Inlander 08/17/2023

‘GOD’S CITY’

STORY BY NATE SANFORD | PHOTOS BY ERICK DOXEY

ERICK DOXEY

I SAW YOU GREEN ZONE BULLETIN BOARD

EDITOR’S NOTE

Istill have hope.

It’s one of the most endearing traits that we — as humans and Americans — have. Hope against hope. Even when everything else says otherwise, we believe we can beat the odds, solve the problem and make the world a better place.

But it’s hard sometimes, like when you drive through the intersection of Second Avenue and Division Street in downtown Spokane, the subject of this week’s cover story, GOD’S CITY

Nate Sanford and Erick Doxey spent a recent weekend there. Their story and photos are powerful and difficult, and what you’ll learn is astounding.

For instance, a single firetruck stationed downtown has responded to 219 overdose calls so far this year, and around 95 percent of them were fentanylrelated. Over the past year, overdose deaths in Washington increased by 21 percent, more than any other state in the nation. In Spokane County, 147 people died of fentanyl-related overdoses last year, a 425 percent increase from 2020.

At the same time, the Spokane Police Department conducts regular drug emphasis patrols in the area. During a recent one, they made 17 arrests in one day, and they’ve cited or arrested 123 people under a new public drug use law since it went into effect in May.

These numbers don’t even touch the housing crisis we’re in, where Spokane home costs have doubled in the past five years and rent has seen a similar explosion, while our inability to solve homelessness remains a collective and societal failure.

Our world is wounded. The solutions to our many problems aren’t easy or obvious, but we all see what’s going on. And that gives me hope.

— NICHOLAS DESHAIS, editor

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WHAT DO YOU THINK HILLYARD WILL LOOK LIKE IN 20 YEARS?

JESSICA ARMSTRONG

I expect it’ll be like Spokane downtown used to be — really poppin’, really lively… I hope that the fresh businesses will bring some more awareness in the city. It’s a tough area, they need some resources and some help. Hopefully this inspires more of that and people are paying attention to the area and it gets cleaned up.

CONNIE SPITZ

A happy community spot where many folks could just enjoy the neighborhood. The new buildings here are nice to see.

What is your favorite business around here?

Derailer Coffee. The crew that works here, they’re always nice, they always remember who you are. They enjoy their craft.

SUSAN HESS

I’m hoping all the buildings will be filled with small shops, full of fun treasures that we still have today… I really see that it has improved for the last 21 years that I’ve owned my business [Market Street Antiques]. It’s gonna be a destination place, a place that people will come spend the evening.

GABRIEL CAZENAVETTE

I’d like to see it looking a lot like South Perry; it’s one of my favorite neighborhoods in Spokane. A lot of small-business focused, a lot of multifamily housing, a more walkable neighborhood.

What is your favorite business around here? I’ve lived in Hillyard for a few years here, so I know the area. The Bad Seed I think is really incredible… really a great vibe in there.

CASSY BROOKS

Like a whole new town, really. I hope [Hillyard] holds a lot of the historical value that they’ve kept so far. But it’s definitely a work in progress right now — they’ve made a lot of changes.

What is your favorite business around here? Probably right now, the Red Dragon, because they have great food and great service.

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The Journey to City Line

How Spokane is leading the nation with latest transit project

BY AL FRENCH

History was made last month on the campus of Gonzaga University. Before numerous public officials — including Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Veronica Vanterpool, the deputy administrator for the Federal Transit Administration — service on Spokane Transit Authority’s City Line began.

It’s the region’s first Bus Rapid Transit, serving Browne’s Addition, downtown, the University District, including Gonzaga University, and Mission Avenue to Spokane Community College.

But it’s also the nation’s first all-electric, fivedoor vehicle (built by New Flyer of America) that looks and functions as a light-rail or streetcar vehicle, but at a dramatically lower price.

So how did this happen, and why Spokane?

To answer those questions, let’s look back at the 12-year evolution of the City Line project.

As the use of autos increased, so did congestion on our roads and the need for public transportation. The network structure of Spokane’s transit system was developed as a “huband-spoke” system, with downtown being the center of the hub. Getting both employees and shoppers downtown was a priority, and avoiding the need for large parking lots was desired.

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Spokane has a long history of supporting public transportation. At one time, the city was populated with streetcars traveling the entire span of the city on steel rail lines embedded in or adjacent to city streets. The historic system served over 25 million riders per year. Over time, the advent of the automobile and rubber-tired buses consumed the roadway, and eventually, the rail lines were removed, and the streetcars relegated to history.

Around the turn of this century, to comply with the state’s Growth Management Act, downtown property owners and other stakeholders developed a 20-year master plan for downtown’s future growth. The plan envisioned a trolley-type service to replicate the success of the past. The goal was a visually modern new service that would be an experience for visitors, while also providing access to the downtown core.

The initial desire was an electric streetcar with steel rails in the roadway. The project vision included easy boarding, frequent service and permanent stations with passenger amenities like real-time information. But this concept proved to be far too expensive. The vision was modified to explore a system with overhead power-cables (or

The funeral procession of the electric streetcars through downtown Spokane in 1936. NORTHWEST MUSEUM OF ARTS & CULTURE/CHARLES LIBBY PHOTO

catenary lines) as the vehicle’s propulsion system. This approach was abandoned because downtown’s aesthetic would be materially and negatively altered.

The vision then evolved into a more affordable rubber-tired vehicle that would look and function like the coveted light-rail vehicle. This would address many of the goals and concerns, however, there was a fundamental problem: There was no U.S. manufacturer that made such a vehicle. To be eligible for FTA grant funding to help pay for the system, the vehicle had to be made in America.

To satisfy the community’s goal of a rubber-tired, light-rail looking vehicle, Spokane Transit Authority CEO E. Susan Meyer began the search for a manufacturer willing to build this new vision for the American public transportation industry. After an exhaustive search, NFI Group Inc.’s subsidiary company, New Flyer, agreed to pursue the forward-thinking goal. Developing such a vehicle required innovative thinking, out-of-the-box creativity and time to pull it all together. All that advocacy and energy has led to the construction of the first City Line vehicle that achieved the goals of affordability and a modern experience.

The visioning, goal setting and hard work all became reality when the vehicle debuted to a cheering crowd on that beautiful summer day on the Gonzaga campus. According to New Flyer, the vehicle is so popular, other agencies around the country are now placing orders for it. No matter how many do so, there will only be one first — Spokane’s City Line.

A portion of the funding for this new service was included in the voter-approved 2016 ballot measure to fund the STA Moving Forward 10-year strategic plan. At first, the locally developed project budget was $72 million. As a condition of receiving a $53.4 million Small Starts Grant from the FTA to help pay for the project’s capital costs, STA had to increase the budget estimate to $92 million, providing for a $20 million contingency for potential cost overruns. This protective adjustment was driven by FTA’s experience with many other transit projects across the country significantly exceeding their budgets.

That contingency allowed STA to provide for both enhancements to the project, and to cover additional costs incurred due to supply chain and inflation complications created by the COVID pandemic. Even with those challenging cost impacts, STA has delivered the project well under the $92 million budget — one of the only transit agencies in the country to do so.

The Spokane region has a record of leading the country in so many areas, and now the high bar set by STA and the implementation of the City Line can add to that list of accomplishments. n

Al French has been on the Spokane County Board of Commissioners since 2011. Prior to that, he was a two-term Spokane City Council member. He has served on the Spokane Transit Authority board for 21 years, and he won the American Public Transportation Association’s Outstanding Board Member of the Year Award in 2008.

One of the new electric City Line buses. STA PHOTO

SCHOOLING THE OPPOSITION

School board elections across the nation are being stormed by conservatives demanding more ‘parental rights’ — including Spokane Valley’s Central Valley School District

It’s been more than three years since COVID began to shake up the world with lockdowns, social distancing and other measures that seem like relics of the past. While many areas of life have returned to normal, school districts nationwide have yet to settle. What started as a rallying cry against mask mandates in schools has morphed into something else altogether.

“This is all a part of a bigger movement to take over local elections,” says Shelly Clark, a county GOP precinct committee officer in Spokane Valley who is also married to Keith Clark, president of the Central Valley School District Board. “It’s part of a nationwide trend of retaliation against mask mandates and other policies.”

With mask mandates a thing of the past, this “bigger movement” has focused on other policies perceived to violate parental rights, such as the adoption of certain curriculum and policies — real or potential — like sexual education, LGBTQ+ inclusion and critical race theory. Without much power as a single citizen, folks have filed for election in droves to ensure things are run in what they consider the right way.

While this trend is evident nationwide — from Florida to California — it’s also come to the Inland Northwest. Case in point: this November’s CVSD board election. School board races in Spokane County are generally uncontested, quiet affairs. But for the first time in more than 20 years, all three CVSD board races on November’s ballot are contested.

BY COLTON RASANEN

Signs populate Spokane Valley proclaiming, “Time for Change,” promoting the three candidates who hope to unseat incumbents. Their platforms focus on the incumbents’ long tenures, a perceived lack of transparency and the district’s low post-COVID test scores.

“It is time for our current board to pass the torch to the next generation, so we can move our district forward,” says Anniece Barker, one of the challengers, who did not return phone calls but responded to questions in an email. “Tradition is hard to move beyond which is why it is important to let others bring new perspectives and ideas.”

However, from the rights that parents have or don’t have to curriculum and policy, many school board candidates misunderstand the scope of the seat they hope to fill, according to current school board members.

“Unless you’re on a school board, you don’t really realize what you can and cannot do,” says Debra Long, vice president of the CVSD board. “People think they can run for school boards and make [state mandates] not happen.”

Long has been on the school board since 2003. While she may not agree with certain federal or state regulations, she understands that her oath of office requires her to follow the rules and laws of the state.

Cindy McMullen, a CVSD board member from 1987 to 2011 and 2015 to present, agrees. To her, it felt like folks expected the school board to rebel against the governor’s rules. Most on the board had unfavorable views of

the pandemic lockdowns, but they refused to go against the rules of the state.

“When I was sworn-in, I agreed to follow the rules and the laws of the state,” Long says.

Others disagree.

A petition to recall Long along with two other board members — Clark and McMullen — was filed in 2021 by Rob Linebarger, a leader in the county GOP. Linebarger alleged that Long didn’t live in the district and that all three board members were guilty of malfeasance and dereliction of duty for not flouting the governor’s mask mandate, according to Spokane Superior Court documents.

The recall attempt was declared factually and legally insufficient, and the court dismissed all charges with prejudice. Additionally, Linebarger was slapped with $30,000 in sanctions, otherwise known as court fines.

What’s more, the school district spent more than $200,000 defending the board members, according to McMullen.

“That [$200,000] would have paid for two teachers that should have been in classrooms instead of used for a frivolous lawsuit,” McMullen says.

Something similar happened in the Tri-Cities. Three Richland School Board directors were recalled and lost their seats in this month’s primary election for the exact thing that some encouraged Central Valley to do: ignoring the state’s COVID protocols.

...continued on page 10

Central Valley School District has a $259 million annual budget and 32 schools, including University High School. ERICK DOXEY PHOTO

In February 2022, the Richland School Board voted 3-2 to go against the state’s indoor mask mandate. Board members Kari Williams, Audra Byrd and Semi Bird (who is running for governor in the 2024 race) all voted in favor of defying state rules. A citizen’s group accused the three of violating Washington’s Open Public Meetings Act, as well as the state law on masking and district policies and procedures, and led the successful recall effort.

Members of the Colville School Board also adopted a policy against the state’s masking mandate, which was promptly overturned after the district was threatened with fines from the state Department of Labor and Industry that could have totaled $153,000 a day.

All three CVSD board members up for re-election this year point to these districts as examples of folks who didn’t understand the scope of the school board taking control and wreaking havoc. Now, they hope to prevent the same thing happening in their district.

TRANSPARENCY

The three candidates who hope to become newly elected to the CVSD board — Barker, Jeff Brooks and Stephanie Jerdon — all criticize how communicative the board is with the public, generally, but also when it comes to the district’s finances.

Citizens for CVSD Transparency, an independent political action committee, has endorsed all three candidates. According to the state Public Disclosure Commission, the PAC has spent more than $5,000 this year, most of it used for campaign signs and advertising. It also sent contributions of $250 to each of the challengers. (In total, Barker has raised $6,600; Brooks $3,400; and Jerdon $8,000.)

The PAC alleges that the school district is rife with liberal ideology and indoctrination — a claim that current school board members reject. All curriculum taught in the district can be seen on its website, and parents have the right to opt their children out of content that some see as ideological, like sexual education.

McMullen says much of the misinformation on transparency has come from this PAC and others like it. However, she hasn’t heard any of these claims personally from parents with students in the district.

“I think that these people think the government operates behind closed doors, and they think that school boards and school districts do too,” McMullen says. “That’s totally not the case.”

Another point that these three candidates unite under is fiscal transparency. The school district is legally required to post its budget each year — which it does— but Jerdon says the budget is confusing.

“You almost have to be an accountant to understand it,” she says.

It’s true: The 200-plus pages of the 2022-23, $259 million budget, which was approved this week, is cumbersome and filled with economic jargon. But it’s not the only fiscal information provided to the public. Each year a budget overview is also given as a PowerPoint presentation with easily digestible graphs and line items, which McMullen says is presented at a board meeting each August. Both the big budget and the overview are posted on the district website.

“If you only go to one meeting you may think we’re not [transparent], but if you were to attend all meetings you would see that we always ask our community and parents for input,” Long says.

Regardless of meeting attendance, Jerdon says the district can do better with its communication to the public. If elected, she says she’d like to see an updated, streamlined CVSD website, a citizen advisory committee and an influx of personal one-on-one meetings with district families.

“There’s always room to improve,” says Keith Clark.

FIGHTS AND RIGHTS

Across the country, some parents are fighting to control what is taught in the classroom. The people fighting for the three R’s — reading, writing and ’rithmetic — in their child’s classrooms are pushing against anything they deem as ideological indoctrination.

While the right’s larger fight now is against certain LGBTQ+ policies and updated curriculum like critical race theory — an academic framework that deals with the idea that racism is systemic in American institutions and that those institutions maintain the dominance of white people, and which is not part of the CVSD curriculum — parents’ involvement in school systems runs throughout history, according to Vladimir Kogan, a political science professor at the Ohio State University.

Kogan, whose research focuses on the intersection of politics and public policy in education, says bouts of intense interest in education aren’t new. In the late 1900s, the nation saw the expulsion of creation science from schools and the inclusion of phonics, both of which saw intense opposition from some parents. This phenomenon goes back to the 1600s with the passing of the Old Deluder Satan Act in Massachusetts, which laid a foundation for today’s public education system with a push to increase literacy so more could read and interpret the Bible.

Now we’re seeing the same thing with today’s political trends.

“Voters are following the leader, and we’re seeing the effect of that now,” Kogan says.

Kogan says there isn’t an answer for when this increased interest, catalyzed by COVID, might subside. Another pandemic, recession or national emergency could happen and totally shift the focus nationally.

“As long as you have public schools, you’re going to have adult activists trying to spread what they view as a just society,” he says.

The process of curriculum adoption isn’t something that school board members can simply change. Decisions are made at the state level and handed down to school districts to make decisions on what parts of the curriculum will be best for the district’s area.

For example, McMullen says the sexual education curriculum her board adopted in Central Valley is very conservative and basically includes the bare minimum of what the state requires. Of the more than 14,000 students in the district, she says fewer than 250 students opted out in the last school year.

However, this could change with enough legislative support. In 2022, Idaho adopted the District Curricular Adoption Committees law that requires parental involvement. These district committees review and recommend certain texts and materials, and by law more than 50 percent of each such committee’s members must be non-educators and parents.

McMullen says she sees most of the “parental rights” outrage aimed against the state’s recent law preventing schools from informing parents if a student wishes to change their pronouns or go by a different name. This doesn’t mean that parents don’t have the right to know this information. It only means that the school isn’t allowed to be the one to start that conversation. Parents, as always, have the right to request their child’s protected information, which includes pronouns or name changes.

McMullen isn’t quite sure why some people are so focused on parental rights, or where it came from as an issue, but she sees it as an attempt to impose certain belief systems on all students. She says they don’t just want the right to guide their child’s education, but to impose those rights and beliefs on everyone else.

“Our students are not pawns,” she says. “I see all of this as not being good for students, and I actually think of that as being harmful.”

Voters in Spokane Valley will have a chance to make their voice known in the Nov. 7 general election. If all three challengers receive enough votes to win, the entire school board will be made up of political newcomers. Some worry that this could affect the district moving forward.

“I can live with whatever the voters choose,” Shelly Clark says. “What I can’t live with is knowing the voters were not given the opportunity to make an informed decision.” n

“As long as you have public schools, you’re going to have adult activists trying to spread what they view as a just society.”

In the whirlwind years of 2005 and 2006, Democrats took control of Congress after 12 years in the minority, while Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc along the Gulf Coast. But, the Inland Northwest had its own tales of heartache and honor. The chilling Joseph Duncan murder case and subsequent rescue of Shasta Groene — the 8-year-old girl he kidnapped after killing her family — rocked Coeur d’Alene. Yet a glimmer of empowerment emerged as the city’s mayor, city administrator and police chief were all women — as shown in our Dec. 12, 2005, story “Coeur d’Alene’s Angels.”

