Archive for April 2009
On this day in history: in 1789, George Washington took office as the nation’s first president. And, In 1945, Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide. Also, Willie Nelson is celebrating birthday No. 76. And we’re observing National Honesty Day in recognition of Washington’s inaugaration. In the news this afternoon, scientists say they are at least 6 months away from being able to produce a swine flu vaccine in large quantities here. Now, to replay the Wild Card …
Amy Pryle, age 3, reacts as a Grey Pansy butterfly lands on her nose at the Natural History Museum’s Butterfly Jungle exhibition in London earlier today. The Butterfly Jungle exhibition recreates a living rainforest environment, where tropical butterflies roam freely and other insects are display. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
Chatterbox: I have had to use up a large portion of my accumulated sick leave since I had a
mastectomy in early March, a biopsy on my right femur earlier this month and began chemo today. I’ve used up almost all of my sick leave and will begin using my comp and vacation hours soon. Up until a couple months ago, I rarely got sick. I would take an hour of leave here & there for the various yearly doctor appointment and twice a year dentist appointment. But I hated it when co-workers would come in sick. Without a doubt, someone else in the office would catch the bug and spread it all around.
DFO: Keep Chatterbox in your thoughts and prayers as she goes through chemotherapy treatment.
Frum Helen Back: I had a lady get furious with me in that parking lot when I unknowingly took
the spot she wanted. As she yelled obscenities at me I nicely apologized and told her I would move my car. With that she sped off to find another spot, still filled with rage. I practically ran into the hospital to the elevator because I was scared to death she might get on the same elevator with me. Some people are just way to sensitive about parking spaces. But then, maybe she was headed for the Psychiatric Ward.
Question: Have you ever been involved in an argument over a spot in a parking lot?
Coeur d’Alene High baseball player J.J. Turbin is shown at a recent practice. He’s a multi-sport star with a 4.1 GPA and a deep religious faith. Greg Lee tells you about the young star in his weekly SR sports feature here. Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review.
A number of bicycling events are planned in Moscow for May to commemorate National Bike Month, starting with the first-ever Nearly Naked Bike Ride on Friday. Riders will meet at 5:30 p.m. at Friendship Square. Cyclists are invited to clean out their closets of clothing to get rid of and wear as many layers of clothes as possible. Prior to the ride at 6, riders will remove as many clothes as they feel comfortable riding in (no nudity, please). The shed clothing will be donated to the Sojourner’s Alliance thrift shop. The guided ride will travel through Moscow on a preselected route. The ride is expected to last 30 to 45 minutes/Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question (for JeanC, Digger, Moscow Minidoka): What will you being doing around 5:30 p.m. tomorrow?
Richard Lloyd Vivian, 50, of Coeur d’Alene, was charged with aggravated assault and taken to 
jail in a parking lot incident reminiscent of a scene from the movie, “Fried Green Tomatoes.” According to a Coeur d’Alene police report, Vivian was waiting for a vehicle to exit a handicapped parking spot in the north lot of Kootenai Medical Center about 11:38 a.m. today, when another vehicle zipped into the space before him. After the driver left his car, Vivian rammed the parked car with his Jeep SUV. Then, Vivian quickly backed his car up, almost hitting a pedestrian. No injuries were reported. The other two vehicles were unoccupied. Total damages to the three vehicles is estimated at $2000. Vivian was standing near his car when officers arrived. He told police that he thought the parking spot was his. In “Fried Green Tomatoes,” the character played by Kathy Bates repeatedly rammed a convertible Volkswagon driven by two uppity young women that speeded into a parking spot she’d been waiting for/Huckleberries Online.
A Kootenai County woman in her 60s who recently traveled to Texas has become the first probable case of H1NI (swine) flu sent by the Idaho State Laboratory to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation. The woman is recovering and did not require hospitalization, according to the Panhandle Health District. “This is a strong reminder to everyone of the importance of practicing respiratory etiquette and good hygiene to protect themselves and others,” said Lora Whalen, director of Family and Community Health for the Panhandle Health District/Huckleberries Online. PHD news release here.
stands in the basement of his home Wednesday. He is being evicted from his modest South Hill home and is wondering how he will store his massive record collection estimated at more than 100,000 albums, mostly vinyl, but including CDs, posters and other collectibles. Doug Clark’s SR story here. (Jesse Tinsley/Spokesman-Review) Question: Are you still hanging onto a treasured record album or two that you can’t part with? Which album is it?
The (Lake Pend Oreille School District’s) letter to parents does not address district policy 
regarding student absences – currently, a student who misses more than 9 days in a semester is in danger of losing their credits. … Superintendent Dick Cvitanich stated in an interview that the district has “made no decisions on attendance. However, we do review attendance and reasonable excuses at each school when determining credit/excessive absences. When a student exceeds the limit much discussion takes place regarding reason, efforts to keep up with school work, other absences throughout the year. In short, although there are limits to absences, each one is reviewed individually”/Trish Gannon, River Journal. More including copy of school district letter here.
Question: Any parents out there receive a letter from another school district re: swine flu outbreak?
