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The north-south freeway was first conceived in 1946, a full decade before the U.S. Interstate Highway System was formed by the president who helped defeat the Nazis. Yeah, it was that long ago. A lot’s changed since then. Cities like Boston and Seattle have demolished sections of highways. In the 1970s, Portland blocked a highway from being built and shifted the money toward its light rail sys tem, and now groups there like No More Freeways are fighting a plan to widen I-5. That’s not happening here. Here, people cynically joke that the north-south highway should be done, but never will. The joke, perhaps, is on them. As this week’s cover story — A HIGHWAY RUNS THROUGH IT — reports, the highway is nearing the end of construction. Seven years from now, it will be done, just 83 years after it was first envisioned. When complete, it will bisect the East Central neighborhood, which has shouldered other major roads in the past. In its day, the Sunset Highway brought travelers and a lively shopping district to the neighborhood. Decades later, I-90 cut the neighborhood in two, taking most of Liberty Park (then one of the city’s largest) with it. The state hopes to avoid mistakes of the past with the new freeway, officially called the North Spokane Corridor. But highway builders have a history of creating problems with their solutions. Case in point: Homes demolished to make way for the freeways were replaced this year by Camp Hope, the city’s massive homeless encampment. Read all about what’s happening, beginning on page 16.
— NICHOLAS DESHAIS, editor
Last year, my sister was Shrek, and that was kind of funny.
Did she paint herself green?
Yeah, she did. Now she’s having a Shrekthemed party; her birthday is on the 28th. She loved it so much.
The best Halloween costume that I’ve seen was three people in a train costume, but the two carts were tiny wagons for my cousin’s two kids. And he was just pulling them along with this cardboard box and this huge chimney above his head.
One year, I stretched some black fabric on the front door, and then through a slit in that fabric, I had a glove that held a black mask. I had a small tube that went up to the mask that ran down my arm, so that I could talk into the tube and it would sound like it was coming out of the mask. It kind of scared a lot of kids.
It was during the pandemic, and me and my sister [Madison Gass] dressed up as Zero and Crowley from Good Omens. We just really enjoyed wearing that.
I dressed like Carl from UP, the little old man with a bow tie and everything.
I did have a Russell. It was just one of my friends. He had his old Boy Scout uniform; it didn’t fit him at all. Way too small for him. He’s a foot taller than me, so it was hilarious.
INTERVIEWS BY SAMANTHA HOLM 10/20/22, AUNTIE’S BOOKSTORE
Let’s turn down the volume on the homelessness issue and reframe this important community discussion
BY GAVIN COOLEY AND RICK ROMERO
The two of us are far from experts on the topic of homelessness. In fact, our career experiences have not touched on this issue in any significant ways. But our 60-plus years of combined public service do give us some important insights about what works and what doesn’t work in local government. Moreover, that experience underlies our strong belief that chronic homelessness in our community can be effectively and affordably managed.
With that in mind, we would like to begin by sharing our thoughts on what a reset and path forward with homelessness could look like. This is the first of two columns we will pen to provide these perspectives based on four key principles: We must correctly define the problem, then depo liticize the issue and determine the appropriate governance structure to own/manage this, and with all that, then develop an integrated strategy the community will support.
This seems so simple yet is so often overlooked. As we have engaged in this issue, we have expe rienced a lot of folks talking past one another, politicizing their differences and cherry-picking facts and solutions. So let’s step back and agree on a few key elements that can help us clarify what problem(s) we are trying to address.
Let’s start with a key question: Is this a public housing problem, a public health problem or a public
safety problem? Our answer to this question is YES! It is all of these, and if we try to simply address this issue through one tool of hous ing, or enforcement, or ser vices, we will not succeed. We need an integrated strategy and structure that addresses all three corners of this triangle.
Many times the correct definition of a problem also involves changing the descriptions or terminolo gies being used. So, ques tion No. 2: Is this a one-time problem that we will fix and move on from, or is this a long-term community issue that will need long-term management?
If it is the latter (which we believe it is), using terms such as “fixing” homelessness or “solv ing” homelessness do not address the reality or complexity of this issue.
Likewise, we are conflating many things when we define homelessness as “the problem.” Home lessness is, in fact, the outcome or result of many problems. When you allow your community to define homelessness as the problem, you encour age binary and polarized thinking. It also creates the illusion of simple solutions, such as “if we just provide enough homes” the problem will go away.
The first step to depoliticizing the issue is agreeing on the correct definition(s) of the problems/issues that need to be ad dressed. If we can agree that there is not a short-term “fix” to this issue, and that we need to address the three corners of the triangle in an integrated strategic manner, we are much of the way there.
But this also means we need to stop the active campaigning around this issue. And we need to refrain from weaponizing ideo logical differences, publicly fanning emotional flames and holding dueling press conferences. This only leads to further retribution and divisiveness.
Like most things in local government, this is not a D or an R issue. Government leadership needs to bring the community together on this issue, and they need to start with themselves.
fanning
flames
holding dueling press conferences.
As we discussed in our past columns, Spokane has a history of doing big innovative things. Spokane’s successes around its parks, trails, river, schools, libraries, airport and sports/entertainment facilities didn’t happen without the persistence of a number of bigthinking community partners and leaders.
In many of these cases, the key to getting these big initiatives accomplished was to acknowledge that traditional local govern ment (city or county) was not the right place for it to be housed and managed.
For example, we have a separate public entity (the Public Fa cilities District) that manages our growing convention, entertain ment and sports facilities and activities. We have an Airport Board that manages our thriving regional airport. We have separate and unique Park and Library Boards that specialize in bringing those vital services to our citizens.
In each of these important community services, we recognized the need to separate these activities and facilities from the day-today responsibilities of traditional local government.
This may be because of the specialized nature of the service. It may be because local government doesn’t control the means to deliver the best outcome. It may be because it would be over whelming for local government to manage, without disrupting its other core services.
For the above reasons, we believe it is important to examine the viability of a separate public corporation or board, charged with managing the three corners of the homelessness triangle.
This doesn’t mean that the cities and county wouldn’t be critical partners in addressing this community challenge. Much like they do now with Parks, Libraries, the Airport and the Public Facilities District, they will still need to play a critical policy and leadership role. Perhaps the best way to describe this is lead but don’t own.
In our next column, we will present an integrated strategy and framework for what this type of governance structure might look like. We will also provide some thoughts around how an integrated community strategy might take shape. Please join us! n
Gavin Cooley was Spokane’s chief financial officer for 17 years, serving five different mayors, starting with John Powers. He currently is working with the city on projects including in vestments and the Spokane River Trail System. Rick Romero is the former utilities director and director of strategic planning for the city of Spokane. He worked on a variety of projects, including the renovation of Riverfront Park, the Podium and the downtown Spokane football stadium.
Yes fentanyl is frighteningly deadly, but some persistent myths about the drug continue to confuse people. DEA PHOTO
We media types generally love to write scary stories about all the terrifying stuff coming to kill you and your kids. Except, by now you’ve learned to see through it: No, Dungeons & Dragons wasn’t really turning kids into suicidal satanists. No, sadists weren’t sticking razor blades into apples meant for bobbing. And no, smoking marijuana wasn’t nearly as dangerous as those anti-drug campaigns made it sound.
But that’s why the biggest subject of sensational ism this Halloween — the synthetic opioid fentanyl — is so tricky. There really are a lot of legitimate reasons to be worried about how many people are dying due to fentanyl.
So we’re here to try to separate the truly horrifying facts from the hoaxes and the iffy claims in between that are just plain hinky.
Your family’s Halloween candy is not going to see colorful fentanyl slipped into it. First, let’s be logical:
Drug addicts and dealers aren’t going to waste valuable drugs just for the thrill of poi
BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL AND DANIEL WALTERSsoning children, like some kind of sadistic holiday-themed Batman villain. The federal Drug Enforcement Adminis tration itself has told media outlets that it hasn’t seen any indications of this kind of Halloween candy sabotage hap pening — it’s just the latest version of the candy tampering urban legends that go back over six decades.
OK, so there is a grain of truth to this. Brightly colored “rainbow” fentanyl pills are now in Washington, with the first Spokane-area cases making their way to the Washing ton State Patrol’s crime lab division in September. With cops finding fentanyl in a variety of colors, the DEA specu lated in an August news release that the reasoning could be to make it look like “candy” or appeal to young people. But a lot of drug experts were extremely skeptical that targeting children with pretty colors was the motivation here, pointing out to reporters at outlets like Rolling Stone that there are other well-established reasons why cartels would churn out pills with sidewalk-chalk hues. First, it’s a way to make their product stand out
from that of others. Second, using color is a way to imitate the branding of other pharmaceutical pills.
According to the state patrol, the more colorful pills follow the same composition and appearance of the most common blue M30-labeled fentanyl pills that mimic oxycodone. The state patrol’s investigative assistance division says the reason we’re seeing more colors is open to speculation.
“It may be to make it more appealing to younger people, and it may be a ‘branding’ effort to distinguish one’s product from others,” state patrol spokesperson Chris Loftis said by email. “Regardless of the motivation, there are concerns the colored appearance will be more attractive to young persons or a child may mistakenly ingest it because it appears to look like candy.”
All the more reason to not leave your fentanyl out where kids can find it.
Importantly, talking to children about the dangers of buying or taking pills, whether obtained via social media or from a friend, could help young people avoid acciden tally ingesting fentanyl when they think they’re getting something else.
Nine honest horrors, hinky half-truths and heinous hoaxes about fentanyl (no, you won’t find it in your kid’s trick-or-treat haul)
If ingested, just a few milligrams of pure fentanyl are enough for most people to overdose and possibly die from. The toxicity of fentanyl, however, can vary dramatically depending both on how much tolerance a user has and how pure the street fentanyl is. On top of that, many fentanyl users are smoking pieces of pills, which can reduce the potency.
This myth is widely believed and shared by police, even as public health officials and doctors have tried to convince them they’re wrong.
While tiny amounts of fentanyl can be deadly, simply touch ing it won’t give you an overdose. Your skin – meant to protect you from nasty germs and dirt – is, by design, bad at absorbing things like the powders or pills that illegal dealers make and sell. And fentanyl’s not like LSD, which can be absorbed by touching a strip and then touching the mucus membranes in your nose.
However, you can absorb fentanyl that’s specifically made for hospitals in the form of patches — but you do so slowly.
So does that mean that all these cops are straight up lying — going so far as to actually fake video footage of police officers falling to the ground, hyperventilating and even getting Narcan doses after simply touching fentanyl? Not at all.
The mind is a phenomenally powerful thing. Fear, as one science-fiction Halloween costume said, is the mind-killer. Some officers have had actual adverse symptoms after touching sus pected fentanyl, but medical professionals speculate that these are more likely psychological reactions such as panic attacks. It’s worth noting that an actual fentanyl overdose would slow your
breathing and make it shallow. Think of this myth like Freddy Krueger — the fear itself really can hurt you. And not just you. The unwarranted fear could cause first responders to needlessly hesitate to help someone who is overdosing.
Fentanyl can be a powerful legal drug when prescribed and used under medical supervision for intense temporary pain. It only started to creep onto the illegal market several years ago, but by 2021, the spike in overdose deaths from fentanyl was astronomical.
Washington state saw a 66 percent increase in all overdose deaths from 2019 to 2021, and more than half of overdose deaths last year were due to fentanyl, ac cording to the state Department of Health.
Spokane County saw fatal overdoses involving any drug nearly triple from 2019 to 2021, according to medical examiner data. Fentanyl overdoses went from playing a role in 11 Spokane-area deaths in 2019 to causing 108 in 2021. Methinvolved overdose deaths also doubled during that time frame.
Some people have the misconception that fentanyl is resistant to naloxone, better known by the brand name Narcan. To the con trary, Narcan can save someone having a fentanyl overdose. As with other opioids, multiple doses of the overdose-reversing drug may be necessary, and unfortunately, not everyone can be saved.
Fentanyl’s so cheap, and so potent, that some dealers dress it up as other drugs. One Spokane mother, Molly Cain, has publicly stated that her 23-year-old son, Carson, bought what he thought
Washington state has a standing order that anyone can get Narcan at the pharmacy to carry around with them in case they encounter someone who needs the lifesav ing opioid overdose reversal drug.
DrugPreventionSpokane.org and StopOverdose.org provide information and links to many resources.
Frontier Behavioral Health’s 24/7 crisis line (including for substance use): 877-266-1818
was Xanax on Snapchat, only to fatally overdose when it turned out to be fentanyl. Similarly, the Wall Street Journal reported that fentanyl, which can appear as a white powder when crushed up, was frequently sprinkled into cocaine — over 80 percent of cocainerelated deaths in 2020 in New York City also showed the presence of fentanyl.
Fentanyl is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine and literally changes your brain chemistry over time. Suddenly quit ting won’t immediately rewire your brain’s desire for the immense amount of endorphins the drug makes it crave. Public health research has shown that for many people, medication-assisted treatment has proven more successful than detox/abstinence-focused treat ment. Medication-assisted treatment transitions people to opioid alternatives that allow them to function more normally and escape a cycle where they’re stuck seeking the next high.
