by Inlander Staff
Times in Town -- After a long wait, the Seattle Times finally published its story on Spokane and the little parking garage controversy that just won't go away. Written by Times' veteran Ron Judd, the two-part article did a surprisingly thorough job of reviewing the details of the failed transaction. (If this stuff puts people to sleep here, just think what those numbers did to Sunday morning readers over there.) But the rest of the story was pretty lively stuff -- and pretty hard on the Cowles family. (Guess those Blethens can just forget about trading Christmas cards this year.)
But the overall thrust seemed a bit simple. Depending on how you look at things, it either perpetuated the bogus stereotype that we're all under the Cowles thumb, or it simply lets the rest of the state in on the fact that we are all just working the plantation over here. Our only reaction is, if their thumb is so big and strong, why are they being counter-sued by the city they supposedly control, and why is Cowles critic Tom Grant one step away from the mayor's office? But, then, we only know what the Cowles family tells us.
Ah, poking fun at little old Spokane, that is good sport, isn't it?
Camas Kudos -- Local journalists Tim Connor and Larry Shook were quoted extensively in the Times piece, offering some vindication for their efforts to unravel the River Park Square deal via their Camas magazine Web site. And in fact Connor contacted us last week to clarify something we wrote about Grant's mayoral campaign. In "The Politics of Parking" (10/9/03), we reported that Grant didn't rule out that Connor and Shook were advising his campaign. There had been some speculation that Grant's plan to solve the garage dilemma, via the state Supreme Court, may have come from Connor and Shook. Connor says that he and Shook don't give Grant political advice, and in fact he only heard about Grant's RPS plan when it was published as a guest editorial in the Spokesman-Review.
Shiny and New -- This week marks the beginning of when you can pick up our 10-year anniversary issue, in all its glossy glory. Usually we wait a week to announce our mistakes, but this time we can announce them simultaneously. Just a couple to mention (so far): The Outdoors section, which starts on page 67, was written by Ann M. Colford; and in the Film section, on page 45, the "Top Five" list about biggest money-making films is wrong. The dollar amounts are right, but there should be "million" after each instead of "billion." Titanic made piles of money, but not that much.
If you don't find a copy of our 10-year issue, you can get one at our offices at 1020 W. Riverside Ave.
Publication date: 10/23/03
Times in Town -- After a long wait, the Seattle Times finally published its story on Spokane and the little parking garage controversy that just won't go away. Written by Times' veteran Ron Judd, the two-part article did a surprisingly thorough job of reviewing the details of the failed transaction. (If this stuff puts people to sleep here, just think what those numbers did to Sunday morning readers over there.) But the rest of the story was pretty lively stuff -- and pretty hard on the Cowles family. (Guess those Blethens can just forget about trading Christmas cards this year.)
But the overall thrust seemed a bit simple. Depending on how you look at things, it either perpetuated the bogus stereotype that we're all under the Cowles thumb, or it simply lets the rest of the state in on the fact that we are all just working the plantation over here. Our only reaction is, if their thumb is so big and strong, why are they being counter-sued by the city they supposedly control, and why is Cowles critic Tom Grant one step away from the mayor's office? But, then, we only know what the Cowles family tells us.
Ah, poking fun at little old Spokane, that is good sport, isn't it?
Camas Kudos -- Local journalists Tim Connor and Larry Shook were quoted extensively in the Times piece, offering some vindication for their efforts to unravel the River Park Square deal via their Camas magazine Web site. And in fact Connor contacted us last week to clarify something we wrote about Grant's mayoral campaign. In "The Politics of Parking" (10/9/03), we reported that Grant didn't rule out that Connor and Shook were advising his campaign. There had been some speculation that Grant's plan to solve the garage dilemma, via the state Supreme Court, may have come from Connor and Shook. Connor says that he and Shook don't give Grant political advice, and in fact he only heard about Grant's RPS plan when it was published as a guest editorial in the Spokesman-Review.
Shiny and New -- This week marks the beginning of when you can pick up our 10-year anniversary issue, in all its glossy glory. Usually we wait a week to announce our mistakes, but this time we can announce them simultaneously. Just a couple to mention (so far): The Outdoors section, which starts on page 67, was written by Ann M. Colford; and in the Film section, on page 45, the "Top Five" list about biggest money-making films is wrong. The dollar amounts are right, but there should be "million" after each instead of "billion." Titanic made piles of money, but not that much.
If you don't find a copy of our 10-year issue, you can get one at our offices at 1020 W. Riverside Ave.
Publication date: 10/23/03
