MetroSpokane has left the building...

[Image by moshpitrockchick via the MetroSpokane Photo pool].  That's it folks.  We're tapped out.  Nearly four years ago this site went live and thus began the documentation of the countless things we loved about our city as well as those things about the built environment here that annoyed us to no end.  Along the way we picked up a few friends, regulars and even local media folk who routinely dropped in every day to lurk around reading the latest piece and sometimes leaving a comment or a cookie behind. 

It's been a blast, a burden, and a learning experience all at once.  We hope you've learned a thing or two about your city as well.  Spokane's not done though.  There's an absolute need for higher-quality public spaces and for buildings that relate better to people and to the streets that make them possible.  If all MetroSpokane really inspired was some good exchange about our built environment and local development, then we've accomplished what we set out to do.  Thanks for participating.  We're signing off.

NOTE:  We absolutely reserve the right to come back at any moment and rant...

Comments

[David Blaine]

Going out on top is always the best way to do it and truly this site has been on top of the Spokane web scene. It is a sad loss.

[Silent Bahb]

Without an adequate replacement, I can't begin to cope . . . but I truly understand MS. Thanks for all your time and effort over the years. This has been one of the most rewarding blogging experiences I have had and I have truly appreciated the dialogue (and more than a little snarking among commenters).

[MK]

Best local blog ever. Thanks for all the hard work and dedication. Most people don't realize just how hard it is to keep a blog going for 1 year let alone 4. Thanks so much.

[HCNate]

I am not exactly sure how I am going to fill my Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings (and often more frequently) with knowledge. I check MetroSpokane before I read the Spokesman, finding that the dialogue is more engaging and frequently more informative for my line of work.

Thank you for opening my eyes and Spokane's eyes to the urban environment that we live in and the best way that we can interact with it.

Hopefully someone will pick up the reigns or these comments will spawn an encore presentation.

Thank you!

[laura]

thanks for all the hard work and information you have provided.

[D Huygens]

drat. sorry to see you go. I enjoyed your posts.

[Remi]

Chickens.

[NY]

Thank you for the blog, it was a great resource for news and information on urban Spokane. Best of luck.

[jonp]

Thank you.

[wb]

This is a loss. Thanks for all the great posts over the years!

[J]

Thank you so much. I am really sad to see this go. This blog was a step in the right direction towards making Spokane a better place.

[Josh]

...a moment of silece.

Thanks!

[Bart Mihailovich]

Thanks for being the catalyst for many a wild discussions and for furthering a better understanding of Spokane
Cheers!

[barney]

Thank you, you help us to understand this city a little better and I know that is a very hard task.

[Ami]

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo....

[The Basinger]

Thanks for all your hard work!

[Todd]

this was definately one of the first blogs I'd look to each day. You'll be missed. We'll all be here waiting if you choose to return. :)

[Heyduke]

Dear Metro,

Thanks for all the belly laughs, anguish, and knowledge. I for one feel that Spokane was a better place because of your hard work, watchful eye, and skilled prose. It will be missed.

Did that hole ever get filled with something?

[benJAMMIN]

bollocks!!

[Brian A. Sayrs]

What a loss for the future! But, thank you for the information and insight. I'm energized every day knowing that you and so many others are looking for greater support and understanding of our urban environment.

And I'm looking forward to those rants!

[Rick]

Say it ain't so, MS! Few things are more critical to a City's success than good urban design, and few things are more essential to good urban design than quality civic dialogue. MS helped provide - or at least spur - that dialogue.

This is a huge loss. Is it possible we'll see another forum emerge that provides a sustainable, balanced treatment of issues dealt with in MS? For the sake of things key to our City, I sincerely hope so.

Goodbye, and best wishes for your present and future endeavors, MS. Your talents will take you far.

Rick

[spencer]

Is there no succession? Is there no one through whom the message will continue? I guess this is the moment when all of us decide. The true test of the experiment... empowerment and sustainability.

Congratulations MS. You have laid a great foundation.

[Shane]

wow. i'm stunned! what's a man to do?

[Contrarian]

T'was a great forum, Metro. Hope you'll stay involved in some capacity.

[Tritium]

Egads! I just discovered this place a month ago, and for the past month my e-mail inbox makes me happiest when I see a new message from METRO SPOKANE.

How long will this site remain up?

[Barb Chamberlain]

I echo Ami: Noooooooooooo.

I read daily, forward links to others, recommend it, post about this on other blogs & boards--this is more engaging than any other local media.

If there is some way that a group of us can contribute content on a rotating basis to keep the conversations alive, let us know.

You will be missed.

--barb

[Alberto]

NOOOO!

[S]

I second Barb - I would gladly contribute posts if it meant keeping this site running.

Is that feasible?

[Matt]

This is VERY sad,I'll miss this blog,Best writing i've ever seen on a local blog,always very interesting.It will be sadly missed.

[bradley]

It's sad, as I'm one of those who just recently started reading. But such is life. Now's the time for someone to start a successor. Time to step up to the plate, to use a baseball metaphor. If not you, who? If not now, when?

[LB]

This was a wonderful blog and I'll really miss it. I hope this just means you'll move on to something bigger and better and we'll see your work elsewhere.
Cheers!

[Kevin Taylor]

Oh man. This was such a sharp, stylish blog; always a pleasure to visit.
/sighs, turns and walks away slowly, kicking rocks.

[joshua]

you'll miss us. you'll be back.

but if not, thank you. :)

[Levi]

I'm sorry to hear it. Your email was one of the few that I looked forward to. Was it a lack of contributers? Would you please suggest an alternative? In a town that is lacking in local news reports what will we do without metrospokane??

