Call it a win for local journalism. The Black Lens, Spokane's sole Black newspaper that collapsed after the death of founder and editor Sandy Williams, will return next year. The paper, which launched in 2015, will be led by Natasha Hill, at least initially, according to the Spokesman-Review. Hill, who ran an unsuccessful campaign against U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers in 2022, says she will hire a full-time reporter as well as a full-time editor to run the paper. The first edition of the relaunched paper will come out on Feb. 1 and be free around town. It will also be an insert in the Spokesman, which had forged a partnership with Williams before her untimely death in a September 2022 Puget Sound plane crash. Williams had paused publication of the paper just months before her death, turning her focus to opening the Carl Maxey Center, a Black-led and Black-centered nonprofit organization in the East Central Neighborhood. (NICHOLAS DESHAIS)
NARCAN ON DEMAND
The fentanyl crisis has been increasingly impacting communities around the country, with overdose deaths skyrocketing in recent years, including in the Inland Northwest. To keep more people safe, the Panhandle Health District has installed two new vending machines where instead of Life Savers you'll find free doses of Narcan, a lifesaving opioid reversal drug. While the drug, commonly called naloxone, is now available over the counter at pharmacies, it can cost close to $50 per dose. Whether you or a loved one use opioids or not, it's safer for the community if everyone carries naloxone, which is why the district wanted to remove the barrier of prohibitive costs. The free machines are open to anyone, and can be found at St. Vincent de Paul's Help Center (201 E. Harrison Ave., Coeur d'Alene) and the Kellogg Fire Department (911 Bunker Ave., Kellogg). (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)
LEVY BONANZA
Parks, libraries and schools. Everybody loves them. But will love triumph over taxes? The answer will become clear in February and August next year, when Spokane voters will be asked if they're OK raising taxes to support local libraries, parks and schools. The library levy will come to voters in February. If approved, it will raise $2.5 million annually for three years. That same month, Spokane Public Schools will ask voters to approve a $200 million bond and a levy that will raise $300 million over three years. The parks levy — which will raise $225 million over 20 years if passed — was originally planned for February as well, but on Monday, Spokane City Council members voted to move it to the August ballot because they said parks staff wanted more time to do education and outreach. On Monday, Council member Michael Cathcart said he was worried that moving the parks levy to August might overwhelm voters — especially since the city is discussing yet another levy that would raise taxes to cover basic city services in November 2024. (NATE SANFORD)
