I consider myself a seasoned air show junkie, but I'm not lamenting the recently announced cancellation of the popular SkyFest event and Thunderbirds precision flying exhibition that had been set for mid-May at Fairchild Air Force Base.

Visit Spokane representatives probably would have a different view, given the thousands of people the air show always draws to the Spokane area, but I think the cancellation is a positive thing at least in one respect. It provides visible, local evidence that the military is taking seriously the need to trim arguably extraneous outlays during this time of sequestration, congressional dysfunction, and deep concern about deficit spending.

Fairchild confirmed last week that the air show was being canceled because of federal spending cuts. The announcement came less than a week after U.S. Air Force and Air Combat Command officials announced they were canceling all aerial demonstration team performances after April 1, including the Thunderbirds' scheduled show here, "in response to sequestration actions."

Sequestration, of course, is the euphemistic term coined by politicians in Washington, D.C., to describe the cuts that took effect March 1 when Congress failed to agree on a way to avoid $1.2 trillion in automatic spending reductions over about the next eight years.

The Fairchild announcement said the Air Force cuts were implemented because a $47 billion reduction affecting the entire department of Defense budget wasn't prevented before the deadline at the beginning of this month.

The Air Combat Command said the decision enables it to reallocate flying hours to combat readiness training, which is a good thing. The Thunderbirds had been scheduled to perform more than 60 demonstrations at 38 locations between March and November, "demonstrating the capabilities of Airmen and supporting Air Force recruiting efforts," it said, but to me, these lean fiscal times raise the question of whether that's a wise use of tax dollars.

In the more than three decades that I've lived in the Spokane area, I've rarely missed an air show at Fairchild, typically cajoling my wife into accompanying me, taking my grandson until he outgrew his interest in tagging along, or going alone.

Gawking at the military technology on display there never gets old for me, and I still get chills up my spine—a sort of physical patriotic reaction, I guess—when craning my neck back to watch thundering jet fighters perform crazy maneuvers in the skies overhead.

I also recognize, though, that unusual times require unusual measures.

In the Fairchild news release, Col. Brian Newberry, 92nd Air Refueling Wing commander, said he was disappointed to have to cancel this year's event, but added, "We certainly hope to be able to host an air show for our patriotic community in the future—down the road when fiscal times improve."

I and my fellow air show junkies, and I know there are many, will be looking forward to that.

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It didn't seem to draw much media attention, but Spokane-based Strategic Research Associates sought recently in a survey to identify areas of Spokane County that could benefit from business and industry investment to boost employment and improve the well-being of the community.

It probably won't come as a surprise to many that the already business-heavy North Side ranked first among respondents and that the South Hill was largely absent from the rankings. Interestingly, though, Hillyard ranked second among city of Spokane residents while the city of Spokane Valley ranked second among other respondents. East Spokane ranked ahead of downtown among both groups.

We'll see whether urban planners and civic leaders show any interest in finding a way to put the data to use.