get there quickly,” Scott says. “We’re hopeful, even though we feel this is insufficient, it does push us in the right direction.” n coltonr@inlander.com

HOLIDAY

POPS

Remembering

Art and signage commemorating the history and contributions of Spokane’s early Japanese residents installed at Saranac Building

BY CHEY SCOTT

Amap of downtown Spokane’s east end, circa 1910, would be barely recognizable to most locals today.

Even though all the familiar street names are there — Riverside, Main, Bernard, Browne, Howard and Sprague — little else from that era remains. Narrow rectangles on each block are neatly labeled in compact script. Businesses like the Raymond Hotel and Seattle Cafe are noted alongside the Nishikawa Grocery, Yokohama Laundry, Saeki Dye Work and many others.

During an era of rapid growth for Spokane, this district became known as Trent Alley and was, at the time, home to more than 1,000 first-generation Japanese immigrants who started successful businesses and created a thriving pocket of culture in a place that wasn’t always friendly to them.

A detailed, hand-drawn map of Trent Alley, before it began emptying out after World War II and was eventually razed to make way for Expo ’74, can now be viewed inside the Saranac Building at 25 W. Main Ave. alongside several commemorative plaques explaining the area’s vibrant history. Later this month, a bronze sculpture by

one of Trent Alley’s most successful former residents, renowned ceramicist Patti Warashina, is set to be installed for permanent display in front of the signs, which were installed in July.

Spearheaded by the Hifumi En Society, an organization supporting the Spokane area’s Japanese-American community, the Trent Alley Project highlights a part of local history that many feel has long been overlooked, especially during the 50th anniversary celebration of Expo earlier this year.

“When all of the talk about Expo ’74 and commemorating its anniversary began, we were starting to talk about the reality that, though most of the Japanese had moved out of Trent Alley by then, the businesses that were still there were definitely moved out for the creation of Expo ’74,” says DeAnn Yamamoto, who worked on the project.

“While that was an amazing endeavor for Spokane, it continued to impact the Japanese community and the businesses that were there during that time,” Yamamoto continues. “It really is sansei [third-generation Japanese] wanting to commemorate a memory of the work of the

life that the Japanese, the first and second generation — issei and nisei — created in Spokane.”

Yamamoto’s grandparents on her father’s side were among the early entrepreneurs of Trent Alley, operating a hotel. Her father, Dick, was born and raised there.

Her mother, Kazuye, meanwhile, grew up on a farm south of Yakima on the west side of the Columbia River. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 in 1942 forcing all people of Japanese ancestry — two-thirds of whom were American citizens — from their homes along the West Coast into remote concentra-

Renowned ceramic artist Patti Warashina inside Marmot Art Space, where her art is on display this month.

ERICK DOXEY PHOTO

The Trent Alley historical markers inside the Saranac Buidling. ERICK DOXEY PHOTO

tion camps, Kazuye’s family found themselves on the wrong side of the river. A teenager at the time, Kazuye spent most of her high school years at the Heart Mountain War Relocation Center in northern Wyoming.

“I graduated from Heart Mountain High School,” Kazuye, 97, says. “After camp, we had nothing to go back to so we came to Spokane.”

Kazuye’s father had friends in the city, and he opened a billiard hall in Trent Alley. Kazuye worked as a housekeeper on the South Hill while she and her family lived in the Clem Hotel, where the Davenport Grand Hotel stands today, before finding more permanent housing.

“It was not glamorous,” her daughter DeAnn says. “It was known as skid row. Japanese were redlined, and they couldn’t live anywhere above Ninth Avenue in Spokane. And so in those days, they lived there because they had to live there. And Japanese are industrious, and they’re optimistic, so they made the best of things and created a thriving community. But honestly, I would think that the majority of culture was afraid to go there, because it was run down. It was not a glamorous life by any means, but it was their life and it was where they found community.”

Born in Spokane in 1940, artist Patti Warashina first lived in Trent Alley, where her father ran a dental practice at the corner of Stevens and Main.

“My parents, because of the war and all that, they went through a lot, as all Japanese did at that time in Spokane. There was a lot of animosity,” Warashina says. “I wasn’t really affected by it because I was pretty small at that time — I was probably 4 or something like that. Growing up in Spokane, there was a very, very small Japanese community, it wasn’t like in Seattle.”

The family later moved to North Spokane, and Warashina attended Lewis & Clark High School.

“It was a very academic schedule that I had because my parents wanted me to earn a living, and so I never took any art classes at all,” she says of high school. “I never even thought about being an artist.”

...continued on page 17

Patti Warashina’s “Woman With Pear” will soon be installed at the Saranac Building. PHOTO COURTESY MARSHALL PETERSON

CULTURE | HISTORY

“REMEMBERING TRENT ALLEY,” CONTINUED...

Warashina studied at the University of Washington, where she discovered her love of art in an elective course. She went on to establish herself as one of the nation’s foremost modern ceramicists, an accomplishment cemented in 2020 when the Smithsonian honored her with its prestigious Visionary Award.

Warashina, 84, still creates in her Seattle studio almost daily and is currently working on an ongoing series called “The World Upside Down,” which she says reflects on “what’s happening in life right now. You know, it’s all this climate change and all the horrible things that are happening all over the world and our terrible politics right now.”

Warashina’s art is also featured through November at Marmot Art Space in Kendall Yards.

Her contribution to the Trent Alley Project is more subtly symbolic. “Woman With Pear” is a 3-foot-tall bronze bust of a woman balancing a pear on the top of her head. The woman’s hair twists out from the nape of her neck in two curly spirals as her eyes peer upward toward the object, a representation of femininity, atop her head.

“I was in Rome for a quarter teaching,” Warashina says of her inspiration for the piece, created in 2005. “I was walking around, and there is all this classical sculpture in the city.”

Recently purchased by Saranac Building owners Jim Sheehan and his daughter, Katy Sheehan, “Woman With Pear” is one of two pieces by Japanese-American artists complementing the Trent Alley Project’s plaques. A commissioned painting by Seattle artist Marie Okuma Johnston, who grew up in Spokane, is also in the works.

As one of the only original buildings from Trent Alley’s heyday, the Saranac holds important history for Spokane’s Japanese community. Hifumi En Society Vice President Joanne Ferris remembers going there as a child when it housed North Coast Supply, a Japanese import shop.

“It was one of the only stores that carried authentic Japanese food,” Ferris says. “Up above there was a hotel and apartments, and Denny Yasuhara as a young teacher lived up there,” she continues. “And now a middle school is named after Denny — Yasuhara Middle School. So I went back to the Hifumi En Society and I said, ‘I think I found a place where the plaque would be perfect.’”

Ferris says the commemoration inside the Saranac emphasizes the society’s past and continuing work to ensure the Japanese American history of Spokane isn’t forgotten, especially as those who still remember Trent Alley enter their 70s and 80s.

“We need to embrace that culture and bring it forward and definitely share it,” she says. “So this plaque, the wall, the dedication — that’s just the beginning of what we hope to do.” n

Learn more about the Hifumi En Society at hifumien.org.

North Coast Supply was a Japanese import shop in Trent Alley. PHOTO COURTESY DEANN YAMAMOTO

This Land Was Made for You and Me

Journalist Nate Schweber shares a historic story of public lands conservation for the Palouse’s Everybody Reads program

BY JOHN BERGIN

Like the main characters of his latest book, author and journalist Nate Schweber is shaped by his upbringing in the Western United States.

“I’m from the West,” Schweber says. “I love the West. I miss the West. I try to get back to the West as much as possible.”

His nonfiction book This America of Ours details the lives of American historian and conservationist Bernard DeVoto and his wife, editor, and strongest collaborator, Avis DeVoto. The two fought to save America’s public lands from destruction throughout their lives.

It all began when, on a cross-country road trip in the late 1940s, the DeVotos discovered a plot to sell nearly 230 million acres of public lands — including national parks and monuments — to a small cohort of powerful ranchers. When the couple exposed the plot, it raised the ire of the men behind the conspiracy, including infamous Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who unsurprisingly accused them of being Communists and sent the FBI to investigate.

EVERYBODY READS: THIS AMERICA OF OURS BY NATE SCHWEBER

All events free and open to the public; details at everybody-reads.org

TUE, NOV. 12

12 pm: Whitman County Library, Cofax

7 pm: Neill Public Library, Pullman

WED, NOV. 13

11 am: Moscow Public Library

4 pm: WSU Holland and Terrell Libraries, Pullman

(Additional events in Lewiston and Clarkston on Nov. 14-15)

“Their story was too big to be an article,” Schweber says. “So it became a book.”

This America of Ours is the selected title for the 2024 edition of Everybody Reads, a community reading program hosted at libraries across the Palouse. As part of the program, Schweber is participating in multiple book discussions at libraries across the region. This includes stops on Wednesday, Nov. 14, at the Moscow Public Library at 11 am, and another at 4 pm at Washington State University’s Holland and Terrell libraries. With a visual presentation featuring “photos, bits of art, and film” uncovered in his research, Schweber says the presentation is a sort-of “live documentary” along with a book club-style discussion.

Bernard DeVoto’s prolific writings are what first inspired Schweber to begin research for This America of Ours

“It set my brain on fire,” he says. “So many things that I had felt but never been able to put into words growing up in the West, I understood once I read Ber-

Author Nate Schweber DAVE SANDERS PHOTO

nard DeVoto. He was a free thinker. He was such a maverick. An iconoclast.”

In his essays and columns, DeVoto took many powerful American figures head-on. Accused of fascism during the New Deal era and communism during the Cold War, DeVoto wrote ferociously to fight censorship and book banning, xenophobia and internment camps, political McCarthyism and corporate mischief, and, above all, fought to protect his beloved Western public lands.

“Their story was too big to be an article. So it became a book.”

While he was one of the most prominent writers of his time, DeVoto has since fallen into relative obscurity. His impact on the protection of American public lands, however, is not lost on Schweber, who’s working to revitalize popular appreciation for DeVoto’s contributions to our country.

It’s vital to note that none of Bernard DeVoto’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Across the Wide Missouri nor his National Book Award-winning The Course of Empire nor any of his bombshell articles would exist without Avis DeVoto. She wasn’t just Bernard’s wife, she was also his professional partner.

Schweber describes Avis as “one of the incredible people in American history.” With a great mind for literature and writing, Avis often worked around the clock to edit, proofread and refine Bernard’s writings. No matter the attacks or setbacks Bernard faced, Avis was consistently responsible for ensuring his work was impactful.

In an unexpected turn of events involving Bernard’s FBI investigation and an article critiquing kitchen knives, Avis DeVoto was introduced to Julia Child. Later, after Bernard died, Avis “realized that she could never have another romantic partner, but that she could have another professional partner,” Schweber says.

So, Avis “transferred to Julia Child all the professional skills that she had lent to Bernard DeVoto,” becoming Child’s professional partner, agent and “soul sister.” Avis even moved across the country to live near the chef. After her tireless work to protect America’s public lands, Avis DeVoto also contributed tremendously to bringing French cuisine to the American table.

Schweber sees Avis DeVoto as “responsible for two of the most prominent writers — two of the most prominent people of the 20th century: Bernard DeVoto and Julia Child. Neither one would have a professional career without Avis DeVoto,” he says.

In This America of Ours, Schweber braids Western history, Cold War-era politics and conservation into a charming, romantic narrative following two very impressive individuals. To tell the DeVotos’ story, Schweber poured over thousands of “incredible” letters written between Avis and Bernard, as well as FBI documents.

Rife with political extremism, overreaching of corporations and threats to the natural environment, the story Schweber tells echoes the societal issues America is still facing.

“Especially in the politically divided times, I found [Bernard] to be an inspiration in sticking to a code of thinking for oneself and speaking one’s mind, no matter social or political consequences,” he says. n

Catherine Herrman, who works in peer support with Compassionate Addiction Treatment (CAT), has saved multiple people from overdoses. ERICK DOXEY PHOTO

OPIOID CRISIS

Every Other Day

One month behind the scenes of Spokane’s ongoing fight to end the deadly fentanyl crisis

BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL

In Spokane County, a single person died of a fentanylrelated overdose in 2018, according to official records.

Each year since, the annual number of casualties in this iteration of the opioid crisis has increased dramatically. By the end of 2023, it hit a devastating new record of 194 people, according to the county medical examiner’s latest annual report.

Read that again: Last year, fentanyl killed someone in this community every other day. Every. Other. Day.

What often gets lost, however, is how many people overdose and survive every day in Spokane.

Who is struggling with addiction? Who is working to maintain their sobriety? Who is trying to help a family member get to the point where they’re ready to get clean?

Who is offering medical care and the chance to get treatment? Who is trying to stop the deadly supply from winding up on scraps of foil to be smoked?

In the course of a month, how does fentanyl affect our city? Here’s a glimpse.

OCT. 1, 6:18 PM

‘MORE WORK TO DO’

More than 43 million people have tuned into the vice presidential debate, where U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are diving into the topic of border security and fentanyl.

Vance reminds viewers that his mother was addicted to opioids and says he wants to stem the flow of synthetic narcotics across the southern border.

Though not mentioned during the debate, earlier in the day Reuters published another story in its “Fentanyl Express” series, detailing how precursor ingredients are shipped by plane in everyday packages from China to the U.S., then delivered by vehicle to Mexico where they’re used to make fentanyl that gets smuggled back into the U.S.

“This is a crisis,” Walz says. “The good news on this is, the last 12 months saw the largest decrease in opioid deaths in our nation’s history. … But there’s still more work to do.”

Some watching in Spokane wonder how that can be true.

Indeed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that for the first time in at least a decade, drug overdose deaths have started decreasing nationwide, and were predicted to be down by more than 12% from May 2023 to May 2024.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case in Washington, where the CDC expects its data to show overdose deaths — a majority of which involved fentanyl — increased nearly 11% during that same timeframe.

OCT. 2, 3 PM & 5:30 PM

‘NOBODY DIES TODAY’

It’s about 3 pm on the first Wednesday of the month. Catherine Herrman, who’s been a peer support worker with Compassionate Addiction Treatment, or CAT, for a few weeks now heads to the 7-Eleven across the street to grab lunch.

But before heading inside she notices a man slumped over on the ground, starting to fall backwards. She realizes he may be overdosing. After checking his right wrist for a pulse and feeling nothing, she grabs Narcan, or naloxone, from her bag and injects him — if he’s not overdosing on an opioid, the medication won’t harm him. If he is, it might save his life.

“Immediately we had to start doing CPR. Another guy called 911,” Herrman says. “He wasn’t responding, so I had to run back to my vehicle to get more Narcan out of the trunk.”

She administers two more doses.

“After the third one, I was doing compressions on him when I finally felt a heartbeat, and he looked up at me and sat up,” Herrman says. “It took him a little while to come to, and talk to me, but I was able to talk him into going to stabilization.”

Just hours later, as she’s leaving work around 5:30 pm, a guy runs up, asking if anyone has Narcan. Herrman rushes with him to a parked car, where a security guard from a nearby building is attempting chest compressions on a woman slumped over behind the wheel. Herrman says they need to get the woman down on the ground to do CPR.

With Narcan, that woman is also revived. It’s the second life Herrman has helped save in one afternoon. They weren’t the first, and won’t be her last.

