It's campaign filing week, which means people planning to run for local office have until Friday to file with the local elections office. In the meantime, here's a quick rundown on who's filed so far in City Council District 3, which is shaping up to be one of the year's most crowded fields. Council member Karen Stratton, who represents the district in northwest Spokane, is reaching her term limit. So far, the people running to replace her are: Esteban Herevia, who recently served as president and CEO of Spokane Pride; Kitty Klitzke, an environmental advocate and former regional director for land use nonprofit FutureWise; Randy McGlenn, former chair of the East Central Neighborhood council; Earl Moore, a retired health care worker and Republican activist who helped organize a pro-police rally outside City Hall earlier this month; and Christopher Savage, board president of Meals on Wheels Spokane who unsuccessfully ran for City Council in 2021. (NATE SANFORD)
CALLING FOR CLEANUP
A national nonprofit is concerned that the federal government isn't working fast enough to address persistent chemical pollution at military installations. With 700 sites contaminated with chemicals such as PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated substances), including at Fairchild Air Force Base, the Defense Department faces more than $31 billion in cleanup work. The chemicals are linked to cancer and reproductive health problems. The nonprofit Environmental Working Group is concerned the Defense Department isn't requesting enough money, noting that cleanup at Fairchild and other places could take more than 50 years at the current pace. The Pentagon requested $1.4 billion for cleanup in 2023, but Congress gave them $2.2 billion. Despite the increased support last year, Defense's 2024 cleanup request — currently being debated — is for $1.5 billion. "The department's funding requests keep disappointing communities that are impacted by PFAS," says John Reeder, EWG vice president for federal affairs. "Our analysis shows Congress must give much more funding, or the problem will keep getting worse." (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)
CATCH AND PASS
Just because most vaccine and mask mandates have been lifted doesn't mean those who hated them are done being upset about it. Like former NBA star John Stockton, who lost his Zag tickets for refusing to comply with basic COVID rules at his alma mater, Gonzaga University. Stockton is headlining a local panel called "COVID Betrayal — A Path Forward" about "the impact this issue has on the community" on May 20, and his bio for the event says he didn't follow public health mandates because "he followed the science." Stockton graduated from Gonzaga in 1984 with a bachelor's in business administration. Other speakers include local firefighter — and mayoral candidate — Tim Archer and Dr. Ryan Cole, who's been accused by the Washington Medical Commission of violating health care standards while treating COVID patients. The Idaho Capital Sun has reported that, as Cole was falsely claiming that COVID vaccines cause cancer, he falsely gave cancer diagnoses to multiple patients, including a woman who got a needless hysterectomy because of Cole's bad advice. As of March, the death rate was still five times higher for the unvaccinated than the vaccinated. (DANIEL WALTERS)