IN THE NEWS

In early 2006, a narrative began to unfold in what would become the decade’s most gripping local chronicle: the killing of developmentally disabled janitor OTTO ZEHM, who died after a violent confrontation with Spokane police officer Karl Thompson. Kevin Taylor led the Inlander’s first coverage, including in his Oct. 10, 2006, story about Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Tucker’s early decision, “Tucker: No Charge in Zehm Death.” In 2011, a federal jury found Thompson guilty of using excessive force and lying to investigators. Later, former Assistant City Attorney Rocky Treppiedi, a key architect behind the storyline blaming Zehm for his own death, was fired. Then-Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perez would label the city and police department’s handling of the investigation an “extensive cover-up” and a “violent abuse of power.”

CULTURE BEAT

Initially named the Clemmer Theater, then the State Theater and finally Metropolitan Performing Arts Center, the BING CROSBY THEATER adopted its present title in December 2006, paying tribute to Spokane’s most renowned citizen. In the Dec. 7, 2006, story, “He’ll be Home for Christmas,” Ann Colford unwraps Crosby’s early life and professional journey. “As Bing Crosby’s star rose, his hometown lost some of its luster, becoming a place that ambitious young people strive to leave rather than the magnet that it had been just a few years before,” Colford writes. Yet, she adds, eight decades later “Bing is coming back home again.”

ON THE COVER

With pens poised and dreams unconfined, the Inlander heralded the dawn of 2005 with an audacious theme: “Think Big.” Staffers Joel Smith, Leah Sottile and Cara Gardner searched out big ideas for the region “to help jump-start a brainstorm of progressive, out-there, forwardthinking pipe dreams.” A few of these daring ideas have become real. Notably, THE FOX THEATER was renovated in 2007, helping to spur a revival of economic growth in downtown Spokane. Yet in the grand procession of progress, some ideas were left in the realm of imagination. The Inland Northwest remains a land lacking light rail, and the consolidation of Spokane and Spokane Valley’s governments has yet to occur.

LOCAL FOLK

In early 2005, Inlander readers picked Spokane Mayor JIM WEST as the year’s Best Elected Official. “He was willing to wade into the River Park Square quagmire, managing to emerge, if not unsullied, at least still intact,” Inlander’s Michael Bowen wrote. Just six weeks later, the Spokesman-Review broke the story that ended West’s career: “West Tied to Sex Abuse in ’70s, Using Office to Lure Young Men.” Consequently, West was resoundingly recalled from office and died months later. In a sad and dark twist this year, Steve Smith, the former executive editor of the Spokesman-Review and the face of the West investigation, was arrested on charges related to accusations that he paid girls as young as 10 for sexually explicit videos.

— BEN VANDEHEY

Bradford performs the music of Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and Lena Horne.

Watering in the Park

It’s against the law to water your lawn during the day in Spokane — unless you’re a city park

BY NATE SANFORD

Spokane is in a drought.

As temperatures soar into the hundreds this week, a new series of restrictions are limiting how and when Spokane residents are allowed to water their lawns.

The watering ordinance, passed last summer, has

two tiers. Level 1, which is automatically in effect during summer months, restricts people from watering between 10 am and 6 pm and for any more than four days a week. There’s no real enforcement mechanism, so it’s an honor system.

Level 2 restrictions apply when the Spokane River is

running at less than 1,000 cubic feet per second. Those more stringent rules, which went into effect July 24, limit watering to no more than two days a week. They also prohibit using water to wash sidewalks, driveways, decks and patios. This is the first year those rules have been triggered.

While the ordinance asks residents to do their part, it allows hoses and sprinklers in a number of city parks to continue spraying away — even during the off-limits hours of midday heat.

Fianna Dickson, a spokesperson for the parks department, says it’s mainly the result of outdated equipment

Defending Democracy with Adrian Fontes

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August

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Please join the Spokane County Democrats in welcoming Secretary Fontes. All supporters of democracy are welcome, regardless of party affiliation.

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• Gonzaga University School of Law Professor Jeffrey Omari will share a per-publication research preview in a speech called “Political Disinformation and the End of the World as We Know It.”

• A special performance by Ballet Folklorico de Spokane will open the program.

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Do as we say, not as we sprinkle.

and a labor shortage.

Many of the city’s parks are able to comply with the ordinance because they have automatic watering systems that can be easily flipped on or off with an iPad or cellphone, Dickson says. But in some parks — like Audubon, Coeur d’Alene, Comstock, Franklin and Manito — some or all of the sprinklers use an outdated manual system. That means an employee has to go to the park to physically flip a switch and connect hoses. And Dickson says the department doesn’t have enough staff to do that at night when watering is permitted.

“Finding people to do that in the evening hours is near impossible,” Dickson says. “We’ve tried and really struggled with that.”

The city is working to replace the outdated manual systems, but it’s a slow, expensive process that will take years to finish, Dickson says.

Not everyone is thrilled with the exemptions. In a reply to one angry commenter, the city of Spokane’s official Facebook account acknowledged that it can be “confusing and frustrating” to see daytime watering in parks while being told not to do it on your own lawn. But Dickson stresses that Spokane’s parks are public assets, and that the exemptions allow the parks to continue providing community greenspace during summer months.

The watering ordinance also has an exemption for the city’s golf courses and other athletic facilities operated by the parks department.

“Those assets need to be available for active recreation for our community and therefore were granted an exemption to be able to maintain the recreation value,” Dickson says.

Dickson says city parks account for less than 4 percent of the overall water consumption across Spokane. She says the department has managed to save about 70 million gallons of water over the past four years by replacing outdated technology, planting native plants that are less water hungry and using new mulching practices to reduce evaporation. n

nates@inlander.com

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$1.7 Billion Question

Spokane County wants voters to fund a new jail and other public safety measures with a sales tax increase

BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL

This November, voters throughout Spokane County will be asked if they’re willing to pay another 20 cents in sales tax on every $100 they spend to invest in criminal justice, public safety and behavioral health.

The 0.2 percent sales and use tax increase would last for 30 years and is expected to bring in about $1.7 billion. Of that, 60 percent would go to the county and 40 percent would go to cities and towns on a per-capita basis.

The county intends to spend at least half of the $1 billion it would receive to construct multiple new jail buildings behind the current downtown facility. In addition to building space for about 800 jail beds and enabling the closure of Geiger Corrections Center, the county plans to build a community corrections center where offenders could access programming such as anger management, GED courses, parenting classes, addiction treatment, job

training and more.

Measure 1 was approved for the November ballot by County Commissioners Josh Kerns and Al French in December 2022. (The board hadn’t expanded yet to five members, and Commissioner Mary Kuney was absent but supports the measure going to voters this year.)

During that meeting, Kerns said that a new jail has been discussed for many years, with data gathering and expert input at many steps, including during the unique challenges of the pandemic.

“We have kicked this political football around for over a decade, and it’s time for the voters’ voices to be heard,” Kerns said. “You will hear people that will tell you, ‘We do not have enough data to know if we need a new jail.’ That is a red herring, and it is a lie.”

Kerns’ prediction of detail-oriented naysayers has proven partially true.

Knowing that the county would need to inform the elections office by Aug. 17 in order to delay the ballot measure, progressive Commissioners Amber Waldref and Chris Jordan — who joined the expanded commission in January — asked their three conservative counterparts in July to postpone the ask to next August.

Waldref and Jordan said that would give the county time to compile a more detailed plan showing how the rest of the money would be spent, which could make it easier to pitch to voters.

“I’ve worked on several ballot measures and levies when I was a [Spokane City] Council member,” Waldref tells the Inlander. “You really have to have a well-defined plan of where you’re going to put the dollars. The voters need that to be able to make an informed decision.”

Waldref says a delay would also allow cities and the county to talk about coordinated public safety and behavioral health investments at a time when they’re already talking about a coordinated response to homelessness.

But French, Kerns and Kuney voted to table any further discussion on changes to the ballot measure until after the November election.

In another bid to beat the deadline, Spokane City Council President Lori Kinnear, Council member Zack Zappone and a staff representative from the corrections officers’ union sent a letter last week asking the commissioners to delay the measure so cities could plan for the revenue they’ll receive.

“Forty percent of the $1.7 billion goes to municipalities,” Zappone says in an interview. “We have had zero conversations at the city about what we should spend that money on.”

Zappone says he reached out to small city leaders and found that some didn’t even realize the measure would be on the November ballot.

“This is about $700 million of funding that has no plan whatsoever from the municipalities,” Zappone says. “We agree that something needs to be done about the jail. … But the problem is we have no plan for all of the money.”

MORE INFO

However, Kerns says the county has presented its jail plan to the cities that would receive most of that pot of money — Spokane and Spokane Valley — and it’s up to them to figure out their plans. He says that if the measure passes, cities will have several months before the tax starts getting collected in April 2024.

“We have a jail that is regularly overcrowded or at redlight status, meaning it cannot accept any additional inmates,” Kerns says. “These dollars, if this measure passes, will be there to alleviate the constraints.”

The county plans to pay for programming in the new space to reduce recidivism and help break the cycle of incarceration, Kerns says.

“We want people to not be committing crimes. We don’t make money when people are in jail,” Kerns says. “We would much rather people be out as contributing members of society.”

There’s an expectation that the cities will contribute part of their share toward the cost of the new jail facilities, but those details haven’t been hammered out yet and likely wouldn’t be until after the November election, Kuney told reporters at a news conference on Monday.

“Public safety relies heavily on accountability,” Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels told reporters. “Measure 1 will allow us to build a facility that is both safe and humane and also allow us to provide treatment options and education options, and the capacity to get people the help that they need.” n

A new jail would bring 800 more jail beds and enable the closure of Geiger Corrections Center, but the current jail (above) would stay open. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

Unlucky Us

A beloved Browne’s Addition venue closes. Plus, the kids win in Montana; and Spokane opens up cooling centers in the heat wave.

After four years of being a vital cog in Spokane’s music scene, Lucky You Lounge is closing its doors at the end of August. The Browne’s Addition bar, restaurant and concert venue with a 250-person capacity provided a welcome home for touring acts of all genres (especially the folky lot) while also serving as a showcase stage for local artists. It’s always been notable how many bands touring through Spokane have gone out of their way to say how lucky Spokane was to have a venue like Lucky You while on its stage, which underscores the loss. Lucky You plans to host scheduled concerts through the end of August, so there’s still time to catch one last show and raise a shot to the soon-to-be-departed sonic haven. Select Lucky You shows scheduled past August have been moved to the District Bar. Just a reminder: Support local music or it will cease existing. (SETH

CLIMATE VICTORY

SOMMERFELD)

In April 2022, we wrote about a group of Montana youth fighting against climate change by suing their state. This week, they got a first-in-the-nation victory, with a judge ruling that the state of Montana is violating their constitutionally protected right to a “clean and healthful environment.” Under the Montana Environmental Policy Act, state regulators have not been able to consider the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions or climate change when conducting environmental reviews before permitting new projects. In a 103page ruling on Aug. 14, Montana First Judicial District Judge Kathy Seeley said that limitation on the review process violates the state constitution, and she invalidated the law. “As fires rage in the West, fueled by fossil fuel pollution, today’s ruling in Montana is a game-changer that marks a turning point in this generation’s efforts to save the planet from the devastating effects of humancaused climate chaos,” said Julia Olson, chief legal counsel on the case and executive director with Our Children’s Trust. “This is a huge win for Montana, for youth, for democracy, and for our climate.” (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)

COOL DOWN

It’s going to be a hot one. As the National Weather Service forecasts high temperatures of 96 to 108 degrees this week, the city of Spokane is offering several resources to help people stay cool. Six Spokane library locations (Central, Hillyard, Shadle Park, Liberty Park, South Hill and Indian Trail) will be open between 9 am and 7 pm, with hydration resources and space to cool down. The city is also promoting its homeless shelter on East Trent Avenue as a place people can go to beat the heat. The Trent shelter normally has space for 350 people, but the city says it can accommodate up to 400 during heat waves. The shelter will offer three meals, snacks, and hydration resources. People can check occupancy on sheltermespokane.org. The Spokane Transit Authority is offering free fare to riders going to and from the Trent shelter and libraries. The city is required to open cooling centers any time temperatures rise above 95 degrees because of an emergency ordinance passed in the wake of a 2021 heat wave, which caused at least 20 confirmed deaths in Spokane, according to the county medical examiner. (NATE SANFORD) n

Get the latest on Inlander.com

Spokane’s live music scene takes a hit. ERICK DOXEY PHOTO

People line up on Sunday, July 30, for a free burrito outside of Compassionate Addiction Treatment.

WE SPENT A WEEKEND AT SPOKANE’S MOST NOTORIOUS INTERSECTION.

SECOND

STORY BY NATE SANFORD PHOTOS BY ERICK DOXEY

AND DIVISION

HERE’S WHAT WE SAW.

THE INTERSECTION OF SECOND AVENUE AND DIVISION STREET in Spokane has a reputation.

It’s a major thoroughfare, just a few blocks from the downtown core. It’s the first thing many visitors see after exiting the interstate, and one of the most heavilytrafficked parts of the Spokane, with more than 30,000 cars passing through each day. Mayor Nadine Woodward describes it as “the main gateway into our city.”

It’s also the epicenter of a humanitarian crisis.

Suffering is everywhere and impossible to ignore. People in torn clothes and visible states of distress wander the area at all hours, looking lost. Screams and fights echo through the night. Fentanyl is smoked in the open or under blankets to block the wind. It’s a hotspot for overdoses, and a frequent backdrop for evening TV news

segments about drug arrests or local businesses fleeing downtown.

A Starbucks on the northwest corner closed last year. A church across the street said in February it was moving out but hasn’t yet been able to sell the building.

The area is also a hub for social services. There’s an addiction treatment center, a low-barrier shelter and several supportive housing complexes within a couple blocks.

Woodward says the city is cracking down. She points to two city laws: a revived rule that prevents sitting or lying on public sidewalks, and a new one that makes public drug use a misdemeanor.

Citywide, police issued 12 sit/lie citations this May and June combined. Seven were within a couple blocks of

this intersection. The department conducts regular drug emphasis patrols in the area. During the last one, they made 17 arrests in one day.

The area has long been troubled, and residents say the problems come and go in cycles. But over the past three years — as pandemic, fentanyl and housing crises ripped across West Coast cities — the intersection has been looking worse for wear. A small sliver of a societal emergency decades in the making.

We spent one weekend in late July at the intersection, talking to the people who live and hang out there. This isn’t a story about homelessness, or the state of the world. It’s a snapshot of one intersection, on one summer weekend, in a city in the middle of a crisis. ...continued

GOD’S CITY

Space Jam, a homeless man who often stays in the area and asks to go by his nickname because of active warrants, is well aware of the stereotypes. He says he’s heard this described as the “most dangerous, most rundown, most drug addicted, most crime f---ing” filled part of town.

“What’s your guys’ goal today?” he says, shortly after asking if we’re tourists who got lost. It’s midafternoon on Saturday, July 29. “Are you trying to show the vibrancy in the dimission of society?”

Space Jam says he came to Spokane from Olympia about five years ago while trying to avoid legal trouble involving a stolen car. He describes growing up with mental illness stemming from a traumatic brain injury in an abusive home and says he was pulled into a gang lifestyle as a teenager living on the streets.

Space Jam, 34, says he’s staying away from all that stuff now. Falling in love with music and moving to Spokane helped give him a new outlook, he says.

“This is God’s city,” Space Jam says. “Where sinners become saints.”

Damon Trinkle is hanging out in the parking lot of the former Starbucks. He’s a chatty guy, and cracks jokes about how “shady” we look loitering from the sun under a tree.

Trinkle lives with his mom in Spokane Valley and sometimes works painting jobs. He says he has friends who live near this intersection and comes down here fairly often to say hi and make sure they’re still alive. He also visits to buy fentanyl.

“Don’t judge me because I sin differently than you do,” Trinkle says.

The drugs are taking a toll on Trinkle’s home life. He says he’d like to quit. But not today. It feels good, he says — like a full body massage.

Trinkle says people call the fentanyl pills “blues,” “beans” or “mexis.” The rainbow-colored pills are less common and are often called “Skittles,” like the candy. You can’t really find heroin in Spokane anymore without knowing the right person, Trinkle says. But fentanyl? It’s everywhere. Ask anyone. Three or five bucks a pill. It’ll cost more if you want raw powder.

People used to sell drugs by the 7-Eleven, Trinkle says, but moved down the street after police started cracking down a couple months ago.

“The drug problem is pretty bad, I’m not gonna lie to you guys,” Trinkle says.

BUYING BEANS

An older man with a Seahawks baseball cap and a bushy gray beard has been sitting on the northeast corner of Division and Second all afternoon, scanning the street from behind a pair of reflective sunglasses.

He says his name is Don Fuller, and that he became homeless a few months ago. His wife left him, and his life “spun out of control.” He describes struggles with bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorders. He has a plastic box of sandwiches and says he’s trying to sell them so he can afford a room at the La Quinta Inn across the street for the night. The hotel is bordered by an imposing, spiked metal fence.

“It’s a mess man,” Fuller says of the intersection. “People are robbing out here. They’ll rob you. I’ve been jumped.”

