Inlander 05/06/2021

FREE SPEECH LOOK WHO’S TRYING TO CURB IT NOW PAGE 8

EARTH-SHATTERING OLYMPIA’S TWO MAJOR CLIMATE REFORMS PAGE 12

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT THE LASTING IMPACT ON LOCAL RESTAURANTS PAGE 25

MAY 6-12, 2021 | DISTILLING THE NEWS SINCE 1993

DRIN DRI N K LOCAL ISSUE

G OIN G

HARD

THE RISE OF BOOZY SELTZER PAGE 14

BEER

NEWCOMERS COCKTAILS

EYE CANDY

WINE

SPRING RELEASES

2 INLANDER MAY 6, 2021

INSIDE

Here for you Schedule Your Vaccine Appointment Today!

VOL. 28, NO. 30 | COVER PHOTO: DEREK HARRISON

COMMENT NEWS COVER STORY FOOD

5 8 14 25

FILM MUSIC EVENTS ADVICE GODDESS

28 30 32 33

All adults in the state are now eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

34 I SAW YOU 35 GREEN ZONE BULLETIN BOARD 39

EDITOR’S NOTE

I

miss it, a crowded bar full of people, full of chatter, full of music, just full, a thirst and a drive elbowing me forward, snaking my way in between and around, inadvertently coming face to face with complete strangers, a deep breath, one hand reaching in or up, a chin nod, recognition of a person with particular needs, me leaning in with a feverish sense of victory and politely shouting in the ear of the bartender: another round, please. Oh, yes, I miss it — all the more so after downing this week’s potent DRINK LOCAL stories (page 14).

Also this week: We have stories about free speech (page 8), the i-word (page 6), the Carpenters (page 30), Mortal Kombat (page 28), new environmental laws (page 12) and something called delta-8, which makes me think of 1980s Chuck Norris (page 35).

— JACOB H. FRIES, editor

Visit: multicare.org/covid19/vaccine/ Deaconess Hospital

Rockwood Clinic

Valley Hospital

spring prin pring

INTO A NEW HAYDEN HOME NEW HOMES AVAILABLE THROUGHOUT THE INLAND NORTHWEST | Visit HAYDEN-HOMES.com

Hayden Homes are marketed by New Home Star Idaho, LLC., New Home Star Washington, LLC., and Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Realty WA-HAYDEHL937BH ID-RCE-29144

BE AWARE! AWARE! PEOPLE AREN’T ILLEGAL PAGE 6

THE LONG HAUL PAGE 25

Planning some D.I.Y. projects that involve digging?

DON'T DIG INTO TROUBLE! Click www.callbeforeyoudig.org two business days before to alert utilities.

Know what’s below.

Click before you dig.

FATALITY! PAGE 28

HAPPENING THIS WEEK PAGE 32

INLANDER

SPOKANE • EASTERN WASHINGTON • NORTH IDAHO • INLANDER.COM

1227 WEST SUMMIT PARKWAY, SPOKANE, WA 99201 PHONE: 509-325-0634 | EMAIL: INFO@INLANDER.COM THE INLANDER is a locally owned, independent newspaper founded on Oct. 20, 1993. It’s printed on newsprint that is at least 50 percent recycled; please recycle THE INLANDER after you’re done with it. One copy free per person per week; extra copies are $1 each (call x226). For ADVERTISING information, email advertising@inlander.com. To have a SUBSCRIPTION mailed to you, call x213 ($50 per year). To find one of our more than 1,000 NEWSRACKS where you can pick up a paper free every Thursday, call x226 or email frankd@inlander.com. THE INLANDER is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. All contents of this newspaper are protected by United States copyright law. © 2021, Inland Publications, Inc.

MAY 6, 2021 INLANDER 3

Gifts for Mom

20% Off One Item

Wide variety of plants, flowers, garden art and more!

WestwoodGardensID.com

Fully Stocked

New Just In! Styles www.Bruttles.com 509 928-9509

Spokane Valley 12609 E. Sprague Downtown 828 W. Sprague

SUNDAY, MAY 9TH

% 15 OFF Candy for Mom

1925 N Monroe St |

(509)

598-8755 | www.atomicthreadsclothingboutique.com

Mem�able Gifts f� Mother’s Day

Unique Handmade Local 203 N. Washington Next to Aunties Bookstore 509-327-6920 • Shop Online potteryplaceplus.com

4 INLANDER MAY 6, 2021

Discount Code: MOM15 • Valid in-store & online • Expires: 05-15-21

COMMENT STAFF DIRECTORY PHONE: 509-325-0634 Ted S. McGregor Jr. (tedm@inlander.com) PUBLISHER

J. Jeremy McGregor (x224)

RARE COIN CO. Always Buying

U.S. Coins and Currency Foreign Coins and Currency Gold and Silver Jewelry Loans on Coins and Jewelry Silver, Gold and Platinum Bullion M-F 9:30am-5:15pm • Closed Saturday

GENERAL MANAGER

3190 N. Division St., Spokane, WA 99207 • (509) 327-6241

EDITORIAL

We exchange your Canadian & Foreign Coins!

Jacob H. Fries (x261) EDITOR

Dan Nailen (x239) MANAGING EDITOR/ARTS & CULTURE

ATTICUS

Chey Scott (x225) FOOD & LISTINGS EDITOR Nathan Weinbender (x250) FILM & MUSIC EDITOR

Bistango owner Reema Shaver

Derek Harrison (x248) ART DIRECTOR

Chris Frisella COPY CHIEF

Wilson Criscione (x282), Daniel Walters (x263), Samantha Wohlfeil (x234) STAFF WRITERS

Young Kwak PHOTOGRAPHER

Edmundo M. Aguilar, Amy Alkon, Will Maupin CONTRIBUTORS

Spencer Brown, Natalie Rieth INTERNS

ADVERTISING Kristi Gotzian (x215) ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Carolyn Padgham (x214) SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Mary Bookey (x216), Jeanne Inman (x235), Rich McMahon (x241), Autumn Adrian Potts (x251) Claire Price (x217), Wanda Tashoff (x222) ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Kristina Smith (x223) MARKETING DIRECTOR Houston Tilley (x247) EVENTS & PROMOTIONS ASSISTANT

PRODUCTION & SUPPORT Wayne Hunt (x232) DESIGN & PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Ali Blackwood (x228) CREATIVE LEAD

Derrick King (x238), Tom Stover (x265) SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

Frank DeCaro (x226) CIRCULATION MANAGER Travis Beck CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR

Jess Kennedy (x212) ADVERTISING SUPPORT

OPERATIONS Dee Ann Cook (x211) BUSINESS MANAGER

Kristin Wagner (x210) ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE

DEREK HARRISON PHOTO

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE LOCAL SPOT FOR HAPPY HOUR? EDITOR’S NOTE

Normally, we ask our question of the week of people we randomly encounter on the street. But with the coronavirus pandemic, we instead asked our followers on social media to share their thoughts.

STEVE GEVING: All of the happy hour drinks and appetizers at MAX at Mirabeau.

RALPH JAMESON: Ferraro’s cheese sticks! The best.

DEBORAH PERRY: Baba’s tamarind sour. Also love the sweet and sour cauliflower!

JOI LIBSACK: Elliot’s on Monroe; Cold IPA and Fried Pickles.

ASHLEY IRVINE: Bistango’s huckleberry martini.

FUN NW GIFTS • COFFEE • BOOKS • GOOD TIMES

BOO RADLEY’S HOWARD STREET • DOWNTOWN SPOKANE

Earliest Village Oval Race Track Three Very Disputed New Laws Ten Words For A Day’s Wages First School North Side of River

Fire! Close Call

KRISTINE WILLIAMS: Wild Sage and the Wild Sage (martini).

AMANDA CASTROLANG: Mine used to be the Wave. Austin’s Live Fire BBQ has great happy hour house tacos if they are still doing it.

go to

All The News That is Fit or Unfit to Print

www.fallsgazette.com

KARYN HOEKEMA WOODARD: Pre-pandemic, the Safari Room’s drinks and flatbreads are half off.

Clinkerdaggers’ customer service is amazing, and the scratch margaritas are the best I have ever had.

LARRY CEBULA: The patio at Browne’s Bistro is the finest place in Spokane to sit and drink. The outdoor patio at No-Li is spectacular.

SARAH BLAIN BAIN: It used to be Clover, but then sadly they just shut their doors.

KATHERINE ELEANOR: Half-price cocktails and flatbreads at the Safari Room — best happy hour in town. n

CONTACT US TODAY 509-747-6011 • Jobs.SpokaneWA@ExpressPros.com ExpressPros.com/SpokaneWA MAY 6, 2021 INLANDER 5

COMMENT | IMMIGRATION

One thousand three hundred miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, the Greyhound Bus Station in Spokane allowed U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents to indiscriminately target undocumented immigrants. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

Stop Saying the ‘I’ Word No human being is illegal

BY EDMUNDO M. AGUILAR

I

DELIVERED TO YO U R IN BOX

A special Inlander preview, a day early EVERY WEDNESDAY Sign up now at Inlander.com/newsletters 6 INLANDER MAY 6, 2021

have been accused of being a radical leftist professor. A self-centered academic, perched on an ivory tower, looking down on those who don’t hang on my every word.

As a critical race education scholar, my teaching is centered on transformational dialogue.

This method of teaching and learning invites my students to a deeper understanding of meaning because it gives us many different perspectives of the world we share. It intentionally centers the voices of those historically marginalized, including queer women of color, Indigenous people, Latinx, African Americans, and the working poor to name several. Consequently, if the saying that those closest to the problem are the most equipped to solve it, it is imperative we look forward to their solution.

When we pay attention to those who have been disenfranchised from our society, we open up the possibility of positive social change. For example, scholar/activist Angela Davis urged that “if this is something that you believe is important, if you really do believe that Black lives matter, the very least we can do is read, watch and listen to what has been put out into the world for us already.”

Therefore, this column isn’t about me. It’s about the devastating impact the “I” word has on brutally othering people. And anyone using the pejorative term should take a pause and listen to those who have faced the consequential horror. Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel said that “no human being is illegal. That is a contradiction in terms. Human beings can be beautiful or more beautiful… but illegal? How can a human being be illegal?”

W

hen we aren’t mindful of our intent, and subconsciously repeat the noise around us, it can have a violent impact. The recent surge in hate crimes against

the Asian community is evidence of such irresponsible use of language.

However, these transgressions aren’t new. The harmful discourse can be traced back to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Authors Wayne Au and Moé Yonamine validate the connection by stating that “the racism, the devaluing of life of Asians and Asian Americans, the dehumanizing of immigrant workers, the fetishism of — and violence toward — Asian women have been perpetuated throughout U.S. history.”

This blemished past is hardly mentioned in K-12 public schools. In the classroom, we are taught that citizenship is good, and because of this the migrant is seen as someone who is less deserving of human rights. Historian Jeff Chang says “migration is always a choice to live. The opposite of migration is not citizenship. It is containment, the condition of being unfree shared with all who are considered less than citizens.

The migrant reminds the citizen of the rights that they should be guaranteed.”

It’s much easier to use the “I” word when you’re not forced to be the other. Therefore, we should be cognizant and avoid using the harmful word altogether, because as Wiesel mentioned, “once you label a people ‘illegal,’ that is exactly what the Nazis did to Jews. You do not label a people ‘illegal.’”

When we aren’t properly educated about our U.S. history of exclusion, grounded in White supremacy, we are doomed to repeat it over and over again. Another current example is throwing undocumented babies in cages. There’s no excuse, rhyme or reason for a separation policy that forcefully ripped children from the arms of their parents. More than 700 kids had been

taken away from their caretaker and almost 450 of them are still without their loved ones today. Former President Donald Trump strongly implemented and supported this no-tolerance policy, saying, “When you prosecute the parents for coming in illegally — which should happen — you have to take the children away.”

The culpability of dehumanizing people and using the “I” word isn’t just on Republicans. It is also on Democrats. The Obama administration deported more people than any sitting president in the United States. President Joe Biden is following suit despite a promise to stop deportations during his campaign.

According to United We Dream, there have been more than 300,000 people deported under Biden within his first 100 days in office.

Former President Bill Clinton, building on the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 signed into law by Ronald Reagan, played a major role in why so many people have been forced to migrate from Latin America to the United States.

Despite the dehumanizing rhetoric perpetuated by mainstream media, immigrants seek better opportunities to find work so they can feed their families. This lack of work is because of U.S. policies like the North American Free Trade Agreement that has depleted life resources in these communities. Mexicans were promised that NAFTA would bring equitable wages similar to the U.S. and Canada. Today, because of these policies, “two million Mexicans engaged in farming lost their livelihoods and lands, tens of thousands of small businesses have gone bankrupt as American big-box retailers moved in, and poverty remains widespread,” according to the nonprofit organization Public Citizen.

Locally, these acts are more direct and easier to be seen. One thousand three hundred miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, the Greyhound Bus Station in Spokane allowed U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents to indiscriminately target undocumented immigrants on the bus by doing routine checks, according to the Associated Press.

These xenophobic sweeps have gained national attention after being caught on camera by fellow passengers. Despite discriminatory practices and human rights violations, Greyhound gave the agents permission to do these questionable searches because it is a private company. Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward praised the agents and said they were “doing an incredible service at the intermodal station when you see the arrests that they’re making with the illegals and especially in the drug trade.”

R

eferring to human beings by using the “I” word denies them their humanity. It makes it easier for people to accept laws and policies no matter how harsh and cruel. It also doesn’t help when false narratives suggest that immigrants bring crime and violence to cities, notwithstanding the rate dropping in recent years across the U.S. According to Anna Flagg of the New York Times, “The analysis found that crime went down at similar rates regardless of whether the undocumented population rose or fell.”

There are just over 10 million undocumented people living in the United States, and despite not be able to receive basic life resources because of their status, they acquiescently contribute $12 billion in taxes, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

There are many misconceptions about immigration that we need to understand before we engage in these important conversations.

Personally, I do not identify as a Democrat, a Republican, a liberal or a conservative. Whether it be inside or outside of the classroom, I try to not situate myself or any of my students in any categorical social position. You lose more freedom conforming to a polarizing idea than when you genuinely follow your heart.

Therefore, regardless of my title, I will always be in solidarity with the beautiful and more beautiful, searching for a better life. n Edmundo M. Aguilar is an adjunct professor of race and culture studies at Eastern Washington University. He earned his Ph.D. in cultural studies and social thought in education at Washington State University. His work centers on catalyzing systemic social change through documentary film and other media forms in which he critically interrogates identity and oppressive experiences.

Furnish

Your Life forLess!

S hop

IN STORE OR ONLINE

Big STOREWIDE DISCOUNTS 15%-40% OFF

OFF

with

CLEARANCE ITEMS UP TO

WalkersFurniture.com Spokane

15 E. Boone Ave. 509.326.1600

Coeur d’Alene

“Your Style... In Stock... On Sale”

7224 N. Government Way 208.762.7200

70

% OFF!