After consulting with the Spokane Regional Health District, Bloomsday will continue as planned Sunday, officials announced this afternoon. The health district said there is no need to alter or cancel Bloomsday events because of swine flu concerns, according to a Bloomsday press release. However, health district officials urge those feeling ill to not participate, the release said/Bert Caldwell, SR. More here.
Question: Do you plan to run Bloomsday this year? How often have you participated in the Spokane event in the past?
Item: Airport traffic down 15 percent this year/SR
More Info: Spokane International Airport reported a 15 percent decline in passengers in the first quarter of the year versus the same period in 2008. In the first three months of the year, the airport handled 703,541 passenger boardings, down from 768,961 a year ago. March traffic was down 13.6 percent over March 2008, the airport said today.
Question (for North Idaho Hucksters): Is use of the airport the principal reason you travel to Spokane? If not, what is?
Corky Loo, left, and Glenn Shea make minor repairs as they prepare a fishing dock for spring fishing at Winchester Lake State Park, even as winter makes a statement Wednesday in Winchester, Idaho. (AP Photo/Lewiston Tribune, Barry Kough)
In an internal SR memo today, Editor Gary Graham urged sick staffers to stay home. Quoth: 
“We have sick days for a reason. I know that it’s often difficult to just stay home. We all feel responsibilities to our jobs and to our co-workers. And many times we just feel plain guilty about resting on the couch instead of going to work. I try to set an example by staying home when I have a cold, sore throat, etc. But I confess that I’ve come to work with my share of illnesses.” He concluded by mentioning the current swine flu scare and saying that “staying home is being considerate of your co-workers.” Also, he tossed in an “I mean it” to emphasize his point.
Question: Do you have a difficult time staying home when you’re sick?
Democrats from the House and Senate held a news conference this morning to object to the House Republicans’ move last night to attempt to unilaterally adjourn the legislative session/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
IMHoffsuite: Our wonderful vice president, Joe Biden, the master of talking before thinking, today said he would tell his family not to fly or ride subways, cause of the flu situation. Great words to hear for the airlines, hotels, etc that rely on travelers for their business. Stupid comment to make, imo. But, it is only one of several for him. Story here.
Question: Do you find VP Joe Biden’s shoot-from-the-hip candor refreshing or embarrassing?
Redux: At 1 p.m. Wednesday, Scanner Traffic published an item re: that car fire that destroyed a Dodge Nitro here. Now, you might like to see video of the fire provided by the Timberlake Fire Protection District. In the first of the three videos, you’ll hear an explosion of the car’s gas tank as the fire truck pulls up the scene here.
“To be honest with you, we live in a university town and most people give it away for free. There isn’t a market” — Pullman Police Commander Chris Tennant re: Lewiston Tribune story re: possible prostitution being advertised on CraigsList on the Palouse. Story here.
Question: Bent thought the comment by Commander Tennant was “stupid.” Sisyphus found it “refreshingly honest.” What do you think?
A car ploughs through spectators in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, this morning. A speeding car raced toward an open bus carrying Queen Beatrix and her family during celebrations for the national Queen’s Day holiday, careening through spectators. Dutch television says two people were killed and about a dozen injured. The small black car appeared to be deliberately heading at high speed toward the royal bus and passed within a few meters before it plowed into a stone monument. About 20 people were seen flying through the air after the car swerved across police railings, where crowds of people lined five or six deep to see the royal family pass on its way to a palace on Thursday. The TV put the number of casualties at 14. (AP Photo/Robin Utrecht, Pool) Question: It’s rare to find a photo like this one the AP wire, showing a possible assassination attempt in progress. But is something like this too graphic to publish here?
But Moyle preceded Clement, as did also Nonini
And the former was a hoodoo, while the latter was a flake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat;
For there seemed but little chance of Clement getting to the bat.
(Tom Von Alten’s superb Fort Boise spin on “No Joy In Mudville” continues here.)
Butler (photo) is dead, but unfortunately, his legacy lingers. Some Butler followers want to hijack Idaho and reclaim it as their world headquarters for hatred. Group leaders won’t say how many members they have recruited. But an Associated Press story about the recruiting efforts quickly got picked up across the region and as far away as the New York Times and the Boston Globe. In an age of Web links and social media, a story can move rapidly. And that means we cannot afford complacency. Idaho needs to speak up, proactively, forcefully and swiftly. Our state needs to shout down -again - anyone who would paint Idaho as a racist enclave. This isn’t us/Idaho Statesman Editorial Board. More here.
Question: Did the one or two Aryans in the Lake City achieve their purpose by gaining national attention for their middle-of-the-night literature distribution?
Item: Coeur d’Alene School District may declare financial emergency despite passage of levy/Maureen Dolan, CdA Press
More Info: Since January they have identified $3.2 million in reductions for the next fiscal year that begins July 1. Another $1.9 million needs to be shaved for a balanced budget. The supplemental levy approved by voters April 21 is $1 million less than the expiring levy it replaces. Some teachers were upset that the district chose to trim the levy amount rather than campaign for the higher existing amount.
Question: Should Coeur d’Alene school officials have asked for at least another $1M for the easily passed school levy, if they knew they would stil be facing a financial crisis?