A lot of fentanyl appears to be coming from Mexico, especially as cartels have invested in pill mills, where the drug is mixed and pressed into pill form, according to the DEA. In the past year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized over 700 pounds of fentanyl — and remem ber, this is incredibly potent stuff. In some cases, the precursor ingredients for fentanyl are first making their way to Mexico, the U.S. and Canada from China and other parts of Asia. The Washington State Patrol is not aware of fentanyl coming into the state from Canada. n
With the departure of its longtime president, Randy McGlenn, the East Central Neighborhood Council is getting a new president. So far, the only nominee to lead the neighborhood, which is the site of the homeless encampment Camp Hope, is developer Larry Stone. Stone doesn’t live in East Central, but is the owner and developer of Playfair Commerce Park as well as the owner of the building that houses the Trent Resource and Assistance Center, a homeless shelter leased by the city. In 2019, Stone spent $100,000 to produce a “Seattle is Dying”-style video called “Curing Spokane” that called out problems with crime and visible drug use in Spokane, and amplified concerns being voiced by some business owners at the time. As a business and property owner in East Central, Stone has regularly participated in the neighborhood council’s meetings (to be nominated, someone needs to have attended at least three of the past five consecutive meetings). The neighborhood council will accept any more board nominations at its Novem ber meeting before a December vote. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)
During the 2019 election campaign, Spokane mayoral candidate Nadine Woodward touted her predecessor’s conservative and balanced budgeting as “the best gift that our mayor has just given our next mayor.” But now that Woodward is mayor, it’s the Spokane City Council — typically seen as more progressive — that has been demanding more cautious budgets, arguing that the Woodward administration has been using one-time money to obscure ongoing budget gaps. At the Oct. 17 council meeting, however, the council passed a resolution outlining what kind of budget they wanted to see from the mayor before Nov. 1: Cut the city’s general fund expenses by 10 percent and establish a hiring freeze for some positions. If one-time COVID grant money is used to fill ongoing expenses, the council declared, the city should first outline a plan to make cuts when that money is spent. “The administra tion has not yet identified where all the funding is going to come from for some of the issues that are going to come down the pike next year,” Council member Michael Cathcart, a conservative said, adding, “I feel like we are just heading to a cliff.” The resolution passed 6-1 — with only Council member Jonathan Bingle opposed. (DANIEL WALTERS)
Spokane will keep looking for a replacement to the unofficial South Hill dog park that was lost as construction started on a new middle school. The Spo kane Park Board rejected a proposal to locate a new 7-acre fenced dog park in Lincoln Park at its Monday meeting, with two members in favor and six opposed. “This doesn’t mean that we’re done with the dog park hunt,” said Jennifer Ogden, the board president. “We need to keep looking.” The vote came after dozens of residents weighed in on three proposals at community meetings in recent weeks. Many voiced opposition to the three possible sites, which included Lincoln and Underhill parks, and near Hazel Creek behind Fer ris High School. Some talked about choosing children over dogs, while others worried about habitat for wild turkeys, deer, and other native prairie plants and birds. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL) n
gets a new president.
KWAK PHOTO
We looked at Spokane sheriff candidates’ disciplinary records. Neither is spotless.
BY NATE SANFORD
The two men vying to be Spokane County’s next sheriff have some things in common. They’re both Republicans with more than two decades of experience in the sheriff’s office, and each has been disciplined for misconduct.
The following accounts come from docu ments obtained by an Inlander records request.
On Feb. 24, 2018, around 7:30 am, Nelson was teaching a women’s self-defense course at the Sher iff’s Office Training Center near the Idaho border. As he was preparing for the class, Nelson realized that deputy Shawn Audie was in the building. This concerned him because Nelson’s wife, a medical examiner named Elizabeth who had recently filed a conduct complaint against Audie, was planning to attend the training that morning.
The previous January, Audie and Elizabeth had both responded to a dead body call. In a complaint filed afterward, Elizabeth described Audie as rude, hostile and unwilling to cooper ate on the investigation. She said Audie stood in the way of a death scene photo she was trying to take, referred to her by the wrong job title, and was snarky and dismissive when she tried to ask him about the dead person’s medication. Her complaint was sustained, and Audie received a written reprimand for “discourteous or disre spectful treatment of the public.”
Fast forward to the women’s self-defense class: Audie’s in the building. Nelson’s wife isn’t yet, but she’s going to be. Nelson’s worried.
“You gotta remember, this guy is not a defensive tactics instructor,” Nelson says now, recounting the incident for the Inlander. “He has no reason to come to this training center.”
Deputy Tom Walker, who was co-teaching the self-defense course with Nelson that morn ing, saw Nelson come out of the training room to talk with Audie in the hallway, according to
an administrative report. Nelson asked Audie to leave. Audie refused.
Walker left for the cafeteria to make coffee. Nelson and Audie followed.
Nelson asked Walker to tell Audie to leave. Walker, in the report, said he didn’t feel like he had the authority to tell Audie to leave. He also didn’t want to get involved in their beef. As the argument escalated, Walker told the men to knock it off and “act their ages.”
The feuding deputies ignored him and con tinued to argue.
Nelson asked Audie to leave several more times, and Audie refused. In the report, Walker recalled Audie saying something to the effect of “remember what happened in the academy” and “something about choking [Nelson] out.”
Audie’s comment is notable because, in 2013, a man lost consciousness and died after Audie placed him in a chokehold during an arrest. A wrongful death trial found that Audie and the other officers involved did not use excessive force, but the jury sent a letter to the judge saying they had “reservations” about Audie’s actions.
Audie, who could not be reached for com ment, left the force in 2018 — four days before an internal investigation found that he’d used exces sive force when he choked and kicked a man during a traffic stop in 2017.
After leaving the sheriff’s office, Audie took a job as a resource officer at Spokane Public Schools. He resigned in 2019 after a video showed him pinning a Black student to the floor, his knee to the student’s neck, causing the Ferris High School student to reportedly say, “I can’t breathe.” The district settled the case brought by the student’s parents for $275,000.
In an interview, Nelson says the entire depart ment was well aware of Audie’s history, and that the sheriff’s office should have done more to help him address “whatever his issue was.” As sheriff, Nelson says he would push for more mentoring and peer support in the department.
“The flags were there,” Nelson says. “He should have gotten the help he needed to get himself straight again.”
Despite Audie’s history of questionable neck restraints — and the fact that Audie made a comment about choking Nelson him self — Nelson says he supports neck restraints as a tool of law en forcement. In fact, when asked during a KSPS-TV debate earlier this month to name one police accountability measure he doesn’t support, Nelson said he was against Washington’s statewide ban on vascular neck restraints, otherwise known as chokeholds.
Back at the training center, Nelson asked Audie if he wanted to “get rid of his belt and stuff and go into the mat room and see how it turns out.”
In the end, the tension between Nelson and Audie fizzled, and the men didn’t fight.
“It wasn’t like we went to fisticuffs,” Nelson says. “We were just arguing.”
Audie left the building and passed Nelson’s wife on the way out the door. Neither said anything to each other.
An internal affairs investigation followed and found that Nelson violated the department policy on “discourteous or dis respectful treatment of any member of this department.” He was required to do what’s referred to as “sheriff level counseling” in the documents. Nelson says he received a written reprimand and got chewed out by Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich.
As for Audie, he was disciplined for “conduct unbecoming” because of the incident, and removed from his position as a field training instructor.
Nelson says he regrets what he said, but ultimately thinks the discipline was excessive. He thinks a minor incident like that should have been handled by a sergeant and not gone all the way to the sheriff.
“It was very unprofessional and poorly handled in my opin ion,” Nelson says.
In July 2019, Nowels called Spokane Valley Police Chief Mark Werner’s office to discuss the status of a deputy who was unable to work because of a domestic violence protection order filed by his ex-wife.
Werner wasn’t available, so Nowels ended up speaking to Werner’s assistant, Kelly Matthews.
When discussing the deputy’s ex-wife, Nowels made a com ment about how “somebody should just kill her,” according to Matthews’ notes from the conversation. Nowels also said some thing about how all ex-wives do is cause trouble.
In a report he submitted as part of the investigation, Nowels said he didn’t feel like Matthews was offended by the comment, and that he made sure Matthews understood that he wasn’t serious.
The incident wasn’t reported to internal affairs for four months, until November 2019, when Nowels was asked about the comments during a deposition in the lawsuit filed by deputy Jeff Thurman, who was fired for making racist remarks.
Nowels says he realized the severity of his remarks during the deposition. He subsequently told Knezovich, who told Now els to self-report the comments to internal affairs. Nowels did the next day.
“Your on-duty conduct is reprehensible,” Knezovich wrote in a letter informing Nowels of potential disciplinary action.
An investigation confirmed the details of the incident. Kne zovich disciplined Nowels with a 160-hour suspension without pay. The incident was later reported in the Spokesman-Review, and Nowels has publicly apologized for it on several occasions.
“I am more than willing to stand up and say what I’ve done wrong,” Nowels says.
Nowels says the discipline was tough to swallow at the time, but in retrospect he thinks it was appropriate. Nowels, who has been endorsed by Knezovich, says the sheriff is “spot on” when it comes to most disciplinary decisions and that he would continue to uphold that style of accountability if elected.
The department doesn’t need an ombudsman’s office, Nowels says, because citizens “trust the sheriff to hold these people ac countable.”
Every weekend, you’ll find live music at the Nighthawk Lounge with local bands playing past midnight. For a more relaxed vibe earlier in the evening, choose the option of live acoustic music in the Chinook Lounge.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28 TH & SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29 TH 6 PM - 9:30 PM
CHINOOK LOUNGE
Enjoy a night with Just Plain Darin an accomplished musician and powerful vocalist with a full list of eclectic, original material.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28 TH & SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29 TH 8:30 PM - 12:30 AM
NIGHTHAWK LOUNGE
Get ready to get your groove on with this pop, rock and funk cover band playing hits from the 70’s to present day.
The final leg of the north-south freeway is scheduled to be complete by the end of the decade. But as construction opens up old wounds in East Central, work is underway to avoid the damage done in decades past.
STORY BY BRANDON BLOCK, CROSSCUT PHOTOS BY YOUNG KWAK
Lili Navarrete stood in a field of over grown grass in Spokane’s East Central neighborhood, looking west at a stretch of bare city blocks that line Interstate 90. Behind her, waist-high thickets of weeds unfurled over the sidewalk, steadily reclaim ing the unused path.
Navarrete pulled up a picture on her phone of the two-story yellow craftsman bungalow that once sat here, the house she grew up in. Her father, she remembers, put in a chain-link fence and asphalt driveway himself. For Navarrete’s parents, who brought her to the U.S. from Mexico City in the late 1980s, homeownership was a point of pride.
“This house was everything to us,” Navarrete said. “Our first home, our American dream.”
Navarrete recalled dinners spent staring out the kitchen window at cars roaring past, listening to the sound of ambulances responding to crashes on the freeway. Despite the noise, she remembers it as a pleasant, tight-knit community. She gestured across the street to where a row of houses remains undisturbed — at the home her cousin once lived in and the house of the family she babysat for.
“When it was full of houses, we used to walk the same street down to go to the pool at Liberty Park,” she said. “Seeing people mowing their lawns, watering their lawns, working in their yard … and now it’s weeds and all empty.”
Like many communities of color across the country, East Central — one of Spo kane’s most diverse neighborhoods, and a hub for Black culture in an overwhelm ingly white city — has paid a high price for the region’s car-centric vision of economic development.
Crews razed the Navarrete home and more than 600 other buildings in recent years to make room for an interchange serving a long-awaited north-south freeway, reopening histori cal wounds from when the east-west I-90 punched through in the 1960s and similarly displaced thou sands of residents.
As the state works to direct billions in federal recovery dollars into infrastructure projects, trans portation officials say they recognize the dispropor tionate harm linked to past development and hope to mitigate future impacts. But environmental justice advocates argue the latest $17 billion Move Ahead WA transportation spending package — while a step forward in many ways — still contains billions of dollars for short-sighted and regressive highway projects.
Democratic lawmakers maintain that infra structure spending has moved closer to peopleand environment-friendly priorities. And a pilot program in Spokane will also offer excess property from the new freeway for community development, such as affordable housing or parks.
“We envisioned this as a pivot point where we begin intentionally heading in a new direction,” said Washington state Sen. Marko Liias, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. “Our success should be measured in how effectively we’re shifting the conversation.”
Just a handful of blocks away from Navarrete’s childhood home is Fifth Avenue, once the com mercial center of what residents recall as a thriving Black business district. When I-90 came through in the 1960s, it cut off Fifth Avenue from the rest of East Central, a larger area that extends north to the
rebounding Sprague Avenue business district that now sports new boutiques, bakeries and apartment buildings.
In recent years, there’s been a resurgence of development along Fifth Avenue, driven by a Blackowned soul food restaurant and the Carl Maxey Center, a community meeting space spearheaded by Sandy Williams, publisher of the Black Lens newspaper who died last month.
Before her death, Williams described feeling hyper visible growing up in white, homogenous Spokane. East Central often served as the “only thing that felt like home.” On a drive around the neighborhood, she pointed out places that make it special, despite its challenges: the underappreciated Underhill Park, a new dental clinic, a new library at Liberty Park. (Once the city’s largest park, 19 of its original 21 acres were lost to I-90.)
Despite some abiding skepticism, Williams said the new pilot program to repurpose the state’s surplus Washington State Department of Transpor tation (WSDOT) property in East Central for com munity use could serve as a transformative asset for a neighborhood repeatedly dealt a losing hand.
“Is it true that there’s a system in place that ensures that if there’s a highway going to be built, that it goes through low-income neighborhoods? I think there is,” Williams said. “But … I’m going to do my damndest to make sure that this community, this neighborhood, has a say in what happens to that land.”
The North Spokane Corridor was first proposed in the 1940s. Previous iterations would have routed it through the Logan neighborhood near Gonzaga. In 1997, an environmental impact statement identified the current route as the state’s preferred option.
Although it’s been in the works for decades and began construction in 2001, the $1.5 billion project has experienced ongoing funding delays and was fully funded only in 2015.
Gonzaga University philosophy professor Brian Henning said the long lifespan of the project has slowly muted opposition, making the highway seem like simply a fact of life.
“Sometimes when something has just been in the context for so very, very long that even [for] those who would have resisted it, it’s now part of the fabric, part of the background, it’s inevitable at this point,” said Henning, who founded the university’s Center for Climate, Society, and the Environment.
In addition to the bifurcation of neighbors and businesses, Henning said communities like East Central also often have the least power to resist big infrastructure projects, and the fewest resources to respond to the air quality, carbon emissions and other environmental problems exacerbated by new highways.
“In particular poor people and people of color, they created the least of the problem [and] have the smallest carbon footprint because they don’t have a lot of resources … but they bear a disproportionate burden of the effects,” Henning said.
This idea, often referred to as environmental justice, is key to the burgeoning anti-highway move ment, which also includes residents of the majorityHispanic South Park neighborhood in South Seattle, who are advocating for the removal of a portion of State Highway 99. Such causes have elevated the climate and health costs of a transportation system dominated by cars, the country’s leading source of greenhouse gas emissions.
In response to a request to speak with senior officials about how projects get prioritized, a WSDOT spokesper son deflected questions to legislators who set transporta tion budgets.
But Mike Gribner, regional administrator for WS DOT’s Eastern Region, defended the rationale for the highway, saying it would remove long-haul truck traffic from Division Street, the city’s current north-south thor oughfare. Nearly as wide as a highway in some places, but with many stoplights and frequent congestion, Divi sion Street is also the primary route for long-haul freight to and from Canada.
“The net benefits exceed the impacts,” Gribner said. “How Division Street is going to develop and the land use around that in the downtown core, and how transit can be utilized on that corridor is really only available to this discussion if we move the regional [truck] trips off this system.”