WalkersMattress.com North Division 7503 N. Division 509.489.1300

Sandpoint

210 Bonner Mall Way 208.255.5796

Spokane Valley 14214 E. Sprague 509.928.2485

Moses Lake

117 W Broadway 509.765.9766

Limited vor!

Fla Edition

GET YOUR LIFE BACK ON TRACK! Social Security Disability 50% OFF Wills • Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Spokane County, WA

509-462-0827

Chocolate Picantee!

Spicy Chocolat Cinnamon

This week only, in limited quantities

1707 W Broadway Ave, Spokane, WA 99201

FRESH, HAND-CRAFTED, UNIQUE, PEANUT & TREE-NUT FREE

DeissnerLaw.com

112 n. 4th st. • cd’a, ID 208.930.0699 abisicecream.com

MAY 6, 2021 INLANDER 7

EDUCATION

The Warriors Against

“Social Justice”

At the Idaho Capitol, Republican legislators have assailed Boise State University for its left-wing tilt, pointing to incidents like student protesters targeting a campus coffee shop last year for being too supportive of police.

Idaho activists are trying to make “equity” and “social justice” taboo on college campuses

I

t’s the kind of report that begins with a quote about good and evil from Alexander Solzhenitsyn, uses little Black Lives Matter fist logos as its bullet points and declares, in bold, that “social justice education poses a threat to education in America and to the American way of life.”

“Social Justice Ideology in Idaho Higher Education,” a December 2020 report published by the right-wing Idaho Freedom Foundation, condemns what it sees as a toxic ideology — dividing the world into “aggrieved minorities and oppressive majorities” — infesting Idaho’s college campuses. But it goes beyond merely tallying up courses that push concepts like “diversity,” “equity” and “White privilege” — it recommends a government crackdown on them.

It calls on Idaho’s Legislature to take more direct financial control of the state’s colleges, “penalizing universities that continue to emphasize social justice education” and directing them to “eliminate courses that are infused with social justice ideology.”

8 INLANDER MAY 6, 2021

BY DANIEL WALTERS Then, in the very next paragraph, without a hint of irony, the report calls for protecting free speech on college campuses, recommending the state pass model legislation from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.

But far from cheering on the report, FIRE President Adam Steinbaugh was disturbed by the direction Idaho’s conservative culture warriors have taken lately.

“It’s been really dispiriting in the last couple of months. A number of legislatures have really ramped up efforts to try to restrict speech in higher education,” says Steinbaugh. “I think the most notable approach has been in Idaho.”

This year, as the Washington Legislature passed a bill to mandate student and faculty training programs intended to eliminate “structural racism against all races,” Idaho’s lawmakers have been heading in the opposite direction, passing Freedom Foundation-inspired bills framed as combating left-wing racial justice ideology in Idaho’s universities.

In March, a legislative committee cut $409,000 from

Boise State University and outright banned any money from the state, student fees or tuition from going “to support social justice ideology student activities, clubs, events and organizations on campus.”

Steinbaugh sees a clear connection to Boise State University’s sudden decision to cancel dozens of diversityrelated classes that same month. Boise State administrators had received an unverified report of a video showing a White student being degraded or humiliated in one of the school’s core diversity-related courses.

Not knowing which class, student or teacher was involved — if any — Boise State took the radical step of canceling all 52 diversity classes in an abundance of caution. With an independent investigation underway, the classes have since restarted, but only in an online, prerecorded format.

“It comes back to administrators reacting poorly to public pressure,” Steinbaugh says. “There’s always going to be public pressure.” ...continued on page 10

YES YOU

MAY

We’ve got lots of “Mom-approved” fun so you can celebrate mom all month long!

• Shop for, or with Mom and receive a FREE UGG Gift with any $50 purchase at Windfall • Book her a La Rive Spa “Celebrate Mom Package” • Sip on a Strawberry Lemon Drop and other refreshing cocktail specials throughout the casino • Give her the break she deserves. Kids Quest offers hourly childcare and entertainment.

• Enter the $30,000 Message in a Bottle Giveaway • Or let Mom play her way with a Northern Quest Gift Card

NORTHERNQUEST.COM 877.871.6772 | SPOKANE, WA

MAY 6, 2021 INLANDER 9

NEWS | EDUCATION “THE WARRIORS AGAINST ‘SOCIAL JUSTICE’,” CONTINUED...

Let us help you with your past-due energy bill.

The Power of Compassion

The pandemic has been financially hard on many. Avista cares and is doing something about it—by providing COVID-19 debt-relief grants to help residential customers who are behind on their energy bills.

If you have a past-due balance, you may qualify to receive funds to pay some or all of what you owe.

The grants are available through September 30, 2022 or until funding runs out—whichever occurs first.

So please, call us today.

(800) 227-9187 myavista.com/assistance

That pressure is only increasing: Just last month Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin launched a committee intended to root out unAmerican activities: a “Task Force to Examine Indoctrination in Idaho Education Based on Critical Race Theory, Socialism, Communism, and Marxism.”

“It’s a real throwback to the Red Scare era,” says Steinbaugh.

Media outlets, he says, often tend to cover academic freedom through the lens of right-wing university critics. But he says the pressure to whittle away free speech rights on college campuses is bipartisan.

“Basically, everybody is trying to play ‘Capture the Censor,’” Steinbaugh says. “Everybody is trying to censor each other.”

THE TABLES TURN

Four years ago, Boise State University political science professor Scott Yenor was the one at risk of being censored.

In 2017, Yenor published a post at the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Daily Signal blog titled “Transgender Activists Are Seeking to Undermine Parental Rights” that not only hit the trans rights movement, but also gay rights and feminism as well.

Students started a petition to get him fired. A faculty member wrote a rebuttal connecting his rhetoric to the neo-Nazis marching in Charlottesville, Virginia. But while some in the Boise State faculty senate raised concerns about Yenor’s writing, ultimately he never faced any official reprimand or punishment.

The dean of Yenor’s department wrote a Facebook post that disagreed with Yenor’s column, but also fervently defended his academic freedom and the value of “robust discussions” around controversial views.

“It could have been a lot worse,” Yenor says.

Yet today, as one of the co-authors of the Idaho Freedom Foundation’s “Social Justice Ideology” manifesto, Yenor is taking aim at some of his Boise State colleagues’ own controversial views. He’s the one connecting their rhetoric to extremism, linking the “totalitarian temptations” of “social justice education” to last year’s riots in Portland, Seattle and Minneapolis.

“Giving the authorities the power to sift through classroom speech to determine whether it is ‘political’ is dangerous and chilling.”

Yenor offers a disclaimer that he doesn’t endorse the recommendations to the Idaho Legislature in the report, but he doesn’t oppose them either. He argues that pushing back against a “pernicious lie” taught in mandatory Idaho college courses is a value that supersedes academic freedom.

“The question of whether the public should fund a political agenda is a different issue from free speech,” Yenor says.

But Steinbaugh says that’s a dubious distinction to draw.

“Giving the authorities the power to sift through classroom speech to determine whether it is ‘political’ is dangerous and chilling,” Steinbaugh says. “Tying a university’s funding to a requirement that particular viewpoints be omitted is censorship.”

CRITICAL HITS

But what about in Washington state where the Legislature passed a bill requiring explicitly antiracist training courses to be mandatory on college campuses? It depends, Steinbaugh says.

They can offer a point of view, but they can’t, say, require students or faculty to proclaim that America is a racist country.

“Similar to how a high school can’t require students to stand and salute the flag in the morning, you can’t compel speech about what people believe,” Steinbaugh says.

The law’s sponsor, Washington state Sen. Emily Randall, assures the Inlander that they’re “not talking about signing a pledge

10 INLANDER MAY 6, 2021

or taking a Girl Scout’s oath.”

Yet she also indicates it’s not intended to be a “colorblind” training focused on treating everyone the same. It’s about “confronting our system that is built on the foundation of racism,” she says.

And so as she was pushing this bill, she says she got a lot of pushback referencing “critical race theory.”

“It’s a buzzword people have latched on to,” says Washington State University cultural studies professor Amir Gilmore. “A few months ago it was Dr. Seuss and Mr. Potato Head.”

“Critical race theory” goes back to the mid-1970s as legal scholars attempted to explain why so much inequality remained even after explicitly discriminatory laws were changed. Our country’s racist roots remain embedded in cracks and crevices everywhere, they concluded, and we need to find them and uproot them, not ignore them.

But even from the left, it’s an approach that can get critiLETTERS cized for focusing too much on Send comments to racism at the expense of other editor@inlander.com. factors, like gender, sexuality, or — especially — economic class. As a number of high-profile liberals — a Democratic pollster, a New York Times writer, a Slate podcaster — have lost their jobs over the past year for running afoul of changing standards in how to discuss racial issues, some have charged that critical race theory had gone from a provocative critique to new kind of cultural censorship. At other colleges, Steinbaugh says, there have been efforts to punish professors for even quoting racial slurs when discussing something relevant to the material, like a Supreme Court case or Martin Luther King Jr.’s writing.

From the right, critical race theory has long been condemned as its own form of racism, stereotyping people by the color of their skin instead of judging them as individuals. Last year, the Trump administration attempted to ban diversity training based on “critical race theory,” arguing that it was “divisive, anti-American propaganda.”

And so this year, Republican-controlled legislatures across the country tried their hands at their own bans.

On April 22, the Idaho Legislature passed a bill targeting “critical race theory.” As they debated, more than one representative accused the state’s schools and universities of “indoctrination.” Idaho Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, claimed a substitute teacher told her that the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird was being used to teach students “White people are bad and Black people are innocent victims.”

But the bill, as passed, doesn’t actually ban teaching critical race theory.

Instead, it says schools can’t direct or compel students to “personally affirm, adopt, or adhere” to ideas that it claims are “often found in critical race theory,” like the notions that one race is inherently inferior to another, should be treated worse than another, or was inherently responsible for the historical actions of that race.

But Vanessa Anthony-Stevens, a University of Idaho professor of social and cultural studies, says that’s an “inaccurate reading of critical race theory.”

“This is why this is particularly perplexing, baffling,” she says.

“This legislation looks like it supports a lot of things that I believe in.”

Compelled speech is already illegal — and unconstitutional — in Idaho schools. The new law left faculty members at both Boise State and the University of Idaho in a state of uncertainty.

“Teachers are reaching out to me and having meetings fearful about how they need to change their curriculum, and I keep telling them, ‘You don’t have to change anything,’” Anthony-Stevens says. “But they are scared, and their administrators are scared.”

The result, she says, has been a “general malaise of censorship.” One group she’s part of quickly stripped suddenly fraught words like “equity” and “social justice” from their position statements.

“It’s going to threaten minoritized groups,” Anthony-Stevens says. “It furthers a lot of the covert oppression that we’ve been struggling with throughout our history.” n

Desert Jewels Nursery • Drought Resistant Landscape Design •Hardy, Native Plants • Bee & Butterfly Pollinator-Friendly • By-Appointment Only or Curbside Pickup

IS IN THE AIR

YOUR LAWN & GARDEN AWAITS!

9809 E. Upriver Dr. (509) 893-3771

desertjewelsnursery.com

ONLINE PLANT SALE

Master Gardeners of Spokane

April 24 - May 8

Details MGFSC.org

We have Flowers!

VEGETABLES, TREES & SHRUBS

y a D ’s r e th o M r fo Black Gold Natural Organic Potting Soil

50% OFF Outdoor Pottery

1.5 CU FT BAG

10

$

2 LOCATIONS • nwseed.com

2422 E. Sprague - 534.0694 • 7302 N. Division - 484.7387

Lawn, Garden, Pets, Fish, Ponds, House Plants & Wild Birds *Customer appreciation day every Wednesday. Save 10% on all regular price merchandise.

MAY 6, 2021 INLANDER 11

NEWS | ENVIRONMENT

Oil refiners and fuel importers will have to help pay for cleaner fuels that will eventually replace gasoline under Washington’s new clean fuel standard.

Cleaner Fuel, Capping Carbon Washington lawmakers pass two major greenhouse gas reduction bills to help achieve environmental goals

BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL

F

or years, lawmakers in Olympia have considered whether Washington should implement its own cap-and-trade program on carbon emissions or require transportation fuels to be less polluting.

This session, they decided the state should do both.

The two major policies, the Clean Fuel Standard and a program putting a cap on greenhouse gas emissions and requiring clean energy investments called the Climate Commitment Act, will act in concert with one another. They’ll reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce air pollution, and require investments in cleaner buildings, electric vehicle infrastructure, and more.

Both bills need to be signed by Gov. Jay Inslee to become law. In the meantime, here are answers to some of the common questions about each.

CLEAN FUEL STANDARD

The state Department of Ecology will determine how to implement the clean fuel standard by Jan. 1, 2023, so exact details aren’t set yet. However, some of the basics are clear.

HOW DOES IT WORK? A clean fuel standard requires that in-state oil refiners and those who import oil into the state reduce the carbon intensity of their fuels by

12 INLANDER MAY 6, 2021

20 percent below 2017 levels by 2038.

To get there, they can sell cleaner fuel by changing parts of the refining process, or invest in cleaner fuels like electricity and biofuels. The legislation is “technology neutral,” with the requirement focusing on overall greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Electric utilities, in turn, can generate credits as suppliers of electric vehicle fuel, and then sell those credits to companies not meeting reductions. The utilities then need to reinvest most of the money earned from credits into electric vehicle infrastructure and in communities overburdened by pollution.

Several fuels are exempt from the rule, including fuels used for airplanes, boats, trains and military vehicles.

Special fuel used for off-road transport of logs and mining materials, as well as that used for agriculture, won’t be subject to reductions until 2028.

WHO PAYS? Polluters pay for the shift, says Vlad Gutman-Britten, the Washington director for Climate Solutions, a nonprofit that works to implement cleaner economic and environmental policies in the Pacific Northwest.

“It requires the oil industry to subsidize its replacements,” he says.

BUT WON’T GAS PRICES GO UP? If the low carbon fuel programs in California and Oregon are any indication, no. If there are increases, it may be just a few cents per gallon.

A study commissioned by Consumer Reports found that California’s cap-and-trade program, low carbon fuel standard, and several other clean transportation requirements (all of which also exist in Washington now) are actually expected to save people money. The study found that by 2030 California households will save between $1,210 and $1,530 in annual fuel costs even if fuel prices rise due to the policies.

That’s partly because vehicles (even older ones) will become more efficient, electric vehicles will be cheaper and more accessible, and vehicles will spend less time in traffic because of better public transportation and community design.

In Oregon, which doesn’t have a cap-and-trade program, the clean fuels program was estimated to add an average of 3.71 to 4.24 cents per gallon in 2020, according to the state’s Department of Environmental Quality.

Still worried about that price difference? For what it’s worth, larger differences already happen on a daily basis without the clean fuel standard in effect. A Gas Buddy search of the 10 lowest fuel prices in Spokane on Monday, May 3, found that gas at the Newport Highway Costco was $2.93 while a Texaco on N. Ash was at $3.05 a gallon. Go to the Valley and you find gas prices of $3.15 on the same day. Deer Park? You’re talking $3.35.