Item: Swine flu has likely arrived: In Washington: Spokane resident, back from California, among six probable cases/John Stucke, Jonathan Brunt, and Sara Leaming, SR
More Info: A Spokane man in his 40s is among six Washington state residents who probably have swine flu, health officials said Wednesday night. The officials have been unable to interview the man, who hasn’t returned their phone calls. They don’t know if he is married or has children in local schools. Three of the other likely infected state residents are in King County, and two are in Snohomish County. There have been no confirmed cases of swine flu in Idaho Question: Does the probability that a Spokane man has swine flu heighten your concern about the spreading health threat?
In one of the strangest moments yet in this year’s most unusual legislative session, the House finished its calendar and attempted to adjourn sine die, which means without a day to come back. But when the House sent its formal delegation to the Senate to inform it that the House was adjourning, no one was there - it was nearly 9 at night/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
World’s No 1 ranking Zhang Yining of China keeps eye on the ball during a match against Nikoleta Stefanova of Italy in the World Table Tennis championships in Yokohama, Japan, Thursday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)
You Merry Hucksters are exactly split re: your concern about the swine flu pandemic. 49.6% of you responded to a question about the flu by saying you were either very (18 respondents) or a little (39 respondents) concerned. And another 49.6% responded by saying “no” (29 respondents) or “heck no” (28 respondents). Actually, the no’s had it, if you consider that one person was totally unconcerned and marked: “What swine flu?”
The pyramids in their well-worn track
Have timeless stood so free.
And to virgin stands of tamarack
Sixty’s young if you’re a tree.
The redwood forest ages hence
Will soar so breathlessly.
One thousand years have spoken since:
Six decades’ short to me.
(John Austin’s complete poem for JeanieS’s birthday below)
1) Aliasjax “cone of silence” cutline made me spew my beverage.
2) Where else could I read about an ISP officer removing a strainer from I-90?
3) The HBO Poll feature is fun and offers instant gratification.
4) No other blog featured this tidbit: “There’s either a “contained cow” or a “contained chow” on Tudor Drive.”
5) On this date 4/29/09 KageMann was commended for his sensitivity. I’m pretty sure that’s never happened ANYWHERE else before. Full post below.
DFO: CindyH nailed it. Yesterday was magical. And fun. I hope you enjoy HBO, too.
Liz: I’m gonna open a can o’ worms here and point out that MEN also get
the short end of the 
stick in various ways. I think that instead of
genderizing the whole issue, we really just need to
refer to “relational violence”. Also, while adult women don’t usually rape adult men, a certain
percentage of child abuse is in the form of women molesting boys. I just cringe when I see events such as this one because they make
it sound like women are ALWAYS the victims and men ALWAYS the perps,
when really, there are simply a lot of screwed up people out there
doing stuff to other people.
Question: Do you agree/disagree with Liz’s point?
Taryn Hecker: 
I’m delighted that Avista’s CEO is putting warm and fuzzy and
sympathetic letters out to the community in the form of half-page and
full-page ads saying that Avista will work with people in these tough
economic times, but when you call up and ask about payment arrangements
it couldn’t be further from the truth. The proposal they gave me was something like this: Pay us $500 this
week and another $100 next week and we won’t shut off your power. And yes, they will take a credit card.
Question: Anyone out there with something nice to say about Avista?
Arpie (re: 007’s Wednesday AM post here)To start with, the school I’m in now, is the first one that has an art
teacher, I know of no other 
elementary schools in the state that have
one- although I’m sure there are some. Our art teacher is not a
certified teacher so she doesn’t get paid much, but due to the
fundraising by our PTA who values the importance of the arts, we have
her. She is a blessing. Another thing I’ve never seen in Idaho Schools
is a school nurse. The book I was reading to my class this week had a
scene taking place in the nurse’s office, and I had to stop and explain
to my class that some schools have a nurse available for when they are
sick or hurt. In Idaho, the blessed, but again untrained and underpaid,
secretaries handle this duty. Full post below.
Question: Do you think Arpie’s experience is typical of Idaho teachers?
Nick Anderson/Houston Chronicle
You should know by now that JeanieS turned 60 today here. But did you know that Beth Bollinger/Accidental Rabbit Trails clocked another birthday yesterday here? Congrats to both. Now, for this evening’s news: A 777 made an emergency landing at Sea-Tac here. A woman believes her father was the infamous Zodiac Killer here. WHO ratchet’s up the swine flu alert level here. And the Wild Card remains in play …
You can find a fun test of your historical knowledge by clicking onto this link provided by Cis/Simple Mind here. (You can find the correct answers by holding your cursor over the historical figure you try to identify.)
Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, the House education chairman and sponsor of HB 373, told the House, “Counter to everything you might read in the newspaper, I don’t hate teachers - I admire teachers. I think it’s an admirable profession.” But he said no other state employees get an early retirement incentive. “In a time of budget constraints … we need to try to keep as much money in the classroom as possible,” Nonini told the House/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Idaho Gov. C.L. Butch Otter greets constituents outside a meeting room at the Red Lion Inn after speaking at the Rotary Luncheon today in Lewiston. (AP Photo/Lewiston Tribune, Kyle Mills)
Cyclists take cover from the rain in public phone booths in Rio Branco, Brazil, Tuesday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)
Top Cutlines:
At about 1 p.m. today, the Timberlake Fire Protection District was dispatched to a vehicle fire on Highway 95, just south of Silverwood. Firefighters arrived to find a 2008 Dodge Nitro fully involved. But the driver was safe. The driver reported that the transmission light went on and the vehicle started to loose power. She pulled to the side of the road and flames appeared from under the vehicle. More photos here.
Post Falls police are looking for a man who tried to entice four juveniles into his silver or white 
Honda Saturday night. The youths told police that the man drove up to them at Syringa & Horsehaven at about 9 o’clock and told them to get into the car. According to a police report, he threatened to follow two of the teens until they got into his car. The juveniles fled the area and sought help from a local off-duty officer. The suspect car is described as a newer Honda Civic 4-door, with tinted windows, and a spoiler on the rear trunk and dark rims. The youths could not provide a description of the driver. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Post Falls police, 773-3517.
I use to love to go out and do the fast dances, and even the slow ones. I was never really good
at it, but I tried and I had fun. I didn’t do as bad as Elaine on Seinfeld, but I was about average or lower. Think, white girl has no rhythm. So what stopped? I don’t know, as I look back at it. I guess it was when I went to work, at the nursing home. My days or nights off, which ever I was working, had a lot to do with it, It took 6 weeks to get a weekend off. And there was so much more I rather do than go to a bar and dance/Cis, From A Simple Mind. More here.
Question: Well, do you still dance?
The House Ways & Means Committee has voted 4-3 in three straight party-line votes to introduce three new bills: A compromise on election consolidation, with the state covering school district and local government costs; a concurrent resolution calling for an interim committee to study transportation funding; and a new version of Rep. Bob Nonini’s education fundning bill, this time to phase out a teacher early retirement program. Minority Democrats on the panel objected in all three votes/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
“(33YO Jamie A.) Neverdahl was traveling northbound on US95, when he crossed the median just south of Wilbur Ave. Neverdahl then traveled northbound in the southbound lanes for a few hundred yards before striking several trees on the embankment. Vehicle came to rest on it’s top and the driver was ejected. The driver died at the scene, investigation continues. Next of kin has been notified”/Updated ISP report of Highway 95 fatality today. Report here. KREM2 slide show and video.
Men wearing high heel shoes take part in the recent Walk-A-Mile in Her Shoes event in downtown Roseburg, Ore. About 100 men took part in the one mile walk to raise awareness about sexual violence and rape. (AP Photo/The News-Review, Robin Loznak) Question: Is society more sensitive to the terrible issues of sexual violence and rape that it was a decade ago?
Bayview Bob: “One dozen store brand grade AA large eggs: Albertsons - $1.79, WinCo - $1.32, Fred Meyer – $1.69, Wal-Mart - $1.50.” Way too much money. A store bought egg is a joke. It has no color or flavor. Raise your own in your backyard. It is so easy! Have a real egg sometime and you will NEVER buy that crap they sell at the super market again. I will give you a 1/2 dozen of real eggs if you don’t believe me.
Question: Did you spend any part of your childhood living on a ranch, farm, or dairy, eating home-grown or produced food? How does that rural life compare to yours today?
Item: CraigsList Killer affects prostitution on the Palouse/David Johnson, Lewiston Tribune
More Info: Moscow Assistant Police Chief David Duke and Pullman Police Commander Chris Tennant confirmed that their departments are fully aware of the local Craigslist entries and that prostitution, at some minimal level, may be behind the entries. But so far, said the two, neither department has taken any active action. “We talked to the prosecutor about setting up some kind of stings on it,” Duke said, “but currently we haven’t proceeded with it.” “To be honest with you,” added Tennant, “we live in a university town and most people give it away for free. There isn’t a market.”
Question: Should police departments — even in small towns like Moscow and Pullman — crack down on prostitution? Or do you consider prostitution a high-priority crime?
Years ago, as a younger and far more foolish man, I listed my wife’s age in a newspaper column. That’s not a mistake a guy makes twice. So this week, when Victoria will celebrate A Significant Birthday, I’m at a complete loss for just what to say. When I tell co-workers and friends that I’m planning to take Friday off, they ask why. If I tell them why, they want a number. So I pretend that I didn’t hear the question, or that I speak only Portuguese. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it/Steve Crump, Twin Falls Times-News. More here.
Question (for the guys): What did you say the last time you found yourself in the dog house?
Spokane Police Officer Frank Erhart, confronts an angry homeowner who had just discovered his house at 2932 N. stone of had been extensively damaged in a fire Tuesday evening. Two family pets, a dog and a cat, died in the blaze. The fire is under investigation. (Colin Mulvany/Spokesman-Review)
I
had never been stung by a bee or a wasp. Perhaps for that reason, I’m very afraid of them. Many, many years ago, when I was quite young, I was at a picnic north of Los Angeles, eating apple pie. A bee landed on my lip, and walked around for what seemed like five minutes, but was probably only a few seconds, before it flew away. Anyway, Friday I reached into the mailbox, to grab the mail. As I grabbed onto the collection of mostly junk mail, I felt something like a cross between electric shock and fire in my finger—and then I saw the wasp in between the envelopes/Clayton Cramer. More here.