“I was a user for many years,” she says. “I never overdosed, but I always was saving lives then, and so something just pulls me to it now. No matter what I’m doing, I will stop and I run.”

Herrman says that going to prison in May 2022 saved her life. Now, her work with CAT, located near Second and Division, is helping as she studies to become a substance use dependency counselor.

...continued on next page

We believe in harm reduction, which is why a lot of people don’t like us, because we believe in meeting people where they’re at.

“ ”

She and Keasha Rosenberg, the medication-assisted treatment clinic supervisor and peer support supervisor for CAT, say they often see more overdoses around the first of the month. That’s when many people receive monthly government assistance payments. If they’ve gone without using for a while, their tolerance drops, making overdose more likely.

CAT works to get people through detox and onto medication-assisted treatment, but the team also tries to make sure people are as safe as they can be if they’re going to continue using.

“We believe in harm reduction, which is why a lot of people don’t like us, because we believe in meeting people where they’re at,” Rosenberg says. “We just kind of build your treatment plan on what you want your future and your life to look like.”

Nearly dying from an overdose isn’t always enough to convince someone to stop. Days after helping the man at 7-Eleven, Herrman sees him on the street. He didn’t carry through with treatment.

Herrman says she didn’t always agree with the idea of medication-assisted treatment, which is usually either a regimen of Suboxone (a mix of buprenorphine and naloxone) or methadone, both of which bind to receptors in the brain to reduce the physical cravings for opioids, without getting people high like fentanyl does.

“I was really against it before I was a heroin addict,” Herrman says.

But being put on Suboxone before she left prison in February 2023 gave her clarity on why it’s needed.

“Your brain stops craving it … and you can actually live a normal life,” Herrman says. “It helps me so much with my whole life.”

CAT also offers housing and employment services, reentry services for those leaving incarceration, a sobering center, and an intensive outpatient treatment program with group sessions every day.

And, they often respond to overdoses.

“All of us are really strong on, like, ‘Nobody dies today,’” Herrman says.

OCT.

4, 11:40 AM

FINAL DOSE

Two-and-a-half years ago, Sean Moses overdosed on fentanyl.

“I lost my dad when I was 13, to a heart attack. That was devastating,” Moses says. “When I OD’d and my buddies Narcaned me, my trauma ran back through me and I was like, ‘I almost left my kids without a father.’”

Moses decided to get sober. He figured his best shot was to deal with a warrant for his arrest for driving under the influence in Skagit County and go through withdrawal in jail.

“I went through about 16 days of hell withdrawing,” Moses says. “I got out, I had a clean slate, and I was like, ‘You know what, I need to get my ducks lined up.’”

He cut ties with the people he’d been using heroin and then fentanyl with for more than a decade. Going home to Snoqualmie wasn’t going to help, so he decided to come to Spokane, where his three kids and girlfriend were.

“I figured if I spent time with my kids and programmed them into my life, I would have more of a reason to stay sober,” Moses says. “It just gave me more willpower being around them.”

He became a patient with MultiCare Rockwood’s Healthy Behavior and Function Clinic, where he got on medicationassisted treatment.

“Dr. [Lora] Jasman saved my life,” Moses says of a popular doctor at the clinic who recently retired. “I’ve been clean and sober and back in my kids’ life.”

Now, Moses regularly attends Recovery Café, where he speaks with peers going through similar journeys. He also serves on the Washington Fatherhood Council advocating for healthy family relationships.

Sean Moses says being there for his kids was the motivation he needed to get sober.

COURTESY SEAN MOSES AND MULTICARE

Lately, he’s been on a once-monthly shot of time-released buprenorphine called Sublocade, and today, he’s getting his final shot at the clinic.

“I won’t be completely out of the program. They’re still going to monitor me until I am completely comfortable not going to see them anymore,” Moses says. “[And] I’ll have Suboxone on hand if I need it.”

He speaks openly with his kids, now 3, 4 and 7, about what he’s been through. He says he started using heroin after multiple close relatives died within a short window of time and he didn’t know how to cope. He wants his kids to know it’s OK to talk about their feelings.

Getting sober wasn’t easy, but he hopes that anyone who’s thinking about it tells themself they’re worthy, they’re strong enough, and they can do it.

“It’s all worth the struggle,” Moses says. “I’d rather struggle trying to succeed than struggle trying to find a dope sack. That’s just all there is to it.”

OCT. 10, 2:49 PM

‘IT

HAS NO AGE’

In the parking lot next to Compassionate Addiction Treatment, people are dropping by a health fair, where local providers like CHAS are offering vaccinations and hepatitis testing.

Standing next to the brick building, his possessions in a wagon nearby, Dennis Richey says he’s been “out here” — homeless, using fentanyl — for about 20 months.

“It’s horrible. It’s killing everybody. And the crazy thing is it has no age,” he says. “Daily, somebody’s dying.”

He says he’s personally brought back 18 people, and lost one.

“Losing that one was the hardest thing,” Richey says. “That was three months ago.”

In his experience, injectable Narcan works better to revive people.

Like many Americans, he says his opioid addiction started with legal prescriptions. After four or five years of doctor-supervised pain management, he was cut off. He turned to the streets to find heroin so he didn’t feel sick. Now, it’s easier to find fentanyl.

Richey isn’t interested in medication-assisted treatment. He’s been weaning himself off fentanyl.

“I’m down to about four pills a day,” he says. “When I got out here, I was between 50 and 100.”

He was originally hoping to be off it by his 55th birthday in September.

What does he wish people understood about what’s going on?

“We need better communication with the community,” he says. “The city has dehumanized us so much that nobody gives a shit. Nobody cares about us. I’ve tried to show people that we’re not all like that. I go around, I clean the streets, pick stuff up.”

OCT. 10, 3:35 PM

HIERARCHY

Dr. Joel Edminster is working at his desk at the Spokane Fire Department Training Center near Spokane Community College.

Edminster has been the fire department’s medical director for a decade. But his primary gig is working as an emergency room doctor at Providence Sacred Heart.

In addition to an increase in overdoses, he says, the ER is seeing more patients in Narcan-precipitated withdrawal.

The goal of administering naloxone is to restore someone’s “respiratory drive,” Edminster says.

“That’s what kills people in overdose, right? They stop breathing. It’s a respiratory depressant,” Edminster says. “In a controlled setting like the ER, I typically want to do the lowest

dose possible … ideally you give them just enough to get them breathing again.”

But because the opioid crisis has gotten so bad, it’s been necessary to get the opiate antidote into the hands of everyday people, and it’s a potent dose. Where someone might get 0.4 milligrams of naloxone through an IV in the hospital, he says, they might receive 10 times that amount from a nasal dose in the community.

Sent into immediate withdrawal, those patients arrive dealing with a wave of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bellyache, goosebumps and other debilitating side effects. Some don’t stick around the waiting room to get admitted.

“So I go out, I’m dope sick now because I got resuscitated, and instead of being able to have an amount of introspection, recognize that this was a life-threatening event, maybe do something about it,” Edminster says, “I’m now focused on, ‘I gotta find more fentanyl.’”

As outlined in Maselow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the most basic drive people have is to find food and water. But physical addiction can trump that.

“When the bottom of your hierarchy of need is fentanyl, and I put that above food, I put that above water, I put that above shelter, I put that above safety. I put that above all of these other basic needs that individuals have,” Edminster says. “Until you address that need, you will make no progress anywhere else in their life, right?”

It’s a big part of why the fire department’s Behavioral Response Unit is piloting a program to provide Suboxone after someone has been revived with Narcan. For those who consent, the goal is to offer enough immediate relief to think about what just happened — they nearly died — and commit to getting treatment, Edminster says.

Since the pilot started early this year, less than a dozen patients have taken the team up on the offer.

“This may not be the solution we want it to be, right? This may not be the answer,” Edminster says. “I think it is a small piece of what needs to be a bigger solution that’s multifaceted, addresses all of those different needs and provides the amount of support that this group requires.”

After seeing someone overdose repeatedly and refuse treatment, those around them can feel burnout. But the idea that this is a personal choice and they should face the consequences, even if that means death, is a slippery slope, Edminster says.

“What do I say to the diabetic who poorly manages their diabetes? Do they still eat cookies and brownies and they don’t exercise and they end up with a diabetic foot ulcer? Well, f— ’em, right? Let their foot rot off, and they can get septic. That’s their choice,” Edminster says, sarcastically. “Nobody would say that they’re OK with that.”

Letting someone die won’t fix the problem, he says.

“I completely understand the frustration, but I can promise you, if you let that person die, that won’t solve the fentanyl crisis.”

OCT. 10, 5:51 PM

A WOMAN OVERDOSES

The fire department’s Behavioral Response Unit has had a quiet afternoon, with no calls for hours.

The two-person team — a paramedic from the fire department and a mental health professional from Frontier Behavioral Health — respond to all psychiatric calls, as well as overdose calls, while they’re on duty. The unit operates from 10 am to 8 pm Monday through Thursday.

Currently, paramedic Colin McEntee and licensed mental health counselor Jordan Ellinwood are that team.

While Ellinwood has served on the unit for more than two years, paramedics cycle through. With a lack of volunteers to take the role, paramedics are assigned to the duty for sixmonth stints.

Just before 6 pm, 911 dispatchers radio to say a woman is

I’d rather struggle trying to succeed than struggle trying to find a dope sack. That’s just all there is to it.

Dennis Richey says he’s trying to wean himself off fentanyl.

SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL PHOTO

CELEBRATING SPOKANE’S CULTURAL DIVERSITY

SATURDAY, November 9

LAIR AUDITORIUM

11:00 - 12:00 Floating Crowbar and Haran Irish Dancers - Irish step dance with high -energy music (Auditorium doors open at 10:30) (No saving of seats.)

12:00 -12:30 BREAK

12:30 -1:15 Coeurimba - Marimba music from Southern Africa

1:30 - 2:15 Northwest Hula and Mele PolinaheTraditional Hawaiian dance and music

2:30 - 3:15 Stevens County Stompers - Clogging

3:30 - 4:15 FAAIE Silangan Dancers - Philippine culture through folk dance

4:15 - 4:45 BREAK

4:45 - 5:30 Heat Speak - Indie folk and world fusion

5:45 - 6:30 SeaStar - Original Celtic Folk SASQUATCH ROOM

11:00 - 11:30 Homebrew Stringband - Bluegrass with a twist

11:45 - 12:15 Jefferey Parker - Award -winning singer/ songwriter

12:30 - 1:00 Truck Mills and Carl Rey - Harmony vocals, multi-instrumental

1:15 - 1:45 Hubbardston Nonesuch - Madrigals - 500 year old pop tunes

2:00 - 2:30 Hank Cramer - National touring folksinger

2:45 - 3:15 2 Bit Jug Band - Love, food, a scintillating musical cocktail

3:15 - 3:45 BREAK

3:45 - 4:15 Free Whiskey - Celtic music with a twist

4:30 - 5:00 String Cosmology - String band time travelers

5:15 - 5:45 Trillium 239 - A rare isotope in Eastern Washington

5:45- 6:15 BREAK

6:15 - 6:45 Muckle Roe - Music from Scotland and Scandinavia

SKITCH CONFERENCE ROOM

12:00 - 12:30 LaVona Reeves and Friends - Sing-a-long for children and adults

12:45 - 1:30 Jenny Edgren - Songs for kids of all ages

1:45 - 2:45 Spokane Dulcimer Guild - Performance and brief history

3:00 - 4:00 Spokane River Tellers - Stories for kids of all ages

4:30 - 6:00 Workshop: Native American Flute with Peter Ali . Open to 5th grade up to adults. No music background is required. Flutes provided

THE UNDERGROUND

(Hint: It is downstairs in the Lair.)

11:30 - 12:00 Steve Schennum - Songs you will never hear on the radio

12:15 - 12:45 The Radio Helper s - Teen sister duo, Folk and Americana

1:00 - 1:30 Zeke Vasquez - Folk, Country, Ballads

1:45 - 2:15 Thirsty Boots - Folkabilly and more

2:30 - 3:00 Spokane Raging Grannies - Singing for peace and justice

3:15 - 3:45 Jonathan Nicholson - New Americana nger-style guitar

4:00 - 4:30 Ukestra Spokane - Ukulele community group

4:45 - 5:15 Heavily Redacted - Trio sharing instrumental easy listening tunes

5:30 - 6:00 Amy Bleu - Modern alternative folk

CAFETERIA STAGE

11:00 - 11:30 Haywire - Seasoned musicians sharing great tunes

11:45 - 12:15 Indian Youth Club of SpokaneBollywood dance

12:30 - 1:30 Spokane Area Square Dancers with caller Doug Davis - Demo and participatory dance

1:45 - 2:15 Silver Spurs Youth Folk Dancers - Dances from around the world

2:15 - 3:00 Family Dance - Easy line, circle, and novelty dances with live music

3:15 - 3:45 Bulgarian Dance Group - Traditional dances from Bulgaria

4:00 - 4:30 Aloha Hula of Spokane - Sharing “aloha” through hula

4:45 - 5:15 Spokane Irish Session - Traditional pub session

5:30 - 6:00 Woodside Swing - Vintage swing dance

6:00 - 6:30 BREAK

6:30 - 7:00 Workshop - Contra Dance Introduction with Nora Scott

7:00 - 8:30 Contra Dance with Banna Dahmsa and caller Nora Scott

Spokane Taiko

BISTRO STAGE

11:30 - 12:00 Free Spiritz - American old-time

12:15 - 12:45 Frankie Ghee - Original songs, great lyrics

1:00 - 1:30 Lyle Morse - Smooth and bluesy American roots music

1:45 - 2:15 Brad Keeler Trio - Bluegrass, old -time, swing

2:30 - 3:00 Two Grey Cats - Americana, early pop, swing

3:15 - 3:45 Peter Ali - Native American Flute - Songs from the Heart

4:00 - 4:30 Poor Boy’s Delight - Bluegrass/Folk/ Country/Americana

4:45 - 5:15 Patrice Webb - Award -winning original songwriting

5:30 - 6:00 Mountain Dew Boys - Traditional bluegrass

SMALL GYM (Building 5)

11:30 - 12:00 Grant Drummers and Dancers - African drum and song

29TH

2024 SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCES & EVENTS

SATURDAY, NOV. 9TH • 11 AM - 8 PM // SUNDAY, NOV. 10TH • 11 AM - 5 PM

*A FIFTEEN MINUTE BREAK IS PROVIDED BETWEEN MOST ACTS

The Fall Folk Festival schedule is subject to change. Changes will be posted on the website and at the Festival.

12:15 - 1:15 Scottish Program - With the Angus Scott Pipe Band, Lake City Highland and Spokane Scottish Country Dancers

1:30 - 2:15 Spokane Bon Odori - Japanese classical demo and participatory folk dance

2:30 - 3:00 Musha Marimba - Zimbabwean music from Bryant School students

3:15 - 3:45 Nah’Joom Dancers - Belly dance

4:00 - 4:30 Argentine Tango - History of Tango and demonstration

4:45 - 5:15 Spokane Taiko - Community Japanese drumming group

5:15 - 5:30 BREAK

5:30 - 6:30 Workshop - Taiko Drumming - Play the Big Drums and learn a simple song

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10

LAIR AUDITORIUM

11:00 - 11:45 Crooked Kilt - Celtic music with a twist

12:00 - 1 pm Spokane Chinese Assoc. and Filipino American Northwest Assoc.