Gribner also argued that the highway will have envi ronmental benefits because it will move vehicles faster, re ducing congestion and idling. But transportation experts largely agree that new highways quickly fill up with cars, reversing any effect on congestion and ultimately leading to more driving and emissions, an outcome commonly referred to as “induced demand.” Asked about this phe nomenon, Gribner remained vague on whether he would expect an increase in overall car usage.
“I’m not certain whether this does create trips or not,” Gribner said. “But efficiency generally creates trips, so I think it’s certainly conceivable that the North Spokane Corridor is going to create trips just because the system is more efficient.”
Washington state Sen. Andy Billig, the Democratic ma jority leader who represents Spokane, helped lead efforts to secure funding to finish the north-south freeway, which was half-built when he entered the Legislature in 2011. Bil lig also linked completion of the highway to a revamped, more pedestrian and transit-friendly Division Street.
Some city leaders envision a future bus rapid transit line opening in 2029, with buses coming every 10 min utes in a dedicated lane. The state Legislature put aside $50 million for that project in the recent transportation funding package.
“I understand the sentiment that freeways like this are a vision of the past. I get that, and I don’t completely disagree with that,” Billig said. “But I also know that a
modern, transit-oriented, efficient vision for a corridor like Division [Street] is not possible without the North Spokane Corridor.”
In the years following the construction of I-90, Spokane lost 11,000 residents as people increasingly decamped for the suburbs. Although the city regained residents and eventually surpassed its previous population by the 1990s, it has lagged far behind the county as a whole.
According to Spokane architect William Grimes, that’s in part because two things happened: The city added land area, and it became less dense as growth concentrated on the suburban fringes newly accessible via the freeway.
“Spokane chose to allow the expanded urban settle ment of the east-west corridor, creating new, intensely urban communities,” Grimes wrote in an academic article
titled “Learning from I-90: The North-South Freeway’s Implications for Urban Form.” Those new suburban developments, Grimes wrote, competed “directly with the central city for resources and creat[ed] an overall decrease in population density despite population growth.”
A similar phenomenon could play out with the north-south freeway enabling suburban sprawl to extend northeast of the city, Grimes wrote. As with I-90, it has the potential to weaken the city’s ability to draw new residents and investment.
While the North Spokane Corridor is a done deal, a larger battle over the impact and future of transportation continues in the state Legislature. Lawmakers in March approved the Move Ahead WA transportation funding package, which allocates $17 billion over the next 16 years.
Senate budget writers hailed the package as a transformative shift from past highway-centric packages toward a more multimodal future. Compared to the
1946 Spokane Traffic Survey men tions the feasibility of a north-south freeway route.
1951 Spokane Urban Highway Capac ity Survey shows that traffic could sup port such a freeway.
1955 A preliminary “reconnaissance” report surveys potential routes.
1958 State Highway Commission chooses Interstate 90 alignment, including a planned interchange at Liberty Park with the north-south freeway. State Rep. Margaret Hurley, a Spokane Democrat, says I-90 will “ruin our beautiful city.”
1970 The state highway department releases the Spokane Metropolitan Area Transportation Study, along with a map showing the Hamilton route of the freeway, where more than 600 homes must be demolished — along with parks, schools and churches — to make way for the freeway.
1974 The interchange at Liberty Lake is built to connect I-90 and the northsouth freeway. Hurley successfully shepherds to passage a law requiring environmental review of the project, effectively killing the project as it was planned. The state deletes funding for it from its budget. The interchange is reformed to connect I-90 to SR 290, which crosses the river on Hamilton and then heads east-west on Trent Avenue.
1956 First plans of the $13 million north-south freeway unveiled, with the route heading up the HamiltonNevada corridor. The Federal Aid High way Act is also passed, which creates the Interstate Highway System, where the federal government covers 90 per cent of construction cost.
1961 Construction of I-90 begins.
1969 Margaret Leonard, the first woman elected to the Spokane City Council, vows to stop the north-south freeway. She is later credited with leading opposition to the project, along with Hurley — the “two Marga rets” as they were called by the state highway department.
1971 In response to the planned route, Rep. Hurley calls highway plan ners “devious, domineering and arro gant” from the House floor, and says they are “rooting up whole communi ties and covering them with concrete and asphalt.”
1985 The Spokane Regional Council identifies the lack of a north-south freeway as a major problem and asks WSDOT to investigate.
1991 WSDOT estimates that a northsouth route — farther east than origi nally planned, but in its current align ment — is doable, at an estimated cost of $650 million.
1997 A Final Environmental Impact Statement for the highway is completed by the Federal Highway Commission.
1999 The state Legislature approves $3.9 million for design work and $19 million for purchasing right-of-way.
2001 Official groundbreaking for the freeway’s first section, between Haw thorne and Farwell roads.
“WHEN HIGHWAY BUILDERS COME,” CONTINUED...
This story is a part of Crosscut’s WA Recovery Watch, an investigative project tracking federal dollars in Washington state. Crosscut is a ser vice of Cascade Public Media, a non profit, public media organization. Visit crosscut.com/membership to support independent journalism.
2015 “Connecting Washington” transportation funding package, which directed just 6 percent of funds to public transit and bicycle/pedestrian projects, Move Ahead WA invested 25 percent in those areas, according to a presen tation by the Washington State Transit Association.
Still, it included more than $3 billion for expanding highways.
The package includes a 9-mile extension of highways 509 and 167, known collectively as the Puget Sound Gateway, and $1 billion for an overhaul of the Washing ton-Oregon I-5 bridge that could stretch the roadways to add lanes. It also would spend a combined $820 million to widen sections of I-90 and State Route 18 through the Cascades.
Paulo Nunes-Ueno, an organizer with the Front and Centered coalition, praised the new money for active transportation projects but wrote in a statement that the highway expansion funding “represents a severe failure to take climate and environmental justice seriously.” A Front and Centered analysis of the highway projects funded by Move Ahead WA concluded that 177 miles of new highway lanes would add between 600 million and 900 million vehicle miles traveled by 2050.
“Investments in highways are investments in fossil fuel infrastructure,” Nunes-Ueno said.
With the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) — commonly called the bipartisan infra structure law — hitting states’ coffers this year, some cli mate experts warn that those investments could actually worsen climate change if spent on highway expansion.
State lawmakers took about $3.7 billion of federal dol lars from the infrastructure bill to fund Move Ahead WA.
In major cities across the country, many local lead ers have determined that urban freeways no longer suit residents’ needs. According to the Congress for the New Urbanism, 18 U.S. cities have replaced highways with leaner, more accessible streets, including Rochester, San Francisco and even Detroit. More recently, planned high way expansion projects were called off in Los Angeles and Denver.
Liias, chair of the state Senate Transportation Com mittee, defended the highway expansion funds in Move Ahead WA, saying they were either needed for safety (State Route 18), finishing projects that were approved by previous packages (Puget Sound Gateway), or adding HOV lanes to I-5, which he does not view as a highway expansion.
2003 State lawmakers approve a 5 cents-per-gallon gas tax increase, gen erating $189 million for the freeway.
2012 The first half of what is now called the North Spokane Corridor opens to traffic, with 5.5 miles of roadway.
2022 Camp Hope, a homeless en campment, is established on the site of the planned interchange between I-90 and the north-south freeway, where homes had been demolished to make way for construction.
2029 Anticipated completion date — 83 years after it was first envisioned.
— NICHOLAS DESHAIS
SATURDAY,
2015 The final piece of funding comes when state legislators approve $879 million for the project as part of a larger transportation spending bill, putting the final price tag at $1.5 billion for 11 miles of road, and the demolition of more than 600 homes.
Liias added that he approaches new highway propos als with more scrutiny than past leadership has, and that Move Ahead WA includes new “screening mechanisms and data-driven processes” to measure things like in duced demand when new highways are proposed.
“Those are questions the department hasn’t been asked in the past,” Liias said of WSDOT. “We’re chang ing a culture around transportation that’s existed in this state since the 1950s, and that doesn’t happen overnight.”
In the years since Navarrete’s block was torn down, the WSDOT land has sat vacant. On the north side of I-90, the land is now occupied by Camp Hope, the homeless encampment.
In the 2022 legislative session, Billig passed a bill directing WSDOT to make some of the surplus vacant land available to the community. He cast it as an effort to reckon with some of the historical damage done to East Central by both highways.
Gribner of WSDOT said plans for the vacant land are still in early stages. WSDOT provided maps of the potentially available land but stressed that the boundaries could change as the final structure of the highway has not yet been determined.
The state Legislature also allocated $4 million for design of a pedestrian bridge over I-90. In response to community requests, WSDOT also applied for and received a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, part of which will be used to design a pedestrian bridge over I-90 in East Central.
Currently there are few places to cross I-90: sev
eral underpasses, and a few austere pedestrian bridges. Traversing those narrow concrete spans can be a dizzying experience, with the deafening sound of eighteen-wheel ers crisscrossing below.
The idea is similar to the “reconnecting communi ties” grant program recently launched by the federal DOT, a $1 billion effort funded by the infrastructure bill
aimed at repairing neighborhoods like East Central. That program, which opened for applications in July, can fund things like pedestrian bridges, park lids and even remov ing highways.
“We can’t right every wrong that was done related to the placement of the freeway, but there is a lot we can do,” Billig said. “I think this is just the start.”
“WHEN HIGHWAY BUILDERS COME,” CONTINUED...Sandy Williams at the Carl Maxey Center in July.
Community advocate Luc Jasmin III works with a group called Rebuild East Central, which coalesced around shaping the future of the vacant WSDOT land. The group plans to hire a consultant to help articulate the community’s vision for the property. Af fordable housing is one element that many community members have stressed, along with parks and other public facilities.
Williams, with the Maxey Center, offered one possible vision, as she turned her car up a steep hill toward the South Perry District, which is technically part of East Central. New investment has spawned breweries, vintage stores and outdoor din ing on South Perry Street.
“This is what we want,” Williams said. “And affordable housing.”
With the WSDOT property, Jasmin and Williams see a rare opportunity for the neighborhood to have a genuine say in its future — unlike with most decisions made in the past. They could help create a place where people can keep building on their American dreams.
As the suburbs around Spokane con tinue to grow — aided by the ability to drive quickly in and out from the city center — the region is likely to again face the ques tion of whether to keep adding new vehicle lanes or to try something different.
A true reckoning with the past damage done by highways would involve mak ing different choices in the future, said
Henning, the climate ethics professor. One concrete step: Repeal the 18th Amendment to the state constitution — which requires that gas tax revenue be used exclusively on roads and not public transit.
“We’re doing this, and it’s going to happen, and everybody’s resigned, but can
we make this the last time?” Henning asked. “At some point we have to be trying to have these difficult conversa tions rather than thinking we’ll get different results with the same actions over and over again.”
Local leaders hope the billions of incoming federal infrastructure dollars will be used to bolster marginal ized communities rather than upend them. Jasmin is skeptical. He said he feels WSDOT has yet to engage meaningfully with Rebuild East Central or non-English speaking community mem bers.
Avoiding the harms of the past will take more than surveys and the occasional listening session, he said — officials will have to challenge their old assump tions and treat community members like full partners.
“When you talk to them, what’s the general thought? We solved it already,” Jasmin said, cracking a frustrated smile. East Central would look much different if that were the case.
“Success,” he said, “is different out comes.” n
Few cult musicals have earned that modifier — cult — as completely as The Rocky Horror Show. Ever since its stage premiere in 1973 as a campy, ribald sendup of early science fiction and horror B-movies, the show has become a magnet for die-hards who want to thrust their pelvises along with the “Time Warp” or shout insults at the straight-laced protagonists Brad and Janet.
Troy Nickerson and Heather McHenry-Kroetch don’t really count themselves among those staunch fans.
“It was something I went to with theater kids in high school, at the Magic Lantern, of course — that kind of thing,” says Nick erson. “But neither one of us was a huge Rocky groupie of any kind.”
It might seem odd, then, that the two would unite to direct a new production of The Rocky Horror Show, which begins its threeweek run at Stage Left this weekend. But when you consider that their past joint projects include Little Shop of Horrors and Evil Dead the Musical, maybe it’s not all that unusual.
And more importantly, Nickerson says, the musical “was time
that we could spend together” after the prolonged COVID hiatus.
“We’ve been friends for over 30 years, and we work really well together, but during COVID we didn’t get to see each other that much. So it just seemed like a good fit for us. It was a really great, fun project to work on together,” he says.
For McHenry-Kroetch, it also marked a creative change of pace. Her last directorial outing was for Murder on the Orient Ex press at the Spokane Civic Theatre this past spring. The Agatha Christie murder mystery was much more conventional than Rocky Horror’s Transylvanian “transvestites” (an original, albeit now outdated, term used in the play and film) and lab-made specimens of manhood — although the play itself was also much newer.
“This show actually has more tradition behind it. Just [detec tive] Poirot has to be classic in Orient Express, right? Here, there’s a lot of history that we’re finding from everybody who’s seen it so many times,” she says.
“We’re kind of learning about it from cast members as we go,” adds Nickerson.
Stage Left Theater, 108 W. Third Ave. Oct. 28-Nov. 13
Thu-Sat at 7 pm, Sun at 2 pm Nov. 18 & 19
Fri-Sat at midnight
All showings are sold out
“They’re a very youthful cast,” McHenry-Kroetch says. “I think the audience is going to be pleasantly surprised, especially people who go to the theater a lot, because these are people they haven’t seen over and over.”
Among the young devotee cast is Gabriel A. Conesa Ca quias, a relative newcomer to the local stage who’s playing the roguishly androgynous mad scientist Frank-N-Furter. The character was first epitomized by a corset-bound Tim Curry in the original stage production as well as the 1975 film adapta tion, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
“I am 100 percent a fan,” Caquias says. “I actually watched Rocky Horror the movie before I even got into theater. I didn’t even know it was a play. I just fell in love with the show, and I would sing the songs and used to try to imitate [Curry’s] walk.”
Yet that doesn’t mean that Caquias, who prefers the nonbi nary pronoun they, is just aiming to mimic Curry’s memorable turn as Frank.
“Obviously, I started theater because I want to tell beautiful stories. I want to make people feel things,” they say. “And so the actor in me is like, yes, I want to make Frank my own. I want to showcase all the different sides of Frank. But as a really big fan, and knowing how this show affects everyone, I still owe at least a thank-you to Tim Curry as a tribute.”
Caquias says their own take on Frank veers away slightly from the sinister and instead casts Frank more as a likable, “char ismatic libertine” with a “freeing” effect on everyone around him.
