LILACS to Catholic Charities for purchasing 67 acres of land from the Convent of Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, which sits directly across the river from Doomsday Hill, and using roughly half of it to build low income housing. This lovely property could have been razed and developed as apartments, condos or McMansions; instead, the acreage all along the waterfront will remain pristine and unspoiled, with the housing barely visible from the river. This is a great use for the property.

LILACS to the free enterprise system for reacting appropriately to the glut of oil on the market, allowing gas prices to fall.  Everyday people caught a break for a change. The extra spending money will get pumped back into the economy and negate the losses the energy companies have endured, which have temporarily decreased stock prices. Airlines are already seeing huge profits due to savings on fuel. We hope they follow suit and eventually lower the price of tickets so we can win on that front, too.

LEMONS to the two city leaders, David Condon and Ben Stuckart, for refusing to discuss Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich’s offer to lead the city’s police. With all the shame, scandal and embarrassment brought on by the previous leaders of the city police, why not take a look at having a proven scandal-free straight cop run things?

LILACS to the city council for restricting open forum speakers to once per month. Very few citizens speak to the council more than a few times a year, and usually they do so in regard to particular legislative items, which still allow for weekly speaking opportunities. The “regulars” waste quite a bit of time, are often rancorous, divisive and abusive, and make our city look like the inmates run the asylum. Or just quit showing them on TV and that will take care of it!

LILACS to the Spokane Club’s restaurant, Burgundy’s, for enforcing a dress code. Too often we are seeing a progressive slide from suit and tie to jeans, and then to sweatpants and even shorts, in even the finest restaurants, so we like that they ask for business casual attire: “This includes collared shirts (golf shirt, button down, polo), sweaters, tailored pants, skirts and dresses, dress shorts or neat and clean denim.” Actually this is pretty lax, compared to the Carlyle Hotel in New York, where I had to go buy a blazer before being seated for the Elaine Stritch concert.  Bonus lilacs for also banning talking on cell phones.

LEMONS to overt vapers. Yes, we know that it’s mostly just steam, and technically not cigarette smoke, but seeing people vaping in malls and public spaces just because they can, is starting to annoy us. The science isn’t in on how much damage nicotine does to the user or to passersby, so for now, we’d like to see the same rules apply to vaping as apply to smoking. We’d hate to see young people take up an addictive behavior just because it’s falsely portrayed as perfectly acceptable by our health district.

LEMONS on the new transgender restroom law. Common sense rather than a law should prevail; otherwise, men could openly walk into a women’s restroom or shower area and say they may appear male on the outside and on the inside, yet just not “feel” male that day. The thought of it makes a lot of women uncomfortable. At the very least, revise it so that one must “present” as female to use a female restroom. We fail to see why a law that applies to only 0.3 percent of the population should be necessary presuming transgender people have always known the art of discretion.