I dropped by Bent's BBQ as he, Sunny and others were closing up shop around 8:30 Friday evening. They looked tired. But Bent seemed satisfied that his soft opening for the food cart @ 5th & Best (east of Davis Donuts) had gone well. He said he checked in several times at Hucks Online to see what the Merry Hucksters were saying about his fare. He appreciated the support from Hucks Nation. … As you know, I'm on vacation next week through Memorial Day weekend. I'll be back Tuesday, May 29. Cindy & her cats will be here Monday to sub. Treat her well, per usual. Emjoy the sunshine. Here's your weekend Wild Card …

Two birds perch on wrapped electrical wires at Agro Brasilia, an agricultural exhibition on the outskirts of  Brasilia, Brazil earlier today.. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Next week, it'll be time for a V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N, which I need after juggling the triple crown of local controversies at HucksOnline for the last few months: Recall/GOPrimary/Jacobson subpoena. Solid gold stuff at the page-view turnstiles. Officially banked my first million page-views for the year — on election day, no less. And currently headed for a record year. I'd like to thank Mary/Frank/Kathy, the dysfunctional Republicans, and Tina for getting HBO off to a fast start this year. But I need a breather. Plan to finish my yard overhaul. Cindy's warming up in the bullpen. Brace yourself for too many cat photos next week. Now for your TGIF Wild Card …

A Butterfly Moment lists “10 things that make me happier than they probably should”:

• Free chai lattes. The free ones taste so much better than the ones I buy for myself or make at home.
• A gift of flowers. I love flowers. Love them. But I, nor they, should be happy when I am in charge of them. I can kill a cactus. Can and have.
• A brand new box of crayons. They are so perfect and lovely. I almost hate to let my students use them.
• Clearance sales. I have to repeat to myself over and over, “Just because it's cheap doesn't mean you need it.”
• Reality tv. It's one of my guilty pleasures. Survivor, American Idol, Pawn Stars, Deadliest Catch…
• Full list here.

Question: What's something that makes you happier than it should?

“It was a little different,” said Atlas Elementary 5th grader Maddi Howe, center as she and her classmates Krista Hawkes, left and Blaike Nelson, right took in the scenes from the 4th annual Art Tour at the school in Hayden earlier this week (Kathy Plonka SR photo)

• Cupcake workshop helps NIC sports/Nicole Hensley, KXLY
• FBI probes suspicious death in Plummer/David Cole, Press
• Bonner County relaxes land-use standard/Keith Kinnaird, Bee
• Study praises Tea Party's Labrador for fiscal restraint/Idaho Reporter
• Sandpoint rejects herbicides for City Beach milfoil/Cameron Rasmusson, Bee
• Duncan now wants to appeal his death sentence/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise
• Sandpoint Shores/Priest Lake subdivision action dismissed/Keith Kinnaird, Bee

• 5:48 p.m. Female on Red Tail Hawk/Worley reports 3 dogs attacked her dog in her yard.
• 5:37 p.m. Van driver uncooperative after hitting bicyclist @ I-90 & Spokane/PF. No injuries.
• 5:34 p.m. R/R reports possible DUI driver in black Chevelle n/b on H95 @ M/P 440 (Garwood Road).
• 5:23 p.m. Coeur d'Alene Casino security reports finding backpack w/drugs, paraphernalia & scales.
• 4:53 p.m. Possible injury accident reported in parking lot of Goodwill Industries, 4th & Harrison/CdA.
• 4:36 p.m. Silver Jeep w/Washington plates running people off road  @ e/b I-90 & Spokane/PF.
• 4:21 p.m. R/P reports mattress or box springs lying on I-90 onramp @ H95/CdA.
• 4:18 p.m. Child hanging out window of red Dodge Durango on Govt Way from Canfield/CdA.
• 13 more items below + AM Scanner Traffic below

On Thursday night, Post Falls Councilwoman Kerri Thoreson was in the dunk tank busy raising money for River City Leadership Academy's scholarship fund for Post Falls High students. Sez Kerri: “And the water was warmer than the air after we were wet.”

