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Readers react to “Are We There Yet?” (10/31) about state marijuana plans: DEAN LAMBSON: We are about to watch hundreds of thousands of medicinal users suffer due to the greed of this state and its desire to squeeze every last tax dollar from the use of this amazing healing plant. That’s where we are at!
GUEST EDITORIAL
JACK OHMAN CARTOON
The Pendulum Swings Investment and optimism has returned to downtown Spokane BY MIKE ALLEN, MIKE FAGAN, NANCY MCLAUGHLIN, STEVE SALVATORI, JON SNYDER, BEN STUCKART AND AMBER WALDREF
M
REALLY,
THAT’S ALL
WE ASK. rivercityred. blogspot.com
8 INLANDER NOVEMBER 14, 2013
ost of us are aware of the Convention Center expansion. It’s also hard to miss the foundation work on the new Walt Worthy convention hotel project across the street. We are all looking forward to the long-awaited opening of the Health Sciences building on the Riverpoint Campus next month that will house the UW Medical School and the WSU School of Pharmacy, bringing hundreds of new students and faculty downtown. These projects will have large, long-term positive impacts on our city, and particularly the downtown core. But there are many others that might be even more significant when taken together. Here is just a partial list of the positive developments that are under construction, recently completed or ready to break ground: Pyrotek is nearing completion of its remodel of the old EWU Building on First Avenue, bringing the incremental energy of more than 100 employees, clients and customers downtown. STCU has begun the rehabilitation of the Hutton Building on Washington, investing significant dollars to restore this landmark building to its former glory. Avista is nearing completion on the new Huntington Park project, which celebrates its 125th anniversary and adds a beautiful expansion to the west for Riverfront Park, with dramatic river views for our citizens and visitors. Wells and Company has consolidated ownership and is moving forward with its plans to transform the shuttered Ridpath Hotel into a luxury condo/micro apartment/retail complex, which has the potential to attract hundreds of young adults to downtown as permanent residents. Developers including Steve Schmautz, Dan Spalding, Bobby Brett and Chris Batten have completed purchases and started construction,
bringing new life to historic structures such as the Alger, National, Richmond, Sherwood, Dutch’s, Hale, Bickett, Michael and Forester buildings. McKinstry’s purchase and rehabilitation of the Spokane Inland Empire Railroad building, and creation of its Innovation Center to accelerate the success of early-stage companies, is already paying benefits to our community and providing jobs and greater prosperity for all of us. The opening of ShareSpace Spokane’s coworking space in the Seehorn Building, and rehabilitation of the Buchanan Building into the third location for the Spokane Entrepreneurial Center will add further momentum to job creation. The City Ramp parking garage was restored just last year, Kendall Yards continues its remarkable development, and the recent purchase announcements of the Masonic Temple and Civic buildings lend further credence to the incredible momentum swing of the past 12 months. We are also seeing exciting opportunities as the Cork District concept takes hold, combining art, entertainment and wine. The promise of a future Central City Line will help improve mobility and connectivity from the University District to Browne’s Addition. We will always have challenges in managing our downtown urban environment. Our Downtown Livability Initiative calls attention to many of these, and we will continue to reassess our progress on these efforts in the months to come. But the days of recession and foreclosure seem to be behind us, and bright days and brighter times lay ahead. Mike Allen, Mike Fagan, Nancy McLaughlin, Steve Salvatori, Jon Snyder, Ben Stuckart and Amber Waldref are the members of the Spokane City Council.
SUE TILLIE: A 25% tax is an unfair tax for medicinal purposes. The WA sales tax should be the norm for medicinal purposes. C ELIZABETH CLARK: Medical cannabis should not be taxed! DAVID EIDY: Damned if we do and damned if we don’t. I really didn’t think I’d see the day it would be legal. Now everyone is bitching about making some productive sense out of it. HAROLD BLACKWOLF: Who’s to know if the state will care about stocking medicinal strains and keeping a variety that treats different ailments? Looks to me like the state only cares about one thing and that is MONEY. CASEY BYERS: If it goes up that much, there won’t be much business to tax because the black market will expand, with even higher prices, but still low enough to easily outcompete the legal market. … I expect the business will be very bumpy for the first few years. KONNIE AAGARD: Sad that they strip away what the voters have worked so hard and long for, to have that right to use it for a medical reason. They need to leave med patients alone. TREVOR LEWIS: Unless they have continuous on-site monitoring during harvest, there will be absolutely no way WA regulators can control how much goes to legal channels and how much does not. Also, given the views of many who would grow marijuana, I would see a lot of low-cost or free pot going to those patients who get screwed by greedy legislators.