Another inevitable departure from the film are the phantoms, an ensemble of singers who tend to be more prominent in stage versions of Rocky Horror. The co-directors have made them an inte gral part of the very fluid scene changes, something that Caquias sees as a unique highlight of this production.
“The phantoms are literally one of my favorite parts of the whole show. In many productions I’ve seen, the phantoms are there in the background but aren’t used a lot. From the very beginning, Troy and Heather wanted them to be onstage. I think they watched musicals like Hamilton and Hadestown and saw how the ensemble was such a big part of the show, and they wanted to bring that to Rocky Horror,” Caquias says.
“I won’t spoil anything. I’ll just say that we might be the sponge cake, but they’re the icing. They make everything so f–ing good.”
That’s where Nickerson and McHenry-Kroetch say their lack of fandom has been an advantage.
“Because we didn’t have all that attachment to it, we’re coming from a place where we’re looking at the text and going at it the same way that we would go at any production. So it’s interesting. We’re just approaching it like we would any other work we’ve done together,” Nickerson says.
“We’re keeping a nod to the traditions of the show,” he continues, “and then still kind of making it our own and doing our own thing.”
As part of that, afternoon and evening performances of Rocky Horror — the show’s complete run is now sold out as of press time — allow costumes but won’t encourage audience participation. Callouts will have to be reserved for the two midnight perfor mances on Nov. 18 and 19. Both directors recognize that might leave some of the Rocky Horror disciples disappointed, but it’s intended to keep the show accessible to everyone.
“I’ve been to productions where there were all the callouts and stuff, and sometimes there’s so much of it that the actors can hardly get their lines out,” Nickerson says. “That leaves the nonRocky-die-hard people asking, ‘What’s the actual story?’”
“There is a story there,” says McHenry-Kroetch. “And there’s something about just enjoying the show for its story.”
That story being one of orgiastic cross-dressing space aliens seducing a prudish young couple?
Nickerson laughs. “It’s still about relationships!” n
E.J. Iannelli has been a contributing writer for the Inlander since 2010. Although he has covered everything from small business to steamboat history, his primary focus is on theater, literature and classical music. In 2022, he joined Spokane Public Radio, where he works as the arts and music director.
Throughout art’s history, artists have generally worked alone. The perception of artists as lon ers was embodied by such people as Ellsworth Kelly, Georgia O’Keefe, Joseph Cornell, Yayoi Kusama and Vincent Van Gogh.
I can relate to the stereotype.
Fifty years ago or so, we got simple paper report cards. I’d get plus signs for “takes initiative” and “cre ative,” and minus signs for “plays well with others,” which still makes me smile. I know I wasn’t mean or hurtful, just introverted, and I believe those traits — in dividualism, taking initiative, creativity — were a good fit for pursuing art (and probably also for teaching and writing).
Knowing that about myself, I’m always intrigued by people — especially creatives — who seek out collab orative opportunities. What motivates them? What can be gained and at what cost? How does it work?
Spokane artists Carl Richardson and Mardis Ne nno offered one example during their six-month artist residency at Spokane Public Library’s creative hub, the Hive. The resulting artwork inspired “Sojourn,” October’s exhibition at the Terrain Gallery on North Monroe. A free closing reception happens Friday, Oct. 28, from 5-7 pm.
For the two artists, collaboration isn’t about work ing together on a single artwork, but rather the oppor tunities proximity can provide.
“When I use the word collaboration, I am thinking more of sharing a space, sharing thoughts and having conversations that then spark the creation of some thing,” says Richardson, a printmaker who’s taught at Spokane Falls Community College’s art department since 1995.
Nenno, who retired from teaching ceramics at SFCC in 2016 but is still an adjunct instructor there, likes working solo, she says, but appreciated having someone to share ideas with and learn from.
“I wanted to focus on bringing the photographic image to my sculptural objects, and Carl taught me how to screen print,” Nenno says.
Both artists work in equipment-oriented fields and appreciated having more space to work at the Hive. While Richardson brought over his printing presses, Nenno, a ceramicist, hauled clay there.
Although both artists undertook their own work, they addressed a specific theme: rope.
“In one of our initial planning meetings, we were talking about drawing and the use of line, and Carl mentioned that he loved drawing ropes,” says Nenno.
She, meanwhile, is “interested in the visual lan guage of binding, wrapping, knotting and tangling” in her narrative artworks.
They also spoke about the negative and positive connotation of rope.
“I have mixed feelings about rope depending upon its use,” Richardson says. “I would imagine most people do. In some instances it is life saving, and in oth ers it is used to do harm.”
The exhibition, which closes on Oct. 29, encom passes a wide range of media, from drawing and paint ing to ceramics and printmaking. The imagery is also wide-ranging, both representative and abstract.
“I like the fact that our pieces, although different in many ways, have some similarities,” Richardson says, adding, “The similarities were not done purposefully. They happened organically.”
All Hive residencies require some public access to the studios, which Nenno found beneficial, too.
“The Hive is a unique, visionary opportunity for artists in Spokane,” she says.
It also dovetails beautifully with Terrain Gallery, which describes itself as a “space for the community to come together and exchange ideas.” Past shows this year have included works by Spokane Print Fest makers and Posie Kalin’s collaboration with area high school students to integrate art into science instruction.
In November, Terrain is featuring Crista Ann Ames. Next, Shantell Jackson and Stefani M. Rossi, who were part of The Hive’s inaugural residency pro gram in 2021, exhibit their work in December. n
The newest piece of public art in Riverfront Park was unveiled last week. “THE SEEKING PLACE” by Coeur d’Alene artist Sarah Thompson Moore is a large-scale installation of perforated aluminum panels, inspired by the magnificent basalt columns scattered across the Inland Northwest’s landscape. In sunlight, the installation casts lovely shadows on the ground, and at night it’s also illuminated from above. Next time you visit the park, seek out “The Seeking Place” near the Pavilion, on a grassy area called the Central Green just north of the orange bridge. The maze-like, interactive installation was funded by Riverfront’s redevelopment bond and Spokane Rotary 21. Coming up next, “Stepwell” by Meejin Yoon, a massive interactive sculpture inspired by Expo ’74, will be installed on West Havermale Island. (CHEY SCOTT)
One day they were on top of the world, the next they were on law enforcement’s most wanted lists: Art forger Shaun Greenhalgh, celebrity impersonator Christophe Rocancourt, and financial swindler and Polish singer Jan Lewan. INSIDE THE MIND OF A CON ARTIST profiles the masterminds behind capers too big and too complex for most of us to even consider. The docuseries was released in early 2022 and features an uber-stark setting, height ening the drama that slowly unravels, like the stories themselves. Find the series on Curiosity Stream. (CARRIE SCOZZARO)
Noteworthy new music arriving in stores and online Oct. 28:
KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD, CHANGES. This is the Australian psych rock shredders’ 21st album in the past decade.
Heck, it’s the group’s third LP in the month of October 2022 (!!!). Needless to say, the band is prolific.
SHOW ME THE BODY, TROUBLE THE WATER. The New York City hardcore punk band creates the kind of noise that makes you want to sweat out some of your stress in a mosh pit.
NEIL DIAMOND, A NEIL DIAMOND CHRISTMAS. Now that I think about it, “Far, we’ve been traveling far / without a home, but not without a star” basically already is a Christmas lyric.
(SETH SOMMERFELD)
In fashion, as the saying goes, “What’s old is new again.” Few places reflect this better than the myriad vintage boutiques around the Inland Northwest.
One of the newest to arrive to this local scene is Col lective Threadz, which opened in the Garland District last month and is stocked by half a dozen local resellers. Fittingly, the shop took over a building that was last home to Drop Yer Drawers (also known as DYD, or its more toned-down name, Drum Yer Drum), a former longstanding vintage shop that moved from Spokane Val ley to Garland almost two decades ago, and permanently closed earlier this year.
While Collective Threadz’ extensive inventory of Tshirts, jeans, jackets and more from the 1980s and 1990s are hot sellers among the Gen Z crowd, its owners say, the shop’s stock spans all decades and styles.
Hung along the upper walls all around the store are threadbare, rare band T-shirts (none are reproductions, of course) from the likes of the Rolling Stones, Judas Priest and Nirvana. Midcentury-era collegiate and regional public school names printed or embroidered across faded crewnecks and letterman sweaters bedeck another wall, more of Collective Threadz’ rarest wares.
In one corner, racks of ultra soft, worn-in flannel button-ups. Across the room, stacks of vintage Levi’s denim. Vintage enthusiasts can also scope out old-school military-issue garments — all built to last — and hardworn working folks’ coveralls and Carhartt jackets.
“Vintage has always just kind of been a thing around here,” says co-owner Grant Quine. “It’s just more main stream now with the kids.”
Collective Threadz co-owner Tyees Cardwell, agrees, and notes that for most of their vendors, “picking,” or sourcing, the shop’s vintage inventory is a full-time hustle.
“These guys are always on the hunt everywhere, traveling,” Cardwell says. “It’s getting harder and harder to find when you have so many people out there doing it. But we get kids from all different walks of life who come in, and this is what they want.”
Cardwell’s other business partner, Earnest Finnie, is one of the shop’s main pickers; the duo collectively sell under the name Off the Hook Vintage.
Quine, meanwhile, has his own inventory and seller identity, The Raven’s Saga. Other vendors in the store in clude some well-known players in the local vintage scene, like Mike Kay of Time Machine Workshop and Brandon Martell of Bee’s Vintage. Other contributors are Braun Webb of BW Vintage and Ann Schluting of Redux Vin tage, the latter specializes in repurposing vintage textiles into quilt coats and tote bags. Auctashia Yates of Alliance Collective also sells there, specializing in women’s vintage and thrifted modern clothing.
Collective Threadz initially began as a shop called Spokane Vintage inside a nondescript building on the far eastern end of Garland, where it intersects Market Street in the Hillyard neighborhood. Cardwell says she’d long envisioned growing the business and mov ing it to a more accessible part of town with more traffic.
When she and Quine heard there was a sign in the window announcing that Drop Yer Drawers’ location was available, they knew that opportunity had arrived. It took about three months to clean out, paint and update the
space before Collective Threadz and its vendors could move in.
Similar to other vintage clothing shops in the area, Collective Threadz vendors rent space there. Kay and Martell mostly keep their goods in a separate-butattached room located to the left of the store’s entrance, but other vendors’ pieces are mixed together into curated racks, sorted by garment type and style.
“It works really well having different people in here because you get to see different points of view and differ ent styles,” Cardwell says.
The shop also offers pieces at a range of price points, from $14 T-shirts and $40 jeans to ultra-rare and highend vintage pieces that sell for several hundreds each, like the aforementioned vintage band tees.
“Some people ask us about the shirts on the wall, and then kind of flinch when we say what the price is,” Quine says. “But there are people who are into collecting and having something that’s true vintage, and came out in the time, versus some people who just want to wear the band and they don’t mind modern repros.”
“It’s good we have both,” Cardwell adds. “The kids enjoy being able to come in and buy something vintage that’s, you know, $14, $15 instead of $50.”
The kids aren’t the only ones excited to have a new vintage spot in Garland.
“The other business owners, and just the street traffic — everybody is so welcoming, and they’re happy to see what this building has become,” Cardwell says. “We know that this is a great place to be. It’s so busy over here — it’s night and day compared to where we were before.” n
Collective Threadz • 719 W. Garland Ave. • Open Tue-Sun 11 am-6 pm •
Instagram: @collectivethreadzvintage
Asking someone how they like curry is a bit like, “Where are you from?” The answer varies widely and is often based on where a person was born, has lived or lives now.
For the longest time, I thought curry came in a tin from the grocery store that, when opened, emitted an earthy fragrance and a little puff of what looked like golden-hued flour. Now I know freshness is quintessen tial to flavor in such dishes as bright, citrusy green Thai curry and fiery, sweet-and-sour Indian vindaloo.
I know, too, that curry comes in many forms. Even so, the appearance of curry dishes on Japanese menus was unexpected, and inspired this exploration of what curry is, and is not.
“Some people think curry is any kind of sauce [like with] onion, tomato, ginger, garlic,” says Deepika Dha wan, who opened India House Post Falls with husband Manoj Kumar in 2020. The couple also own Karma Indian Cuisine in Moscow, Idaho, and will soon open Karma Cuisine & Lounge at 2606 N. Monroe St. in Spo kane in the old Hedge House restaurant building, which was most recently the home of Hi-Revs Bar.
The perception of curry as sauce might be a lingering translation error. In her definitive culinary history, Curry:
A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors, Lizzie Collingham traces the word to the 1500s when Portugal invaded India and the Portuguese interpreted words referring to stewed and saucy dishes eaten by locals as “curry.” Other experts, however, claim curry is a southern Indian word, kari, relating to black pepper.
Either way, curry is more about spice than sauce, Dhawan explains. Cinnamon, cloves, cumin, fennel, fenu greek, mustard, pepper and turmeric are commonly used.
At India House, for example, methi malai ($15-$16) with fenugreek is warm and faintly sweet, while vegetar ian chana masala ($14) incorporates mild chili peppers into a tomato-based gravy to balance hearty chickpeas.
Like most traditions, cooking varies by region. Dhawan was raised in the Punjabi state of Jalandhar in northern India, and cooks with a lot of cumin seed or jeera. Mustard is more prevalent in southern Indian cuisine, she says.
Also unique to northern India is the term garam ma sala versus curry, which Dhawan uses on her restaurants’ menus because audiences are accustomed to the word, she says.
“Garam masala is the backbone of our food,” Dhawan says.
Dhawan makes fresh garam masala every few weeks, toasting bay leaf, black pepper, cardamom (both green and black), cinnamon, cumin and coriander until they bloom, then grinding them. She also uses asafetida, a fragrant, resin-like herbal substance with ties to ancient Persian culture, an indicator of the age and complexity of Indian cuisine.
Even as she continues to cook traditional north Indian foods, Dhawan is an advocate of experimentation in the kitchen. Cooking is an art form, she says.
“I think you can give yourself the opportunity to play with everything.”
Looking at a map of India, it’s easy to see how in gredients and culinary traditions may have traveled outward, west to the Middle East and Africa, for example, north to China and and east to Bangladesh, all of which serve dishes called or including curry.
Throughout Southeast Asia, which includes Indone sia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, curry typically refers to a thick, wet mixture of shrimp paste, aromatics, herbs and spices (versus the dry spice blends in Indian cuisine).
At Thai Kitchen, Benji Hall has been making every thing from scratch since 1990 when she and her husband, Paul, opened their Spokane Valley restaurant. The menu includes vibrant and flavorful dishes reflecting Hall’s up bringing in central Thailand, specifically Bangkok, where she learned to cook from her mother and from tasting local food.
