Inlander 02/01/2024 by The Inlander

CHIPMUNKS

A Valleyford couple plays with their backyard critters PAGE 24

COMMUNITY

The library’s cafe helps out, one shot at a time PAGE 28

FEBRUARY 1-7, 2024 | SCULPTING MEANING FROM NEWS

ALL

“SM 5)

199 ”( NG BEI

HERALDING BALAZS By Carrie Scozzaro PAGE 16

The MAC recognizes one of Spokane’s most iconic and prolific artists in a new exhibit

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VOL. 31, NO. 17 | COVER PHOTO: YOUNG KWAK

COMMENT 5 8 NEWS COVER STORY 16 24 CULTURE

FOOD 28 SCREEN 30 MUSIC 34 EVENTS 38

40 I SAW YOU 43 GREEN ZONE BULLETIN BOARD 47

EDITOR’S NOTE

hen I first came on as editor of the Inlander in September 2022, one of the writers here, Carrie Scozzaro, welcomed me with a gift. It was a coffee mug, emblazoned with the phrase “Transcend the Bullshit.” I was touched, and took the gift to heart. We journalists, in particular, have to periodically remind ourselves not to let the tenor of today’s “debate” get to us. Or to read comments on social media. Or to take that particularly long and demeaning phone call too personally. Then again, we all have to do that nowadays. Rise above it all. Be the bigger person. Take a breath, and the long view. That’s why I embrace the phrase made Spokane-famous by Harold Balazs, one of our city’s most beloved artists who is the subject of this week’s cover story — HERALDING BALAZS — written by Scozzaro, who gave me that mug. He gave our city a motto we can stand behind. We don’t have to “stay weird” like Portland or Austin. We don’t have to keep living down grunge, or answering for Amazon, like they do in Seattle. Nope, we just have to transcend the bullshit. I think I can do that. — NICHOLAS DESHAIS, editor

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WHAT KIND OF ANIMAL WOULD YOU WANT TO OBSERVE IN THE WILD? MARIA TAGGI PADRO A lion.

And why would you choose a lion? I want to do a safari, and I think they are so cool.

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An owl. They’re interesting because they’re birds of prey, they’re nocturnal. You don’t really typically see owls during the day, and so to be able to see them at night using the right kind of equipment would be interesting.

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COMMENT | ELECTION 2024

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The race for Washington’s next governor looks like it could boil down to former Republican Congressman Dave Reichert, right, and Attorney General Bob Ferguson, a Democrat.

Declarations of Independents A new poll suggests that the voters in the middle will ultimately decide who will lead Washington state starting in 2025 BY BILL BRYANT

f you’re someone who thinks, as I do, that both Republicans and Democrats have totally lost touch with what the United States of America means and needs, then you’re part of the group that could decide who will be Washington’s next governor. A recent Crosscut/Elway poll confirmed that Washington’s race for governor is tight and will be decided by independent and currently undecided voters. That means to keep the race tight, Bob Ferguson, the leading Democrat, must hold onto leftist, urban, social and environmental justice Democrats without alienating centrist, traditional workingclass and suburban Democrats. Just as the leading Republican Dave Reichert must appeal to populist, more rural Trump supporters without disillusioning traditional, suburban Republicans. The winning candidate will be the one who energizes his party’s traditional voters while still

being hard-edged and ideologically pure enough to excite those on the left or right.

ut even walking those high wires will not be sufficient for either to win. That’s because there are two other candidates in the race, each claiming a chunk of support. According to Crosscut/Elway, about 22% of those polled said they could support Democratic state Sen. Mark Mullet for governor, while about 17% said they could support Republican Semi Bird of Richland, who has a background serving in the Army and in education. Bird’s supporters are hunkered in Trump’s bunker. If after Washington’s August primary Reichert emerges the Republican gubernatorial nominee, Bird’s 17% will shift to Reichert or disappear. Bird voters would snowshoe barefoot into frigid wilderness without headlamp, water, food and matches before they’d vote for Ferguson, the state’s current attorney general. State Sen. Mullet’s campaign attracts centrist Democrats, some business groups and a few disillusioned Republicans. If Mullet doesn’t emerge from the primary, his voters could shift their support to either Ferguson or Reichert, who has

served in Congress and as King County sheriff. So, November’s winner must keep his left or right flank engaged, his party’s traditional core involved, and must win over voters who in the primary supported one of the losing candidates. But, most likely, that still won’t be enough for either to win. What will push one candidate over the top will be independents who don’t vote in August’s primary, who aren’t that interested in politics, but who do have opinions. According to Stuart Elway, the pollster who conducted the recent poll for Crosscut, “Although Washington’s electorate has become more staunchly partisan over the years, there are not enough Democrats or Republicans to elect their own candidates statewide. Independent voters hold the balance of power.” The challenge confronting candidates trying to woo these voters is that they are not like-minded. Some think the state should spend more on programs (43%), while others believe we should increase reserves and cut taxes (49%). A solid majority wants to increase spending on mental health (75%), while another majority wants to repeal the tax on capital gains income (58%). Dominant majorities exist for easing restrictions on police and increasing parental rights. It appears, very generally, that Washington independents appear to be a Republican-leaning group that likes spending money. November’s victor will be the one who resonates with these voters.

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“Although Washington’s electorate has become more staunchly partisan over the years… Independent voters hold the balance of power.”

erguson’s campaign apparently intends to reach them by positioning Ferguson as a “nonpartisan advocate for public safety, consumer protection, and the rights guaranteed in our state constitution.” Ferguson’s campaign intends to emphasize his work as attorney general on “issues that cut across political fault lines and have helped Bob win support from independents and even moderate Republicans in his past campaigns.” Expect them to position Reichert as the more “deeply partisan” candidate. But Reichert’s campaign embraces a recent Politico article referring to [then Congressman] Reichert “as among the most bipartisan members of the House and [as a politician who] sometimes bucked his party…” His campaign adviser believes Washington voters see Dave Reichert as “a fusion candidate who unites Washingtonians from across the spectrum.” There might be something to that. While the Crosscut/Elway poll shows Ferguson leading overall, it gives Reichert an edge with independent voters, with 16% saying they could support the Democrat Bob Ferguson, and 22% indicating they would not support him. Meanwhile, 35% of independents said they could support the Republican Dave Reichert with only 9% saying they could not. But that’s today. The election is 10 months from now. In a gubernatorial campaign, 10 months is a decade. Whoever, 10 months from now, has captured the imagination of the undecided independent voters will be our next governor. If you’re one of those undecided, independent voters, come November your vote will matter big time. n Bill Bryant, who served on the Seattle Port Commission from 2008-16, ran against Jay Inslee as the Republican nominee in the 2016 governor’s race. He is chairman emeritus of the company BCI, is a founding board member of the Nisqually River Foundation and was appointed by Gov. Chris Gregoire to serve on the Puget Sound Partnership’s Eco-Systems Board. He lives in Winthrop, Washington.

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walkerscares.com walkersfurniture.com FEBRUARY 1, 2024 INLANDER 7

The intersection of Regal Street and 29th Avenue on the South Hill could get more congested if a Chick-fil-A restaurant opens, as is planned. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

TRAFFIC

RUFFLED FEATHERS How a contentious proposal for a new Chick-fil-A collided with a ban on drive-thrus in Spokane’s Lincoln Heights neighborhood BY NATE SANFORD

urkeys aren’t the only birds causing a ruckus on Spokane’s South Hill. For more than a year and a half, developers have been trying to build a Chick-fil-A on East 29th Avenue in Spokane’s Lincoln Heights neighborhood. Some neighbors aren’t happy about it. The stretch of road has long struggled with poor traffic safety, and some residents worry that the proposed high-volume drive-thru will make matters worse. “It will endanger our pedestrians and cyclists,” says Carol Tomsic, chair of the Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Council. On Monday, in response to Tomsic and other neighbors’ longstanding concerns about pedestrian safety, the Spokane City Council voted to officially designate a 0.66mile stretch of 29th between Martin and Fiske streets as a “Pedestrian Street.” The pedestrian zoning designation doesn’t ban cars or come with new funding for safety improvements. It does come with several code changes — like a requirement that building entrances face the sidewalk and have humanscale signage — designed to promote a “pleasant and safe environment” for pedestrians. The biggest change by far is a ban on new drive-thrus. The council members who pushed for the new pedestrian designation say it wasn’t intended to target a specific business. But the timing was still notable.

8 INLANDER FEBRUARY 1, 2024

Last week, just five days before the scheduled vote, Chick-fil-A refiled an application for permits to build a new drive-thru restaurant on the corner of 29th and South Regal Street. The parcel of land — which sits across the street from a KFC — is owned by the estate of Harlan Douglass, a prominent Spokane real estate mogul who died in November. Chris Bell, a real estate broker acting on behalf of the Douglass estate, thinks the new law seems to specifically target Chick-fil-A. “Chick-fil-A has bent over backwards multiple times for the city, each time they move the bar,” Bell said while testifying against the new law during a city Plan Commission meeting earlier this month. Council member Paul Dillon, who sponsored the new law, disagrees. He says the neighborhood has been asking for enhanced traffic safety measures for years, and that the new law is intended to help guide the district toward a more pedestrian-friendly future. Dillon adds that the recent rise in pedestrian fatalities — in Spokane and across the country — only underscores the urgency. “A large drive-thru is counter to a lot of our ultimate goals for planning and development,” Dillon says. “This really is leading to bigger structural change with how we do our centers and corridors and how we look at pedestrian safety.”

DRIVE-THRU NATION

Bell argues that many people do want more drive-thru dining opportunities and that the neighborhood council’s opposition to the Chick-fil-A isn’t representative. “You have a vocal minority of radical zealots who are trying to shape Lincoln Heights into their microscopic viewpoint of a utopian society,” Bell says. Bell also notes that, since the pandemic, more people are using drive-thrus. Forward-thinking developers, he says, are looking to build more drive-thru lanes — not fewer. In the U.S, drive-thru traffic rose 30% from 2019 to 2022, according to a report from Technomic, a food service research company. When Spokane’s first and only Chick-fil-A opened in 2020 in North Spokane, the opening day line stretched around the block, and some customers waited for several hours. Six Spokane police officers were on hand to manage the traffic. “We’re now seeing double-decker quick service restaurants with four drive-thru lanes underneath and the restaurants up above,” Bell says. “That’s the vision because of the demand. People’s habits are changing.” The 0.66-mile stretch of 29th is a stark example of America’s drive-thru obsession. In a single afternoon, you can grab coffee at Legal Ad...continued on page 10

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FEBRUARY 1, 2024 INLANDER 9

NEWS | TRAFFIC

24'

SERVICE ENTRY

MAIN ENTRY

EGRESS

DRIVE THRU PICK-UP

BYPASS LANE

24'

OVERHEAD ELECTRIC/TELEPHONE LINE

SETBACK

EMPLOYEE PARKING

STORAGE

SLOPE

RE: KITCHEN FOR SHELVING IN THIS AREA

SLOPE

SETBACK

25'

SETBACK

scheme: PSP07

‘DON’T FEEL SAFE’

“You have a vocal minority of radical zealots who are trying to shape Lincoln Heights into their microscopic viewpoint of a utopian society.”

10 INLANDER FEBRUARY 1, 2024

EGRESS

EMPLOYEE PARKING

P13 LS LRG 90 SEATS GROSS: 4,987 SF

When Chick-fil-A first applied for building permits in July 2022, it asked the city for an exemption that would allow 113 parking spaces instead of the usually allowed 21. The city rejected the request in December 2022. The Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Council celebrated the city’s decision and decided to prioritize figuring out how to avoid any future 50-car, two-lane drive-thrus, Tomsic says. But Chick-fil-A wasn’t deterred and returned with a new building plan that has only 21 parking spaces. In July 2023, at the request of the city’s Plan Commission, Bell attended the Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Council’s monthly meeting to give a presentation on the updated plans for the store. It didn’t go smoothly. “Oh, that was a disaster,” Bell says. The meeting was held at the Southside Community Center, a few blocks north of the planned 29th Avenue location. Before Bell started his presentation, Tomsic had a statement to read. “Our council is extremely grateful the city denied the Chick-fil-A request,” she read. “The denial aligns with our district center plan and the center and corridor intent for a safe pedestrian environment.” According to meeting minutes, Bell then told the skeptical neighbors that Chick-fil-A “serves the best chicken in the country” and that the proposed store would hire 35 employees and “bring economic growth and jobs to the neighborhood.” (The neighborhood council’s notetaker noted pointedly that Bell “did not say whether the jobs created would pay a living wage.”)

Bell told the group that 24' Chick-fil-A had been working with the city to mitigate 24' TYP. neighborhood concerns by reducing the number of 23' parking spaces. He said the new plan would have bike racks and walking paths. 24' It wasn’t enough. 25' Attendees voiced concern 24' about increased traffic and pollution from idling cars. 5' The neighborhood council’s 5' minutes say there was “no support voiced for the 24' project.” Bell, on the other hand, says he received a “mixed EAST 30TH AVENUE bag of feedback.” This isn’t the first time Original building plans for the Chick-fil-A had 113 parking spaces, above, new plans have 21. COURTESY ILLUSTRATION neighbors have objected to car-centric development tion to banning drive-thrus, the designation prohibits parkin Spokane. In 2009, the ing lots built between a building and the street; reduces Southgate Neighborhood Council waged a lengthy — and curb cuts; and requires that buildings larger than 10,000 ultimately unsuccessful — legal battle to stop a zoning square feet provide streetscape elements like benches, change that allowed the Target to be built on Regal Street tables and bike racks. in 2014. Dillon stresses that the goal of the pedestrian designaAlso in 2014, state Sen. Andy Billig and then-City tion is not to target Chick-fil-A. Council member Amber Waldref (who is now a county “I understand it’s hard to untie the two. However, this commissioner) sided with Logan neighborhood residents applies to any drive-thru,” Dillon says. “It’s not about any outraged over construction of a new McDonald’s with a specific development, no matter how hard some folks are drive-thru, which was only able to obtain permits because trying to make it that way.” the Gonzaga University neighborhood’s new pedestrianBell has doubts. focused zoning standards had yet to be adopted by City “The timeline is very suspect,” he says. Council. Bell also argues that the City Council’s actions have sent “shock waves” through the business community. “If they can create an emergency ordinance to try to On Aug. 13, several weeks after the meeting with Bell, the prohibit one user from going in, what will they do next?” Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Council sent a letter to Bell says. “It creates uneasiness which forces people to quesCity Council members formally asking them to designate tion whether or not they can invest in the city of Spokane.” a section of 29th as a “Pedestrian Priority Zone.” When discussing the proposal on Monday, City CounThe letter didn’t mention Chick-fil-A by name. But cil President Betsy Wilkerson, who previously represented it did note that “a business that has a two-lane, fifty-car south Spokane’s District 2, said pedestrian safety is an drive-thru” is not a “not a neighborhood scale business” especially big concern for residents of the Lincoln Heights — even if it adheres to parking Garden-Terrace, a senior living apartment complex on 29th space limits. Avenue that lies within the proposed pedestrian safety zone. “It is an auto-oriented In 2019, an 80-year-old resident of the apartment business,” the letter continued. complex was killed by a motorist while trying to cross the “It will attract community and street near Rosauers. regional traffic to our district cenOn Sunday afternoon, Seth Sundin was sitting outter. It will inadvertently make our side the Terrace and watching the cars zip by on a rare district center auto-oriented.” warm and sunny winter day. He’s lived there for a couple Tomsic says the letter wasn’t years now and has multiple stories of crashes outside his prompted by the meeting with apartment. Bell. She says traffic calming To get to the Rosauers across the street, Sundin has to on 29th has been a goal of the cross four lanes of traffic at a crosswalk that doesn’t have neighborhood for a very long lights. There’s a small pedestrian “refuge” island in the time. It’s listed as a priority in middle. On Sunday, an elderly man with a walker waited the current district plan and was mentioned as far back as at the crosswalk for close to a minute before cars finally the neighborhood’s “Specific Plan” adopted by the City stopped to let him cross. Council in 1990. “There’s too much exit and access off these,” Sundin “For years we have spent everything just trying to says, pointing to the numerous driverways that break up make it easy for our residents to cross back and forth on the sidewalk. “If they dropped the speed limit to 20 and 29th,” Tomsic says. “Our residents don’t feel safe there.” enforced it, that would eliminate a lot of problems.” In October, City Council members passed a resoluSundin wasn’t sure how much of an impact banning tion directing the city’s Plan Commission to look into the drive-thrus would have, but agreed that something needed neighborhood council’s request. to be done about the traffic. In Spokane, stretches of North Monroe Street, West “I’ve seen motorcycles tearing up the street,” Sundin Garland Avenue, South Grand Boulevard and South Perry says. “They’re doing wheelies coming through here. Come Street are already designated as pedestrian streets. In addion, man.” n SOUTH REGAL STREET

NO SPRING CHICKEN

EXISTING PYLON SIGN

EASEMENT

EGRESS

diction; deposit a check at Bank of America or U.S Bank; refill a prescription at the Rosauers Pharmacy; and grab food at McDonalds, Taco Bell, KFC or A&W — all without leaving your car. Crosswalks are few and far between, while parking lots and speeding cars are abundant. It’s a hostile stretch of land for people on foot. While testifying in favor of the pedestrian designation Monday, local artist Karen Mobley described the Lincoln Heights Shopping Center as the place she feels most likely to be “squished like Wile E. Coyote.” The existing drive-thrus will be allowed to continue operating under the new law. But new drive-thrus are banned. It’s unclear how or if this will impact the proposed Chick-fil-A, since the permit application was filed before the new law passed. Bell thinks the Chick-fil-A will be able to move forward. He notes that Washington state has what’s known as “vested rights doctrine,” which means land use applications shall be considered “only under the land use statutes and ordinances in effect at the time of the application’s submission.” The law passed by council members is an emergency ordinance and has a subsection that says the law will go into effect immediately to prevent applications from being processed “under regulations that are inconsistent with the city’s legitimate policy of encouraging a pedestrian friendly and walkable center in the Lincoln Heights area.” The new law also cites a 2014 study that found that driveways for drive-thru businesses have the highest crash rate of any studied driveway type, and notes that other studies have shown that drive-thrus discourage walking and make drivers less alert.