“The oil industry bases its prices based on what it thinks it can sell things to you for,” Gutman-Britten says.

“It’s not because there’s a clean fuel standard down the road.”

DOES IT WORK? Yes. California, which started its program in 2011, has seen overcompliance, with more than 14 million metric tons of carbon pollution reduced in 2019.

WHO WANTED THIS? This was the third year the clean fuel standard was promoted by the Environmental Priorities Coalition, a group of more than 20 environmental organizations that work to pass legislation in Washington each year.

CAP AND TRADE INVEST

While that environmental coalition typically chooses one to three major priorities to work toward each session, the Climate Commitment Act, which creates a new “cap-and-invest” program, was not one of the major priorities they planned to push this year.

The new rule requires greenhouse gas emission reductions and will use money spent on allowances – basically credit bought at auction by those who don’t reach their required reductions – to invest in projects that will further reduce emissions and transition the state to a clean energy economy.

However, the policy requested by Gov. Inslee aligned with the goal of multiple groups to pass some sort of price on carbon, says Rebecca Ponzio, the climate and fossil fuel program director for Washington Environmental Council.

WHO DOES IT AFFECT? The clean fuel standard and the cap-and-invest programs will complement each other. “[The clean fuel standard] addresses the fuel piece of transportation, which is an important source of not only greenhouse gas emissions, but air pollution as well,” Ponzio says. “The Climate Commitment Act establishes an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

While the fuel standard will largely affect oil companies, the cap-and-invest program will affect large polluters of all kinds across the state. At a minimum, those who emit more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (or the equivalent level of greenhouse gases) each year have to comply, but others can voluntarily participate.

HOW DOES IT WORK? Ecology will need to set up program rules and design a marketplace for credits and allowances, as well as establish limits that will need to be met by polluters once the program starts Jan. 1, 2023.

As a state, lawmakers have required greenhouse gas emissions be reduced 95 percent from 1990 levels by 2050.

Companies that can’t reduce their emissions fast enough will be allowed to bid on allowances built up from savings elsewhere in the state. That auction will get smaller and more competitive each year, forcing reductions.

WHAT DOES IT REDUCE? Carbon dioxide isn’t the only pollutant regulated under the Clean Air Act, and others will be reduced as air quality improvements are made.

This new rule requires less particulate matter from other pollutants, and provides investments in communities that bear the brunt of air pollution, which are often those closest to refineries and major transportation hubs. Low-income people and communities of color are disproportionately affected.

“One thing that we worked really hard on in that bill was to learn lessons from California’s program,” Ponzio says. “Something I think is really important about the Climate Commitment Act is it includes specific provisions to reduce airborne pollutants in overburdened communities.”

The bill creates and pays for an air monitoring network enabling regional air agencies to better find the sources of the worst air issues in their area and increasing their authority to address those problems.

WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO? The proceeds from the state’s auction of allowances go into three major accounts.

First, the Carbon Emissions Reductions Account will receive up to $5.2 billion over the first 16 years of the program to fund transportation projects that reduce carbon emissions.

Second, the Air Quality and Health Disparities Improvement Account will get at least $20 million per biennium to pay for the air monitoring network and pollution reduction.

The rest of the money goes into the Climate Investment account. At least 35 percent of this account’s investments need to benefit vulnerable populations, while at least 10 percent of investments need to be for projects, activities or programs formally supported by a tribal government. This account will help invest in things like growth management, land management, low carbon building, fossil fuel worker career transition, renewable energy sources, restoring watersheds and fisheries, carbon sequestration, healthy forests and more. n samanthaw@inlander.com

PROUDLY SERVES LOCAL BEER, WINE, & SPIRITS

NOLI BREWING

DRY FLY WHISKEY

SUMMIT CIDER

& MORE! COME ENJOY TODAY MAY 6, 2021 INLANDER 13

K N I R D L A C O L ANOTHER ROUND After the past year, most of us could use a drink. Whether to celebrate a new vaccination or (finally!) a gathering with friends or family, a glass, bottle or can would go down nicely right about now. The Inland Northwest’s wineries, distilleries, cideries and breweries are here to help, and in this year’s Drink Local section, you’ll learn how hard seltzer got normalized, how local vintners navigated the pandemic and where you can get a proper celebratory cocktail, among other things. Dig in, tip one back, and enjoy!

— DAN NAILEN, ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

14 INLANDER APRIL 6, 2021

A NEW

STYLE

H

Four-Eyed Guys and other local craft breweries embrace the rise of hard seltzer

BY DEREK HARRISON

ard seltzer is here to stay. Just ask Alex Rausch, owner and brewer at FourEyed Guys Brewing Co. “At first it looked like a short trend, but now I don’t think it’s going anywhere,” Rausch says. “I can see it being around forever.”

The rise of the clear and bubbly alcoholic beverage may seem like it came out of nowhere, but its popularity has been brewing for decades. It’s really just the latest evolution of similar malt beverages — consider the success of wine coolers and Coors’ Zima in the ’90s.

White Claw, one of the first major hard seltzer brands to hit shelves five years ago, dominates the market today and is owned

by Mark Anthony Brands InterOwners Hillary and Alex Rausch at the seltzer-inclusive Four-Eyed Guys Brewing Co. DEREK HARRISON PHOTOS national — notably the makers of Mike’s Hard Lemonade.

The country’s major commercial breweries have also jumped ter. Seltzer takes up five of his brewery’s 13 current taps — alongon the seltzer hype train. From Michelob Ultra to PBR, seemside beers such as pilsner, hazy IPA and a tropical banana sour. ingly every major alcohol company has added seltzer in one form He’s also used the time to explore unique flavor combinaor another to its lineup. Truly, the second-biggest brand in hard tions. His current seltzer offerings include raspberry ginger, seltzer, is owned by the Boston Beer Company. orange, lemon lavender, coconut and orange lime. At 6 percent In Spokane, Rausch says if there’s something to learn from alcohol by volume, they’re all a lot lighter than his first attempt. big beer, it’s that they know when something is just a fad versus a Four-Eyed Guys isn’t the only Spokane brewery wanting to genuine shift in the drinking culture. Seltzer, he says, is the latter. dip their toes into seltzer.

The past couple years show that many craft brewers agree “People want to drink them, and people want to make them,” with Rausch. Turns out, much like big beer, craft breweries can’t Rausch says. “I’ve had breweries come ask me about the process.” ignore the success of hard seltzer. It’s no surprise given that the They’re also not the first. process is somewhat similar to brewing beer. It’s considered by No-Li Brewhouse, by far the Inland Northwest’s largest commany a healthier alternative to beer. And, it’s popularity is growmercial brewery, was the first in the region to become dedicated ing. to seltzer. It launched the Day Fade line of hard seltzers early in When Rausch and his wife, Hillary, opened Four-Eyed Guys 2019. The brand suitingly began with a huckleberry flavor, and last November, they knew they wanted to have seltzer options on has since expanded to four varieties, adding black cherry, mango tap. They both enjoy seltzer themselves, but they also know not and huckleberry lemonade. Available at select grocery stores everyone wants to just drink beer in 2021. throughout the area, each drink clocks in at 5 percent alcohol by “It’s just a good, clean drink. It finishes easy,” he explains. volume, two carbs and 100 calories.

“It’s lower in calories than beer. It’s a drink that doesn’t make you Genus Brewing in Spokane Valley started making seltzers in feel as full as beer. For me, it’s like eating sushi versus a ham2020. Rausch actually credits owner Peter McArthur for helping burger.”

Four-Eyed Guys get into the seltzer game. On top of that, the Adding seltzer to his brewing repertoire wasn’t an easy task brewery and supply shop also posted a video to its popular Youfor Rausch. He says the first batch came out completely wrong: “I Tube channel last month explaining the seltzer-making process. think it ended up being 11 percent [alcohol by volume] somehow, Other microbreweries have also explored brewing seltzer, and it just tasted terrible.” It wasn’t a total failure, though. He though for most it’s on an experimental basis. You can find the took it as a valuable lesson learned. fruity concoctions at Brick West Brewing Co. (Lemon n’ Lime “It’s definitely a learning curve,” he adds.

Hard Seltzer), Spokane Valley’s Millwood Brewing Company Today, after a lot of research and some experience, Rausch (Conley’s Raspberry Hard Seltzer) and Coeur d’Alene’s Paragon has gotten a pretty good hang of crafting the fermented sugar waBrewing (Starfruit Hard Seltzer). n

INSIDE

LOCAL BREWERY OPENINGS DURING THE PANDEMIC

The past year has been rough for everyone, especially those in the hospitality industry. The challenges presented from the COVID-19 shutdown slowed down beer sales for many of the region’s craft breweries, but it still didn’t halt the growing number of micro and nano breweries opening around the Inland Northwest.

SNOW EATER BREWING COMPANY

A month into the pandemic, Liberty Lake finally saw the opening of its first brewery. Erin and Richard Whitney have been building the brewery in a business park located at 2325 N. McKenzie for four years. The space was built from the ground up and is home now to a 10-barrel brewing system. It’s been more than a year since they opened their doors, and the brewery taproom serves 21 taps of beer and cider along with a selection of local wine.

PARAMOUR BREWING CO.

Late last year, head brewer and owner Anthony Patterson launched Paramour Brewing Co. Patterson’s new venture comes after more than a decade of homebrewing. He started hosting “meet the brewer” events at bars and bottle shops last October, and since then his self-distrubuted beer has popped up from Cheney to Sandpoint. Paramour is also the latest of several local breweries to set up its homebase out of Bellwether Brewing.

HOP CHAOS BREWING COMPANY

At the start of the year, Pints Alehouse owner Derek Quist started to rebrand his business after nine years of operation. The North Spokane business has transformed into Hop Chaos Brewing Company. Originally a bar serving craft beer and wine, it’s now the taproom for Quist’s nanobrewery three miles away. With three Hop Chaos beers currently on tap, the space at 10115 N. Newport Highway still relies for now on guest beers and wine.

— DEREK HARRISON

LIQUOR REGULATIONS 16 SPRING RELEASE WEEKEND 18 CELEBRATORY DRINKS 20 BEAUTIFUL COCKTAILS 21 STAFF FAVES 22 APRIL 6, 2021 INLANDER 15

D RI N K LO CA L

LOOSENING INHIBITIONS Will Washington state preserve some of the looser liquor regulations bars were granted during the pandemic — or will they be cut off? BY DANIEL WALTERS

I

f there was a silver lining for bars and restaurants during the past year it was this: While the pandemic caused massive restrictions to be imposed on the hospitality industry, the kind that bankrupted a lot of businesses, it also caused a few more-minor restrictions to be loosened.

Take the Volstead Act, for example, a local bar named after the law that banned alcohol.

After COVID-19 hit, that name became more literal than planned.

While the Volstead Act could sell food to go, their signature cocktails had been ruled effectively illegal. Existing liquor regulations in Washington state were a little old fashioned: You could buy sealed liquor bottles, but not purchase cocktails for takeout.

And at a point when restaurants could only sell takeout, that meant that a major source of revenue for restaurants was taken off the table.

But last May, after being petitioned by the hospitality industry in cities like Spokane, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board granted bars and restaurants a small mercy.

“Instead of offering them dessert or coffee, we can now offer them cocktails to go,” says

16 INLANDER APRIL 6, 2021

Matthew Goodwin, owner of the Volstead Act. “Is it a game changer? No. Is it a huge boost to the bottom line? No. But the restaurant industry works on a really small margin, and alcohol is one of our best margin products. So it definitely helps make a little more money.”

But now that the pandemic is — slowly — coming to an end, it’s raised a big question: Was there actually a good reason for those regulations? Did it ever make sense to let somebody buy a bottle of vodka at a grocery store but ban them from buying a sealed Manhattan from a local bar?

Maybe not, thought Rep. Shelley Kloba, D-Kirkland. She sponsored a bill that passed the Legislature this session extending the ability for Washington state bars and restaurants to sell cocktails to go for two years. She says that some legislators were wary of eliminating the regulation entirely, reasoning that there had to be some reason why that rule existed.

“What is it that we’re missing?” Kloba said.

“Is there something we were trying to protect against, by having that in place?”

So in the next two years, the liquor control

Play where the big winners play.

Pay It Forward Monitor Bingo!

If your number is on the monitor when someone gets Bingo, you’ll win $100. Regular games only.

Matinee Regular Bingo

May 2021

SUN

Regular Bingo

MON

Monday Night Bingo

May 21ST – May 24TH FRI

$5 Buy-in Regular games pay $1,000 (minimum electronic buy-in $25)

May 1ST – May 3RD SAT

Pay It Forward Monitor Bingo!

If your number is on the monitor when someone gets Bingo, you’ll win $100. Regular games only.

Matinee Regular Bingo

SUN

Regular Bingo

MON

Monday Night Bingo

May 7 – May 10 TH

FRI

TH

Pay It Forward Monitor Bingo!

If your number is on the monitor when someone gets Bingo, you’ll win $100. Regular games only.

Matinee Regular Bingo

SUN

Regular Bingo

MON

Monday Night Bingo

May 28TH – May 31ST

$5 Buy-in

FRI

Regular games pay $1,000 (minimum electronic buy-in $25) SAT

SAT

Pay It Forward Monitor Bingo!

If your number is on the monitor when someone gets Bingo, you’ll win $100. Regular games only.

$5 Buy-in Regular games pay $1,000 (minimum electronic buy-in $25)

SAT

Pay It Forward Monitor Bingo!

If your number is on the monitor when someone gets Bingo, you’ll win $100. Regular games only.

Matinee

Matinee

Regular Bingo SUN

MON

Roman (facing page), the general manager at Volstead Act, caps a bottle for a to-go Negroni (above). YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS board will be studying the issue, trying to understand if it, say, increased drunken-driving deaths or underage drinking. Kloba is skeptical it will.

“I don’t think that this changes much about drunk driving,” she says. “[But] I want to have some evidence of that.”

Kloba says the Legislature also eliminated next year’s liquor’s license fee and gave a 50 percent discount for a year after that, an attempt to give bars and restaurants “a longer ramp to get back into the swing of things.”

In other cases, the help came from local governments like Spokane that tried to speed up the permitting process for parklets and streeteries to pave the way for more outdoor dining. City Councilwoman Lori Kinnear says she expects that faster process to stick around.

She also says that she contacted the liquor control board last year to see if they would help to make things more efficient. They not only helped with permitting, Kinnear says, they said that they would relax some of the regulations around serving alcohol outdoors, like the rules around fencing or how far away you’re allowed to serve alcohol from the entrance.

“As it turned out, some of the restaurants said it’s really not increasing our bottom line, because we have to hire more staff to serve outdoors,” Kinnear says.

Still, the flexibility highlights why some restaurant owners feel that the liquor board, typically the body that dings and punishes bars for mistakes, has actually been pretty cool during the pandemic.

