Envision Spokane, Again
So, to touch on Envision Spokane once again. A brain dump:
The Inlander put up a fantastic (and balanced!) article about Envision Spokane. This has probably been the most informative article on the subject that has come out yet.
A couple points I thought of as I was reading it:
1) Envision Spokane, why the HELL did you try to kick out the Inlander from your board meeting? You have almost no publicity outside of the negative. The Cowles have donated to the vote no prop. 4 campaign. You know that the S-R is only going to give you bad press. So, when the most fair media in the area comes to your board meeting, you try to kick them out? Good job.
2) It was said in the article that some role-playing was happening at said board meeting. The board members were working to come up with answers to basic questions about the Community Bill of Rights. The Inlander reported that some of the BOARD MEMBERS were stammering when confronted by basic questions about Prop. 4. Not a good thing. Perhaps you shouldn’t have tried to kick out the reporter at the beginning of the meeting?
3) The article spent a lot of time talking about the fact that the city has no ability to pay for any of the services that would be created (ie, healthcare for the entire uninsured population of the city). This is a big deal, methinks. If the city is going to be 7 million dollars in the hole in 2010, then how are they going to make up that gap, plus insuring a lot of people? In fact, if I were the average Spokane citizen (hah), I this might put me in the anti-prop. 4 column.
Now, I have to say, I think some aspects of Envision Spokane are good – like giving some more power to neighborhood councils. I just can’t get past the fact that they are dismissing the system, and that they are biting off way more than they can chew.