OVERHEAD ELECTRIC LINE

10'

“RUFFLED FEATHERS,” CONTINUED...

16'

ABANDONED PYLON SIGN

BLDG SETBACK

EAST 29TH AVENUE SCREEN WALL

OVERHEAD BILLBOARD

Conc

29th Ave

NEWS | BRIEFS

Activists stand at Monday’s Spokane City Council meeting. NATE SANFORD PHOTO

Standing Suit

Protests continue to roil Spokane City Council. Plus, Gonzaga lands a big EPA wildfire smoke grant; and WSU students see higher tuition.

lapping and booing are banned during Spokane City Council meetings, so audience members sometimes stand silently to show support for speakers or turn their backs to show opposition. Council members banned the practice last week, arguing that it can be distracting and intimidating to other audience members. The new rule was immediately controversial, and on Monday, members of Spokane Community Against Racism threatened to sue the city of Spokane over the standing ban, arguing that it violates state law and the U.S. Constitution. Standing during public meetings, they argued, is a form of silent dissent and protected political speech. Natasha Hill, a Spokane attorney working on behalf of SCAR, wrote that there appears to be a “pattern by City Council of adopting rules attempting to suppress the speech of specific individuals or organizations and their viewpoints.” During Monday’s meeting, several activists stood silently, prompting the council to go into two five-minute recesses while they attempted to negotiate with the activists. Council members eventually voted to temporarily suspend the standing rule and revisit it later so the meeting could proceed. Citing disruption, council members also suspended Monday’s open public comment period. (NATE SANFORD)

SMOKE READY

Gonzaga University’s Institute for Climate, Water and the Environment last week received a $1.1 million grant award from the Environmental Protection Agency to help prepare Spokane for wildfire smoke. In partnership with the city of Spokane, the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency and the University of Washington, Gonzaga will help reduce indoor exposure to wildfire smoke, with a focus on upgrades to the Martin Luther King Jr., West Central and Northeast community centers. In addition to HVAC upgrades, public health education and air quality monitoring, the team will help create smoke readiness plans for buildings and communities. Under the “Smoke Ready Spokane” project, computer scientists will also develop on-site dashboards that can display real-time air quality using sensor data. “The Gonzaga Climate Institute exists to help our community understand and respond to our rapidly changing climate,” says Brian Henning, the institute’s director. “We are proud to lead this citywide collaborative effort to expand preparedness for wildfire smoke.” (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)

RISING TUITION

Washington State University will become more expensive for students next academic year. Last week, the WSU Board of Regents voted to increase tuition by 3% — the highest increase they were legally allowed to make. This increase applies to all students, regardless of their residence status. For a full-time undergrad with resident status, annual tuition will increase $329, from $10,976 to $11,305. For nonresident undergrads, annual tuition will go up about $830. Tuition will not be raised for students in the university’s Doctor of Pharmacy, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, or Master of Nursing programs. Regents claim that the increase stems from salary increases that faculty and staff received last year, amounting to nearly $40 million. They also point to the costs associated with their first contract with the Academic Student Employee union — which was agreed to last week and will cost an estimated $15.7 million in wages through fiscal 2026. (COLTON RASANEN) n

FEBRUARY 1, 2024 INLANDER 11

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Health insurance premiums in Washington have more than doubled in the last decade — why? BY COLTON RASANEN

f you’re reading this, it’s too late to enroll in a new health insurance plan. Open enrollment (the time period when folks are allowed to sign up for health insurance without life changes like getting a new job) closed on Jan. 15 and won’t begin again until Nov. 15. Fortunately, it’s never too late to complain about how crazy expensive it all is. According to the Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC), back in 2014 the average premium for health plans purchased on the Washington state Health Benefits Exchange was $295 a month. A decade later, the average premium has more than doubled — to $628 per month. Further analysis of the commercial health insurance market by the OIC shows that, between 2016 and 2019 health care costs increased by 13%, yet the rate of inflation was only 7%. Still, more people are insured now than they were in 2014, the first year that the Affordable Care Act — Obamacare — required all people to get insurance. Though that requirement was later dropped under the Trump administration, the rate of uninsured Washingtonians has decreased from 14% in 2013 to 5% now. So, more people are insured, but costs are higher than ever before. If you ask state Rep. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, the path our health care industry is on right now is unsustainable. “It’s become increasingly harder to find primary care, and we all recognize that health care costs are bad right now,” he says. “We’re paying more [for health insurance] and getting less value — we have to be innovative.”

ast year, state legislators approved extra funding for the OIC so it could review the main factors impacting health care

affordability. The office’s preliminary report — a nearly 100-page document focused on health care affordability that was released in late November — included an overview of Washington’s current health care system and several policy options that could make care more affordable. “We regulate, review and approve the premiums that people pay for health insurance, but people still have trouble affording their health insurance,” says Stephanie Marquis, OIC’s spokesperson. “Until we understand the underlying costs of health care we’ll never be able to reduce the cost of health insurance.” Consolidation in the health care industry has, in part, been “a key factor driving up prices,” the report says. “Generally, consolidations do not improve quality of care, but rather, drive up prices and impact access to care for patients and working conditions for providers.” In Washington, consolidation is best seen in the growing concentration of hospitals in multihospital systems like MultiCare, Providence and others. From 1986 to 2017, the percentage of hospitals in multi-hospital systems increased from 10% to almost 50%. Of the 101 hospitals operating in Washington, 40 are part of the five largest hospital systems in the state. Another 15 hospitals are included in smaller multi-hospital systems like Astria Health and Confluence. Eight multi-hospital systems — including MultiCare, UW Medicine, PeaceHealth and Providence — employ 65% of the physicians and physician assistants in the state, according to the OIC. These hospital systems also have more than 65% of the staffed beds in the state. But, at the same time consolidation of hospitals occurred between 1986 and 2017, the statewide available beds decreased by more than 40%.

O N S A L E TO M O R R OW : While the report includes 11 policy options that could affect the cost of health care — like establishing prescription drug pricing regulations, implementing a reform on facility fees, and even creating an all-payer model for hospital rates that would have everyone pay the same price for the same services at all state hospitals — Marquis says the OIC doesn’t argue for or against any specific policy to ensure that the information is as fair as possible. “We were charged with an overview of the systems today and some analysis of the most potentially impactful policies,” she says. “We want the data to speak for itself, so it needs to be as unbiased as possible.” A final report including in-depth statistical and economic analysis of the policy options that interest legislators will be released in August. Jim Grazko, a senior vice president at Premera overseeing its Washington and Alaska markets, says much of the increased cost that people are seeing in their insurance premiums comes from the increased cost of medicine. In his description, since medical providers are charging insurance companies more for services, that cost is then pushed to their customers in the form of higher premiums. “Lifesaving care and medications that we couldn’t have even imagined years ago all come with increased costs,” he says. “A lot of our tech has advanced to where it’s much better but much more expensive, and someone has to pay [for] that.” Grazko has been in the insurance business for about 30 years, and he thinks that rapid growth in health insurance costs will settle down in the next two or three years.

ealth care costs have been rising for years and have increasingly affected how folks access care. Namely, some people refuse to go to the doctor to save money, only to then have to spend more on something that could have been prevented with an earlier diagnosis. Riccelli says that when he was first campaigning he met with a constituent who was struggling with the cost of going to the dentist. However, because they waited to seek care, they ended up in the hospital due to an abscess, which, Riccelli says, led to their death at age 37. (Riccelli didn’t provide a name or other identifying information.) “This person in our state lost their life for something that could have been easily prevented early on,” he says. “At some point, there will be too many who are not able to get the care they need.” Spokane-based insurance broker Julie Shepard Hall says anecdotes like this don’t tell the whole story. Some people may avoid care to save money, but she says some folks overuse care and go to the emergency room for things that could be dealt with at home or by a primary care provider. “Hospitals are managing these trivial cases that they shouldn’t be, and it’s driving up costs,” Shepard Hall explains. “We as individuals need to be more proactive about how we manage our care.” Both Shepard Hall and Riccelli think that with the increasing costs for privatized health insurance we’re moving toward a singlepayer insurance system like in Canada or the United Kingdom. While there isn’t a set definition of what this system would look like, single-payer is often understood as the state or federal government operating the same payment system for all residents. “Single-payer is the direction that we would want to head, and I think that’s something we’ll see in our lifetime,” Riccelli says. By the end of 2023, more than 850,000 enrollees were receiving Apple Health coverage, Washington’s version of Medicaid, according to the Washington State Health Care Authority. There was also a record number of Americans — 21.3 million of them —who signed up for an Affordable Care Act Health Insurance Marketplace plan in 2024. “More and more people are qualifying for Apple Health, and that may be the step toward creating a single-payer system,” Shepard Hall says. n coltonr@inlander.com

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NEWS | GOVERNMENT

Wildfire, Guns, Libraries With Idaho and Washington quickly moving through their legislative sessions, here are some of the bills to watch BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL

ashington is in a short legislative session this year, with work expected to end on March 7. Bills are making their way through public hearings and heading to the floor for a vote, as they need to pass the House or Senate by Feb. 13 so they can be shared with the other chamber for consideration. Meanwhile, Idaho lawmakers have until March 4 to transmit bills from one house to the other, with their legislative session set to end on March 22. Here’s a roundup of some noteworthy bills working their way through the process.

WILDFIRE AND DISASTER RECOVERY

Washington state Rep. Mike Volz, R-Spokane, sponsored multiple wildfire relief bills. House Bill 1899 would allow wildfire victims who lost their homes in 2023 (such as those impacted by the Oregon and Gray fires in Spokane County) to rebuild their homes to the current building code if they get a permit

14 INLANDER FEBRUARY 1, 2024

before July 2025. The state Building Code Council has created new, more energy-efficient and restrictive rules that were expected to take effect last fall but have been delayed to March 15. The new code could add thousands to the cost of construction. The state Office of the Insurance Commissioner warned that homeowners could struggle to insure their new homes if not up to code when built. On Friday, Jan. 26, the House Local Government Committee recommended a substitute bill, which would expect people to build to the new code (assuming it’s in effect) and instead offer state grants for energy efficient upgrades. HB 2283 would allow state and school district employees impacted by an emergency or disaster to take shared paid leave, donated by other state employees. They’d have to exhaust their own paid leave before accepting donated leave.

AIRBNB SUBSIDIZED AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Senate Bill 5334 (no local sponsors) would allow Wash-

ington cities and counties to collect up to a 10% excise tax on stays at short-term rentals through platforms such as Airbnb or VRBO. A carryover from last year, the bill passed the Senate on Jan. 24 and returned to the House. The revenue generated would be spent on affordable housing, including homeless housing assistance programs.

ARMED SCHOOLS

Last week, Idaho state Rep. Ted Hill, R-Eagle, introduced HB 415, which would allow school teachers, staff or volunteers to carry a gun, provided that they have an enhanced concealed carry permit. It would fine schools with “gun free zone” signs $300. Each person would be required to inform the principal and superintendent and maintain concealed, immediate control of the weapon. Local and state law enforcement would also need to be notified. However, the bill would not require notice to school boards and would exempt the list of people carrying weapons from public disclosure. The NRA-supported bill had a public hearing on Jan. 24. “You have to answer violence with violence,” Hill told the House State Affairs Committee. “You can’t sit back and passively hope it’s gonna be OK.” Tara Adams of Boise testified that she and her husband survived the mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017, are responsible gun owners, and oppose the bill. “I cannot imagine how much worse the shooting we survived would have been if concertgoers had been allowed to bring concealed weapons into that arena,” Adams said. “How would first responders have known which gun holder was the original perpetrator and which ones were the defenders in the midst of terrifying chaos?”

Representatives for the Idaho School Boards Association and the Idaho Education Association, the state teacher’s union, strongly opposed the bill. Idaho law already allows individual districts to craft policies allowing guns or not. But the bill would remove that authority from elected school boards, even though they are statutorily obligated to protect the safety of their students, said Paul Stark, executive director of the IEA. “There has been some testimony this session about not trusting librarians with books. But this trusts librarians with a Glock,” Stark testified. The committee voted 11-2 to send it to the floor with a “do pass” recommendation. The House could vote on this bill this week.

WINNING IS JUST THE BEGINNING

THE MIGHTY PEN

Speaking of libraries, multiple Idaho bills are aimed at restricting materials. HB 384 would make it illegal for librarians to provide obscene material to minors. Idaho Gov. Brad Little vetoed a slightly different law last year. This year’s attempt requires people to give written notice of questionable material to their library, providing 30 days for them to relocate it to an adults-only section. If not relocated, a parent or guardian can sue and win up to $250 (reduced from last year’s $2,500) and actual damages. SB 1221 would require districts to create library materials review committees that would decide if materials should be pulled from school libraries after someone complains. Washington, meanwhile, is considering SB 6208, which would prevent districts from banning books or educational material “on the basis that it relates to or includes the study of the role and contributions of any individual or group who is part of a protected class.” Washington law prohibits discrimination based on sex, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion and other “protected classes.” n samanthaw@inlander.com

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FEBRUARY 1, 2024 INLANDER 15

Welcome Back, Balazs VISUAL ARTS

The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture’s latest exhibit showcases a unique collection of 30 works by one of Spokane’s favorite artists BY CARRIE SCOZZARO

ven if you don’t think you know Harold Balazs’ artwork, you’ve probably experienced it if you’ve spent any time in and around Spokane, where the artist lived and worked for nearly seven decades before his death in 2017. Maybe you’ve splashed in Riverfront Park’s Rotary Fountain, which Balazs cocreated in 2006, or smiled at the “hidden” message atop his Expo-’74-era tower outside First Interstate Center for the Arts known as “The Lantern.” Was a Balazs sculpture part of your daily high school routine at Ferris, Lewis and Clark, or Mt. Spokane? Or maybe you’ve spent a quiet moment amid the many Balazs’ works at local places of worship, such as the Unitarian Universalist Church. Everywhere you look in Spokane, you’re likely to find a connection to the famously prolific, mustachioed artist whose accolades include the Washington state Governor’s Arts and Heritage Award (1988) and the most frequently voted “best local artist” in the Inlander’s annual Best Of readers poll. While walking through Kendall Yards recently, Kayla Tackett, the director of exhibitions and collections at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, was delighted to recognize a Balazs’ sculpture — an abstract metal piece titled “Mixed Forms.” (The sculpture is located on West Summit Parkway in front of the Yards Bruncheon.) “I’m always kind of fascinated with how you start to get to know an artist’s work and then you see a piece by them, and you know it’s by them,” says Tackett, who has spent a lot of time getting to know Balazs’ work in preparation for “Harold Balazs: Leaving Marks,” an eclectic collection of his artwork featured at the MAC from Feb. 3 through June 2. The exhibition features 30 artworks in the process of being purchased from a private collection, and thus never shown together. Nor have many of the works recently been in the public eye. The show is not a retrospective, but rather a kind of snapshot of a time in Balazs’ life, says AnneClaire Mitchell, founder of Spokane’s former Richmond Art Collective and an independent curator whose past partnerships with the MAC include exhibitions of Lila Shaw Girvin and Humaira Abid in 2022 and 2023, respectively. ...continued on page 18

16 INLANDER FEBRUARY 1, 2024

His sculptures may be well known, but his name, not so much. It’s pronounced

BUH-LAZE

“A Dialogue” (2007) PHOTO COURTESY THE MAC

FEBRUARY 1, 2024 INLANDER 17

VISUAL ARTS

“WELCOME BACK BALAZS” CONTINUED... Typically a curator would choose specific works to feature, but because the new Balazs exhibition showcases an existing collection of pieces, Mitchell’s focus was different. One of her curatorial goals has been to “create an experience that was going to be sentimental, especially for folks who knew Harold and knew his work,” she says. “It’s been a fun challenge, actually, to be able to look at the collection as a whole in its current unedited form and be able to interpret some things about Harold’s life and his character and what he believed in and the way that he was working,” Mitchell says. Supplementing the 30 artworks will be some of Balazs’ sketchbooks, as well a digital reproduction of a large 2008 print titled “Autobiography 80th Year.” The monochromatic, black-and-white “Autobiography” consists of roughly eight rows of symbols which may refer to, but are by no means a decoder, of Balazs’ vast library of recurring and evolving motifs.