“They’ve been working with us to get through this as opposed to coming down with an iron fist or coming down hard on us,” Goodwin says. “I’m genuinely surprised and impressed with how great they’ve handled this.” n

Mother’s Day Bingo Play Bingo with us this Mother’s Day and receive a FREE Mother’s Day Dauber at admissions.

Plus, you’ll be entered to win one of 10 $100 Spa Ssakwa’q’n Gift Certificates.

Regular Bingo SUN

Regular Bingo

MON*

$40,000 Memorial Day Bingo $10,000 must go during our Coeur d’Alene Progressive Game. ($7,000/$3,000 split)

Monday Night Bingo

Plus, when someone gets Bingo on a regular game, we’ll play on for a second Bingo!

May 14TH – May 17TH FRI

Attendance will be limited to follow social distancing requirements.

$5 Buy-in Regular games pay $1,000 (minimum electronic buy-in $25)

SAT

Armed Forces Day As a thank you for your service, please enjoy $5 off at admissions with your military or VA ID.

REGULAR

FRI | SAT | *MON SUN

SATURDAY MATINEE

Admissions open Session begins

4 PM 6 PM

Admissions open Session begins

11 AM 1 PM

11 AM NOON

See the Bingo Venue for more details. *Monday Night Bingo is matinee-style. **Monday, May 31ST Admissions opens at 11 AM | Session begins at 1 PM

W E LC O M E H O M E .

CASINO | HOTEL | DINING SPA | CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF 3 7 9 1 4 S O U T H N U K WA LQ W • W O R L E Y, I D A H O 8 3 8 7 6 1 800-523-2464 • CDACASINO.COM

APRIL 6, 2021 INLANDER 17

D RI N K LO CA L

Latah Creek Winery's Natalie Barnes is anxious to talk wine again.

SPRINGING BACK N

Regional wineries team up for Spring Release Weekend after a challenge-filled year BY CHEY SCOTT

o sector of the hospitality industry was left untouched by COVID-19. Wineries across the Inland Northwest faced a range of issues related to the pandemic, from figuring out how to sample and sell wine when tasting rooms were ordered closed to navigating special rules on outdoor seating and requirements that all alcohol-serving establishments offer food.

Since passing the pandemic’s one-year anniversary, however, the future’s looking brighter and wineries are eager to make a comeback.

For the 17 members of the Spokane Winery Association, that road to recovery is symbolized by the return of the annual Spring Release Weekend, happening May 7-9.

After last year’s event was canceled, as well as the association’s annual holiday tasting festival and many other events its members are involved with, a lot’s been missed, says Spokane Winery Association board President Natalie Barnes, who’s also co-owner of Latah Creek Winery in Spokane Valley.

“I think the most difficult part of COVID is that Spokane has such a wonderful wine community, and you really weren’t able to see any of it, because people weren’t coming in because we couldn’t have them in,” Barnes says.

“You just missed connecting with and seeing everyone and being able to chat about the latest releases and anything else.”

Now that businesses are well-equipped to host safe, socially distanced events, this year’s Spring Release Weekend will mark the first time many wine lovers in the region have been out to their favorite spots since the pandemic hit.

This year’s event format will feel a little different, Barnes says. At Latah Creek, which

18 INLANDER APRIL 6, 2021

YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

she operates with her parents Mike and Ellena Conway, for example, tables will be spaced throughout the winery’s tasting room, patio, gift shop and even among its wine tanks and cases. Instead of customers being able to mingle while sampling wine and food from a buffet, all service will be tableside, she adds.

With these details in mind, Barnes suggests guests call ahead to wineries they plan to visit during the three-day event to check if they’re at capacity or not. Some wineries are also open earlier or later than the event’s designated hours of noon to 5 pm.

“All the wineries are really excited to get back out there and taste their wines and get excitement going for the new wines coming out of the region,” Barnes says.

D

espite the many challenges wineries have faced throughout the pandemic, unwavering support from the community has been a major boon, says Barrister Winery co-owner and winemaker Greg Lipsker.

“The support from the community has just been overwhelming,” Lipsker says. “And you know, the retail sales [of wine] locally have also picked up because so many people are at home now, and they’re able to go to the store and pick up some Barrister wine and enjoy a bottle at home.”

Starting last spring, Barrister began offering local home delivery for customers who place orders by phone or online. Since the option has proven so popular with its customers, Lipsker says it’ll now be a permanent feature.

For Spring Release Weekend, Barrister is debuting two new wines, a 2017 merlot and 2017 petit verdot. It’s also showcasing its recent double gold and best of class-winning cabernet

SPRING RELEASE WEEKEND’S PARTICIPATING WINERIES Arbor Crest Wine Cellars Barili Cellars Barrister Winery Bridge Press Cellars Cougar Crest Winery Craftsman Cellars Helix Wines Latah Creek Wine Cellars Liberty Lake Wine Cellars Maryhill Winery Overbluff Cellars Robert Karl Cellars Terra Blanca Thomas Clare Cellars Townshend Cellar Winescape Event map and details at SpokaneWineries.com

franc, which took the honors at the recent San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

For wineries like Barrister in the downtown Spokane core, along with several smaller, satellite tasting rooms for Central Washingtonbased wineries, warmer weather and a return to patio service have helped bring back customers.

Tri-Cities-based Terra Blanca Winery’s downtown tasting room in the Chronicle Building, for example, struggled to keep up with changing statewide regulations last winter, and largely relied on virtual wine tastings and offering specials to wine club members to make sales, says its manager Autumn Barnett. Openair dining was unsustainable during freezing temperatures, but now the tasting room’s large patio is open again.

“We’ve seen an increase in people coming out, and we brought our patio furniture back out early because some people still only feel comfortable sitting outside,” Barnett says. “As vaccine rates have increased, we’ve had people who haven’t been out of their house in a year.

People are so excited to be out, they always let you know if they’ve been vaccinated.”

Barnett and fellow winery leaders are hopeful that Spring Release Weekend’s return helps boost the upcoming summer season for all of the region’s wineries after a year of highs and lows.

“This is our coming-out-of-hibernation event,” she says. “We’re encouraging people to come out and taste.” n Spring Release Weekend • Fri, May 7 through Sun, May 9 from 12-5 pm each day (some wineries offer extended hours) • Free to attend; tasting costs vary • spokanewineries.com

THREE PEAKS KITCHEN BAR

+

CELEBRATE MOM WITH A SPECIAL BRUNCH! THREE PEAKS KITCHEN + BAR SUNDAY, MAY 9 | 9AM – 3PM

spokanetribecasino.com

#YouJustWinHere

APRIL 6, 2021 INLANDER 19

D RI N K LO CA L

RAISING A TOAST Some options for emerging from a pandemic in the tastiest way possible BY DAN NAILEN AND NATHAN WEINBENDER

T

he pandemic’s been rough for everyone, and people are re-entering our new reality at different paces, depending on their vaccination status and comfort around crowds. No matter when that happens, it seems reasonable that you’d want to celebrate with something special in your glass. Whether that means something extravagantly expensive or just a personal favorite local cocktail is up to you, but we have some suggestions.

WOODINVILLE SMOKED MANHATTAN ($16)

1898 PUBLIC HOUSE, 2010 W. WAIKIKI RD. 1898 Public House just feels special. The restaurant abutting the Kalispel Golf & Country Club, first established as the Spokane Country Club in 1898, has killer views of towering trees and lush fairways that run up to the Little Spokane River. And the food menu ranges from pricey seafood and steaks to utterly reasonable sandwiches and salads. Whether or not you’re eating, a trip to 1898 for a cocktail is a worthy endeavor, and the Woodinville Smoked Manhattan is a celebration in a glass for bourbon lovers. The west side distillery makes a mighty bourbon, and this version of a Manhattan includes house bitters infused with applewood smoke, along with sweet vermouth and Luxardo cherries. (DN)

HAIR OF THE DOG BLOODY MARY ($20)

BARK, A RESCUE PUB, 905 N. WASHINGTON ST. Maybe you adopted a pandemic puppy in the last year, or maybe you’ve finally decided that it’s time for one. Head to Bark, A Rescue Pub, which not only offers up pub grub and libations but gives patrons a chance to adopt dogs and cats through the Spokane Humane Society. If you do happen to find your own furry friend, you can celebrate with Bark’s appropriately titled Hair of the Dog Bloody Mary, a signature menu item that’s adorned with enough fried condiments to serve as an appetizer unto itself. The drink is topped with pickled jalapeno, asparagus and cucumber, green olives, celery, pepperoncinis and a fried pickle. Oh, there’s more — shrimp, breakfast sausages, tater tots seasoned with salt and vinegar, and a chicken and waffle slider. Throw in a treat for your new four-pawed family member. (NW)

HENRIOT BRUT SOUVERAIN NV CHAMPAGNE BLEND ($50/TWO-GLASS BOTTLE)

BEVERLY’S, 115 S. SECOND ST., COEUR D’ALENE A wise woman once told me, “It’s always a celebration when you have bubbles on hand.” If we’re talking about a serious celebration, we’re going out to somewhere nice, and there are few places that feel more upscale than Beverly’s at the Coeur d’Alene Resort. They have an insane wine selection, but we’re sticking with bubbles, and we’re going for champagne. You know, as in, from Champagne, France. The idea of clinking glasses of this highly regarded champagne — “perfumed with delicious apple and peach fruits” according to Wine Enthusiast — at a table overlooking gorgeous Lake Coeur d’Alene seems like a dream after the past year. (DN)

MEZCAL BLOOD & SAND ($11)

MIZUNA, 214 N. HOWARD ST. Few spots in Spokane make one feel more urbane than Mizuna. The restaurant’s interior offers intimacy as well as a cheerful-if-subdued atmosphere, and the menu

20 INLANDER APRIL 6, 2021

offers delights throughout. You can say the same for its cocktail list. Popping into Mizuna for a drink before a play or concert was a staple activity for me before the pandemic; a return visit to celebrate the world reopening seems in order, too.

The Mezcal Blood & Sand is a refreshing delight, the smoky mezcal flavor offset by the sweet blood orange juice and Luxardo cherry liqueur. Mezcal isn’t for everyone, but if it’s a flavor you enjoy, this drink is for you. (DN)

the Remy Martin company can cost $2,000 a bottle.

A half-ounce pour here will set you back $125, and a two-ounce pour is $350. I can only guess that it tastes amazing. (DN)

THE KALISPEL ROYAL ($120)

MASSELOW’S STEAKHOUSE, 100 N. HAYFORD RD., AIRWAY HEIGHTS Any time you walk through the doors of Northern Quest Resort & Casino, you’re offered ample opportunity to splurge. If you happen to be playing the slots and

GREYHOUND ($8)

BABY BAR, 827 W. FIRST AVE. After a long, slow 2020, bars are starting to welcome customers again, and the reopening of downtown mainstay Baby Bar and its attached restaurant, Neato Burrito, was highly anticipated by local foodies and cocktail lovers alike.

It’s been a go-to late-night hangout for years, whether you’re grabbing a takeout quesadilla following a concert or knocking back a few rounds of PBR after a movie. But any regular knows that the signature Baby Bar cocktail is a greyhound, made with fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice, salt-rimmed glass optional. The drink works with either vodka or gin, and Baby Bar drink slinger extraordinaire Patty Tully prefers Seagrams brands (though Tito’s vodka or Opihr gin are worthy substitutes). Maybe you want to commemorate your recent vaccination, or simply raise a glass to the return of a beloved institution. (NW)

LOUIS XIII COGNAC ($200/OUNCE)

CHINOOK CRAFTED BY CHEF ADAM HEGSTED, 37914 S. NUKWALQW, WORLEY, IDAHO Casinos are legendary for having some insanely expensive options available for the high rollers who want to celebrate a big slot machine jackpot or roll of the dice.

If you want to treat leaving the house as your jackpot, head to this restaurant inside Coeur d’Alene Casino and throw down for this cognac blend that includes some parts more than 100 years old. Cognac is a brandy made from grapes, and this ultra-rare brand made by

The Kalispel Royal at Masselow’s Steakhouse.

COURTESY PHOTO

end up striking it rich, then you might be looking for a way to celebrate and indulge. In that case, we recommend you head over to Masselow’s Steakhouse, which has a number of splurge-worthy cocktails, but none more decadent than the Kalispel Royal. It isn’t listed on the menu proper, but the bartenders are happy to indulge you if you ask for it. What makes it so divine?

It’s made with the aforementioned Louis XIII cognac, Hibiki whiskey that’s aged 21 years (hey, old enough to buy a Kalispel Royal!) and Carpano Antica vermouth, and mixed with grapefruit bitters and honey. The finished product is a little sweet and a little acidic, and bursting with notes of citrus and vanilla. It’s for serious high rollers only. (NW) n

EYE Y D N A C These beautiful cocktails look as great as they taste

BY NATALIE RIETH AND SPENCER BROWN A Chile Mango Pineapple Margarita Aguas Fresca at Cochinito Taqueria.

MARGARITAS AGUAS FRESCAS ($9)

COCHINITO TAQUERIA, 10 N. POST ST. No drink radiates summer greater than a fresh, fruity margarita. Cochinito Taqueria’s Margaritas Aguas Frescas combines the original Cochinito margarita — a combination of El Jimador Silver tequila, fresh squeezed lime, simple syrup and triple sec — with rotating flavors of fruit agua frescas. The aguas fresca is house-made from an array of fruit and lime, and flavors rotate about every three days. Mango pineapple is the universal fan favorite. Once you choose your desired flavor, select either salt or Tajín to rim your glass. (NR)

LAST WORD ($12)

CEASE & DESIST BOOK CLUB, 108 N. WASHINGTON ST. Cease and Desist Book Club is a speakeasy for the nononsense aesthetic drinker. If you are in an argumentative mood or just feel the need to win every fight, Cease and Desist’s Last Word is for you. This drink is made with Empress Gin, one of the most beautiful purple gins on the market, mixed with Green Chartreuse, Luxardo Maraschino and lime. This combination of purple and chartreuse liqueurs gives the drink a look that will make anyone want to post it on their Instagram story, and the delicious blend of flavors will make sure you not only love getting in the Last Word, but look great doing it.

(SB)

FRENCH 75 ($11)

TWIGS BISTRO AND MARTINI BAR, 808 W. MAIN AVE., 4320 S. REGAL ST., 401 E. FARWELL RD. If you are looking for the perfect summer drink that makes you feel exceptionally fancy, look no further than a refreshing French 75. I mean, she’s French, no further comment is necessary. Twigs’ take on this cocktail classic is a mix of Bombay dry gin, muddled citrus and simple syrup, topped with a bubbly champagne and garnished with a lemon twist (the refreshment’s French beret accessory). A combination of a tart citrus flavor, sweetness from the simple syrup and champagne carbonation makes a French 75 the crème de la crème of warm-weather refreshments. (NR)

HUCKLEBERRY MARTINI

($8) BISTANGO MARTINI LOUNGE, 108 N. POST ST. Bistango Martini Lounge is known for its tasty and creative martinis. If you’re looking to find the most beautiful and colorful martinis in town, this is the spot. While they serve drinks of almost every color and flavor imaginable, one of the favorites among regulars is the huckleberry martini, made with Stoli Citros Vodka, muddled lemons and fresh huckleberries as a garnish. Bistango’s delicious berry concoction will definitely make people stop to take notice. This purple delight is the perfect drink to sip while kicking off your summer or for having a laid-back drink anytime. (SB)

YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

ORANGE BLOSSOM FIZZ ($7)

GILDED UNICORN, 110 S. MONROE ST. When looking for nonalcoholic drinks, Gilded Unicorn is a really a one-stop shop for aesthetically pleasing drinks of all varieties. While the basement bar has a whole host of nonalcoholic bottles and craft cocktails on and off their menu, one bubbles to the top — the Orange Blossom Fizz.