• 10 things that make me happier than they should/A Butterfly Moment
• New Kootenai County clerk ignorant/Bay Views
• My last cupcake story ever/Blush Response
• GOP numbers down? The numbers say the opposite/Dennis Mansfield
• Mount St. Helens: 32 years downwind/Fort Boise
• Hard to blog in this weather/From A Simple Mind
• Cry. Cry some more. Rinse. Repeat/Not A Fairy Tale
• A little bit country/Slight Detour
• Obstacles in the way of love/Writing North Idaho

HucksOnline numbers (for Thursday): 11,445/6552, (for Wednesday): 13,663/7495, and (for Tuesday): 14,683/7502

A fun time wasn't had by all at the Rendevouz on Coeur d'Alene Avenue early Thursday morning. CPD Blues found a 30YO man unconscious when they arrived at the downtown Coeur d'Alene bar. Seems he'd hit his head on a brick wall and sidewalk after he and other brawlers were bounced from the old bikini bar. Here's what the latest Downtown Coeur d'Alene Bar Report said: “… According to a bouncer at the bar, it had been chaos with a fight inside the club and while they were bringing some of the instigators outside, the fight erupted again and everyone was throwing punches and fighting. Apparently there were several groups of people involved in the altercation. Some reported the fight started with a dispute between a girlfriend bringing another male to the bar; however, once the fighting started, other began fighting with people kicking, punching and knocking each other down.” You can read the May 1-18 bar report here.

Thoughts?

Executive Tony Berns responds to various claims made by opponents of the urban renewal district in the Coeur d'Alene Press Online today:

• Claim: The city of Coeur d'Alene and Kootenai County are the only taxing entities affected.
• LCDC response: Actually, several taxing districts (city, county, NIC, highway districts) receive the taxes associated with the base property valuations when a district is established. The LCDC receives the taxes paid on the increase in property value (the increment) until the district is terminated.

• Claim: On the average, county property owners pay 7.5 percent more tax than they should and city property owners pay almost 20 percent more than they should due to the increased costs of infrastructure upkeep caused by LCDC improvements.
• LCDC response: We are unaware of where these percentages come from or how they were derived. The Idaho State Tax Commission states that the impact of urban renewal on the taxpayer is neutral.
• Much more here.

Thoughts?

Sharon Culbreth heads from Sherman Hardware to try to attract motorists on East Sherman Avenue to sign her Recall petitions against Mayor Sandi Bloem and council members Deanna Goodlander, Woody McEvers and Mike Kennedy. Fellow Recaller Rus McClain was on the other side of the street with his sign. (Phantom Photographer photo)

Notorious multiple murderer Joseph Duncan was back in a Boise courtroom this morning, as lawyers and a federal judge wrangled over setting a date for a new hearing into whether Duncan was mentally competent when he waived appeals of his triple death sentence for torturing and murdering a 9-year-old North Idaho boy. Duncan, brought to Boise from federal Death Row in Terre Haute, Ind., his hair close-cropped and graying and wearing a baggy white T-shirt, left all the talking to his attorneys on Friday morning. But in December of 2010, he submitted a hand-written, two-page letter to the court saying he now wants to appeal after all/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.

Thoughts?

Randy Stapilus of the Ridenbaugh Press has produced another of his invaluable Idaho political guides, the first one in a decade. A promo for “The Idaho Political Field Guide” reads: “Idaho politics isn’t just the story of politicians: It is also the story of the people whose votes puts them into office. The Idaho Political Field Guide, the first book-length independent and current review of Idaho politics in a generation, focuses hard on those voters: Who they are and how they vote, with analysis from the statewide to the precinct level. If you track Idaho politics as participant, a professional or an interested citizen, the Political Field Guide belongs on your book shelf.” You can read much more here.

Question: Have you read one of Randy's previous political field guides? I have. Terrific info.

If things don't work out re: attempted recall, Coeur d'Alene Councilman Woody McEvers has a fall-back job busing tables at Rustler's Roost. Woody, of course, owns Rustler's Roost in Hayden. Above, the Phantom Photographer spotted Woody busy in the kitchen during the lunch hour today.

Question: Did you ever work in a restaurant? What did you do? Did you enjoy the work?

The back-and-forth over Tuesday's closed GOP primary — and the ultimate voter turnout — just keeps on keeping on. Today, Idaho GOP rules committee chairman Ronald M. Nate weighed in with a statistical analysis on the 2008, 2010 and 2012 primaries, and suggested the turnout reveals a sharp decline in Democratic voters. It's a bit more detailed look at the numbers than the shallow quick hit sent out Wednesday by the Idaho GOP, comparing the vote counts from 2008 and 2012. As Nate rightly notes, it's not easy to compare results from one election to the next. But his takeaway focuses on the drop in the Democratic vote from 2008 to 2010 to 2012/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Is it possible that Idaho Democrats are in worst shape today than they were two years ago?