Above: Balazs in the 1950s in front of a model for an early Seattle-area public art commission called “Norton Totem.” Right: an untitled, undated enamel piece. PHOTOS COURTESY THE MAC

TRANSCE

An untitled sculpture made of lead, from 1999.

HE T? W HA

18 INLANDER FEBRUARY 1, 2024

YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

here are many common themes throughout Harold Balazs’ body of work: the use of geometric shapes, motifs of the natural world and, of course, Transcend the Bullshit. You’ve probably seen the stylized phrase on mugs, T-shirts, hats, belt buckles and, hell, even tattooed on the arms of locals. The logo even serves as an Easter egg on some of Balazs’ work. The metal sculpture he did for North Idaho College (“I Must Go Down To The Seas Again”) has the phrase carved into it. Perhaps most famously, it's carved into the top of Balazs’ 1974 sculpture “Lantern,” which is on the Centennial Trail between the Spokane River and the northwest corner of the First Interstate Center for the Arts. In the past, it was a feat to have climbed the geometric sculpture and discovered the artist's hidden phrase. (Note: Climbing the sculpture is illegal, please just take our word for it.) Balazs created a stylized, circular poster of the saying (which he borrowed from Ken Kesey) in the 1960s that became an iconic logo, printed on mugs at Atticus (thanks to previous owner, Andy Dinnison) and posters at Chris Bovey’s Vintage Print + Neon store in the Garland District. It’s a good motto to live by, Transcend the Bullshit. Maybe we should all take a page out of Balazs’ book and rise above it all. Just don’t climb the sculpture. — MADISON PEARSON

“The idea was to orient visitors to the space and to Harold’s visual language with that print, because it gives us kind of an idea of the forms and the shapes and the remixing of archetypal forms that he was developing over the course of his life,” Mitchell says.

y all accounts, Balazs’ influences were as much about aesthetics and design as they were craftsmanship and construction. Born in Ohio in 1928, he was exposed to both at a young age, with art classes at the Cleveland Art Museum and time spent working in his father’s sheet metal shop. When his parents relocated to Spokane in 1947, Balazs’ followed, eventually earning a degree from Washington State College (now called Washington State University). By the mid-1950s, Balazs had married, started a family and begun what would be a long and varied career as an artist, often collaborating with other like-minded entrepreneurial types — from his wife, Rosemary, to nationally known ceramicist Rudy Autio, for example. Balazs’ enameled copper and silver jewelry sold well, and as word spread about the innovative artist who perfectly synthesized craftsmanship with creativity, his reputation and list of commissions grew. Balazs’ smaller enamels evolved into larger ones like those that embellish Spokane’s St. Charles Catholic Church. His innovative collaborations with area architects earned him a gold medal from the American Institute of Architects in 1967. Although he was formally educated in art, Balazs’ never stopped learning, whether that was a workshop in Australia, a foray into the Alaska wilderness with artist friends or his grandson, or teaching himself some new technique he might employ in his quest to “create wonder.” “Harold Balazs: Leaving Marks” showcases the artist’s diverse ways of working, from three-dimensional, low relief and freestanding sculpture to mixed-media drawings, as well as enamels, an artform for which Balazs received considerable acclaim.

TRACY MORGAN

FEB. 24 “?Elsewhere?” (2003), a grease pencil drawing. PHOTO COURTESY THE MAC

In 2001, Balazs was recognized by the Enamelist Society for his pioneering work and excellence in enameling, which involves coating a metal surface with powdered, colored glass and superheating it so that the glass particles fuse with the metal. This technique is on display via the vibrant panels titled “Birds of the Northwest” and “Northwest Wildflowers” gracing the exterior of Spokane’s Lincoln Building on West Riverside Avenue. Four enamels in the exhibition offer the only color in the collection, which is otherwise monochromatic. “It’s not the most typical of Harold’s work in some ways,” says his daughter Erika Balazs, who’s partial to his more colorful work, including his enamels, watercolors, silkscreens and painted wood sculptures. Even though she’s familiar with much of her father’s ways of working, there are some pieces in the MAC’s new showcase that she doesn’t remember seeing before. “That whole series of the black-and-white and grayish drawings?” says Erika. “I don’t remember those at all.” “He made a lot of stuff,” she adds with a laugh, echoing Balazs’ oft-quoted use of the vernacular: “Making stuff is better than not making stuff.” One of those monochromatic pieces in the collection is a 12-foot-long drawing. Because it lacks a title and owing to its subdued palette, abstract imagery and size, Tackett and others on staff have nicknamed it “Harold’s Guernica” (after Spanish painter Picasso’s “Guernica”). Indeed, there are plenty of similarities between the two artists. Balazs’ may have had Picasso in mind while producing some of his early works in the 1950s and ’60s, including a painting the MAC already owns. While a student at Washington State, Balazs painted “Ladies Day,” a small ink wash that is reminiscent of Picasso’s paintings of female figures. In 1991 Balazs and Rosemary gifted “Ladies Day” to the museum, which already has nearly 40 of the artist’s mostly two-dimensional work including paintings, prints and drawings. Nineteen years later, in 2010, the MAC organized a ...continued on page 22

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FEBRUARY 1, 2024 INLANDER 19

VISUAL ARTS

BALAZS: A TRAIL BY MADISON PEARSON

hether you’re walking through Riverfront Park, headed to the Yards for brunch or just driving down Division Street, Harold Balazs’ legacy can be seen in almost every corner of Spokane. There are too many to count, but here are a few standout Balazs art pieces — in varying media — that you can see in the wild.

“UNTITLED” (LANTERN)

ON THE NORTH, RIVER SIDE OF THE FIRST INTERSTATE CENTER FOR THE ARTS A tower constructed of concrete. The top of the sculpture boasts Balazs’ “Transcend the Bullshit.”

20 INLANDER FEBRUARY 1, 2024

ALICE IN WONDERLAND ENAMEL FIGURES SPOKANE VALLEY LIBRARY, 22 N. HERALD ROAD These figurines were originally installed in the children’s room of the new Valley branch of the Spokane County Rural Library in 1955. They were on display until 1979 and, after more than 20 years in storage, were reinstalled in the mezzanine of the new Spokane Valley Library.

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2203 N. DIVISION ST. A Tree of Life design on the facade of the building’s street-facing side.

“LISTEN”

SPOKANE PUBLIC RADIO COURTYARD, 1229 N. MONROE ST. Designed to look like an ear, this sculpture sits in front of the Spokane Public Radio building. In 2016, during a courtyard dedication ceremony, Spokane Symphony percussionists Bryan Bogue, Paul Raymond and Adam Wallstein played the sculpture like an instrument.

CARVED BRICK WALL

WALL STREET PEDESTRIAN CORRIDOR, ON 222 N. WALL ST. Carved into the side of the Wheatland Bank building, this relief sculpture is easy to miss the first time, but once you see it, you’ll never pass by in ignorance again.

“BIRDS OF THE NORTHWEST” AND “NORTHWEST WILDFLOWERS” LINCOLN BUILDING, 818 W. RIVERSIDE AVE. These two enamel pieces on the facade of the Lincoln Building in downtown Spokane are extremely colorful, a juxtaposition to Balazs’ monochromatic sculptures.

“DISCOVER”

LEWIS AND CLARK HIGH SCHOOL, SOUTHWEST OF THE OLD SCHOOL BUILDING A metal sculpture designed to look like a canoe with people paddling. The artwork was acquired for Washington’s State Art Collection in partnership with Spokane Public Schools.

CENTENNIAL SCULPTURE

RIVERFRONT PARK, IN THE SPOKANE RIVER, SOUTH OF THE CLOCKTOWER This sculpture was made in 1978 and dedicated to the city of Spokane in 1981 for its centennial celebration. At the time of its installation, it was one of the largest floating statues in the world.

“MIXED FORMS”

KENDALL YARDS, 1248 W. SUMMIT PKWY. A smaller geometric sculpture situated outside the Yards Bruncheon.

ROTARY FOUNTAIN

RIVERFRONT PARK, NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF HOWARD STREET AND SPOKANE FALLS BOULEVARD In collaboration with Bob Perron, Balazs designed the fountain to tell a story of the Spokane Falls and its relationship to the area’s Indigenous peoples. n

Untitled journal sketch from 1998. COURTESY ILLUSTRATION

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VISUAL ARTS

“WELCOME BACK BALAZS” CONTINUED... retrospective of Balazs’ work. It was accompanied by a University of Washington Press hardcover publication, which included a more direct connection between Spokane’s favorite artist and Spain’s native son: Balazs’ 1960s aluminum sculpture titled “Homage to Picasso.” Like Picasso, Balazs worked in a wide variety of media, initially enameled copper and silver jewelry, but also printmaking, painting and drawing.

hroughout his career, Balazs employed a variety of sculptural materials, including numerous wood species and types of metal in both flat and three-dimensional works. For example, he cut and welded stainless steel, similar to the Riverfront Park sculpture floating in the river that commemorated Spokane’s centennial in 1981. In addition to several stainless steel pieces in the exhibition, the collection includes several unique low-relief panels made from lead, as well as several formed copper pieces — “Poised,” “A Dialogue,” “Small Being” — that could be maquettes or studies for larger works, measuring only a couple feet across. Measuring 4-by-8-feet, “Trying to Understand” is a low relief panel of cut and modeled styrofoam coated in lustrous gray-black graphite that, to Mitchell, resembles a stone slab. Compared to metal, styrofoam is much lighter and could be cut, carved and even used in casting, all methods Balazs pioneered. “I think that it’s a nice work to talk about for this show just because it has a little bit of everything,” Mitchell says. “It showcases some of the archetypal forms that [Balazs] was working with. It tells a story of how he started using styrofoam as a sculptural material that kind of evolved out of his pioneering styro-casting and concrete forming technique. And it’s just an experimental way of working with affordable materials and making something thought provoking or awe inspiring.” Like roughly a third of the works in the exhibition, “Trying to Understand” lacks a date. Other works have no title. That’s not unusual for Balazs, however, especially given his prolific output of work over 60-plus years. In the book accompanying his 2010 MAC exhibition, Balazs included the following disclaimer, which reads in part: “making things and images was my work. When I made them, how big they were, where they went, and what was their name were also of no interest to me. So please forgive the unavailable provenance of much of my endeavor.” What mattered to her father, says Erika, was making artwork and ensuring that it was available to the public. That included pricing his art so it was affordable, such as at the museum’s annual ArtFest, which Balazs participated in since its inception in 1985, as well as at the Art Spirit Gallery, which has represented Balazs since 1997. “What I think is exciting is, Dad wanted art accessible, and this is now going to be a bunch of art that’s accessible to a lot of people” by being at the MAC, she says. “And the other thing I’m really hopeful of is that all those people in town who have Harold Balazs’ work they’ve collected, whose kids may not want it, or it might not fit in their [space], and they don’t know what to do with it, I’m very hopeful that this will spark a rash of donations of art to the museum.” n

HAROLD BALAZS: LEAVING MARKS 22 INLANDER FEBRUARY 1, 2024

Balazs in his workshop, which he called Mead Art Works. DON HAMLTON PHOTO

WHEN: Feb. 3 through June 2; open Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm (third Thursdays until 8 pm) ADMISSIONS: $8-$12 (free to members and children 5 and under) WHERE: Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. MORE INFO: Northwestmuseum.org, 509-456-3931

“Portrait Bust” (undated) made of copper. PHOTO COURTESY THE MAC

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FEBRUARY 1, 2024 INLANDER 23

Christie and Paul Pierce build a set. ERICK DOXEY PHOTO

PHOTOGRAPHY

Magical Chipmunks FriendChips captures chipmunks in the office, playing poker and drinking Nutz Lite BY SUMMER SANDSTROM

hen Christie Pierce took a photo of a chipmunk named Mr. Stubbs at her Valleyford home, making it appear as if he was playing cards with drink tickets she received at a casino night, she didn’t expect it to catalyze the creation of a niche wildlife photography business. “I had no master plan other than one foot in front of the other, and here I am 10 years later, still with my little business and people still clamoring to buy my stuff,” Pierce says of her business, FriendChips. “It’s pretty remarkable.” After seeing her photo of Mr. Stubbs, friends encouraged her to sell it and take more of chipmunks performing various tasks. So Pierce kept taking photos, even though she was at first hesitant about the success of such an endeavor. She and her husband, Paul — who has built miniature sets and replicas since he was a child — took it upon themselves to start making sets for the chipmunks. Using items they find at stores or are given to them, as well as Paul’s own creations, the Pierces now sell their

24 INLANDER FEBRUARY 1, 2024

chipmunk still lifes on cards, in FriendChips calendars and in a book, FriendChips: Around the Mountain. “It’s hard to describe because it all kind of evolves in my head,” she says. “A lot of times exactly what I’m picturing is exactly what I get, almost creepily.” As she built her portfolio and became more experienced at making sets, Pierce started adding fun hidden details to her sets. In the photo, “Poker Face,” a chipmunk is captured “playing” poker with a toy bear. But closer inspection of the image reveals numerous details — poker cards crafted from hole punch remnants and mini-bottles of “Nutz Lite.” Hanging in the photo’s background is a replica of Cassius Marcellus Coolidge’s “Dogs Playing Poker” that Pierce shot using toy dogs. Another FriendChips photo, “The Office,” shows a chipmunk working on the computer, with a mini graph on the screen and note cards stuck up around the perimeter. Pierce even found a tiny printer, which she set up with a mini version of another of her photos, which appears to be printed out of the machine.

apturing all of these photos relies on one crucial element: the cooperation of the chipmunks. Accomplishing such a task had a bit of a learning curve. “I used to try too hard to make them do something,” Pierce says. “They kind of taught me that this is how we behave, you figure it out.” She lays trails of buckwheat or sunflower seeds on the ledge of her patio’s retaining wall, where she also places her set and subsequently waits for chipmunks to appear. Pierce hides seeds in specific areas of a set — say, inside of a miniature mailbox, atop a flagpole or adjacent to a handcrafted mini saw. Once the chipmunk is in place and interacting with the desired props, she’ll start snapping photos, adjusting the framing as she goes. “I can move a little bit to get the illusion that [the chipmunk is] holding [something],” she says, “And honestly, people’s brains fill it in and they think they’re holding it.” It’s like Old Hollywood special effects, she says. “Godzilla is not really doing that, it’s just your perspective.” In her photo, “Volleyball,” husband Paul made both the volleyball net — using the netting that holds avocados in the grocery store — and the ball itself. The pair suspended the ball — which they stuffed with seeds — into the air with a welding wire, hidden in the background foliage of the shot, and Pierce was able to capture the chipmunk reaching up for the ball searching for seeds, or alternatively hitting it in the air. “It’s very unique, it’s real, and nothing’s Photoshopped,” she says of all of her photos. “It kind of gives me goosebumps, honestly. It’s remarkable.”

