On Feb. 11, Jessica and Mike Kovac, co-founders of the nonprofit Blessings Under the Bridge, received $10,000 from boxed.com in supplies while appearing on the Rachael Ray Show. As part of Rachael Ray's "9 Million Meals" campaign, Ray has vowed to help people that are in need by providing nine million meals during the course of her ninth season of being on the air by assisting nonprofits with the help of Feeding America and No Kid Hungry.

Blessings is based in Spokane Valley and serves the homeless population of Spokane on Wednesday nights at 4th Avenue and McClellan Street, providing over seven different tables of supplies to the homeless ranging from a warm meal to haircuts. Blessings began with Jessica Kovac in 2007 with 40 brown bags and a case of water. And eight years later, Blessings has grown to a nonprofit recognized by the 2014 Agora Awards for winning for the best small nonprofit in the city of Spokane. 

In its tenure, Blessings has been providing hope for the less fortunate by giving meals, clothes, haircuts, blankets and even assistance in resume building to help find jobs. The supplies from www.boxed.com range from groceries to household items that will go directly to the Wednesday night feeds that occur week in and week out. For more information about Blessings, call 949-606-3696 or email blessingsunderthebridge@gmail.com.

This letter is for all the Liberty Lakers that line up on Liberty Lake Road in the morning to get on the freeway, sometimes creating a backup all the way to Country Vista. A controversial topic, I know.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation did a study on this and found that the "zipper merge" cuts down backups by 40 percent. Ask yourself - why is the merge lane there if it isn't supposed to be used? 

I know you all believe you are doing the correct thing by creating a massive line, and it is a testament to our community's positive friendly spirit. But it is actually the most inefficient way to load Liberty Lake's early morning traffic onto the freeway. Until people start to come into the right lane with us, we will continue to zipper merge and kindly let the sometimes angry guy - yelling "no cuts," flipping us off and revving his engine in the left lane - go first.

We just want you to know we actually do the process a favor by following DOT prescribed methods. So come join us on the dark side - the right merge lane!