I'm still shaking cob webs off, after a week's vacay, first hosting relatives in Coeur d'Alene and then watching Amy Dearest receive her master's degree in family counseling in Portland. Mrs. O received quite an eyeful Saturday when she decided to buy a treat for Amy Dearest to celebrate her accomplishment — a remnant of the Naked Bike Ride. Seems 25 naked riders — 24 males and a female — were doing a victory lap, a week after the big PDX ride, when Mrs. O & Amy Dearest encountered them at a stop light. Neither of my Ladies were impressed, using the “Seinfeld” term “bad naked” to describe the scene. With that happy thought, I'll post the first Wild Card of my post-vacay …

A little girl stands in front of a fountain during nice and sunny weather at the Alexanderplatz square in Berlin, Germany, Monday. (AP Photo/dpa, Ole Spata)

A Spokane woman who shaved her head as a show of solidarity for her sister who has cancer quit her job at Northern Quest Casino after she was made to feel embarrassed for shaving her head. Friends and family who shave their heads in support of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy are sometimes told to cover up because their look is offensive. In this case Melanie Strandberg wouldn't stand for it, and her stand has sparked a firestorm of support from the worldwide cancer community. Melanie's sister Marissa has cancer. First it was ovarian but now cancer has attached her sister's colon. “She's amazing; she's the most amazing person I know,” Strandberg said. Marissa's chemotherapy treatment starts this Thursday so, two weeks ago, to show her support for her sister, Strandberg shaved her head/Colleen O'Brien, KXLY. More here. (KXLY photo)

Question: Am I the only one here who thinks Northern Quest Casino botched this situation, big time?

• 5:12 p.m. Sports car speeding @ 100 mph on w/b I-90/MP 16.5 (Mullan Trail/CdA).
• 5:02 p.m. 4-foot piece of metal roofing laying in right lane of w/b I-90/State Line.
• 4:49 p.m. Red pickup has hit piece of construction equipment @ H95/Bunco Road, Athol.
• 4:26 p.m. 50ish female w/chest pain in & out of consciousness on Good Hope Road/Athol.
• 4:14 p.m. Mother reports 17YO boy threatening to kill himself by jumping in front of car @ Honeysuckle/Ramsey, Hayden.
• 4:13 p.m. Marine deputy out w/disabled vessel near Higgens Point/Lake Coeur d'Alene.
• 4:08 a.m. Patient suffering chest pain @ Urgent Care, 315 W. Dalton Ave/CdA.
• 14 more items + AM Scanner Traffic link below

Firefighters protest in their underwear against austerity measures in Sabadell, Spain, earlier today. Spain has been in recession for the best part of the past four years as the economy battles to recover from the collapse of its once-booming real estate sector. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

• Time 2 vote …

Idaho Republicans took a stand on Common Core over the weekend — but stopped well short of outright rejection of the controversial educational standards. Meeting in McCall on Saturday, the GOP’s state Central Committee passed a resolution rejecting “the collection of personal student data for any non-educational purpose.” The resolution takes no position on Common Core itself — or the Idaho Core Standards, the state’s variation on the initiative. These math and English language arts standards are slated to go into effect this fall, with student assessments to follow in the spring of 2015/Kevin Richert, Idaho Education News. More here.

Question: What kept Idaho Republicans from rejecting the controversial Common Core standards?

John Shearer, sitting with his wife Teresa, center, and friend Fran Brown, left, cruises down Sherman with his car club, the Wenatchee Valley Cruisers, before the start of the annual Friday night cruise in downtown Coeur d'Alene. Shearer is driving his restored 1943 Army troop carrier. The cruise was the kickoff for the annual Car d'Lane care show show weekend, put on Coeur d''Alene Downtown Association. On Saturday, the show continued with displays of hundreds of cars on downtown streets. (SR photo: Jesse Tinsley)

• NASA picks G-Prep grad for astronaut corps/SR
• Crowds enjoy Spirit Lake mower races/Devin Heilman, Press
• Ray Stone, former Coeur d'Alene mayor, dies at 89/Scott Maben, SR
• Gonzaga law student pleads to crash that haunts family/Thomas Clouse, SR
• Quest Aviation chosen as Idaho Small Business of Day/Tom Sowa, Office Hours