Question: When and where were you last stung by a wasp? How bad did it hurt?
So, I woke up this morning, my birthday morning, as an older woman. Older than yesterday when I was 59. And somehow jumped into another decade as I have just turned 60. Ok, now I can tell you that I was being kind of optimistically frivolous when I made up my 60 reasons I am excited about turning 60. It’s more like, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. I say it – 60 years old – and think to myself, uh, no that’s not me. That is not who I am. Age doesn’t describe the inner me. I am ageless in my mind – and you ask my two sons and they agree. I’m playful and goofy and pensive and romantic and introspective and soul searching. Has nothing to do with age/JeanieS, Nuts & Nonsense. More here.
Question: You can use this thread to wish a happy birthday to JeanieS. And/or to let other Merry Hucksters and her know at which age you felt “old”?
Motorist Renee Nichols snapped this photo of the fatal accident on Aqua this morning. The ISP has released the name of the man killed in the morning rollover @ Highway 95, just past Prairie, early this morning: Jamie A. Neverdahl, 33, of Post Falls. SR story here. ISP report here.
“If I had been your mother, I would have come up there and spanked your little butt,” said the retiree (Doris Baker) from Indian Valley. “You say that you’re for the people of this state, then you better start showing it and don’t let the Forest Service and these environmental groups tell us what to do”/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Do you agree that Gov. Butch Otter deserves to be spanked for his performance as th state’s chief executive this legislative session?
No Idaho teacher will be surprised by Nonini’s bald expression of resentment toward “those people” in the classroom. It helps explain the motivation behind much of what he has done as a legislator, and probably helps explain why Speaker Lawerence Denney appointed him to head the Education Committee. When speakers support the state’s public school system, they put education supporters in charge of that committee. When they don’t, they don’t/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Do you agree with opinionator Fisher that House GOP leadership appointed Nonini to chair the Education Committee because he’s against public education?
In this Sept. 1, 2008, file photo, then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks at a rally at the Marcus Amphitheater in Milwaukee. Today, he reaches an important milestone date for presidents — 100 days in office. Story here. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, FILE)
DFO: Comments by RedMan, Idawa, BlueinIdaho, & Brand X Ranch are included in a roundup of reaction of Obama’s first 100 days that begins on the SR’s Page One today. Link here.
Question: What is the most significant change that Barack Obama has brought about in his first 100 days in office?
Item: Avista’s quarterly earnings up 23 percent/Becky Kramer, SR
More Info: Avista Corp. reported improved first quarter earnings, citing revenue growth from higher electric and natural gas rates, as well as growth in the number of customers the utility serves. Avista reported net income of $31 million, or 57 cents per share, compared to net income of $25.2 million, or 47 cents per share, during the first quarter of 2008. The results were released this morning.
Question: Aren’t you, ahem, delighted that Avista’s doing so well, when so many others are struggling in our sour economy?
When St. Maries Police chief Fred Cruzan sends an officer to the police academy for certification in October, the officer will drive 8 hours to the state’s Meridian academy instead of the 50-minute drive to attend the academy in Coeur d’Alene. Although it is less than an hour away, the Coeur d’Alene Police Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) Academy is too expensive, said Chief Cruzan. The state-run Coeur d’Alene academy costs between $1,200 and $1,500 per officer, but officers can train free at the Meridian academy. Benewah County Sheriff Robert Kirts won’t send his officers to Coeur d’Alene either. “I can’t afford $1,200 per hit,” said the sheriff/Ralph Bartholdt, St. Maries Gazette-Record. More here.
Question: Despite the higher cost, do you think it’s still a good thing overall to have a POST academy in North Idaho?
Item: NIC mill acquisition nears end: Land cleanup one of major hurdles to closing the deal/Maureen Dolan, CdA Press
More Info: North Idaho College is moving closer to gaining possession of the DeArmond Mill site. The college, its foundation and lending sources are ironing out the final details of a complex land transaction expected to be completed sometime this summer, more than a year after Stimson Lumber Company, current owner of the 17-acre site, processed its last log at the mill that once stood adjacent to the college. They’re getting ready to clear one of the major hurdles to closing the deal — making sure the land has a clean bill of health.
Question: What will the Education Corridor mean to Coeur d’Alene 25 years from now?
Scott MacDonald of the UIdaho Argonaut points out that Idaho has the 7th highest suicide rate in the nation. He looks at the problem as it affects UI students here. Photo illustration Jake Barber/UI Argonaut.
In the HBO Poll Tuesday, a plurality of 32% (17 of 53 respondents) said that their top worry in sending a kid off to college is that s/he will goof off. Another 23% (12 of 53) were concerned said child would party too much. And 17% (9 of 53) feared what would happen when the child encountered values different from those s/he learned at home.