“[Benji] cooks by feel of what things should taste like, rather than exact measurements,” explains her daughter Melissa Hall, who runs the restau rant’s social media and is also helping with a remodel for the resumption of onsite dining (Thai Kitchen is cur rently takeout only).
The red curry ($16-$18), for ex ample, tastes salty, sweet and creamy, Hall says. It starts with a paste of chili pepper, garlic, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, as well as coriander seed, cardamom and cumin. In addition to a choice of protein, Thai Kitchen’s red curry dish includes bamboo strips, bell peppers, peas and basil leaves in a rich coconut broth.
American diners might be most familiar with Thai and Indian curries, yet others exist. Doro wat, which you can find at Queen of Sheba restaurant, for example, is sometimes called Ethiopian curry because of its sauce and fragrant spices. Singapore noodles include curry flavors and can be found locally at P.F. Chang’s.
The British inadvertently brought curry to Europe and the rest of the world. Following the Portuguese, French and Dutch invasions of India, the Brits had a go, eventually ruling India and thoroughly embracing many Indian culinary traditions.
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Over the centuries the British adapted curry, especially through the manufacture of an easy-to-use curry powder, similar to what’s sold in tins marked “curry.” European currywurst is a direct descendant of that process, which you can find locally at Alpine Deli, Das Stein Haus or Crown & Thistle Pub.
Green curry ($16-$18) is spicier than other varieties due to fresh chili peppers, Hall says, noting that the curry paste for this dish has garlic, basil, lemongrass, shallots, ginger, coriander seeds, cumin, cardamom and galangal, which looks like ginger but is piney and citrusy.
“Thai curry, and Thai food in general, is all about the little details,” says Hall, who has been cooking alongside her mother for more than 10 years.
“We help each other cook the curries whether I start the dish or she does,” she adds. “Then lastly, we taste test to make sure it is perfect.”
Where the British went, so went curry, including throughout Asia, so look for curry dishes at places like Le Brothers Vietnamese restaurant or Vina Asian Restaurant. In Japan, curry is often served in a popular dish called kare raisu or curry rice.
“For me Japanese curry is comfort food,” says Viljo Basso, who started Syringa Japanese Café and Sushi Bar in Coeur d’Alene with his wife, Autumn, in 2007.
When I share my surprise at curry on Syringa’s menu, he says that happens all the time and he’s happy to recommend the dish, especially in colder weather.
Basso’s curry rice ($14) starts with onions cooked until they’re falling apart. He adds potatoes, carrots and “roux cubes,” which resemble bullion and include flour to thicken the sauce. Variations might include meat, but also foraged mushrooms.
“I always tell people it’s more gravy-like” than other types of curry dishes, Basso says. n
See what banking is like when people come first. All Pacific NW residents are eligible to join.
Midway through the nearly 2½-hour endurance test that is Triangle of Sadness, something explosive begins to hap pen. Aboard a disgustingly expensive yacht populated by even more distasteful people, choppy waters have turned an extravagant dinner being served into a digestive weapon that is wreaking havoc on the wealthy diners from the inside out. It is a sequence of uproarious upchuck and delirious defecation that serves as a high point in an otherwise superficial slog of a film that attempts to be a class satire, but comes off as a scattered spoof that drowns in a vast ocean of its runtime.
We do meet the character of Abigail, played by a delightful Dolly De Leon, who is a background figure for far too long, but emerges as being absolutely central to the film. There is also the ship’s perpetually drunken captain, played by an expert in inebria tion, Woody Harrelson. He’s in rare form, as he wanders in for the aforementioned spectacle to provide some laughs, only to soon exit. The film ends up feeling akin to the recent HBO series The White Lotus in its middle section, but never offers any additional layers to draw viewers into the remaining hour of the movie, which twists itself into narrative knots that offer diminishing returns.
In this hyper-stylized, campy queer art feature, a bohemian couple each begin to question their sexuality after a run-in with a group of West Side Story-style toughs. Not rated At the Magic Lantern
A young nun (Jacqueline Byers) breaks the male-only tradition to learn how to perform exorcisms. But the Devil may have set up a trap for the sister via the young possessed girl she’s trying to save. Rated PG-13
Split into three parts, the film actually begins before any of the characters arrive on the yacht. The initial protagonists of this wannabe parable are the model couple of the insecure Carl (Harris Dickinson, who also appeared in this year’s similarly shal low See How They Run) and the carefree Yaya (the late Charlbi Dean, who proves to be one of the standout performers). A dragged-out dinner scene sees the two getting into a disagreement over who should pick up the check, which continues to escalate into an awkward car ride and a comedic enough confrontation at an el evator. They manage to put this aside and go on a yacht trip Yaya has been gifted for the work she does as an Instagram influencer. Thus begins the start of an occasionally humorous string of events that seek to highlight the power the wealthy guests hold over the diligent crew who are instructed to always say yes to them. Cross them, even accidentally, and you are banished from the ship never to be seen again. It is all very clear cut to the point of being oddly safe, and the film rapidly starts to feel like it is straining to make some sort of deeper meaning out of this. It calls attention to the social expectations placed on the workers without, at least initially, caring to explore much about who the crew actually are beyond basic sketches.
Rated R
Directed by Ruben Östlund
Starring Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Dolly De Leon
Swedish writer/director Ruben Östlund, whose 2014 film Force Majeure remains infinitely sharper and funnier than anything taking place here, does offer up some promising pieces in isolation and an ending that actually shows some narrative gumption. Un fortunately, the film subsequently runs away from this rather abruptly and leaves everything on a hollow note. It ought to have sat with this finale and trimmed out the meandering buildup to leave it time to breathe. Instead, it all passes too quickly and dis appointingly flinches from facing down its full grim potential.
That the film still took this year’s Palme d’Or, the highest award given at Cannes, is not wholly unsurprising. After all, Östlund had previously won over jurors with The Square, his similarly lackluster and overlong 2017 film. However, the film that kept echoing through Triangle of Sadness was not any of his prior works, but the 2019 Palme d’Or winner Parasite. This film gestures at similar ideas though can only wish it packed one iota of the humor and incisiveness that the still incredible South Korean work possesses. While that is a high bar to clear, Triangle of Sadness never attempts to make the leap, instead dragging itself to a long overdue end. n
Writer/director Todd Field crafts a psy chological drama centered on a powerful and famous orchestra conductor in Berlin (Cate Blanchett), whose world begins to unravel before a much-anticipated per formance. Rated R
The horrific lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955 — and its aftermath, which impacted the civil rights movement — is experienced through the perspective of his mother, Mamie (Danielle Deadwyler), in this powerful drama. Rated PG-13
BY JOSH BELL
The American health care system is a nightmare, and that’s without a nurse secretly poisoning hundreds of patients at multiple hospitals. The Good Nurse is about reallife serial killer Charlie Cullen, who may have murdered as many as 400 people, but it’s also about the corrupt system that allowed him to get away with it for so long, rather than risking any kind of corporate liability. It was only when Cul len’s trusted friend and colleague realized what was going on that he was brought to justice.
That friend and colleague is the movie’s title character, Amy Loughren (Jessica Chastain), an overworked night nurse at a suburban New Jer sey hospital. Although she’s devoted to caring for others, she has trouble caring for herself, since she hasn’t worked at the hospital long enough to be eligible for health insurance or to take time off for surgery to treat a serious heart condi tion. She’s a single mother of two young girls who comes home exhausted at the end of every night shift, and she seems to find a lifeline in her new co-worker Charlie Cullen (Eddie Redmayne).
he looks on, impassive, as the camera zooms in closer and closer on his face. Redmayne never betrays what’s going on in Charlie’s mind, but it’s clear that this is someone who operates with calculated malice. At the same time, he isn’t just pretending to be Amy’s friend or to care about her and her daughters, and that makes him all the more frightening.
Netflix churns out so much true-crime con tent (there is a documentary on this same subject premiering next month) that it would be easy to assume The Good Nurse is just another quickie dramatization of a sensationalistic story. But Dan ish director Tobias Lindholm brings the same level of methodical realism and attention to detail that he displayed in his previous work, including the powerful 2012 piracy drama A Hijacking. It’s not surprising that Lindholm worked on David Fincher’s Netflix series Mindhunter, since his me ticulous approach here resembles Fincher’s take on a serial killer story, 2007’s Zodiac
Charlie, it appears, is also a good nurse, treating patients with the same kind of personal attention as Amy. He also helps Amy out at home and monitors her health, while keeping her condition a secret from hospital bosses so she doesn’t get fired. When two police detectives (Noah Emmerich and Nnamdi Asomu gha) show up asking questions about a patient’s unexplained death, Amy has no reason to suspect Charlie of any involvement.
The audience knows better, of course, and not only if they’re familiar with the true story. The Good Nurse opens with a scene of a patient dying at one of Charlie’s previous hospitals, while
Chastain is excellent as Amy, conveying her weariness and her determination. Her dedication to doing what’s right eclipses the bureaucrats who’ve given Charlie a pass, including Kim Dickens as a frustratingly obstructionist hospital administrator. Redmayne, whose mumbly, whisperyell style of acting can be grating in roles meant to be sympathetic, is perfect as Charlie, who is inherently creepy even when behaving completely innocuously. He’s believably ingratiating while also never losing the undercurrent of menace, which comes to the surface in the final act as the authorities are closing in on him.
Lindholm never wallows in the prurient de tails of Charlie’s crimes, but he also never flinches from the impact, especially as Amy must comfort grieving families. The Good Nurse can be hard to watch at times, but that also makes it a strong counterpoint to many true-crime productions. By remaining calm and subdued rather than lurid, it achieves a greater lasting effect. n
Netflix’s The Good Nurse takes a rewardingly thoughtful approach to true crimeRedmayne and Chastain elevate this true crime drama.
Earlier this year in the pages of the Inlander, I wrote about how so-called “elevated” horror films had begun to stake their claim in the summer block buster landscape. But now that spooky season is in full swing, thrillers, slashers, monster flicks and their ilk have crawled out of their coffins to dominate pop culture for a month. One crucial element for any effective horror movie — quite possibly to a more pronounced degree than with any other cinematic genre — is an impact ful score. The best of the best stick to the viewer like so many gallons of Kensington Gore (aka fake blood) long after an initial watch. So it felt like a perfect time to explore some of the most iconic horror soundtracks of all time, along with some underrated gems.
Let’s get the classics out of the way first. Sometimes, the strength of a score lies with the simplicity of its leit motif — melodies so iconic that they transcend the films themselves and become tattooed on the universal psyche. Take, for example, the brilliant economic two-note puls ing dread of John Williams’ Jaws score or the shrieking violins of Bernard Herrmann’s strings-only score to 1960’s Psycho, which perfectly syncs with the visuals of the overkill stabbing of Janet Leigh during the infamous shower sequence.
When polymath horror legend John Carpenter first sat down at his synthesizer in the late 1970s to compose
the haunting, repetitive score for his foundational slasher movie Halloween, the music’s lack of ostentation was borne out of his limited means as a scrappy independent filmmaker as much as it was creative intentionality. What he landed on was a barebones 5/4 melody that his father had taught him as a child, which now will be forever synonymous with late night heebie-jeebies. This month, Carpenter revists the unforgettable score via the recently released Halloween Ends, which supposedly serves as a capper to the long-running franchise (it’s proven to be as unkillable as the bogeyman himself, Michael Myers).
The brilliant horror scores of the ’70s don’t end there, however. At the outset of the decade, famed com poser Ennio Morricone made the genius decision to con trast the sexualized violence depicted on screen in Dario Argento’s The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (a hallmark entry in the Italian giallo horror subgenre) with an unex pectedly beautiful, innocent-sounding theme. A Nightmare on Elm Street and every other subsequent horror movie that weaponized child like sing-song falsettos owes the late maestro a debt.
“When I think of the scores that scare me the most, they’re the ones with creepy kids singing,” says
Colleen O’Holleran, who programs the “WTF” series (Weird, Terrifying, Fantastic) for the Seattle International Film Festival.
Later in the ’70s, Argento would recruit the prog rock outfit Goblin (with whom he’d previously collabo rated on another celebrated giallo film, Deep Red) for the soundtrack to his lush, witchy Suspiria. It’s a score that’s at times whimsical, at times discordant, and splashed throughout with warbling synths.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre boasts an equally idiosyn cratic score composed by its writer/director Tobe Hooper and Wayne Bell. Hardly musical at all, it’s an experimen tal, macabre collage of sound effects, ambient noise, and grating drones of musique concrète (music composed using the sounds of raw material).
Special mention must also be paid to the spine-tin gling “ch ch ch ah ah ah” of the Friday the 13th franchise, which was so indelible that I (and one can only presume many others) were taunted with it on childhood play grounds. Apparently, the iconic noise resulted from composer Harry Manfredini sublimating the phrase “Kill her mommy” (as uttered by Pamela Vorhees, the killer of the first film in the franchise) into its most rudimentary syllabic form. ...continued on next page
Jumping ahead in time and offering a refined contrast, Candyman (1992) exists on the more cosmopolitan side of the horror landscape with a score by wildly influential and adored composer Philip Glass. (Though when asked about the music for Candyman, Glass’ tone is usually dismis sive, unbefitting of his masterful amalgamation of elegiac pianos, booming choirs and cascading pipe organs.)
More recent efforts within the genre also deserve their moment to shine under the moonlight. In 2018, director Luca Guadagnino released a controversial remake of Suspiria, one which altered the setting and themes of the original and bleached out all of Argento’s signature vibrancy. To accompany this radical and more muted reinterpretation, Guadagnino’s film required a drastically different sonic palette to accompany it. To take on this challenge, the director roped in Thom Yorke of Radiohead. Yorke’s Suspiria score is subdued instead of splashy, and redolent with the kind of minimalist melancholy that characterizes many of his solo outputs.
On the other end of the aural spectrum lurks Cliff Martinez’s score for 2016’s vicious, opulent fashion industry satire, The Neon Demon Like his previous collaborations with divisive Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive’s soundtrack ranked No. 19 on Pitchfork’s list of “The 50 Best Film Scores of All Time”), the critically acclaimed score is heavy on atmospheric
synth tones, but features an additional injection of throbbing club music rhythms; it wears its electronic musical influences proudly on its haute couture sleeve. Fascinatingly, Refn had cut The Neon Demon to a temp score of compositions by Psycho composer Herrmann, but Martinez wisely disregarded this completely and followed his own impulses to great effect.