Dressed in a blue shirt with a big white kitty on the front, 3-year-old Danika Packard sat on the courtroom bench eating cereal from a plastic baggy and smiling at anyone who caught her attention. The happy little girl gave no indication of the horror she and her parents endured last year when a drunken driver struck her father, Danny Packard, as he rode his bicycle and ran over Danika, who was riding in a specially equipped trailer. The impact disintegrated Danika’s helmet as the driver, Timmy Ngoc Nguyen, 23, continued back to the apartment where he and fellow Gonzaga University law students were taking part in “Beer Olympics.” Tracy Packard was riding on July 21 behind and watched the 2003 Honda Element hit her husband and flatten the trailer carrying her daughter/Thomas Clouse, SR. More here. (Safe Kids Spokane courtesy photo: Spokane police Officer Teresa Fuller rewards crash victim Danika Packard for wearing her bike helmet with a free ice cream coupon from McDonald’s)

DFO: I witnessed a hit-and-run crash in Portland Sunday, when a van clipped a parked SUV's driver side mirror and sped off.

Question: Have you ever witnessed — or been victimized by — a hit-and-run accident?

During my daily walk along the waterfront, I saw that tent city is beginning to emerge at City Park for Ironman Coeur d'Alene this weekend. 2 or 3 tents were up. And items to block off the park and set up the bike transition area were congesting an already congested sidewalk, north of the seawall. The nice weather had attracted a decent number of Monday visitors to North Idaho Beach and City Beach. Also, Never Ending Basketball games were under way on the new, refurbished City Park courts, which now have a three-point shot line. All in all, it was a viewtiful summer day on the waterfront during the lunch hour.

Sports teams at eastern Idaho’s Teton High School will still be known as the Redskins — at least for now. District Superintendent Monte Woolstenhulme still believes the school should drop the nickname, but the name and the school logo will remain intact for the time being. “I knew there would be passionate response to this, but not this large, this much or this fast,” Woolstenhulme told the Teton Valley News. Woolstenhulme announced his plan at a school board meeting Monday, according to the News. Opponents quickly began an online petition drive protesting the move. And as of Friday, a “Save the Redskins” Facebook page had attracted more than 1,200 members/Kevin Richert, The EDge. More here.

Question: As far as mascots go, Redskins is a no brainer. It's derogatory. School districts should toss it. Do you agree?

Like more than 200,000 American men annually I was diagnosed recently with prostate cancer. Next to skin cancer, prostate cancer in the most commonly occurring cancer among American men. The disease claimed more than 28,000 lives in 2009, the last year for which we have the most complete figures. There is almost truth to the line I’ve heard and now use myself – “if you live long enough, I’ll get prostate cancer.” Prostate cancer is indeed widespread and it takes a particular gruesome toll among African-American men. My case – special to me, for sure – nonetheless seems fairly typical in many ways/Marc Johnson, The Johnson Report. More here.

Question: A neighbor is recuperating at home for prostate surgery. Do you know anyone who is being treated for prostate cancer?

Marianne Love/Slight Detour (red shirt above) had a busy father's day weekend that included herding cattle. You can read about it here.

• Too late to cry/Arch Druid
• Best laid plans/A Butterfly Moment
• I'm Marc's prostate/Johnson Report
• It's only money, ours/Dogwalk Musings
• 2 different attitudes/From A Simple Mind
• What's in a mascot nickname?/The EDge
• Diamond Cup press conference/Bay Views
• 50 years later: 'Louie, Louie'/Dennis Mansfield
• Dear kids … /Rants, Raves & Random Thoughts
• The End of Your Life Book Club/Writing North Idaho
• Is it too soon to talk about irrational fears?/Fort Boise
• A case of Idaho changing the country/Ridenbaugh Press
• No-no's for fat chicks?/JeanC's Cat House & Shooting Gallery
• GOP rules committee rejects limits for primary candidates/Rocky Barker