JeanieS: Here’s the conundrum. I can buy gas in Spokane at $2.29 a gallon for a
total in my 12-gallon tank of $27.48. Or, I can buy gas in Coeur
d’Alene at $2.09 a gallon (.20 less per gallon) for a total of $25.08,
a savings of $2.40. However, in the 30 mile round trip drive, using one
gallon, I will end up only saving a grand total of 31 cents, plus an
hour out of my day. I love you guys – but 31 pennies doesn’t put food
on my table.
Question: What generally brings you Spokane Merry Hucksters to Spokane?
John Austin: DFO, did you notice that the Fourth Street Improvement Project bid
came in $70,000 under the engineer’s estimate? That’s a trend we’re
seeing around north Idaho as the economy has hit that sector hard. In
Kingston, the low bid for water system improvements came in $400,000
under the estimate. Good time for governments to get those capital projects going, I’d say.
Question: John points out a silver lining in these bad economic times. Can you think of another silver lining that’s happening to you during the recession?
Moscow Minidoka: Why does Nonini hate teachers so much? And how does someone who 
HATES TEACHERS, has NO CHILDREN, and thus has had NO INVOLVEMENT in public education get to be the chair of the committee? Do we have a Mormon in charge of the State Liquor Dispensary? How did this guy get elected? And how did he get this committee chairmanship? I’d articulate my honest feelings about Nonini, but DFO would delete the post - I’d better leave it at that.
Question: Do you think a legislator w/o children or college degree should be chairman of the House Education Committee?
James Bond: I don’t know what it’s like up there, but the sheer number of sports
teams in high 
schools has got to be double what it was when I was in
school, and I was at a huge high school. I walk into new schools now,
and they are soooooooooooooo much nicer and have a lot more stuff than
we did. I live in Boise now, and within 1 mile of my home are 3
elementary schools, only one of which is anywhere near capacity. We
have a junior high about 2 miles away that is maybe 50% capacity. I see
a lot of things I don’t like in government, but our education funding
system is about the worst. There are areas where more money is needed,
but there are a lot of areas where I see incredible excess.
Question: Do you agree w/James Bond that the Idaho education system has a lot of areas that contain “incredible excess”?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
In the news this evening, Repub turncoat Arlen Specter condemned Jim Jeffords’ switch in 2001 here. Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is confirmed as health secretary here. Obama orders review of that flight that frightened New York and cost $328,835 here. Cruise lines are avoiding swine flu-plagued Mexico here. And the latest Wild Card remains in play …
Chicago White Sox catcher Corky Miller, left, congratulates relief pitcher Bobby Jenks after their 2-1 win against the Seattle Mariners in the first game of a baseball doubleheader in Chicago this afternoon. Jenks is a former Spirit Lake area ballplayer. The White Sox and M’s are now playing the second game of the twinbill. The Mariners, behind Felix Hernandez, are leading 4-0 in the third inning of the second game here. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
We set out to find out who has the cheapest groceries in town - scoping out WinCo Foods, Wal-Mart, Fred Meyer and of course, Albertsons. In each store, we took a list of 13 common items – including ground beef, potatoes, some eggs, a box of cereal and more/KTVB. More here.
Question: KTVB in Boise provided the story snippet and link above. However, the idea by the station to find the cheapest grocery store in its area is a good one. Do any of you Merry Hucksters have an idea re: which grocery store in Kootenai County or your community is the least expensive?
Despite the on again - off again Spring in North Idaho, fields of wildflowers color the walking trails at Q’emiln Park on the Spokane River in Post Falls/Councilwoman KerriT, OnLocation North Idaho.
Filipino children look as scantily clad members of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA, hold a protest in front of Manila’s Zoo, Philippines on Tuesday. The group is calling for a boycott of Manila Zoo for making animals live like prisoners behind bars. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Top Cutlines:
Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, blasted an early retirement incentive program for teachers as a “golden parachute” Tuesday, and said teachers who no longer want to teach should “just gracefully retire and go to the golf course.” His comments sparked a protest to House leadership by Democrats on the House Education Committee, which Nonini chairs. They came as Nonini championed a last-minute bill to retroactively eliminate the early-retirement program and make other changes in public school funding - even though the Senate has specifically rejected that idea/Betsy Russell, SR. More here.
Question: What do you think of Nonini’s analysis re: retiring teachers getting a “golden parachute”?
The all-female band Raining Jane will perform at North Idaho College Wednesday, May 6. The band has performed at the college several times and has been well-received by NIC students and community members alike. The rock-folk band is made up of guitarist and cellist Mai loomfield, guitarist Chaska Potter, drummer Mona Tavakoli and bassist/guitarist Becky Gebhardt. All four band members provide vocals and contribute to songwriting. More here. Question: Which all-female do you consider to be the best of all time?
After plummeting from record highs late last year, prices have inched upward ever since 
January. That’s true across the board, but of course it’s often the differences in prices among regions that attract our attention — the steady difference of 15 to 20 cents a gallon between Spokane and Coeur d’Alene is the one that most often catches our attention. … Experts have said the difference results from a combination of factors: lower gas taxes in Idaho, generally higher wholesale gas prices as it’s pumped west from refineries in Montana, and the possibility that Washington gas retailers may have to raise their prices a bit to make up for business lost of Idaho/Shawn Vestal, Everyday Economy. More here.
