Politics from the Palouse to Puget Sound

Friday, May 05, 2006

"Pullman ready for local shopping"

There was an awesome letter in today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News in response to Gail Rowland's disloyal diatribe a few weeks back:
Gail Rowland’s take on economics and her memory of history on the Palouse (“Make your voice heard,” letters to the editor, April 17) differ from mine.

Many years ago Moscow and Pullman each had a local department store, a J.C. Penney store, several drug stores, a few shops, and a couple of theaters.

A developer wanted to build a shopping mall in Pullman. Pullman’s retailers objected, the City Council backed them up, and nothing happened. The mall that is now the Eastside Marketplace was eventually built in Moscow, followed later by the Palouse Mall, K-Mart, Ernst, and other retail expansion. Thus Pullman shoppers began to drive to Moscow to pursue more variety and lower prices.

Moscow’s retail business grew while Pullman’s stagnated.

Now the naysayers in Moscow have gotten some political power and want to exercise it to stop further growth. Meanwhile Pullman’s city government and council are more open to development. It’s fine with us in Pullman if Moscow decides to “just say no.”

Perhaps someday Moscow folks will be driving to Pullman, and those of us who live in Pullman will enjoy staying home to do our shopping.

Judith H. Campbell, Pullman
Tell 'em Judith!!!

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