Issue: Rathdrum boom a bust for some: Some yearn for 'cute little town'/Sam Taylor, Spokesman-Review

DFO (cueing up Joni Mitchell music): Sometimes, I wonder if we're well along the way to killing the golden goose. I enjoy the progress we're making in cleaning up downtown Coeur d'Alene, for example. But I'm concerned that an unsavory element has moved in to enjoy the nicer setting after hours. One by one the communities in the county's hinterlands are moving from quaint, and mebbe a little rundown (but affordable), to targets for high-end development. Ten years from now, we'll know if we destroyed the atmosphere we tried to save.

Question: Is Coeur d'Alene and Kootenai County better off today than it was 15 years ago?

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