Question: Anyone mind that gas is 20 cents per gallon cheaper in Idaho than Washington?
Several free events will be held in conjunction with a cleanup of North Idaho College’s Yap-Keehn-Um Beach beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 2. Community members are welcome to help with the cleanup. A barbecue and open beach volleyball will be held following the cleanup. All events are free and open to the public. The events are sponsored by the NIC American Indian Student Alliance, Outdoor Pursuits, NIC’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe/NIC Press Room.
Dorothy, left, and Lavern Utley of Rochester Hills, Mich. hold their dog, Tinker Bell Monday in Waterford Township, Mich. Tinker Bell has been reunited with her owners after a 70-mph gust of wind on Saturday picked up the six-pound Chihuahua and tossed her out of sight. (AP Photo/The Detroit News, Mark Hicks)
Question: Any chihuahua lovers out there? Tell us something re: this breed of dog (other than it’s small, of course)?
Item: Almost half of us worry about losing our jobs/Seattle P-I
More Info: Two out of every five Washington residents are worried about losing their jobs, according to a survey released Tuesday. The increasing unemployment rate and fears about the economy’s getting worse have made workers more pessimistic, the Washington State Workplace Confidence Survey shows. The survey showed that 40 percent of Washington residents over age 18 and across almost all income levels fear job loss.
Question: Are you afraid of losing your job?
Item: Alliance plans Tea Party 2 for Monday to demand that Legislature adjourn/Idaho Values Alliance action alert
More Info: The Senate has the constitutional authority to call the House back into session next Monday if it 
chooses, but highly placed sources in the legislature tell me the only reason they would do so is an attempt to force the House to crumple under pressure and become complicit in raising our taxes. So, if the House is forced to come back to town next Monday, at a cost of a cool $30,000 a day to you and me, it will only be because the Senate has joined forces with the governor in trying to push through a tax increase during a recession, a foolish and economically harmful prospect at any time, and inexcusable coming from lawmakers who carry the GOP banner/Bryan Fischer, Idaho Values Alliance. More Action Alert here.
Question: Would you like to see the forces that staged the Tea Parties around Idaho on April 15 reform to pressure the Idaho Legislature to adjourn?
Museum of North Idaho director Dorothy Dahlgren, right, talked about their new exhibit about women loggers at the museum in Coeur d’Alene on Friday. Story here. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review)
CindyH: On this day in 1985, a handsome helicopter pilot approached me after
church on a Sunday evening and asked if I’d like to see a movie with him. We saw “The Purple Rose of Cairo” at the Fox theater, and then had pie and hot chocolate at Shari’s on North Division. We talked until 2 AM. The next day, my mom asked how the date went. I replied, “It was the best first date I’ve ever had.” It wasn’t the last. We’ve been dating ever since :-)
Question: Do you remember your first date with your spouse or SO?
To guard your health
from flu and grippe,
don’t kiss your swine
upon the lip.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
Item: UIdaho senior dies from alcohol overdose/Idaho Statesman
Vickie Holbrook/From The Editor: My son and I had pretty open discussions about what happened in college. In fact, he had a very scary situation occur when one of his classmates drank too much during the fall semester as freshman. My son and friends found him and got him to the hospital. Fortunately, the young man lived and a lot of young college students learned a very hard lesson early on: Friends must watch out for each other. More here.
Question: On Monday, Huckleberries Online posted a story in which Playboy declared WSU to be the No. 16 party school in the nation. On the same day, news arrived that a UI senior had died from drinking. Have you talked to your college son or daughter re: the dangers of too much drinking?
In this Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006 file photo, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, right, speaks with Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, before the start of a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Several officials on Tuesday said veteran Sen. Specter intends to switch parties, advancing his own hopes of winning a new term next year while pushing Democrats one step closer to a 60-vote filibuster-resistant majority. Story here. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Question: Do you respect a politician who switches parties for political expediency? Or: Is a filibuster-proof Senate good for the country?
Item: CdA school district to trim sports, activities 11%: Some upset that cuts being made after passage of $7.8M school levy/Maureen Dolan, CdA Press
More Info: The district’s proposed entire athletics and activities budget for next year is nearly $1.5 million representing an 11 percent, or $187,000, reduction from the nearly $1.7 million in this year’s budget for activities. The $1.5 million for next year includes the money from the levy and an additional $161,000 from the district’s general fund. “The only misunderstanding was when we said that all building budgets would be cut in half, we meant all building budgets,” Bauman said.
Question: Do you believe school administrators are being responsible here, in trimming budgets for activities and athletics. Or did they fail to warn that the cuts would be made, despite passage of the school levy?