[Rick Eichstaedt]

Ouch! It already hurts to even think about losing this site. We really need this space and I third Barb's idea of drawing on readership to contribute to the blog if it means we can keep the ideas and the dialogue going!

[Silent Bahb]

Wow, all the stages of grief in 35 comments. I'm impressed.

[Karla]

Thank you for teaching me so much about my city. You will be missed.

[k]

Stages of grief? I'd say I'm currently in shock and/or denial. I've been perusing for over 3 years and have yet to find an equivalent forum in our fair city. Thank you, thank you for all the posts over the years.

[max]

Not cool.

[Trevor]

So what blog do I read now to find out about Spokane news?

[Derek]

We never commented, but we always watched. We'll miss you. If you ever want to come over the mountains, we can always use more people with an eye for the built environment in our town.

I'm sure we'll cross paths some day.

[Paul Dillon]

Thank you for your commitment and relevant work. I've really enjoyed this blog and learned a lot. Best wishes with your next venture!

[Andy Stout]

I discovered this blog site a little over a year ago, while researching the Spokane area for a possible relocation.

This site has represented the city of Spokane in a positive and progressive light, and was invaluable to me as I became more interested in learning about the city of Spokane.

My wife and I recently had the opportunity to visit Spokane during the last week in August. Coming from the mid-west, we felt very much at home in the city. We stayed at the Doubletree at the park and enjoyed walking to the downtown via the Centennial Trail. Pig out in the Park was going on at the time, and we were impressed with the number of bands who performed absolutely free during the entire event. We left Spokane with a very favorable opinion of the city, its people and the area as a whole.

I'm not sure if this trip would have happened had I not followed this blog site and became more curious about the city.

Thanks for all of the hard work, research and dedication that was put into making this blog site a success. It will definitely be missed.

[FinishTag]

Oh! I am sad. But grateful for the four years of posts.

[rob]

This forum will be greatly missed. Thanks for your contribution to the city of Spokane. You Inspired and challenged many in the city.

[Mike]

Big loss for Spokane. I really enjoyed reading your blog, and hope to read you again in some other venue.

[Anne]

NOOOO! Please don't go. What will we do for our reading pleasure?

Anything we can do to change your mind?

[John Brogna]

You will be missed! Thanks for your service and dedication!

[Carl Peterson]

I'm bummed. I've been impressed with the uniqueness and quality of information you've posted. I have always looked forward to your posts. I will miss you.

[sooki]

so sad to see you go. as an LA transplant, i was glad to have discovered your blog to learn more about my new home. i learned so much! thanks and hope you don't stay away for too long.

[Keegan]

Wait... for real? Your dedication to development/planning/urban issues in Spokane has been remarkable. Though I've only commented once or twice, I've loved reading every post. Being in Portland, I've got multiple blogs along these lines to choose from for local info, but ounce for ounce, your blog has far surpassed any of them in frequency and detail for a market of Spokane's size. Kudos to you and you've left a big void to fill.

[rica]

I miss you already.

[Jim]

Have thoroughly enjoyed the subject matter and rich dialogues. Spokane is a better place thanks to you. Now it's our turn to keep progressive urban development on track. THANK YOU.

[Dazzeetrader]

I suppose this takes quite a bit of brain strain to keep this blog moving. It's not JUST the typing.no....it's the thinking and the mulling over that requires so much focus and takes time away from other things.

Metro, you've done such a nice job.....among the best I've seen around the country. I guess it's time for Metro to attend to other issues to maintain some balance.

No matter, it's about contribution and you've provided that in spades. Fruitful in that your topics and thoughts led to other forums and other thoughts.

As an outsider who hasn't posted much, best wishes to you. Job well done.:) Miss you too Contrarian. your thought processes are among the best.

Sally (the Dazzee)

[eric]

Damn it! I finally find a good Spokane blog and this happens. Well, good work while you were here!

[The Spovangelist]

Most of what I'd typically chime in with has already been said.

[insert thankful and congratulatory rhetoric here]

My hope is that now you can lead a more active public life and will have more time to attend community functions and hang out with the growing number of Spokanites who are striving to achieve a more vital metropolitan scene.

Maybe you can host your own "coming out" party and we'll try to not overwhelm you with enthusiastic overtures.

Seriously, though, you've been a huge role model and inspiration. I always thought of myself as a "baby blogger" while you were the pro.

[Meghan]

ooooh no! I literally was just coming over here to find an old post to refer a professor to... testament to what a great resource this blog has been, especially for a Spokanite in exhile (a planning student, nonetheless)over here west of the mountains. I will miss metrospokane dearly... thanks for your contribution and service. Hopefully the posts will remain on the website....either way, thanks again for such great coverage of a city I love dearly and want to see move in the direction of the progressive vision this blog has so excellently put forth :-).

[Regular reader]

Please tell me this is a joke. Of all the "October Surprises" ... Seriously though, thanks for all the great posts!

[davey]

Are there any other sites or blogs that can step up and take over where this site is leaving off. This is an important resource for dialog and information that needs to be preserved if possible. No where do we go?

[Dazzeetrader]

Happy New Year Mr Metro. Hope you come back in 2009.

[Spokane Jobs]

Its a shame you guys left...

[Matt Behringer]

Please come back metro!

[Daisy Minken]

Still miss this Blog. Nothing in the past year even remotely compares...where is our fearless leader!!!

[Chris Reilly]

Still missing you!!!!! A little bit of post love is waaaaay better than nothing :)

[Silent Bahb]

Man I miss this blog.