While we’re talking, Trinkle approaches Fuller from behind, just out of his line of sight, and Fuller startles — his hand twitches toward a bag resting by his side.

“Don’t f---in’ do that man,” Fuller says. “Motherf---ers come up behind me, I don’t know what they’re going to do.”

“It’s a mess man. People are robbing out here. They’ll rob you. I’ve been jumped.”

Damon Trinkle (facing page) points to fentanyl resin inside a plastic straw.

Jam.

Trinkle apologizes profusely. He didn’t mean to scare him.

“Just don’t do it again homie,” Fuller says.

Trinkle somehow managed to pull together $3. Fuller tells me to take a walk. “I’ve gotta do business with this guy,” he says.

I leave them alone. When Trinkle reappears a few minutes later, he has a small blue bean in his hand. He asks if we would like to watch him smoke it.

POSITIVE IMPACT

There’s a treatment center a couple dozen feet away, called Compassionate Addiction Treatment. It has 15 staff members and offers case management, medication-assisted treatment, a drop-in day program and other services.

Space Jam says the peer counselors there have been helping him avoid drugs.

“Oh man, they have no judgment. They’re beautiful,” Space Jam says. “CAT needs more money to help people.”

Hallie Burchinal founded the center in 2019. She says CAT largely relies on private donations and a maze of grants to fund the work. Medicaid helps with some services, but it doesn’t cover everything, which means the organization often bleeds cash, Burchinal says.

The center moved to the Division Street location in spring 2022. It’s been an uphill battle ever since.

“The work is hard, just because it’s emotional and heavy,” Burchinal says. “But it’s the politics that are just truly what feels the most soul crushing.”

CAT and other nearby service providers are regularly accused of drawing people to the area and contributing to the overall sense of disorder and safety issues on the streets. Just one month after moving in, police delivered CAT a letter informing the center that it’d been identified as a potential chronic nuisance.

Woodward says she’s talked with CAT about its impact on the neighborhood, and that she doesn’t think it’s been positive.

“We need to create the expectation that if you’re a service provider, and you’re working with our unhoused, your work cannot lead to trash on the street, to people loitering, hanging out, victimizing the community or businesses,” Woodward says. “That’s what we’re seeing. The graffiti, the property crime, the garbage, all of that.”

Burchinal pushes back on the idea that CAT and other services are drawing people to the neighborhood. She thinks the city often pushes unhoused people to the neighborhood from other parts of downtown because there aren’t as many businesses. She recalls experiencing a similar thing when she was homeless in downtown Spokane in the 1980s.

“They seem to want us to kind of police the neighborhood around our building,” Burchinal says. “We don’t have the human resources to do that, financially.”

It’s a challenge that Catholic Charities is also familiar with. In addition to House of Charity, a 135-bed, lowbarrier shelter with minimal entry requirements a couple blocks from the intersection, Catholic Charities also operates five permanent supportive housing buildings in the neighborhood.

The 50-unit housing projects, called “havens,” offer peer-support and other services that aim to help residents stabilize their lives. Many of the people in those units work jobs and pay a portion of their income toward rent.

The havens are an example of the “housing first” model, which prioritizes housing over sobriety or other requirements. Woodward doesn’t think it’s working. She wants to see a more dispersed approach to services going forward.

“Having a night-by-night shelter right next to their housing first developments has not been a positive thing for people in the shelter or people in the havens,” Woodward says.

Tension over Catholic Charities’ presence in the area isn’t new.

Kelly Keenan, vice president of advancement and impact at Catholic Charities, says the organization hears the complaints, but he says the people they see contributing to illegal and unsafe activity on the streets aren’t their clients. Sometimes, Keenan says, people are coming to the area to prey on the people staying at the havens, many of whom are actively working to beat addiction.

Keenan says Catholic Charities has a 20-person safety team that regularly patrols the sites. They also collaborate with law enforcement and work on trash pickup.

“We believe that individuals who are contributing to the disruption of services and community safety should be appropriately engaged by law enforcement as soon as possible,” Keenan says.

The mayor has been trying to get House of Charity moved out of downtown for years. Conversations are ongoing. Keenan says they still haven’t found a location.

Burchinal says her treatment center isn’t going anywhere.

“Even though it’s hard, it’s exactly where we belong,” Burchinal says.

‘I DIDN’T KNOW I WAS DEAD’

Trinkle seeks shelter in the shade of the former Starbucks. He’s joined by a buddy he met earlier today who asks to go by his street name: Justin Time.

“It’s better to smoke in pairs because if you do overdose, somebody’s there to send help or something,” Trinkle says.

“I usually carry Narcan, but my bag got stolen this week,” Time adds.

Narcan is the brand name for naloxone, a drug that can be sprayed up someone’s nose to block their opioid receptors and — hopefully — reverse the effects of an overdose and save their life.

Trinkle says he’s been Narcan-ed about 10 times. It’s not pleasant.

“You come out of it and you’re like, what the hell just happened?” Trinkle says. “It felt like I was sleeping. I didn’t know I was dead.”

Time carefully loads the blue pill onto a piece of tinfoil, heats the bottom with a butane torch lighter and inhales the smoke with a metal coffee straw. It’s healthier than the plastic straws, he explains.

When it’s Trinkle’s turn, he dives right in with a plastic tube taken from a dismantled pen. Most people call the straws “tooters,” but Trinkle says he prefers a “hooter.”

When we talked earlier this afternoon, Trinkle was bright, charismatic and genuinely funny. It disappears when he hits the foil.

He slumps over, staggering around and waving his arms erratically. He can barely stand up. He’s mumbling and semi-coherent, but he just keeps going. He hits the foil again and again and again.

Time is still lucid — he only had one hit. As Trinkle lies down on the sidewalk, Time tells me about his experience with homelessness in Phoenix, and how he moved to Spokane last December after his aunt heard he was sleeping rough and invited him to stay with her. They recently had a falling out, and now Time is back on the streets.

Trinkle opens his eyes and jolts into an upright position — fumbling for the foil to take yet another hit. I think about his 10 overdoses and want to plead with him to stop, but Time insists that he knows what he’s doing.

“He’s alright, it’s pretty normal,” Time says.

Trinkle takes another puff and slumps back down on the sidewalk.

Eyes closed. Full-body massage. ...continued on next page

“I can find beauty in anything, especially something that’s dying,” says Space

EPIDEMIC

Spokane’s Fire Station 1 is a half-mile away from the intersection. None of the firefighters working there are surprised when I tell them I met someone who continues using after overdosing 10 times.

“We go to the same people most of the time,” says Mike Walker, a lieutenant with the department.

Engine One, a single firetruck stationed downtown, has responded to 219 overdose calls so far this year. Firefighter Sean Champoux estimates that at least 95 percent were fentanyl-related. By contrast, the engine responded to 159 this same time last year, and 207 in all of 2021.

The firefighters say they sometimes respond to multiple overdose calls for the same person during a single shift. They say the Havens, 7-Eleven and House of Charity are all hotspots.

Corey Barker, another firefighter, remembers getting calls for alcohol overdoses when he started with the department 25 years ago. Then heroin. Then meth. Now it’s fentanyl, which far outpaces the devastation of previous drugs.

“The ease of access to fentanyl is just crazy,” Barker says.

Over the past year, overdose deaths in Washington increased by 21 percent, outpacing every other state in the nation. In Spokane County, 147 people died of fentanyl-related overdoses last year, a 425 percent increase from 2020.

“People are dying at astronomical rates, we need to do something,” Woodward says. “We need to start taking drastic measures to save people’s lives.”

Burchinal says it used to be really traumatic when her staff had to use Narcan on someone overdosing outside the treatment center. Not anymore.

“For our team, it’s just part of the normal daily thing now,” Burchinal says. “They don’t even think about it.”

Fentanyl’s affordability, potency and ease of access make it especially hard to combat, says Misty Challinor, a treatment services division director at the Spokane Regional Health District. The drug literally changes the way your brain works. Stigma, trauma and grueling withdrawals can make quitting feel nearly impossible, Challinor says.

“It’s essentially like having the flu for several weeks or months,” Challinor says. “But it’s the flu times 100.”

NIGHT

As darkness falls, Fuller stays at his perch on the northwest corner. People come and go. A woman without a shirt drags a plastic chair across the street as a stream of cars swerve to avoid her.

A shouting match breaks out in the 7-Eleven parking lot, but the quarrelers walk away before it gets physical. The entire lot is watched by a mobile security unit with speakers and cameras on a raised pole. Someone smashed one of the solar panels, but the machine still seems to be working.

“Thank you for shopping at 7-Eleven,” the machine says. “For your safety, the parking lot is being video and audio recorded.”

On the sidewalk outside Donna Hanson Haven, a couple huddle together and watch a movie on a cellphone.

A young woman sticks her head out of a car driving

down Second Avenue and yells, “Tweakerville!”

It’s an attitude Burchinal has encountered before. People don’t like seeing things that make them uncomfortable, she says.

“When you drive through this neighborhood, you’re seeing reality,” Burchinal says. “But rather than being angry because it makes them uncomfortable or it’s upsetting to see, I wish people would drive through and see the need that’s going on there. The need for better services, the need for change, the need for housing, the need for improving our foster system.”

Burchinal stresses that substance use disorder is often tied to untreated trauma, and that multiple studies have shown housing costs — not drugs — are the primary cause of homelessness. Addiction, Burchinal says, is often the symptom, not the cause.

‘ONE TIME’

The next morning, a pair of police officers are detaining two men outside the former Starbucks. It’s 8 am, and the air is already thick with heat.

Fuller, who sat in the same spot yesterday with a box of sandwiches, is back on the northwest corner, a couple dozen feet from the cops. Time is standing with him, and they’re watching the arrest with a mix of disappointment and exasperation.

“He’s gonna go to jail,” Time says.

“When you drive through this neighborhood, you’re seeing reality.”

People outside the Donna Hanson Haven a block off of Division Street.

“They caught him red-handed,” Fuller adds, shaking his head.

Time and Fuller had tried to warn the men. When they saw the police rolling through, they shouted “one time,” which is code for cops. But the men smoking fentanyl on the sidewalk didn’t listen. Now their drugs are in a plastic evidence bag, and their hands are in cuffs.

A 59-year-old man who asks to go by his nickname, Sergeant Prime Time, wanders over to watch the arrest.

Prime Time says he’s been homeless for about five years and recently lost his ID. He says he comes to this area because there’s free food and water. There’s also the 7-Eleven, which takes food stamps. He used to stay at House of Charity, but says he got kicked out after getting in a fight with someone who was eating crackers and spilling crumbs on his bed.

Prime Time doesn’t use drugs. But he understands why so many on the street are drawn to it — even the really destructive stuff like fentanyl.

“Drugs help them deal with life,” Prime Time says. “But when they come down, they still got the same problems.”

Prime Time doesn’t think arrests help. Fentanyl is dangerous, he says, but the people outside the former Starbucks weren’t hurting anyone but themselves.

Almost every major city in Washington has spent the past two years grappling with that argument.

In 2021, Washington’s Supreme Court ruled that the state’s drug possession law was unconstitutional, and lawmakers passed a temporary stopgap measure that effectively decriminalized most types of drug possession. After the state Legislature failed to agree on a replacement ahead of the measure’s expiration this spring, cities across the state, including Spokane, scrambled to pass their own drug use laws.

It was a heated, emotional debate. Almost everyone agreed that the status quo wasn’t tenable, but the legacy of the War on Drugs loomed large, and advocates worried that a return to criminalization would only make things worse for people struggling with addiction. Others argued that jail could help connect people with services.

In May, Spokane passed a law that made public drug use an arrestable offense. If police see someone using drugs in public, they can choose to either arrest and take them to jail, or release them with a citation for community court.

Julie Humphreys, a spokesperson for the police department, says officers use discretion and consider factors like jail capacity, officer staffing and the circumstances of the individual when deciding whether to release someone with a citation or arrest them.

“If there’s no demand, sellers won’t have anyone to sell to,” Humphreys says. “People are addicted, and we’re trying to protect them.”

Humphreys says 123 people have been cited or arrested under the new law since it went into effect in May. She wasn’t able to provide a specific breakdown on how many of those 123 people were cited and released versus how many went to jail, because the department’s data system has them together in the same category.

During a special session called by Gov. Jay Inslee this spring, the state Legislature passed a law making possession a misdemeanor. Humphreys says she expects to see the number of arrests and citations increase once Spokane police start enforcing it at the end of the month.

The people watching the arrest on Second and Division are familiar with the basics of the legal situation.

“It’s the governor’s idea — the governor came up with that crap,” Fuller says.

Time has a couple buddies who’ve been arrested for public drug use in recent months. He says they came out of jail a week later with a lower tolerance and started using again.

A third police car pulls up and escorts the men into

the back of a car. You can hear muffled music from the church across the street.

“Boy, I’d sure love to see the mayor’s face right now,” Fuller laughs. “She’s probably loving this.”

I ask Fuller where the drugs are coming from, and he waves the question away. Don’t talk about that stuff, man.

A few minutes later, a voice echoes down the street as another police car rounds the corner.

“One time, one time.”

BURRITOS

A line is forming outside Compassionate Addiction Treatment. They’re here for Burritos for the People, a weekly free breakfast program run by Spokane Community Against Racism, or SCAR.

For more than two years now, volunteers have come out here every Sunday morning to hand out coffee, juice, water and breakfast burritos to whoever needs it. The volunteers also pick up trash in the area. They serve about 300 burritos each Sunday.

“It’s a drop in the bucket for what’s actually needed,” says Scott Mueller, a volunteer with SCAR. “But it means a lot to folks to have a little bright spot.”

Volunteers in reflective vests hand out water and manage the line. The atmosphere is light. The food smells great, and the volunteers are quick to share smiles with the guests.

Justice Forall, an organizer with SCAR, says the group doesn’t consider itself a homeless service provider or mutual aid group. People involved with SCAR are just doing what they can to help people out. For many people living outside, the weekly burrito handout is one of the only safe places they have, Forall says.

In the parking lot outside the treatment center, Mueller’s mom, Margo, is picking up trash with a grabber tool. She comes out here to help with trash pickup every week and says she gets a lot of joy out of the relationships she builds with the people she helps.

“You cannot imagine how nice they are in return,” Margo says.

SICK AND TIRED

Time is sitting on the sidewalk outside Donna Hanson Haven and eating burritos with his buddy, Elliot Morrison.

Morrison says he came here from Tacoma in February because his friends had convinced him to try getting clean at a local rehab center. But he wasn’t ready and left after a few days. He and Time smoked fentanyl earlier this morning.

Time says he’s still moving his stuff out of his aunt’s place and isn’t sure where he’ll sleep tonight. Morrison recommends House of Charity, and Time says he’ll think about it.

“It’s a good place, man,” Morrison says. “They have food and stuff.”

But Morrison says he doesn’t stay at House of Charity anymore himself. They can be strict about drugs, and he worries about being stuck there at night after the doors are closed and getting sick from withdrawals.

Morrison says his addiction started with heroin. He was clean for a while, but relapsed after his mother died two summers ago. He says the fentanyl he uses now is a lot more addictive and comes with a tougher comedown.

Morrison says he stole from a tip jar at a Starbucks across town a few days ago. He feels really shitty about it, but says the desperation was overpowering.

“I definitely never saw myself… I don’t think anyone sees themselves doing stuff like this,” Morrison says.

Morrison doesn’t plan on staying in Spokane much longer. He wants to go back to Tacoma before the winter, because he’s heard they have a program that places homeless people in hotels while they’re on the waitlist for more permanent housing.

Police arrest a man on Second Avenue.

Margo Mueller volunteers to pick up trash each Sunday.

Sergeant Prime Time

A volunteer with SCAR at Burritos for the People.

I ask Morrisson if there’s anything he wishes people knew about what it’s like out here.

“Everybody has a reason for addiction,” Morrison says. “It’s not just like, ‘Oh I want to get really high all the time.’ It’s usually to mask something or cover something up. Your brain makes you think you need it, you know? And at a certain point it stops being fun.”

Time nods in agreement.

“Eventually, you beat it,” Time says. “You get sick and tired of being sick and tired. Or you die.”

HEARTBROKEN

I went back to the intersection one week later, on an overcast Sunday morning in early August, to follow up with Mueller with some questions.

Shortly after I arrived, Forall, the organizer with SCAR, was physically assaulted while trying to ask a man outside Compassionate Addiction Treatment to smoke elsewhere.

I was in the building’s parking lot talking to Mueller when the shouting started. The man was agitated about Forall’s request, and seemed to be mentally unwell or in some sort of crisis.

After a few minutes of yelling, something snapped

and suddenly Forall was on the sidewalk trying to protect their face as two men rained down punches. It was chaos. People in line for burritos yelled at them to stop and ran over to intervene. Someone called the cops. Mueller tried to pull the men off, and he, too, ended up on the ground under a hail of fists.

The attack ended as quickly as it started. Forall and Mueller walked away a little bruised and shaken up, but otherwise OK. Nothing like that had ever happened before, Mueller said.

Police arrived 20 minutes after the 911 call went out. Three squad cars. The assailants were long gone at that point, but Mueller and Forall weren’t interested in pressing charges anyway. It wouldn’t help anyone, Mueller said. He had a painful-looking bruise under his right eye, but didn’t seem angry.