There are far too many quality horror scores to give them all proper recognition, to say noth ing of the great horror needle-drop soundtracks. You will never hear “Hip to be Square” or “Blue Moon” the same again after watching American Psycho and the lycanthrope transformation scene in An American Werewolf in London
Clearly, there are a lot of directions a com poser can (and should!) take when scoring a hor ror film. The very best stand out from the rest of the (were)wolf pack because of their innovation, their ability to make the most of the sometimeslimited resources at their disposal and their willingness to take risks. Others help ground the viewer in a character’s perspective, be they the archetypal final girl or the antagonist stalking the film’s frames.
As O’Holleran puts it, “In terms of memo rable horror movie scores, they work best when they subconsciously connect you to the charac ter.”
The beautiful thing about the horror genre is how it can be adapted in wildly divergent ways. Don’t be afraid to have your Halloween party playlist reflect this diversity. n
CHECKERBOARD TAPROOM, Weathered Shepherds
J HISTORIC DAVENPORT HOTEL, Steven King
THE MASON JAR, Hermano Kuya
J QQ SUSHI & KITCHEN, Just Plain Darin
STEAM PLANT RESTAURANT & BREW PUB, Kyle Swaffard ZOLA, Desperate8s
J J THE BIG DIPPER, Monumental Halloween Cover Show
J BING CROSBY THEATER, Who’s Bad: The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Bruiser
CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, SideStep
CHECKERBOARD TAPROOM, Playing With Giants, Yeti Detector
COEUR D’ALENE CASINO, Just Plain Darin
COEUR D’ALENE CASINO, Pastiche CURLEY’S, Chasing Eos
J HISTORIC DAVENPORT HOTEL, Steven King
IRON HORSE (CDA), Royale
JOHN’S ALLEY, Free the Jester, Nathan Chartrey, Flynn, Willie Woo Styx, Camrxn LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, EMO 2000: Goth Edition
J LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, Dead Poet Society, BRKN Love MOOSE LOUNGE, Rock Candy
OSPREY RESTAURANT & BAR, Jonathan Arthur
J PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Hannah Siglin Duo
Outside of horror movies and haunted houses, the other great Halloween entertainment once you’ve aged out of trick-or-treating is the array of cover band con certs. While Halloween cover shows can span genre boundaries, metal bands inherently feel more seasonally appropriate. The heavy sound carries a more ominous feel, and metal singers often love dipping their toes into macabre ter ritories when belting out their lyrics. Northern Quest gets in on the seasonal action with a bill featuring three all-female metal tribute acts. Thundherstruck brings the classic hard rock riffs of AC/DC, Paradise Kitty (pictured) welcomes you to the jungle with Guns N’ Roses hits, and Madame Ozzy offers her best interpretation of the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne.
— SETH SOMMERFELDNight of the Rocking Dead: Thundherstruck, Paradise Kitty, Madame Ozzy • Sun, Oct. 30 at 7:30 pm • $20-$30 • All ages • Northern Quest Resort & Casino • 100 N. Hayford Rd., Airway Heights • northernquest.com
If you’re looking for that good ol’ fashioned swaggering rock spirit, BRKN Love has got you covered. Led by singer/guitarist Justin Benlolo, the Toronto alt-rock group keeps things simple, while getting down and dirty. Big riffs, cocky lyrical innuendo and an energetic live show. The band’s upcoming sophomore LP, Black Box (out Nov. 4), plays with the theme of learning from your mistakes to be better going forward (like how a plane’s black box can offer valuable information after a crash). Show up to Lucky You early to see BRKN Love open for Dead Poet Society, a rocking group of dropouts from the lauded Berklee College of Music.
— SETH SOMMERFELDDead Poet Society, BRKN Love • Fri, Oct. 28 at 8 pm • $17 • 21+ • Lucky You Lounge • 1801 W. Sunset Ave. • luckyyoulounge.com
RAZZLE’S BAR & GRILL, KrashKarma, White Trash Romeo, Rusted Hand, From Sword to Sunrise SEASONS OF COEUR D’ALENE, Son of Brad
J SPOKANE ARENA, Cody Johnson, Randy Houser
J BABY BAR, Baby Bar Halloween Covers Show
BEDROOM GOLDMINE BAR, Halloween Party with The Black Jack Band
J J THE BIG DIPPER, Itchy Kitty, Biblioteka, Gotu Gotu BOLO’S BAR & GRILL, Bruiser
CHAN’S RED DRAGON ON THIRD, Bobby Patterson & the Two Tones
COEUR D’ALENE CASINO, Just Plain Darin
COEUR D’ALENE CASINO, Pastiche
CURLEY’S, Chasing Eos
J DAVENPORT GRAND HOTEL, Steven King
IRON HORSE (CDA), Royale
JD’S PUB & GRILL, Dirty Betty Halloween Party
KNITTING FACTORY, Monster Party: Bored with Fire, Enemy Mine, Bet ter Daze, Snacks at Midnight
LAKERS INN BAR, Touch of Evil, Cruel Velvet, The Dilrods
LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, Ghoul Bash ‘22
MICKDUFF’S BREWING COMPANY, Son of Brad MOOSE LOUNGE, Rock Candy OSPREY RESTAURANT & BAR, Wiebe Jammin
J PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Bridges Home
POST FALLS BREWING COMPANY, Sam Leyde
RAZZLE’S BAR & GRILL, WhiteNoise ZOLA, Blake Braley
J BING CROSBY THEATER, Leonid & Friends
CURLEY’S, Theresa Edwards Band
J DAVENPORT GRAND HOTEL, Steven King LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, Arlo McKinley, The Holy Broke
J NORTHERN QUEST RESORT & CA SINO, Night of the Rocking Dead
J MARTIN WOLDSON THEATER AT THE FOX, Whiskey Myers
RED ROOM LOUNGE, Open Mic Night
LITZ’S PUB & EATERY, Shuffle Dawgs ZOLA, Brittany’s House
J HISTORIC DAVENPORT HOTEL, Steven King
J PEND D’OREILLE WINERY, Peter Lucht
RED ROOM LOUNGE, The Roomates ZOLA, Runaway Lemonade
J LUCKY YOU LOUNGE, MAITA, Atari Ferrari, Nov. 4, 8 pm.
J J SPOKANE ARENA, The Smash ing Pumpkins, Jane’s Addiction, Poppy, Nov. 9, 6:30 pm.
J COEUR D’ALENE CASINO, The Commodores, Nov. 10, 7 pm.
219 LOUNGE
219 N. First Ave., Sandpoint
208-263-5673
ARBOR CREST WINE CELLARS
4705 N. Fruit Hill Rd., Spokane Valley
509-927-9463
509-847-1234
BABY BAR • 827 W. First Ave.
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.
BING CROSBY THEATER
509-227-7638
BLACK DIAMOND
509-467-9638
901 W. Sprague Ave.
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.
NASHVILLE NORTH
208-457-9128
509-838-1570
6361 W. Seltice Way, Post Falls
NORTHERN QUEST RESORT & CASINO
100 N. Hayford Rd., Airway Heights
NYNE BAR & BISTRO
509-474-1621
877-871-6772
232 W. Sprague Ave.
PEND D’OREILLE WINERY
208-265-8545
THE PODIUM
301 Cedar St., Sandpoint
511 W. Dean Ave.
The Book of Mormon has been to Spokane twice already — in 2014 and 2016. It was supposed to return again in 2020, but by now we’re all too familiar with the reason it didn’t. Now, more than two years after that cancellation, the nationally touring production of this irreverent comedy musical is finally back on the bill. You’ll have three days to catch the satirical story about LDS missionaries and their misguided attempts to convert a Ugandan village. After debuting in 2011, The Book of Mormon became the 13th-longest-running Broadway show of all time and has racked up tons of awards, including nine Tonys (including Best Musical) and a Grammy.
— E.J. IANNELLI
The Book of Mormon • Oct 28-30; Fri at 7:30 pm, Sat at 2 pm and 7:30 pm; Sun at 1 pm and 6:30 pm • $65-$120 • First Interstate Center for the Arts • 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. • broadwayspokane.com
Although not inherently spooky, Harry Potter movies are a go-to Halloween watch for plenty of ghouls and goblins. John Williams, composer of the films’ scores, has a way of transporting audiences straight into the wizarding world, through Diagon Alley and, of course, to the Great Hall of Hogwarts. The Spokane Symphony is sure to conjure up some magic and plenty of fun at this annual show. Costumes are not required, but where’s the fun in that? This concert is for everyone, Slytherins and Hufflepuffs alike. Throw on a robe, grab a butterbeer or two, and discover the wondrous world of Harry Potter, and other spooky favorites, all over again.
— MADISON PEARSONThe Music of Harry Potter & Other Halloween Favorites • Sat, Oct 29 at 7:30 pm and Sun, Oct. 30 at 3 pm • $25-$64 • Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox • 1001 W. Sprague Ave. • spokanesymphony.org
Admit it, you’re a nerd at heart. We’ve all got a little nerd in us, and it’s time to let it all out. SpoCon is Spokane’s premier science fiction and fantasy convention, and the 2022 lineup certainly doesn’t disap point, featuring award-winning fantasy writers and horror TV show prop designers. This year, Montana-based thriller author Michael Hodges is speaking about his books and holding signings at the con vention. The convention also includes a plethora of vendors, exciting panels, themed dances and multiple costume contests for attendees of any age. Because SpoCon is being held on Halloween weekend, you’re sure to feel a chill in the air, a spook in your soul and love for all things nerdy in your heart. Get out there and geek out.
— MADISON PEARSONSpoCon: Revamped • Fri, Oct. 28 through Sun, Oct. 30; times vary • $45 • Historic Davenport Hotel • 10 S. Post St. • spocon.org
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Whether you dream of being the next breakout, bestselling fantasy author, or simply seek to improve your writing and research skills, the Spokane Writers Conference is for you! Hosted and organized by the Spokane County Library District, the one-day event offers a plethora of panels and workshops with some of the region’s best wordsmiths, including both in-person and online sessions. Each year, the conference is timed just before November as National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo, a challenge for writers at any stage to meet daily or weekly word count goals, with the idea that by the end of the month, they’ll have a novel-length draft. Sessions on this year’s schedule cover everything from revising a draft to writing for children; crafting a graphic novel to pitching a manuscript to publishers. Among the local names leading these courses are Trent Reedy, Frank Scalise, Patricia Meredith, Kelly Milner Halls and more.
— CHEY SCOTT6th Annual Spokane Writers Conference • Sat, Oct. 29 from 9:30 am-4:30 pm • Free; registration required • North Spokane Library • 44 E. Hawthorne Rd. • Also includes online sessions at scld.org
This is Dr. Chris Lee. He is a Radiation Oncologist at Cancer Care Northwest. Being on the front lines with patients, he understands the challenges that come with treating advanced cancers.
“There is no such thing as any woman being low risk for breast cancer,” he said. “The statistics tell us that one in eight women in the U.S. will develop it.” In fact, experts expect deaths from breast cancer to rise 10% in 2025 due to missed breast cancer screenings during the pandemic.
Día de los Muertos, more commonly known as the Day of the Dead, is a twoday holiday largely observed in Mexico. During that time, families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives and honor them by building home altars, bringing gifts to the graves of the deceased, and celebrating the relatives in their lives who are still around. This local holiday celebration, hosted by Dignity Memorial, features ofrendas (altars), food, vendors, piñatas, activities for kids and much more. The holiday may have a solemn purpose, but it’s often a joyful celebration of the lives that have already been lived by the people you love most. Think of someone special and bring marigolds, sometimes referred to as flor de muerto, or flower of the dead, to place on altars throughout the event.
— MADISON PEARSON8th Annual Día de los Muertos Family Event • Sun, Oct. 30 from 3:30-7:30 pm • Free • Hazen & Jaeger Valley Funeral Home • 1306 N. Pines Rd. • dignitymemorial.com
Particularly during the month of October, Dr. Lee continues Community Cancer Fund’s effort to make more women “breast cancer aware”. The most important step a woman can take is to be proactive about their health and speak with their physician about getting screened for the disease.
Don’t wait. Start today.
To learn more about Dr. Lee, visit communitycancerfund.org
For more information, or to schedule your annual mammogram, call (509) 455-4455 or visit inlandimaging.com/schedule.
HUNT FOR HIT-AND-RUN DRIVER Mr. Military Man in your souped up silver Dodge Ram. You rear-ended me in July on the corner of Third and Thor around 9 am when I was taking my son to school. I was driving my bright red Pontiac g6. I got out to ask you why the hell you had hit me, and your response was “you didn’t mean to!” So I pull off into the Conoco station. The correct and legal thing to do, right?! Well, to my surprise I see your truck, which at the time was hauling wood/logs, take off and head toward South Hill up Thor Street. While I’m sure it was an accident to run into the back of me, you damaged my vehicle! With all due respect, I have to wonder, is this how a military man is supposed to conduct himself? I believe what you did is called a hit-and-run, a jailable offense in Washington. I’m looking for you, and I will eventually find you! I want my car fixed! Please respond immediately to avoid any further actions on my behalf. - red g6
BOXING GLOVES Hey, we found a big suitcase in the middle of the road on Fourth Street entrance going onto freeway heading east leaving C.D.A. We would love to get these belongings back to the owner. Two sets of boxing gloves. Give us a call, 208-682-4662.
KIND LADY IN THE LADIES ROOM To the random beautiful and kind woman who approached me in the bathroom at
the Toadies show. Who made me look in the mirror and paid me the highest compliments for being able to make it through breast cancer treatment. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me. Thank you, Kimberly.
APPLAUDING THE APOCALYPSE To the clueless local news and weather crew who all clapped to celebrate our recordbreaking heat wave in October — WHAT?? What will you do when climate change strikes again with gale force winds or devastating drought numbers — give it a standing ovation?
BACKGROUND CHECK AT YOUR GALA Jeers for not background checking volunteers or staff. I was unable to have my children attend an event as you had a registered sex offender working as one of your staff. (We know because they live in our neighborhood.) I wanted this to be a safe fun evening, but if you cannot properly ensure the safety of family/teen/kids from your staff working, I cannot sit idly by while you do nothing. I attempted to contact your email or contact us, and you ignored the email or chose not to read, so we post it more publicly for awareness. Be safe, Spokane, and hopefully a Con that tries to instill “safety” for its attendees knows who’s working for them and who is not. My family can no longer support an organization that misses this large of a detail.
MORE POLITICAL MISINFORMATION Mike Crapo is once again trying to sell us BS. If we want to keep funding the Pentagon, we need all people to PAY their taxes.
