Today's headlines:
- Several neighborhoods across Spokane are nominated for a program that local and Washington state leaders say will bring new housing and business to the region.
- A report from a student dental clinic in Lewiston - which can cost a fraction of the normal price.
- There’s a new University of Washington report on Washington Department of Licensing data used in immigration arrests.
- And S-P-R’s Audrey Nelson interviewed presidential historian Jon Meacham.
Those stories and more, coming up on SPR News Today.
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In Spokane, seven neighborhoods have been nominated for a program that local and Washington state leaders say will bring new housing and business to the region.
It’s called the Opportunity Zones two-point-oh program. That’s an updated federal project which Governor Bob Ferguson says will encourage investors and developers to build in low-income and rural communities by offering tax incentives.
Steve MacDonald is the director of Community and Economic Development for the city.
He says he expects this second version of the federal program to bring in housing, much like the first version did.
MACDONALD: “We need all types of housing of any level, whether it’s luxury, market, workforce, or very affordable.”
The seven Spokane neighborhoods that were nominated include Emerson-Garfield, Logan, the downtown area, West and East Central, Chief Garry Park, and Cliff-Cannon.
Now, the U-S Treasury Department needs to certify the nominations by December 27th. If approved, this program will take effect on January first.
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Spokane County is hosting several community meetings for survivors of the Gray and Oregon Road wildfires.
People who lost their homes to either fire are eligible to attend. The county’s Housing & Community Development office will partner with the Spokane Region Long-Term Recovery Group to hold the meetings.
The Gray and Oregon Road wildfires hit Spokane County in 2023. The recovery meetings this month will include an overview of resources, information on debris removal, and time to speak with Long-Term Recovery Group case managers.
Survivors of the Gray Road fire can attend a meeting on Saturday, October 17th at 2 P-M — or one on Monday, October 26th at 6 P-M. Both will take place in the Medical Lake High School Auditorium.
Oregon Road fire survivors can attend a meeting on Saturday, October 17th at 10:30 A-M — or one on Tuesday, October 27th, at 6 P-M. Those will be held at Country Church of the Open Bible in Elk.
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The three candidates for Idaho state school superintendent shared the stage in Boise Monday night.
They shared their views on a variety of issues, from the state’s funding formula for schools to special education.
The incumbent, Republican Debbie Critchfield, highlighted the accomplishments from her first four-year term.
CRITCHFIELD: We've got the highest reading rates we've had since 2005 for our kindergarten through third grade readers. The highest graduation rates we've had in the last ten years. We are number one in the country for students that take career technical education and dual credit classes.
Democrat Becky Sundin Mitchell says, as superintendent, she would work to increase funding for public schools.
SUNDIN MITCHELL: At the end of four years, you would feel that your child has had a more individualized education, that all their needs are being met at the school level, and that you're able to see growth in your child as a result of that.
The third candidate, Teresa Roundy from the Constitution Party, says she would work to make schools safer places, based on strong moral values.
The debate was sponsored by K-I-V-I Television.
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On October 22nd, SNAP, Avista and McKinstry will distribute one thousand energy kits at several locations across Spokane.
The kits include LED lightbulbs, window plastic, weather stripping and draft stoppers. Experts say using items like this can help improve energy efficiency and lower costs.
There are no eligibility requirements to receive a kit. They will be available until supplies last.
You can find them from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Catalyst Building, the McKinstry Fabrication Shop, STA Plaza and the McKinstry Offsite Manufacturing Facility.
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For people on a tight budget, routine dental care can often fall to the wayside. N-W-P-B’s Rachel Sun reports from a student dental clinic—which can cost a fraction of the normal price.
In the United States, the price to get your teeth cleaned professionally can cost anywhere from 75 to 200 dollars without insurance. That’s according to an analysis by the healthcare company GoodRX.
But at a clinic in Lewiston, North Idaho College dental hygiene student Ashli Snyder is working with her cohort and licensed providers. They’re offering cleanings, exams, fluoride treatments and X-rays for just 35 dollars per patient.