This beauty of a mocktail is made with blackberry, citrus, orange blossom and soda to create a delicious sipping experience. With the combination of a tangy taste and citrusy look, it is hard to not be in a good mood when you have one in front of you — it is like ordering a vacation in a glass. (SB)

ROSEMARY PEPPERCORN LATTE ($5.75 )

INDABA COFFEE ROASTERS, 1425 W. BROADWAY AVE., AND OTHER LOCATIONS Time to challenge your regular latte order by swapping the go-to vanilla latte with Indaba Coffee Roasters’ new rosemary peppercorn flavor. The Rosemary Peppercorn Latte is slightly sweet from its house-made rosemary syrup, with a surprising kick of peppercorn flavor. If you seek a nondairy beverage, oat milk is the perfect substitute. This refreshment is a spring special alongside basil lemonade, cardamom honey matcha, basil black tea, and more, which are available at all locations. Clearly, herbs and spices are the current theme at Indaba, so spice it up!

(NR) n

APRIL 6, 2021 INLANDER 21

D RI N K LO CA L

BOTTOMS UP Some of our staff’s favorite breweries, bars and local libations for your consideration BY INLANDER STAFF BRICK WEST BREWING CO.’S BRICK WEST PILSNER

I’ll fully admit that I’m one of those people who has mostly made the switch over from craft beer to hard seltzers the past few years.

But while seltzer is absolutely refreshing on a hot summer day, there are some days when nothing sounds better than a crisp, light beer. That’s when I turn to the Brick West Pilsner, a super drinkable, German-style pilsner that’s about 5 percent alcohol by volume. If you have fond memories of cracking open a lighter beer after mowing the lawn, taking a long hike or floating the river, this is the local brew for you. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD BREWING’S GUAVA GUAVA SOUR

Just in time for warm weather, this craft nanobrewery in the Audubon-Downriver neighborhood installed an outdoor, sidewalk-facing patio. For the Love of God Brewing debuted back in fall 2019, and while the brewery has been selling growlers (and occasionally cans) to go throughout the pandemic, its new outdoor seating is reason enough to stop by for an in-person pint. While options range from hazy IPAs to pastry stouts, my main attraction to For the Love of God is its creative sours. This (8 percent ABV!)

For the Love of God owner and brewer Steve Moss

DEREK HARRISON PHOTO

women women

HELPING FUND

Since 1992, we have been bringing people together to pool contributions and achieve real results through grantmaking.

Support critical nonprofit programs by becoming a member of our collective giving community or giving generously today.

With your help our community can bloom together for a better tomorrow. whwfspokane.org

HEMP-DERIVED CBD PRODUCTS FOR PEOPLE & PETS

Sponsored in part by The Inlander

1325 NORTH DIVISION ST. SUITE 103

22 INLANDER APRIL 6, 2021

guava-laden creation has much less “bite” than I expected. The smooth, tart, tropical-inspired beer is an easy drinker — perfect for sour newbies and aficionados alike. (CHEY SCOTT)

YAYA BREWING COMPANY’S FLUFFY PUFFY SUNSHINE

A while back I headed to CenterPlace Event Center in Spokane Valley for a record sale and decided afterward to swing by a then-new brewery in the neighborhood. Lucky for me, the tasting room at YaYa Brewing had space for me to grab a table along with my first taste of Fluffy Puffy Sunshine, their New England IPA. YaYa opened in fall 2019, and while their menu includes an impressive array of stouts, saisons, pilsners and pales, it’s this big-bodied, citrus-forward IPA that gets my mouth watering as soon as I see its bright yellow can. And I mean that literally. The drooling would be embarrassing if the payoff of this 6.5 ABV brew weren’t so worthy. (DAN NAILEN)

IRON GOAT BREWING’S BLACKBERRY APRICOT SOUR

I never really gravitated toward sour beers until I took a sip of this Iron Goat staple, and then I was hooked. It’s tart but sweet, sharp but smooth, and it has become my go-to whenever I stop in. This particular beer has one of those flavors that can hit your tastebuds pretty hard the first time you try it, and as is the case with most sours, it could be described as an acquired taste. But that taste is definitely for me, and I associate it with long summer nights when Iron Goat opens their garage door and I’m crowded around a table with my regular trivia team. During the pandemic, picking up a couple of to-go cans or having a crowler of it delivered right to my front door brought me just a little bit of normalcy, and now that I’m going back to places in person, I’ll be ordering it more often. In fact, I’m enjoying one as I type this.

(NATHAN WEINBENDER) ...continued on next page

VOTED SPOKANE’S #1 BEST WINE TASTING ROOM AND #3 BEST LOCAL WINERY

CAMERA READY

APRIL 6, 2021 INLANDER 23

D RI N K LO CA L “BOTTOMS UP,” CONTINUED...

DURKIN’S LIQUOR BAR’S BASEMENT BAR

Some bars are lively, energetic. Some are cozier, intimate — the kind of place you can have a real conversation. Others feel sort of like a speakeasy, an escape from modern life. But the basement bar at Durkin’s somehow does all three. I might go to Durkin’s basement bar to cap a Friday night out downtown with friends, or I might go just because it’s a good place to sip an old fashioned in a comfortable chair. The cocktails are top-notch, to be sure, but it’s the ambience that makes it my favorite place to get a drink in Spokane. (WILSON CRISCIONE)

DRY FLY DISTILLING’S TRITICALE WHISKEY

Whiskey is the best of all liquors, and Dry Fly Triticale is the best of all whiskeys. It’s pricey for someone as frugal as me, but it’s the good stuff, the stuff I share with the people I care about. For my friend’s 30th birthday, I had a plan: I’d buy a $40 bottle of Triticale, hop on my bike, and swing by his party in West Central.

I could shave off a few minutes, I figured, by cutting through Riverfront Park. Instead, I found myself trying to walk my bike through a mob of Pig Out In the Park attendees, my bottle of precious whiskey swinging on a plastic bag from my handlebars.

And then, I felt it… a trickle down the front of my jeans. The bottle had broken, along with my heart. Whiskey, whiskey, everywhere but not a drop to drink. It was the best bottle of whiskey I never got to taste. (DANIEL WALTERS)

CAMERA READY ADVANCING NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH IN THE INLAND NORTHWEST AND AROUND THE WORLD

DEREK HARRISON PHOTO

Do you or a loved one have: • Parkinson’s Disease (PD) • PD Genetic Testing • Huntington’s Disease • Essential Tremor • Multiple Sclerosis

We also have genetic screening for many neurological diseases Please call: 509-960-2818 to learn more about our clinical research trials • 24 INLANDER APRIL 6, 2021

WHISTLE PUNK BREWING’S CZECH PILSNER

Brewing a pilsner is a challenging task. The light lager provides little room for error, as the simplest flavor and aroma flaws have nowhere to hide. When it’s brewed successfully, it’s nearly the perfect beer. That’s why, no matter the season, Whistle Punk’s Czech Pilsner is always a winner for me. Owner and brewer Matt Hanson has spent a good chunk of his time trying to master this lager modeled after the classic Pilsner Urquell — and he’s damn well pulled it off. Sticking to tradition, it’s brewed with Bohemian Pilsner malt and hopped aggressively with Czech Saaz. The downtown brewery’s dedication to the style even goes beyond ingredients. They pour the pilsner from a side-pull beer faucet and serve it in a short, heavy glass mug. I recommend grabbing a pint and taking a seat in the alley patio on a Sunday, when they offer $4 Czech Pilsners. (DEREK HARRISON) n

COVID-19

In for the

Long Haul Local restaurant owners reflect on how COVID is leaving lasting changes to the hospitality industry

BY CHEY SCOTT

J

ust days before what was expected to be an announcement that Spokane County would be rolled back to Phase 2 restrictions due to a recent spike in coronavirus cases — instead, the county is staying in Phase 3 for at least the next two weeks — local restaurant owners were feeling, yet again, thrown into a state of limbo.

News of the potential rollback came as many were beginning to ramp up staffing to meet an increase in demand for in-person dining, while also dealing with an unprecedented dearth of applicants.

Several owners reflected, in their own words, on the trials and triumphs of the past 13 months, ranging from permanent changes the pandemic has brought to what’s keeping them going. Their responses were edited for length and clarity.

ADAM HEGSTED EAT GOOD GROUP

This year was rough and showed how fragile our hospitality industry is. There were many who did not endure this, and many who were close to failing and still are struggling. I think this was the wake-up call the industry needed. We have for too long lived on too-slim margins, which leaves us little to no room for times like these. We need to cut the fat where we can, get lean in our operations and be a little quicker on things that end up costing us money.

We also have been looking at ways to ensure our staff is taken care of. Whether or not the pandemic and our current political climate have forced some issues to light, we want to look at everything we’re doing and try to do it in a more purposeful light. Asking things like: Are we treating our staff properly? Are we listening to our guests? Is our business sustainable the way it’s running? Are we creating better lives for ourselves and our staff?

JULI NORRIS DOWNRIVER GRILL

Eat Good Group’s Adam Hegsted hopes COVID makes restaurants more purposeful. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

From the beginning, the pandemic has been very difficult for us and other local small businesses. We have all had to pivot, and then pivot again and again. Initially at Downriver Grill, we needed to figure out the best way to transition into offering our menu just to-go. Before the pandemic, about 10 percent of our sales were to-go, so it was a big change for us.

We focused on serving menu items that would travel well and maintain the best quality and consistency in the process.

Some challenges we’re currently facing are increased prices from our vendors and difficulty in staffing. ...continued on next page

MAY 6, 2021 INLANDER 25

Happy Mother’s Day!!

FOOD | COVID-19

Give the gift of the Wine of the Month Club Because your Mom deserves the best!

Oldest and Largest Wine Club in the PNW!

Mark Starr of David’s Pizza is worried COVID-19 made people scared of each other.

YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

“IN FOR THE LONG HAUL,” CONTINUED...

DARRIN SANDER CRAFT & GATHER

Our doors are open! Tues-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-5pm 222 S. Washington St, Spokane 509.838.1229 vinowine.com

Setting aside all the loss in lives, jobs and businesses, there are a few things that stood out on the restaurant front.

The first is how restaurants and their importance to the community came forth. From local Facebook fundraiser groups like Spokane Quaranteam, the many restaurant-focused grant projects, to just the wonderful caring the community showed through purchasing to-go food, tipping very generously and buying $1,000 gift cards. There was so much pouring out of love for us it was humbling. I feel like this brought us and our guests closer together and those relationships will last a very long time.

A challenge our industry will feel for a long time will be the labor shortage. With so many of our industry’s employees losing their jobs multiple times over the year, many just gave up on the instability and moved on to other industries.

Now that we’re able to seat outside fully and 50 percent inside, we are seeing a huge boom in demand. We just had our second-best-ever week.

But we are severely short on staff. While most of our past employees returned, we are reopening in the time of the year where volume is at the highest.

MARK STARR DAVID’S PIZZA

One thing that’s more far-reaching is the changing of people’s views on how they do things.

We live in a country that’s pretty proud of making things convenient, and COVID made more things convenient. Look at all the delivery services for food as an example. But you can’t get restaurant-quality food delivered to your home.

When food comes out of the oven, it’s made to rest for a few minutes and be served immediately.

Serving things in a box is not how the game is played. When you get into your home it’s not going to be good.

Another one might be people’s attitudes.

People have grown scared of other people. I’ve seen people walking down the street and if they see someone without a mask on, they’ll jump out into the street. While the only people going to restaurants are those who want to be around other people, sometimes they ask ‘Can you seat

26 INLANDER MAY 6, 2021

us at a table further away?’ It’s brought up a new dynamic, and I look at it as being harmful.

Staffing issues are also as bad as the pandemic. I don’t think people realize how tough it is out there. I can’t get people to come back to work.

A lot of places aren’t open for breakfast or lunch because they can’t get staffing, and a couple are not open at all right now because of that.

JOHN GROLLMUS

THE ELK PUBLIC HOUSE, MOON TIME, TWO SEVEN PUBLIC HOUSE, PORCH PUBLIC HOUSE

Our focus since the beginning of COVID-19 has been, and will remain, to achieve a complete return to normalcy as smoothly and quickly as possible. On a darker note, I think our industry will continue to be somewhat crippled due to the constant state of exhausting uncertainty brought on by COVID-19.

Beyond the obvious, you never know when there’s going to be a phase change, and you’re staffed up to be 50 percent and all of a sudden it might be 25 percent. We’ve seen some of our more long-time employees who’ve just decided to change gears, and I think a lot has to do with the underlying stress that people are experiencing.

Everybody is on edge. Guests are on edge, which puts employees on edge, and it’s not a fun time to be working in the industry.

Certainly we’ve had more understanding from government agencies than we’ve ever had in the past, and that has resulted in some sensibly looser restrictions. There have been changes made that should have been anyway, such as the ability to expand patios and seating where it’s reasonable to do so. You used to have to jump through a bunch of hoops to do that, and I think that will continue moving forward.

CHAD WHITE

HIGH TIDE LOBSTER BAR, ZONA BLANCA, TT’S BREWERY & BBQ

One of the first pivots we made was to start online ordering for every single restaurant. During the first complete shutdown had we not made that change, well, we would have just been sitting ducks. So that was really big for us, and that has translated to better sales to the point where we’re at right now. TT’s was the pilot, and initially we minimized down to only senior management. We were getting worked hard, which made us realize

we needed to make changes, and that we were running the business way too fat, and that we could run it better.

The other thing that’s really scary is that every single week we have a threat coming from the governor stating ‘We’re probably going to push you back,’ but we want to bring people on because demand is there.

But if we get pushed back to 25 percent, will I have too much staff, and now I can’t employ them? It’s this really big concern that I have. I really care about everyone on my team, and if all of a sudden we bring these people in because we need help, and then the government turns around and shuts us back down, it’s ‘Oh crap, what did I do to their lives, and will they come back to work?’ We can’t really see past our own struggles, so it becomes more of a personal thing.

keep KEEP more MORE money MONEY in IN your YOUR pocket POCKET

JOHN BRYANT NO-LI BREWHOUSE

What we’ve tried to demonstrate is that we can provide full benefits to all kitchen and front of house staff, and we can watch out for their health and safety as well as anyone. And we can try and make as many customers feel safe here. We have had zero cases of COVID traced to No-Li in over a year, and that took a real diligent effort.