Too many people with enormous incomes pay less taxes than I do. We’ve needed more IRS people for as long as I’ve been alive because too many rich people find loopholes to keep from paying their fair share. It would be interesting to find out who’s more behind in taxes, people on the left or people on the right. Time for flat rate taxes with no loopholes.
All the attacks blaming the uptick in crime on politics is not going to help. Only the politicians blame it on politics. Only those of us with at least “half a brain pan” know it’s a lot more complicated than who’s in office. Of course it goes with the term “de-fund the police.” Who ever came up
with that term needs to pull their head out and get some oxygen. All it ever meant was to take some of the law enforcement funds and redirect to mental health assistance to help the police. Just more leading through fear instead of hope.
elsewhere, I keep in mind that Spokane is always reaching for “class” and it can happen! However, it does help to at least TRY and quiet screaming children and/ or parents at symphony concerts in the pursuit of “classiness.” I think that’s a step in the right direction. Newcomers: Thank you for coming. Spokane needs you and your sensibilities. A lot.
will be spent to little or no avail. Washington state has long been known to be a friendly state for people who don’t want to or can’t live within the confines of a predefined society. Hmmmm. I wonder why...
TO HABITUAL DUMBPHONE DRIVERS Please... (please, please, puh-LEEZ) stop using your phone when driving, or at least
store in Hillyard during a busy time of day. The specific location is self-checkout. All checkouts are filled, and there is a long line of customers waiting to use them. A ... man with a child has completed checking his items, and the machine is waiting for a form of payment. Rather than doing it, he takes a phone call. It appears the person on the other line would like to talk to the child with him. So, he puts the phone to her ear, and they engage in conversation. Meanwhile, the grocery bill isn’t paid, and the line continues to build. Eventually, he ends the phone conversation, pays the bill and departs from the checkout. Lack of consideration for other people is getting to be a chronic condition. It’s truly amazing. Duh! Duh! Dumb!
POOR TASTE POLITICS Hard NOT to see a white pickup truck at 3 pm this past weekend parked outside a very visible restaurant parking lot off Argonne and Liberty St. in Millwood. The large 3-x-5-foot flag waving from this truck was one of those anti-Biden messages: “F_ _ _ Biden, and F_ _ _ you for voting for Biden.” I can only imagine young children in their parent’s vehicle driving by this signage and having to endure this poor-taste political message. No matter your political views or ideology, the placement of this flag was in poor taste, vulgar and can only reflect disgracefully upon the individual responsible.
RE RE: SMUG VS. CRYBABY Moving to Spokane expecting to find “class” in the natives is like looking for Bigfoot at Pig Out in the Park... probably not gonna find it. As a Spokanite native who has left more times than I can remember looking to find “class”
REPLACE ANGER WITH ACTION It has been said over & over how dissatisfied many of you are with the ineffective job Cathy McMorris Rodgers has performed since she was elected in 2003. That’s right, over 18 years living off the government. (It seems, from her allegiance to the Republican Party that she is in favor of eliminating Social Security too.) CMR brings up so many issues that disfavor the middle class, that it is disheartening. Now the question is, are the Eastern Washington citizens willing to “put their money where your mouth is”? Read about & listen to Natasha Hill as I did to their debate on PBS 10.20.22. Ms. Hill is the candidate we need to represent All of Eastern Washington. By the way, who do we think is paying for CMR’s abundance of ads putting down her opposing candidate? Look it up. As Michelle Obama said, and I quote, “When they go low, we go high.” Sorry to say that not one ad have I seen from Ms Hill. She doesn’t have the backing of the rich famers, Trump supporters.
NEAR NATURE, FAR FROM PERFECT I’m relieved to see some “real” concerns for a change about the direction Spokane has been going in recent years. Several comments caught my eyes in recent weeks about dirty parks and other parts of the city. It’s also become abundantly clear that the U.S. has unfathomable amounts of expendable cash. Just think of the tens of millions of dollars that have been legislated and designated for homeless shelters in Washington state alone. Yet, here we sit with people still living in tents at various places around the city, with “Camp Hope” getting the most attention. Until long-term hard solutions are found for addiction and mental issues, millions of dollars on shelters
pull over!!! Especially when traveling on I-90!!! Several of you youngish idiots have recently caused massively detrimental collisions in our city. Here’s what happens, usually: You just have to talk to (or text) a best buddy or paramour because you’re in a rush to get to see him/her, or you are running late for another commitment. You are distracted, so you don’t see the innocent drivers attempting to enter the interstate, then you hit them or they hit you. Then you get angry (if you’re still coherent after the crash), and you blame everyone else on earth, whereas you are the sole perpetrator. Then you all wait until the police and ambulances show up, while yelling at each other. Meanwhile the interstate gets backed up for miles (yes, MILES) and other innocent people miss medical appointments, important deliveries, cross-state travel, court appearances, or picking up their frantic kids from school or community activities... Therefore you suck the Big Red One. Think about how your selfishness and immaturity affects society. Dumbshits! n
GHOST BALL Elevation’s largest fundraiser supports children with special needs and the therapy care they need to succeed. Oct. 29, 7-11:59 pm. $100. Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. ghostball.org
PET BOWL-A-THON Artists at Clay Connection are selling handmade pet food bowls. All proceeds go to Spokanimal for updating their building to make it more accessible. Oct. 29, 3-7 pm. By donation. Warrior Liquor Distilling, 714 N. Lee St. clayconnectionspokane.com
FLANNEL FEST An event to raise funds for the Kroc’s Community program, providing clothing for children in need, sheltering families in crisis, helping those escape addiction or abuse and offering a safe place. Nov. 1, 5:30 pm.
$100. Best Western Plus Coeur d’Alene, 506 West Appleway Ave. kroccda.org
A night of fun and philanthropy with silent/live auction items, as well as a gourmet dinner, dessert dash and a program to highlight what the Quaranteam has accomplished so far. Registration required. Nov. 4, 6-9 pm. $100. Shriners Event Center, 7217 W. Westbow Blvd. gbpacks.org
RAISE YOUR VOICE: CABARET WITH SPECTRUM SINGERS A night of performances, games, a raffle, merchandise, and a silent auction . Hosted by Nova Kaine. Nov. 5, 6-9 pm. By donation. nYne Bar & Bistro, 232 W. Sprague. spokanespectrumsingers.com
HIP-HOP FOR HUNGER A food drive to benefit community members who need assistance during the holidays. Includes dancing, drinks and live DJs. Admission is two non-perishable food items. Nov. 11, 8 pm. By donation. T’s Lounge, 703 N. Monroe St. tsloungespokane.com
JIMMY FAILLA Failla is the host of Fox Across America where he interviews guests from all across the political spectrum. Oct. 28-29, 7:30 & 10:30 pm. $25-$35. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com
NO CLUE! Follow the mayhem of being trapped in an inn full of quirky character s and decide who’s responsible for all the dead bodies. Oct. 28, 7:30 pm. $8. Blue Door Theatre, 815 W. Garland Ave. bluedoortheater.com (509-747-7045)
SAFARI A fast-paced, short-form improv show. Saturdays from 7:309 pm. $8. Blue Door Theatre, 815 W. Garland Ave. bluedoortheatre.com
DAVE FULTON Dave is a stand-up comic from London with a flair for dark comedy. Oct. 30, 6:30 pm. $15-$22. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com
JOHN CAPARULO Caparulo, better known as Cap, has appeared on The Late Late Show, Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Tour and Chelsea Lately. Nov. 3, 7:30 pm, Nov. 4-5, 7:30 & 10:30 pm. $18-$30. Spokane Comedy Club, 315 W. Sprague. spokanecomedyclub.com
BEFORE IT’S IN THEATRES An allimprovised version of a movie based off of the promo trailer. Fridays in Nov. at 7:30 pm. $8. Blue Door Theatre, 815 W. Garland Ave. bluedoortheatre.com
BACK TO DOWNTOWN WEEK themed spirit-week for downtown Spokane workers. Each day includes a dress code, activities and promotions. See website for full schedule. Oct. 2428, backtodowntown.org
Schools leadership for conversation over a cup of coffee each month. Oct. 27, 8-10 am. Free. Ferris High School, 3020 E. 37th Ave. spokaneschools.org
FINDING OUR PLACE IN THE INLAND NORTHWEST perspectives in table group discussions about realities and challenges that shape life in the Inland Northwest. Oct. 27, Nov. 10 and Dec. 8 from 6-8 pm. Free. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 501 E. Wallace Ave., CdA hrei.org
TERROR ON SIERRA house. Ages 13+ unless accompanied by an adult. Oct. 25-31, daily from 7-10 pm. $5. Terror on Sierra, 619 E. Sierra Ave. horrormediaproductions.com
AMERICAN INDIAN COMMUNITY CENTER TRUNK OR TREAT or walk through the parking lot and celebrate Halloween with family and friends. Oct. 28, 2:30-4:30 pm. Free. American Indian Community Center, 1025 W. Indiana Ave. aiccinc.org
DOWNTOWN GHOST TOURS hour walk to haunted destinations in downtown Spokane. Includes a nightcap at the Sapphire Lounge. Oct. 28-29, 7 pm. $28. Montvale Hotel, 1005 W. First. montvalespokane.com
GHOUL OL’ FASHIONED FUN their families are invited to this threeday weekend featuring Halloweeninspired activities. Oct. 28-30, Fri 4:307 pm, Sat 3:30-7:30 pm, Sun 11 am-1 pm. $5. Camp Dart-Lo, 14000 N. Dartford Dr. campfireinc.org (509-747-6191)
King family Halloween display. A creepy coven of witches has gathered; climb into the cauldron for a photo. Bring food donations for the food bank and cash for Make-A-Wish. Fri-Sat from 7-9 pm through Oct. 31. 15604 N. Freya. thekingfamilyhauntedhouse@gmail.com
A walk-through attraction that raises donations for local schools and clubs. Oct. 28-30; Fri-Sat 6:30-10 pm, Sun 6:308:30 pm. $5. Corner of Deer Park-Milan and Milan-Elk Rd., Chattaroy. facebook. com/thehillbillyhauntedhouse1
MOONLIT MONSTER HALLOWEEN CRUISES Each 45-minute cruise features spooky decor, an on-board maze, photo contest and more. Oct. 28-30, 5-8:45 pm. $15. Coeur d’Alene. cdacruises.com/halloween/
Learn about CTE programs, play games, get candy and a reflective trick-or-treat bag (free while supplies last). Oct. 28, 3-6 pm. Free. North Idaho College Parker Technical Education Center, 7064 W. Lancaster Rd. (208-769-3300)
PUMPKIN PATCH & FALL FEST fall festival includes U-Pick pumpkins, hay rides, a petting zoo, live music and more. Fri-Sun from 10 am-5 pm through Oct. 30. 7412 S. Keene Rd., Medical Lake. rusty-truck-ranch.com
SPOKANE CEMETERY TOUR about Spokane’s history and explore three cemeteries. Oct. 28 at 9 am. $40$45. Southside Community Center, 3151
PULLMAN HARVEST FEST Includes a carnival, trunk-or-treat for all ages, haunted house, costume contest and more. Oct. 29, 3-10 pm. Free. downtownpullman.info
ROGERS HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR A holiday craft/vendor fair featuring local artisans, crafters and small businesses. Oct. 29, 10 am-4 pm. Free. Rogers High School, 1622 E. Wellesley Ave. (324-1995)
SPARK-O-WEEN Spark Central gets spooky for a fun-filled day of creative activities and trick-or-treating. Costumes welcome but not required. Oct. 29, 1-5 pm. Free. Spark Central, 1214 W. Summit Pkwy. spark-central.org (509-279-0299)
SPO-CANDY CRAWL Spooky scenes are happening all over downtown Spokane. Locate scenes and decipher the associated riddle to ear a treat bag. Pick up worksheets at River Park Square or the Sky Ribbon Cafe. Oct. 29-31. Free. downtownspokane.org
SPOKANE RENAISSANCE FAIR A fair featuring music, dance, activities for kids, vendors and food. Sat-Sun from 10 am-6 pm through Oct. 30 Free. Siemers Farm, 11125 E. Day-Mt. Spokane Rd. spokanerenfaire.com (509-238-6242)
UNIVERSITY HIGH CRAFT FAIR Support local artisans by purchasing handmade goods at various vendor booths. Oct. 29, 9 am-4 pm and Oct. 30, 10 am-3 pm. University High School, 12320 E. 32nd Ave. uhs.cvsd.org
WITCHES RIDE Dress in your best witch regalia, decorate your bicycle and ride around the North Monroe Business District. Oct. 29, 4-5 pm. Free. facebook. com/corbinparkspokane
ZOMBIE CRAWL Dress up and shamble around on a scavenger hunt. All ages, geared toward 10+. Oct. 29, 2-4 pm. Free. Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave. cdalibrary.org
This celebration features five altars decorated with marigold flowers, performers including HBPA’s Baile Folklórico, EWU’s Ballet Folklórico de Aztlán and Mariachi Las Aguilas from EWU. Also includes food trucks and face painting. Oct. 30, 3:30-7:30 pm. Free. Hazen & Jaeger Valley Funeral Home, 1306 N. Pines Rd. dignitymemorial.com
CAMPBELL HOUSE HALLOWEEN Wear your costume, complete a scavenger hunt, and grab some candy on your way out. Oct. 30, 5-7 pm. $5. The MAC, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org
Celebrate Filipino American History Month with an afternoon of music and dance, then learn a Filipino bamboo dance. Oct. 30, 1:30-3 pm. Free. Central Library, 906 W. Main. spokanelibrary.org
SPOKANE PUMPKIN HOUSE The house is commemorating its 5-year anniversary this year with 500 carved, lit pumpkins. Oct. 31, 5 pm. Free. Spokane Pumpkin House, 4315 W. Rowan Ave. facebook. com/spokanepumpkinhouse
CREATE IN COMMUNITY Bring any project (visual arts, writing, video editing, etc) that you’re currently working on and create with other community members in an affirming and safe space. Nov. 2, 5-7 pm. Free. Central Library, 906 W. Main Ave. spectrumcenterspokane.org
EN SUS ZAPATOS (IN HER SHOES) A live simulation where participants gain a
better understanding of obstacles faced by an immigrant survivor of domestic violence. Oct. 27, 5-7 pm. Free. Mujeres in Action, 318 E. Rowan Ave. Ste. 208. miaspokane.org (59-869-0876)
HOCUS POCUS A teenage boy and his sister move to Salem, where he struggles to fit in before awakening a trio of diabolical witches executed in the 17th century. Oct. 27, 7-9 pm. Free. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main. kenworthy.org
SCARY MOVIE DOUBLE FEATURE Moscow Film Society and Vandal Entertainment present two classic ’80s slasher films: A Nightmare on Elm Street and Chopping Mall. Oct. 28, 7-10 pm. $10. The Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St. kenworthy.org (208-882-4127)
HUB DRIVE-IN MOVIES: COCO Watch Disney’s Coco at the drive-in. Oct. 29, 6 pm. $25/car. HUB Sports Center, 19619 E. Cataldo Ave. hubsportscenter.org
HUB DRIVE-IN MOVIES: HOCUS POCUS Watch the Halloween classic at the drive-in. Oct. 29, 8:30 pm. $25/car. HUB Sports Center, 19619 E. Cataldo Ave. hubsportscenter.org/drive-in-movies/
WARREN MILLER’S DAYMAKER Kick off winter with Warren Miller’s 73rd annual film. Oct. 29, 4 & 7 pm. $19-$37. Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. bingcrosbytheater.com (509-227-7404)
SPARKMAN WINE DINNER A familystyle dinner featuring a four-course menu with dishes like braised oxtail, spicy pomodoro and pumpkin ravioli. Oct. 27, 6-8 pm. $105. Tavolata, 221 N. Wall St. ethanstowellrestaurants.com
WINE DINNER & ART DISPLAY This dinner offers a glimpse into local artist Claire Akebrand’s personal collection paired with a wine-pairing menu inspired by her work. Oct. 27, 6-9 pm. $136.