- Sharing culture through dance

1:15 - 2:00 Dan Maher - Inland Folk

2:15 - 3.00 Baharat - Authentic dance from the Middle East and North Africa

3:15 - 3:45 Lilac City Voices - A Capella, barbershop style

4:00 - 4:45 The CatHerd - Folk with an international air

SASQUATCH ROOM

11:00 - 11:30 C Sharp and B Natural - Folk, Bluegrass and Choro

11:45 - 12:15 Gabriel Soileau - Cajun country potpourri

12:30 - 1:00 Blue Ribbon Tea Company - Originals, Americana roots

1:15 - 1:45 Ahmed Al -Fatlawi - Arabic oud and vocals from Jordan

1:45 - 2:15 BREAK

2:15 - 3:00 Arvid Lundin and Deep Roots - High energy traditional potpourri

3:00 - 3:45 Brittany Jean - Nashville recording artist, songwriter, and storyteller

3:45 - 4:15 Gefilte Trout - Klezmer tunes and songs SKITCH CONFERENCE ROOM

12:00 - 1:00 Spokane River Tellers - Stories for kids of all ages

1:15 - 2:00 Lucy D. Ford - Original stories for all ages

2:30 - 4:00 Workshop: Learn Scottish Highland Bagpipe - Props provided

THE UNDERGROUND

(Hint: It is downstairs in the Lair.)

11:30 - 12:00 Michael Robinson - Originals with guitar, harmonica and foot pattin’

12:15 - 12:45 Cigar Box Slingers - Homemade cigar box and license plate guitars

1:00 - 1:30 Harvey Stanley - Folk, Americana

1:45 - 2:15 Robin and John - Multi-Instrumentalists/ Vocalists

2:30 - 3:00 Desiree - Roots musician and storyteller

3:15 - 3:45 Casinato - Folk songs in English and Spanish

4:00 - 4:30 Ernie Verdugo - Spanish and amenco guitar

CAFETERIA

11:00 - 11:30 The Mighty PJAMRS Marching BandCommunity marching band

11:45 - 12:45 English Country Dance with Prestwold Players Band and caller Mitchell FreyAll dances taught

1:00 - 1:45 South Asia Cultural Association - Folk songs and dances from India

1:45 - 2:15 BREAK

2:15 - 3:00 Sidetrack - Participatory dance party. Come dance to country, western, rock, and blues

3:15 - 3:45 Workshop - Contra Dance Introduction with Emily Faulkner

3:45 - 5:00 Contra Dance with band , Reel Friends and caller, Emily Faulkner BISTRO STAGE

12:00 - 12:30 John Sylte and Stuart BachmanTraditional Irish 12:45 - 1:30 High Valley Mountain Boys - Bluegrass, country, swing 1:45 - 2:15 Three Ol’ Fellers - Cowboy songs, oldtime tunes

2:30 - 3:15 Kevin Brown & The Beloved CountryAmericana folk pop

3:30 - 4:15 Maple Ridge Band - Bluegrass and more

Peter Ali

Blue Ribbon Tea Company

OPIOID CRISIS

overdosing in an apartment downtown.

Within minutes, McEntee and Ellinwood are on scene, taking the elevator upstairs. As they walk down the hall, they can hear a man around the corner up ahead desperately asking, “Is she dead?”

Other medics are already there, several of them crammed into the apartment, where they’ve taken over CPR from the man, who’d administered Narcan and called 911.

“How are you doing? Are you OK?” Ellinwood asks him, remaining in the hallway. “Did you have to give her CPR?”

The man is distraught. He hasn’t given CPR before, he says, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he stares at the door, ajar.

“Have you dealt with this kind of thing before?”

“I hate this. I hate this drug,” he says. “I hate it so much, and I wish it wasn’t on the streets here and everyone who sells this shit would be punished.”

He steps back inside the apartment to look for his cigarettes and remains inside.

McEntee grabs a device from a gurney in the hall to help clear the woman’s airway, which is partially clogged, possibly with vomit.

Finally, the woman loudly gasps back to life. Within seconds, she’s stumbling out of the apartment into the hallway.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she repeats, no shirt or shoes on, still gulping for air. She’s crying and appears to be looking for someone, disoriented.

“You’re not in trouble,” Ellinwood says.

“Do you want to sit down?” McEntee asks. “Do you want to just talk to us for a minute?”

The other firefighting staff remain inside the apartment, giving the behavioral team a moment to try to talk to her.

But she just keeps saying “I’m sorry” and goes back

into the apartment to hug the man who helped her. She won’t engage with anyone else, so the medics and firefighters pack up their gear and leave, preparing for the next call.

OCT. 12, 9 AM

BRIDGE TO BRUNCH

Hundreds gather for a 5k run/walk and brunch fundraiser to benefit the MultiCare Behavioral Health Network.

MultiCare, the largest provider of behavioral health services in the state, recently announced plans to open an inpatient behavioral health unit at Deaconess Hospital. The state Department of Commerce has provided a $6 million grant toward the effort, which today’s fundraiser also benefits.

While the project is still months to years out, the hospital sees patients in its ER every day who are dealing with issues related to fentanyl use.

Stacy Kitchens has worked in the Deaconess ER for 16 years and has been the clinical nurse manager for about two.

“Every single day we take care of patients that are here for drug-related issues, with overdose issues, people that are found unresponsive,” Kitchens says.

Even if someone has received Narcan, they need to be monitored, she says, because sometimes the same dose of fentanyl they already survived can affect them again a few hours later.

“Narcan is shorter-acting than some of these opioids, and it can wear off and they’re overdosing again,” Kitchens says.

Since Washington passed a law to increase access in 2021, emergency departments have also provided patients with opiate use disorder with the overdose reversal medication when they’re discharged.

“Anybody who comes in with substance issues, we send them home with Narcan,” Kitchens says.

MultiCare is also the latest to sign a contract with Spokane Treatment and Recovery Services, or STARS, to help transfer patients to detox beds downtown.

Sacred Heart also has STARS liaisons in the ER who are able to assess people willing to transfer, get them a bridge prescription for Suboxone and then transport them to detox, Edminster says.

“You never know when that one overdose, and you save that person, that might be the time when they’re ready to be done and they might seek sobriety,” Kitchens says.

OCT. 15

REAL ESTATE PURCHASE

Today is a big day for Maddie’s Place, a nonprofit that provides care for babies exposed to drugs while in utero, as well as for their parents. That’s because today they closed a $1 million transaction to buy six lots next door to the existing facility on East Eighth Avenue and South Arthur Street.

This month, Maddie’s Place celebrated two years since it opened. In that time, the organization has helped 100 babies and 67 parents.

From just mid-September to mid-October, seven infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome were admitted, says Shaun Cross, the president and CEO of Maddie’s Place.

The nonprofit closed the real estate deal after receiving $600,000 from Spokane County’s opioid settlement funds, the result of lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and pharmacies that contributed to the opioid crisis.

About $400,000 of the opioid settlement money was used for the purchase, Cross says. The organization will

“EVERY OTHER DAY” CONTINUED...

Jordan Ellinwood with Frontier Behavioral Health works on the Spokane Fire Department’s Behavioral Response Unit. ERICK DOXEY PHOTO

OPIOID CRISIS 

“EVERY OTHER DAY” CONTINUED...

spend the next 10 years paying another $600,000 to the property sellers.

The expanded space will allow the nonprofit to build transitional housing for parents and infants who graduate from the facility’s care (typically about 60 days) but need more time to find stable housing. Nearly everyone the nonprofit has helped was homeless before they arrived at Maddie’s Place.

If demand continues to grow, there will be room to expand. Down the road, the nonprofit could even look for a partner to open a pediatric care facility, Cross says.

The other $200,000 in opioid settlement money is being used to remodel the current Maddie’s Place facility to create more office space for its growing staff, currently 79 employees.

Cross, a lawyer, says that based on what he’s seen over the last two years, the possibility for parents to keep custody of their child during treatment is a huge factor in successful recovery. Every parent who has lived at the facility is still sober and has custody of the baby that was helped at Maddie’s Place, he says.

“If you can provide really complete, total nonjudgmental, loving wraparound support for the parent,” Cross says, “it’s stunning what the results can be.”

OCT.

16, 2:20 PM

SHERIFF SHARES HIS

FAMILY’S EXPERIENCE

More than 100 people are gathered in the Montvale Event Center on First Avenue downtown for the Spokane Alliance for Fentanyl Education, or S.A.F.E., leadership summit. S.A.F.E. was formed two years ago and regularly hosts events with law enforcement, politicians and young people.

The crowd today includes local politicians, school leaders, law enforcement officers and service providers. At the front of the room, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels has the mic. He shares that as he was in the middle of running for sheriff in 2022, his own daughter was struggling with fentanyl addiction.

“I want to say that it’s unfortunate that I’m the father of an addict,” Nowels says. “It’s fortunate to say that I’m the father of an addict in recovery.”

His third-oldest, Sarah Nowels, started using fentanyl when she was 17. At the time, she was dating a man in his mid-20s. One day, he offered her a pill.

While she thought it might be Percocet (oxycodone), she tells the Inlander that she had an inkling it could be something else.

For three years, the Nowels family went through a cycle. Sarah would live at home, steal money, or continue to use fentanyl with her boyfriend, and get kicked out. Her family wouldn’t know how she was doing, so then they’d try to get her home safe again. At one point, her boyfriend overdosed in the thenundersheriff’s basement. Sarah’s little brother helped perform CPR while the family scrambled to call an ambulance. That was a big moment, Nowels says.

“I told her, ‘Hey, you have to choose. You can’t use drugs in our home. He can’t be here anymore.’ I said, ‘You are welcome to stay. He is not.’ She chose him and left,” Nowels tells the audience. “Those are the kinds of things that parents and families who are dealing with addicts have to deal with.”

Nowels was elected sheriff in November 2022. Days before Christmas that year, and about a week before he was set to be sworn in, Nowels’ family gathered at his father-in-law’s home to bake and decorate sugar cookies. Sarah was invited, and when she arrived, her

own family barely recognized her, he says. She left soon after.

“As she was walking through the snow, she was shuffling. She’s 20 years old at the time, former athlete,” Nowels says. “I remember going home that night, not able to sleep … I just thought to myself, ‘You know, your daughter’s gonna die. You’ve seen this. It’s coming. Will you be able to stand over her grave and say you did everything you could to stop it?’ And I knew I hadn’t.”

The next morning, he reached out to friends in the behavioral health world for advice. Because Sarah had also struggled with her mental health and had made suicidal comments, the Nowels were able to put her on an involuntary mental health hold and get her admitted at Inland Northwest Behavioral Health hospital.

Sarah says she first started out using around 10 pills a day, initially snorting them, then smoking them. By the time her family put her in the hospital, she was using 100 to 150 pills every day.

“How addiction works is, everything gets put on the back burner, just to use,” Sarah says. “There’s no logic going on when you’re using and you’re in active addiction.”

In the weeks leading up to her hospitalization, Sarah says she’d hit rock bottom. She was fired from her job. Her relationship with her boyfriend was the worst it had ever been. She had lost a significant amount of weight.

At the hospital, she met a man in recovery who was addicted to heroin for many years.

“He just asked me, like, ‘Aren’t you tired?’” Sarah says. She was. So exhausted.

“He just kept saying, ‘Is it worth not changing? What’s going to be more painful, living like this for the rest of your life, or taking the initiative to change?’” Sarah recalls. “I realized I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep going to the hospital. I can’t keep being in these types of relationships. I can’t keep living this life. And that’s kind of when it changed for me.”

Nearly two years later, at 22, she now works in peer support for Frontier Behavioral Health.

But Sarah says she wouldn’t have been able to get sober without the love and support of her family. She was able to fully focus on her recovery without worrying about getting a job at first. Not everyone is that lucky, and she wishes more people understood that addiction is a disease.

“It doesn’t matter what age, race, how you grew up, what class you’re in, it touches everybody,” she says. “I understand that people are hurt by us, and by the things we do. But I think they also need to recognize that a lot of the time, we’re not in the driver’s seat of what’s going on during that time. It’s the addiction that’s in control.”

OCT. 24, 1:30 PM FEDERAL

ANTI-TRAFFICKING BILL

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell is holding a press conference with Mayor Lisa Brown, Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall, Sheriff Nowels, and Spokane County Commissioner Mary Kuney in front of Spokane Fire Station 1 on Riverside Avenue to talk about a new bill she recently introduced to stop the flow of fentanyl.

Spokane Fire Station 1 is the busiest in the state, primarily due to the fentanyl crisis, Cantwell says.

...continued on page 30

Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels’ daughter Sarah struggled with fentanyl. PHOTOS COURTESY SARAH NOWELS

Join NAMI at Barrister Winery to connect with fellow supporters over wine and appetizers, while helping to raise awareness and vital funds for individuals and families affected by mental health conditions.

Barrister Winery | 1213 W. Railroad Ave.

OPIOID CRISIS

It doesn’t matter what age, race, how you grew up, what class you’re in, it touches everybody.

“We need to disrupt the supply chain and the financing of drugs,” Cantwell says.

The Stop Smuggling Illicit Synthetic Drugs on U.S. Transportation Networks Act would significantly ramp up inspections of all cargo sent by air, sea, rail or vehicle into the country.

It would also authorize federal grants to state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies for new technology, drug-detecting canines and staff overtime, and would increase crime scene and forensics support for fentanylrelated crimes and deaths.

Cantwell and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray are also trying to secure $3 million for the Spokane Regional Crisis Stabilization Center, where police and mental health providers can divert people in crisis, including those with substance use disorder, to get stabilizing treatment.

“It’s clear that more people in Spokane could be helped if we add more funding to the regional center,” Cantwell says. “These resources are worth fighting for.”

OCT. 27, 1:55 PM

FENTANYL ON THE FIELD

At the Spokane Zephyr’s last home soccer match of the fall season, thousands of fans at ONE Spokane Stadium offer applause for Stephanie Van Marter, who’s being

honored on the field.

Van Marter serves on the board of S.A.F.E. and handles criminal prosecutions under U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref, who heads up the Eastern District of Washington. The district handles cases in all 20 Eastern Washington counties, with offices in Spokane, Yakima and Richland.

Waldref says attorneys in her office regularly build cases against the largest drug traffickers in our region, which sometimes takes years.

“We have been really making fentanyl cases a critical priority,” Waldref says. “We partner with our large federal agencies … to identify large drug trafficking organizations. We try to infiltrate those organizations [and] go after the largest source.”

About five years ago, Eastern Washington started seeing a dramatic increase in fentanyl making its way into the community, most often from Mexico, Waldref says. It often enters the state through the Tri-Cities.

“We started seeing just volumes that were unprecedented, and also seeing with the increase of quantity, the decrease in price of fentanyl pills, fentanyl powder,” Waldref says.

Working with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as other local and state law enforcement agencies, Waldref’s team figures

out which cases are best suited to be prosecuted at the federal level. Often a suspect’s violent history might be a factor to try that case in federal court, she says.

Federal cases can result in longer sentences, and the federal prison system is equipped with better rehabilitative programs and reentry services, Waldref says.