It’s not all chipmunks at poker night, as seen above in “Poker Face.” COURTESY PHOTO

ierce says that she never dreamed of FriendChips being as popular as it’s become. But since Day One, she says people believed in its potential and helped her get started. Her husband helped navigate the financial and licensing side of starting a business. And her neighbor created the font that she uses as the FriendChips logo. Her nephew runs her website and helps her process orders, and her brother is a buckwheat exporter and provides her with giant, 50-pound bags of the grain for her business. She says that even the companies she prints with helped her get started and have worked with her on the cost of printing items so that she’s able to sell them for a low price. “I don’t want people to go in the store and buy an $8.50 card that goes in the garbage,” she says. “I want them to be able to buy a $3 card that is colM O R E P H O T O S lectible and frameable and you can talk to your friend about it.” Visit Inlander.com for Pierce often prints large a photo slideshow of batches of her calendars and FriendChips cards, selling them at numerous retailers in the region— Auntie’s Bookstore, Simply Northwest, Wild Birds Unlimited, Prairie Dog Pet Mercantile, Miller’s Hardware, Ace Hardware on Monroe, Two Women Vintage Goods, the Looff Carrousel Gift Shop, and at Artisans at the Dahmen Barn in Uniontown. She also attends numerous craft shows, such as the upcoming Custer’s Annual Spring Arts and Crafts Show at the Spokane Fair and Expo Center from March 1-3, and the Central Valley Craft Fair on March 9. “As cheesy as it sounds, [FriendChips] really is about spreading goodwill and joy and not letting the handwritten note die,” Pierce says. “It’s just the coolest thing to think that somebody’s getting that much fun out of one little click of the shutter.” n

FEBRUARY 1, 2024 INLANDER 25

CULTURE | DIGEST RAJAH BOSE PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

The Red Pen

As universities cut arts funding, a local artist and writer wonders to what end BY RAJAH BOSE

he other day I opened my inbox to find a request from an old friend, Eastern Washington University. More specifically it was the Creative Writing Program, of which I am a proud degree holder, attempting to save itself from further annihilation. Their ask wasn’t for money, but for data. “Once again EWU is doing a top-to-bottom analysis of every program-related cost and every imaginable return on those costs, and looking for ways to shrink or cut programs,” the email read. “If you don’t mind, if you could please share with us your current position title and employer, and how your MFA prepared you for this work (or didn’t), we would really appreciate it.” This message went out to an undisclosed recipient list of alumni, presumably hoping a favorable number of responses of respectable job titles and legitimate employers might bolster the program’s value in our community. I don’t have a job or an employer, so I was left to my only remaining options: begging and pleading. Since my time at EWU, I had moved on from where I worked to start a production company of my own, which has succeeded in keeping bills paid, as well as telling the story of our city through short films, commercials, music videos, photographs and art exhibits. Currently this includes recording a musical album, and a few of my photographs of local artist Harold Balazs are being included as part of an upcoming show at the MAC (see page 16). I am honored that those images are hanging alongside the works of one of Spokane’s most prolific and brilliant artists, but neither of these would have been possible without the insights and lessons I learned from the writing program and community of writers and artists it connected me with. Though it’s not easily measurable, the experience and

26 INLANDER FEBRUARY 1, 2024

skills gained through the writing program have made me a better communicator and given me the most important skill I possess — curiosity. The ability to see beyond the job-acquisition pipeline that our schools are increasingly obsessed with is the “outside the box thinking” that our business counterparts are always asking for in new employees. This is a regular acknowledgment that the ability to think creatively is valuable to other career fields though often difficult to foster within those fields alone. This ability to imagine beyond the boundaries of best practices and verified results is fostered in the Arts. Removing them from the curriculum shorts the goal of the entire education system.

’ll admit I hadn’t read it before, but Eastern’s vision statement claims they are “the public university whose students, faculty, staff and alumni make profound and significant contributions to the economic and social vitality of the region.” Certainly social contributions are not as easy to measure as economic ones, but it means we must consider them in ways other than in the terms we measure economic contributions. It’s no secret that students are struggling at all levels of their formal education. While trying to keep up and comprehend test-based learning, most are trying to understand their purpose and who they are. Without access to the Arts, which allow us to witness and process complex emotions, many go their lives without understanding the depths of their experience and self. I, like many, would have dismissed such emotional arguments in the past. It wasn’t until I began writing that I could understand parts of my life and what they had meant for me. This realization — gained through

the Arts — has become central to my work, but also immeasurably important to me personally and as a member of our community. This is different for every person, but of those who are given the chance to experience or learn about the Arts, many gain understanding, success, and influence around their other chosen field(s) as they are able to explore their passions and work creatively. To put it another way, this arts degree has given me more clarity and ability than is measurable. My partner, Ellen, and I both have art degrees from EWU and have been able to create a life with consistent work that allows us to live well as creative professionals and artists in this city. It may not be the story you’ve heard about art degrees, but it’s a testament to the strength of the creative writing and fine arts programs at Eastern. Unfortunately, my particular degree in “Non-Fiction Creative Writing” no longer exists, a casualty of the last top-to-bottom analysis. Ellen’s program will soon be gone if the current recommendations of Eastern’s Strategic Resource Allocation Academic Task Force are followed. I understand that most higher education is struggling with these same decisions, but with every new strike of the pen, it seems the focus of the university has continued to pivot away from the Arts and toward programs with a measurable return on investment.

“A city cannot rest on its creations from a half-century ago, it must live and breathe with new thought and new art.” We may not all be able to show the direct economic value of our education, wherever it comes from. This is not necessarily a weak point of arts programs, it is the point. The Arts are interwoven with the health of our society. All of them — music, writing, film, dance, performance art, photography, ceramics, watercolor, poetry, painting, time-based-art, printmaking, drawing, videography, sound design, jewelry making, woodwork, comics, acting, animation, etcetera — give us deeper understandings of who we are and how we are connected beyond class, gender, or culture. The artists who live among us give our city so much of its character, its entertainment, and its meaning. This is the spirit of a place, and it cannot be borrowed or replicated from elsewhere, it must come from within. A city cannot rest on its creations from a half-century ago, it must live and breathe with new thought and new art. Education not only gives us the creators with the conviction to explain who we are, but also a thoughtful community that can better understand what we have made together. Balazs recognized Spokane’s spirit to “transcend the bullshit,” birthing a philosophy that has persevered as a multitude of slogans have come and gone. I believe it’s because those words are not marketing but gospel, and have come to the aid of many artists and creative people as they struggle to make and communicate in times of change. It is in their beautiful and complex creations where we may look to find who we are. The responsibility of education, especially from our public institutions, is to give us the tools to know ourselves, and to help us understand who we might become individually and together. More than any other time in my life are the most immeasurable and important parts of our education in peril of being extinguished by the holders of the keys. I only hope they understand what they wield. n Rajah Bose is a local photographer, artist and writer.

CULTURE | COMEDY HERE FOR A GOOD TIME, NOT A LONG TIME

Life of Brian Catching up with stand-up standout Brian Regan in ’24 BY SETH SOMMERFELD

veryone’s comedic tastes are different, and that’s one of the beauties of stand-up. You can find edgy boundary pushers, musical jokesters, family-friendly funny folks, niche skewer-ers of your favorite subculture or even silly ventriloquists to suit your moods. It’s hard to please everyone, so stand-ups don’t often strive for universality. But if you don’t think Brian Regan is funny? Bad news: You probably have a terrible sense of humor. In the comedy world, Regan seems to be one performer pretty much every other comedian can agree is great. While comedians can be catty, you’re not gonna find Katt Williams or anyone else going off on soliloquies about how Regan is actually a hack. While he works clean, it never feels like he’s holding back. His everyday observational storytelling has hit the comedic sweet spot with a stunning consistency over his 30-plus-year career, making him one of the best headliners on the planet. Before he swings by the Fox for a show on Feb. 7, we caught up with the elite funnyman to pick his comedic brain. INLANDER: Do you feel like your approach to comedy has changed or evolved over the decades? REGAN: I think human beings are always going to grow, and so an art form can also grow. I’d like to think that I’ve learned from doing comedy over the years certain things, but at the same time, I do think there’s just like an instinct. I had a friend give me a tape a few years back that we had made in our college dorm — this was before I even wanted to be a stand-up comedian — where we did this fake interview thing. And as I listened to it, it intrigued me that I felt that my comedy instincts — even back then — were similar to my comedy instincts now. Like I remember he kept trying to go really dirty with it, and I kept trying to get it back on a different path. [laughs] I’m like, I don’t want to be filthy with this even though we were just having fun with it. I just wanted to do a different kind of comedy. What do you feel like is the bedrock of your comedic instincts? I try to keep my mind open. I don’t want to be a one-trick pony. I don’t want to be a person that just tells family stories. I don’t want to be a person that just does jokes about feeling stupid. Everytime I feel like I’m going too far in one

direction, I go the opposite direction. I like to always make sure that there are curveballs in there too. I like to do like three, four, five bits that are about real things, and then I like to throw a curveball in there that starts like it’s going to be about a real thing and then it’s just like some absurd premise to keep the audience on their toes. I guess it’s like a pitcher: fastball, fastball, fastball, and then wow here comes a slider. You’re kind of pitching up there, and you want your audience as the batter to go, “I don’t know what’s coming next.” Unless they hear somebody banging a trash can off in the distance — then they know. What are the thematic areas that you’re enjoying exploring currently? Yeah, I’m putting topics into my act that I think would surprise people. I talk about guns. I talk about crime. I talk about politics. But in a way that I want both sides to laugh at, you know what I mean? I don’t want to divide my audience. I know other comedians are fine with that, and that’s cool too. Some people just want to zone in on a point of view, and that’s great. But I want my comedy to kind of be broader than that. I want everybody in the audience to feel like, “OK, I’m glad I’m here.” But I do like to hit on some topics that people might go, “Whoa, I wasn’t expecting this from the guy.” I’ve got a thing about negotiating with terrorists. It’s not your normal, go-to comedy premise, but I like exploring it.

ED BE LL PE PP ER S, FIR E- RO AS TE D BR IN UC E, , KI LL ER HO US E SA PR OV OL ON E, MAYO D OF CO UR SE BA CO N AN GR ILL ED ON IO NS ,

HAYDE N & SPOKA NE VALLE Y LOCAT IONS

ORD ER.K ILLE RBU RGE R.CO M

The Sustainability Issue

What do you find funny these days? What gets you laughing the most now in… 2024? Sorry, it’s January — I’ll get that right eventually. The biggest thing I laugh at is when people don’t know what year it is. I just howl. [laughs] No, I like when my kids poke at me. Like, they’ve known me my whole life. My son is 24, and my daughter is 20. But when they zing me a little bit about something about me, or how I think, or what I do — it means a lot to me. It’s fun to be observed by someone else in a humorous way. Is there anything else you’d like to add? Just make sure the headline isn’t “Brian Regan to tour in Spokane in ’23!” n Brian Regan • Wed, Feb. 7 at 7:30 pm • $40$150 • The Fox Theater • 1001 W. Sprague Ave. • foxtheaterspokane.com • 509-624-1200

On Stands February 29 To advertise: advertising@inlander.com 509.325.0634 ext 247

FEBRUARY 1, 2024 INLANDER 27

Saumya Tandon pulls shots of espresso at New Leaf. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

COMMUNITY

Turning Over a New Leaf New Leaf Cafe at the Spokane Public Library launches careers while helping out BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM

olly Blaney hangs up the phone and turns to Bobbi Keefer. “You’re good,” Blaney says, with rising excitement. “You’re good!” Keefer is hesitant, disbelieving. “I’m holding my breath,” she says. Blaney and Keefer are sitting at New Leaf Cafe inside the downtown Spokane Public Library. Blaney is the assistant director at New Leaf Cafe. Keefer is an alumna of the cafe and now works nights at the Coeur d’Alene Casino. And after Blaney’s phone call, it seems like she’s about to get a new apartment, thanks to continued help from the New Leaf team. New Leaf Cafe is an initiative through Transitions, a local nonprofit focused on ending poverty and homelessness in Spokane. Some of the baristas at New Leaf are unhoused, while others live in shelters, and a few have more permanent housing. Some are working through community service hours or in work program while preparing for release from incarceration. Regardless, New Leaf provides a patient work environment that helps participants build resumes and job skills as they reenter the workforce. During three-month stints at the cafe, New Leaf participants practice scheduling, time management, communication and, of course, pulling espresso shots. When they graduate, they have skills that are transferable to other food or non-food industry jobs. Alumni have gone on to jobs at Nordstrom Cafe, Starbucks, Sodexo, Burlington Coat Factory, Purgatory Craft Beer and Whiskey Bar, Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, MultiCare Deaconess Hospital and the Coeur d’Alene Casino, where Keefer started working this month. “I work in the back and the kitchen at night,” says Keefer, who was recently living in a shelter. “I love my job at the casino.”

akley Gunderson, a Sandpoint native, moved to Spokane a few years ago to work at Italia Trattoria, the award-winning fine dining restaurant in Browne’s Addition. Before she moved, she had 13 years of coffee experience, a love for training people, and a lingering interest in psychology and sociology.

28 INLANDER FEBRUARY 1, 2024

After Gunderson left Italia Trattoria, she became the cafe manager at New Leaf Cafe, which opened about a year and a half ago. “It’s a mix of everything I’ve done in the past and everything I want to do in the future,” she says. “This is a way for me to utilize skills and also help other people.” Gunderson sets boundaries and expectations that make people feel safe instead of intimidated. It’s part of New Leaf’s trauma-informed approach to job training — participants know what is expected of them, but there’s extra grace for extra challenges they often face like keeping track of time, finding reliable transportation and places to shower, or regulating emotions. Plus, Gunderson’s extensive barista career elevates New Leaf’s coffee game. “I want our drinks to be as good as anybody else’s,” she says. “You can get a drink here that’s as good as any other espresso stand. I want [participants] to have the same experiences and know that if [being a barista is] the job they’re pursuing, they’re ready for it.” New Leaf is partnering with DOMA Coffee Roasting Co. to make an exclusive blend for wholesale and for their drip coffee. It has notes of caramel, lime and nougat. “You can definitely taste the lime in a really good way,” says Gunderson and her well-trained palate. New Leaf always offers seasonal lattes. This February features a candied pecan latte with the cafe’s first house-made syrup, another step toward a gourmet coffee experience. Transitions also has a kitchen skills training program at Spokane Falls Community College. The chef and participants prepare food for sale at the cafe, including pastries, bagels and salads. New Leaf is hopping on the steamed bagel trend, offering baristas the opportunity to learn how to use a unique kitchen gadget. There are seven participants currently working at New Leaf, with room for a few more. The kitchen program out of SFCC is currently empty and looking for participants. New Leaf program director Ted Munat says that since the kitchen is farther from downtown and harder to get to, it’s difficult to attract participants. Nationwide, about half of people living in shelters and about 40% of people living on the streets have had

jobs in the past year, according to a 2021 study by the University of Chicago. Munat thinks that’s probably true for Spokane, too. His small team is focused not only on job training at New Leaf but on continued support for alumni, whose needs change from resume building and character references to emotional support and housing stability as they take up full-time jobs. “The food industry is sometimes a hard place for people to get into because it’s definitely not a sensitive field,” Gunderson says. “It’s kind of rough. If people can get a background in barista work or culinary work before getting thrown into that, it’s better for their mental health overall. I love to say it’s entry level, but it’s really not.”

aybe the best part about serving coffee at the cafe is that baristas are usually surrounded by friends. The public library downtown is a common hangout spot for many unhoused people, which is often how participants find out about New Leaf in the first place. James McKay has been behind the counter at New Leaf for about four weeks. “I know a lot of people that hang out down here,” McKay says. Which can be nice, except “when they sit there and make fun of you,” he says sarcastically. “No, it’s not too bad,” he continues. “These guys [at New Leaf] have given a lot to a lot of people down here. They go above and beyond. They don’t have to do a lot of things they do, but they do it anyway.” Baristas at New Leaf practice their craft and hone their skills while surrounded by people they feel comfortable with, which is a great way to start any job. Even when they graduate or find new homes, the library continues to be an important community space. Though she may have a job and a new apartment, New Leaf alumna Keefer will probably still frequent the library. She’s a super fast reader, devouring everything but autobiographies. Between shifts at the casino, she’ll come back to the cafe, the bookshelves, and the place she knows and loves. “I sit upstairs many a rainy day. Just getting out of the rain, watching the people out there. Reading books. There’s security, so you’re safe. It’s great.” n

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FEBRUARY 1, 2024 INLANDER 29

ALSO OPENING ARGYLLE

Director Matthew Vaughn’s latest overthe-top action comedy finds the life of a reserved spy novelist (Bryce Dallas Howard) get completely upended when she gets caught up in the world of actual espionage — featuring characters played by Sam Rockwell, Henry Cavill, John Cena, etc. — because the things she’s writing are coming true. Rated PG-13

The Zone of Interest plays on the contrast between the ideal and the horrific.