“When people are dysregulated and with trauma, weird stuff happens,” Mueller said. “We’ve got a lot of people with a lot of issues, and throwing them in jail is not going to fix that.”

Even before the attack, spirits were low that morning.

After two years and about 30,000 free burritos, leadership at Compassionate Addiction Treatment had just informed SCAR that they would no longer be allowed

to hand out food on the property. The volunteers have until the end of the month to find a new spot. They’re not sure where they’ll go.

Burchinal says the decision stems from increased complaints and pressure from several nearby businesses who felt that SCAR — and a mobile health clinic that also sometimes uses the property — had been contributing to the disorder by drawing people to the area.

Burchinal is hesitant to name businesses or go into detail about the complaints — it’s a sensitive situation the organization is still trying to navigate. But she doesn’t think getting rid of weekly burrito distribution and the mobile health clinic will do anything to stop people from congregating or causing trouble in the area.

Forall and Mueller say they don’t blame the treatment center for the decision. But the news is still devastating.

“This is the place of highest need,” Mueller says. “We’re heartbroken.” n

“We’ve got a lot of people with a lot of issues, and throwing them in jail is not going to fix that.”

Elliot Morrison eats a burrito on the sidewalk.

SPOKANE’S LIVING ROOM

The Historic Davenport Hotel’s new music series invites guests to go back in time for one night

BY MADISON PEARSON

Whether you’re looking to see a booming arena concert, classical music in a swanky theater or a solo musician in the intimacy of a cozy bar, Spokane has got you covered.

But for a different kind of entertainment in a setting unlike any other, music lovers can now head to the Historic Davenport Hotel to get their fix of big band swing and 1920s jazz.

Opened in 1914, the hotel has been a destination for fine dining and extravagance for over 100 years. Its rooms have served as temporary accommodations for many famous guests — 10 U.S. presidents, Betty White, Johnny Cash, Nat King Cole and others have walked the Davenport’s ornate halls.

The hotel is adored by locals and admired by visitors for its lavish Renaissance Revival-style facade and opulent interior. (Even ghost hunters are attracted to the premises, for reasons other than the hotel’s appearance.) Upon arriving in Spokane just over a year ago, Dania Duke was immediately enamored with the Historic Davenport, too.

Sacha’s Supper Club debuted in May. THE DAVENPORT HOTEL COLLECTION PHOTOS

“When I was sent here to manage the Davenport Collection I started looking at all of the opportunities we had with the hotels,” says Duke, vice president and area managing director of the Davenport Hotels. “We have this historical register property that is so beloved to Spokanites and the beautiful lobby with nothing going on inside of it.”

With over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Duke made it her mission to, as she puts it, “activate the space” within the hotel’s lobby by bringing people inside for reasons other than dinner and drinks.

“We want to create experiences that are memorable,” she says. “I really felt like the historic Davenport could be the living room of Spokane.”

For Duke that meant involving prior hospitality industry collaborators to create a space that felt welcoming, lavish, special and new for all who entered. So she contacted opera singer Sacha Boutros to aid her in making the Historic Davenport a new music destination.

Boutros packed up her life in San Diego and moved to Spokane in 2022 to help Duke build this new music series from the ground up. Her entertainment company, Hear Me Roar, specializes in seeking out female performers to perform in historic venues like the Davenport.

“I started Hear Me Roar to promote the voices of women in the arts,” Boutros says. “Women often took the backseat during the era [1920s to 1960s] of the American Songbook. I want to be a part of that change.”

With her new series Sacha’s Supper Club, Boutros aims to give guests the experience of a lifetime while lifting up female musicians from Spokane and beyond.

The first Sacha’s Supper Club event, Swing with Bing, honored Spokane’s own Bing Crosby. Featuring swing dancers from Woodside Swing, flowing drinks, and periodaccurate dress and music, all 350 tickets sold out by the night of the event, on May 6.

“Everyone really showed out,” Boutros says. “It was like a time warp. Everyone was dressed to the nines. Spokane really made that first event special.”

After the success of Swing with Bing, Boutros and Duke began crafting an entire season of experiences at the Historic Davenport.

Next, Sacha’s Supper Club is hosting its Candlelight Concert with opera vocalist Susanna Poretsky. On Aug. 19, guests will fill the Historic Davenport’s Isabella Ballroom for a night of acoustic opera from all around the world.

“The idea came from the salons in Versailles in the 1600s,” Boutros says. “After dinner, people would gather for cocktails and a musical performance, a comedic performance, really anything like that. It was a concert by candlelight, and that’s what we’re hoping to accomplish with Susanna. Dinner and then a spectacular performance.”

Poretsky is a classically trained mezzo-soprano and is set to sing in eight different languages at the Candlelight Concert, something you’ll have to hear to believe.

Along with Sacha’s Supper Club, the entirety of the music programming for the Davenport Hotel Collection (other properties are the Davenport Tower, Lusso and Grand, and the Centennial Hotel) has been rebooted, revived and updated to fit the needs of each hotel.

“We have music at all five hotels,” Duke says. “We have country performers, singer-songwriters, guitarists — everything. If people want to go hang out by the pool and hear some live music, the Centennial is the place to be.”

Duke and Boutros want to ensure that no matter the reason you’re at the Davenport, there’s an opportunity to be exposed to great performers and music worthy of a listen.

From Wednesday through Sunday, guests can hear the American Songbook series during brunch and dinner. This series features local musicians, plus Boutros herself joining in on the fun at times.

If a casual drink is more your speed, the Historic Davenport’s Terrace features local musicians on Friday and Saturday nights from 7 to 10. Local names like Sean Kavanaugh and Don Goodwin show up from time to time.

And, later this year, Sacha’s Supper Club hosts an event called Party Like It’s 1933 on Nov. 11, commemorating the 90th anniversary of Prohibition’s end.

“Not only am I excited to be a part of this programming, but so are the other musicians,” Boutros says. “We’ve created this really healthy and loving program that connects people. The medium of music is more powerful than most people think.”

The next time you find yourself passing the Historic Davenport, step inside, pull up a chair and see what music you can hear wafting from the ornate halls of one of Spokane’s most beloved buildings. n

The Historic Davenport and its sister hotels are now hosting regular music events.

Chairs: More than something to simply sit upon.

ARE YOU SITTING DOWN?

These chairs weave a tale of humankind’s desire for comfort, rest and pleasing aesthetics

BY MADISON PEARSON

THE BUZZ BIN

MONROE MOSAIC

In Spokane, new pieces of public art pop up all the time. Case in point: Spokane artists Lisa Soranaka and Mallory Battista have been working these past several months on a mosaic sculpture called SUN SHINE THROUGH. It features stained glass pieces and hundreds of ceramic tiles made during community workshops held during the duo’s recent arts residency at Spokane Public Library’s the Hive. The vibrant pieces are arranged to depict a sun, a rainbow and a couple of clouds (very apt for the Inland Northwest). A sculpture dedication event happens on Tuesday, Aug. 22, at 10 am at the bottom of the North Monroe/Garland hill. Catch a glimpse of it next time you pass through, on the grassy swale in front of Diamonds in the Ruff dog training center. (MADISON PEARSON)

Chairs are getting a bad rap these days.

Ergonomic desk chairs are making waves due to an increase in remote work. Some people have even ditched their chairs completely in favor of exercise balls and walking pads.

We’re in the age of standing desks, and while that’s all fine and dandy, I can’t help but think about how our chairs feel: alone, abandoned and without purpose.

Right now, chairs are undergoing a transformation. Along with that transformation comes a change in understanding of what constitutes comfort. The chair offers a glimpse into our collective ideas about status, comfort, beauty and relaxation.

As our ideas change, so do our chairs.

Below is a list of five chairs that I think deserve some appreciation; a seemingly useless list, but humans will always need a place to rest their feet. Especially after a long day of work at their standing desk.

WINDSOR CHAIR

When one conjures an image of a chair in their mind, it’s most likely the Windsor chair that appears. These are the most common style of chairs featuring a solid wooden seat, a rounded back and, on some occasions, armrests for resting your weary hands.

These chairs were easy to manufacture in the 1800s due to the use of cheap wood and a quick assembly process. In fact, they’re known as the world’s first massproduced chairs and appear in our dining rooms more often than not. Thanks for giving me a place to enjoy a hot meal and for paving the way for all of the chairs to come, Windsor chair.

CONOID CHAIR

This chair, designed by Spokane native and woodworker George Nakashima, is a story of form, function and daring design.

Sitting on just two legs, the chair was a feat in midcentury modern design in the 1970s and played off the Windsor’s shape with a few unique attributes. The Conoid chair was designed to glide easily over carpet,

a home feature that was rapidly increasing in popularity. The chair’s sleek frame and the obvious craftsmanship displayed in Nakashima’s work make it a highly sought-after collector’s piece, displayed in museums worldwide even today.

TULIP CHAIR

As this list goes on, the amount of legs on the chairs gets less and less.

The Tulip chair, designed by Eero Saarinen in 1955 for Knoll, is the first single-material, single-form chair. It completely destroyed the notion that a chair had to sit on four legs — Saarinen famously disliked the “slum of legs” most chairs possessed at the time — and while it’s not the world’s most comfortable chair, it is undeniably magnificent looking and became iconic almost immediately because of its futuristic style.

WOBBLE CHAIR

The Wobble Chair. Because sitting should be fun! Initially designed by Kore for busy-bodied children, these chairs are said to lead to better focus and posture due to the continuous movement of the chair. They resemble a dumbbell turned on its side, engaging your core muscles with every small adjustment.

Kore now makes Office Wobble chairs for adults who can’t seem to sit still or are worried about a sedentary lifestyle.

Instead of getting rid of your office chair completely, just get a Wobble Chair. Be that person in your office!

SPACE CAPSULE CHAIR

Did you know that there was a chair aboard the first manned space capsule? Allegedly it was put on board to make astronauts feel more at home.

Once the astronauts realized that a chair was useless in zero gravity, the chair was omitted from future missions.

Hopefully, after a few more centuries of innovation and changing ideals, mankind won’t come to that same conclusion. n

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

In these final, fleeting days of summer in the Inland Northwest, we’ve gotta think about our furry friends and their need for relief from this unending heat. THE SCOOP is miles ahead and continues to offer doggy-sized ice cream for its four-legged customers. The ice cream features oat milk, bananas, peanut butter and dog treats, and only costs $1 for a doggy-sized scoop. Next time you’re strolling past one of the Scoop’s two locations — South Hill or Kendall Yards — grab yourself a scoop of human ice cream and get your pup the treat of a lifetime.

(MADISON PEARSON)

THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST

Noteworthy new music arriving in stores and online on Aug. 18.

JON BATISTE, WORLD MUSIC RADIO. After winning the Album of the Year Grammy for WE ARE, the pop jazz polymath recruits everyone from Lana Del Rey to Lil Wayne to Kenny G for his follow-up LP.

SHAMIR, HOMO ANXIETATEM. An air of ’90s alternative pop rock blissfully creeps into the fold on the queer, genre-blending singersongwriter’s latest album.

GENESIS OWUSU, STRUGGLER. The Ghanaian-Australian singer cites Waiting for Godot and Metamorphosis as influences for his new blast of punkish hip-hop. (SETH SOMMERFELD)

Iterative Illustrations

A new exhibition at the MAC showcases 20th-century female printmakers from Washington state

BY SUMMER SANDSTROM

Women in the arts often gain less recognition than their male peers, a reality that’s no less true in the world of printmaking.

To help close this gap, the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture’s newest exhibition, “First Impressions: Women Printmakers of Washington,” is the first showcase exclusively featuring female printmakers from the Evergreen state.

“It’s important to recognize the work and the impact of women,” says Kayla Tackett, the MAC’s exhibitions and collections director. “It’s important to recognize the work and impact of artists in Washington in particular.”

The exhibit features artworks created between 1920 and 1960 from 14 female artists. The collection is primarily on loan from the Cascadia Art Museum in Edmonds, Washington, along with a few additional pieces from the MAC’s own collection. Among the women whose work is included are well-known printmakers Dorothy Dolph Jensen and Ebba Rapp.

“It’s a pretty large number of women printmakers, which is great to see for one thing because often I think it’s easy to associate art making and printmaking with men,” says Tackett. “These are a whole lot of women who were making prints in the ’30s.”

“First Impressions” showcases the versatility of printmaking, highlighting various aesthetic styles that are widely seen now, even though viewers may not immediately be able to identify specific styles and techniques, Tackett says.

Throughout the gallery, a few abstract works are displayed, such as “Bottle” by Ruth Pennington, who was

instrumental in founding the state’s Northwest Printmakers Society in 1929, among other arts organizations.

Provincetown-style prints are also displayed heavily throughout the exhibition. This particular technique leaves a thin white line outlining the shapes, images and scenes in a print. Provincetown originated on the East Coast, but eventually made its way to artists in the Pacific Northwest, a testament to the aesthetic diversity and migration of printmaking techniques.

“Provincetown is obviously from the East Coast, but one of the instructors had studied it on the East Coast and brought it back over here to the University of Washington,” Tackett says.

The University of Washington was a printmaking hub at the peak of activity for the Northwest Printmakers Society, and served as the first location for the group’s annual exhibition.

“The purpose of the society was to stimulate the production and appreciation of good prints both by amateurs and professionals,” Tackett explains.

In addition to displaying a myriad of printmaking styles and aesthetics, many of the pieces in “First Impressions” show notable locations and scenes of the Pacific Northwest. Among these examples are Elizabeth Warhanik’s Provincetown-style woodblock print of Puget Sound, Elizabeth Colborne’s woodblock print of Bellingham Bay’s lumber mills, and many of Vanessa Helder’s pieces.

“Vanessa Helder is best known for her portrayals of the Grand Coulee Dam being built,” Tackett says. “She has images of the rolling hills of the Palouse, a Queen

Anne cottage, and the landscape.”

In the center of the exhibition stands a glass case with printmaking tools, woodblocks and proofs that help illustrate the intricate processes and extensive time that goes into printmaking.

Along the gallery walls, a few pieces also illustrate printmaking stages, such as Dorothy Dolph Jensen’s graphite drawing of a musician playing his instrument for a large crowd. Next to the sketch lie two drypoint plates with the image etched in. The second plate shows significant changes in shadows and shading to make a more complete image.

“What always impresses me about printmaking is there are about a million different ways to make a print, and they all are just so fascinating,” Tackett says.

That’s why the gallery has lists of printmaking terms on the wall — as viewers peruse the exhibition they can learn about and identify different techniques.

Tackett says that with modern technology making printing a lightning-fast process, the techniques and time required of printmaking may be underlooked in comparison to other traditional art forms.

“Printmaking is one of those things that I think can kind of fly under the radar,” she says. “It’s so simple for us to print something, but this kind of printmaking takes time and consideration, and this show really helps you see it.”

There’s been recent, renewed interest in printmaking in the Inland Northwest, Tackett says, and this exhibition’s timing couldn’t be better. “First Impressions” is on display through Nov. 19, overlapping with the Rocky Mountain Printmaking Alliance’s symposium taking place Oct. 12-14, which aims to enhance the printmaking scene in Spokane.

“I think there’s just something kind of magical to it, and the aesthetics can be very specific,” she says. “It’s a really great way to get a sense of the variety of printmaking.” n

Elizabeth Warhanik’s Composition (color blockprint) and artist Ebba Rapp.

COURTESY OF CASCADIA ART MUSEUM

United We Eat

A modern food hall in Hillyard preserves the past while creating new relationships over coffee, beer and tacos

When Dave Musser walks to work, he knows just about everyone living along the three blocks between his house and Bellwether Brewing.

Back in 2015, Musser and his wife, Brianna, opened the brewery, hoping it would help neighbors get to know one another. A happy commute to work proves that it did.

So after eight years of success in the Emerson-Garfield neighborhood, the Mussers started looking for another “hole in the wall” spot to build a spin-off taproom and make new friends.

Instead, they found a 100-year-old bank building — converted into a vintage shop and overflowing with dusty antiques and slat board — for sale on Hillyard’s main strip along Market Street. The facade was beautiful and the history was iconic, but it was way too big for a single taproom. So the Mussers started calling some old pals.

Together, Dave, Bri and a few loyal partners created The United Building, a collaboration between Bellwether Brewing, Derailer Coffee and Locos, a new Southern comfort food extension of the Grain Shed by chef Victor Lewin. The building’s first floor is a modern food hall

BY ELIZA BILLINGHAM

featuring all three businesses. Each has its own kiosk facing a bright, open seating area ready for anyone to eat, drink and meet new people.

Eventually, the upstairs floor will feature Sword & Board, a Dungeons & Dragons-focused game store, and Pigasus, a children’s toy store, run by Seth and Rebekah Miller, another husband and wife duo.

If it seems a little chaotic at first, the owners agree. But they also think it’s worth it.

“It would have been easier for Dave and Bri to put a taphouse somewhere,” says Michael Kotsala, co-owner of Derailer Coffee. “But they’ve taken a huge risk because they’ve seen what investing in a neighborhood looks like — what it’s done for their neighborhood — [so] that they’re willing to invite other people into this crazy adventure.”

