The Spovangelist

Everyone knows that “Video Killed the Radio Star,” but sometimes I wonder if all the drive-thru chains on 3rd are part of what is strangling a more vibrant food cart culture in Downtown Spokane. McDonald’s should change its slogan to “Killing Customers and the Competition since 1955.” At first it might seem a little lofty to [...]

Too often I feel like I’m in a room full of the most amazing creative people and the majority of them are sitting around with these awful, suffocating blindfolds on. They feel isolated and assume that no one else is in the room, so they don’t have any incentive to get up, walk around, bump [...]

I detested the history of local discrimination that prompted the creation of the Spokane Human Rights Commission way back in the day. I was disheartened to learn of the Mayoral smackdown that occurred within the last decade when certain commissioners were too outspoken on the issue of gay rights. I was discouraged upon volunteering for [...]

What, pray tell, have I done to warrant this? While it might be considered flattering to receive such scrutiny from our friends in the valley, what is the point of such a petty accusation? To get me to write more frequently on an ongoing basis? If there is one thing SVI thrives on it is [...]

Every day I ride my bike past the sea of parking out in front of the INB. What little hope I had for development, sparked by those misleading “hotel property” signs last summer, was trounced when a friend explained that all the construction was for another surface lot. The nail in the coffin for my [...]

Who has the time or endurance to attend City Council meetings? Probably not you. So to help draw you in to the Community Bill of Rights initiative debate, we’ve created an index of the relevant testimony given last Monday night. The first step is to go here: http://www.spokanecity.org/services/citycable5/streamingmedia/ And select the July 13th proceedings. Please [...]

Let’s start with something we can all agree on: City Council meetings can be excruciating even in the best circumstances. On Monday people mourn the loss of their weekend and try to get a grip on the mountain of work that lies ahead. Then there are the grueling marathon hours. Not enough time to have [...]

While the Spovangelist is weary of polarized two-party politics, we are not apolitical and we certainly aren’t afraid to jump in on important civic dialogue when something groundbreaking is at stake. The Spokane Sustainability Action Plan (SAP) is just such an effort. It is the first attempt by a U.S. City to undergo a comprehensive [...]

Goodness knows Spokane has its fair share of shortsighted surface parking lots. Even historic buildings have been razed to the ground in their favor. “His legacy is going to be a surface parking lot,” said Halvorson, President of the Spokane Preservation Advocates. “Wendell Reugh has been making money off of real estate investments in Spokane [...]

There are a few intentional living communities in Spokane currently, but most of them are small, suburban and affiliated with a church community or service organization. They are great social assets to the area because their members are energetic and willing to volunteer in a broad variety of efforts. Two examples are Knox House and [...]