Her office also helps obtain warrants to seize large quantities of fentanyl and even pill presses. In January, two men were indicted by a federal grand jury in Spokane after investigators seized two commercial pill presses that could produce thousands of pills per hour.

In a unanimous vote on Sept. 23, the Spokane City Council voted to hire a special assistant U.S. attorney to help prosecute serious drug crimes in the city. The city-employed attorney will work with Waldref’s office and will be paid with revenue the city receives from cannabis sales.

Before the vote, Spokane City Council member Jonathan Bingle agreed with a public commenter named Terry, who applauded the move to go after drug dealers.

“Terry said it really well: The more of these dirtbags we can get off the streets, the better,” Bingle said. “I think this is a very good action from the Brown administration. … There’s no single greater issue facing the city of Spokane right now than drugs.” n

samanthaw@inlander.com

Paramedic Colin McEntee holds one of the injectable naloxone kits that Spokane Fire Department staff can hand out to people. SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL PHOTO

Managing Back Pain Strategies for Relief and Prevention

Back pain is something most people deal with at some point, often resulting in trips to the doctor and missed work. The good news is that there are steps you can take to keep back pain from getting in the way of your everyday life.

Dr. David Ward, a Family Medicine physician at Kaiser Permanente South Hill Medical Center, explains that while back pain might feel debilitating, it can often improve with simple interventions like rest and walking. “With the right knowledge, you can manage and even prevent back pain,” Dr. Ward says.

Managing Back Pain at Home

It’s possible to manage back pain at home by taking over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen or naproxen, which can be effective in providing pain relief and reducing inflammation. Additionally, alternating between icing and heating your back can help. “If you don’t see improvement after two weeks, or can’t take NSAIDs, consult your health care provider for further evaluation,” Dr. Ward advises.

When to Seek Medical Attention

Certain back pain episodes may warrant conversation with a clinician. These include pain resulting from trauma (such as a fall or a car accident), severe pain that doesn’t improve with rest, and neurological symptoms like weakness or numbness.

“You should also seek medical attention if you’re experiencing back pain that is accompanied by a fever, have symptoms affecting bladder or bowel

control, or if you have a history of cancer or a compromised immune system,” adds Dr. Ward.

In some cases, telehealth can be a useful tool for back pain. If the pain isn’t a result of trauma and doesn’t include neurological symptoms, telehealth can be a convenient way to get care.

Movement and Rest: Finding the Right Balance

While it’s important to avoid activities that aggravate existing back pain, movement that doesn’t strain the muscles is helpful. Dr. Ward notes, “Activities like swimming are good because buoyancy supports the back. Gentle stretching exercises and walking are also good alternatives for people dealing with back pain.”

Can You Prevent Back Pain?

There are several risk factors for developing back pain. These can include increasing age (over 40), weak abdominal muscles, being overweight, over-exertion, and poor posture. You can take control of your spinal health and enjoy a more active, pain-free life by implementing preventive measures.

“Engaging in regular exercises to strengthen your core and back muscles is vital for a healthy spine,” says Dr. Ward. Other measures include maintaining a healthy weight, using proper posture, and stretching daily to reduce spinal strain and improve flexibility.

If you have additional questions or concerns about back pain, reach out to your doctor for personalized advice.

SPILLIN’ THE BEANS

Discover four new coffee spots in and around Spokane

BY DORA SCOTT

Whether you’re a cross-town commuter, a parent chauffeuring kids or checking off a list of errands around town, stopping to get your favorite beverage can add a bit of happiness to a busy day. Next time you’re on the road, (safely) keep your eyes peeled for these new caffeine outposts in and around Spokane.

BRU COFFEE HAUSE

9803 N. Division St., Instagram: @brucoffeehause Open Mon-Fri 4:30 am-7 pm; Sat-Sun 5 am-7 pm

Driving along North Division Street just past the Y, you may have noticed a white silo structure popping off. Instead of grain, though, BRU Coffee Hause holds coffee beans, energetic baristas and plenty of good vibes to go around.

Owner and Spokane native Sigrid Houske fulfilled her dream of owning and operating her own coffee shop when BRU (which stands for “Be the Real You”) celebrated its grand opening in early August. Houske set

the goal of starting BRU five years ago, eventually setting her sights on the empty lot where the drive-thru now stands.

“I want people to be happier. I want to be more positive. I want people to be more positive and more grateful everyday,” Houske says.

She says she’s fascinated by the psychology of happiness and uses it throughout BRU’s branding with an orange color scheme and even the circular shape of its silo-style building.

“Our eyes are more attracted to round objects like circular shapes,” Houske says. “When our eyes are focused towards that, we actually become happier.”

At BRU, don’t be too surprised when the employees ask you what you’re grateful for that day.

To boot, BRU roasts their own beans. Its most popular drink menu item is the Hause Bru ($5-$6.50), a mouth-watering amalgamation of white chocolate, caramel, shortbread, vanilla bean and cinnamon powder. Houske perfected the recipe over the last 10 years she’s

been working in the coffee industry.

With an abundance of coffee shops and stands in the area, entering a saturated market as a small business owner is no easy feat. However, Houske highlights how BRU has been warmly welcomed by the community.

“There’s just been these coffee stands that have really come together and it’s kind of nice to have a coffee community,” she says.

THE HUMAN BEAN

2503 W. Northwest Blvd., thehumanbean.com

Open 5 am-8 pm daily

The Human Bean made its acquaintance with the community by dropping off free beverages to businesses and organizations in Spokane ahead of its Sept. 26 grand opening.

Local owners Jim and Bridgett Gibson chose to open under the nationwide franchise after learning more about the brand’s coffee, food and customer service model.

Jim Gibson has lived in Northwest Spokane for

Take a turn around BRU Coffee Hause’s silo-shaped stand. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

over 36 years and said in a press release about Human Bean’s grand opening that he’s thrilled to be able to serve the neighborhood.

The drive-thru coffee shop’s location at the corner of Northwest Boulevard and T. J. Meenach Drive resembles a coffee bean with dark brown paint and a lighter brown stripe down its center. The theme doesn’t end there, as customers can expect a sweet surprise — a chocolate-covered coffee bean — placed on top of each drink.

Since opening, the Human Bean’s most popular promotional beverage has been the pumpkin java chip ($5.25-$9.25). Customers can also craft their custom dream drink from the stand’s large product availability.

If you need something to munch on, try a savory offering like the bacon gouda ciabatta ($5.25).

First established in Southern Oregon, the Human Bean holds quarterly fundraisers, including for local initiatives. On Coffee for a Cure Day on Oct. 18, 100% of $2,000 in proceeds at the Spokane stand was donated to Summit Cancer Care.

BREW PEDDLER

802 E. 29th Ave., brewpeddlerpnw.com Open daily 6 am-4 pm

Local coffee connoisseurs may already recognize the Brew Peddler name thanks to its unique coffee cart, which has catered local events of all sorts since 2022.

Now, you can more easily satisfy cravings for Andrew and Elizabeth Tye’s craft coffee as Brew Peddler opened a sit-down shop on the South Hill which celebrated its grand opening on Oct. 25.

“We started as a mobile coffee business with our coffee cart as a more affordable way of getting into a brick and mortar, and a way to get that track record of doing business, too,” Andrew Tye says.

Andrew attended the Culinary Institute of America and has worked at a number of fine-dining restaurants. His choice to delve into the coffee industry was partially influenced by his wife, who formerly worked for Ritual Coffee Roasters, a third-wave coffee shop in California’s Napa Valley.

The new storefront has allowed the Tyes to expand Brew Peddler’s food and drink menu. Though they’ve always roasted their own beans, the couple is utilizing connections they made with other local food purveyors while slinging drinks at area farmers markets. For instance, all Brew Peddler’s syrups and flavorings are made in-house, like the popular fall flavor featuring kabocha pumpkins from 11 Acres Farm.

Coffee and spices aren’t the only aromas that greets the senses when walking through Brew Peddler’s doors. Your stomach may start growling when you smell a house-made quiche ($11) heating up.

Brew Peddler’s pastry selection, meanwhile, is largely thanks to Elizabeth.

“[Elizabeth’s] experience in the bakery world and the fine patisserie is definitely a crucial part in our menu program,” Andrew says.

He highlights the scones ($4.50), and fruit galette ($6), the latter of which often features local produce like plums from Spring Water Farm in Deer Park.

1902 COFFEE CO.

11515 W. Sunset Hwy., Airway Heights, 1902coffeeco.com Open daily 5 am-7 pm

1902 Coffee Co. in Airway Heights may be new to the coffee scene as of October, but the brand is rooted in history.

Owner Gracelynn Stimson pays homage to her great-grandmother Grace by using her birth year as the coffee shop’s name.

“I admire everything that I have heard about my hardworking, passionate, kindhearted and supportive great-grandmother and want to recognize her through my new business,” Stimson says on the business’s website. “I’ve had coffee jobs throughout high school, and I just kind of fell in love with coffee, and I thought it would kind of be a good opportunity to do it myself.”

The beans used at 1902 Coffee Co. are freshly roasted each week at Cravens Coffee Co., which Stimson visited to create a custom blend for her stand. Its top-selling drink is called Tank’s Toddy ($4-$5.75), a cold brew with salted caramel and cold foam, named after Stimson’s dog.

1902 Coffee Co. also has an extensive food menu that’s loaded with healthier options like protein balls ($6) and overnight oats ($6.50). Or, satisfy your sweet tooth with their baked goods like the cinnamon rolls or muffins.

“I wanted to have a variety just because a lot of coffee stands you go to they only have a few things on the menu for food,” Stimson says, adding that 1902 also has a kids menu.

1902 Coffee Co. has been a three-year dream in the making for Stimson. “It has just been so amazing all the help I’ve gotten from my family and the support and backing I’ve gotten from everyone in the community,” she says. n

BRU spreads positivity with its coffee, and asks sincere questions. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

1902 Coffee Co. in Airway Heights had a grand opening on Oct. 26. PHOTO COURTESY 1902 COFFEE CO.

Brew Peddler now has a permanent South Hill spot. PHOTO COURTESY BREW PEDDLER

KEEP A QUIVERING UPPER LIP

Writer/director Steve McQueen

reframes the whitewashed image of WWII’s London bombings via a harrowing childhood adventure

BY MARYANN JOHANSON

Blitz opens amid a terrifying conflagration on a nighttime city street. This is the blitzkrieg — the German bombing of London in 1940 in the early days of World War II. But as writer/director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) casts it, it’s not about an entire street or even a single building on fire. It’s about a loose fire hose whipping about wildly and the heavy industrial nozzle whacking an anonymous firefighter in the head as he struggles to bring it under control.

It’s a moment of feral intensity and of ferocious intimacy. It brings to mind snippets from early in Chernobyl, the HBO miniseries about the 1986 nuclear plant disaster. It’s just an ordinary schmoe firefighter not even thinking twice about doing a dangerous job, because the job has to be done.

Blitz is not about that firefighter. But the brutal randomness of that opening sequence sets the stage for what is to come. This is not a sentimental story about British stiff upper lips and keeping calm and carrying on. McQueen seems to be deliberately pushing back against

how the British and especially the London experience of the war has been ex post facto propagandized into cheery, chipper camaraderie and complacency. Indeed, the whole “keep calm and carry on” thing was a propaganda slogan developed during the war but barely used then, and was almost entirely forgotten until it was rediscovered in 2000 and subsequently weaponized for whitewashed and commercialized nostalgia.

McQueen plays with those expectations, but smashes them at every opportunity with this tale of 9-year-old George (newcomer Elliott Heffernan), who’s furious that his single mom, Rita (Saoirse Ronan), has finally relented and agreed to evacuate her son to the countryside after so many other London children had already left. Blitz is about the picaresque misadventures of George as he decides to take himself home — Nazi bombs be damned — and the inadvertent horror for his mother once she is informed that the authorities who were supposed to be in charge of his safety have lost him.

Rated PG-13

Blitz

partly through flashbacks of the lively jazz-club scene where Rita partied in prewar time with George’s father, Marcus (CJ Beckford), an immigrant from Grenada who is no longer in the picture. But McQueen’s depiction of a London that some would like to pretend never existed affectingly blossoms thanks to another immigrant George encounters: the Nigerian air-raid warden Ife (Benjamin Clémentine). Ife is one of the loveliest characters depicted on screen in a long while, and McQueen sharply but gently uses the character to paint a portrait of an exuberant, diverse London. Subtly, McQueen suggests that this is very much what was worth fighting the Nazis to protect.

Directed by Steve McQueen

McQueen is also pushing back against another sort of whitewashing of the more literal kind: The bizarre notion that, somehow, “diversity” is a 21st-century invention and that people of color haven’t always been a part of history, particularly in majority-white colonial nations like Great Britain. The filmmaker has said he was inspired in this story by an old photograph of a mixed-race bombing evacuee, a small boy standing on a WWII-era railway platform. McQueen wondered what his life was like.

Starring Saoirse Ronan, Elliott Heffernan, Benjamin Clémentine

Yet nothing here is romanticized, either. Racism is a real and pervasive presence — the sequence in which George has his eyes opened to just how ingrained the denigration of Black people has been by the British Empire is heartbreaking — as is the opportunism of those who would take advantage of the chaos of the blitz. Stephen Graham and Kathy Burke play scavengerthieves who descend after the bombs fall, and they rope George into their schemes. They are terrifying, akin to the Thenardiers of Les Misérables but devoid of their bleak comedy.

And so McQueen — who is Black British — builds a sketch of vibrant, multicultural life in century-ago London,

Blitz is McQueen’s most accessible, most mainstream film yet, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t absolutely brutal. This is a movie about childhood adventure that is a lark — until it isn’t. It’s about community care and small moments of kindness from strangers in passing, and also about stomping on your neighbors in moments of panic and terror. It’s wildly human, artistically masterful and completely magnificent. n

Elliott Heffernan and Saoirse Ronan help Blitz tell a different type of war story.

In Grant We Trust?

Heretic will win acolytes from Hugh Grant’s acting alone, but ultimately merely tests our faith

BY CHASE HUTCHINSON

What comes to mind when you think of horror movies about faith? It’s a combination with a rich cinematic history, with everything from the late great William Friedkin’s enduring classic The Exorcist through to more modern works like Robert Eggers’ terrifying The Witch or Rose Glass’ searing Saint Maud offering brutal, yet just as darkly beautiful, visions about belief. However, how many of them can say they have Hugh Grant as a smooth-talking, sinister man who traps two Mormon missionaries in his home and puts them through a series of grim tests?

This is the hook of Heretic, the latest movie from the filmmaking duo of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, who penned the frequently eerily effective if a bit overstretched adaptation of the Stephen King story The Boogeyman from last year and wrote/directed the action misfire 65 Built around Grant’s great performance — one of his most villainous yet, which makes his turns in the playful family comedy Paddington

Heretic

2 and the surprisingly decent Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves look quaint by comparison — it’s a talky work with pages upon pages of dialogue for him to devour.

As The Hollies’ 1974 classic “The Air That I Breathe” begins to play over and over, an excellent song choice that still marks the moment where things start to come apart, Heretic struggles to grasp for something more profound. The monologues about faith Grant gives are like a cross between the insufferable pretentiousness of Bill Maher and the enjoyably ridiculous moral philosophizing of John Kramer from the Saw movies. This should be more pointedly fun, though. it’s all played with such a straight face that the film starts to buckle under its own weight.