SNYDER: “ So for people who don't have insurance or they can't get into their office for a year, that kind of stuff, we're here, and we can help.”
Other student clinics are available through multiple programs across the Northwest.
Those appointments do take longer than most because of their required supervision — so if you go to one, you should plan to take a couple hours.
Reporting in Lewiston, Idaho, I’m Rachel Sun.
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The Bing Crosby House Museum will screen the cartoon, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” on October 24. Showings will be at 4:30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
The 30-minute film was released in 1949 and narrated by Spokane-raised Bing Crosby. The story revolves around Ichabod [ICK-uh-bod] Crane and the Headless Horseman.
Kids are encouraged to wear costumes and there will be free candy.
The program is free to attend, though seating is limited.
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Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and presidential biographer *Jon Meacham* will headline Whitworth University’s President’s Leadership Forum tonight [WEDS]. His latest book, “American Struggle,” documents America’s legacy of dissent and compromise.
S-P-R’s Audrey Nelson called Meacham to understand how he’s thinking about our country’s past and future.
AUDREY NELSON: Do you feel that there's a precedent for where we are now in America, in terms of political divisiveness? Or does this moment feel unique to you?
JON MEACHAM: A little bit of both. I think that the forces that are dividing us are perennial, right? There is anxiety about the changes in the country, the changes in the economy, how folks can make a living. And that spills over and feeds hostility toward “the other.” And that is something that has been true in human affairs for a long, long time.
I think it's unique in that we have a party in power and a leader in power who is willing to — and eager in some ways — to amass power and wield that power in a way that we really haven't seen before.
AN: In the cases you described where we have seen things like this, what has prevented America from falling apart at those moments? What has made the difference there?
JM: Just enough of us have decided that the constitutional order, for all of its imperfections, is the way to go, as opposed to the temptations and allurements of — the autocracies of a given moment.
And it's never been a clean victory. It's never been really an overwhelming victory. And one of my favorite analogies is: In 1868, three years after the end of the Civil War, we had a very close presidential election between [Ulysses S.] Grant, the conqueror of the Confederacy, and a white supremacist former governor of New York, who wanted essentially to repeal the verdict of the war. And that was a four- or five- point race.
The last — you know, since 2000, the presidential election average margin is about 1%. Which is, I think, somewhat encouraging, because it does mean that if enough people decide that politics should be an arena of contention where we win and we lose graciously, as opposed to a battlefield of total war, then we can survive.
AN: How do you respond to people who look at America's history either purely to condemn what came before or purely to glorify it, that black-and-white thinking?
JM: I think it's lazy. I think both sides on that front would be lazy. We are all complicated people. There are saints among us, but there are very few. Most of us are sinners. Most of us, you know, try to get through a day doing the right thing 51% of the time. And we don't often make it.
A democracy is the fullest manifestation of all of us. So why would the life of the country be somehow simpler than our own struggles, our own dark nights of the soul, and also our own finest hours? And so this struggle we have is how can we, at the end of the day, at the end of an era, how can we say — how accurately can we say we heeded our better angels just a little more often than we heeded our own worst instincts?
AN: Do you still believe in America and our ability to overcome the present moment? Are you still hopeful?
JM: I am. Well — yes, I am. I don’t want to go too high-brow, even though it’s NPR, but I want to quote one of my favorite political philosophers, John Belushi, who said in “Animal House,” “We did not give up when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor. So we can't give up now.”
There's nothing easy about American democracy. If there were, everybody would do it. We're the oldest functioning one with a written constitution. And historically speaking, we're about a half hour old.
And so I don't want people to lose heart because it's hard. It's always hard, but it's worth it.
That was historian and author Jon Meacham with S-P-R’s Audrey Nelson. Meacham will speak at the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox tonight at 7 P-M.
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SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting today was contributed by Ember Braun, Audrey Nelson, Rachel Sun and Lisa Leinberger, today’s host and producer.
Web support was provided by Anna Gyure Havlek
