The Spovangelist

While it has yet to reach the same level of mass hysteria wrought by “Hey Google, Pick Spokane”, another nationwide competition has taken hold in our town. This time the aim is to win $25,000 to support Unity in the Community, an annual celebration of diverse cultures and people in Spokane. For those of you [...]

It is official. After a trip to the Spokane County Elections Office last week I am now registered as a write-in candidate for “PCO” in Precinct 3153. A “Precinct Committee Officer” is the lowest possible office anyone can run for – it is even more obscure than running for neighborhood council given that precincts are [...]

That is my mom with the drum and butterfly hat. I have to admit, she is pretty awesome. No matter where I am in the world, no matter what competitive career environment I might get sucked into someday, I will never regret the time I’ve spent building a deeper relationship with her right here in [...]

I compulsively chit-chat with strangers wherever I go. So while I was running an errand at the courthouse the other day, I saw this man in the stairwell and asked him, “Do you know why Spokane has such a fancy courthouse?” He started to explain, “Well back in the late 1890s they held a design [...]

One evening last summer I conjured up the courage to go to a Jason Mraz concert by myself. Bad idea. As I stood in a sea of happy couples I became punch drunk from all the love in the air and had to bail. I retreated to O’Doherty’s and innocently walked into a bunch of young, strapping military [...]

Over the last year I’ve gotten all fired up over rooftop gardens as a means of growing nutritious food without the use of chemicals or genetically modified organisms. Rooftop farms improve food security, benefit city residents, the natural environment and the local economy in a variety of interesting and unexpected ways. Outstanding examples of rooftop [...]

This man didn’t bat an eyelash when I asked if I could take his picture. He jumped right in to explain that he’d been trampled by horses. “I’ve done it all,” he said, waving to a broken cheekbone. Pick-up line: “You’d make a good jockey with that slim figure of yours.” Another verbatim quote: “I [...]

There is a lot of excitement over the new University District, but like a lot of things in this town it is kind of a kludge.  As great as it would be there is no going back to create a longstanding Spokane State. Imagine what this place would be like if we could magically squeeze [...]

New to Spokane, fresh off of a particularly painful breakup, I found myself in fight or flight mode. I needed a rebound, fast. My college instincts kicked in as I started to venture out and explore the bar scene. It didn’t take me long to find a comfortable niche among poor twenty-somethings out for dollar [...]

Forget the fact that Andy Billig, a candidate for State Representative in Spokane’s 3rd Legislative District, has competed in Iron Man. The guy might as well be platinum. Not only does he have a well rounded portfolio of experiences ranging from parenthood to running the Spokane Indians Baseball Club, he has that kind of knowing and [...]