When rumors spread that Grain Shed was opening another location in Hillyard, excited patrons from North Spokane thought they could buy fresh Grain Shed bread without going all the way to South Hill.

But Locos is completely different from the bakery in Perry District. It’s the delicious full-dining creation of Victor Lewin, a former Grain Shed baker who wanted to do more than make bread.

He calls the food at Locos “modern redneck cuisine,” a love letter to comfort food that stretches the comfort zone, just a little. He’s the grandson of a Scottish patissier who was raised on Texas barbecue.

“If Victor would have opened with his food in Kendall Yards, you would not be able to get into that spot for like a month,” Dave Musser says.

Locos’ kitchen is exactly where the bank vault used to be, and its cache is just as tantalizing. Racks of ribs ($20 for half or $37 for full), burgers with bacon-onionmushroom hash ($18), Kalua pork sandwiches ($16) and barbecued shrimp BLTs ($16) pour out from behind the secret door. Tuesdays are Taco Tuesdays. Lewin also experiments with other limited edition items like gourmet nachos, corn ribs, and chicken torta. Plus, all bread products are sourced from Grain Shed.

It’s a happy spread for meat eaters and non-meat

Find good food and good company in Hillyard.

YOUNG KWAK PHOTOS

eaters alike. Even some self-proclaimed carnivores, like Dave, now salivate over Lewin’s portobello steak.

“It’s just about using something that’s a simple ingredient and giving it the dedication and the respect that it deserves,” Lewin says. “You don’t have to put a lot of lipstick on it to make it look a bit more appealing.”

Lewin is relaxed and intentional, both with food and people. He frequents the antique shops around the United and buys gifts for Derailer Coffee. He even found a full-sized saddle to sling over a partition wall. He’d prefer being called something like “food whisperer” instead of a hierarchical title like “executive chef.”

Lewin is continuing to develop community partners, hoping to source more food from local growers at Green Bluff, Vinegar Flats and Vets on the Farm.

“We want the food to have integrity on its own,” he says. “That comes from hard work. That’s the only secret.”

When Bri Musser goes on vacation, she just wants to stare at buildings. The interior designer nerds out so much that her husband jokes, “Sometimes I’m like, ‘I can’t even walk by you, I’m so embarrassed.’”

It’s the kind of passion that made her tear up at the original blueprints of the United Hillyard Bank building. It’s also what helped her design a space that both honors the past and invites new opportunities.

In 1920, Henry Bertelsen designed the United Hillyard Bank building in the Beaux-Arts style, an ornate combination of Renaissance and classical architecture typical of many Gilded Age buildings.

Bri included homages to the bank’s hundred-year-old style in her redesign, like scrolled gold frames, raised trim molding and vintage wainscoting. (Most of the wainscoting is actually slat board repurposed from the previous antique shop owners, an extra nod to the past.)

Un-plastering the walls revealed bricks made by J.T. Davis Brick Co., a brickyard originating in what is now Cannon Hill Park. Bri and her father also decided to refurbish the bank’s original vault door, which they found in pieces under the stairs.

Finally, Bri wanted to preserve the building’s name, which turned out to be surprisingly poetic.

“I just wanted to honor the building, so we are calling it The United,” she says. “It works perfectly because it’s also a uniting of businesses in one space.”

Renovations took two and half years, about five times as long as Dave hoped. But the result is a gathering area where people want to linger, for beauty as well as beer.

“A lot of people come in and go, ‘This building’s way too nice for this area,” Kotsala says. “And my response is, ‘Says who?’ These are great people who need great places to hang out.”

And although people are starting to come from all over the city to eat and drink, The United wants to keep a local identity. Its neighbors are helping.

A new customer came in to eat at the same spot where she opened her first bank account, telling Dave how strange and exciting it was. A gentleman sat across the bar from Lewin and told story after story about Hillyard’s glory days in the 1940s. Another man brought in a whole binder of family history for Kotsala to read, tracing multiple generations through just four or five blocks in Hillyard.

This is exactly what the crew at The United hoped for.

“This is your place, this is your living room — it’s not ours,” Lewin says. “We’ve said all along, we want this to be a place where people can make up or break up or anything in between.” n

The United Building • 5016 N. Market St. • Open Tue-Sat 7 am-8 pm (individual business hours vary) • instagram.com/theunitedbuilding

A native Texan, chef Victor Lewin calls Locos’ menu “modern redneck cuisine,” with dishes like smoked pulled pork (above) and Texas-style chili (below).

A ‘FAMILY’ FILM

Even after 20 years, Oldboy remains a tactile tragicomedy disguised as a revenge film

BY CHASE HUTCHINSON

Acommon refrain you’ll hear in discussions of films built around a revelation that shakes the story to its very foundation is that viewers wish they could wipe their memories just to witness it again for the first time. For those who’ve seen Park Chan-wook’s masterful cinematic scalpel of a vengeance thriller Oldboy, now getting a theatrical re-release for its 20th anniversary, you’ll know forgetting is a fundamental part of the grim experience. Its troubled central character Oh Dae-su, played with complete commitment by Choi Min-sik, spends much of the film trying to remember his past in order to understand why he was locked up for 15 years in a mysterious hotel room. Once he recalls why, he will just as desperately wish to forget it all.

This is where the brilliance of Oldboy remains all these decades later Not only does it reveal all of the endeavors to be a fool’s errand — as agonizingly futile as it is darkly funny — but it thrives in the inevitably of the devastation always lurking right out of frame. When everything then rushes into the forefront, resulting in a gut-wrenching finale so meticulously staged you can’t look away from it no matter how much you may want to do so, forgetting is no longer an option. Every frame is now forever etched in the memory.

But the emphasis on the twist persistently undersells the film and its enduring legacy. It’s the details building up to it that make all subsequent viewings even more potent experiences. Where many other similar works feel like it is all about waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under you, there is a humorous and heartbreaking harmony woven throughout Oldboy, even as we know it is all about to fall apart. It is in every step of the march toward madness that it takes on an earned comical energy. For those who haven’t yet seen it, any indications of what this is all about must be done with a light touch to preserve its painful yet poetic punchlines. At the same time, it is one where knowing its reveals doesn’t minimize the journey. Rather, it brings grace to each moment. Though the director Park’s career-best 2016 film The Handmaiden would build on this tonal tightrope to magnificent effect, it all owes a debt to Oldboy.

Some of this comes from the standout scenes like the famed extended fight in the corridor: For every blow Oh Dae-su lands with his hammer, many more that will soon rain down on him — leaving him cowering and bloody before the very person he thought he could take down to find some sort of salvation. There is a thrill to seeing him battle his way to get closer to the truth, with Park initially playing the film as a classical revenge story, which is tempered by the knowledge that finding it will bring him no peace. This becomes not just a big joke in small moments — like when there is a wonderful comedy cut to a group of men falling out of an elevator after the fight, while Oh Dae-su stands alone — but in a greater existential sense.

Once you know how this all plays out, rather than being robbed of something, it makes the experience richer in a thematic sense even as everything is made all the more revolting in a narrative one. The vast lengths that the characters go to as they try to set things right and the many grave mistakes they unwittingly make along the way become more than what would otherwise be conventional developments. Each is a further twisting of the knife, making moments of discovery into tragedies rather than triumphs. Once you know the truth, watching it again makes it even more darkly humorous — as felt in the lasting image of the camera panning up from an inconsolable Oh Dae-su to his tormentor laughing in his face.

So while the desire to see the film for the first time would perhaps provide a more shocking experience, watching it with the haunting truth in mind is what leaves an indelible mark that can’t ever be erased. This brings the humor and the horror into focus, ultimately cutting only deeper each time you enter into it. There is perhaps an inevitability that the film will always be most known for the twist that ties it all together, but it transcends beyond that because of how it lays bare all the broken fragments of Oh Dae-su. When he pieces it all together and finally sees himself reflected back, it is too much for him to bear. As he then tries to forget, the final shot of his shattered smile turning to silent laughter ensures we never will. n

Oldboy is now screening at AMC River Park Square for the film’s 20th anniversary.

Ménage à Flaws

Passages explores the romantic manipulations of a sexually fluid narcissist

BY JOSH BELL

Filmmaker Tomas Freiburg (Franz Rogowski) does not seem like a guy who’d inspire intense romantic ardor. He’s introduced in the first scene of Passages fussily nitpicking about tiny details in a scene of a movie he’s directing, repeatedly halting production so he can berate an actor about the way he walks down a flight of stairs. Yet there’s obviously something magnetic about Tomas, who’s apparently a successful and revered filmmaker and is frequently the center of attention at social gatherings.

Tomas basks in that attention, and it’s clear that his husband, Martin (Ben Whishaw), is used to Tomas unapologetically wandering off for various trysts, unconcerned about the effect that might have on Martin. Tomas’ latest fling is with beautiful school teacher Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and it quickly becomes more serious than past dalliances. It’s not quite accurate to call the relationship an affair, since Tomas tells Martin about it the morning after he first sleeps with Agathe, but it’s not like Tomas and Martin are in an open marriage, either. Tomas just does whatever he wants whenever he wants to, and he assumes that everyone else will tolerate and even praise his behavior.

Sachs, whose acclaimed films include 2014’s Love Is Strange and 2016’s Little Men, has a history of making engaging dramas about people in uncomfortable situations made worse by their own lack of self-awareness. Passages builds on those themes, and even small moments of Martin or Agathe pushing back against Tomas feel like major victories. Sachs expertly creates tension in mundane encounters like Tomas meeting Agathe’s parents for the first time or Tomas and Martin discussing how to split their share in a vacation house they own.

ALSO OPENING

BACK ON THE STRIP

Not rated

Directed by Ira Sachs

Starring Franz Rogowski, Ben Whishaw, Adèle Exarchopoulos

At the Magic Lantern

Tomas’ monstrous narcissism makes him tough to engage with as a protagonist, and both Martin and Agathe come off as such decent, level-headed people that it’s hard to fathom why they are both so passionately in love with Tomas. Yet director and co-writer Ira Sachs still makes Passages into a compelling character study, in part because it examines its characters making such terrible choices. It takes a while to connect with the movie, since Tomas can be so abrasive, but there’s a stealth cumulative power to the story. The final scenes make an especially strong emotional impact after viewers have spent nearly 90 minutes getting to know these people and their various hang-ups and insecurities.

PASSAGES

Those scenes are deliberately difficult to watch, and for all its unbridled passion and lust, Passages maintains a somewhat dour tone. Before being released unrated, the movie notoriously received an NC-17 rating, presumably for a lengthy explicit sex scene between Tomas and Martin, but anyone looking for titillation or sumptuous eroticism will be disappointed. The sex is largely joyless, just an expression of Tomas’ own ego, another way to manipulate and devalue the people in his life. He makes them feel bad, then he makes them feel even worse for complaining about how he made them feel in the first place.

Passages isn’t entirely a downer, though, and the vibrant performances bring these characters to life, Tomas included. The movie is set in Paris’ cosmopolitan artistic community, where sexuality and personal expression are equally fluid. For Tomas, the two are often the same, and his romantic relationships are as performative as the films he makes. The difference is that these are real people he’s using for his own gratification, not fictional characters he can mold as he sees fit. Whether he eventually understands or accepts the difference is something that Sachs leaves it up to the audience to work out. n

A wannabe magician’s Vegas dreams get comedically derailed when he instead gets hired to front the revival of a famed Black stripper crew known as the Chocolate Chips. Rated R

BLUE BEETLE

The lives of college grad Jamie Reyes and his tight-knit MexicanAmerican family get upended when the alien biotech Scarab chooses him as its symbiotic host, transforming him into the superhero Blue Beetle. Rated PG-13

LANDSCAPE WITH INVISIBLE HAND

After aliens take over Earth, they’re fascinated by the concept of human love. To take advantage of this, two teens decide to broadcast their budding romance only for things to go awry as their feelings fade. Rated R

STRAYS

The inner monologues of dogs get humorously raunchy, when a dim border terrier (voiced by Will Ferrell) gets abandoned by his abusive owner and teams up with other stray pups to get revenge. Rated R

Northwestern Attitude

Noah Kahan’s album

Stick

Northwest

BY MADISON PEARSON

Exit 272. I-90. An off-ramp that leads to, seemingly, nowhere.

Drive about 10 minutes past the Mobil station and you end up in Medical Lake. My hometown.

Childhood there was spent walking the same meandering path around town relentlessly, biking through empty fields and placing pennies on the railroad tracks. Real small town stuff that seems more pulled from the 1960s than 2010s. Everyone I knew lived within a five-minute walk from my front door. My graduating class was filled with all the children of my mother’s childhood friends — the type of people who just inherently knew my grandmother’s maiden name.

For 18 years of my life, Medical Lake was home.

Oddly enough, I’ve recaptured those feelings when listening to a singer-songwriter from Vermont.

On his third studio album Stick Season, Noah Kahan writes about his home. That home is nestled in New England with its vivid autumnal colors that fade to leafless winter trees and vast swathes of nothingness between towns. The album’s title comes from a piece of Vermonter slang referring to the solemn fall period of time between Halloween and the first snowfall.

The singer-songwriter was born in Strafford, Vermont, a town with a population of less than 2,000 people. If there’s anyone who can bottle the feeling of isolation and breaking away from it, it’s him. Kahan was known for his distinct indie pop sound before the release of Stick Season in October 2022, but he’ll be proudly boasting his newfound folk sound when he plays a sold-out show at the Pavilion this Friday.

...continued on page 36

Season is about Vermont, but it also speaks to small-town life in the Inland

He may be from the Northeast, but Noah Kahan gets the Inland Northwest.

PATRICK McCORMACK PHOTO

Though this show isn’t the only sold-out date on the tour, I have a feeling there’s a reason the Inland Northwest is showing up in hordes to see songs from Stick Season live: We can relate to his sentiments.

The first time I heard Stick Season, I knew I had finally found an album that accurately represented the complicated feelings I had about home and moving away from it.

From the very first note of the album, it’s clear that Kahan gets it. With a single pluck of a guitar string, he somehow manages to encapsulate the very essence of driving down Highway 902 and slowing down to 30 mph as you enter the Medical Lake city limits.

After a few repetitive riffs, Kahan’s voice breaks through the sound with a simple phrase: “Breathin’ in / Breathin’ out.” A meditative start to “Northern Attitude,” a song filled with pleas for others to understand and accept Kahan’s deepest flaws: “If I get too close and I’m not how you hoped / Forgive my northern attitude, I was raised out in the cold.”

He blames his flaws on his upbringing, and it’s not hard to pick up on a sense of bitterness toward the place he calls home, a sentiment not unfamiliar for those living in Spokane.

There are plenty of good things about growing up in a town like Medical Lake, or in Kahan’s case, Strafford. Life is simple. Every face is a familiar one, and people rarely leave. Doors stay unlocked in the summertime as friends come and go in and out of houses. The world feels still as the sky turns orange at sunset.

But small-town living is a double-edged sword. After a few years, the town can feel like an echo chamber. Word spreads quickly. Nothing remains sacred. The rural charm wears off when there are no streetlights to guide you home at night.

It wasn’t until I left Medical Lake that I realized how isolating small-town life can be.

In “Growing Sideways,” Kahan repeats the chorus phrase, “I’m afraid I might never have met me.” In many ways, the lifestyle associated with small towns doesn’t allow for growth, change or the formation of personal beliefs.

Moving away from Medical Lake felt like meeting myself all over again. I finally had an identity outside of the town I grew up in.

Though I only live about 25 minutes away from Medical Lake now, I occasionally feel removed from what was once my home. But on certain nights, I close my eyes and wish I was back in my childhood bedroom surrounded by familiar houses, the faces of neighbors and the sound of trains passing through.

Why am I yearning for a place that has nothing to offer me anymore?

In “Homesick” Kahan expresses this feeling

of being torn between two places, pulled to both at the same time: “I got dreams, but I can’t make myself believe them / Spend the rest of my life with what could’ve been / And I will die in the house that I grew up in / I’m homesick.”

In June 2023, Kahan released the deluxe edition of Stick Season titled Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever). The addendum to the album features songs like “You’re Gonna Go Far” and “No Complaints” that further delve into the themes of the original 14 songs. The last song on the deluxe edition, “The View Between Villages - Extended,” offers an opposing view of small-town life. Between heart-wrenching lyrics about Kahan’s memories that he thought he left in Strafford are recordings of Strafford residents contradicting the album’s themes of resentment toward their lives in the tiny town.

“I guess it’s a small, small community of people that really look out for each other,” says one anonymous man.

After begging for an escape from his hometown in the past 20 songs, Kahan admits that Strafford is, in fact, home through the words of the people who make Strafford home.

That small town off Exit 272 is my home. Though it took an entire album to come to that realization.

The Inland Northwest is chock full of tiny towns resolved to a lifetime of quiet days and unextraordinary experiences. Stick Season reminds listeners that joy can be found in the simplicity of small-town life if you’re willing to slow down, take a step back and appreciate it.

Whether you have ties to New England or you grew up in rural Eastern Washington, hometown complexities are universal. And Noah Kahan is here to sonically guide you through those feelings. n

Still Singing Drunken Lullabies

Reflections on Dave King’s career and Flogging Molly’s Celtic punk rabble-rousing

BY TAYLOR WARING

“Flogging Molly? Who even cares about them?”