And then you outreach and give until it hurts. I get that question a lot: ‘Why do you keep doing that?’ It’s just what you should do.

We’re not the only ones; we’re one of many in this community.

So what has the pandemic created? A humbling, and understanding we’re all here together in some form or shape and some have it much worse. We make craft beer, hard seltzer and crafted canned cocktails, and they’re winning awards all over the world, but at the end of the day does that really matter?

If that is the stimulus that helps all these things happen, well then that’s pretty cool.

[Editor’s note: No-Li has donated about $300,000 to area nonprofits since the pandemic began.] n cheys@inlander.com

DELIVERED TO YO U R IN BOX

Our top 5 picks for weekend entertainment EVERY FRIDAY

Sign up now at Inlander.com/newsletters

DELIVERED TO YO U R IN BOX

Food news you can use EVERY THURSDAY Sign up now at Inlander.com/newsletters MAY 6, 2021 INLANDER 27

REVIEW

FATALITY!

Choose your fighter: Does the new Mortal Kombat movie have anything to offer a non-fan?

BY NATHAN WEINBENDER

T

he new Mortal Kombat movie is streaming on HBO Max, which is how I’m sure most people have seen it since it dropped on April 8. I held off on watching it in my living room because I knew it would be playing on the biggest screen at the downtown AMC when I was officially vaccinated, and this seemed as good a film as any to welcome me back to the movie theater.

Despite that, I’m hardly a Mortal Kombat connoisseur (or is that “konnoisseur”?). I wasn’t allowed to rent or buy the original video games when I was a kid — too violent, my parents said — but I do remember playing the Super Nintendo version in a friend’s basement. The game, which began as an arcade staple and was structured around fighting tournaments with a colorful cast of characters, was so controversial that it seemed almost illicit: As kids, we felt like we were getting away with something as we ripped 16-bit spines and rib cages from our opponents’ bodies.

That’s the extent of my Mortal Kombat experience, so you can probably take my opinions with a grain of salt.

I’ve also managed to absorb pieces of its lore through osmosis, including specific characters and those goofy catchphrases: Get over here! Finish him! FATALITYYYYY! Those catchphrases are trotted out with clockwork efficiency in this new movie, which will no doubt inspire hoots and hollers in half-empty movie theaters across the country. But what of the plot? I’ll do my best to parse it out. It concerns a failed MMA fighter named Cole Young (Lewis Tan), an orphan with a strange birthmark

28 INLANDER MAY 6, 2021

that looks uncannily like the Mortal Kombat logo. I’m told aren’t instantly recognizable) take themselves too serithis is the only major character in the movie who isn’t ously. The fight scenes, which are really the lifeblood of from any of the games, an odd choice because 1) there this kind of movie, are merely OK: Too often they’re shot are dozens of distinctive characters from the game to in darkness and shadow, with fast cuts between medium choose from, and 2) Cole Young is an absolute charisma and close-up shots, so that it’s sometimes difficult to tell vacuum. what’s going on. At least the fights have bursts of the fun, Cole learns that he’s the descendent of a 17th-century R-rated gore that made the video games so infamous in Japanese warrior and is one of a handful of legendary the first place. Heads are smashed! Limbs are flash-frozen fighters who can save the world of the good guys (aka and then shattered! Bodies are bisected right down the Earthrealm) from being completely overtaken by the middle! And the crowd goes wild! world of the bad guys (aka Outworld). In order to do A couple days after seeing the 2021 iteration of Mortal this, he must participate in the fabled martial arts comKombat, I went back and looked at the original 1995 film petition Mortal Kombat, training alongside adaptation, directed by future Resident former Special Forces soldier Sonya Blade MORTAL KOMBAT Evil auteur Paul W.S. Anderson (it’s (Jessica McNamee), the wisecracking Austra- Rated R streaming on HBO Max). It’s lacking lian mercenary Kano (Josh Lawson), and the Directed by Simon McQuoid in the blood-soaked fatalities departunorthodox Shaolin monk Liu Kang (Ludi ment, having been toned down to a Starring Lewis Tan, Joe Taslim, Lin).

PG-13 for the youth market, but the Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson Along the way, we get classic MK villains In theaters and streaming on HBO Max arch style of the movie — the earnest like the giant, four-armed mutant Goro and corniness, the Ray Harryhausen-esque the ruthless Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim from The Raid: Redempspecial effects, the garish colors — is pure ’90s camp. tion), whose coolest move involves freezing a spurt of It also has Christopher Lambert, glowering beneath a blood in midair and stabbing his opponent with it. The snow-white wig, hamming it up as the wise old Raiden, film’s climax isn’t the big tournament you’d expect, but and that kickin’ theme song by the electronica duo the rather a quick succession of mini-fights between variImmortals. ous pairings, a somewhat puny climax for such a vast So where does a Mortal Kombat agnostic stand with franchise. this latest big-screen adaptation? Is the movie good? Is Mortal Kombat comes courtesy of first-time feature it bad? I don’t really know, but if I had to sit through an director Simon McQuoid, and if he deserves plaudits for MK movie again, I’d lean toward the ’95 version. Either anything, it’s in not letting his actors (many of whom way, I was just happy to be back at the movies again. n

FILM | SHORTS

OPENING FILMS THE PAPER TIGERS

Comic kung-fu action abounds in this tale of three aging fighters who put aside their personal lives to avenge the murder of their former master. At the Magic Lantern. (NW) Rated PG-13

THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS

This eccentric documentary follows a group of Italian octogenarians (and

their dogs) who spend their days searching for an elusive white truffle. At the Magic Lantern. (NW) Rated PG-13

WRATH OF MAN

The latest thriller from Guy Ritchie stars Jason Statham as a shadowy figure who becomes the guard of an armored truck. Expect explosive action and plenty of F-bombs. (NW) Rated R

NOW PLAYING CHAOS WALKING

RAYA & THE LAST DRAGON

DEMON SLAYER THE MOVIE: MUGEN TRAIN

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD

A feature-length follow-up to the popular anime series, which has already broken box-office records in its native Japan. (NW) Rated R

Edgar Wright’s comic-book satire, about a hipster trying to defeat all his crush’s ex-boyfriends, returns to theaters for a belated 10th anniversary celebration. (NW) Rated PG-13

FOUR GOOD DAYS

SEPARATION

Based on a series of YA sci-fi novels, two teenage misfits (Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley) find each other on a telepathic, mostly male planet on the brink of civil war. (NW) Rated PG-13

A heroin addict looking to get clean reconnects with her mother as she waits to begin treatment. Mila Kunis and Glenn Close star. (NW) Rated R

GODZILLA VS. KONG

Like Batman and Superman before them, cinema’s most famous giant ape and radioactive lizard duke it out while the world watches. Also streaming on HBO Max. (NW) Rated PG-13

LIMBO

A Syrian musician finds himself stranded on a small Scottish island as he waits for his asylum request to be granted. (NW) Rated R

MINARI

Writer-director Lee Isaac Chung borrows from his own life in this delicate story of Korean immigrants who settle onto a rural Arkansas farm in the early ’80s. (NW) Rated PG-13

MORTAL KOMBAT

FRI, MAY 7TH – THU, MAY 13TH

TICKETS: $9 z

NOW PLAYING: WOLFWALKERS, NOMADLAND, MINARI, THE FATHER OPENING:

PAPER TIGERS,

TRUFFLE HUNTERS RENTALS STARTING AT $99!

Check website magiclanternonmain.com for all showings and rental inquiries.

To register, please email: office@NAMISpokane.org or visit namispokane.org/classes/#PeertoPeer This class is offered at no cost to participants.

A charming documentary about the creation of the groundbreaking children’s TV series. At the Magic Lantern.

(NW) Rated PG

TOGETHER TOGETHER

A single man with baby fever develops an unusual friendship with the young woman who agrees to be his surrogate mother. Ed Helms and Patti Harrison star. (NW) Rated R

THE UNHOLY

Another entry in the Sunday school horror genre, this one about deaf girl who is imbued with healing powers by the Virgin Mary. Other, more sinister events follow. (NW) Rated PG-13

WOLFWALKERS

WHY: To learn more about recovery in an accepting environment and erase the stigma of living with mental illness.

WHERE: Via ZOOM Following state recommendations for social distancing to slow the spread of COVD-19, all NAMI Spokane programs are available online.

STREET GANG: HOW WE GOT TO SESAME STREET

NOBODY

WHO: Adults with mental health conditions ltooking to better understand themselves & their recovery.

WHAT: A safe and confidential space that provides opportunity for mutual support and growth.

WHEN: SATURDAYS 1PM  3PM Starts May 15th and runs for 8 weeks.

After the death of her mother, a little girl at the center of a custody battle is visited by ghostly figures that only she can see. (NW) Rated R

VOYAGERS

Peer to Peer

an 8-week education course for people in mental health recovery

25 W Main Ave #125 • MagicLanternOnMain.com

The latest Disney animated feature, a multicultural fable that follows a teenage warrior’s hunt for the titular creature. Also streaming on Disney+. (NW) Rated PG

The popular video game returns to the big screen, in properly gory fashion this time, with all your favorite characters delivering one fatality after another. Also streaming on HBO Max. (NW) Rated R A new riff on the Death Wish formula, starring Bob Odenkirk as a meek suburban father who goes into full-on revenge mode after his family is attacked. (NW) Rated R

NTERN THEAT GIC LA ER MA

­

­ ­

­

In this chilly sci-fi thriller, a crew of young people are sent into space looking for a habitable planet. If you’ve seen Solaris or 2001, you know what’s going to happen next. (NW) Rated PG-13 This Oscar-nominated animated feature is a family-friendly Irish folktale about two girls — one a hunter, the other a lycanthropic forest dweller. At the Magic Lantern. (NW) Rated PG n

Film listings reflect showtimes at AMC River Park Square 20 (808 W. Main), the Magic Lantern Theatre (25 W. Main), Village Centre Cinemas in Wandermere (12622 N. Division) and Hayden Cinema (300 Senta Dr). All Regal Cinema chains and the Garland Theater remain temporarily closed.

­

­

MAY 6, 2021 INLANDER 29

Karen and Richard Carpenter, soft rock’s most indelible family act.

ANNIVERSARY

Top of the World With their most successful album turning 50, the Carpenters turn out to be more than just soft-rock siblings

BY NATHAN WEINBENDER

R

ichard and Karen Carpenter sit by the ocean, dressed in dinner-party duds and beaming directly into the camera lens, which is pulled to the softest possible focus. The photo on the cover of the Carpenters’ 1970 album Close to You is like something you’d see hanging in a Sears portrait gallery (Richard himself hated it), and that gauzy, clean-cut image dogged the duo for years.

A year later, the Carpenters’ third LP would have nothing on its cream-colored jacket but the band’s name, embossed in its now-iconic baroque font. That record, simply titled Carpenters, was released 50 years ago this week, and it cemented Karen and Richard’s status as (pun intended) superstars. It remains their most success-

30 INLANDER APRIL 6, 2021

ful studio record, too, selling more than 4 million copies and spawning three Top 10 singles.

The brother and sister duo simultaneously embodied the sunniness of their Southern California home and the buttoned-up wholesomeness of their middle-class Connecticut upbringing. Richard arranged the songs and played piano, occasionally taking lead vocal duties but mostly providing harmonies for Karen, who also played the drums. They cut their teeth as part of a jazz trio but struggled for recognition until they drifted toward pop, eventually being signed to A&M Records by Herb Alpert.

By many accounts, Karen resisted the role of singer, not wanting to step out from behind the shield of her drum kit. But it was her distinctive voice — as crystalline

as it was crystal-clear, dripping with world-weary melancholy one moment and wide-eyed wonder the next — that became the group’s calling card.

The Carpenters’ debut album, initially titled Offering, went mostly unnoticed in 1969, save for its minor-key cover of the Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride.” Close to You followed the next year, and it included such signature hits as “We’ve Only Just Begun,” which Richard first heard as a jingle on a regional bank commercial, and the chart topper “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

When Carpenters landed in record stores in May 1971, its blockbuster status was a foregone conclusion. A couple months earlier, the group had won the Grammy

for best new artist, beating the likes of Elton John and Anne Murray, and the LP’s lead single, the Paul Williams-penned “Rainy Days and Mondays,” had already shot up to No. 2 on the Billboard charts.

“Rainy Days” is one of the best-known tracks on Carpenters, and the album also includes more minor Carpenters classics like “Let Me Be the One” and “For All We Know,” an Oscar winner that first appeared in the long-forgotten ensemble comedy Lovers and Other Strangers. “(A Place to) Hide Away” is a beautiful piece of melancholy, with Karen’s voice at its most resonant.

Side B is dominated by its lead-off track, “Superstar,” arguably the Carpenters’ greatest song, though they weren’t the first artists to tackle it.

The original version was recorded by blue-eyed soul duo Delaney & Bonnie with assistance from Eric Clapton, and was called “Groupie (Superstar),” a title that was clearly too suggestive for Richard and Karen. Co-written by Leon Russell, it’s the story of a fan who has a one-night stand with a rock ’n’ roller and then finds herself haunted by him. She thinks he’s come back to her, but it turns out she’s just hearing his song on the radio.

their songs by heart, having heard them over and over again on cassette tapes and oldies stations.

But they were something of a punchline at their peak, a shorthand for edgeless, sexless soft rock, projecting a skim-milk innocence that was at odds with the political turmoil of their era. Rock critic Lester Bangs called their stage presence “disconcerting.” Robert Christgau knocked them as “dispassionate” and chalked up their popularity to some kind of algorithm.

By the mid-’70s, the Carpenters had fallen out of fashion, though they still scored hits on the adult contemporary and country charts.

Things were even darker behind the scenes.

Karen was struggling with anorexia nervosa, and she was devastated by a tumultuous divorce and the cancellation of a solo debut. Richard, meanwhile, was in and out of rehab, battling an addiction to quaaludes. Though the group’s final album, 1981’s Made in America, produced the hit song “Touch Me When We’re Dancing,” they were far from their zenith.

Karen died in 1983 from heart failure. She was only 32. Her death no doubt inspired a serious re-evaluation of her work, not only as a vocalist but as a virtuoso drummer, and the unflinching sincerity of her music plays so much differently now. In her book Why Karen Carpenter Matters, writer Karen Tongson (herself named after Carpenter) describes the effect of Carpenter’s artistry as “the capacity to make you feel something, to make you believe in a spiritual undoing and trembling beneath the polished arpeggios and vacuum-sealed harmonies.”