Even as cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung — who has shot plenty of truly magnificent films with the filmmaker Park Chan-wook such as The Handmaiden, Thirst, Lady Vengeance, and Oldboy — does similarly strong work here in every frame, he can’t save Heretic from the emptiness at its core.

ALSO OPENING

ANORA

A struggling sex worker falls for and marries the son of a Russian oligarch, but her Cinderella tale might not end happily ever after in writer/director Sean Baker’s latest. Rated R

THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER

Plans for the church’s big annual Christmas pageant get upended when a family of juvenile delinquents decide to join the production. Rated PG

CHRISTMAS EVE IN MILLER’S POINT

A large family comes together in their aging matriarch’s home in this holiday dramedy. Rated PG-13

ELEVATION

Rated R Directed by Scott Beck & Bryan Woods Starring Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East

This is where the film is strongest, keeping us on our toes as it ratchets up the tension until descending into a sadly more slight and shallow second half. Still, for that first bit, it’s solid stuff. Observing the menacing Mr. Reed (Grant) verbally sparring with the initially unsuspecting duo of Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) before offering them a choice (that is, of course, a false one), you find yourself drawn in. Just three people in a single labyrinthian location gives the actors room to play off each other as the danger grows more unavoidable and the dread inescapably suffocating. Grant wields his charm like a weapon, using it to see how long his creepy character can keep his visitors before they start asking questions. The disappointment comes in the perfunctory answers and oddly scattered scares that follow.

Namely, the more we are taken into the darkness lurking beneath the house, the more it lives in the shadow of the gruesome nightmare of a film like Pascal Laugier’s Martyrs. Though nowhere near as defined by extreme violence and gore, the final test Heretic builds to is so blatantly similar to that film that it feels like Beck and Woods are just doing a more palatable recreation of an already significant work. Without tipping anything off, both films end up being about peering beyond our world. However, where Martyrs sees this all the way through with a bloody, bleakly humorous conclusion, Heretic just peters out with lackluster reversals and a few blunt twists.

One could generously say this is almost by design, as Grant’s character spells out at one point how everything from religion to culture is not only in debt to what came before but becomes essentially repackaged for each new generation. That’s still a stretch though, as not only is the writing here not nearly robust and smart enough to pull this off, but the film repeatedly fumbles at the finish line of what was already an experience of lesser ideas. There is something worth believing in with Heretic, especially with Grant’s performance, but the overall picture it paints can’t hold a candle to the prior works from which it draws. It’s blasphemous only in how derivative it is. n

In a post-apocalyptic world terrorized by monsters that cannot travel above 8,000 feet, a father (Anthony Mackie) must descend into the danger to get supplies to save his sick son. Not Rated

MEANWHILE ON EARTH

In this French sci-fi drama, the sister of a missing astronaut is adrift until she’s contacted by an alien… who has instructions... Rated R

MEMOIR OF A SNAIL

Dark stop-motion animation brings to life this mature tragicomedy story of a misfit child in 1970s Australia enduring the many cruelties of the world while growing up. Rated R

OVERLORD: THE SECRET KINGDOM

In this continuation of the Overlord anime series, the Sacred Kingdom must join forces with the rival Sorcerer Kingdom in order to battle the Demon Emperor. Not Rated

SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE

Set in 1985, Cillian Murphy stars as an Irish coal worker who discovers that the local convent might be abusing the girls in its care. Rated PG-13

WEEKEND IN TAIPEI

Things get more complicated for a DEA agent trying to take down a drug cartel when he connects with an old love… who is married to the cartel kingpin. Rated R

Hugh Grant’s terrifying charm is Heretic’s strength.

LOCAL FOLK

A ROGUE WAVE

Spokane teacher trio Betsy Rogue brings Lilith Fair flair to its debut album, Love or Fear

BY SETH SOMMERFELD

Some folks like to mockingly say “those who can’t do, teach.”

You might want to avoid saying such a thing around Betsy Rogue. Because not only can each member of the three-person Spokane folk group very assuredly do and teach, as the group’s new debut album Love or Fear showcases, but the trio is not opposed to getting a bit fiery when disrespected.

Love or Fear taps into that ’90s Lilith Fair sound with harmonious arrangements and lyrics that tap into a feminine sense while being unafraid to get angry when needed. It’s the cathartic sonic outpouring from the combination of singer/guitarist Liz Rognes (English teacher at Eastern Washington University), cellist/mandocellist/guitarist/strings arranger Jerilynn Harris (orchestra director of the Libby Center’s Odyssey program) and violinist Heather Montgomery (orchestra teacher at Sacajawea Middle School).

Over the course of seven tracks, Betsy Rogue fluctuates between vocal harmony-forward rebukes of the patriarchy (“Chivalry Is Not Dead”), rebellious pep in a tale of an ex-con trying to pick up the pieces (“Hennepin”), love songs that feel like a tender folk embrace (“Jump”) and spitting spite on dark, seething slow-burn songs that evoke the dread of murder ballads (“I Saw Everything”).

The trio ran in similar Spokane music and teaching circles for years. Rognes and Montgomery often shared the same bill at venues like the Bartlett when Rognes was playing solo material and Montgomery was playing in the local band Folkception. Harris and Montgomery were both teaching middle school orchestra in the same district, and Harris succeeded Montgomery as conductor for the Spokane Youth Symphony’s Sinfonietta.

And in a wildly on-brand happening, Rognes and Harris met

via

From left: Betsy Rogue’s Heather Montgomery, Liz Rognes and Jerilynn Harris. DEVIN PARKER PHOTO

Jerilynn’s author wife, Stephanie Oakes, at an Ani DiFranco concert.

But it wasn’t until March 2021 when the three actually decided to formally meet up and play some music together. Rognes was trying to organize a music program at Shaw Middle School and needed advice from folks with experience teaching that demographic.

“I knew Heather and Jerilynn a little bit, but I didn’t know either of them very well. But I knew they both worked with middle school-aged kids, and that they both seemed like cool people,” Rognes says. “So I reached out to them and asked if they’d want to talk about strategies for teaching middle school music sometime... and also maybe play a song together. And then they came over to my apartment, we ate snacks, talked a little bit about teaching strategies and then played songs — and we just really hit it off.”

“We’re all kind of on the same page,” Montgomery adds. “We all have youngish kids. We’re all teachers with similar priorities and a similar disinterest in staying up past 9 pm.”

Bonding over a shared love of folk and strong women singer-songwriters, the trio started out just messing around with some fitting folky covers — like Indigo Girls’ “Closer to Fine” and Sheryl Crow’s “If It Makes You Happy” — before moving on to doing arrangements of Rognes’ songs and eventually deciding to try to make original music together.

Betsy Rogue became a nurturing space where Rognes and Harris could bring songs they’d written and feel confident the other members would help elevate the material. The easy chemistry between the three could be felt whether working in private or playing in public.

“There are times on stage with Jerilynn and Heather where I can just enjoy and have fun — like not think about anything except for what’s happening in the moment,” Rognes says. “Which is so exciting, because I’m a really anxious person and it’s hard for me to not worry about everything that’s going on: not only on stage, but off stage too. Sometimes I can just kind of disappear into the music, because these two are the most incredible musicians.”

After a couple years of honing the genrebending flexibility of Betsy Rogue’s sound, the trio started recording the songs that would eventually comprise Love and Fear in April 2024. Rather than do the album in one fell swoop, Betsy Rogue would book Sunday studio sessions with producer Jay Condiotti at J Bones Musicland once they were ready to record a new tune or two. The sporadic schedule meant the album wasn’t finished until this August, but that’s also partially because the group found ways to expand beyond what they could each play in real time.

“When we got into the studio and we could add more layers with multitracking, it was like, ‘This is the sound that I’ve always imagined.’” Harris says. “When we play a show, we can only do three things and sing, but in the studio we can add more parts. Like Heather would record multiple violin/viola parts, and I would record cello and bass to add more depth and complexity to the sound than what we could have as [only three] actual humans just in one space. So I remember feeling really excited after our first couple recording sessions: This is how it has always sounded in my head, and now this is how it sounds for real.”

The name Besty Rogue came about by accident after Rognes was once billed on a show poster as “Liz Rogue.”

But don’t think the group centers on its misunderstood namesake.

“I don’t love telling that story, because this band is us. It’s a trio. It’s the three of us,” Rognes emphasizes. “But I think that word ‘Rogue’ kind of fits for us, because in a lot of ways we do challenge certain kinds of norms.”

“We’ve gone rogue from our classical music training for sure,” Harris interjects with a laugh. “If we were the Trinity, Betsy Rogue is the center of the Venn diagram of all three of us.”

That roguish nature comes across most clearly in the themes Love or Fear lyrically tackles.

“I think the title — Love or Fear — is so fitting because there is this kind of range of messaging in the songs,” Rognes says. “Some of them are very sort of forthright about bringing down the patriarchy and feeling angry, but then there are more gentle, reflective, lyrical pieces and musical pieces. I think love or fear are two sides of the same coin, and even the songs that feel really different, they’re related to each other.”

While the album features plenty of tender moments like gorgeous string arrangements that ungird hopes for a simple life on “Easy for a While” and the emotional catharsis of letting go on “Come Down Sundown,” Betsy Rogue isn’t afraid of getting its collective fangs out in order to be plenty biting, like on the aforementioned “I Saw Everything.”

“I was so angry when I wrote that song (“I Saw Everything”). I was seething.” says Rognes. “But I always worry because my voice sits kind of high, and a lot of times when I sing it just sounds plaintive no matter what I’m saying. I could be like swearing up a storm, and it just sounds like I’m singing a lullaby or something. But on that song… when we listened like I was like, ‘Whoa! I think you can hear how angry I actually am.’ I was just witnessing really terrible and harmful behavior happening in communities that I care about, and it pissed me off: transphobia, racism, duplicitousness. I think more than anything, what makes me feel angry is someone saying one thing but then doing another thing. Like someone saying ‘I’m an ally,’ but then acting in a way that is actually really harmful to a community makes me so angry.”

Betsy Rogue hopes its upcoming album release show at nYne on Friday, Nov. 8, provides said community a gathering that’s bursting with positivity. The trio is calling in reinforcements to help translate the album’s multitrack layers to a live setting, bringing in players from local groups Buffalo Jones and Heat Speak to fill out the sound. After playing Love and Fear in its entirety, Betsy Rogue will close out the evening with a set of ’90s folk rock covers, which they hope will become a sort of impromptu dance party. The concert will be all ages, in part so that the teacher trio’s students can come to the show.

Whether in the classroom or on the stage, there are pearls of folksy wisdom to be found via Betsy Rogue.

Take a listen.

You just might learn something. n

Betsy Rogue: Love or Fear Album Release Show with Rosie CQ • Fri, Nov. 8 at 6:30 pm • $10 • All ages • nYne Bar & Bistro • 232 W. Sprague Ave. • nynebar.com

JAZZ DMITRI MATHENY

INDIE POP LANDON CONRATH

Thursday, 11/7

J THE BIG DIPPER, Greylotus, Lucrecia, Nott, Xenoplasm

CHECKERBOARD TAPROOM, Weathered Shepherds THE DISTRICT BAR, Terrapin Flyer

J MIKEY’S GYROS, Old Timey Music Jam Sessions

MOOSE LOUNGE (NORTH), Oskar Owens

J QQ SUSHI & KITCHEN, Just Plain Darin

RIVERSIDE PLACE, Layz

J WESTWOOD BREWING CO., Open Mic Night

ZOLA, Jason Evans’ Cosmic Fantasy, Matt Mitchell

Friday, 11/8

BARRISTER WINERY, Theresa Edwards Band

THE BEE’S KNEES WHISKEY BAR, Pat Simmons

J THE BIG DIPPER, Scott H Biram, The Hooten Hallers

BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Karma’s Circle

CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Bay 7

CHINOOK STEAK, SEAFOOD & PASTA, Max Malone

THE DISTRICT BAR, Slap Frost Tour: DJ True Justice, Vocab Slick, Z-Man

J THE GRAIN SHED, Haywire

J J HAMILTON STUDIO, Matheny Plays Mancini

HELIX WINES, Robert Vaughn

IRON HORSE (CDA), Pastiche

JAGUAR ROOM AT THE CHAMELEON, House Fire

J KNITTING FACTORY, BLP Kosher, BabyTron, Trapland Pat, Nasaan MOOSE LOUNGE, Laketown Sound

MOOSE LOUNGE (NORTH), Loose Gazoonz

NIGHT OWL, DJ F3LON

J NORTHERN QUEST CASINO, Native Jam

J J NYNE BAR & BISTRO, Betsy Rogue: Love or Fear Album Release Show with Rosie CQ

J PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Brian Jacobs

RED ROOM LOUNGE, Live DJs ZOLA, Aspen Lockwood ZOLA, Mason Van Stone Band

Saturday, 11/9

J THE BIG DIPPER, Dead Bob, Scatterbox, The Dilrods

BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Karma’s Circle

BOTTLE BAY BREWING CO., Cold Canary & Bob Gallagher

THE CHAMELEON, Will Wood, Shayfer James

CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Justyn Priest

CHINOOK STEAK, SEAFOOD & PASTA, Max Malone

J THE DISTRICT BAR, Landon Conrath, Andrew Garden

IRON HORSE (CDA), Pastiche

J KNITTING FACTORY, Phora, Tyla Yaweh

MOOSE LOUNGE, Laketown Sound

MOOSE LOUNGE (NORTH), Loose Gazoonz

When it comes to jazz, there are so many instruments more prominent than the flugelhorn. But when played with expertise, it can be an absolute delight. Similarly, when it comes to film composers, there are so many artists more prominent than Henry Mancini. But when his expertise is on full display — as with The Pink Panther and Breakfast at Tiffany’s scores — it’s an absolute delight. Those two great flavors come together when awardwinning Centralia, Washington, jazz flugelhornist Dmitri Matheny crosses the Cascades to perform some of Mancini’s best compositions with jazz quartet that includes local sax standout David Larsen. At the very least, it’s near impossible to have a bad time when hearing the playful creeping swing of “The Pink Panther Theme” performed live.

— SETH SOMMERFELD

Matheny Plays Mancini • Fri, Nov. 8 at 7 pm • $35 • All ages • Hamilton Studio • 1427 W. Dean Ave. • hamilton.live

If the cultural stereotype of “Minnesota nice” was able to be sonically distilled, it’d probably sound pretty close to Landon Conrath’s brand of indie pop rock. Hailing from Minneapolis, the singersongwriter unexpectedly gained a modicum of viral fame in 2020 when the Spotify algorithm took a shine to his debut single “Pieces” and started populating playlists with it. It’s easy to see the appeal of Conrath’s soft vocals and knack for crafting easygoing hooks that pair well with occasional blasts of indie rock edge. He delivers even more of that formula on his brand new album, Employee of the Year. Corath’s music can make you feel warm on the inside even as the temperatures begin to drop.