My partner raised this curt, though earnest question when I was pondering a direction for this story. We joked quickly about the kinds of people who were really into the Los Angeles-based Celtic punk band back when we were kids: vaguely punk, proudly but questionably Irish. They were always nice, goodhearted folk who were loosely in the “alternative” circle in middle school and high school, but never at Libertyspiked neon-haired extremes of it.

I suppose I’ve been a low-key fan of Flogging Molly’s music since I first heard them one summer sitting in the

blue alleyway duplex where I grew up. While never a diehard supporter, 2002’s Drunken Lullabies fit my teenage self’s idea of being “cool,” and it was something my old man and I could listen to without arguing about. They were fairly quickly phased out of my listening rotation in college, sadly replaced — although I promise and solemnly swear only briefly — by things like Mumford & Sons.

I hadn’t thought about the band for close to a decade until my dad texted me late last year and told me to check out a ’80s band called Fastway. He wanted me to guess if I could recognize the singer’s voice. Familiar in the way a Latin cognate might be, the vocals were classic arena rock: strongly Robert Plant-influenced, head-voiced and devoid of any signs of an accent. A highly stylized falsetto.

This meant a begrudging, workout-stopping Wikipedia search, which resulted in a pleasant surprise: It was Flogging Molly frontman Dave King. It was like running into an old bar friend — one you’d shared many whiskey drunk nights that resulted in only fond quasi-memories. You do your best to pick up wherever it was you left off, trying as hard to reminisce while also trying to demonstrate how much you’ve grown.

The last Flogging Molly album I’d listened to at that point was 2008’s Float. Its title track is a bouncy though mournful reverie that reminds us: “Don’t sink the boat / that you built to keep afloat.” Maybe I should have listened to it more in my 20s. Since then, Flogging Molly has released three full-length albums (Speed of Darkness, Life is Good, Anthem), a live album and the new single “‘Til the Anarchy’s Restored” (off the EP of the same name).

When you catch up with an old bar friend, you always start off with “So what’s new?” Listening to 2022’s Anthem was much like that conversation. Not too much has changed: We’ve still got feel-good (or maybe

feel-better) songs about drinking and serious songs about politics. Unfortunately, we don’t have any more bass-driven sea shanties (which is kind of a bummer). The songwriting and musicianship remain as strong as ever, with rich Celtic melodies hovering over a four-onthe floor stone cobblestone foundation. “Life is Good,” your friend says.

But there are always signs of time’s passing. The voice, afterall, wears with age. The larynx stiffens. Vocal folds lose their elasticity. This doesn’t mean we can no longer sing, just that our song can’t remain as bright. Such is the case with Flogging Molly’s 2023 single, “’Til the Anarchy’s Restored.” Far from his days as a ferocious high-tenor wielding arena rocker, King’s vocals are now even deeper, his lyrics darker — thankful for everything he has, but aware of all he’s lost. “The coward,” he sings, perhaps to himself, “loves his mindless stories.”

But still, he sings, just as he has for his whole life, for it is the boat he has built.

If you’d like to hear Dave King sing for yourself, Flogging Molly will be performing at the Knitting Factory on Aug. 22. The band will be joined by the Bronx, another LA-based punk rock band. While not massively commercially successful, the Bronx is a bit heavier and harderhitting sonically than Flogging Molly, but just as catchy.

From all accounts I’ve heard, Flogging Molly remains just as fierce and energetic live as ever (which seems to be reinforced by the live tracks accompanying “’Til the Anarchy’s Restored” on the recent EP), so be sure to catch the show and maybe even sing along, proudly, with a Guiness in hand. n

Flogging Molly, The Bronx • Tue, Aug. 22 at 7:30 pm

out

All ages

The Knitting Factory

919 W. Sprague Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com

Dave King (center) and Flogging Molly have yet to slow down their whisky-soaked ways.

Here are the artists who have spent more cumulative time atop the Billboard singles chart than Boyz II Men: The Beatles, Elvis, Drake, Rihanna and Mariah Carey. That’s it. Needless to say, the superstar ’90s R&B vocal group tapped into a sense of universal heartfelt sensuality with their biggest hits, like “End of the Road” and “I’ll Make Love to You.” The passion behind the group’s silky smooth harmonies has the power to get just about anyone swooning and weak at the knees. A summer night with Boyz II Men in the open air at Northern Quest should basically serve as an aural aphrodisiac.

— SETH SOMMERFELD

Boyz II Men • Sat, Aug. 19 at 7:30 pm •  $40-$250 • All ages • Northern Quest Resort & Casino • 100 N. Hayford Rd., Airway Heights • northernquest.com

J

R&B BOYZ II MEN ROCK SPOON

Thursday, 8/17

ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Current Flow

BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Inland Empire Blues Society Monthly Boogie

BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, John Firshi

J BRICK WEST BREWING CO., Kyle Richard and Friends

CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Thursday Night Jam

CHECKERBOARD TAPROOM, Weathered Shepherds

J D-MAC’S AT THE LAKE, Gil Rivas

J HISTORIC DAVENPORT HOTEL, Dr. Don Goodwin

J LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, MAITA, Matt Mitchell Music Co., The Holy Broke

J THE NEST AT KENDALL YARDS, Snacks at Midnight

J NORTHWEST MUSEUM OF ARTS & CULTURE, Heat Speak

J PINE STREET PLAZA, Music on Main: Eric E.

J QQ SUSHI & KITCHEN, Just Plain Darin

J RELIC SMOKEHOUSE & PUB, Pamela Benton: StringzOnFire

J RIVERSTONE PARK, Soul Proprietor, Sean Kavanaugh

J STELLA’S ON THE HILL, Heather King Duo

J TRUE LEGENDS GRILL, Carli Osika

ZOLA, Mister Sister

Friday, 8/18

AK ASIAN RESTAURANT, Gil Rivas

BRICK WEST BREWING CO., Dylan Hathaway

J CARLIN BAY RESORT, Just Plain Darin

CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Kenny James Miller

CHINOOK LOUNGE, Kicho

J THE COEUR D’ALENE RESORT, JoJo Dodge

CORBIN SENIOR CENTER, Ben Klein as Elvis

J THE GRAIN SHED, Open Mic at The Grain Shed

Taproom

HAMMERS BAR & GRILL, Into the Drift Duo

J HISTORIC DAVENPORT HOTEL, Sacha Boutros + Brent Edstrom Quartet

LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, SUSTO, Ether Rose

J NIGHTFALL LIVE,

D. A. Blues

NIGHTHAWK LOUNGE (CDA CASINO), The Kevin Shay Band

PARK BENCH CAFE, Rockwell Band

J J PARK BENCH CAFE, Under the Trees Concert Series

J J PAVILION AT RIVERFRONT, Noah Kahan, Joy Oladokun

PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Bill Price

SILVER MOUNTAIN RESORT, Rusty Jackson

VANTAGE POINT BREWING CO., Son of Brad

Saturday, 8/19

BECK’S HARVEST HOUSE, Jesse Quandt Band

BING CROSBY THEATER, The Motown Band with Garfield Fleming

J BRICK WEST BREWING CO., Joey Anderson

THE BULL HEAD, Bull Head Backyard Blues & BBQ

CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, 7 Bay

CHINOOK LOUNGE, Kicho

J THE COEUR D’ALENE RESORT, Sean Kavanaugh

DAHMEN BARN, Beargrass

HAMMERS BAR & GRILL, Into the Drift Duo

LIVE AT ANDRE’S, Liz Longley

LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, Among Authors, Helmer Noel, Halley Greg

NOAH’S CANTEEN, Son of Brad

J NORTH HILL ON GARLAND, Just Plain Darin

J J NORTHERN QUEST CASINO, Boyz II Men

PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Heat Speak

J PONDEROSA BAR AND GRILL, Wild Wooly Duo

If rock ’n’ roll is dead, Spoon keeps gluing its corpse back together and shocking it to life.

Ever since the Texas group’s breakthrough fifth album, Gimme Fiction (and its best single, “I Turn My Camera On”), wowed critics and fans alike in 2005, Spoon has been delivering a parade of experimental, melodic guitar-driven music. As Britt Daniel’s voice transforms from growl to scream to sweet falsetto, the rest of the band — Jim Eno, Alex Fischel, Gerardo Larios and Ben Trokan — keeps the rock beat heavy and steady, while supplying plenty of roll. With a catalog spanning 10 albums, from 1996’s Telephono to 2022’s Lucifer on the Sofa, expect a show that will summon you to go ga ga ga ga.

— NICHOLAS DESHAIS

Spoon, White Reaper • Mon, Aug. 21 at 8 pm • $35 • All ages • The Knitting Factory • 919 W. Sprague Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com

ROCKET MARKET, Mark Ward

STEAMBOAT GRILL, Flipside

J THE FOX THEATER, G ipsy Kings

J TRUE LEGENDS GRILL, Howie King

ZOLA, Blake Braley

Sunday, 8/20

ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS, Soul Proprietor

BECK’S HARVEST HOUSE, Tamarack Ridge Band

BIG BARN BREWING CO., Dylan Hathaway

J THE COEUR D’ALENE RESORT, Red Books Trio

J CONKLING MARINA & RESORT, Just Plain Darin

J = THE INLANDER RECOMMENDS THIS SHOW

= ALL AGES SHOW

J HISTORIC DAVENPORT HOTEL, Michael Milham

HOGFISH, Open Mic

J KNITTING FACTORY, Chase Matthew

J ONE SHOT CHARLIE’S, The Ronaldos STEAMBOAT GRILL, Darin Hilderbrand

Monday, 8/21

J THE BIG DIPPER, No Bragging Rights, Ghost Heart, STOE

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

J J KNITTING FACTORY, Spoon, White Reaper

J NORTH IDAHO STATE FAIR, Carly Pearce

RED ROOM LOUNGE, Open Mic Night

J STELLA’S ON THE HILL, Lyle Morse

Tuesday, 08/22

J D-MAC’S AT THE LAKE, Jake Rozier

J J KNITTING FACTORY, Flogging Molly, The Bronx

J NORTH IDAHO STATE FAIR, Chase Rice

LITZ’S PUB & EATERY, Shuffle Dawgs

OSPREY RESTAURANT & BAR, Ron Greene

ROCKET MARKET, Starlite Motel

J TRUE LEGENDS GRILL, Dallas Kay

J TWIGS BISTRO, Justin Harris

ZOLA, The Night Mayors

Wednesday, 8/23

J D-MAC’S AT THE LAKE, Chuck Wasileski

THE DISTRICT BAR, Portrayal of Guilt

THE DRAFT ZONE, The Draft Zone Open Mic

J NORTH IDAHO STATE FAIR, Lil Jon

MCEUEN PARK, Alive After 5: Chasing Eos

OSPREY RESTAURANT & BAR, Son of Brad

PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Annie Welle

J PONDEROSA BAR AND GRILL, Justin Harris

RED ROOM LOUNGE, The Roomates

J TIMBERS ROADHOUSE, Cary Beare Presents

J TRUE LEGENDS GRILL, Gil Rivas

ZOLA, Brittany’s House

Coming Up ...

J PAVILION AT RIVERFRONT, Rebelution, Iration,

The Expendables, Passafire, DJ Mackle, Aug. 24, 5-10 pm.

LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, Alcohol & Feelings, Aug. 25, 7 pm.

J KNITTING FACTORY, Metal Mayhem: Enemy Mine, Outer Resistance, MezzanineFate Defined, Aug. 25, 7:30 pm.

J PANIDA THEATER, The Travelin’ McCourys, Aug. 25, 7:30 pm.

J LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, Bailey Allen Baker, Aug. 25, 8 pm.

KNITTING FACTORY, Broadway

Rave, Aug. 25, 8:30 pm.

PACIFIC AVE PIZZA, Touch of Evil, Burns Like Hellfire, Tyler Aker, Aug. 25, 9 pm-1 am.

J PINE STREET SLED HILL, SledFest, Aug. 26, 10 am-10 pm.

REVOLVER NORTH, Rock the Block, Aug. 26, 2-9:45 pm.

J BING CROSBY THEATER, Tab Benoit, The Rumble, Aug. 26, 8 pm.

THE DISTRICT BAR, Voicecoil, Watch Clark, Electro Grave DJs, Aug. 26, 8 pm.

LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, Sweet Water, Purusa, Aug. 26, 8 pm.

KNITTING FACTORY, Gimme Gimme Disco, Aug. 26, 8:30 pm.

J NORTHERN QUEST CASINO, Dierks Bentley, Kameron Marlowe, Aug. 27, 7:30 pm.

J KNITTING FACTORY, Noah Cyrus, Aug. 27, 8 pm.

J PAVILION AT RIVERFRONT, Billy Idol, Aug. 28, 7:15 pm.

J NORTHERN QUEST CASINO, The Beach Boys, Aug. 28, 7:30 pm.

J J NORTHERN QUEST CASINO, Lindsey Stirling, Walk off the Earth, Aug. 29, 7:30 pm.

J RIVERFRONT PARK, Pig Out in the Park, Aug. 30-Sep. 4.

COEUR D’ALENE, Rhythm & Blues Sunset Cruise, Aug. 30, 6-8 pm.

LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, Hannah Dasher, Aug. 30, 8 pm.

J THE BIG DIPPER, Decayer, Saltwound, Inferious, Midnight Drive, Aug. 31, 7:30 pm.

J KNITTING FACTORY, Bryce Vine, Aug. 31, 8 pm.

LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, Mo Lowda & The Humble, Trash Panda, Aug. 31, 8 pm. COLVILLE, WASH, FarmJam 2023, Sep. 1-3.

J J GORGE AMPHITHEATER, Dave Matthews Band, Sep. 1-3.

J THE BIG DIPPER, Made In Basement, Sep. 1, 8 pm.

MUSIC | VENUES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LEFTBANK WINE BAR • 108 N. Washington St. • 509-315-8623

LUCKY YOU LOUNGE • 1801 W. Sunset Blvd. • 509-474-0511

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

THE MASON JAR • 101 F St., Cheney • 509-359-8052

MAX AT MIRABEAU • 1100 N. Sullivan Rd., Spokane Valley • 509-922-6252

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

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

MOOTSY’S • 406 W. Sprague Ave. • 509-838-1570

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

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

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

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

THE PODIUM • 511 W. Dean Ave. • 509-279-7000

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

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

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

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

SEASONS OF COEUR

GRAMMY NOMINATED DELTA SWAMP BLUES LEGEND

FOOD LEGGO MY LEGUME

What do Spain, Italy, Greece and the Palouse all have in common? Their love for lentils, of course! Head to Pullman for the National Lentil Festival, home to the world’s largest bowl of chili. A vat of over 2,000 pounds of lentil chili memorializes the humble legume and is dished out at dinner for FREE! The day starts early with a 5K race, then basketball, softball and pickleball tournaments. The grand parade steps off at noon, ushering in festival activities and food vendors that go all afternoon and evening. Local chefs host delicious lentil cooking demonstrations on the main stage between sets of live music. Lentil Land offers science experiments, crafts, a bouncy house and face paint for kids of all ages. The day is sure to be almost as wholesome and nourishing as the legendary lentil itself.

— ELIZA BILLINGHAM

National Lentil Festival • Sat, Aug. 19 from 1-10 pm • Reaney Park • 690 NE Reaney Way, Pullman • lentilfest.com

WORDS A PLAY FOR POWER

With this month’s release of The Pattern of the World, Spokane author Jeremy TeGrotenhuis, under the pen name J.T. Greathouse, completes his enthralling fantasy trilogy. The series revolves around protagonist Wen Alder, a young man living in the Empire of Sien, a fictional land loosely based on the actual geography, history and cultures of China, where TeGrotenhuis studied abroad during college. Alder’s bloodline descends from a powerful class of witches whose magic and culture have been stolen from them by the Empire. Alder still longs to harness the magical elements of his world, however, so he initially chooses a path obeying the Emperor’s rule in exchange for this knowledge.

— CHEY SCOTT

J.T. Greathouse: The Pattern of the World • Fri, Aug. 18 at 7 pm

• Free • All ages • Auntie’s Bookstore • 402 W. Main Ave. • auntiesbooks.com • 509 838-0206

COMMUNITY PURPLE GOLD

Speaking from experience, this year’s huckleberry harvest is a bumper crop, with some of the biggest and most plentiful berry bushes we’ve had around these parts in years. So make it a point to head over to historic Wallace, Idaho, where a weekend-long celebration of the region’s most valuable — and delicious — forest fruit takes over the small town’s streets with a fun run, pancake breakfast, vendor fair and more. Saturday’s schedule boasts a street fair with an adventure zone for kids, plus live music all day. On Sunday, the 5K fun run kicks off at 9 am, but before that, make sure to fuel up on huckleberry pancakes. Music and other festival activities continue until 3 pm.

— CHEY SCOTT

Wallace Huckleberry Festival • Sat, Aug. 19 and Sun, Aug. 20, times vary • $30-$50 for fun run • Wallace, Idaho • wallacehuckfest.com or fb.com/huckleberryfestival

GET LISTED!

Submit events online at Inlander.com/getlisted or email relevant details to getlisted@inlander.com. We need the details one week prior to our publication date.

