Just a couple issues after we launched the Inlander on Oct. 20, 1993, we rolled out the obligatory personal ad section, where singles could meet. Somehow we gave it perhaps the least sexy name in the history of dating: "Lines of Introduction." ... In a 1993 story titled "Affordable housing becomes an oxymoron in Spokane," sources were bemoaning how just two years prior you could get a rental house (yes, a house) for $300 a month and now it had gone up to $400! Hey 1993! Cry us a river! ... On Sept. 14, 1994, we did a cover story about quilts. Yeah, you read that right — quilts. ... Then, on Dec. 14, 1994, we declared Spokane to be "Bookville, USA." Because, why not?
IN THE NEWS
In a Nov. 3, 1993, story by Gonzaga journalism professor Mike Kirkhorn, we looked at the troubled WEST FIRST stretch of downtown Spokane. "Five years from now, drugs and sex no longer will be sold," he wrote. "If ambitious plans for the district materialize... residents will feel safe again." And as the city drove the bad behavior out (to other parts of town, sadly), that's just what happened, as now it's home to a variety of trendy shops and restaurants, connecting downtown to Browne's Addition.
CULTURE BEAT
On Nov. 24, 1993, we checked in with the musical sensation from Coeur d'Alene BLACK HAPPY on the eve of a packed gig at Outback Jack's. Comparisons to other big bands were coming fast at the time, but our writer Tony Duarte wasn't having it: "Black Happy doesn't sound like the Chili Peppers, it doesn't sound like Pearl Jam... It sounds like Black Happy, and Black Happy sounds like fun." A year later, Duarte would write about how they had broken up.
ON THE COVER
In 1994, Spokane had a real horse racing track, Playfair. Our writer, Nick Heil (now of Outside magazine), detailed "A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A RACE HORSE" on Aug. 3, 1994. It was really more like a day in the life of Fred Hepton, a mainstay trainer who started in the sport in 1956. His horse, Convergent Zone, won his race that night, but Heil missed a $28 payout when his pick for second place lost — by a nose. The last race at Playfair was Dec. 17, 2000.
LOCAL FOLKS
In 1993, the U.S. Speaker of the House from little old Spokane, TOM FOLEY, was landing in the Inlander news section on the regular, as he was entering a reelection year. The headlines were getting ominous. "Foley's style under scrutiny" and "Critics follow Foley's ascent" — that last one punctuated with this Dec. 12 quote: "He's in deep trouble — of course, we say that every year. But I think he is this year." Who said it? Then-Chairman of the Spokane County GOP George Nethercutt, who would famously defeat Foley less than a year later. After 10 years of service in Congress ending in 2005, Nethercutt wrote a column for the Inlander from 2011-20. Foley died in 2013.
