Veteran's Hospital

This is park property.  This picture is from Palisades Park.  A park which is withing walking distance, long walk from downtown at the Davenport Hotel

Duluth

I hear Duluth, Minnesota has had 51 inches of snow since the first of March.  I would bet the skiing on the Upper Penninsula of Michigan at Porcupine Mountain has been great.

The New War

America is at war.  She has been at war since September 11, 2001.  It is a new war, the old war was troops on the ground supported by the Army, Air Force. Marines and the Navy.  No longer.  Now we have a clandestine militaty force controlled by the CIA which spans out accross the globe looking for bad guys, even American citizens.  The force then assassinates the bad guys or uses drones controlled in the United States to do so.  The consequences of this, I am afraid, will ad to the demise of the United States.

Spokane YMCA and Conservation Futures Taxes

The downtown YMCA and an adjoining building are being torn down.  Spokesman - Review.  When they are gone the area will be cleaned up and "returned" to a natural area.  The city will get conservation futures tax money for the land area under the conservation futures tax program.  RCW 84.34.200 - .240.

Open space land -- one definition, is "9(b) any land area, the preservation of which in its present use would . . . (viii) retain in its natural state tracts of land not less than one acre situated in an urban area and open to public use on such conditions as may be reasonably required by the legislative body granting the open space classification, . . ."

The city of Spokane is creating a land area which will meet this definition.  When the condition is created (buildings torn down, a one acre parcel created, land area turned into a "natural area") the city will secure the conservation futures funds from Spokane County.

One should question the political wisdom of this use of conservation futures tax revenue.  The whole purpose of the conservations future tax program is to purchase open space at prices not affected by development.  That is, to purchase and preserve open space so there will be open space for areas which will become urban areas.

The program was not intended to have the money spent to re-create open space -- but the definition poses a problem.
Will this poor use of these precious tax dollars be used again to create natural areas in urban Spokane?  One only hopes not, one only hopes this situation will serve as a warning against future questionable use of these funds