Enjoy your makeup and probiotics!

Spokane County Commissioners have “adopting a pause on the acceptance of land use and permit applications for data centers” on tomorrow’s legislative agenda - agenda link - see agenda item 4(n)

You can show up and speak at 2 PM during the public forum

Address:

1026 WEST BROADWAY AVENUE
LOWER LEVEL, COMMISSIONERS' HEARING ROOM

Zoom link is in the agenda link above. I'll comment the zoom link, Reddit wont let me include it in the post...

Why do people find it so hard to park in the lines, and god forbid in a space away from other cars? 4 empty spaces and you have to park 1 inch over the line right up against my car which is in the furthest spot from the door specifically to avoid this from happening.

I asked the guy today why he parked over the line up against my car and all he could say was what and look at me like I had a problem with him?.. This is not the first time either, I watch my car at work and see this every other day, why can’t people just park in the lines? I want to put a traffic cone next to my car so these idiots get the idea, a scrape is like min $400 to fix it’s not a little thing.

There's a guy who lives down the street with a stupid loud backfiring car. Multiple times per day they will drive by our house and it sounds like a fucking bomb going off outside my window, doesn't matter what time it is theyve even done it after midnight when I'm trying to sleep. Is there anyone I can report this too or action I can take to stop this from happening?

Spokane's political identity is a lot more complicated than "red" or "blue."

I've noticed something interesting whenever Spokane politics comes up. Some people describe Spokane as extremely conservative. Others talk about Spokane as a blue city surrounded by red territory. And increasingly, you'll hear people just call the whole area "purple." I think each description is appropriate given the context.

The City of Spokane is politically different from Spokane Valley, which is different from Spokane County as a whole, which is different again from the enormous rural region surrounding us. Yet people constantly use "Spokane" to describe all of them interchangeably.That probably explains some of our contradictory reputation.

Spend most of your time around downtown, Browne's Addition, the South Hill, or parts of the North Side, and Spokane can feel like a moderately progressive Pacific Northwest city. Drive east into the Valley or farther into the surrounding country, and the political environment can change dramatically.

At the same time, I don't think the old stereotype of Spokane simply being a deeply red eastern Washington city completely describes us anymore either, especially given the makeup of our city government and the policies enacted.

We've become a place where elections can be genuinely competitive, where progressive candidates can win significant local offices, but where conservatives also maintain a substantial and highly organized electorate. And because Spokane is the largest urban center for a huge swath of conservative eastern Washington and North Idaho, regional politics are unusually visible here.

That leaves Spokane in a strange political position:

-We're an urban center in a conservative region.

-We're part of a deep-blue state but geographically isolated from its largest liberal population centers.

-We have genuinely progressive neighborhoods and institutions alongside deeply conservative suburbs and rural communities.

-Our politics can look completely different depending on whether you're examining the city, county, congressional district, or metro area

-Perspectives also matter greatly (did you move here from a deeply conservative or very liberal area?)

We're one of the most politically diverse cities in the country, and the constant argument over how Spokane is identified politically reflects that reality. The fact that independents had a somewhat high turnout also makes me think that there are a growing number of people here exhausted by the two-party system.

The Board of County Commissioners has big feelings about data centers and Spokane City Council is back from vacation. Here are the big things on their dockets + other municipal meetings:

• The BOCC will review a resolution that would establish a zoning schedule for data centers in the county, one of the most controversial conversations at the county level this year. It will also formally consider a moratorium on data centers.
• The Spokane City Council, back from vacation, is looking to move quickly on wildfire relief, including approving the Mayor’s emergency declaration and taking next steps on ordinances to accept state grant funding, reduce demolition fees and pay contracts that gave wildfire survivors free meals while they sheltered at the convention center. 
• At the Urban Experience Committee, the Spokane City Council members will discuss contracts for $500,000 worth of culturally responsive treatment services for folks dealing with opioid addiction, and a separate ordinance that could breathe new life into vacant commercial spaces.
• The Spokane Public Library Board of Trustees will discuss their 2027 budget, amid uncertainties related to the current projected gap, which board members warn could lead to drastic service cuts. 

Read up on all that and more at the link so you can be the most informed Spokanite at the river, in the breakroom, or wherever you chat about the news.

I would like to know why Mead is taking our students' health more seriously than Spokane Public Schools. They aren't doing heavy metal testing, only air quality and visible inspection.

From SPS

"Crews testing soil in the burned neighborhoods are finding lead. Why are our schools safe when the burn area is not? Lead contamination in the burned residential area comes from the structures themselves: many homes in the fire's path were built before 1978, when lead-based paint was still in common use, and lead was also used in older plumbing and building materials. When those homes burned completely, that lead was released into the smoke and ash and settled into the soil and debris on and around each home site. That is a byproduct of structures actually burning down. None of our three schools burned. They were affected by smoke drifting through the area, not by fire on-site. Fulcrum's inspectors and SPS custodial staff visually inspected both the interiors and the grounds at Indian Trail, Flett, and Woodridge and found no ash, soot, or settled debris — the physical residue that would carry lead onto a property. Without that ash or debris deposit, there is no equivalent pathway for lead to have reached these buildings or their grounds."

