Governor’s hypocrisy

I read the article in The Spokesman-Review about Gov. Little signing House Bill 71, which bans transgender care for youths (“Idaho Gov. Brad Little signs bill banning gender-affirming care for minors,” April 5). Gov. Little sent a letter to the lawmakers that included the statement: “However, as policymakers we should take great caution whenever we consider allowing the government to interfere with loving parents and their decisions about what is best for their children.”

One wonders if he ever reads the letters he sends out or understands the hypocrisy in that statement. He and the House Bill just took away the rights of those loving parents to decide and do what is best for their own children.

Tim Meyer

Spokane

Jan. 6 an act of tyranny

In his recurring defense of all firearms, Rob Leach (“Stand against tyrants,” April 7) states that all tyranny comes from the left, particularly COVID protections. Apparently he has forgotten the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and their orchestrator.

Ted Wert

Sagle, Idaho

Awakened Germans

Should the German government direct its education system to cease teaching the Holocaust in German history to prevent German children from feeling bad for being German?

John Simanton

Spokane

Anti-abortion actions and meaning

This angst about the censure of a legal, consenting abortion, today in the United States, is a devious rebirth of an old abomination: SLAVERY. But now in this country it’s in a modern context in a publicly demeaning form.

Why? Because race, color, creed, religion and national origin are unimportant in this instance. It’s focused singularly on gender, that is, if we disregard the immoral misuse or misrepresentation of religious doctrine to support the anti-choice gang.

And who controls this life-changing event? Not women, pregnant or not, but politicians and religious zealots/bigots who have their own selfish agendas. And absolutely no interest in a woman’s well-being or that of the child after birth. These women are just an instrument to be used then discarded.

Being forced into an unwanted birth? Without consent, the pain experienced during birth will now become a form of torture.

These women will likely remain poor if they already are or possibly become poor or economically marginal. Earning a meager living and raising a child will likely remove these women from educational opportunities and having any meaningful social and political impact.

Bottom line? Abortion refusal is about control, removing women from competing with men for jobs/opportunities and removing/moving women from and away from positions of power and influence.

This anti-abortion drive is also a directed, purposeful attempt to distract most everyone from other critical national, social and economic issues affecting our lives, thereby allowing the powerful to remain powerful. And rich. And in control.

Donald Capstick

Spokane

Weapons law misguided

The soon to be signed weapons ban in Washington state is representative of why I chose to move across the state line in 2020.

Please note that Washington Constitution Article 1; Section 24 states the following: “The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired.”

I do not see how any reasonable person can think that the planned weapons ban in Washington state comports with this section of the Washington State Constitution. Obviously banning the weapons that are listed and described impairs the ability of the citizen to defend the state. I would suggest it also impairs the ability of the citizen to defend himself or herself.

While I understand that there are those in government who may actually believe in the planned legislation, it would be refreshing if the representatives and senators made some effort to keep legislation in line with the state’s founding document.

Don McManus

Post Falls

Housing measure will benefit area residents

I’m thrilled that HB1110 has passed through both the House and Senate. This is thanks to support from my local legislators in Spokane’s 3rd Legislative District, state Sen. Andy Billig and state Reps. Timm Ormsby and Marcus Ricelli.

HB1110 is a bill that will add more housing options in all neighborhoods statewide. It allows duplexes in all areas zoned for detached single family residences and fourplexes in some areas. Considering the affordable housing crisis in Spokane, this bill would be a welcome benefit to Spokane residents struggling to make rent or to find housing options near work or family.

Making housing affordable is also a focus of Gov. Jay Inslee, though the statewide ban on rent control passed in 1981 remains in effect. Laurel Demkovich’s Feb. 27 article, “Washington may make it easier to build backyard cottages in a bid to ease the housing crisis” reported that the governor requested “a $4 billion referendum to allow the state to increase its debt limit to build more affordable housing.”

Though expensive government spending measures might help to stem the tide of the housing crisis, HB 1110 allows private citizens to update existing structures to accommodate tenants. These updates won’t burden taxpayers and allow homeowners to make a second income on a rental unit. Our Legislature still needs to agree on amendments before HB 1110 is passed. I hope for Spokane’s sake that this bill passes through the Legislature before its deadline on April 23.

Allegra Armstrong

Spokane

Zappone undermines fair, honest elections

Judge Hazel and council member Zappone should be ashamed of their actions that turn Spokane’s fair and honest elections and political system into something unrecognizable.

First of all, Zappone lied to all of us claiming his changes were meant to keep neighborhoods together. If that was really his intent, he would not be breaking up the downtown neighborhoods that are historically liberal to add to his district. The reality is Zappone is scared that he could lose his job next election if he doesn’t use his influence to draw the lines in his favor. Let me remind you he won his last election with 262 votes. How lucky for him that Judge Tony Hazel glazed over Zappone’s egregious emails showing overwhelmingly that Zappone drew his map and pushed for it, along with Betsy Wilkerson, to protect their majority.

I hope Spokane voters are paying attention, the judicial branch failed to serve as a check and balance. We can’t count on judges like Tony Hazel to do the right thing. The only way to hold any of these corrupt elected officials accountable is at the ballot box. Make sure you vote them out!

Chase McSorley

Spokane

Cheney water system needs fixing

Water is an element like air, necessary for the human being to survive. Here on the southwest side of Cheney, we have been dealing with occasionally brown tinted or, at times, dark brown water with settable solids. We have experienced this since we moved to Cheney in 1997. This is perhaps a citywide problem here.

When we have reported this to the city, the response has been advice to flush the lines in our residence for a few minutes until the water is clear. I have news for the public works director: I have to run the water for a longer time than a few minutes. What really gets me is that we are charged for the extra water used to flush the lines because of the city’s infrastructure problems.

The 2018 Cheney Water System Plan update which was finalized or released in 2019, included a schematic of the underground pipes with a color legend for the different types of pipes. The sad and shocking thing was that some are calamine-asbestos lined and in some sections of Cheney, the types of pipes are unknown. In the latest edition of the Cheney Free Press, there was a article entitled, “Iron Causing Cheney Water Discoloration.” The public works director, Tom Ableman, gave a litany of reasons for the problems we are having. For instance, he said and I quote, “that it could be the hot and cold water taps, or water tank sediment can also lead to discoloration.”

Rather than being up front with the citizens of Cheney, there are all these excuses. At the last City Council meeting, one of the members said that they are working on it and the water is safe to drink. Why is it taking more than 26 years to fix the problem?

John Wodynski

Cheney

Stop gun insanity

One hundred days into 2023, through April 10, there have been 11,523 Americans killed by gun violence. That’s more than 115 per day! This is absurd and shameful. So far our governments have done next to nothing to stop this.

Doing nothing is not working. The strong NRA lobby and the Second Amendment groups have prevented almost every attempt to correct this. This is true despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Americans want stricter gun laws. I am certain that if one pro-gun legislator loses a child or loved one to a mass shooting, they will change their opinion instantly. At the very least, assault weapons must be banned.

As this number continues to climb and nothing is done, the Second Amendment may one day be repealed altogether! If you do not support that then by all means get on board with some real legislation to put a stop to this embarrassing situation. The world is looking at us and wondering what’s wrong with our great country.

Barry Bauchwitz

Spokane Valley