— SETH SOMMERFELD

Landon Conrath, Andrew Garden • Sat, Nov. 9 at 8 pm • $15 • 21+ • The District Bar • 916 W. First Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com

NIGHT OWL, Priestess

J OLD SCHOOL LIQUOR BAR, Just Plain Darin

PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Ian Newbill

RED ROOM LOUNGE, Live DJs

ZOLA, Blake Braley

Sunday, 11/10

THE DISTRICT BAR, Merlock, Pegzilla, Wizzerd, Sonic Druid HOGFISH, Open Mic

ZOLA, Sugar Bear Dinner Party

Monday, 11/11

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

RED ROOM LOUNGE, Open Mic Night

Tuesday, 11/12

BLACK LODGE BREWING, Open Mic Night: The Artist Stage

SWING LOUNGE, Swing Lounge Live Music Tuesdays ZOLA, The Zola All Star Jam

Wednesday, 11/13

THE DRAFT ZONE, The Draft Zone Open Mic

RED ROOM LOUNGE, Red Room Lounge Jam

J TIMBERS ROADHOUSE, Cary Beare Presents

Just Announced...

THE CHAMELEON, EJ Worland, Thurs., Nov. 23.

KNITTING FACTORY, Too $hort, Jan. 11.

J THE DISTRICT BAR, Grieves, Feb. 6.

J KNITTING FACTORY, Daily Bread, Mar. 20.

Coming Up

...

BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Bare & Blue, Nov. 14, 6:30 pm.

J KNITTING FACTORY, Chase Matthew, Austin Williams, Colin Stough, Nov. 14, 8 pm.

RIVERSIDE PLACE, Trivecta, Nov. 14, 8 pm.

HAMILTON STUDIO, The Divas: What She Said... Best!, Nov. 15 & 16, 7 pm.

J THE BIG DIPPER, Unto Others, Hoaxed, Cruel Velvet, Nov. 15, 7:30 pm.

J KNITTING FACTORY, ZZ Ward, Angel White, Nov. 15, 8 pm.

IRON HORSE (CDA), JamShack, Nov. 15 & 16, 8:30 pm.

THE CHAMELEON, Alegria Salsa Social, Nov. 15, 9 pm.

THE DISTRICT BAR, Kaitlin Butts, Ken Pomeroy, Nov. 15, 9 pm.

J JAGUAR ROOM AT CHAMELEON, Nyxx, Danny Blu, Die Sexual, Nov. 15, 9 pm.

J PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Zach Simms, Nov. 16, 5 pm.

J THE FOX THEATER, Anne Wilson, Jordan Rowe, Nov. 16, 7 pm.

J THE BIG DIPPER, Hostages, Full Choke, Bullseye, Whut?, Bent Outta Shape, Nov. 16, 7:30 pm.

J THE JACKLIN CULTURAL CENTER, Paper Flowers: Remembering Fleetwood Mac, Nov. 16, 7:30 pm.

J JAGUAR ROOM AT CHAMELEON, Matt Mitchell Music Co., The Holy Broke, Karli Fairbanks, Nov. 16, 8 pm.

KNITTING FACTORY, Noche De Verano Sin Ti (Bad Bunny Night), Nov. 16, 8 pm.

J SPOKANE TRIBE CASINO, Brett Young, Nov. 16, 8 pm.

THE CHAMELEON, After Midnight: Chappell Roan Dance Party, Nov. 16, 9 pm.

J MIKEY’S GYROS, Ideomotor, Clover, The Himbos, Nov. 17, 6 pm.

J THE BIG DIPPER, Mutilation Barbecue, Bonemass, Propagate The Rot, Nov. 18, 7:30 pm.

J THE BIG DIPPER, Big Fun, Iron Chain, Hell Motel, Nov. 19, 7 pm.

J BING CROSBY THEATER, Judy Collins, Nov. 19, 7:30-9 pm.

J SPOKANE TRIBE CASINO, Keith Anderson, Devon Wade, Nov. 21, 7 pm..

J J THE BIG DIPPER, Hayes Noble, Puddy Knife, Psychic Death, Fossil Fire Fossil Blood, Nov. 22, 7:30 pm.

J JAGUAR ROOM AT CHAMELEON, The Writer’s Room: VIKA, Surname, Folds, Jacob Maxwell, John Wayne Williams, Nov. 22, 7:30 pm.

MUSIC | VENUES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE CHAMELEON • 1801 W. Sunset Blvd.

CHECKERBOARD • 1716 E. Sprague Ave. • 509-443-4767

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

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

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

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

THE DISTRICT BAR • 916 W. 1st Ave. • 509-244-3279

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

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

FOX THEATER • 1001 W. Sprague Ave. • 509-624-1200

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RED ROOM LOUNGE • 521 W. Sprague Ave. • 509-838-7613

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

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

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

SPOKANE TRIBE RESORT & CASINO • 14300 US-2, Airway Heights • 877-786-9467

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

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

TRANCHE • 705 Berney Dr., Wall Walla • 509-526-3500

ZOLA • 22 W. Main Ave. • 509-624-2416

& ATTICUS COFFEE & GIFTS BOO RADLEY’S engage in retail therapy

DOWNTOWN SPOKANE • HOWARD ST.

MUSIC FOLKIN’ AROUND

Dust off your fiddles and pan flutes, and grab your dancing shoes because it’s almost time for the Fall Folk Festival. Held annually at Spokane Community College for 29 years, the festival takes over nearly every corner of the school’s Lair Student Center with music emanating from every room, hallway and cranny. Over the course of two days, attendees can expect spur-of-the-moment jam sessions, contra dance classes, vendors selling handmade wares, and performances by area folk and bluegrass groups like the Homebrew Stringband, Frankie Ghee, the Mountain Dew Boys, and Crooked Kilt. There’s no better way to get into the autumnal spirit than with folky music and good vibes.

— MADISON PEARSON

Fall Folk Festival • Sat, Nov. 9 from 11 am-8 pm and Sun, Nov. 10 from 11 am-5 pm • Free • All ages • Spokane Community College • 1810 N. Greene St. • spokanefolkfestival.org

THEATER LET THEM LAUGH

While King Louis XIV of France banned the play for being sacrilegious, Tartuffe is a satirical masterpiece confronting religious hypocrisy, abuse of power and deceit. This comedy has captivated audiences for over 350 years, yet is still full of themes and storylines that continue to be relevant today. Tartuffe’s dialogue, intricate storyline and physical humor present a unique and challenging project for the Gonzaga Theatre Department, who have put in tremendous effort to do justice to Molière’s timeless classic. Be sure not to miss a play that has made global audiences laugh, giggle and cackle for hundreds of years.

— JOHN BERGIN

Tartuffe • Nov. 7-10; Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm • $14-$18 • Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center • 221 E. Desmet Ave. • gonzaga.edu/theatre-dance

SPORTS RIDIN’ DIRTY

There’s something wildly cathartic about attending Monster Jam, but I haven’t been able to pinpoint exactly why. Maybe it’s the huge, cleverly designed monster trucks that make you smile when you see them. For example, Khalil’ La’Marr who drives a sharkthemed truck named Megalodon will compete against Brianna Mahon, who drives a Great Dane-esque truck named Scooby-Doo. Or perhaps, it’s the competitors kicking up tons of mud that relaxes the mind and reminds you that it’s OK to get dirty. It could even be the camaraderie felt between the thousands of people who come out whenever the event makes its way to their hometown. Whatever it is that’s kept folks coming out for years will all be present this weekend as Monster Jam makes a stop at the Spokane Arena. — COLTON RASANEN

Monster Jam • Nov. 8-10; Fri-Sat at 7 pm, Sat-Sun at 1 pm • $22$62 • Spokane Arena • 720 W. Mallon Ave. • spokanearena.com

GET LISTED!

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COMEDY COMIC RECAP

Musicians have it easy. Did you write a song that audiences love? Well, guess what? Now you can play that every show for the rest of your life. For comedians, it’s a much trickier proposition. Did you write a joke that kills? Well, guess what? As soon as your stand-up special with said joke comes out, you’ll probably never get to tell that artfully crafted witticism ever again. Thankfully, Eddie Izzard has never been one to conform. Izzard has been a star in the British comedy scene and a queer comedy trailblazer since well before self-identifying as trans, and is now pushing comedic norms with her The Remix Tour. The show will feature Izzard performing some of the best jokes from her 35-year career, but since her material has always been rooted in hilarious monologues that can veer into tangents, even the old material gets playfully injected with new life each night. Play the hits, Izzard! — SETH SOMMERFELD

Eddie Izzard • Sun, Nov. 10 at 7 pm • $45-$115 • First Interstate Center for the Arts • 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. • firstinterstatecenter.org

COMMUNITY LOVE, CARE & REPAIR

Did your favorite pair of jeans get a hole? Maybe grandmother’s quilt you inherited is a little too worn. Have no fear, Mend-It Cafe is here! Put on by Spokane Zero Waste, the pop-up event comes to locals’ aid this month at the Hillyard Library. While you can’t bring your whole closet, if you have three articles of clothing or household textiles in need of repair, bring them and you’ll be paired with a volunteer mender. If you want to learn how to repair your own clothes, volunteers can also guide you through the process. The best part about Mend-It Cafe? It’s free! So give your clothes some love with a much-needed repair so they don’t end up in the landfill.

— DORA SCOTT

Mend-It Cafe • Sun, Nov. 10 from 12:30-3:30 pm • Free • Hillyard Library • 4110 N. Cook St. • spokanezerowaste.org

I SAW YOU

TARGET HEARTTHROB To the tall, handsome man I spotted in the northside Target parking lot — your effortless style caught my eye as you walked by, coffee in hand. The way you carried yourself exuded confidence, and I couldn’t help but notice you. If you see this, I’d love to chat!

RE: DIFFERENCES We can have social transformation without assimilation. Anarchy is about freedoms. Progress on a large scale would evolve slowly. The more technology and science advance the more humans are naturally drawn towards atheism and anarchy. An anarchist society wouldn’t force everyone else to be anarchists, they’d just want the right to be left alone to exist, which can’t happen abruptly. Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy on “Individualistic Anarchy” emphasizes how important individualism and selfawareness is for successful anarchy. Steiner was introverted and not super communal, but he still saw value in anarchy philosophy. Individualist Anarchists do not support the use of force. Force in itself is authoritarian. This is not to be confused with practical selfdefense. Individualist anarchism promotes a society based on voluntary mutual aid and voluntary participation in a community. Primitive Anarchy even suggests success comes from going back to Indigenous tribes. Overpopulation, restrictive laws from the state, and religious indoctrination are obstacles. An Anarchist is a “Libertarian Socialist”. Different than “authoritarian socialism.” Not everyone agrees with anarchism, but people who do should be allowed to live how they please among a society of like-minded people instead of forced into capitalism.

BLINDSIDED I saw you for the first time standing in line waiting for a couple guys to taste test every beer Lumberbeard Brewery had to offer. You, holding a 4 pack of tall dank beers. Me, wondering what NA options a brewery might have to offer. Thinking to myself, do I just start drinking again? I don’t have a problem. She is beautiful and intriguing. I’ve done crazier things before. The beerista, “Sir?”

Oh yeah, sorry, I guess I’ll take the water. I turn around, she’s gone forever. Email me?

MY BEAUTIFUL BOYFRIEND That’s what I used to tell you. We had a very passionate relationship, we were young and definitely very in love. That all came crashing down when my mom forbade me from being with you. I was devastated, I never was quite the same after that. Please know that I never stopped loving you, my life just became very difficult. I’ve seen you around the last couple of years. Sometimes you look at me like you want to talk, but you’ve only muttered an annoyed “hello.”

A lot has happened in the 25 years that I’ve known you. Just know I never gave up on you and still would like to be there for you. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be around, no pressure. How’s our pet spider?

YOU SAW ME

WILD ROSES Those beautiful Roses waiting for Spring have a secret, behind their vibrant petals hidden by their hardiness, is in fact an agronomist. Except for the truly wild Roses growing in the forest you once took vows in. But the harshness of reality is that even the rugged wild Rose may not prevail if the tower prophesied its destruction. What if the Rose is not strong enough this time, and who’s to say the spring will be delivered in time to see the Roses bloom in abundance, two years straight of unfavorable weather has delayed such an event thus far. I’m sorry Blackroom boy but your Rose may just be done for. Besides you gave up on this Rose, left alone waiting in the cold under the full Moon.

CHEERS

THE BENEVOLENT BARRY I went to Taco Bell on Monroe & Boone to get lunch for myself & a coworker. I thought I’d have enough money to cover everything on my debit card, but sadly I did not. Long story short, the brilliant human behind me named Barry paid for our lunches! The initial panic of trying to scramble more funds onto my

debit card as fast as possible prevented me from acting more thrilled about this generosity. Thank you so much! This made my day, it is delightful to experience the unexpected kindness of a stranger! I may never see you again, Barry, to repay you, so I will pay it forward! Thank you so much!

OFF 1. Visit Inlander.com/isawyou

the times when things weren’t so serious. We have never pushed anything on each other and never will. I love you all so much! Just missing the old days and will never forget. My friends.

BEST DONUT SHOP IN TOWN Cheers to Donuts To Go on north Division. I rolled in on Sunday morning only to be told that all the donuts in the case were free because they did not meet the baker’s standards. They wouldn’t even accept a tip for my box of donuts — which all tasted perfect to me. This place has always been the gold standard for excellent donuts — but it is clear that the owners have quality standards, integrity and pride in their product. Many thanks!

HALLOWEEN HOOVER Trick-or-treating by Comstock Park: You were dressed as a Hoover vacuum (“I’m sucking up candy!”) The dog thought it was terrifying, but I thought it was the funniest costume of the night! Trying to navigate the front porch stairs was especially impressive, considering the cardboard box went down to your ankles. Kudos to your costume designer!

BEST. CROISSANT. EVER. The almond croissant from Madeline’s just changed my life. It was a religious experience. Your pastry chef has magic powers… thank you for making my whole day.

KILTED KINDNESS To the kilt-wearing greeter at the Shadle Walmart. Thank you for your kind words and graciousness. Every time I see you, you have a cheery smile on your face to match your awesome kilts! You never know how many people’s hearts you touch or days you brighten!

MY FRIENDS All these years we’ve stayed friends no matter what. We have the respect for each regardless of our thoughts and opinions. I value that so much and miss

JEERS

NORTH SOUTH CORRIDOR I laughed out loud when I read the jeer last week indicating that the north south corridor would soon have fences removed and the bridges would serve as economical housing. That just about sums up what Spokane has become. Is it any wonder that nearly 60% of those polled recently indicated Spokane was headed in the wrong direction and they had considered moving elsewhere? Even the “new” North South Corridor has graffiti on it from the scum who have nothing better to do than to deface property paid for by others. I guess when you live in a state that doesn’t believe in holding people accountable, this is the end result. The slogan “Spokane doesn’t suck” isn’t accurate.

RE: “MAKING ABORTION ACCESSIBLE AGAIN” “I will never understand the left’s obsession...” The left? It was the right’s obsession for 50 YEARS. Anti-woman? No. Forcing women to have children without forcing fathers to support them is antiwoman and anti-child. “Thousands of childless couples would accept ... precious babies.” 113K children (0-18 yrs, average is 8 yrs) (ccainstitute.org) are now available to adopt. Older children are abandoned to state care. In 2021, 9% aged out & are on their own, no support, no family. We adopted half brothers at 9 & 17 YEARS. The 9 y/o was “too old” for most, the 17 y/o unwanted. To be REALLY ProLife, there would not be an “older” child backlog. Women, unmarried, divorced, or abandoned, would be supported, not shamed, ignored, derided. The need for abortion would be greatly reduced.