Beverly’s, 115 S. Second. beverlyscda.com
HAUNTED HISTORICAL TOUR & SUPPER Begin the evening on a guided haunted historical tour. Then enjoy dinner featuring Tuscan-style creations and appetizers honoring Leda Commellini’s style of dining. Oct. 28, 5-8 pm and Oct. 29, 5-8 pm. $85. Commellini Estate, 14715 N. Dartford Dr. commellini.com
BEER PAIRING DINNER A six-course meal prepared at Crepe Cafe Sisters paired with six beers from Badass Brewing. Come dressed in your Halloween finest. Oct. 29, 6-9 pm. $65. Crepe Cafe Sisters, 441 N. Nettleton St. crepecafesisters.com (509-991-7532)
HALLOWEEN BAR CRAWL This annual bar crawl includes waived cover at all venues, drink specials, after parties and more. Oct. 29, 4-11:59 pm. $15-$20. Fast Eddie’s, 1 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. crawlwith.us (509-455-8752)
Learn about the original American-made spirit, fruit brandy, in this interactive cocktail class. Enjoy appetizers, and take home a recipe booklet. Oct. 30, 3-5:30 pm. $65. Hogwash Whiskey Den, 304 W. Pacific Ave. raisingthebarnw.com
HALLOW’S EVE DINNER An evening with Noah of Volstead Act featuring scary stories, food, craft cocktails and more. Costumes encouraged. Oct. 30, 5-7 pm. 125.00. Tavolata, 221 N. Wall St. ethanstowellrestaurants.com
VAMPIRE DELIGHT DINNER An eight-
course dinner with chocolate in every course. Themed attire is encouraged but not required. Oct. 30, 4:30 pm. $70. Highball A Modern Speakeasy, 100 N. Hayford Rd. northernquest.com
SEE NO EVIL Taste a selection of food prepared by chef Tanya while blindfolded. Costumes encouraged, but not required. Oct. 31, 7 pm. $75. Masselow’s Steakhouse, 100 N. Hayford Rd. northernquest.com (509-481-6020)
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS DINNER A sixcourse meal crafted and executed by the Kismet crew. This dining experience is also paired with a house-made sangria to start and a full bar is also available. Call or email to make reservations. Nov. 1-2, 6:30 pm. $85. Kismet, 3020 E. Queen Ave. kismetspokane.com (509-309-2944)
SILVER OAK CELLARS WINE DINNER Silver Oak’s award-winning wines are paired with an exclusive, six-course menu by Beverly’s culinary team. Nov. 3, 6-9 pm. $225. Beverly’s, 115 S. Second St. beverlyscda.com (208-765-4000)
REVERSO Frank Woeste, Ryan Keberle and Vincent Courtois play a blend of jazz and classical music. Oct. 27, 8 pm. Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. bingcrosbytheater.com (509-227-7638)
VOCAL EXTRAVAGANZA This concert features WSU’s four vocal ensembles. Oct. 28, 7:30-9 pm. Free. Bryan Hall Theatre, 605 Veterans Way, Pullman. music.wsu.edu (509-332-9600)
THE MUSIC OF HARRY POTTER & OTHER HALLOWEEN FAVORITES Listen as the Spokane Symphony conjures tunes from the Harry Potter films and other Halloween favorites. Come early for fun lobby activities. Costumes encouraged. Oct. 29, 7:30 pm and Oct. 30, 3 pm. $25$64. Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, 1001 W. Sprague. spokanesymphony.org
A NIGHT OF SPINE TINGLING MUSIC This music benefit features a silent auction, a costume contest and live performances by local musicians. All funds go to support Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre. Oct. 29, 7:30 pm. $65-$480. Best Western Plus Coeur d’Alene Inn, 506 West Appleway Avenue. cdasummertheatre.com
OH, WHAT A FRIGHT! A HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR This Halloween performance features works by Holst, Vaughan Williams, Mozart, Orff and the world premiere of Dormi Jesu by Gianluca Pantaleo. Oct. 30, 4-4:30 pm. $20. Moscow High School, 402 E. 5th St. palousechoralsociety.org
CONCERT The NIC Jazz Ensemble and Cardinal Voices perform fall music selections. Nov. 3, 7:30 pm. Free. Schuler Performing Arts Center, 1000 W. Garden Ave. nic.edu (208-769-3276)
COLVILLE CORN MAZE & PUMPKIN PATCH Navigate a 12-acre corn maze, purchase pumpkins and fresh-picked fall produce. Daily from 11 am-7 pm through Oct. 31, 11 am-7 pm. $6-$8, 73 Oakshott Rd. colvillecornmaze.com MT. SPOKANE SKI PATROL SKI SWAP
The region’s largest ski swap with over 22,000 items including professional gear, helmets, snowboards and more. Oct. 2930, Sat 9 am-5pm; Sun 9 am-12 pm. $5.
Spokane County Fair & Expo Center, 404 N. Havana St. skipatrolskiswap.com
BLAZERS Promotional events include Fright Night and a Halloween celebration; wear a costume to the game. Oct. 29, 7:05 pm. $12-$30. Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon Ave. spokanechiefs.com
HACKLE & HOPS Learn about fly-tying with Spokane Women on the Fly. Oct. 30, 2-4 pm. Free. Uprise Brewing Co., 617 N. Ash St. uwotf.com
MONSTER DASH 5K & KIDS FUN RUN: This 14th annual fun run invites adults and kids alike to dress up in their Halloween costumes and dash through Manito Park. Oct. 30, 9 am. $17-$35. Manito Park, 1800 S. Grand Blvd. monsterdash.run
THE ADDAMS FAMILY A musical comedy based upon characters created by Charles Addams. Thu-Sat at 7 pm; Sun at 2 pm through Oct. 30. $12-$15. TAC at the Lake, 22910 E. Appleway Ave. tacatthelake.com
GUYS & DOLLS A theater adaptation of Damon Runyon’s short stories concerning gangsters gamblers, and the New York underworld. Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm; ad SatSun at 1:30 pm through Oct. 30. Regional Theatre of the Palouse, 122 N. Grand Ave. rtoptheatre.org (509-334-0750)
THE 39 STEPS The story follows a man with a boring life who’s suddenly thrown into a mysterious world of spies, romance and murder. Oct. 27-29 at 7:30 pm. Free. Schuler Performing Arts Center, 1000 W. Garden Ave. nic.edu
THE BOOK OF MORMON A musical comedy following the adventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries. Oct 2830, Fri at 7:30 pm, Sat at 2 and 7:30 pm, Sun at 1 and 6:30 pm. $60-$120. First Interstate Center for the Arts, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. broadwayspokane.com
CABARET This provocative, genderbending musical examines the rise of a political movement that threatens basic human freedoms and identity. Oct. 28-29 and Nov. 4-5 at 7:30 pm; Oct. 30 and Nov. 6 at 2 pm, $10-$22. Hartung Theater, 875 Perimeter Dr. uidaho.edu
EXILE Augie returns to his hometown for his high school reunion, and in a series of events, stirs the ashes of his troubled childhood in search of meaning, if not peace. Oct. 28-Nov. 6, Thu-Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm. $10-$25. Spokane Civic Theatre, 1020 N. Howard St. spokanecivictheatre.com
THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES A jukebox musical comedy based on the book by Roger Bean. Oct. 28-29, 7 pm, Oct. 30 at 2 pm, Nov. 4-5 at 7 pm. $20. Chewelah Center for the Arts, 405 N. Third St. chewelahcenterforthearts.com
MISERY A successful romance novelist is rescued from a car crash by his “number one fan” and wakes up captive in her secluded home. Oct. 28-29 at 7 pm, Oct. 30 at 3 pm and Oct. 31 at 31, 6 pm. $20$25. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave. cadeprophet.org
THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW The iconic cult classic show. Oct. 28-Nov. 19. Sold out. Stage Left Theater, 108 W. Third Ave. stagelefttheater.org
LENORA JESUS LOPEZ-SCHINDLER: TAKING STOCK In this new exhibition,
Schindler focuses on what it means to be from a specific place. Mon-Fri from 8 am-5 pm through Nov. 25. Free. Chase Gallery, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. spokanearts.org (509-321-9416)
LILA SHAW GIRVIN: GIFT OF A MOMENT Living and working in Spokane since 1958, Girvin has used vibrant color, form, and unassuming techniques to explore new dimensions of feeling through ethereal, abstract paintings. Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm through March 12. $7$12. Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. northwestmuseum.org
THE DAM DARK ARTS PARTY An event featuring drinks, art, music, prizes for the best costume and an announcement for a Dream FX Productions 2023 project. Oct. 29, 6-10 pm. Free. Mad Co Labs Studios, 3038 E. Trent Ave. madcolabstudios.com
PINE NEEDLE BASKET WEAVING Learn how to create a Ponderosa pine needle basket starting with a pre-made center. Oct. 29, 11 am-3 pm. $75. Emerge, 119 N. Second St. emergecda.com
PIVOT SPOKANE: NOW OR NEVER An evening of live storytelling. Oct. 27, 7-9 pm. Free. Central Library, 906 W. Main Ave. spokanelibrary.org (509-444-5300)
SPOKEN RIVER This livestream event features a journey down the Spokane River, highlighting the powerful connections that people and communities have to it, Oct. 28, 7 pm. Free. Online: spokenriver.com
THE HISTORY OF APPLES Steve Neill shares his well-researched story on apples, followed by a demo on fruit leather making that showcases not just apples, but also other autumn fruits. Oct. 29, 1-2 pm. Free. Shadle Library, 2111 W. Wellesley Ave. spokanelibrary.org
Sessions on informative and creative approaches to writing, as well as insights about getting published and more. The conference can be attended online or in-person. See website for full schedule. Oct. 29, 9:30 am-4:30 pm. Free. North Spokane Library, 44 E. Hawthorne Rd. scld.org (893-8350)
The Beadworkers author Beth Piatote and join the author for a discussion. Nov. 1 at noon at the Colfax Library; Nov. 1 at 7 pm at Neill Public Library in Pullman. everybody-reads.org (509-334-3595)
THE EMOTIONAL LIFE OF THE CLIMATE JUSTICE MOVEMENT Dr. Sarah Jaquette Ray explores what it will take to thrive in a climate-changed world, drawing on her recent book, A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet. Nov. 1, 6 pm. Free. gonzaga.edu (719-464-5555)
A MORNING WITH NIC STONE Stone draws on the full scope of her work to explain how marginalization is rooted in the subconscious dehumanizing of other people. Nov. 1, 11:30 am. Free. SFCC Hagan Foundation Center, 1810 N. Greene St. scc.spokane.edu
AUTHOR TALK: LISA NAPOLI In this online lecture, Lisa Napoli discusses her book Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie, the story of the founding mothers of NPR. Nov. 2, 1 pm. Free. Online: scld.org
EVERYBODY READS FT. BETH PIATOTE
The Beadworkers author hosts two community discussions. Nov. 2 at noon, WSU Pullman; Nov. 2 at 7 pm, 1912 Center, Moscow. everybody-reads.org n
The post-pandemic era brought expanded online and in-store options to the Green Nugget
BY WILL MAUPINThough the company recently expanded to Pull man, the Green Nugget continues to operate like a hyper-local, solo business.
“I think for us, it’s just that the Green Nugget is really a Spokane store. We’ve been kind of a standalone, like the quiet one in the back, not gimmicky, but I think we’ve definitely proven that we can stand with the big guys,” says Martina Graves, the dispensary’s marketing director.
Located just east of Division Street on Francis Av enue, the Green Nugget has been aiming to provide value without unnecessary flash since 2015. Like most dispen saries in the region, they offer daily deals with names like Monday Funday or Wax Wednesday, which offer at least 20 percent off of specific product categories.
More than their daily deals, however, the Green Nug
get is known for its monthly blowout sale events known as Dank Dayz.
During these events, consumers can expect even sweeter deals than they would find daily, with sales items all over the store, and not limited to any specific category. They also provide consumers with a chance to meet the people behind the products. After two-plus years of pandemic restrictions getting in the way, Dank Dayz once again features vendors and brand representatives in store.
“We’ve been having a vendor day every day of Dank Dayz for the last two months. We’re excited to get people back in here — everybody talking about their grows — and give customers a chance to ask them some questions about their products,” Graves says.
One perk of being a standalone store is having less inventory to track, even as the Green Nugget looks to
expand south to Pullman. That means always knowing what is, or is not, in stock.
“If it’s out there advertised, we’re gonna have it for you,” Graves says.
The pandemic put a damper on Dank Dayz, but it also increased focus on the store’s web presence.
“It used to be just come in, meet your budtender, look at the bud. Now, it’s really important for us to have the proper photos online, all the information that our cus tomers want,” Graves says. “They need to see our entire inventory online so they know that what they come in to buy is exactly what they want.” n
The Green Nugget • 322 E. Francis Ave. • Open Mon-Sat 8 am-11:45 pm, Sun 8 am-10 pm • thegreennugget.com • 509-309-2130
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