REVIEW

The Evil of Banality Best Picture Oscar nominee The Zone of Interest finds horror in mundane indifference BY JOSH BELL

f you somehow started watching Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest without being familiar with the premise, it might take a good 15 minutes to begin to understand what’s really going on. Loosely adapted from Martin Amis’ 2014 novel, Glazer’s Oscar-nominated film focuses mostly on the mundane everyday life of the Höss family. Father Rudolf (Christian Friedel) and mother Hedwig (Anatomy of a Fall’s Sandra Hüller) take their five kids down to the nearby riverside to play, tend to the lush garden behind their home, and manage their busy household schedules. Also, Rudolf is in charge of the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz. That key piece of information comes off almost as an afterthought for the characters, who maintain a seemingly effortless sense of normalcy as the sounds of torture and death surround them at all times. The Höss home is directly adjacent to the concentration camp, separated only by a wall, but it might as well be on another planet, and the family members treat Rudolf’s responsibilities as just another job, one with stresses about transfers and internal politics. Glazer presents constant reminders of what’s really happening next door, though, thanks to the brilliant, elaborate sound design by Johnnie Burn, which layers in

30 INLANDER FEBRUARY 1, 2024

couple might have over career plans, only the boss that gunshots, screams and the ever-present churning of the inHedwig insists Rudolf appeal to about his promotion is cinerators that are working overtime to cremate the bodies Adolf Hitler. of murdered prisoners. If the Hösses reference the camp, Glazer maintains that distance from his characters both it’s only to divide up the belongings confiscated from dead emotionally and visually, often utilizing the same static Jews or to discuss technical improvements that will make camera set-ups and eschewing most close-ups. That gives the disposal of bodies more efficient. When Rudolf realizes The Zone of Interest a sense of clinical detachment, closer to that runoff from the incinerators has contaminated the a museum exhibit than a drama, which can make it more river during a peaceful fishing trip with the kids, he rushes numbing than affecting. In the final act, Glazer mostly them home without explanation, scrubbing them clean of leaves Auschwitz behind to follow Rudolf on ashes in the bathtub. his new administrative assignment within the The intention is to capture the banality THE ZONE OF SS, and the movie loses much of its unique of evil, but too often The Zone of Interest ends INTEREST perspective. up curiously bland, a dull family drama Rated PG-13 Still, that unique perspective makes the punctuated by history’s greatest atrocities Directed by Jonathan Glazer movie powerful, and it’s impressive that just offscreen. Although the Hösses are Starring Christian Friedel, Glazer can find a new way to present matebased on real people, Glazer isn’t interested Sandra Hüller rial that’s been so extensively dramatized for in their inner lives or in giving the audience decades. He’s a meticulous filmmaker who’s a greater understanding of their desires and directed only four features since 2000, and every frame motivations. The children have no distinctive personalities, of The Zone of Interest has clearly been composed with the and their parents are only slightly more developed. greatest care. Such fussiness may rob it of the visceral The most extensive interaction between Rudolf and impact of a more accessible movie like Schindler’s List, but Hedwig is a scene in which they argue about an impendthe cold, calculating approach reflects the truth about ing promotion that will send him back to Berlin, while how such horrifying acts were perpetrated with such Hedwig is determined to maintain their idyllic family life impunity. n at Auschwitz. It sounds like any other argument a married

Bones of Crows

FRIDAY | 7:00 pm

February 9

Fancy Dance The Bing

Best of the Northwest

+ FILMMAKER Q&A

8:30 pm Opening Party: Montvale Event Center

Posterize Exhibit

SATURDAY | February 10 Magic Lantern 11:00 am Animation Showcase

SUNDAY |

Hard Miles

February 11 Magic Lantern

11:00 am Richland + FILMMAKER Q&A

TUESDAY |

February 13

Magic Lantern

6:30 pm Daruma + FILMMAKER Q&A

11:30 am This Time

7:00 pm Coming Around

1:30 pm Family Affair: US Shorts

WEDNESDAY | February 14 Magic Lantern

+ FILMMAKER Q&A

2:00 pm Loteria + FILMMAKER Q&A

6:30 pm Avenue of the Giants + FILMMAKER Q&A

11:30 am No Right Way

4:00 pm Women's World: World Shorts

7:00 pm Coming of Rage: World Shorts

1:30 pm Through Indigenous Eyes

4:30 pm To Die Alone

THURSDAY |

2:00 pm Where the Rope Ends

7:00 pm Queer Lives

6:30 pm Hard Miles

7:00 pm My Love Affair with Marriage

7:00 pm Les Filles du Roi

MONDAY |

8:30 pm Closing Party

+ FILMMAKER Q&A + FILMMAKER Q&A

+ FILMMAKER Q&A

4:00 pm PNW Makers

+ FILMMAKER Q&A

4:30 pm Global Harmony + FILMMAKER Q&A

6:30 pm Bones of Crows

+ FILMMAKER Q&A

7:00 pm Punderneath It All + FILMMAKER Q&A

8:30 pm Punderneath It All + FILMMAKER Q&A

9:30 pm Fantasy A Gets a Mattress + FILMMAKER Q&A

+ FILMMAKER Q&A

February 12 Magic Lantern

6:30 pm Fancy Dance

February 15 Magic Lantern

Awards Ceremony

7:00 pm A World of Hurt and US Shorts

Virtual Screenings Some screenings are In-Person only. Some screenings are Virtual Only. Please check our site for individual title. Screenings subject to change. Please check our website for updates.

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Heart of Darkness

There’s nothing to fear about Orion and the Dark.

Orion and the Dark sees writer Charlie Kaufman smuggle in his unique sensibility to a sweet animated Netflix film BY CHASE HUTCHINSON

SEARCHABLE by Time, by Theater, or Movie

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PAGE 36 32 INLANDER FEBRUARY 1, 2024

n 2015, Charlie Kaufman wrote and directed his first just as importantly — its beauty. Sprinkled throughout are moments animated film. Nearly a decade later, Anomalisa remains one that interject into the unfolding narrative as we see the older Orion of the more underrated works in both his already essential (voiced by Fargo’s Colin Hanks) trying to reflect on these past fears filmography and the field of animation itself. Working with his covia a story so he can help his daughter process her fears. Of course, director and stop-motion animation specialist Duke Johnson, the we’ll see that she may actually be the one who is the one helping him. filmmaker revealed how our lives can become defined by a frightFor any who’ve seen his 2008 masterpiece Synecdoche, New York, ening sameness even when we are seeking an escape from it. The you’ll know that this type of framing and layers of storytelling is more same can be said about the movie industry itself, but Kaufman’s than familiar territory for Kaufman. Predictably, Orion and the Dark is many visions have always found a way to launch themselves into not quite as unrestrained as that and plays around with more familiar bold new territory. narrative elements. Namely, as has become a trend in modern animaHis latest, Orion and the Dark, is not quite on the same level as tion, it attempts to find humor by turning its many magical elements Anomalisa. For one, Kaufman is only writing the script this time into something more like a job. Where this juxtaposition has grown around, as longtime animator Sean Charmatz makes his feature rather tiresome elsewhere, Kaufman teases out plenty of clever and directing debut. On top of that, the story is based on the chilheartfelt humor from it. Much of this comes from not just better writdren’s book of the same name by Emma Yarlett. While Kaufman ing in the small character moments, but a broader willingness to make is no stranger to writing a film based on already darker existential jokes rather than recurring superficial existing material (including in often subversive winks to the adults who are watching. ORION AND ways like with 2002’s Adaptation), he has not done Though the animation is not quite as accomplished THE DARK so for something geared toward children. Thus, for as Kaufman’s writing, with some of the character Directed by Sean Charmatz anyone expecting something like his other recent designs proving to be slightly more ordinary and less Starring Jacob Tremblay, Paul Netflix film, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, it needs imaginative than the style of the original book, this Walter Hauser, Colin Hanks to be made clear at the start that this is much more can’t fully dull the vibrant emotional impact that is standard fare. There are echoes of the dream logic created. The ending shifts from being more effectively he explored in 2004’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but it is sentimental, with the reading of a poem slowing things down to land wrapped up in a more digestible package for younger audiences. an emotional gut punch, to being more unexpectedly silly when we At the same time, Kaufman still brings much to the experience as realize that a young kid has taken the wheel of the story. he peers into the literal darkness. It almost feels like the writer is talking to himself throughout the Namely, this is because Orion and the Dark is a story about film, with one line about the critical importance of truth in storytellstories. In this case, it involves a young boy who is scared of a ing shining bright in the dark. What gives Orion and the Dark its spark great many things, but mostly the dark. When Orion (voiced at is how Kaufman never forgets the way in which thoughtful stories a younger age by Room’s Jacob Tremblay) meets Dark himself can transcend generations. In a world that can be dark and scary, no (voiced by I, Tonya’s Paul Walter Hauser), he gets whisked away matter what age you are, life is just about enjoying the night while on an adventure through said darkness. It is here he’ll discover you can. For Kaufman, this ensures, when it’s time to face the greatest the other night entities that are responsible for its terror and — darkness of them all, it might just be a little less scary. n

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FEBRUARY 1, 2024 INLANDER 33

SING IT LOUD HISTORY

A local historian looks back at the songs by Black artists that made America BY JOHN HAGNEY

orning trains disgorge their commuters into the city — white men in suits. Departing trains take Black souls to service white suburban privilege. At dusk this separate and unequal ritual reverses. This was the Chicago of my youth, a city that Martin Luther King denounced as “the most segregated city of the North.” Apartheid Chicago. And so it remains. King stated that compared to Mississippi or Alabama, “I’ve never seen anything so hateful and so hostile as Chicago.” I attended an integrated high school. There I acquired a lifelong reverence for Black Literature and African American History. For many whites this curriculum was heresy. And for some, so it remains. James Baldwin and W.E.B. DuBois were classroom epiphanies, but in the cafeteria James Brown ruled. We’d spin 45s from Stax, Vee-Jay, Atlantic and Motown. By 1968 Chubby Checker’s Twist was passé. We were doing Watusi, Boogaloo, Mashed Potato and Walkin’ the Dog. It was our land of a thousand dances. At night I’d tune to WVON-AM (“Voice of Black Chicago”) on my transistor radio listening to the latest from the Temptations and Staple Singers. For me, a white kid from blue collar burbs, this music was transfiguring. Black Gospel was the traditional music of the Civil Rights Movement. The Illinois Central exodus of Great Migration refugees bequeathed us blues from Blind Lemon Jefferson to Muddy Waters. Strangers in a strange land, a dream deferred. But it was music of the children of these Southern diaspora parents that resonated in 1960s Black streets as Baldwin’s “fire next time” consumed Watts, Newark, Detroit and Chicago. I can still hear the sounds from those days of rage and audacious hope:

34 INLANDER FEBRUARY 1, 2024

“STRANGE FRUIT”

BILLIE HOLIDAY (1939)

The haunting lament about lynching reamins resonant. “Black bodies swinging in the Southern breeze.” The lyricist was Abel Meeropol, a Jewish high school teacher who taught James Baldwin and adopted Julius and Ethel Rosenberg’s sons. The last documented lynching in America was 1981. The U.S. did not formally criminalize lynching until 2022 with the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act.

“A CHANGE IS GONNA COME”

SAM COOKE (1964)

This classic came about after Cooke was refused accommodations at a whites-only Louisiana Holiday Inn. Cooke protested and was arrested for “disturbing the peace.”

“PEOPLE GET READY”

CURTIS MAYFIELD (1964)

Trains in Blues repertoire are harbingers of deliverance or despair, like Robert Johnson’s 1937 “Love in Vain.” Mayfield’s Gospel entreaty “to get on board” is a metaphor for the locomotion of civil rights.

“DANCING IN THE STREET”

MARTHA & THE VANDELLAS (1964)

In Mark Kurlansky’s 2014 book Ready for a Brand New Beat, Mickey Stevenson — the song’s Black lyricist — said it was about integration. Sure worked its magic in our high school cafeteria.

“Without music the civil rights movement would have been a bird without wings.” — John Lewis

“SHOTGUN”

JR. WALKER AND THE ALL STARS (1965)

The song draws its inspiration from a dance at Walker’s Detroit gigs. Dancers pantomimed firing guns, others doing a twitching Jerk. “Shoot ’em ’for he run now.” Is it veiled allegory about cops gunning down Blacks with impunity echoing in the shootings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky? Or it is an iteration of the traditional Blues ballads of love betrayed and avenged such as Leadbelly’s 1944 “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?”

“RESPECT”

ARETHA FRANKLIN (1967)

Etta James said the song was about the domestic violence Franklin endured. Aretha, like Tina Turner, escaped her abusive husband. “I’m about to give you all of my money / And all I’m askin’ in return honey / Is to give me my profits.” Franklin equivocated that her cover of this Otis Redding standard was only about the respect all deserved.

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“SAY IT LOUD: I’M BLACK AND I’M PROUD!”

JAMES BROWN AND THE FAMOUS FLAMES (1968)

If Aretha was the “Godmother of Soul,” Brown was its “Godfather.” His tight orchestration and stage swagger were shamanistic. By the time this was recorded, Muhammad Ali had resisted the draft to Vietnam, MLK and Robert Kennedy had been assassinated, and the Civil Rights Movement was becoming more militant. Black scholar Mark Anthony Neal contends that the song emerged from criticism of Brown by the Black Panthers that “he wasn’t Black enough.”

“WHAT’S GOING ON?”

MARVIN GAYE (1970)

Gaye was responding to Black soldiers who like his brother returned from Vietnam confronting double disgraces — fighting an “unjust imperialist war” and racial discrimination. “Don’t punish me with brutality.”

“STAND!”

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE (1969)

Sly Stone’s sense of theater was mesmerizing, as was Cynthia Robinson’s trumpet playing. The Family Stone stood out as the first major Black band to integrate with white musicians. At Woodstock, Sly emerged onto the stage like an electrified, psychedelic Mummer or Zulu sangoma exorcizing his white audience. A 2022 oral history of the band effused: “There was Black music before Sly; then there was Black music after Sly,” (For more, watch the 2021 documentary Summer of Soul.)

“THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED”

GIL SCOTT-HERON (1971)

This is Black Beat — its spoken word poetic assault on racism and capitalism as incisive as Allen Ginsberg and Amiri Baraka. As Scott-Heron implies, perhaps “the revolution” had as much to do with television as Malcolm and Martin. If a Black person lived in a ghetto, they likely could not afford the ticket to the white Norman Rockwell American Dream. But they could

see the stark, enraging difference between their poverty and the white picket fence idyllic fantasy of Leave It to Beaver. It seemed a perilous, uncrossable abyss. Consider the tribulation of Walter Younger in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun (1959). And if they labored in the suburban McMansions of the commuting Willy Lomans, they encountered an apparently halcyon existence that even few working-class whites could attain. A Chicago native son, Scott-Heron is regarded by Chuck D and other hip-hop artists as rap’s Godfather.

A kitchen and cafe training program for women and men overcoming barriers of traditional employment. Interested in training with us? Call 509-328-6702

SPACE IS THE PLACE

(ALBUM, 1973; FILM, 1974)

Sun Ra and his Arkestra would never make the WVON playlist. This is the musical wilderness, the sounds that resist the domestication of caged commerce and categories critics crave. That conceded, Chicago’s Sun Ra is regarded as an “avant-garde jazz artist,” the genre dominated by Pharaoh Sanders, Ornette Coleman, Roland Kirk, John Coltrane and Mile Davis. Sun Ra occupies a jazz subgenre hinterland called “Afrofuturism.” Afrofuturism was birthed from space exploration and sci-fi popular culture. The post-apocalyptic dystopian world of sci-fi resembled the past and present racism and despair of Black lives. And Space is the Place — the sci-fi feature film and its soundtrack — captures that. Similar to George Clinton’s Funkadelic sound, for Sun Ra the future was Pure Funk, a mystical, wildly oscillating music, its acolytes Afronauts who struggle spiritually with aliens representing racism and who colonize planets, today no less imaginable than Marcus Garvey’s “Back to Africa” movement was in the 1920s. Later I realized that the Black music I revered had been appropriated by white artists, an insidious variation of Jim Crow sharecropping. Alas, these songs are the mother of all American music. How could it be that everyone knows Led Zeppelin’s “When The Levee Breaks” but Memphis Minnie’s 1929 original is invisible? If the present derailed arc of history is to be righted on a just course, we need to be dancing in the streets. n John Hagney is a local historian who taught high school and college history for 45 years.