Anti-abortion as it stands is solely about controlling women’s right to their bodies. This control is new: Until birth control, we had no medical or legal say. My mother had a medical abortion option (me) in 1957 but CHOSE not to. She HAD a choice. I respect her choice could have been different. My father later abandoned me. Did the state locate & make him pay child support? No. Homicide is a leading cause of death among pregnant women. 189 were killed in 2020. [nichd.nih.gov] Where’s the outcry? Outlawing only makes abortion hazardous for women. In 1965 illegal abortion accounted for 17% of all deaths “attributed to pregnancy and childbirth.” [Guttmacher. org] So, “understand” — Until pro-birthers become pro-lifers by supporting women economically & socially; adopting older children, ensuring paternal support, & birth control, recognize the emptiness of your position & that legal abortion is a horrible need. At least be honest. It’s about control.

INFLATION MISINFORMATION

Jeers to all people and politicians blaming inflation on other politicians. The number one reason of the inflation we just survived was not anything to do with government. Did you see the news during Covid with the hundreds of ships sitting offshore, unable to unload? Covid and its repercussions caused the out-of-control inflation. Both the right and the left and the Fed helped Biden restore the economy. I’m sick and tired of blame NEVER being applied where it belongs. We also would have been out of the inflation sooner if greed hadn’t shown its ugly self in the form of corporate price gouging. It’s time to stop the massive lie. It’s time to stop the division we have and hold the misinformation misers accountable for their lies.

FIRST DATE NIGHTMARE Just some friendly dating advice: “Who would you rather eat in a sandwich: Moo Deng or Pesto the penguin?” is NOT a good ice-breaker question for a first date. Sincerely, a new vegetarian n

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

BENEFIT

SPOKEN RIVER Listen to local writers share their stories inspired by the Spokane River. Proceeds from ticket sales and auction items benefit Spokane Riverkeeper. Nov. 7, 5:30 pm. $70-$85. Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. spokaneriverkeeper.org

EPICUREAN DELIGHT Benefiting the Blood Center Foundation of the Inland Northwest and Vitalant, guests are invited to enjoy delicious food and drink, creatively prepared and presented from local restaurants and libations. Nov. 8, 6 pm. $225-$475. Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. epicureandelight.org (509-279-7000)

BEN KLEIN: THANKS FOR GIVING Klein performs his Elivs tribute act and additional tributes to Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash. The event also features a raffle and silent auctions. Proceeds benefit area veterans. Nov. 9, 7 pm. $15-$25. Corbin Senior Activity Center, 827 W. Cleveland Ave. benklein.net (509-327-1584)

RACE TO FEED OUR VETERANS A 5k participants can run or walk around Fairmount Memorial Park. Registration provides five meals for area seniors and veterans. Nov. 10, 10 am. $25. Fairmount Memorial Park, 5200 W. Wellesley Ave. mowspokane.org

A NIGHT TO SIP AND SUPPORT NAMI

SPOKANE A fundraiser for NAMI Spokane featuring live music, appetizers, wine and a silent auction. Nov. 14, 6-9 pm. $100. Barrister Winery, 1213 W. Railroad Ave. namispokane.org

COMEDY

CRAIG SHOEMAKER Shoemaker is an American stand up comedian, actor, author, writer and producer and was named Comedian of the Year at The American Comedy Awards. Nov. 7, 7 pm. $20. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com (509-318-9998)

FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY JOKE JOKE

JOKE A comedy experience combining stand-up comedy, live sketches and other mixed-media comedic bits. This month features Monica Nevi, Jes Anderson and Addai-Gezchii Greillo. Nov. 7, 7:30-9 pm. $15. Garland Theater, 924 W. Garland. garlandtheater.org

EDDIE IZZARD Eddie Izzard is an actor, comedian, multi-marathon runner and political activist with a career spanning 35 years. Nov. 10, 7-9 pm. $45-$115. First Interstate Center for the Arts, 334 W. Spokane Falls. firstinterstatecenter.org

TANYALEE DAVIS Tanyalee Davis rose to comedic prominence on TikTok through her comedy videos. Nov. 10, 7 pm. $20$25. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com

COMEDY FOR A CAUSE A comedy fundraising show that is produced and hosted by comedian Damien Speranza. Nov. 14, 7 pm. $30. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com

IAN BAGG Ian Bagg is a Canadian comedian, actor and writer known for his crowd work. Nov. 15-16, 7 & 9:45 pm. $25-$35. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com

MATT MATHEWS Mathews is a stand-up comedian and the host of the podcast

Real Talk with Matt Mathews. Nov. 15, 7 pm. $30-$150. The Fox Theater, 1001 W. Sprague Ave. foxtheaterspokane.org

COMMUNITY

WALK WITH PRIDE FASHION SHOW A fashion show featuring Native designers and models. Nov. 7, 7 pm. Free. Northern Quest Resort & Casino, 100 N. Hayford Rd. northernquest.com (509-242-7000)

TAROT & DIVINATION MEETUP A monthly meetup of local tarot practitioners and divination enthusiasts showing off new decks, techniques, tools and socializing. Every first Thursday from 5:307:30 pm. Free. Lunarium, 1925 N. Monroe St. lunariumspokane.com

AWKWARD FAMILY PHOTOS: HOLIDAY CRINGE EDITION Create photos that capture wonderfully awkward memories. Bring your holiday sweaters and best “worst” outfits for a hilariously winceinducing time. All ages. Registration is required. Nov. 8, 4-5:30 pm and Nov. 9, 2-5:30 pm. Free. Spokane Valley Library, 22 N. Herald Rd. scld.org

MONSTER JAM Monster truck drivers and their 12,000-pound trucks tear up the dirt in wide-open competitions of speed and skill. Nov. 8-10; Fri-Sat at 7 pm, Sat-Sun at 1 pm. Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon Ave. spokanearena.com

REBEL JUNK HOLIDAY MARKET An array of unique, vintage and handcrafted items for the holiday season from over 100 vendor booths. Nov. 8-9; Fri from 5:30-8 pm, Sat from 10 am-4 pm. $10$15. Kootenai County Fairgrounds, 4056 N. Government Way. bio.site/rebeljunk

A True Coun y Christmas

SPOKANE PRIDE’S MURDER MYSTERY

Set in the 1980’s, you are invited to ‘dress to impress’ and join our live studio audience. Dinner is provided. Nov. 8, 5-8 pm and Nov. 10, 11 am-3 pm. $35. Corbin Senior Center, 827 W. Cleveland Ave. spokanepride.org (509-760-4676)

MEAD BANDWAGON CRAFT FAIR A craft fair featuring over 180 vendors benefitting the Mead High School Marching Band and Color Guard. Nov. 9, 9 am-5 pm and Nov. 10, 10 am-4 pm. $2. Mead High School, 302 W. Hastings Rd.

BACKSTAGE GEAR EXCHANGE & CAMERA-JAM An event for musicians, stagehands, filmmakers and production pros to buy, sell, and swap equipment. Featuring live demos, industry classes, and gear from audio, lighting, and camera departments. Nov. 10, 1-6 pm. VIP Production Northwest, 724 N. Madelia St. vipproductionnw.com

BRIDAL EXCHANGE Find affordable wedding decor and/or donate gently used wedding items. The event also features music, snacks and drinks. Nov. 10, 1-4 pm. $15. The Boxcar Room, 116 W. Pacific Ave. driftwoodpointevents.com

MEND-IT CAFE People are invited to bring clothing and textiles in need of repair. They will be paired up with a mender who will fix the item(s) at no charge. Nov. 10, 12-3:30 pm. Free. Hillyard Library, 4110 N. Cook St. spokanezerowaste.org

INTERNATIONAL COLUMBIA RIVER SYMPOSIUM A conference with keynote speakers, panels and discussions all focused around the health of the Columbia River, the Columbia River Treaty and salmon restoration. Nov. 13, 7 am-8

pm and Nov. 14, 7 am-5 pm. $75-$275. Gonzaga University, 502 E. Boone Ave. columbiabasingovernance.org

A HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: FOSTER CARE INFO NIGHT Learn how to become a foster home for a refugee youth. Nov. 14, 6-7 pm. Free. Spokane Valley Library, 22 N. Herald Rd. lcsnw.org

FAMILY SUPPORT CONFERENCE: MAPPING YOUR DISABILITY JOURNEY Connect with disability professionals who can guide you through available support for you and your family. Nov. 15, 9 am3:30 pm. $15. Talbott Event Center, 4202 S. Regal St. peacenw.org (509-328-6326)

FILM

SUBMERGE DANCE FILM FESTIVAL Set against stunning backdrops, this festival showcases an eclectic mix of dance films that celebrate movement, creativity and the power of storytelling. A Q&A with Ripple Dance Co. follows the screenings. Nov. 7, 6:30-8 pm. $15. Magic Lantern Theatre, 25 W. Main. rippledance.com

SENSORY RELAXED MOVIE SCREENINGS Movie screenings with slightly brighter lights, lowered volume and designated areas to move around. Second Tuesdays (PG 13 movies) at 6:30 pm, Second Saturdays (all ages) at 11:30 am. $5. Garland Theater, 924 W. Garland. garlandtheater.org

THE BREAKFAST CLUB What happens when five strangers end up together in Saturday detention? Badass posturing, gleeful misbehavior and a potent dose of angst. Nov. 10, 7-9 pm. $8. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org

Dinner Theater Experience

TWO WEEKENDS ONLY!

Dec 6-7 and Dec 13-14

Doors 5PM Dinner 6PM

Gourmet Prime Rib, Baked Salmon or Mediterranean Chicken, along with 3 sides and dessert!

Family Friendly, No Alcohol

FEATURING

Festive Songs of the Season, Rebecca & the Cowboy and gorgeous photo opportunity

SEATING IS LIMITED! $75 per person Call Today For Your Reservation 509-722-3665

LOCATION: Fruitland Bible Camp • 5876 Mudget Lake Rd, Fruitland WA

EVENTS | CALENDAR

STAGE TO SCREEN: PRIMA FACIE Tessa has worked her way up to be a criminal defense barrister. An unexpected event forces her to confront where patriarchal power, and morals diverge. Nov. 10, 2-4 pm. $20. Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. bingcrosbytheater.com

“NO PLACE TO GROW OLD” SCREENING & DISCUSSION This documentary explores the systemic challenges of a generation aging into homelessness via an intimate portrait of homeless seniors in Portland. Producer Michael Larson, a Gonzaga alumni and Director of Humans for Housing, will take questions following the screening. Nov. 14, 6-7:45 pm. Free. Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center, 211 E. Desmet Ave. gonzaga.edu

WARREN MILLER’S 75:Warren Miller’s 75 brings fans to powder stashes and chutes around the world, from Canada, Colorado, California, and Utah to Finland, Japan, Austria and New Jersey. Nov. 14, 7:30 pm. Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. bingcrosbytheater.com

FOOD & DRINK

FALL COOKIE DECORATING Jamie Roberts teaches how to create six different designs, from adorable sweater shaped cookies to latte cups, then go home with your cookies in a box. Nov. 7, 5:45-8:15 pm. $85. The Kitchen Engine, 621 W. Mallon Ave. thekitchenengine.com

FALL HARVEST DINNER CRUISES A two-hour dinner cruise featuring dinner made out of seasonal foods. Nov. 8-10, 5 pm. $60-$70. The Coeur d’Alene Resort, 115 S. Second. cdacruises.com

FRUIT SALE Local orchard produce. See website for an up-to-date list of varieties available. Fri from noon-6 pm, Sat from 10 am-4 pm through Nov. 16. WSU Horticulture Center, 1452 Johnson Road. go.wsu.edu/fruit (509-335-6700)

WORLD COOKING: AFGHAN FOOD Chef Arzoo Arian demonstrates the preparation of a traditional Afghan dish in an online presentation while you follow along in your home kitchen. Nov. 8, 6:30-7:30 pm. Free. scld.org

COFFEE TASTING WITH LADDER COFFEE Curious about the different types of coffee, where they come from, how they’re roasted, and what all thenames mean? Learn more from representatives from Ladder Coffee. Nov. 9, 1 pm. Free. Shadle Library, 2111 W. Wellesley Ave. spokanelibrary.org (509-444-5300)

DIY CHARCUTERIE BOARDS In this hands-on class, Kristi teaches how to build beautiful charcuterie boards for any occasion. Nov. 12, 5:45-8:15 pm. $85. The Kitchen Engine, 621 W. Mallon Ave. thekitchenengine.com (509-328-3335)

MUSIC

GATHERING OF THE BANDS Performances by the North Idaho College Wind Symphony and area middle schools. Nov. 7, 7 pm. Free. Schuler Performing Arts Center, 880 W. Garden Ave. nic.edu

UNIT SOUZOU: CONSTANT STATE OF OTHERNESS An expressive blend of Taiko drumming and Japanese folk dance. Nov. 8, 7-9:30 pm. $10-$25. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave. artinsandpoint.org FALL FOLK FESTIVAL An annual event featuring folk music on several stages, instrument demonstrations, vendors and more. Nov. 9-10; Sat from 11 am-8

pm, Sun from 11 am-5 pm. Free. Spokane Community College, 1810 N. Greene St. spokanefolkfestival.org

THE PANHANDLE POLECATS A family bluegrass band playing original songs and renditions of bluegrass classics. Proceeds benefit the Harrington Opera House Society programs and continued building rehabilitation. Nov. 9, 6-7:30 pm. By donation. Harrington Opera House, 19 S. Third St. harringtonoperahouse.org (509-721-0312)

SPOKANE SYMPHONY POPS 2: CODY FRY The Spokane Symphony performs alongside former American Idol contestant, Cody Fry. Nov. 9, 7:30 pm. The Fox Theater, 1001 W. Sprague Ave. spokanesymphony.org (509-624-1200)

HYMN FESTIVAL A festival celebrating music of faith with Chancel Choir of First Presbyterian Church; Ethan Haman, guest organist; and Derrick Parker, conductor. Nov. 10, 3-4:30 pm. Free. First Presbyterian Church of Spokane, 318 S. Cedar St. spokaneago.org/hymn-festival

SPOKANE STRING QUARTET: HAYDN, BRAHMS & SCHUMANN This program featuring guest pianist YunJung Park includes sonatas by Joseph Haydn and Johannes Brahms and a piano quartet by Robert Schumann. Nov. 10. $20-$25. The Fox Theater, 1001 W. Sprague Ave. foxtheaterspokane.org (509-624-1200)

OPERA SCENES Students from the Lionel Hampton School of Music and the Theatre Arts department join together to create an evening of scenes meant to capture some of the most powerful moments of opera and music theatre. Nov. 14, 7:30 pm. $10-$12. University of Idaho Administration Building, 851 Campus Dr. uidaho.edu/music (888-884-3246)

NORTH IDAHO COLLEGE CARDINAL VOICES: BECAUSE…THE BEATLES Performances of music by The Beatles by North Idaho College voice students. Nov. 15, 7:30 pm. Free. North Idaho College Student Union Building, 495 N. College Dr. nic.edu (20-769-3276)

THE DIVAS: WHAT SHE SAID...BEST!