As with much considered Carpenters, released 50 years ago this week. kitsch in the ’70s, the group has since achieved hipster cred. Todd Haynes’ 1987 The Carpenters’ version isn’t too different short film Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, from the Delaney & Bonnie original, but it has a which told of the band’s rise and fall with a cast chillier air of desperation, with Karen’s recurring of Barbie dolls, married kitsch and sincerity as lament of “baby, baby, baby, oh baby” aching both a behind-the-scenes biopic and a scathing with loneliness. The song even ends on an unreindictment of the image-obsessed music industry. solved minor note, an unsettling melodic choice, Then there was the 1994 tribute album If I Were as if its protagonist will always be waiting for a Carpenter, which featured alt-rock icons like something that will never come. It’s a masterful Matthew Sweet and the Cranberries covering pop song, one I listened to no less than a dozen Carpenters classics. The 2007 film Juno promitimes while working on this piece, and a remarknently featured the album and Sonic Youth’s able showcase for Karen’s haunting voice. interpretation of “Superstar,” which made the “It is a voice that seems to resonate with a original’s fuzzy radio reverie even fuzzier. maturity beyond the scope of vocal chords only Just last week, a clip of Karen behind her 23 years old,” reads the booklet tucked inside the drum kit, slapping the skins in a jazzy rendisleeve of my old vinyl copy of The Singles: 1969tion of “Dancing in the Street,” went viral on 1973. “Even given the extraordinary amount of Twitter, being viewed nearly 4 million times and talent emerging from the ‘Soft Rock Revolution,’ retweeted more than 30,000 times. People are [Karen] is one of the finest singers of this generastill discovering that she and Richard were more tion.” than just toothy grins and harmless vibes, that It’s true. It’s easy to heap all this praise on there was real artistry behind their work. The the Carpenters 50 years removed from their Carpenters’ tune is a timeless one, and it will creative peak, because they’re revered now. I always be playing on the radio — baby, baby, grew up with their music and know many of baby, oh baby. n

y a d s r u Th th May 13

5-8PM

LIVE Music

PR IZ

ES

DRINK SPECIALS

inlander.com/PartyonthePatio APRIL 6, 2021 INLANDER 31

MUSIC WINE & SONG

Arbor Crest Wine Cellars has long been pairing live music with its various vintages, and after a break from gatherings last year, they’re back at it. Their coming concert series will feature performances every Thursday and Sunday evening throughout the summer, so you can take in a diverse array of sounds with the backdrop of Arbor Crest’s beautiful cliffside views of the city. Some of the shows that you can see in the next couple weeks include Daniel Hall on May 6, One Street Over on May 9, Starlite Motel on May 13 and Radio Shine on May 16. You’ll need to purchase tickets in advance: General admission starts at $8, and you can reserve four-person tables for $40.

— NATHAN WEINBENDER Arbor Crest Summer Concert Series • Thursdays and Fridays at 5:30 pm • $8-$15 general, $40 table reservations • 21+ • Arbor Crest Wine Cellars • 4705 N. Fruit Hill Rd. • arborcrest. com • 509-927-9463

GET LISTED!

Submit events online at Inlander.com/getlisted or email related details to getlisted@inlander.com.

32 INLANDER MAY 6, 2021

COMEDY COMEDIC HEIGHTS

WORDS WRITING IN THE MARGINS

Sam Morril looked at the comedy landscape as COVID-19 shut down clubs across the country and knew that if he still wanted to tell jokes in front of people, he’d have to get creative. The result is his newest special, Up On The Roof, currently streaming for free at sammorril.com. The New York comedy veteran took to some scenic rooftops around the city for some socially distanced sets during the pandemic, and edited the shows together into a tight 45 minutes reflecting on last year’s election, drinking through lockdown, breakups and phone scams. That special came hot on the heels of his third Comedy Central hour, I Got This, released a year ago, and now Morril is back in front of comedy club audiences, including several shows in Spokane.

— DAN NAILEN

As part of a multi-bookstore release event, author Rivers Solomon (above left) is discussing their new novel Sorrowland with Roxane Gay (right) during a virtual event co-hosted by Spokane’s own Auntie’s Bookstore. Solomon’s work deals heavily with life on the margins. Sorrowland is a genre-bending novel and is considered Gothic fiction. The novel’s main character, Vern, is seven months pregnant and must fight back from a community that refuses to let her go, unleashing an incredible amount of brutality in the process.

Solomon’s other works include the award-winning An Unkindness of Ghosts, The Deep as well as several other short stories that have been featured in many prominent magazines. Attendees’ purchase of Sorrowland will act as a ticket to this Zoom event.

— SPENCER BROWN

Sam Morril • Thu-Sat, May 6-8 at 7:30 pm, Fri-Sat, May 7-8 at 10 pm • $20-$28 • 18+ • Spokane Comedy Club • 315 W. Sprague • spokanecomedyclub.com • 509-318-9998

Sorrowland: Rivers Solomon in Conversation with Roxane Gay • Sat, May 8 at 1 pm • $30 • online; details at auntiesbooks.com/ event

RELATIONSHIPS

Advice Goddess DEAR IN HEADLIGHTS

AMY ALKON

SPEAKER LUIS RODRIGUEZ

Spokane Community College’s Hagan Center welcomes speaker Luis Rodriguez, author of It Calls You Back: An Odyssey Through Love, Addiction, Revolutions, and Healing, winner of a 2011 National Book Critics Circle Award, and Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A., winner of a Carl Sandburg Literary Award. Rodriguez was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, where he and his family faced poverty and discrimination. He was a gang member and drug user by age 12 — experiences he reflects on in both memoirs. By the time Rodriguez was 18, he had lost 25 friends to gang violence, drug overdoses and suicide. In addition to his memoirs, he has written books of poetry and children’s books, including América Is Her Name, and is the founder of Tía Chucha Press, which aims to publish emerging socially conscious poets. In 2014, he was appointed poet laureate of Los Angeles by Mayor Eric Garcetti.

— NATALIE RIETH Hagan Center Speaker Series: Luis Rodriguez • Wed, May 12 at 10:30 am and 6:30 pm • Morning session on Facebook Live; evening session on YouTube • Details at scc.spokane.edu/live

VISUAL ARTS ART FROM THE HEART

The culmination of a two-year art project that began in partnership with students at Spokane Public Schools’ project-based Community School, the mixed-media OneHeart Call Project both celebrates and challenges humanity’s unique differences. Led by artist Christina Rothe, the series’ output is now on display at Kolva-Sullivan Gallery downtown for a second month. For those who attended April’s opening reception or have stopped by during Saturday hours (12-4 pm) with the artist, there’s still more in store, as art is being rotated every two weeks. As an immigrant and naturalized U.S. citizen, Rothe drew upon issues such as systemic racism and social injustices as the inspirational thread for the OneHeart Call Project. To that end, art featured in the collection symbolizes universal values of hope, dissent, love and respect, and the message that despite our many individual differences, we all share one thing in common: our hearts.

— CHEY SCOTT Christina Rothe: OneHeart Call Project • Reception Fri, May 7 from 5-8 pm; on display through May 21 • Free • Kolva-Sullivan Gallery • 115 S. Adams St. • 509-458-5517

I’m a girl in my 20s. I recently started dating a guy I’m falling in love with. He invited me to a party to meet his friends, and I’m nervous. He’s “objectively” more attractive than I am (6-foot-2, brawny, and incredibly handsome) and very successful. I’m attractive, but I see the looks women give him, and I can’t help but feel his friends will question why he’s interested in me. I’m thinking of backing out of the party, but maybe I should back out of dating him entirely, given the pressure. —Freaking

The other guests are going to a party; as you see it, you’re on trial, and they’re the jury. The invite: “Drinks, tunes, and executing the borderline attractive girl at dawn.”

Tell somebody you might end it with this guy because you’re afraid his friends will be all “Eew, why’s he with her?” and they’re sure to scold you that you shouldn’t care what other people think of you. They mean well, but this is ridiculous advice — akin to telling you not to get hungry. We evolved to be people who care what other people think. That’s built into our psychology, same as the urge that drives us to nab a burrito, which keeps us from passing out, dying, and being eaten by raccoons.

Successfully handling other people’s appraisals of you starts with throwing out everything most of us believe about self-esteem. I explain in “Unf*ckology” that this “I like me!” state we’ve been told to strive for “makes little functional sense.

Psychology researchers and therapists far and wide failed to ask the ‘why?’ question that evolutionary psychology demands: Why would it be evolutionarily advantageous for you to like yourself — for you to sit around saying, ‘I’m fabulous! Kiss the royal hand!’?”

What would’ve helped our ancestors survive and mate is other people liking them: respecting them, wanting to get it on with them, and sneaking them seconds on the bison frittatas. Accordingly, psychologist Mark Leary explains that we developed an internal monitoring system that tracks “the degree to which other people accept versus reject” us. Our resulting feelgood or feelbad (erroneously called “selfesteem”) is actually part of a three-part process: 1. Our perception of what other people think of us, which leads to 2. Feelings in us (from happy to fearful), which motivate us to 3. Maintain our social position or try to repair it.

So, “self-esteem” is really “what other people think of us”-esteem — a measurement of our social standing — triggering emotions that drive us to preserve or fix it. In light of that, advice to “raise” your self-esteem makes no sense, because how you feel about yourself isn’t the problem, and changing that fixes nothing. (It’s like trying to feel better about your overheating car instead of putting water in the radiator.)

While being popular has many benefits, panicking at potentially being rejected made more sense when our survival in a harsh ancestral environment depended on our maintaining our social cred with a small, consistent band of people. We now live in vast cities teeming with strangers. If somebody in our social circle decides we’ve got adult cooties, we can pretty easily slide into a whole new social circle simply by hanging out at different bars.

So, your terror about meeting his friends — “LIFE OR DEATH, GIRLIE!” — is driven by psychology that’s seriously outdated: mismatched with our modern environment. Recognizing this can help you put your yearning to be liked into a more modern perspective: Great when it happens but merely a major bummer, not a death sentence, if it doesn’t.

Lowering the stakes like this should be helpful because pressure to excel could cause you to overfocus on your performance. This can lead to clutching anxiety that impairs your ability to perform (“choking under pressure”). Amazingly, research by Harvard Business School’s Alison Wood Brooks suggests a way to prevent choking is “reappraising” the pounding heart of anxiety as the pounding heart of excitement.

Say to yourself repeatedly, “I’m so excited to go to this party and meet his friends!”

It should also help to approach the evening with a relaxed set of goals: 1. Having fun. 2. Getting to know his friends. Because you’re with him, they’ll probably assume you’re special — which is surely why he’s with you. (A handsome, high-status guy doesn’t get involved with a woman he finds physically and otherwise meh.) At the party, instead of trying really hard to be liked — a surefire way to be instantly unlikeable — ask people about themselves, and listen with genuine interest. They’ll warm to you, probably without knowing why. Sure, some hearts might remain hardened, but it’s the rare person who’ll cut themselves off, mid-“me, me, me!” to pelt you with canapes and chase you out of the party with a broom. n ©2021, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. • Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405 or email AdviceAmy@aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com)

U I SAW YOU CHEERS & JEERS

Submit your message at Inlander.com/ISawYou

MAY 6, 2021 INLANDER 33

HELLO DOGGY! Cheers to the guy who said hello to my dog while I was picking up a copy of the new Inlander in front of the Milk Bottle on Garland. I’m sorry he didn’t say hi back. He was distracted by the delicious smells wafting from the diner.

PLAY BALL! Cheers to the Spokane Indians ball club! Thanks for hanging in there and coming back stronger than ever. I am SO excited to see baseball games this summer!

I SAW YOU KENDALL YARDS — I’d love to say more than “Do you play hockey?”

I saw you as I was leaving Mary Hill with my friends. Though I was too timid to say hi, my wing women did everything they could to get your information. They asked if you played hockey, and to find out, you play baseball. I’d love to “officially” meet you if our cards align.

CHEERS TO MY ANGEL AT SPOKANE TRIBE CASINO On April 17th I was enjoying my $2 Blue Moons and celebrating being on “vacation” (all the way from Spokane Valley). We were having a lot of fun!!

Until we left and 10 minutes later I realized that I had lost my wallet. “Vacation” was surely ruined now. We went back and learned that someone good had turned it in with everything intact. I’m not sure if it was an employee or a guest that found it, but I was so appreciative and relieved that I didn’t have to spend the next few hours canceling credit cards and going through the hassle of switching all my autopay bills. Thank you so much!! I cannot believe that I did that.

DOWNTOWN, DOWNTOWN! Cheers to the young man who waved at my daughter and her friend while they were at a stoplight blaring Macklemore. Cheers to friendliness!

PARTY ON, NEIGHBOR WOMEN! Cheers to the neighborhood women down the street belting out Whitney, Aerosmith and Lizzo songs in their backyard on a Wednesday evening. Rock on.

LIFESAVERS Cheers to the kind people who continue to follow the mask mandate. Your selfless actions protect everyone, from those who remember polio down to the unborn child and its mother.

Thank you!

RETURNED WALLET Cheers to you for being an honest Man and returning a billfold to its owner. We were at a park on N. Standard, and my son dropped his billfold, and when you heard his name on the playground, you verified the ID and returned it. Thank you so very much! You are an awesome Dad setting the standard and doing the right thing. Bless you!

RAISE YOUR DALE-FACED GLASS It’s time to raise our glasses to the man that filled them and whose face graces the pint glass in your cupboard. Cheers. To Dale’s Brownes Addition, where I discovered my family, partying on a porch in the summer heat, the autumn chill, the winter cold, and the spring rain. To the Elk, El Que, la Trattoria, Pac Ave, Caffe Capri, and Brownes Tavern, which were, all at once, everything I didn’t know I needed. To the Swamp. To Dale.

For the late-night chats that ran into the morning. For the promises of a better tomorrow, and an always familiar face in the wild storm this world can bring. For Dale’s river dreams, and all those bangin’ Trump jokes. For the ones we’ve lost along the way, those that lost us, and the gems we’ve kept close. For every friend-

“

We were having a lot of fun!! Until we left and 10 minutes later I realized that I had lost my wallet.

ship that became the family we created for ourselves. Cheers. To Dale. For reminding us that tomorrow isn’t promised, that love, loyalty, and friendship transcend even the darkest moments.

This one is for you Dale. Cheers.

JEERS DISABLED PARKING ENFORCEMENT Seeing way too many nondisabled, nonpermtted vehicles parking in Disabled parking spots! Three last week. No permit, no disability using spaces set aside for people with disabilities. Called in the latest and was told by Crime Check dispatcher that they do not enforce parking on private property. Winco North parking lot. Told me to call Store manager or 311!

Called 311 and sat on hold for 25 minutes.

No report. Why is this state law not being enforced? I guess if the City won’t enforce the law, we can just go Costanza on the illegal parkers and trash their vehicles. Be considerate or suffer the consequences. Your decision! And City of Spokane, shame on you!

RE IT’S THE CRIMINALS, STUPID You asked what all those cities have in common. The answer is “the Democrats,” but they’re the only ones who offer to change things when gun violence occurs. Thoughts and prayers don’t stop a gun massacre, and the police take too damn long unless the offender is Black.

If you actually hate mass shootings as much as we do, quit complaining about the gun control measures. You say you want freedom from gun control, but yet you bring nothing except “thoughts and prayers” to the table when a racist White man buys a massive military rifle, drives to Walmart on a Wednesday evening, and murders 30 people in cold blood. A

SOUND OFF

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

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

White man committed a massacre, and the police took his ass to Burger King.

