Last night was the last night I agreed to host a fun little get-together called the Great Food Swap. On the menu was a spicy couscous with local spring herbs and cheddar from North Idaho, an Olsen Farms potato salad with a dill and lemon vinaigrette, savory red beans and rice with almonds and onion, and [...]
The Great Food Swap
April 20th, 2010 No Comments
Tags: Community · Local Food · Sustainable Development
Home Sweet Hostel
April 19th, 2010 12 Comments
I think it is high time Spokane opened a hostel. You know what I’m talking about. Those low-rent hotels that offer communal accommodations with bunk-style bedding. Great for young people, those traveling long distances for long periods of time, and those that just don’t want to commit to anything pricier. If Portland can sustain 5 [...]
Tags: Sustainable Development · Young People
Earth Day 2010
April 15th, 2010 14 Comments
Some people on the sidelines may wonder, is Earth Day still necessary? Sometimes I have mixed emotions about a day that purists think doesn’t do enough to get the message across about what individuals can and should be doing to conserve resources. Perhaps what founder Gaylord Nelson started as a groundswell of sit ins, be [...]
Tags: Community · Non-Profits · Sustainable Development · Videos
The Inland Creative Trust
April 7th, 2010 16 Comments
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 [...]
Tags: Community · Creative Culture · Rants · Sustainable Development
Earth Turners Convergence
March 26th, 2010 2 Comments
I grew up in Spokane. I also successfully convinced myself to hate it for two (admittedly lame) reasons: All the cool kids were doing it, and There wasn’t much that was appealing for anyone under 21 to do. My disdain for Spokane has since turned to delight in no small part due to the explosion [...]
Tags: Creative Culture · Spokane Pride · Sustainable Development · Young People
Hey Spokane, Fix the HotZone
March 22nd, 2010 11 Comments
It’s official, it’s a mania. What started as an earnest effort on behalf of the City and some key partners has finally hit the mass consciousness of everyday citizens in a mad dash to impress before Friday’s finish line. What is going on here? In case you live under a rock, Google is planning to [...]
Tags: Community · Competition · Identity Crisis · Spokane Pride · Sustainable Development · Videos
Birth of the Mob
March 21st, 2010 4 Comments
There once was a rag tag group of young folks that sought to carve out a bit of quality time to share updates about their mutual interests. They often felt overwhelmed with obligations to multiple jobs, transitions between living situations, the impossible number of worthwhile community events that take place in Spokane on any given [...]
Tags: Community · Experimentation · Sustainable Development · Videos · Young People
“Paralysis By Analysis”
February 25th, 2010 12 Comments
Peaceful Valley is a gem but the secret is out and running up the hill. The scenic location and closeness to downtown are too much to resist for developers. For several decades, the neighborhood has resisted drastic changes and remained a sweetly paced, unique community in the heart of Spokane. Our first Indians fished here, [...]
Tags: Community · Identity Crisis · Political Surprise · Sustainable Development
Eye of The Violets
February 23rd, 2010 8 Comments
Just one year ago a handful of Spovangelites cemented my resolve to start a (mostly) young women’s group called the Spokane Shrinking Violet Society. It is startling what has grown in its place since that time. Hundreds of participants, dozens of lifelong friendships, and nearly 80 events later, we have firmly established what we set [...]
Tags: Community · Local Art · Local Fashion · Local Music · Non-Profits · Spokane Pride · Sustainable Development · Young People
Young Entrepreneurs Take Over Downtown
February 9th, 2010 5 Comments
Recession be damned. Young entrepreneurs in Spokane are taking the opportunity to switch gears, plan smart, and open up the small businesses they’ve always dreamed of running. And why not? Retail space is plentiful and relatively affordable in downtown Spokane, offering a variety of price points that make starting a new business a bit less [...]
Tags: Creative Culture · Local Fashion · Pretty Things · Sustainable Development · Young People