The Netflix film of Broadway musical
The Prom brings serious star power to the screen. Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Kerry Washington are all on board for Ryan Murphy s take on the story of Broadway has-beens and never-weres rushing to support a young lesbian woman banned from her Indiana school s prom. It has some decent digs at stardom, Broadway liberals and right-wing religious zealots, and like most musicals it s a good half-hour too long. But watching Streep camp it up as aging star Dee Dee Allen might make it worth a watch for musical lovers. (DAN NAILEN)
KITTY KINDNESS You ve no doubt seen various vestiges of the Spread Kindness, Not COVID campaign, a Spokane County effort supporting business and public health during the pandemic. But perhaps you haven t seen the highlight of the campaign, a nifty little video shot at the Big Dipper and featuring punk crew Itchy Kitty talking about the dire state of the touring and music industry, as well as the impor
Losses mount; recovery expected to take years but hope for second-half rally persists in industry The tourism industry here expects to see some signs of recovery in 2021 from the stifling effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but likely not until midyear. Meg Winchester, president and CEO of Visit Spokane, says that by all accounts, 2020 was shaping up to a be an excellent year for tourism in the Spokane area until the pandemic and related lockdowns hit here in the spring. Since then, Spokane has lost more than $57 million in convention group tourism revenue alone, Winchester claims. Visit Spokane, along with Greater Spokane Incorporated, Downtown Spokane Partnership, Inland Publications Inc., and the West Plains and Spokane Valley chambers of commerce, received nearly $2 million from the Spokane County Commissioners for Spokane County business promotions.
The Spokane Regional Health District has received about $8 million in CARES funding distributed by the county. A
s COVID-19 made its first wave across the country, and schools and businesses shut down, Congress passed the CARES Act this spring in an effort to dampen the economic fallout of the pandemic. Spokane County received about $91 million from the $2.2 trillion stimulus bill, signed by President Donald Trump on March 27. That meant that three Spokane County commissioners Republicans Al French, Josh Kerns and Mary Kuney got to decide how to dole out money to affected businesses, government agencies and nonprofits. The money has to be spent by the end of this year.