Grab the party hats and get your game face on — Saturday is Sirens & Gavels' 3rd birthday. Some of you may already be planning epic celebrations, but for those of you I caught off guard, I apologize. The idea behind this blog was simple - a devil-worshipping sex offender called me upset that a commenter said he was not a true member of the Church of Satan. I'd already written an adequate article about the man, and his phone call certanly didn't warant a follow up. But it was too remarkable to ignore. Since then, this blog has become a hub for crime and court news in the Inland Northwest and anything else that might pique my interest/Meghann Cuniff, Sirens & Gavels. More here.

Question: How long have you been blogging, tweeting and/or Facebooking?

LoveToHateMe (re: Post Falls police going to digital system, which can't be picked up by regular police scanners): By my understanding, digital systems scramble the frequency every time a transmission is made, in order to prevent the public from being able to monitor police activities. This helps prevent situations such as the one a couple of months ago where the man shot by the Post Falls Police allegedly had a radio scanner in his car and was listening to their updates while they were pursuing him.

DFO: That’s the extreme side of the police scanner picture. On the upside, it allows average citizens to keep track of what their police are doing. Which is mostly good work. Also, Post Falls Police Chief Scot Haug told me that his department has gotten a lot of tips from HBO Scanner Traffic readers. He appreciates the many mentions that his officers get each work day on Huckleberries.

Question: Would you rather have the police be able to communication to one another without the public tuned in? Or take the chance that an occasional bad guy is monitoring frequencies while the public listens in?

Kerri Thoreson provides this photo of Bent BBQing chicken at his Bent's Pitchamps Bar-B-Que at 5th & East Best today. He'll be open until he runs out of food or until 8 p.m.

Stickman: I just went by Bent’s to say ‘hi’ on his opening day and it looks great. He will be off to a great start, especially if the HBO nation gets behind him and supports him. He is on Best Ave. if some don’t have a clue where he is, about a block from Fourth Street on the right. If you turn right from Fourth at Davis Donuts, you’ll find him easily. It’s a red trailer and business started at 11. He should be there till late unless he runs out of food. I don’t eat meat, but I understand his stuff is some of the best around. So drop by and visit him and maybe have something to eat.

Location: Bent's BBQ is east of Davis Doughnuts on Best Avenue, about the 500 or 600 block.

DFO: Bent has promised to provide an opening-day blow-by-blow once lunch hour rush dies down.

A woman makes her way with a shaved poodle during the world dog show in Salzburg, Austria, earlier today. More than 30,000 dogs are expected to take part in the exhibition. (AP Photo/Kerstin Joensson)

Question: Would you do this to a dog?

Notice: HucksOnline Scanner Traffic is now operating without the 2 Post Falls police frequencies because Post Falls has switched to a digital system.

• 12:03 p.m. 2 males are about to get into a fight @ Spirit Lake docks, 7036 W. Spirit Lake Road.
• 11:56 a.m. R/P reports 8- to 10-foot plastic pipe lying on n/b H95 @ M/P 404 (north of Worley).
• 11:36 a.m. Coeur d'Alene Police Department activities report for May 17-18 here.
• 11:16 a.m. 3 males in a red Jeep w/writing on windows were driving recklessly on w/b I-90 before exiting at M/P 2 (Pleasantview).
• 11 more items below

Mattel makes a line of Barbie dolls under the moniker of “I can be …” in which Barbie shows she can be in any profession she wants: doctor, a teacher, a computer tech and a variety of other occupations. Ah, but Barbie has never had to confront an occupational licensing board. Sorry, Barbie. If Barbie were a car wash attendant or a waitress or newspaper delivery person or a grocery store clerk, she would have a tough time finding a new career that might pay more money and raise her standard of living. And that’s true even in Idaho, where we are assured that regulatory barriers are few and far between. The Institute for Justice recently examined the issue of occupational licensing in all 50 states, asking, “What are the government’s requirements to work in a particular field?” IJ found that Idaho ranks 36th when it comes occupational licensing burdens/Wayne Hoffman, Idaho Freedom Foundation. More there.

Question: How have government regulations hurt you in Idaho?