COMMUNITY FAIR PLAY

Should I go to the North Idaho State Fair? “YEAH!” Oh hi, Lil Jon, I didn’t see you there. Are you going to be at the Fair? “YEAH!” Oh right, you’re performing on Aug. 23 ($40-$85). I heard other entertainment includes country singers Chase Rice and Carly Pearce, monster trucks, a rodeo and a demolition derby. “YEAH!” Sweet! And then obviously there’s the classic attractions like livestock, stage shows, loads of wonderfully unhealthy fried fair food and the carnival rides. Would you like to ride the ferris wheel with me, Lil Jon? “OKAY!” Great! This should be a fun time.“TO THE WINDOW, TO THE WALL, ’TIL…” Please let me cut you off there, Mr. Jon! This is a family-friendly event, after all…

—

SETH SOMMERFELD

North Idaho State Fair • Fri, Aug. 18-Sun, Aug. 27, times vary • $7-$12 (separate ticket for grandstand concerts) • All ages • Kootenai County Fairgrounds • 4056 N. Government Way, Coeur d’Alene • nisfair.fun

THEATER PAGE TO STAGE

The friendships forged out of hard times are often the ones that last the longest. That’s one of the themes of Spokane playwright Tristen Canfield’s newest work, An Aviary for Birds of Sadness. The play, which follows a group of close-knit friends who must band together to take care of one of their own during her darkest days, aims to honestly portray how mental health can affect each and everyone one of us. An Aviary for Birds of Sadness was workshopped by the Spokane Playwrights’ Laboratory in 2021 but had yet to make its live debut until now. The play made its worldwide debut Friday, Aug. 11, and runs through Aug. 27, so you’ve got plenty of time to catch it at Stage Left Theater if you didn’t make it to the opening.

— MADISON PEARSON

OPTIONAL DESIGN FOR 2024

Spokane will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1974 Expo.

Feel free to include colors, design elements that pay homage to the Spokane Expo/World’s Fair and how it helped shape the Spokane we all enjoy today! $1,000! $1,000!

I SAW YOU

EPILOGUE I saw you, first, on campus, in the lecture hall, and at the library. Our eyes always met. That was the start of something magical. Soon after, I saw you in my peripheral vision, riding shotgun in the Dodge filled with our camping gear as we traversed the country, visiting National Parks. We’ve explored dozens together. Then, I saw you as my beautiful bride, in your approach up the aisle that hot August afternoon. Our traveling adventures continued, and I saw you in the mirrors of a rented Penske truck, following in the Dodge — our small convoy toward our new home in the West. Soon after we planted new roots, I saw you, my travel mate, backpacking Europe for the summer. Eventually, I saw you in pain, quickly converted to bliss, as you brought our daughter into the world, and two years later, our son. I saw your strength and pride. And then one day, a year ago, I didn’t see you when I came home from work. Instead, I saw a text stating you were leaving me. Breaking up via text…our marriage of 19 years. I saw our home, void of your belongings. I saw you through my teary eyes, promising to do literally anything to have you back, to reconcile our family. But it was “too late.” And now, you’ll do anything not to see me. Today would be our 20th wedding anniversary. I still love you, but I’ll never see why you left.

NO MILK-BONES FOR DOGS I was on a bike in Kendall Yards, and said I had no Milk-Bones for your two dogs. You, fit, thin blond, black pants, dog emblem. I’ll have bones for them, chicken piccata for you! Lol. Sunday am, 7:45ish, Aug 13.

I SAW YOU, NADINE I saw you, Nadine. Attempting to reach the people in Grant Park, the kids, in “Basketball Town USA.”

I’ve defended this town for 15 years since I moved here from Bellingham. Not anymore. We are in worse shape than ever. Blame the pandemic, blame the economy. I blame your leadership. Your administration. People are suffering greatly and not just those struggling with addiction, mental illness, that are unhoused. Windows are boarded up EVERYWHERE. Businesses and property owners are struggling. You want our votes?? We need less high heels in the grass and more boots on the ground. BYEEE.

SERENDIPITY (CONT.) I saw you dear — you saw me… just when it was supposed to be… six months now and it feels so beautiful, honest, true and secure. My love to you, Jaki, and so many more half-years of growth and joy to come…

YOU SAW ME

HANDSOME MAN IN RED SHIRT I was daydreaming when I saw a handsome man in a red shirt and shorts passing in front of me in Duncan Garden at Manito Park, out for his walk. You looked my way twice almost like you recognized me. Whatever the case, you made my day.

CHEERS

PO PO Thank you so much, Spokane Police Dept. They checked up on me. Issues with landlord. I feel safe as they checked on me. Bo and I are very blessed.

SKATE RIBBON HERO At Numerica Skating Ribbon, a heartwarming act of heroism unfolded as the sun set and skates glided. A willing helper, donning a stylish HYPLAND shirt, became a real-life superhero when disaster struck. With smooth moves and exceptional kindness, this roller-skating dynamo swiftly transformed into a guardian on wheels. Undaunted by panic after a bag theft, they embraced the role of relentless detective. Zipping around the rink and beyond, they tirelessly scoured for the thief and even explored nearby gas stations. Their unyielding dedication provided hope and comfort to the victim amid distress. In a world where kindness can be rare, this

roller-skating savior illuminated the spirit of selflessness and courage. Here’s to the roller-skating hero in the black HYPLAND shirt — your actions resonate. Your hand

and I got out after a long paddle, fully expecting to do everything by myself. I’m a single woman who’s 43, and I’m never looking for attention or help (just exercize

of help, commitment to what’s right, and unwavering support for the community are truly remarkable. Last night, you embodied a guardian angel on wheels, igniting hope in our community. May your kindness ignite collective goodwill. Your actions remind us that in a world on wheels, lending a helping hand truly enriches the journey.

MCDONALDS ANGEL Huge Thank You to the man at the Argonne McDonalds on Wednesday in the drive-thru lane. You saw that my daughter was very, very upset, and you paid for her meal. It was a huge surprise when I tried to pay and was told you already had!!! You did bring a smile to her face and to mine too. Your thoughtfulness and kindness still has me smiling today. Bless you!

QUITTING Thank you everyone who chooses what they do based on principles instead of because it’s their job. People outside the system have a place in a greater scheme than profiting and keeping a job. Useless to society can be a mercy to Earth.

FOR THE NEWCOMERS TO SPOKANE Welcome! Drive slow. Or better yet, not at all. Take the bus or ride a bike.

MOON TIME — THE ITALIAN HOTEL Thank you to the incredible young man dining alone, reading a book, who reminded me so very much of my youngest brother and paid for our little family’s dinner tonight, Monday, July 31, at Moon Time in downtown CDA. That was so kind and unexpected — generous gestures like that are passed on by all of those involved, and you better believe that we can’t wait to pay it forward with our children! I’m lucky to always cross paths with so many wonderful people in life, and you, kind sir, I hope you see this message and know how much you touched my sad heart in this time of difficult growth and change I’m going through, so thank you!

THANK YOU FOR BEING NICE I was paddleboarding at the Plante’s Ferry area,

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.”

and pleasure). I only ever hope to have a casual interaction with strangers (male or female) talking about whatever water body I am in. Today, a man (with his family) offered to help carry my board up a big hill. I didn’t know what to do. Tears came to my eyes just over this simple act of kindness. So many “men” nowadays have the mtfu stickers, and then they slam doors in my face. I feel the very opposite of chivalry with those “people.” I am just a woman going about my business, fully expecting to be treated like absolute shit from any “Christian family man” because those “men” are just horrible people. I have no idea why this person helped me, but he was a family man with kids and a wife, and he must have felt I was a valid lady, too. Also, shout-out to his wife, who saw the situation as it was. I shouldn’t be floored by the kindness, but I am. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am a woman, too, and it was amazing to have someone help just because of that and manners. I’m shook.

CHEERS TO SPOKANE STREET DEPARTMENT

Spokane’s Street Maintenance team really impressed me with their responsiveness recently. I called in about missing lane paint at a complicated intersection at Fourth and Walnut, and they responded within just a few days to repaint the lane markers. Thanks for such quick action — I’m sure these lane markers will prevent several fender benders.

JEERS

BIG OIL Made $80 billion in profit in the first six months of 2023. For the price of 13 gallons of gas you can ride the 51 routes of the STA for a MONTH. The buses run for 114 hours a week. There is no shortage of gas. We are pumping more oil a day than ever before in our history.

RE: LAZY ZOOMERS Which streamer hurt you that bad? Universal basic income would help families, generate money for purchases

for said businesses from that basic income or have extra spending cash towards our city’s economy. Gen X, Millennials, Zoomers and even Boomers are struggling these days, especially with high taxes, high gas, high prices for rent or to buy a home, and high prices of food. Businesses have been planning to outsource/cut workers even before the pandemic. Universal Basic Income, even Child Tax Credit, would heavily benefit everyone in this country. It would improve life expectancy or life in general as an American, the line “nobody wants to work” has been used profusely for generations; take that anger toward a positive outlook that would benefit all of us as Americans.

DRIVERS IN STRIP MALL PARKING LOTS

Dear Speeders, Jerks, Narcissists, and the Chronically Oblivious. You know those painted grids of White or Yellow Lines on the ground outside the Entry/ Exit Doors at local discount stores? They Mean PEDESTRIANS, ONCE THEY HAVE SET FOOT ON THEM, HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY! A parking lot is just that, a lot full of people parking their cars and walking to and from businesses. It is NOT part of the street, avenue, arterial, highway, or a convenient way to avoid a Red Light. When People Are In The DESIGNATED CROSSING ZONE, it means People Driving Cars need to Slow Down or Stop to give Pedestrians the Right of Way! It does NOT mean Speed Up to Pass Them or Slow Down and Keep Coming On until you’re Three Feet from making contact with other people’s legs, carts, walkers, wheelchairs, children, or service animals! I’m sorry you’re late, in a hurry, or upset at being inconvenienced by people in Your Path. Have a care. Get some therapy. Grow a brain. Pay Attention. Make an effort. Look both ways. Slow Down. Stop and Let Pedestrians Go By. It Won’t Kill You! The Lawsuit can be avoided. The Road Rage averted. Hell, maybe you’ll even get Brownie Points in your next life. Honestly, isn’t it enough You Don’t Risk Someone Else’s? n

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

“ Hell, maybe you’ll even get Brownie Points in your next life.”

BENEFIT

KISMET: WRITERS & PRINTERS COLLAB This fundraiser is a collective effort to celebrate local printmakers and features five regional printmaking artists each paired with a local author. Prints available for purchase. Aug. 17, 5-7 pm. Free. Brick West Brewing Co., 1318 W. First Ave. fb.me/e/19TbPd6XW

EPICUREAN ON THE GREEN An ninehole two-person scramble with food and libation samples throughout the course, followed by an afterparty. Proceeds benefit elementary/middle school STEM education scholarships. Aug. 24. $125-$250. MeadowWood Golf Course, 24501 E. Valleyway Ave. epicureandelight.org (509-255-9539)

COMEDY

NATALIE CUOMO & DAN LAMORTE

Cuomo got her start creating tattoocentered content for her TikTok. LaMorte has been featured on AXS TV’s Gotham Comedy Live. Aug. 17, 7:30 pm, Aug. 18, 7:30 & 10:15 pm and Aug. 19, 7 & 9:45 pm. $20-$35. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com

MEDIUM-AT-LARGE Improv comedy based on the adventures of the Blue Door Theatre Spiritualist. Fridays in August at 7:30 pm. $9. Blue Door Theatre, 815 W. Garland. bluedoortheatre.com

RAFI BASTOS Bastos is a Brazilian comedian, actor, journalist and TV personality. Aug. 23, 7:30 pm. $25-$35. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com

SAMUEL J. COMROE Comroe appeared on season 13 of America’s Got Talent and finished in 4th place. Aug. 24, 7:30 pm, Aug. 25, 7:30 & 10:15 pm and Aug. 26, 7 & 9:45 pm. $20-$33. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com

COMMUNITY

CAMPBELL HOUSE DARK HISTORY: SOCIETY SECRETS An after-hours tour that sheds light on strange details and unconventional stories from turn-ofthe-century Spokane. Third Thursdays at 6 pm through Oct. 19. $3.50-$6. The MAC, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org (509-456-3931)

PEND OREILLE COUNTY FAIR “Hay, It’s How We Roll” is the 2023 theme, with traditional events and exhibits in agriculture, food, crafts and more, along with vendors, entertainment, a rodeo

and other attractions. Aug. 17-20. Pend Oreille County Fairgrounds, 419152 State Route 20. pocfair.org (509-445-1367)

THRIFT SHOP DAY Thrift and antique shops in downtown Spokane host deals to celebrate Thrift Shop Day. See website for a list of participating businesses. Aug. 17. backtodowntown.org

MAKING SLIME Make and decorate your own slime. This is a family event; children must be accompanied by an assisting adult. Registration required. Aug. 18, 10-11 am. Free. South Hill Library, 3324 S. Perry St. spokanelibrary.org

NORTH IDAHO STATE FAIR This year’s theme is “Acres of Fun” and includes a carnival, fair food vendors, live music and entertainment, a demo derby, monster trucks, rodeo and much more. Aug. 18-27. $6-$12. Kootenai County Fair Grounds, 4056 N Government way. nisfair.fun

COEUR D’CON 2023 This comic convention, organized by the Coeur d’Alene Public Library, celebrates books, movies, games, manga, comics and all of the many avenues of geek culture. Aug. 19, 10 am-4 pm. Free. Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave. coeurdcon.com

HISTORIC WALKING TOURS Join historian Chet Caskey for a walking tour of Riverfront Park. Sat at 10 am and noon through Aug. 26. Free. Riverfront Park, 507 N. Howard. riverfrontspokane.com

KIDS FREE MARKET This free market features gently used kid’s clothing, shoes, books and equipment. For kids ages 0-18. Aug. 19, 9 am-3 pm. Free. True Hope Church, 1316 N. Lincoln St. truehopechurch.org (509-981-0647)

REPRESENTATION MATTERS: COMMUNITY TILE PAINTING Paint a tile to be included in a mural that promotes inclusion and human rights. Aug. 19, 10 am-3 pm. Free. 1912 Center, 412 E. Third St. fb.me/e/5VvIPrUZy (208-669-2249)

MOORE-TURNER HERITAGE GARDEN TOUR Experience the garden as it looked in 1915 and hear stories about the two influential families of early Spokane who made it their backyard. Aug. 20 and 27, 11 am-noon. Free. Moore-Turner Heritage Gardens, 507 W. Seventh Ave. heritagegardens.org

RIVERSIDE FLEA MARKET Shop 20 booths for clothes, home goods and more. Aug. 20 and Sep. 10, 10 am-3 pm. Free. Grocery Outlet, 1617 W. Third Ave. riverside.spokaneneighborhoods.org

SPOKANE VALLEY SENIOR RESOURCE FAIR Information booths aimed at helping seniors access resources they may need. Aug. 21, 10 am-2 pm. Free. Cen-

terPlace Regional Event Center, 2426 N. Discovery Pl. spokanevalley.org

COFFEE & CONVERSATION This event aims to help people feel seen and heard within the community. The conversation is free form and the event includes activities like coloring, puzzles and more. Every Wed from 10:30 am-noon. Free. Central Library, 906 W. Main Ave. spokanelibrary.org (509-444-5336)

COOKIES WITH KATHY Join Kathy Colkitt for cookies and ask questions you’d like about mortgage lending. Aug. 23, 10 am-noon. Free. The Hive, 2904 E. Sprague Ave. spokanelibrary.org

COFFEE IN THE GARDEN Gather in the garden for refreshments, demonstrations, and conversation with Lynn Walters teaching batik. Aug. 24, 10 am-noon. Free. Create Arts Center, 900 Fourth St., Newport. createarts.org

FILM

FREE KIDS MOVIES: THE BOSS BABY: FAMILY BUSINESS The now-adult Templeton brothers are back. Aug. 14-18, daily at 9:30 am. Free. Garland Theater, 924 W. Garland. garlandtheater.com

THIRD THURSDAY MATINEE: SMILES

OF A SUMMER NIGHT This film examines the Swedish upper class and its leisure amid luxurious settings and stunning costumes. Aug. 17, 1-3 pm. $7. The MAC, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org (509-456-3931)

MOVIES ON THE MOUNTAIN Enjoy a movie at twilight with popcorn outside of the Crow’s Bench. See website for movie schedule. Aug. 18 and 25, 8 pm. Free. Schweitzer, 10,000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd. schweitzer.com

THE IRON GIANT A young boy befriends a giant robot from outer space. Aug. 20, 4-6 pm. $7. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING: A STAGE TO SCREEN FILM This Shakespeare play has been reimagined to reflect a legendary family-run Hotel Messina on the Italian Riveria. Aug. 20, 2 pm. $20. Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. bingcrosbytheater.com

FREE KIDS MOVIES: PUSS IN BOOTS

Long before meeting Shrek, Puss is run out of town on suspicion of robbery. Aug. 21-25, 9:30 am. Free. Garland Theater, 924 W. Garland. garlandtheater.com