HucksOnline numbers (for June 9-15): 34,001 page-views/20,668 unique views

Franklin County sheriff's deputies are looking for a Sandpoint, Idaho, woman who disappeared while stopping at a fruit stand near Pasco. Deputy George Rapp tells the Tri-City Herald (http://bit.ly/19KiNWl ) that 21-year-old Rashelle Klontz has been missing since around 3 p.m. Sunday when she stopped at the Country Mercantile. Her purse, cellphone and laptop were found inside the store. Her SUV was left in the parking lot. Police read her journal entries that mentioned hiking into the desert to pray. Her father, Rick Klontz, said she is devoted to her religion/AP. More here. (Courtesy photo from Rick Klontz)

A Coeur d’Alene woman has filed a federal lawsuit against President Barack Obama and top national security officials, contending that collection of information about her Verizon cellphone use violates the law and the Constitution. Her attorneys are Idaho state Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d’Alene, a former deputy Kootenai County prosecutor, and Peter J. Smith IV of Lukins and Annis, who is the woman’s husband. Peter Smith said of his wife, Anna J. Smith, “It’s kind of an interesting situation; she has access to resources that a normal person may not, that is legal counsel and knowing that this case probably won’t be dealt with quickly or easily and probably will wind its way through.” The lawsuit is in response to revelations last week that the National Security Agency operates a classified program to monitor millions of Americans’ telephone records/Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise. More here.

Question: Do you support this lawsuit?

Breast cancer survivor Jacqueline Spears-Williams smiles as she receives a rose at the finish of the 15th Annual Susan G.  Komen St. Louis Race for the Cure in St. Louis on Saturday. The breast cancer charity announced today that it has named Judith A. Salerno to replace founder Nancy Brinker. Brinker announced last summer she would step down following an onslaught of criticism over Komen's quickly reversed decision to stop giving grants to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings. Story here. (AP Photo/The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Stephanie S. Cordle)

Question: Have you participated in a Komen Race for the Cure? How many?

If it's a new week, it must be time for a new current events quiz. All entrants this week are eligible to win two movie tickets, and our overall champ will take home a $50 gift card to the Davenport Hotel. Simply answer 10 interactive questions, and you're in! You can take the weekly News Quiz here.

• Answer to 1st Question: 1.
• Last week's winners: Mary Terhaar of Spokane ($50 gift card) and Laura Laumatia of Plummer, Idaho (movie tickets).

A Facebook Friend writes: “After wringing my spleen with stress for weeks, decided to stay put in the same house for an 11th year. Having a Not Moving sale in a few weeks. To you unlucky folks in CdA looking for a rental house right now, you're going to need some luck. There is quite literally nothing at the moment.”

Question: Do you agree with the claim that rental houses are hard to find at the moment in Coeur d'Alene?

Americans are polarized about many things, it seems, but , they agree that the United States should stay out of the Syrian conflict. Seventy percent of those polled said they oppose the U.S. and its allies sending arms to anti-government groups in Syria. Just 20 percent favor it. The poll comes less than a week after the Obama administration announced it had “high confidence” the government of Bashar Assad had used chemical weapons and because of that to the Syrian rebels/NPR. More here.

Question: Do you agree with the Pew Poll results — that the U.S. should stay out of the Syrian conflict?

Former Coeur d’Alene Mayor Ray Stone, a World War II veteran, educator and jazz musician, died Sunday. Stone served on the City Council from 1971 to 1979 and served two terms as mayor, from 1986 to 1993. Al Hassell followed him as mayor. “He had a heart of gold that he protected with a crusty exterior,” said Susan Weathers, the former city clerk. “He loved Coeur d’Alene, he loved to be an ambassador for the city of Coeur d’Alene.” Stone taught at Coeur d’Alene High School and North Idaho College. As mayor he became active in the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations to counter the neo-Nazi Aryan Nations that had taken root in the county. In 1987, Stone and others accepted the Raoul Wallenberg Award, presented to the city for its human rights work. (Kathy Plonka SR file photo: Ray & Betty Stone in 2010)

• Redux: Love not only spark in long marriage/Cindy Hval, SR Voices

Question: Do you remember when Ray Stone served as mayor?

Miss Connecticut Erin Brady is crowned the winner of the Miss USA 2013 pageant by Nana Meriwether, Sunday, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Jeff Bottari)

A Facebook Friend writes: “Watching Miss USA..don't judge! The panel of judges is laughable. Listening to the answers to the interview questions is kind of sad.”

Question: Do you include watching Miss USA pageant among your guilty pleasures?