I was such a fool. For once, I tried to be open-minded about plans by The Duane to build a botanical garden in downtown Coeur d'Alene. After all, I figured, closing two blocks of Sherman Avenue for a botanical garden seemed like a good trade -- even if the bazillionaire didn't want to pay a red penny for the use of public property. Or for street realignments. Now, calling from his megayacht in the Caribbean, The Duane has announced he also wants a block of Front Avenue, so his guests don't get run over crossing the street to his nearly empty mall here. (Seems the skywalk between the parking garage and the mall isn't good enough for them.) That's one bridge too far for me because I know The Duane has other cards up his sleeve. Here's a guy who wants the city to give him three city blocks when he wouldn't give a square inch of rocky Sanders Beach in return. It's time someone told this guy to jump in the lake.

1. Cartoonist Noah Kroese/UI Argonaut doesn't believe Dubya shed tears when Secretary of State Collin Powell resigned here.

2. Boy-C State cracks the Top 10 for the first time in Bronco football history here and is ranked No. 7 in BCS standings here.

3. Monday means my Huckleberries column here.

4. My padre, Pastor Steve Massey of Hayden Bible Church, points out in his biweekly column for The Spokesman-Review that believers today need assurances just like people did in Bible times here.

5. Fresh from a stunning defeat, Leftest MoveOn.org organized get-togethers throughout the nation, including in Seattle, to encourage disciples to continue to push pacifism and gay marriage here.

6. IMHO-NW: Jim Moore/P-I (Apple Cup win), James Vesely/Times (Washington suburban politics), Spokesman-Review (Abstinence-only teaching needed), Idaho Statesman (Idaho's stake in Cabinet picks), and Coeur d'Alene Press (Ripping Washington water interests).

7. Jack Potter has become an encyclopedia of knowledge about Glacier National Park in his 35 years he's spent hiking, skiing and cross-country skiing in the northwest Montana treasure here.

8. University of Idaho's Delta Sigma Pi's chapter has been put on probation following the deaths of two members in a motorcycle accident here.

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