Sgt. Christie Corrects Mary Souza’s Latest Claims
I asked NIC Trustee Vice Chair Christie Wood 
last month when we met for coffee why the budget for PTE was cut when it is the No. 1 strategic goal? She said she was unaware of the cut and would look into the question, yet just weeks later, she voted along with the whole Board to approve the budget, PTE cuts and all. The Press reported last Sunday that NIC President Priscilla Bell was granted a 5 percent salary increase, which, along with additional benefits, raises her compensation package to $179,250, including $1,000 per month for housing. Trustee Christie Wood called this decision "a great show of confidence"/Mary Souza, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.
DFO: Public officials, like Christie Wood, are hesitant to engage in a battle of words with someone like Souza who has a regular column in a newspaper. (For now.) But I'd encourage her and other public officials to demand that the Brand X brain trust correct every one of Souza's inaccuracies and to challenge the faulty thinking that is rampant in her columns. It's an uphill battle because Brand X obviously wants her propaganda published. But there will come a point when she again becomes a bigger minus than a plus on the op-ed page -- and will be shown the door again. Or drag Brand X down with her.