FEBRUARY 1, 2024 INLANDER 35

MUSIC | SOUND ADVICE

ROCK KING ROPES

hile Montana music tends to lean heavily in a country direction, Bozeman’s King Ropes proves that alternatives exist. Led by frontman Dave Hollier and his talk-singing vocals, the group plays a hybrid version of alt-rock that throws in dashes of psychedelic rock, Americana, garage and post rock. The results are on display on King Ropes fifth and most recent LP, 2022’s Super Natural. The album-opening “Greedy” sounds a bit like if Pixies tried to make an Americana track, but Black Francis was more mellow due to being surrounded by Montana’s majestic natural beauty. It’s great music for anyone that simultaneously enjoys an underlying twang and an off-kilter oddball unpredictability. — SETH SOMMERFELD King Ropes, Pit, Kneebone • Wed, Jan. 7 at 9 pm • $10 • 21+ • Baby Bar • 827 W. First Ave. • kingropesband.com

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

Thursday, 2/1

CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Thursday Night Jam CHECKERBOARD TAPROOM, Weathered Shepherds J KNITTING FACTORY, Mike Sherm J MCCRACKEN’S PUB AND BBQ, Max Malone J QQ SUSHI & KITCHEN, Just Plain Darin RED ROOM LOUNGE, Hip-Hop Night ZOLA, The Night Mayors

DARKWAVE RINGFINGER

Friday, 2/2

AK ASIAN RESTAURANT, Mel Dalton ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Dylan Hathaway J THE BIG DIPPER, Classics From The Casket: GRYN, Element X, Knothead, Dirty Savage, Hench The Entertainer, King Scrub, Mr. ERB, MCHOR, Ginjabred BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Heather King Band CHINOOK STEAK, SEAFOOD & PASTA, Kosh J THE DISTRICT BAR, Ringfinger, Wire Spine, Lost Masters J THE GRAIN SHED, Haywire IRON HORSE (CDA), Zach Cooper Band J KNITTING FACTORY, Fooz Fighters, The Colourflies, Light in Mirrors MOOSE LOUNGE, Hasenpfeffer NIGHTHAWK LOUNGE (CDA CASINO), Rock Candy

36 INLANDER FEBRUARY 1, 2024

hile goths are often easy targets for mockery, they’re really onto something when it comes to trying to find beauty in the inescapable darkness of existence. Vancouver darkwave duo luxuriates in those seductively dark corners. The duo of Mason McMorris and Hannah Dow-Kenny mix goth music aesthetics, throwback synth pop melodicism, and menacing post punk and shoegaze sounds together to craft a gorgeous bass-heavy cloud of impending gloom on the group’s 2023 debut LP In a Black Frame. So put on your finest black attire and sway dance like it’s the witching hour with Ringfinger. — SETH SOMMERFELD Ringfinger, Wire Spine, Lost Masters • Fri, Feb. 2 at 8 pm • $10 • 21+ • District Bar • 916 W. First Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Nobody Famous RED ROOM LOUNGE, Live DJs THE RIDLER PIANO BAR, Just Plain Darin THE ROCK BAR & LOUNGE, Steve Starkey J SMOKESMITH BAR-B-QUE, Live Music at Smokesmith ZOLA, Snacks at Midnight

Saturday, 2/3

J THE BIG DIPPER, Digress, St4t1k, A Ron Gubbe, Yung Kanari, Apollo, taki.taki BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Heather King Band J CAFE COCO, B CHINOOK STEAK, SEAFOOD & PASTA, Kosh

J THE HARVESTER RESTAURANT, Just Plain Darin J HUCKLEBERRY’S NATURAL MARKET, Into the Drift Duo IRON HORSE (CDA), Zach Cooper Band MOOSE LOUNGE, Hasenpfeffer NIGHTHAWK LOUNGE (CDA CASINO), Rock Candy PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, AP Collective RED ROOM LOUNGE, Live DJs ZOLA, Blake Braley

Monday, 2/5

Sunday, 2/4

J BABY BAR, King Ropes, Pit, Kneebone THE DRAFT ZONE, The Draft Zone Open Mic PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Dwayne Parsons RED ROOM LOUNGE, The Roomates

THE DISTRICT BAR, Cris Jacobs, Jake Rozier HOGFISH, Open Mic J SOUTH HILL GRILL, Just Plain Darin

EICHARDT’S PUB, Monday Night Blues Jam with John Firshi J LYYV ENTERTAINMENT, Victress Voice Open Mic RED ROOM LOUNGE, Open Mic Night

Tuesday, 2/6

LITZ’S PUB & EATERY, Shuffle Dawgs ZOLA, Jerry Lee and the Groove

Wednesday, 2/7

J TIMBERS ROADHOUSE, Cary Beare Presents J ZEEKS PIZZA, Nate Ostrander ZOLA, Justyn Priest

Coming Up ...

THE DISTRICT BAR, Moontricks, Will Evans, Feb. 8, 9 pm. CHINOOK STEAK, SEAFOOD & PASTA, Max Malone, Feb. 9 & 10, 6:30-9:30 pm. BARRISTER WINERY, The Rising, Feb. 9, 7-10 pm. THE BULL HEAD, Sunshower, Feb. 9, 8-11:59 pm. J THE BIG DIPPER, Paloma, The Ongoing Concept, Vika And The Velvets, Feb. 10, 7:30 pm.

SPOKANE TRIBE CASINO, Soul Proprietor, Rob Vaughn, Feb. 10, 8-11 pm. THE DISTRICT BAR, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Feb. 10, 9 pm. J J THE FOX THEATER, Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, Feb. 12, 7:30 pm. J KNITTING FACTORY, Fit for a King, The Devil Wears Prada, Feb. 14, 7 pm. LYYV ENTERTAINMENT, Blue Lyyte Party, Feb. 14, 7-11 pm. J TERRA BLANCA WINERY, Valentine’s Day Wine and Dancing, Feb. 14, 7-10 pm. NORTHERN QUEST CASINO, Gin Blossoms, Feb. 15, 7:30 pm. J KNITTING FACTORY, Red NOT Chili Peppers, Feb. 16, 8 pm. J BABY BAR, Che Arthur, Putty Knife, Transmit Failure, Feb. 17, 7 pm. J J THE BIG DIPPER, White Trash Romeo, Fate Defined, Sick April, Day Shadow, Feb. 17, 7:30 pm. J KNITTING FACTORY, Priscilla Block, Ryan Larkins, Feb. 17, 8 pm. J J SPOKANE TRIBE CASINO, Dropkick Murphys, Pennywise, |The Scratch, Feb. 18, 7 pm. J J KNITTING FACTORY, Silversun Pickups, Hello Mary, Feb. 18, 8 pm. J SPOKANE ARENA, TobyMac, Cory Asbury, Mac Powell, Tasha Layton, Jon Reddick, Terrian, Feb. 22, 7-9 pm. J J THE BIG DIPPER, Matt Mitchell Music Co.: Obvious Euphoria Album Release Show with The Holy Broke, Feb. 22, 7:30 pm. J THE FOX THEATER, Healing Harmonies: Eli Young Band, Ryder Grimes, Feb. 23, 7:30 pm. J J KNITTING FACTORY, Sarah Jarosz, Feb. 23, 8 pm. J THE BIG DIPPER, Xoth, Age of Nephilim, The Night We Died, Odyssey, Convergence, Feb. 24, 7:30 pm. THE DISTRICT BAR, Early Eyes, Trash Panda, Thank You I’m Sorry, Feb. 24, 8 pm. J KNITTING FACTORY, Beartooth, The Plot in You, Invent Animate, Sleep Theory, Feb. 28, 6:30 pm. J THE FOX THEATER, Tommy Emmanuel, CGP, Feb. 28, 7:30 pm. J SPOKANE TRIBE CASINO, MarchFourth Marching Band, Feb. 28, 8 pm. J THE FOX THEATER, The Black Jacket Symphony Presents: Journey’s ‘Escape’, March 1, 8 pm. J THE DISTRICT BAR, Itchy Kitty, March 1, 9 pm.

MUSIC | VENUES 219 LOUNGE • 219 N. First Ave., Sandpoint • 208-263-5673 ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS • 4705 N. Fruit Hill Rd., Spokane Valley • 509-927-9463 BABY BAR • 827 W. First Ave. • 509-847-1234 BARRISTER WINERY • 1213 W. Railroad Ave. • 509-465-3591 BEE’S KNEES WHISKY BAR • 1324 W. Lancaster Rd.., Hayden • 208-758-0558 BERSERK • 125 S. Stevens St. • 509-315-5101 THE BIG DIPPER • 171 S. Washington St. • 509-863-8098 BIGFOOT PUB • 9115 N. Division St. • 509-467-9638 BING CROSBY THEATER • 901 W. Sprague Ave. • 509-227-7638 BLACK DIAMOND • 9614 E. Sprague Ave. • 509891-8357 BOLO’S BAR & GRILL • 116 S. Best Rd., Spokane Valley • 509-891-8995 BOOMERS CLASSIC ROCK BAR • 18219 E. Appleway Ave., Spokane Valley • 509-368-9847 BUCER’S COFFEEHOUSE PUB • 201 S. Main St., Moscow • 208-596-0887 THE BULL HEAD • 10211 S. Electric St., Four Lakes • 509-838-9717 CHAN’S RED DRAGON • 1406 W. Third Ave. • 509-838-6688 COEUR D’ALENE CASINO • 37914 S. Nukwalqw St., Worley • 800-523-2464 COEUR D’ALENE CELLARS • 3890 N. Schreiber Way, Coeur d’Alene • 208-664-2336 CRUISERS BAR & GRILL • 6105 W Seltice Way, Post Falls • 208-446-7154 CURLEY’S HAUSER JUNCTION • 26433 W. Hwy. 53, Post Falls • 208-773-5816 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 LEFTBANK WINE BAR • 108 N. Washington St. • 509-315-8623 MARYHILL WINERY • 1303 W. Summit Pkwy. • 509-443-3832 THE MASON JAR • 101 F St., Cheney • 509-359-8052 MAX AT MIRABEAU • 1100 N. Sullivan Rd., Spokane Valley • 509-922-6252 MILLIE’S • 28441 Hwy 57, Priest Lake • 208-443-0510 MOOSE LOUNGE • 401 E. Sherman Ave., Coeur d’Alene • 208-664-7901 MOOTSY’S • 406 W. Sprague Ave. • 509-838-1570 NASHVILLE NORTH • 6361 W. Seltice Way, Post Falls • 208-457-9128 NORTHERN QUEST RESORT & CASINO • 100 N. Hayford Rd., Airway Heights • 877-871-6772 NYNE BAR & BISTRO • 232 W. Sprague Ave. • 509-474-1621 PEND D’OREILLE WINERY • 301 Cedar St., Sandpoint • 208-265-8545 THE PODIUM • 511 W. Dean Ave. • 509-279-7000 POST FALLS BREWING CO. • 112 N. Spokane St., Post Falls • 208-773-7301 RAZZLE’S BAR & GRILL • 10325 N. Government Way, Hayden • 208-635-5874 RED ROOM LOUNGE • 521 W. Sprague Ave. • 509-838-7613 THE RIDLER PIANO BAR • 718 W. Riverside Ave. • 509-822-7938 SEASONS OF COEUR D’ALENE • 1004 S. Perry St. • 208-664-8008 SPOKANE ARENA • 720 W. Mallon Ave. • 509-279-7000 SOUTH PERRY LANTERN • 12303 E. Trent Ave., Spokane Valley • 509-473-9098 STEAM PLANT • 159 S. Lincoln St. • 509-777-3900 STORMIN’ NORMAN’S SHIPFACED SALOON • 12303 E. Trent Ave., Spokane Valley • 509-862-4852 TRANCHE • 705 Berney Dr., Wall Walla • 509-526-3500 ZOLA • 22 W. Main Ave. • 509-624-2416

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FEBRUARY 1, 2024 INLANDER 37

THEATER MAGICAL MYSTERIES

Anastasia tells the story of a brave young girl named Anya and her quest to uncover the mysteries surrounding her past after a case of amnesia wipes away all memories. Based on the 1997 animated film of the same name, the musical follows her journey with an ex-aristocrat and a conman who convince her that she’s Anastasia, a long-lost Romanov duchess who some believe survived the actual Russian Revolution. The trio then journey to Paris to find Anastasia’s exiled grandmother. Anastasia comes to life on stage in a new local performance by the Regional Theatre of the Palouse, which has been operating in Pullman’s historic downtown since 1927. Commonly known by its acronym, RTOP works to bring a variety of Broadway shows and other beloved stories to the stage in the Palouse. — SUMMER SANDSTROM Anastasia • Feb. 8-Feb. 18; Sat-Sun at 1:30 pm and Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm • $30 • Regional Theatre of the Palouse • 122 N. Grand Ave., Pullman • rtoptheatre.org • 509-334-0750

COMMUNITY CULTURAL CONNECTIONS

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis. His death created a domino effect, spurring citizens across the United States to protest, educate themselves on the history of minorities and support Black-owned businesses in their respective communities. But the work didn’t stop after the protests ended, and almost four years later discussions are still being had on how to best support and appreciate Black communities. This open forum and discussion held at the Kenworthy theater features leadership of the Idaho Black Community Alliance, Trish J. Walker and Shari Baber. The two women will provide Moscow businesses and cultural leaders with strategies they can use to continue building bridges and foster a more inclusive and welcoming environment for the Black community. — MADISON PEARSON Creating an Environment Where Black People Can Flourish and Thrive • Sun, Feb. 4 from 7-9 pm • Free • The Kenworthy • 508 S. Main St., Moscow • kenworthy.org • 208-882-4127

38 INLANDER FEBRUARY 1, 2024

WORDS THE PEN IS MIGHTY

It’s a sentiment echoed in writing courses across the world: “Write what you know.” Write what you know, and the writing will be honest, compelling, and reach the right audience. It’s oversaid and may feel limiting to some, but it works and you’ll never know unless you try. The next great American novel — or poem — might be sitting inside your brain waiting to escape onto paper. At this poetry workshop hosted by Spark Central, local poet Stephen Pitters will tell his story of living alone on an all-white campus in 1960s Louisiana and how that experience shaped his life and inspired his work for decades to come. After Pitters’ presentation, participants will write their own poems based on lived experiences that they’ve come up against, just like Pitters has done in his books and poems. — MADISON PEARSON The Lived Experience: A Poetry Workshop • Tue, Feb. 6 from 5-7 pm • Free • Spark Central • 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. • spark-central. org • 509-279-0299

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COMMUNITY WINTER FUN

There’s nothing quite like live music, a beer garden and cornhole to raise spirits as we hit the midpoint of winter. The city of Chewelah is hosting its annual winterfest, and the whole family is encouraged to participate. Festivities kick off with an opening ceremony at 11 am and continue throughout the day. Between stops at local craft booths and food vendors, become enthralled by the finals of a skijoring competition — a race between people on skis pulled by animals! Watch (or participate!) in the Downtown Throwdown Rail Jam, for which riders slide, jump and do tricks on objects other than snow, hosted by 49 Degrees North. Or, face off against 15 other teams in a cornhole tournament, slated to begin at 12 pm. Cornhole participants are encouraged to sign up ASAP to guarantee a spot. Apart from the competitions and array of vendors, visit the beer garden or enjoy the live music and entertainment appearing at center stage. — LUCY KLEBECK Chewelah Winterfest • Sat, Feb. 3 at 11 am • All ages • Free • Main Street, Chewelah • fb.me/e/89At8zfoE • 509-954-3887

MONEY ANSWERS FOR TEXTERS WHO USE PROPER GRAMMAR.