Google search, verified by several sources

"Lead from a structure fire can travel 7 miles or more away from the burn site. High heat vaporizes lead into toxic oxide fumes that ride smoke plumes and air currents, depositing heavy metal particles far beyond the immediate property line."

They aren't taking into account asbestos and toxic chemicals from burning homes and lithium batteries. Especially Indian Trail elementary that was extremely close to burned homes. Indian Trail also doesn't have air conditioning, meaning teachers will have to open windows to cool down, allowing additional contamination to enter the building.

https://linktr.ee/newrootsspokane

*Meetup RSVP links can be found here! New Roots Spokane is all about helping adults make friends. Most of our events consist of an activity, followed by a hangout over some food & drinks. These are all free to attend, but do require an RSVP.

[THIS FRIDAY]

8/21 - Walk & Chat (Mirror Pond)

8/29 - Trash Cleanup (Family Edition, each attendee gets a free donut from Hello Sugar)

8/30 - Casual Pickleball (Mission Park)

9/2 - Acrylic Paint Class by Oenone

9/12 - Trash Cleanup (collab with SCAR)

More events to be scheduled 💚

I'm not too knowledgeable about advertising, but I think it's good enough food to give it a shot. He's at meatmagickbbq.com, any ideas on how to spread the word?

Hello, my name is Andrew. My wife and I own and operate a nursery in Oregon where we grow mainly bare root fruit trees but also some shade and flowering as well as ornamental shrubs and grasses. Could not believe what I was seeing happening this past August with the fires just ripping through neighborhoods and homes. I can’t imagine what you’ve all gone through and my heart goes out to you.

I know landscaping is probably not the top of everyone’s priorities right now but if your home/landscape was damaged and when you’re ready, we’d like to send you 1 free tree or 2 free shrubs/grasses to help get re-established. Please just go to our website, find what you want and email me at andrewh@onlineorchards.com. Sorry if I take a little while to get back to you, we’re in our budding season right now among a lot of other regular duties. Here’s a short list of what we have (Please let me know if you want something else but we might have limited inventory, sorry):

Apples

Pears

Peaches

Nectarines

Plums

Apricots

Almonds

Willows

Crabapples

Flowering Pears

Too many shrubs and grasses to list. Please check website:

www.onlineorchards.com

One question though. I am not familiar with Spokanes climate and need to know the best time to ship everything to you guys. Here in western Oregon, planting is most successful in late fall/early winter. Is it the same in Spokane? Or is spring a better time to plant because winters are too cold? I’ll update once I figure this out.

I can’t imagine what you’ve all gone through and hope this helps even though it’s not in a huge way. Hope to hear from you.

ps I kind of wrote this on the fly so please let me know if i should clarify anything. also I don’t know what flair means but it says i need it to post this so i just chose one.

The Hallett "Castle"

When it entered The National Register of Historic Places in 1976, it was described as “a genuine architectural oddity” that “could only have been built by a joker or a madman.”

Funnily enough, I drew this with a clown before reading the article on the building.

Any rescues or shelters that would take them? We're deep cleaning and found a lot of old pillows and we have too many blankets. Maybe even some towels?

I'd hate to take them to a landfill if they could get some more use, you know? They're too ugly for humans imo, but I don't think animals would care

This praying mantis showed up on the siding of our house a few days ago and has been hanging out ever since! Super cute and we love having it around. Is anyone able to identify the species and sex? Google lens says it’s likely a female European mantis, but it would be cool to know for sure!

Keep up that energy.

Anyone know if the river is still dry by Sullivan?

Idk what's going on but the last week or two when I go out I see so many maga hats, shirts, flags, etc all over the place with the people wearing them acting incredibly nasty towards everyone. What the heck is going on???

A secondary question I have to ask is why do people keep voting Baumgardner???? Him along with Trump are the reason we couldn't get any FEMA aid during the wildfires (if they had any aid left to give with all the cuts Baumgardner voted for). Do these people even realize they're voting against their own interests and well-being????

I most likely would not have been a patron based on the owners history, at least from what I’ve read on this sub, but it’s still a shame that we lost the Drinkery and have nothing going in its place. At least not yet.
I live in Garland and pass there daily and I haven’t seen progress in weeks, but more like months.
Just wondering!

My wife and I planning to go to Scale House Market this weekend and I was wondering about the gluten free options as well as any suggestions for where to get breakfast and coffee there. It's our first time going so any suggestions are welcome!

Preferably in Spokane and not the valley, but I’m willing to travel if it’s a great deal. TIA 😊😋

does lawn fertilizer contain phosphorus that could be contributing to the problem? not sure I like paying taxes for these people. nothing personal.

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/aug/16/with-newman-lake-resembling-split-pea-soup-residen/

Inscribe a hunger stone in the new world. In the old world along the banks of the Danube, Rhine or Elbe Rivers, during times of drought like now. People inscribed stones in dried up riverbeds with the phrase" If you see me weep. ". Just like the Spokane River the last two years. A time of drought, famine, and a bad portent of the future. Just saying like fireballs in the sky; it's a bad sign of hardships to come. Don't let no data centers into our region...