MOULIN ROUGE! A poor Bohemian poet in 1890s Paris falls for a beautiful courtesan and nightclub star coveted by a jealous duke. Aug. 22, 7-9 pm. $7. The

Kenworthy, 508 S. Main. kenworthy.org

HEAT A group of high-end professional thieves start to feel the heat from the LAPD. Aug. 23, 7-10 pm. $7. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org

FOOD

RIDE & DINE Enjoy a scenic gondola ride, live music and a barbecue meal on the mountaintop. Options to mountain bike are available. Fridays from 3-8 pm through Sep. 1. $8-$51. Silver Mountain Resort, 610 Bunker Ave. silvermt.com

WALLA WALLA THE WALLS WINE

MAKER DINNER A five course plated dinner prepared by Chef Steven and five aired wines from The Walls Winery. Aug. 18, 6-9 pm. $90. Fête - A Nectar Co, 120 N. Stevens St. nectarcateringandevents.com (509-951-2096)

NATIONAL LENTIL FESTIVAL The 33rd annual festival kicks off with a parade followed by all-day events including live music, entertainment, the world’s largest bowl of free chili and beer garden. Aug. 19, 12-10 pm. Free. Reaney Park, 460 NE Morton St., Pullman. lentilfest.com

MUSHROOM FORAGING FOR BEGIN -

NERS Learn how to identify mushrooms and their look-alikes, what cautions to take, how to find ideal mushroom habitats and how to cook and preserve them. Aug. 19, 2-4 pm. Free. Moran Prairie Library, 6004 S. Regal St. scld.org

WALLACE HUCKLEBERRY FESTIVAL

This annual festival is a family event including a 5K race, a pancake breakfast, food and craft vendors, live music, kids events and more. Aug. 19, 9 am-9 pm and Aug. 20, 9 am-3 pm. $20-$70. Wallace, Idaho. wallacehuckfest.com

WINE TASTING Taste various regional wines. Buy two bottles of wine and receive your tasting free. Sun from 2-4 pm through Sep. 3. $10. The Culinary Stone, 2129 N. Main St. culinarystone.com

RIVERFRONT EATS A food truck series on the orange Howard St. Bridge featuring live music. Tuesdays from 11 am-2 pm through Aug. 22. Riverfront Park, 507 N. Howard. riverfrontspokane.com

ICED TEA & PORCH READS Sample iced teas from Brambleberry Cottage & Tea Shop and get suggestions for books. Adults. Registration is required. Aug. 23, 6:30-7:30 pm. Free. scld.org

BBQ & BANDS A pulled pork meal with live music by Zoramena. Aug. 24, 5-7 pm. $15-$20. The Culinary Stone, 2129 N. Main St. culinarystone.com

...continued on page 46

Lounge Act

West side bust highlights Washington’s strict cannabis lounge regulations

BY WILL MAUPIN

The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board announced a pair of raids on unlicensed cannabis retailers on the west side of the state last week. While both stores were in violation of the law for selling cannabis without a state license, one went above and beyond by offering a service that violated another law.

Caveman Medicine in Tacoma was operating an onsite consumption lounge.

Lounges aren’t legal in Washington. But, of the 23 states that have legalized recreational cannabis, 10 have also legalized some form of on-site consumption. The first such lounge opened in California in 2019.

Washington’s policy on consumption lounges is a point of contention between those in the industry and those who regulate it.

Chris Lane, owner of Spokane’s Redbird Cannabis, told the Inlander last month that allowing on-site consump-

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 fiveyear sentence and fine of up to $10,000. Transporting marijuana across state lines, like from Washington into Idaho, is a felony under federal law.

tion — akin to a winery with a tasting room — would be the first change he would make to the state’s rules.

“It would position Washington as a front-runner in the industry, encouraging tourism and supporting local businesses while providing a safe and regulated environment for cannabis enthusiasts to gather and enjoy responsibly,” Lane said.

In an interview last fall, Justin Peterson, who owns Cinder, cited New Mexico’s policy allowing lounges as part of the reason the Inland Northwest retailer expanded into Albuquerque.

“I think that’s a huge thing. People want to be social, people want to go out,” Peterson said.

Overall, Washington is home to rather stringent and harsh rules when it comes to where cannabis can and cannot be consumed.

Operation of a cannabis consumption lounge is punishable as a class C felony. The state defines a lounge as “a club, association, or other business, for profit or otherwise, that conducts or maintains a premises for the primary or incidental purpose of providing a location where members or other persons may keep or consume cannabis on the premises.”

It’s not just private businesses the state targets with these kinds of regulations, but individual citizens on their own property as well.

Not only is it illegal to consume cannabis in public, but it is also illegal to consume cannabis in places that are simply in view of the general public. Which means, by the letter of the law, smoking a joint in your own front yard could technically be a civil infraction.

On these issues, Washington’s regulations are stuck in 2012, back when the state took a kid-glove approach to its then-groundbreaking legalization effort, and are now out of step with many of the more recent states to join the legal club. n

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.

New Mexico’s lounge policy encouraged Cinder to open an Albuquerque location. CHIANA McINELLY PHOTO

DOUBLEBACK WINE DINNER This wine dinner features six courses paired with Drew Bledsoe’s Doubleback wines from Walla Walla. Aug. 24, 6-9 pm. $195. Beverly’s, 115 S. Second St. beverlyscda.com

BREAD BAKING CLASS WITH JEFF HALFHIDE Jeff teaches how to make Triticale sandwich bread and discusses the basics of yeast breads. Aug. 24, 5:458:15 pm. $85. The Kitchen Engine, 621 W. Mallon Ave. thekitcheengine.com

MUSIC

MUSIC ON MONDAYS Dr. Phil and the Enablers perform blues, soul and other rock-adjacent music. Aug. 21, 6-7:30 pm. Free. Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave. cdalibrary.org (208-769-2315)

SPIRIT OF SPOKANE CHORUS REHEARSAL Sit in on the rehearsals of the Spirit of Spokane chorus. Tuesdays from 6:30-9 pm. Free. Opportunity Presbyterian Church, 202 N. Pines Rd. spiritofspokanechorus.org (509-866-6354)

FRIDAYS AT THE CLOCK These familyfriendly concerts feature live music from WSU music students, activities for children and more. Aug. 25 and Sep. 8, 6:308 pm. Free. Bryan Hall Theatre (WSU), 605 Veterans Way. events.wsu.edu

SPORTS & OUTDOORS

AFTER-HOURS MINI GOLF Play indoor mini golf at the library. Tee times are every 20 minutes for groups of up to 6. Registration required. Aug. 18, 6:30-8:30 pm. Free. Moran Prairie Library, 6004 S. Regal St. scld.org (893-8340)

KAYAK TOUR SPOKANE RIVER: NINE

MILE DAM Tour a calm stretch of the Spokane River through Riverside State Park. Ages 16+. Discover Pass, pre-registration required. Aug. 18, 5-7:30 pm. $35. Riverside State Park. spokanecity.org

PILATES IN THE PARK A free pilatesclass in the park. Bring a mat or beach towel and water. RSVP via email. Aug. 18, 6:307:30 pm. Free. Greenacres Park, 1311 N. Long Rd. fb.me/e/1tWKqJN0m

SCENIC CHAIRLIFT RIDES Ride the chairlift up and down the mountain with options to hike back down the mountain. Fri-Sun from 10 am-3:30 pm through Sep. 30. $9-$13. Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area, I-90 Exit 0. skilookout.com

SPOKANE INDIANS VS. TRI-CITY DUST

DEVILS Promos during the series include Fireworks Night (8/18) and Marvel Super

Hero and Fireworks Night (8/19). Aug. 1819, 7:05 pm. $8-$22. Avista Stadium, 602 N. Havana St. spokaneindians.com

TROJAN GOLF CLASSIC This 27th annual golf classic includes a round of golf, dinner and an auction. Proceeds benefit Post Falls High School. Aug. 18, 1-8 pm. $125-$500. Links Golf Club, Post Falls. postfallsboosterclub.com

LIBERTY LAKE THROW DOWN CORNHOLE TOURNAMENT A community cornhole tournament to raise funds for the HUB Sports Center. Features a beer garden, food trucks, music and more. Aug. 19, 1-8 pm. $30-$75/free to spectate. Orchard Park, 20298 E. Indiana Ave. hubsportscenter.org (509-927-0602)

RIVERFRONT SKATE NIGHT A free skate night for rollerskaters of all ages and abilities. BYO skates or rent them for $5. Aug. 19 and Sep. 16, 6-9:30 pm. Free. Numerica Skate Ribbon, 720 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. riverfrontspokane.com

YOGA & BEER A 45-minute all-levels yoga class followed by a beer. Aug. 20, 10 am-noon. $20. Genus Brewing, 17018 E. Sprague Ave. yogauncorkedchelan.com

CIRCLING RAVEN CHAMPIONSHIP This annual tournament features a 54-hole format and a purse prize. Aug. 21-27. Circling Raven Golf Course, 27068 S. Highway 95. cdacasino.com/golf

AFTER-HOURS MINI GOLF Play indoor mini golf at the library. Tee times are every 20 minutes for groups of up to 6. Registration required. Aug. 23, 6:30-8:30 pm. Free. Airway Heights Library, 1213 S. Lundstrom St. scld.org (893-8250)

BIRDS & BREWS Join the Spokane Audubon Society for a nature walk for beginning birders. Afterward, enjoy drinks and food. Registration required. Aug. 23, 5:30-8 pm. Free. Big Barn Brewing Co., 16004 N. Applewood Ln. audubonspokane.org/field-trips (509-238-2489)

WALKING ADVENTURES Meet up with a tour guide who lectures about various nature-related topics while guiding a walk. Aug. 23-Sept. 6, Wed from 9:15-11 am. Free. Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave. cdalibrary.org

THEATER

THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY

SPELLING BEE This heartfelt musical comedy follows an eclectic group of tweens who compete for the spelling championship of a lifetime. Wed-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm through Aug. 29.

$15-$25. Spokane Civic Theatre, 1020 N. Howard St. spokanecivictheatre.com

AN AVIARY FOR BIRDS OF SADNESS

A found family story about a group of friends who must band together to take care of one of their own. Thu-Sat at 7 pm, Sun at 2 pm through Aug. 27. $20-$25. Stage Left Theater, 108 W. Third Ave. stagelefttheater.org

DAMN YANKEES Middle-aged baseball fanatic Joe Boyd trades his soul to the devil for a chance to lead his favorite team to victory. Aug. 17-27; Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sat-Sun at 1:30 pm. $28-$30. Regional Theatre of the Palouse, 122 N. Grand Ave. rtoptheatre.org

ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE This musical comedy centers around a part-time bartender/singer who falls for a careerminded tourist. Wed-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm through Aug. 20. University High School, 12320 E. 32nd Ave. svsummertheatre.com (509-386-7897)

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL ON STAGE!

Troy, Gabriella and the students of East High must deal with issues of first love, friends and family while balancing student life. Aug. 17-18, 7 pm and Aug. 19, 2 & 7 pm. $15-$20. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org (208-882-4127)

THE MUSIC MAN Fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill cons the people of River City, Iowa, into buying instruments and uniforms for a band that he vows to organize. Aug. 18-27; Fri-Sat at 7 pm, SatSun at 3 pm. $15-$20. Kroc Center, 1765 W. Golf Course Rd. cytnorthidaho.org

MONTANA SHAKESPEARE IN THE

PARKS Montana’s Shakespeare in the Parks troupe performs a theatrical production of Measure for Measure. Aug. 19, 5 pm. Free. Lakeview Park, 901 Ontario St. shakespeareintheparks.org

A WET HOT AMERICAN CABARET Celebrate the opening of the Upstart Players’ second full season. The players share themed performances during a night of theatrical fun. The event also features a buffet spread by Chef Wiley. Aug. 19, 7 pm-1 am. $15-$35. Prohibition Gastropub, 1914 N. Monroe St. fb.me/e/1fcIlL7aZ

MONTANA SHAKESPEARE IN THE

PARKS The troupe performs The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. Aug. 20, 5 pm. Free. Pavillion Park, 727 N. Molter Rd. shakespeareintheparks.org

VISUAL ARTS

ILLUMINATIONS: HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS This monthly series presents treasures from the Central Library’s Archives. This month’s theme is “Fine Arts,” featuring a book of Francisco Goya’s etchings

from the late 18th century and more. Aug. 17, 11 am-noon. Free. Central Library, 906 W. Main Ave. spokanelibrary.org

INLAND NORTHWEST MODERN QUILT

JURIED EXHIBITION An exhibition of handmade quilts from Northwest Modern Quilt Guild members. Mon-Sat from 10 am-4 pm through Aug. 26. Free. Jundt Art Museum, 200 E. Desmet Ave. gonzaga.edu (509-313-6843)

JANIE SCHNURR: COLLAGE MIX UP This exhibition features more than 40 abstract collage paintings. Open daily from 12-6 pm through Free. Barrister Winery, 1213 W. Railroad Ave. janschnurr.com

JESSICA EARLE: PORTAL.ESC Earle’s art includes a variety of media inviting the viewer on a journey of escapism. Mon-Fri from 8 am-5 pm through Aug. 28. Free. Chase Gallery, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. spokanearts.org (509-321-9416)

ROBIN KAHN Jeweler Robin Kahn creates pieces with varying colors, textures and shapes. Daily from 11 am-7 pm through Aug. 31. Free. Pottery Place Plus, 203 N. Washington. potteryplaceplus.com

THE BIG PICTURES Pottery Place artists feature large pieces that don’t fit in their cases. Mediums include photography, digital art, paintings and more. Daily from 11 am-7 pm through Aug. 26. Free. Liberty Building, 203 N. Washington St. spokanelibertybuilding.com

MODERN EASE This show features works by artists Claire Akebrand, Christian Benoit, Nick DeVries, Aaron Johnson, Jon Morse and Stan Peterson. Wed-Sun from 11 am-6 pm through Aug. 27. Free. The Art Spirit Gallery, 415 Sherman Ave. theartspiritgallery.com (208-765-6006)

THE WYETHS: THREE GENERATIONS A collection of works by N.C. Wyeth, one of America’s finest illustrators; his son Andrew, an important realist painter; Andrew’s son Jamie, a popular portraitist; and extended family members. Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm (until 8 pm every third Thursday) through Aug. 20. $7-$12. The MAC, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org (509-456-3931)

BOOK ARTS: COLLAGE ZINES Make master flats and master copies with the high-capacity printer. Aug. 19, 1-4 pm. $50. Spokane Print & Publishing Center, 1921 N. Ash St. spokaneprint.org

SUNDAY ART MART This weekly market features art from local and emerging artists and makers. On the Wall St. Festival Street. Sun from 12-4 pm through Aug. 27. Free. Downtown Spokane. downtownspokane.org/sunday-art-mart

HERE IN A HOMEMADE FOREST Inspired

by WSU’s 2023-24 Common Reading

Book, Braiding Sweetgrass, this exhibition highlights crucial themes through the lens of art, inviting visitors into a conversation about prioritizing a reciprocal relationship with the land, with each other and with other living beings. Aug. 22-March 6, 2024, Tue-Sat from 10 am-4 pm. Free. Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, 1535 NE Wilson Rd. museum.wsu.edu

JEFFREY GIBSON: THEY TEACH LOVE

This exhibition combines various art mediums such as sculpture, painting and video with the artist’s American Indian cultural background by adorning objects with beadwork, jingles, fringe and sinew. Tue-Sat from 10 am-4 pm through March 9. Free. Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, 1535 NE Wilson Rd. museum.wsu.edu

OLHA HRYTSIUK & IVANKA PETRUKHA

The Ukrainian refugee artists from Oleart Studio in Lutsk show recent works on paper and canvas. Aug. 24, 5-7 pm. Free. Holland Library WSU, Washington State University. wsu.edu (509-595-1736)

WORDS

I SING THE SALMON HOME: POEMS

FROM WASHINGTON STATE An anthology reading with Rena Priest and other Washington state poets, featuring the new anthology I Sing the Salmon Home Aug. 17, 5:30-6:30 pm. Free. Central Library, 906 W. Main. spokanelibrary.org

ORIGIN STORIES Create a short comic based on a myth, legend or anything else that inspires you. Aug. 15-18, daily from 9:30-11:30 am. Free. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. spark-central.org

J.T. GREATHOUSE: THE PATTERN OF THE WORLD Celebrate local author’s third installment of his fantasy series. Aug. 18, 7 pm. Free. Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main. auntiesbooks.com

ADRIAN FONTES: DEFENDING DEMOCRACY The Arizona Secretary of State discusses the topic of democracy with guest speakerJeffrey Omari. Ballet Folklorico de Spokane opens the program. Aug. 19, 5 pm. $15-$99. Ferris High School, 3020 E. 37th Ave. facebook.com/ElectFontes

BOOKSTORE ROMANCE DAY Celebrate with discounts on romance books, free Blind Date books and a bar of chocolate. Aug. 19, 10 am-7 pm. Well-Read Moose, 2048 N. Main. wellreadmoose.com

FLIGHT PATHS WITH REBECCA HEISMAN Explore the science and scientists of bird migration with Walla Walla-based nature writer Rebecca Heisman. Aug. 19, 2 pm. Free. Wishing Tree Books, 1410 E. 11th Ave. wishingtreebookstore.com n

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