An all-female musical concert cabaret, showcasing women’s voices and perspectives through songs from five genres – pop, country, blues, Broadway and jazz. Nov. 15, 7-9:30 pm and Nov. 16, 7-9:30 pm. $30-$50. Hamilton Studio, 1427 W. Dean Ave. hamiltonlive.com

SPORTS & OUTDOORS

SNOW & POWERSPORTS EXPO: A wintersports expo featuring new and used snowmobiles, ATVs, clothing, parts and accessories. Plus, peruse local vendors and participate in swap meets. Nov. 9, 9 am-5 pm. $10. Spokane County Fair & Expo Center, 404 N. Havana St. Spokanewinterknights.com (509-951-0420)

ALL ABOUT CITRUS Learn how to grow and maintain citrus trees in the Spokane area. Nov. 10, 2-3 pm. $10. Ritters Garden & Gift, 10120 N. Division St. 4ritter.com

WINTER PREFUNK A pre-cursor to winter fun with season pass pickup, free ski waxes, crafts, raffles and live music from Sean Kavanaugh and Daniel Hall. Nov. 10, 11 am. Free. Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, 29500 N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. mtspokane.com (509-238-2220)

MANAGING THE THREATS OF OUTDOOR CATS TO BIRDS Grant Sizemore, Director of Invasive Species Programs at American Bird Conservancy, will talk

about how to manage domestic cats to benefit everyone (people, birds, cats and other wildlife). Nov. 13, 6 pm. Free. Shadle Library, 2111 W. Wellesley Ave. spokanelibrary.org (509-444-5300)

THEATER & DANCE

SCROOGE! THE MUSICAL Ebenezer Scrooge undergoes a profound experience of redemption over the course of a Christmas Eve night after being visited by the ghost of his former partner Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. Nov. 7-17; Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sat-Sun at 1:30 pm. $30-$35. Regional Theatre of the Palouse, 122 N. Grand Ave. rtoptheatre.org

TARTUFFE Molière’s classic satire about a fraudulent, zealous intruder. Nov. 7-10; Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm. $14-$18. Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center, 211 E. Desmet Ave. gonzaga.edu/theatre

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST The classic story tells of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. Nov. 8-17; Fri-Sat at 7 pm, Sat-Sun at 3 pm. $18-$20. Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. cytspokane.org (509-227-7404)

GREEK DANCING FOR BEGINNERS

Learn Greek dancing from Maria Koston. Wear loose clothing. No experience necessary. Nov. 10, 2:30 pm. Free. Shadle Library, 2111 W. Wellesley Ave. spokanelibrary.org (509-444-5300)

LATIN DANCE FUSION Learn Latinbased dance like the merengue, mambo, cha cha, salsa, samba and more. Sun from 4-5 pm through Dec. 16. 509 Collective, 2023 E. 29th Ave. 509collective.com

BARBECUE APOCALYPSE After a midsummer barbecue, a group of friends realizes the world fell apart during their gathering. After a year of surviving the apocalypse, the group reunites to tell their stories. Nov. 15-24; Fri-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm. Spartan Theater at SFCC, 3410 W. Whistalks Way. sfcc.spokane.edu/theatre

VISUAL ARTS

CAPPY BOND: LETTING GO Ceramics and other works by artist Cappy Bond inspired by the Japanese phrase Shu Ha Ri: learn the rules, break the rules, transcend the rules. Nov. 1-29, by appointment. Free. Kolva-Sullivan Gallery, 115 S. Adams St. kolva-sullivangallery.com/

CHARLES AYARS & GLORIA FOX Charles Ayars displays unique photo art and Gloria Fox displays watercolor paintings. Nov. 1-29, Thu-Sat from 11 am-4 pm. Thurs.-11 am-4 pm through Nov. 29. Free. Avenue West Gallery, 907 W. Boone Ave. avenuewestgallery.com (509-838-4999)

COASTERS Artists and friends of Trackside create coasters that sell to benefit the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane. Coasters are $10 each. Wed-Fri from 11 am-5 pm through Nov. 29. Free admission. Trackside Studio, 115 S. Adams St. tracksidestudio.net (509-863-9904)

LORI ANN WALLIN Lori Wallin creates art with fibers like wool, silk and cotton. Daily from 11 am-7 pm through Nov. 30, 11 am-7 pm. Free. Pottery Place Plus, 203 N. Washington. potteryplaceplus.com

MATT LOME: A LONG STORY SHORT An exploration of whimsy and color through illustrative pastels. Mon-Sat from 10

am-5 pm through Nov. 29. Free. Pend Oreille Arts Council Gallery, 313 N. Second Ave. artinsandpoint.org (208-263-6139)

FRANKENSTEIN: PENETRATING THE SECRETS OF NATURE A traveling exhibition featuring anatomical drawings from the National Library of Medicine that may have inspired Mary Shelley when she wrote Frankenstein. Daily, times vary, through Nov. 16. Free. Central Library, 906 W. Main Ave. nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/frankenstein/index.htm

KIM LONG: ETHEREAL IMAGES OF OUR NATURAL WORLD Kim Long is a self-taught, full-time artist who creates highly detailed multimedia pieces that challenge perceptions of reality. Daily from 11 am-7 pm through Nov. 30. Free. Liberty Building, 203 N. Washington St. spokanelibertybuilding.com

MULTI-DISCIPLINED A group show featuring the ArtsWA staff with pieces on view throughout the newly constructed Fine and Applied Arts Building on campus. Mon-Fri from 8:30 am-3:30 pm through Dec. 5. Free. sfcc.spokane.edu

REINALDO GIL ZAMBRANO: GALIMATIAS Prints by Spokane-based artist Reinaldo Gil Zambrano detailing his experiences as a father. Thu-Sat from 4-7 pm through Nov. 29. Free. Terrain Gallery, 628 N. Monroe St. terrainspokane.com

SMALL WORKS EXHIBIT The gallery’s 29th annual small works exhibit featuring smaller artworks that double as gifts for the holidays. Wed-Sun from 11 am-6 pm through Dec. 29. Free. The Art Spirit Gallery, 415 Sherman Ave. theartspiritgallery.com (208-765-6006)

A COLLECTIVE OF MOONBEAMS: WE ALL SHINE ON A showcase of works by members of the New Moon Artist Collective. Wed-Sat from 11 am-5 pm through Nov. 30. Free. New Moon Art Gallery, 1326 E. Sprague. manicmoonandmore.com

WHITWORTH ART & DESIGN DEPARTMENT FACULTY EXHIBIT An exhibit featuring art and work by Whitworth University faculty from the Art and Design department. Mon-Fri from 10 am-4:30 pm, Sat from 10 am-2 pm through Jan. 24. Free. Bryan Oliver Gallery, Whitworth, 300 W. Hawthorne Ave. whitworth.edu

KURT MADISON: ENANTIOMORPHS Kurt Madison showcases his artworks that draw on dreamwork, the unconscious, intuition and experimentation. Fri-Sat from 12-8 pm through Nov. 29. Free. Saranac Art Projects, 25 W. Main Ave. sapgallery.com

MARGOT CASSTEVENS: LOST AND FOUN: Margot Casstevens showcases her ceramic art. Fri-Sat from 12-8 pm through Nov. 29. Free. Saranac Art Projects, 25 W. Main Ave. sapgallery.com

EMERGE STAFF EXHIBIT An art exhibit featuring works made by Emerge CDA’s faculty. Tue-Sat from 10 am-6 pm through Dec. 7. Free. Emerge, 119 N. Second St. emergecda.com (208-930-1876)

ACRYLIC PAINTING CLASS: PUMPKIN STACK Paint a stack of pumpkins in this guided class. Ages 10+. Nov. 10, 2-4:30 pm. $45. Dane Joe Espresso, 2819 E 27th Ave. artvana.life (320-805-0206)

FUNDAMENTALS OF POTTERY An introductory class on throwing pottery on the wheel and learn how to throw your first cylinder. Ages 18+. Nov. 11, 6-9 pm. $225. Gizmo-CDA, 283 N. Hubbard Ave. Suite 102. gizmo-cda.org (208-929-4029)

HOLIDAY MOSAICS Learn how to cut glass, grout and create patterns to make holiday-themed mosaics. Nov. 13, 6-8

pm. $220. Gizmo-CDA, 283 N. Hubbard Ave. Suite 102. gizmo-cda.org

JILL ANHOLT: PRESENCE OF PLACE Jill Anholt created the glass installation “Aperture” on the front of the new art building. Learn more from the artist about the concept and creation of her site-specific work. Nov. 13. Free. SFCC Fine Arts Gallery, 3410 W. Whistalks Way, Bldg. 6. sfcc. spokane.edu (509-533-3710)

WORDS

WRITE TOGETHER: A COMMUNITY WRITING SESSION Bring your current writing project and your favorite writing tools (pens/pencils/notebooks/laptops) and prepare to hunker down and write with local novelist and Writing Education Specialist Sharma Shields. Nov. 8, 10 amnoon. Free. Hillyard Library, 4110 N. Cook St. spokanelibrary.org

MAX BRALLIER: THE LAST KIDS ON EARTH Ever since the monster apocalypse hit town, average thirteen-yearold Jack Sullivan has been living in his treehouse, but he’s no match against the monsters alone so he builds a team of fellow kids. Nov. 9, 3-4 pm. Free. Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main Ave. auntiesbooks.com (509-838-0206)

ERIN HEMENWAY: THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS An exclusive sneak peek of The Night Before Christmas by author Erin Hemenway and get a paperback copy signed by the author. Nov. 10, 5-6 pm. Free. Magic Lantern Theatre, 25 W. Main Ave. facebook.com/ share/1AGLFshAow

INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVELLA: A WRITING WORKSHOP: Join Lambda Literary Award and PNBA Award-winning novelist Alexis M. Smith for a six-part workshop that explores the craft of shorter novels. Explore classic and contemporary examples, discuss the stylistic and technical elements and try your hand at the form with exercises to help along the way. Tue from 4-5:30 pm through Dec. 17. Free. Shadle Library, 2111 W. Wellesley Ave. spokanelibrary.org

NATE SCHWEBER: THIS AMERICA OF OURS Meet author Nate Schweber and discuss his book, This America of Ours, that was selected as the Everybody Reads pick. Nov. 12, noon. Free. Colfax Library, 102 S. Main. everybody-reads.org

BROKEN MIC A weekly open mic reading series. Wednesdays at 6:30 pm; sign-ups at 6 pm. Free. Neato Burrito, 827 W. First Ave. bit.ly/2ZAbugD (509-847-1234)

CAMPFIRE STORIES: LOST & FOUND Participants gather to share tales about public lands. This event’s theme focuses on the ways people have been lost and found. Nov. 14, 6:30-8:30 pm. Free. Wildland Cooperative, 8022 E. Green Bluff Rd. landscouncil.org (509-998-9967)

JAVIER ZAMORA: ON CHILDHOOD MIGRATION FROM CENTRAL AMERICA New York Times bestselling author Javier Zamora chats about his riveting tale of survival and perseverance as told in his award-winning memoir Solito. Nov. 14, 1-2 pm. Free. scld.org

PIVOT: ROOTS Six storytellers tell eightminute tales on the theme of “roots.” Nov. 14, 7-9 pm. By donation. Washington Cracker Co. Building, 304 W. Pacific. pivotspokane.com

POETRY RISING Trishanna Jones, Beth Camp, Kendra Egly, Stephen Pitters, and harpist Katelyn Kinney perform. Nov. 14, 6 pm. Free. South Hill Library, 3324 S. Perry St. spokanelibrary.org n

Making it Easy

CBD is all the fun of cannabis without the fear from THC

BY WILL MAUPIN

There is a lot more to weed than just getting high.

This past weekend I went to Seattle to watch a Seahawks game with some friends. We hung out, we drank some beers, and we smoked some weed. It was very much bachelor mode.

But one of my friends is sober. He drank nonalcoholic beers everywhere we went. He was also the reason we went to a dispensary. And when we were there, he bought weed that won’t get you high.

He bought CBD, and he loved it. And honestly, I loved it, too.

Sometimes it can be hard to remember just how broad the offerings are at the local dispensary.

When I go into a dispensary, I always ask for “lowTHC” cannabis. It’s honestly hard to get anything below 20% THC these days. Everything is strong. Unless you specify that you’re looking for CBD.

Watching my friend shop for basically THC-free, almost exclusively CBD cannabis was refreshing. It reminded me that there is more in these stores than products that will get you absolutely baked out of your mind.

Seeing a sober person hit a weed pen was wild. It was groundbreaking to me.

He was not going to get stoned. He was not trying to get stoned. He was just trying to enjoy cannabis.

I knew there were reasons to consume CBD, but I haven’t been a big CBD guy myself. Talking to this

friend, though, I learned a lot.

It stinks like weed does, and man, weed stinks in a good way. It also tastes like weed does.

But CBD isn’t a placebo. It doesn’t get you stoned like THC, but it does have a real impact. CBD can lessen anxiety, ease pain and help you sleep.

It can also make you look cool as hell by ripping a vape nobody has to know isn’t going to get you stoned.

As someone who does not like the high-potency trend in cannabis these days, CBD might be perfect for me going forward. CBD-focused products could allow me to smoke weed without any of the negative effects of THC.

When I left for Seattle this past weekend I was expecting to smoke some weed and get a little stoned. It was supposed to be a vacation. I did not expect that I would actually be taking it easy and enjoying CBD. But I did, and I enjoyed it. n

Transitioning from THC to CBD can be unexepectedly refreshing.

GREEN ZONE

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

NOTE TO READERS

Be aware of the differences in the law between Idaho and Washington. It is illegal to possess, sell or transport cannabis in the State of Idaho. Possessing up to an ounce is a misdemeanor and can get you a year in jail and up to a $1,000 fine; more than three ounces is a felony that can carry a five-year sentence and fine of up to $10,000. Transporting marijuana across state lines, like from Washington into Idaho, is a felony under federal law.

greenhand DAILY SPECIALS

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

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

friend 47. One of many grains in an “overnight” jar

49. U.S. children’s fitness center chain with a palindromic name

Cage component

Coffee vessels 56. ___ whisker (narrowly) 57. Satellite (whose name is an abbreviated shortening) from a 1961 NASA program

60. Inauguration Day words

62. Star-giver?

64. “You’ve got mail!” ISP

66. Mrs., in Madrid

67. Salad with bacon and hardboiled egg

69. TV ad subject mentioned with “And now a word from ...”

72. Hand sanitizer additive

73. Union behind a 2023 Hollywood strike

74. ___ terrible (hellion)

75. Send a quick message

76. 1099 ID

77. Heavy rainfall DOWN

1. Detest

2. Illinois city of a “Will it play in” phrase

3. Aliens’ enemies, in schlocky sci-fi stories

4. Tahiti, par exemple

5. Wendy’s founder Thomas 6. “UnREAL” star Appleby

7. Charged amount

8. Two-in-one electric hairstyling tool

9. First-generation JapaneseAmerican 10. Annoyed cat noise 11. Soon to arrive 12. Edible Andean tuber 13. Kit ___ (candy bar, or nickname in the movie “About Time”) 18. First