Then George tried to use a fake $20, and the police suffocated him to death. THIS is why the Democrats don’t like to work with Repubs, and why I am no longer a Christian. Sincerely, a Democrat man of color with no gun.

JERK AT CDA SKATEPARK To the adult skater who screamed “get off the f***ing dorito” at a bunch of young kids skating at the CDA skatepark Saturday May 1st, its people like you who ruin going to the skatepark for everyone else. I use the word “adult” loosely since the little kids you screamed and cursed at are much more mature then you. Only cowards feel good about treating kids like that, and u seemed pretty pleased with yourself after scaring them. You don’t own the public skatepark, everyone doesn’t have to get out of your way. I watched all the kids being respectful to each other, taking turns, and patiently waiting for a clearing to go... then there’s you acting like an impatient immature donkey to a bunch of children. Grow up and skate at home if you can’t be considerate to others. Or maybe act like a man, and set a good example for young skaters around you instead.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING EVEN HANGING OUT WITH A MINOR? To the adult (only by technical definition apparently) female who ditched a friend after the movies to go drink — what kind of person are you? Your underage friend buys your ticket to the movie, and you cant even give her a ride home because you are in such a hurry to get to the bar? I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt; but I was right — you have no business hanging out with anyone underage because you obviously are not

”

concerned as to their feelings and more importantly, their safety; who does that? assholes, that’s who.

PUBLIC SAFETY I grew up in Spokane.

I remember taking the bus all over this town at all times of day and night. From age 12 and on. I never had much of a problem with anyone harassing me. My daughter was physically grabbed by a man at the STA bus plaza tonight around 8 pm while waiting for her bus to arrive after seeing a movie (the first she has been able to see in quite a while because of COVID). It happened on STA property, where there is how many police and security guards? Luckily my daughter had mace in her purse and sprayed the POS in the face. What is this city becoming? Not safe — that’s what.

BLOOMSDAY BONEHEADS There were people literally running in the middle of Monroe Street this morning near Kendall Yards (for Bloomsday, I presume). There is a perfectly fine, wide enough sidewalk for them, but they chose the middle of the street... When I honked at them, they flippantly waved me off. This is an example of how White people are the worst. n

THIS WEEK'S ANSWERS Z O O M

O L D E

R O E H F O E M C E E S

S O L D A T

L A C H I N E T O A N S N H A M T I S U D S R E I G N O S A E A U R T G A O S E S I U S C N D O K

O N T A C E A R T Y U T U M N F D B U S I P A G E W H A T S N R H U I N T R N N E E I C G E I N A L E N T N O N C E D E A R

A N T I B O D Y

E V E R S O

R B E D N S

T O O I G H T C I I I U F O S

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.

Baseball is BACK! Tickets are on sale now!

• Concessions & Mobile Ordering

• All Digital Tickets • Socially Distanced Seating Pods • Face Coverings Required • Please leave Bags & Purses at home Medical & Diaper Bags permitted.

34 INLANDER MAY 6, 2021

U N E A S E

Know Before You Go

Limited tickets available for May 6-9, and 18-23.

FREE PARKING

T I C K E R T A P E

Visit our website for details!

Due to the wording of laws around hemp and cannabis, at both the state and federal levels, delta-8 THC exists in something of a gray area.

DEVELOPMENT

Delta Force A THC derived from hemp is the latest hot topic to hit cannabis

BY WILL MAUPIN

D

elta-8 THC is the hot new thing in cannabis, but state regulators are throwing cold water on the hemp-derived chemical.

In a policy statement issued on April 28, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, or LCB, clarified that delta-8 THC is not legal under existing state law. The announcement was one of many recent legal developments relating to delta-8 THC from around the country in states like Oregon, where cannabis is legal, as well as others like Oklahoma, where it is not. Delta-8 THC was largely ignored until after passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp at the federal level and set the stage for its emergence into the market around the country and here in Washington.

An isomer of delta-9 THC, the chemical typically referred to simply as THC, delta-8 THC is naturally

present in small amounts in cannabis. The two varieties of THC have the same chemical formula — they’re made of the same atoms in the same quantities — but differ in the position of one double bond between a pair of carbon atoms. This difference makes delta-8 THC weaker than delta-9 THC, though still capable of producing a high.

Hemp, as defined by law, can contain no more than 0.3 percent of delta-9 THC by dry weight; otherwise it qualifies as cannabis, which remains illegal federally.

However, there are no limits on other cannabinoids in hemp, such as CBD, which can be extracted from legally grown hemp and then used to synthesize delta-8 THC. CBD from hemp doesn’t get you high, but delta-8 THC does, and that’s a problem for regulators, producers and distributors.

Due to the wording of laws around hemp and cannabis, at both the state and federal levels, delta-8 THC exists in something of a gray area, and regulators are trying to close any loopholes surrounding it.

By clarifying the existing state law to show that delta-8 THC is in fact illegal in Washington, the LCB has taken a major step in that direction. The LCB mentioned a few reasons for taking this action, including requests from stakeholders within the industry as well as concerns over safety. The LCB notes that there are no mandatory testing standards for delta-8 THC in Washington.

“For these reasons, delta-8 THC, as well as derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, and CBD isolate from hemp ... may not be produced or processed in LCB licensed facilities, and may not be sold in licensed marijuana retail stores,” the statement concludes. n

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

MAY 6, 2021 INLANDER 35

GREEN ZONE 20% Off all Vendor Products Friday, MAY 7th

Friday, MAY 14th

Friday, MAY 28th

Friday, MAY 21st

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.

Moms Love to Bake!

20% OFF EDIBLES MAY 8TH-9TH

WEEKLY SPECIALS MUNCHIES MONDAY

20% OFF EDIBLES

TANKER TUESDAY

$15 CARTRIDGES (RESTRICTIONS APPLY)

WAXY WEDNESDAY

20% OFF

CONCENTRATES THIRSTY THURSDAY

20% OFF

9107 N Country Homes Blvd #13

509.919.3467

TUE

Concentrates, Vape Cartridges, Infused Joints

20% OFF Phat Panda Products

20% OFF

Joints 20% OFF

FIRE FRIDAY 20% OFF

BUDTENDER PICK

SUPER SAVER SATURDAY

25% OFF

CONCENTRATES

THU

Edibles 20% OFF

Premium Brand Flower

20% OFF

(EXCLUDES CARTRIDGES)

DOUBLE DIP SUNDAY

2X ROYALTY POINTS

SAT

Mon-Sat 8am-11pm Sun 8am-10pm

SUN

NEW HOURS

FRI

WED

MON

NEW DAILY DEALS

ALL LIQUIDS

Concentrates, Vape Cartridges, Infused Joints

25% OFF

20% OFF Topicals and CBD Products, 2x Loyalty Points, 15% OFF Flower Ounces

CHECK OUT OUR SOCIAL MEDIA FOR DAILY DEALS! We are practicing social distancing — there may be a small wait.

Thank you for your understanding!

NEW HOURS!

SUN 10AM-11PM • MON SAT 8AM-12AM TOKERFRIENDLYSPOKANE.COM

1515 S. LYONS RD AIRWAY HEIGHTS

spokanegreenleaf.com <<ORDER ONLINE

(509) 244-8728 Some exclusions apply. Not available on Sale items.

WARNING: This product has intoxicating affects and may be habit forming. Smoking is hazardous to your health. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. Should not be used by women that are pregnant or breast feeding.

Marijuana products may be purchased or possessed only by persons 21 years of age or older. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination and judgement. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug.

36 INLANDER MAY 6, 2021

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

MAY 6, 2021 INLANDER 37

GREEN ZONE

SPOKANE’S O

CANNABIS RETAILER

WORLD’S SHOP FOR THE

DOPEST

M M M 64,000 Reach Nearly

MAY 7TH 9TH

20 3 %

Inlander readers that have BOUGHT OR USED CANNABIS in the past year and live in Eastern WA. INLANDER’S GREEN ZONE GREEN ZONE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE To Advertise Contact: 509.325.0634 ext. 215, advertising@inlander.com

*2018 Media Audit

38 INLANDER MAY 6, 2021

OFF

SPECIAL SELECT PRODUCTS MOM IS SURE TO LOVE!

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR PRICE MATCH PROMISE * ( 509 ) 309-3193 10309 E. TRENT AVE. GREENLIGHTSPOKANE.COM CURBSIDE PICKUP 8AM-8PM OPEN DAILY 8AM-11PM

ONLINE ORDERING

GOOGLE REVIEW

VOTE FOR US!

WARNING: THIS PRODUCT HAS INTOXICATING EFFECTS & MAY BE HABIT FORMING. MARIJUANA CAN IMPAIR CONCENTRATION, COORDINATION, & JUDGMENT. DO NOT OPERATE A VEHICLE OR MACHINERY UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THIS DRUG. THERE MAY BE HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH CONSUMPTION OF THIS PRODUCT. FOR USE ONLY BY ADULTS 21 YEARS OR

to advertise:

444-SELL LOOK FOR THE

355 nder.com 09) 444-7 la PHONE: (5BulletinBoard@In mit Parkway E-MAIL: 1227 West Sum 1 20 N: IN PERSO Spokane, WA 99

Specialized Home Maintenance • Lawns

• Landscape Maintenance • Handyman Service Call Rob: 509-879-6173 #SPECIHM882CL

GET YOUR INLANDER INSIDE

TOTAL PEST MANAGEMENT PROGRAM WORRY FREE PEST CONTROL AS LOW AS $19.95 PER MONTH

EndTheViolence_04.08.21_2HBB_JI BUYING Estate Contents / Household Goods See abesdiscount.com or 509-939-9996

LOCAL, INDEPENDENT AND FREE SINCE 1993!

MENTION THIS AD AND RECEIVE: 50% Off set up on set up on TPM 20% OFF one-time service

208-714-4970 • 509-327-3700 • edenspokane.com

A weekly email for food lovers

I buy old stereo equipment.

Receivers, Amps, Tuners, Turntables, Cassette Decks, Reel-to-Reel, Speakers, etc.

Call or Text: 208.691.1073

Subscribe at Inlander.com/newsletter 1

2

3

4

5

14

6

18

20

21

22

29

25

30

44

DOWN

48

1. ____ fatigue 2. Ye ____ Shoppe 3. Real estate claim 4. Red or black insect 5. Deep divide 6. “Why do the French have only one egg for breakfast? Because one egg is an ____” (old joke) 7. Rebellion leader Turner 8. 1989 play about Capote 9. You can bank on it 10. Singer Lauper 11. Rain on one’s parade?

12. Anxiety 13. To the greatest extent

51

26

11

35

37

38

41

47

49

50 52

62

63

65

66

18. The O in “Jackie O” 23. Biological immunity agent 24. Places to lie low 25. “Harrumph!”

26. Lorre’s “Casablanca” role

43

46

57

58

59

THIS W ANSWE EEK’S I SAW RS ON YOUS

23

35. “No prob!”

37. Greek earth goddess 39. “Star Wars” character Kylo ____ 40. What directors sit on: Abbr.

42. Pittsburgh-toBuffalo dir.

44. Award show hosts 53 54 55 45. Went for in an auction 61 49. Painter’s base 50. Prefix with galactic 64 and spatial 52. Speakers of Quechua 67 53. Cry after a hectic week “SILENT NIGHT” 54. Only state with a nonrectangular flag 55. Singer Redding 58. “Bleah!”

59. El Al hub city 60. Chemical ending 61. Post-op locale 39

42

56

13

32

34

45

12

27

31

36

65. Avg. 66. “Yes, honey” 67. Usually fuzzy tabloid pics

10

19

33

32. iPhone alternative, once 33. Israel’s Barak and Olmert 34. Thingamajig 36. Like some accents 38. Tart pie filling 41. One who’s morally flawed 43. Cordoned (off) 44. Twin of Jacob in the Bible 46. Cousin of -trix 47. Blissful areas 48. Monopoly deed figure 50. More than unfriendly 51. Finalize, as a deal 52. Celebrity chef Garten 53. Overly 56. Howard’s end?

57. Classic hymn ... or what the five circled letters represent 62. Caesar’s end?

63. Ornamental light fixture 64. High fever for Caesar?

9

16

24

ACROSS 1. Nominee for the first two Nobel Prizes in Literature (1901-02), but never won 5. Popular cold and flu medicine 11. There is a “super” one every four yrs.

14. “Thirtysomething” actor Ken 15. Like some laughs and stews 16. Bookkeeper’s mailing: Abbr.

17. Keats poem that opens “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” 19. Artichoke heart?

20. “It’s Raining ____” 21. Check bouncer’s letters 22. Westernmost capital in mainland Africa 24. Meat in many an omelet 25. Word after funny or serious 28. Indian flatbreads 31. Leaf (through)

8

15

17

28

7

60

27. MacFarlane or Meyers 28. WNBA official 29. “What have we here?!”

30. Recovery 31. Dominating, in gamer lingo

40

MAY 6, 2021 INLANDER 39

Play where the big winners play.

Surf & Turf Salad MOTHER’S DAY ONLY | SUNDAY, MAY 9TH

Tribal Homelands Guided Indian Cliffs Hike

11 AM – CLOSE | $20.95 Mixed greens tossed in a cilantro vinaigrette.

Topped with Shrimp, grilled sirloin, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, Parmesan cheese and red onions.

Served with garlic bread.

THURSDAY, MAY 13TH 10 AM – 1 PM | $35 PER PERSON Explore a 3-mile trail that is intermediate with a steep climb and then levels out at the top to a downhill descent. Enjoy views of 2 lakes and the St. Joe River, Coeur d’Alene Tribal storytelling, song and drum. Lunch will be included at the casino as well as $10 Extra Play Cash.

Visit cdacasino.com or the Casino Box Office for tickets and information on all upcoming Cultural Tours.

Top Sirloin Oscar MOTHER’S DAY ONLY | SUNDAY, MAY 9TH 4:30 – CLOSE | $39 10 oz. Coulotte top sirloin grilled to perfection and topped with Dungeness crab and rich Maltese sauce.

Served with smash fried red potatoes, asparagus and mixed green salad.

Native American Sip n Paint

Wham Burger

FRIDAY, JUNE 25TH 6 PM – 8 PM | $50 PER PERSON

ALL MAY | 7 AM – 12 AM

Create with the talented Native American Jeremy Salazar of the Navajo Nation.

Jeremy has dedicated his life to the contemporary emergence of native art. Sip and create your own brilliance with Jeremy.

Visit cdacasino.com or the Casino Box Office for tickets and information on all upcoming Cultural Tours.

W E LC O M E H O M E .

CASINO

|

HOTEL

|

DINING

|

SPA

|

$10.99 Back by popular demand! Grilled brisket burger topped with bacon, house-made spicy WHAM BBQ sauce, pepper jack cheese and grilled jalapeños on a burger bun. Served with French fries.

CHAMPIONSHIP

GOLF

3 7 9 1 4 S O U T H N U K WA LQ W • W O R L E Y, I D A H O 8 3 8 76 • 1 8 0 0 - 5 2 3 - 2 4 6 4 • C D A C A S I N O . C O M