Blockbusters like THE MATRIX and FIGHT CLUB made their debut in theaters this year... The first entry into the SUPER SMASH BROS series made its way onto Nintendo 64... POKEMANIA swept across the nation, accumulating with the release of the series' first movie in theaters on Nov. 6... And if you were lucky, you got the chance to compete in HOOPFEST 10.
LOOKING FORWARD
With the end of the century at hand, Spokane was self-reflecting. Looking back, the March 24 cover story "1899" and Oct. 6 "PEOPLE OF THE CENTURY" put the changing of centuries into historical perspective. Looking forward, the Aug. 4 cover story "DOWN IN THE DUMPS," noted Spokane as second to last in markets studied by Forbes Magazine at 161st place. The lack of support for the growing tech industry was leaving the area in the dust. The article mentions talks of investing money in the development of high-tech industrial parks in the region. Things have certainly changed since then. As of 2017, Forbes put Spokane at the 79th spot.
STRONG MAYOR
The pullout in the Oct. 27 issue broke down our endorsements for this year's local initiatives and candidates. We gave our support for Proposition 2 — the Strong Mayor proposition — which changed the Spokane city government to mirror the U.S. national government as opposed to the CEO boardroom-style it was previously. John Powers was the first Spokane mayor to serve under the Strong Mayor form of government in 2000.
PHANTOM MENACE
After combing through this year's issues, a May 19 cover story on Star Wars: The Phantom Menace caught my eye. We got the chance to interview director GEORGE LUCAS on the film where he said, "Most of the Star Wars movies have gotten generally bad reviews." He goes on to add, "They'll be trashed one way or another." Ray Pride's column on the next page describes his early screening of the film as "communal shock" and says the film is "seldom more than Teletubbies with lightsabers."
THE PEOPLE WE MET
The late Hollywood star and actress PATTY DUKE chatted with us on her role in the The Glass Menagerie at the Spokane Civic Theatre on Feb. 17... Gonzaga University men's basketball coach DAN MONSON was profiled on Feb. 24... Local amateur genealogist MAGGIE RAIL was featured talking about her work documenting the regions tombstones on April 7... And the curator of Carr's One of a Kind in the World Museum MARVIN CARR was profiled on June 9.