VISUAL ARTS NEW MONTH, NEW ART

The new year is off and running, and another First Friday arts showcase is already here. The number of participating galleries is picking back up for February, including the following highlights: New Moon Gallery in the Sprague Union District is hosting a retrospective of longtime artist Jo Fyfe, who’s been teaching in the Spokane area for more than half a century. In downtown Spokane, the Gonzaga University Urban Arts Center is unveiling the 2024 Regional Student Invitational Art Exhibition, featuring art from students at GU, EWU, Whitworth, SFCC and NIC. The circular mezzanine gallery at Entropy is highlighting the work of another longtime Spokane artist, Tom Quinn, whose work is above. Quinn works mostly in acrylics and oils and frequently teaches classes at Spokane Art School. There’s also a pop-up show titled “Love is the Drug” (2203 W. Pacific Ave.), which features numerous local artists and is raising funds for a drug recovery organization. — CHEY SCOTT First Friday • Fri, Feb. 2 from 5-8 pm • Free • Spokane, locations vary • Details at firstfridayspokane.org

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the Spokane snowplows. When our snow hit, you were on the job and stayed on top of it. As my wife was shoveling our driveway one of you stopped and carefully scooped off the big pile right by the road and left with a smile. It saved 30 minutes of shoveling and made her day! Thank you so much. That said, your hydraulics might be bigger than mine, but she’s taken. NIFTY 50 KRISTINE!! Happy 50-something Mrs H.! Thanks for taking care of all the little animals (wink wink) at work! Hope you can make it back next week after all the festivities at your house.

I SAW YOU WHAT IT SAYS ... I see that you defaced, with a crude remark, a church sign on the lower South Hill. Who really is hurt by this? You or the church? HOME DEPOT LIBERTY LAKE I passed you in the electrical aisle, then you came and grabbed a couple of water bottles from the cooler right in front of me and hopped in line behind me. I was lost in my thoughts and missed my opportunity to strike up a conversation before getting pulled to a different register. Care to give me a second chance?

I SAW YOU DAMN… I wish you saw me, and wanted that. I wish I could have different colored eyes, and different everything. Be upon teeth, freedom of roses never own women. Insolent and magnificent justice under skin tenderness yet only undressed remains. Thank omnipresent youth. RE: KNOW THYSELF To the target of last week’s post: You are perfect the way you choose to be. A flower is a flower, until it becomes a fruit. Don’t stop accepting who you are just because some people aren’t able to understand. That is their problem, not yours. Stay awesome!!!

CHEERS WINTER STORM SHENANIGANS Cheers to

HAPPY BORNDAY Jackie, Happy 60-something! I knew you’d be looking here first thing, so this is your birthday card. Enjoy your day, friend! Tell your ol’ man to take you out to dinner. WHITE JEEP AT TARGET Thank you to the gentleman in the white Jeep who let me know that I had a flat tire. I worry I wasn’t at my best (the tire was the capstone on an already difficult morning), but I sincerely appreciate you being willing to take time out of your morning to let me know. CHEERS TO SPOKANIMAL STAFF! All of you work so hard every day for the well-being of so many lives. Thank you for everything you do, Stephanie, Avalon, Maddie, Melissa, Hunter and Kevin to name a few people! Keep up the hard work, you may not make a good wage, which is unfortunate, because you deserve it! Just keep passion in the forefront because Spokane Needs You! CIVILITY SHOULD MATTER Cheers to the justice system. It turns out that having a big bullhorn, violent friends, and spouting lies can indeed cost you. $83.3 million is welldeserved and just a start. A SMILE GOES A LONG WAY!! To the girl with the short spikey hair at the exit of the Spokane Valley Costco. Your smile goes a long way with having to deal with so many people! Thanks for taking the time to ask how I was, and making me think life is GREAT! You really understand that life isn’t that bad! THANK YOU! STA BUS DRIVERS Big cheers to the many bus drivers of Spokane Transit Authority getting us around town safely during the recent winter storm. Thank you for keeping us safe!

JEERS WHY WASTE MORE TALENT? Really, Spokane Valley? Spokane County needs to do things right the first time! I see they are widening Bowdish Road. Why not make it a four-lane with turning lane now, like they did University Road 12 years ago, then have to redo it in five years? I mean why spend more time and money?

“

CHURCHES AND THE HOMELESS To the sanctimonious self-righteous entry about many churches refusing to help the homeless. Maybe they heard what happened to the convention center when the city of Spokane opened its doors in

It’s bad enough we have all these giant-ass SUVs out here, it’s even worse you all treat the roads like a drag strip. RE: DEMOCRATS To answer your question, the point of having an election is to have the public elect our political representatives. That you happen to be having hallucinations of “Bigfoot on a unicorn chasing Elvis while voting for Biden” is hardly a reason to not have an election. Rather it says all

You are perfect the way you are. A flower is a flower until it becomes a fruit.

RE: KNOW THYSELF How are you gonna tell someone else who they are? You don’t live in their body. You don’t live in their head. They do. You say you’re being pressured into accepting someone else’s inner truth, like you’re the victim of their life journey. It sounds like you’re the one pressuring them to be untrue to themselves. Let them be who they want to be. Let them be who they know they are. STA BUS Jeers to the LADY that thought she could have a head-on collision with the STA bus at Argonne Road and Liberty Avenue in Millwood. It isn’t bad enough that you hit the bus, but then you decide to try and flee. The best part of your accident was the bus driver leaning over the hood of your car and showing you your license plate. You are not entitled to hit a bus and run. Please move back to California. SPOKANE SCHOOL DISTRICT LEADERS You really have the audacity to keep asking for money when you don’t listen to the voters? Maybe next time. CHEATER DAD I was at the hospital on the South Hill because my mother had surgery. I was in the cafe, taking a break, when a white-haired man next to my table began talking to me. I told him my mother was there, he said his name was Mike and he delivered supplies; he wanted to know what I was doing after visiting hours were over. I told him I wasn’t interested if he was asking me out. He said we could go to the bar across the street. I said no. When I left the cafe, I stopped by the coffee shop in the cafe, and they told me that he just got married in July, and that he had been married five

SOUND OFF 1. Visit Inlander.com/isawyou by 3 pm Monday. 2. Pick a category (I Saw You, You Saw Me, Cheers or Jeers). 3. Provide basic info: your name and email (so we know you’re real). 4. To connect via I Saw You, provide a non-identifying email to be included with your submission — like “petals327@yahoo.com,” not “j.smith@comcast.net.”

40 INLANDER FEBRUARY 1, 2024

times before and that he had cheated on his last girlfriend-to-be with his new wife. I told them I wasn’t interested in going out with a man old enough to be my dad.

a previous cold snap. Over six figures in damage because the “guests” could not control their bodily functions. Given the tone of your post, I must presume you open your doors to the unhoused on a regular basis. Anxiously awaiting your rebuttal. WHY DOES SPOKANE INSIST ON SUCKING?! This town used to have nightlife, what happened?! Nine pm on a Saturday and just about the only thing open is a drive-thru Mexican joint. Not sure how the population keeps growing when absolutely nothing worth attending is happening! You want a population to stick around, they need things to do. Bar and restaurant owners, fix this! So-called city planners won’t lift a finger, it’s up to YOU! RE: DEMOCRATS In 2020, Republicans did everything they could to stop a fair election, closing polls early, voting boxes were even burned. In 2016 and 2020 there was proven Russian interference, so this is why it’s important for Democrats to vote. And your comment about seeing Bigfoot riding a unicorn chasing Elvis reminded me that when the former president was in office, I saw a ballon shaped like a toilet, with the former president sitting on it, texting. And by the way, Biden doesn’t have criminal charges against him. SPEEDING Yes the Maple Street Bridge has a higher speed limit, but it is not a freeway, thus speeding is unallowed. I don’t care how straight it is. The speed limit on the bridge is 40, not 50, not 60, not 350. Passing does not mean you get to speed. If the car you’re trying to pass is already going the speed limit, YOU are in the wrong for speeding.

”

that needs to be said about just how out of touch with reality you happen to be. There was no serious evidence of voter fraud — it happened nowhere other than in the deluded imagination of Trump voters and some lunatic pillow salesman. Trump lost, fair and square — and if the American public has any sense of decency left, he will lose again.

CENTENNIAL TRAIL/BIKE TRAIL PARKING Dear Spokane Drivers: Have you seen those signs all over Upriver Drive along the Centennial Trail/bike trail that indicates you can’t park your car on the trail? Well, that’s what the sign means. It means you can’t park your car on the trail. This is because walkers, runners, and bikers are trying to safely walk, run, or bike on either the Centennial Trail or the bike trail. So, maybe it would be a good idea if you didn’t park your vehicle in front of the signs that indicate that you’re not supposed to park there. Duh! Duh! Dumb! Are these vehicles ever ticketed? n

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

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

EVENTS | CALENDAR

BENEFIT

CINN-A-GRAMS Surprise a loved one with a box of cinnamon rolls, a Valentine’s mug, an assortment of goodies and a personal message delivered to them. Through Feb. 14. Proceeds benefit Meals on Wheels Spokane. Through Feb. 14. $40. mowspokane.org LEADERSHIP LIGHTS THE WAY GALA This gala benefitting Leadership Spokane features silent and online auctions. Feb. 10, 6-9 pm. $125. Northern Quest Resort & Casino, 100 N. Hayford Rd. leadershipspokane.org (509-321-3639)

COMEDY

COEUR COMEDY SERIES: MARC YAFFEE WITH CHRIS JESSOP Yaffee is the costar of the Showtime special Goin’ Native, has his own Dry Bar comedy special and was named one of the 25 Indigenous Comedians to Watch by IllumiNatives magazine. Ages 21+. Feb. 1, 7-10 pm. Free. Coeur d’Alene Casino, 37914 S. Nukwalqw. cdacasino.com (208-769-2464) RANDY RAINBOW Rainbow is a musical satirist performing original songs and Broadway classics. Feb. 1, 7:30 pm. $111$176. The Fox Theater, 1001 W. Sprague Ave. foxtheaterspokane.org BRIAN REGAN Regan is a clean stand up comedian who uses sarcastic and selfdeprecating humor in his act. Feb. 7, 7:30 pm. $40-$150. The Fox Theater, 1001 W. Sprague Ave. foxtheaterspokane.org EDDIE GRIFFIN Griffin is an American stand-up comedian and actor best known for portraying Eddie Sherman in

the sitcom Malcolm & Eddie. Feb. 10, 8 pm. $35-$85. The Fox Theater, 1001 W. Sprague Ave. foxtheaterspokane.org

COMMUNITY

LEARNING CIRCLE: HISTORY & CULTURE OF UKRAINE During this learning circle, study the culture and history of our Ukrainian neighbors using free online materials. Adults. In collaboration with Thrive International. Registration is required. Thursdays from 7-8 pm through March 7. Free. scld.org VALENTINE’S DELIVERIES FROM OTTO OR RIBBY Surprise a loved one with a Valentine hand delivered to them from Spokane Indians mascots OTTO or Ribby. Choose from three packages. Through Feb. 14. $59-$149. spokaneindians.com WINTER LIGHTS An illuminated outdoor art experience featuring large-scale, light-based artworks, interactive displays and colorfully-lit sculptures. MonThu from 4-8pm, Fri-Sat from 4-9 pm through Feb. 4. Free. Downtown Coeur d’Alene. cdadowntown.com CHIC & SHAB’S 5TH BIRTHDAY PARTY A shopping event with discounts, prizes, treats and raffles. Feb. 3, 10 am-5 pm. Free. Chic & Shab, 2321 N. Monroe St. chicandshab.com (509-381-5168) EXPLORING DYSLEXIA: YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED Bring questions about dyslexia to discuss them with local experts. During this open discussion about dyslexia, all questions are welcome. Gain valuable insights in a supportive environment. Adults. Feb. 3, 1-2:30 pm. Free. Spokane Valley Library,

22 N. Herald Rd. scld.org OPEN HOUSE & CHAMPAGNE TOUR Tour the Commellini Estate with knowledgable coordinators. Tours at both 12:15 pm and 1:15 pm. Registration required. Feb. 4, 12:15 & 1:15 pm. Free. Commellini Estate, 14715 N. Dartford. commellini.com HOMEBUYER EDUCATION SEMINAR Explore all of the major aspects of the home-buying process in an unbiased format with SNAP Spokane instructors certified by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. Feb. 7, and 8 6-8:30 pm. Free. North Spokane Library, 44 E. Hawthorne Rd. intakeq.com TEEN LEADERSHIP COUNCIL Help plan programs and work on other projects with a team of other teens. Earn service hours and help build your job and/or college resume. Snacks are provided. Ages 13–18. First Wed. of every month, 5:306:30 pm through May 1. Free. Spokane Valley Library, 22 N. Herald Rd. scld.org BUILD IT: JUNIOR ENGINEERS Create cool things with straws and connectors, architecture blocks, Rigamajig building kits and other materials for your engineered creations. Grades K–5. Feb. 8, 4-5 pm. Free. Airway Heights Library, 1213 S. Lundstrom St. scld.org (509-893-8250) CANDLELIGHT SPA & WELLNESS SOIRÉE This self-care-driven event features a variety of experiences like massages, permanent jewelry, henna tattoos, palm reading and artisans selling handmade luxury items. Feb. 9, 6-9 pm. Free admission. The Lotus Spokane, 3026 E. Fifth Ave. flourishbotanicals.com CREATE A DISH GARDEN OR TERRARIUM Create a dish garden or terrarium for

your significant other with one of Ritters’ expert designers. Attendees will pay for their chosen container, plants and other materials they use during the class instore. Feb. 10, 2-3 pm. $10. Ritters Garden & Gift, 10120 N. Division St. 4ritter.com EXPERIENCE VIRTUAL REALITY Immerse yourself in virtual reality through the Oculus Quest 2 headset. Choose from a variety of experiences for your 20-minute visit to the lands of virtual reality. Adults, teens & tweens. Registration is required. Sessions are 20 minutes and scheduled every 30 minutes. Feb. 10, 2-5 pm. Free. Spokane Valley Library, 22 N. Herald Rd. scld.org (509-893-8400) PODCAST PUBLISHING Learn the essentials for podcasting in a home recording studio or at the library. Learn about various podcasting equipment and editing software and how to upload a finished podcast to various platforms as well as social media. Adults. Feb. 10, 4:30-5:30 pm. Free. Spokane Valley Library, 22 N. Herald Rd. scld.org (509-893-8400) SONS OF NORWAY CRAFT AND CULTURE FAIR A pre-Valentine’s Day craft fair featuring vendors with hand made items for sale, craft demonstrations, Norwegian food and entertainment. Feb. 10, 9 am-3 pm. Free. Trinity Lutheran Church, 812 N. Fifth St. son-cda.com

FILM

EXPO ‘74: FILMS FROM THE VAULT A selection of recently digitized film footage from the 1974 World’s Fair hosted in Spokane. Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm through Sep. 8. $7-$12. Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave.

northwestmuseum.org (509-456-3931) LEGO STOP-MOTION ANIMATION Create and edit a video of LEGO characters moving, jumping and talking to each other. Ages 8–12. Registration is required. Feb. 1, 4-5:30 pm. Free. Spokane Valley Library, 22 N. Herald Rd. scld.org SPOKANE JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL A festival featuring international films that share Jewish life and culture with the Inland Northwest. Times vary; through Feb. 8, $10-$65. Gonzaga University Jepson Center, 502 E. Boone Ave. sajfs.org EXPERIENCE PALESTINE FILM FESTIVAL This festival aims to showcase Palestine’s culture and history through a selection of films. Feb. 4, 4-6 pm. By donation. Unitarian Universalist Church, 4340 W. Whistalks Way. (509-325-6283) GHOST After a young man is murdered, his spirit stays behind to warn his lover of impending danger, with the help of a reluctant psychic. Feb. 4, 4-6 pm. $8. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main. kenworthy.org PALOUSE CULT FILM REVIVAL: BEST IN SHOW A showing of the mockumentary, Best in Show which is a behind-thescenes look into the highly competitive and cut-throat world of dog shows through the eyes of a group of ruthless dog owners. A portion of proceeds from every ticket sold is donated back to the Humane Society of the Palouse. Feb. 7, 7-9 pm. $8-$50. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. palousecultfilms.org FANTASY A GETS A MATTRESS Fantasy A, real-life autistic Seattle rapper, suffers trials and tribulations from total creeps as he attempts to become a superstar. After being kicked out of his group home onto

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EVENTS | CALENDAR the grim summer streets, Fantasy A sets off on an odyssey to achieve fame and find a good mattress to sleep on. Feb. 10, 9:30-11 pm. $11. Magic Lantern Theatre, 25 W. Main Ave. spokanefilmfestival.org (509-209-2211)

