Best of the Northwest

I hear THE DUANE doesn’t want to pump much (any?) of his money into downtown street repair to make his proposed expansion happen. Seems he figures that the money he’ll add to the city tax base by building another hotel tower and the botanical garden are enough of a public investment — to which, I say, hogwash. At the very least, the city should make THE DUANE pay for trying to annex valuable parts of the Coeur d’alene waterfront … a coupla mil for a library, all street improvements, Sanders Beach access in perpetuity … just for starters. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of confidence that the current Bloem administration (Mayor Sandi Bloem pictured) is capable of playing hardball with the man who invented the game locally. Where is former mayor Jim Fromm and the Gang of Four when you need them.?

1. Political cartoonists Eric Devericks/Times and free-lancer Milt Priggee launch this week’s Best of the Northwest here and here.

2. An East Texas terrier mix pup survived an ordeal in Montana’s backcountry after jumping out of her master’s pickup to chase elk, including a run-in with a coyote, here.

3. By 59 percent to 34 percent, a Lee Newspapers poll shows Montanans support a constitutional initiative to ban gay marriage here.

4. Seattle Times (Kerry endorsement), Robert L. Jamieson Jr./Seattle Times (Puyallup’s PC Halloween), Jamie Kelly (Readers guide to journalism bias), The Daily Inter Lake (Protect hunting, fishing heritage), and Bob Paulos/Coeur d’Alene Press (I hate Spokane, Spokesman-Review, Chapter 79),

5. With its big win over Fresno State, Boy-C State moved up to No. 13 in the Bowl Championship series standings here.

6. The Seattle Times takes an in-depth look at the Murray-Nethercutt U.S. Senate race which features two former outsiders who have become very much insiders during their stays in Washington. Click here (and then click on related links for news features on candidates).