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BOOZY BOOKFAIR Bookishly Happy sets up a book fair in the Coeur d’Alene Cider taproom. A portion of sales benefits Borah Elementary’s library. All ages. Feb. 1, 3-8 pm. Free. Coeur d’ Alene Cider Co., 1327 E. Sherman Ave. cdaciderhouse.com (208-704-2160) COOKING IN THE GREENHOUSE: MEXICAN STREET CORN SALAD Chef Teague Tatsch showcases his expertise, sharing insights into his craft and celebrating the incredible flavors inspired by Sichuan cuisine. Feb. 3, 12-1 pm. $40. Ritters Garden & Gift, 10120 N. Division St. 4ritter.com SUPER BOWL SNACK ATTACK COOKING CLASS This hands-on cooking class details several snacks to make for a Super Bowl party. Advanced registration is required. Feb. 7, 5:30-7:30 pm. $30. Second Harvest, 1234 E. Front Ave. secondharvestkitchen.org DATE NIGHT DELIGHTS: LOBSTER FOR LOVERS CULINARY CLASS Under the guidance of an expert chef, learn the art of crafting a three-course meal featuring a heart beet salad, flourless chocolate cake and steak and lobster Wellington. Feb. 8, 6-8 pm. $100. Beverly’s, 115 S. Second St. beverlyscda.com (208-292-5678) BEVERLY’S SWEETHEART COUPLES DINNERS A romantic evening of food, optional wine pairings and breathtaking views of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Feb. 9, 10 and 14 from 5-7 pm and 7:30-9:30 pm. $75. Beverly’s, 115 S. Second St. beverlycda.com (208-292-5678) THE CHOCOLATE AFFAIR Wander through downtown businesses with your friends or Valentine and sample an assortment of locally hand-crafted sweet treats as they become pop-up chocolate shops. Feb. 10, 3-7 pm. $20$35. Downtown Coeur d’Alene, Sherman Ave. cdadowntown.com

MUSIC & CONCERTS

FACULTY ARTIST SERIES: YOONWHA ROH AND JIHYUN KIM The piano duo perform works by Bach, Schubert, Ravel and more. Feb. 2, 7:30-9 pm. Free. Kimbrough Music Building (WSU), WSU Pullman. music. wsu.edu (509-335-7696) THE SOUND OF (BLACK) MUSIC This production reimagines one of America’s most beloved musical classics through an Afrofuturistic lens. Feb. 6, 7:30 pm. $30-$48. Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center, 211 E. Desmet Ave. gonzaga.edu/mwpac FACULTY ARTIST SERIES: ALISA TOY This faculty concert features Alisa Toy singing selections for soprano voices and Elena Panchenko accompanying on piano. Feb. 7, 7:30-9 pm. Free. Bryan Hall Theatre, 605 Veterans Way. music.wsu.edu (509-335-7696) FACULTY ARTIST SERIES: DARRYL SINGLETON Darryl Singleton performs

a percussion concert with various collaborating artists. Feb. 9, 7:30-9 pm. free. Elson S. Floyd Cultural Center, 405 SE Spokane St. music.wsu.edu

SPORTS & OUTDOORS

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU FOLLOW THE BLOOMS? Katie Lila of Flowers For People talks about her new TV series, in which she travels to small flower farms throughout the country to find blooms and then creates interactive designs for events such as parades, art and music festivals and more. Feb. 1, 4-6 pm. Free. Shadle Library, 2111 W. Wellesley Ave. tieg.org NORTH IDAHO BOAT SHOW A tenday event featuring boating, education seminars, displays and more. Through Feb. 4; times vary. Pre-registration recommended. Free. Tobler Marina, 13400 N. Clovis Rd. northidahoboatshow.com CHEWELAH WINTERFEST This annual event features a Skijor competition, craft booths, live music and a rail jam. Feb. 3, 11 am-9 pm. Free. Chewelah. ski49n.com SPOKANE LANGLAUF The Inland Empire’s oldest cross country ski race with over 110 medals and ribbons awarded each year. Feb. 4, 10 am-2 pm. $35. Mt. Spokane State Park, 26107 N. Mt. Spokane Park Dr. spokanelanglauf.org CHEAP SKATE TUESDAYS Free skate rentals are provided with each paid admission. Tuesdays from 11 am-8 pm through Feb. 27. $6.95-$9.95. Numerica Skate Ribbon, 720 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. riverfrontspokane.org MONTHLY BIRD WALK Join a birding expert on a bird walk around Saltese Flats. These walks are aimed at identifying birds and teaching basic birding skills.First Wednesday of each month from 8 am-noon. Free. Doris Morrison Learning Center, 1330 S. Henry Rd. spokanecounty.org JAZZERCISE SPOKANE NORTH OPEN HOUSE This event introduces participants to Jazzercise with cardio classes and more. See website for full schedule. Feb. 10, 8 am-1 pm. Free. Jazzercise Spokane Fitness Center North, 521 E. Holland Ave. instagram.com/jazzercisespokane

THEATER & DANCE

FUN HOME Moving between past and present, Alison relives her childhood playing at the Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her own sexuality and her father’s hidden desires. Thu-Sat at 7 pm, Sun at 2 pm. through Feb. 18. $30-$35. Stage Left Theater, 108 W. Third Ave. stagelefttheater.org THE THORN The Thorn is an immersive show with live music, drama and aerial acts that tells the biblical story of God and the spiritual battle for all humanity. Feb. 3 and 4, 1-3 pm. $37-$97. First Interstate Center for the Arts, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. firstinterstatecenter.org (509-279-7000) ANASTASIA Pursued by a ruthless Soviet officer determined to silence her, Anya enlists the aid of a dashing con man and a lovable ex-aristocrat. Together, they embark on an epic adven-

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There’s a reason you get hungry after consuming cannabis.

HEALTH

The Science Behind the Munchies Researchers at WSU identify specific neurons explaining why cannabis makes you so snacky BY WILL MAUPIN

he murky science behind stoned snacking is coming into focus thanks to a new study from Washington State University. The study, published in December in the journal Scientific Reports, aimed to help expand our knowledge of a well-known effect of cannabis use: the munchies. Scientists at WSU, led by Jon Davis, assistant professor of neuroscience, exposed rats to cannabis, observed their food-seeking behavior and scanned their brains to learn what was causing it.

Unlike much other research into the effects of cannabis, Davis’ team used vaporized cannabis flower as opposed to injectable THC. Essentially, they hot boxed the rats to better mimic human patterns of consumption. “When we looked into the prevalence of cannabis use and what people were doing, the large majority, especially in the state of Washington, is flower use,” Davis said in an interview. After exposing the rats to the vaporized cannabis, Davis’ team presented them with food. Obviously, the

munchies kicked in. Their question was, why? “Any animal is going to want to eat the palatable food. So they’re already in a very high motivational state to get the food, no pun intended, but when you give them the cannabis, there’s even additional neurons that were never active before,” Davis said. They then worked to turn off those specific neurons. When they were deactivated, the rats did not display the same level of motivation for food after being exposed to cannabis. Knowing that, the team was able to determine that cannabis’ impact on these specific hunger neurons is at least one of the factors behind the munchies. Going forward, the hope is to utilize these findings to help people with anorexia or obesity. “We can evaluate how fast these animals can eat. We can look in their brain, determine what comes on, what doesn’t come on, and kind of triage. Say this strain over here, it’s going to be like six or eight hours before you want to eat. Versus this one, you’re going to want to eat in 30 minutes or an hour,” Davis said. Understanding which specific neurons are at play also lays a foundation for developing pharmaceutical treatments targeting those neurons. “Who knows what the future looks like? But to me, that’s at least two possibilities, right? One is to take the information and try to develop pharmaceuticals with it. The other is you just kind of help people that are already using [cannabis] no matter what but just trial-and-erroring it,” Davis said. n

FEBRUARY 1, 2024 INLANDER 43

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

NOTE TO READERS

EVENTS | CALENDAR

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

ture to help her find home, love and family. Feb 8-18; Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sat-Sun at 1:30 pm. Regional Theatre of the Palouse, 122 N. Grand Ave. rtoptheatre.org (509-334-0750) MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT Spamalot retells the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and features a bevy of beautiful show girls, not to mention cows, killer rabbits, and French people. Feb. 8-18; Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sat-Sun at 2 pm. $22-$28. Kroc Center, 1765 W. Golf Course Rd. aspirecda.com SACHA’S SUPPER CLUB: PARIS AFTER DARK This Paris-themed party features a three-course French meal and a music and dance show. Feb. 10, 6 pm. $125-$225. Historic Davenport Hotel, 10 S. Post St. davenporthotelcollection.com (509-455-8888)

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46 INLANDER FEBRUARY 1, 2024

VISUAL ARTS

LORETTA ETCHISON & MELISSA ISAACSON Loretta Etchison creates wool felted purses and decorates them with needle felting. Melissa Isaacson is a painter aiming to capture the essence of place in her work. Feb. 1-29, daily from 11 am-7 pm. Free. Pottery Place Plus, 203 N. Washington St. potteryplaceplus.com (509-327-6920) HONEST PORTRAYAL This show features to-dimensional, three-dimensional and text-based artworks made by 55 artists in the Moscow region. Mon-Fri from 8 am-5 pm through April 5. Free. Third Street Gallery, City Hall, 206 E. Third St. ci.moscow.id.us/230/ Third-Street-Gallery (208-883-7036) LOVE IS THE DRUG ART AND MUSIC POP UP SHOW An exhibit featuring work by Amy Feldt, Carrie Scozzaro, Kelsey Grafton, Valerie Van Hoomissen and Chelsea Cordova. Musician/composer Tana Bachman-Bland plays violin for a portion of the event. Accepting donations for entry, proceeds go to a local drug recovery organization. Feb. 2, 5-8 pm. Free. Off Sprague Art Salon, 2203 E. Pacific Ave. (208-659-5953) 2024 REGIONAL STUDENT INVITATIONAL ART EXHIBITION This exhibit features student art works from Gonzaga University, Eastern Washington University, Whitworth University, Spokane Falls Community College and North Idaho College. Feb. 2-March 1; Fri from 4-7 pm, Sat from 10 am-3 pm. Free. Gonzaga University Urban Arts Center, 125 S. Stevens St. gonzaga.edu/ gonzaga-university-urban-arts-center FIRST FRIDAY Art galleries and businesses across downtown Spokane and beyond host monthly receptions to showcase new displays of art. First Fridays of each month from 5-8 pm. Details at firstfridayspokane.org. Free. Spokane. TOM QUINN: STUFF AND NONSENSE, OR WHAT’S RIGHT WITH THIS PICTURE? Local artist Tom Quinn showcases new works in mostly acrylics and oils. First Friday: Feb. 2 from 5-9 pm. Regular gallery hours: Feb. 2-26; daily from 11 am-6 pm. Free. Entropy, 101 N. Stevens St. explodingstars.com HARA ALLISON: BENEATH YOUR BEAUTIFUL MAGAZINE Local photographer and magazine publisher Hara Allison showcases photographs of people featured in her magazine, Beneath Your Beautiful. Feb. 2-29,

Mon-Fri from 8 am-5 pm. Free. Chase Gallery, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. spokanearts.org (509-321-9416) HEARTBREAKER TATTOO FIRST FRIDAY Live portraits and caricatures from local artist Iris Everbloom from 5-9 pm. Tattoo and piercing specials all day. Feb. 2, 1-9 pm. Free. Heartbreaker Tattoo & Artist Co-op, 830 W. Sprague Ave. heartbreakerspokane.com JO FYFE: ARTIST, TEACHER, FRIEND A show paying tribute to Jo Fyfe, her creative spirit, her dedication to teaching and in recognition of her many accomplishments in the Spokane art community. Feb. 2- 29, Wed-Sat from 11 am-5 pm. Free. New Moon Art Gallery, 1326 E. Sprague Ave. manicmoonandmore.com (509-413-9101) MARIAH BOYLE AND DAN MCCANN Saranac Art Project members Mariah Boyle and Dan McCann exhibit new artwork. Feb. 2-25, Fri-Sat from 12-8 pm. Free. Saranac Art Projects, 25 W. Main Ave. sapgallery.org MATT LOME: REALITY & FANTASY Lome showcases illustrative paintings that are both realistic and whimsical. Feb. 2-29, Mon-Fri from 10 am-5 pm. Free. Spokane Art School, 503 E. Second Ave., Ste. B. spokaneartschool.net SPENCER JOHNSON: THE WAYS IN WHICH WE LIVE Johnson creates stone sculptures celebrating the timeless allure of stone in a contemporary context. Feb. 2-24, Thu-Sat from 4-7 pm. Free. Terrain Gallery, 628 N. Monroe St. terrainspokane.com HAROLD BALAZS: LEAVING MARKS This exhibition celebrates Balazs’ regional impact through thirty-one new additions to the museum’s permanent collection. The show focuses on Balazs’ later woks in sculpture, drawing and enamel. Feb. 3-June 3, Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm. $8-$12. Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org SARAH THOMPSON MOORE: OUTSIDE-IN This exhibition draws upon the artists’ experience reating largescale public works with visually link artowrks and remnants. Feb. 6-March. 22; Mon-Fri from 10 am-4:30 pm, Sat from 10 am-2 pm. Free. Bryan Oliver Gallery, Whitworth, 300 W. Hawthorne Ave. whitworth.edu (509-777-3258)

WORDS

SPOKANE BLACK STORIES A celebration of the relaunch of the Black Lens newspaper. Feb. 1, 7 pm. Free. Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center, 211 E. Desmet Ave. spokesman.com/northwest-passages (509-313-4776) CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE BLACK PEOPLE CAN FLOURISH AND THRIVE A forum and panel discussion featuring leadership of the Idaho Black Community Alliance. Trish J. Walker and Shari Baber aim to provide Moscow business and downtown cultural leaders with strategies they can use to continue building bridges with the Black community. Feb. 4, 7-9 pm. Free. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org (208-882-4127) THE LIVED EXPERIENCE: A POETRY WORKSHOP Stephen Pitters shares his story of living alone on an allwhite campus in Louisiana and how it inspired his work. Then, participants write their own poems Feb. 6, 5-7 pm. free. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. spark-central.org n

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conversation, perhaps 44. “Liar Liar” actress Cheri 45. Mil. plane for small runways 46. Pivot around 47. Quantities: Abbr. 49. Auto with a four-ring logo 51. Carrier based in Stockholm 52. Refuse to go quietly during a protest, say 56. Cut with an ax 57. “The Book of Boba Fett” actress Ming-Na 58. Parks at a pier 62. “Thumbs up from me!” 64. Popular song from the 2023 movie “Barbie” (and this puzzle’s theme) 68. Mount Everest is on its border 69. TV alien played by Robin Williams 70. “On the Waterfront” director

Kazan 71. Wide receiver ____ Beckham Jr. 72. Otherwise 73. Competed on “The Voice”

DOWN

1. Parks on a bus 2. Dubai dignitary 3. “The Sweetest Taboo” singer 4. Reznor of Nine Inch Nails 5. Univ. in Dallas 6. Vehicle whose letters appear in “rowboat” 7. Author Rand 8. Mexico City’s ____ de la Reforma 9. Finish for the day 10. “Both Hands” singer DiFranco 11. Hoped for events with stolen goods and lost computer data

THIS W ANSWE EEK’S I SAW RS ON YOUS

43 45

19 21

ACROSS 1. Vacation goal, for some 5. Irish Spring, e.g. 9. Segments 14. Ilhan in the House since 2019 15. Hawke in “Stranger Things” 16. “It’s the end of ____!” 17. Elvis had big ones 19. Acknowledged in the footnotes 20. Sports complex 21. “Yikes! A mouse!” 23. Stephen of “The Crying Game” 24. Person who has their ups and downs? 29. CPR pro 32. Smoothie fruit 33. Ophthalmologists call it a hordeolum 34. Bread unit 36. Hot drink dispensers 38. “If ____ catch you ...!” 41. Overcomes shyness during a

46 49

57 63

58 64

“KEN”

12. Canopy makeup 13. Egyptian president from 1970 to 1981 18. Silent movie femme fatale Theda 22. Overhead trains 25. Missed ____ (blew one’s entrance)

26. Beth Hurt and Kay Place 27. Sticky application on a baseball bat 28. Vladimir’s vetoes 29. Muppet who once testified before Congress

30. Castle defense 31. Direct criticism (at) 35. Physicist Enrico after whom element #100 is named 37. Use a Brillo pad, say 39. Quito’s land: Abbr. 40. Google Maps suggestions: Abbr. 42. Agrees (with) 43. Ye ____ Shoppe 48. Office address abbr. 50. Ideologies 52. Music label named for a pachyderm 53. Fished for congers, e.g. 54. “Sailor Moon” genre 55. Reusable shopping bags 59. Neighbor of Tex. 60. Bridle strap

61. Hiccup 63. Penn of the Harold & Kumar films 65. Gretchen of “Boardwalk Empire” 66. PSAT takers, often 67. Luau instrument, briefly

FEBRUARY 1, 2024 INLANDER 47

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