The University of Idaho’s alums and boosters got the president they wanted. But at a cost that should give all Idahoans some pause. The university’s foundation will be allowed to kick in more than a tenth of President Duane Nellis’ $335,000-a-year salary - because the State Board of Education was willing to cast aside policy in order to close a deal. There is a making-things-up-on-the-fly feel to this. Considering the State Board’s past lapses in attention to detail, this is more than a little bit troubling. In fairness to the board, the search for a new U of I president was turning into a fiasco/Idaho Statesman Editorial Board. More here.
Question: Did the method used by the University of Idaho to hire Duane Nellis make you easy, by allowing the university’s foundation to chip in money to reach an acceptable pay figure?
Many have said they were shocked when they heard Prejean’s response. I think I was more 
shocked to hear she did not give the traditional politically correct answer. Buzzwords that are thrown around whenever controversies like this one arise seem a bit misleading. Politics might be on Miss California’s side. All those attacking Prejean seem to forget, not only is Prejean a so-called bigot, the majority of the state of California, 46 other states and President Barack Obama agree with her. According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, 55 percent of Americans agree with Prejean. If anything, she was properly representing her state. People need to live with the fact some people have different views. She answered as respectfully as one could and did not attack Perez for his views. CNN contributor Roland Martin recently wrote, “The day we condemn folks for speaking honestly is the day we become a bland society”/Jeffrey Reznicek, UI Argonaut. More here.
Question: What do you think of the flap involving Miss California?
Tire tracks were cut into Guy Wicks field on UIdaho campus earlier this month when a vehicle was used to knock down a pedestrian sign and tear out turf. According to University of Idaho emergency and security services officer Ryan Bretalotto, there has been an increase in vandalism across the campus. Courtesy Photo.
In the final tabulation from the weekend toll, 47% (100 out of 214) gave President Barack Obama A’s (61) or B’s (39) for his performance over his first 100 days of office, while 44% (94 of 214) gave him D’s (52) and F’s (42). Only 9% (20) took a middle ground and awarded him C’s. All of which is a good indication that this site has achieved political balance.
Cis: It always amazes me each year, we have a strain of some kind of flu
and people go wild. When the death rate comes at 20 to even 100 … it is
hard to get excited. When there are over 100,000 dying every year from
the common flu … So am I worried? No. And yes, the correct
thing to do, be it flu, or colds. is wash your hands, wash your hands,
and make dang sure your Dr. and nurses wash their hands if you go. And never have a shot of something you don’t know the side effects.
Question: We get warned and warned to wash our hands all the time during flu season. Do you?
Brent Andrews: Picked up a hula hoop at a church retreat a couple of weeks ago on a
lark. I 
hadn’t seen one in years. To my wife’s dismay and embarassment
I proceeded to style that hoop up and down and around and around, until
I drew a small crowd of surprised kids. I can send the hoop down to my
thighs then bring it up to my chest whirling all the while. I only
dropped it when I tried to go below the knee. I don’t know what being
an awesome hoola-hooper says about me. There is no cornier thing than a
grown man working a hula hoop, but it’s hecka fun.
Question: What kind of corny thing can you do to embarrass your kids, wife, or friends?
JohnA: I remember when Playboy compiled their list in the mid-70s and
failed to include the U of I. Many thought it was an honest oversight
seeing as how the lower Idaho drinking age encouraged a flood of Wazzu
students to cross the border. Anyway, when someone checked with an editor at Playboy, they said
they couldn’t include the U of I on their list because they only
recognized ‘amateur’ party schools! Made sense to us after that.
Question: Were you much of a partier in college?
OtisGExperience: Kalae Chock … seems like someone who’d be fun to b.s. with at a
coffee 
shop. And, of course, she’s extremely attractive … in an exotic
kind of way. I kinda wish they’d find her a new co-host, though…
they’re a bit of an odd couple. She’s spunky and fresh, and he’s kinda
straight-laced and “same-old.” But then again, I’m a captive audience… KXLY is the only network
channel I pick up at my house with those weird extendable wire things.
I always hear people talking about “other” channel.
Question: Which Spokane station do you watch for local news?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
In the news this evening, a jet fly-over of lower Manhattan triggered a panic today here. Fox won’t air Obama’s prime-time press conference Wednesday here. Swine flu delays the Mexico release of ‘Wolverine’ here. The fiancee still stands by accused Craigslist killer here. WHO raises swine flu alert to unprecedented level here. And the Wild Card remains in play …
Painter Michael D’Antuono has decided not to unveil his controversial painting, “The Truth,” on President Obama’s 100th Day in Office at NYC’s Union Square this week after receiving widespread negative reaction to it. You can read about that here. (PRNewsFoto/NOAH G POP FAM)
Question: What do you think of the D’Antuono painting?
CindyH: It happened again. I’m driving down the road when “Babe” by Styxx comes on the radio. Instantly, I’m 15 again, and hearing Ricky Donovan’s voice on the KJRB dedication line. “I’m dedicating this song to Cindy. ‘Cuz, uh. She’s my babe.” Sigh. I’m wondering if other Hucksters out there have songs that work like a time-machine for them?
JeanieS: My time-machine song is Rod McKuen’s “Jean” from 1969. I got married on December 19, 1969 and my future husband and best man went from piano bar to piano bar the night before in Spokane, constantly requesting that song until the best man got sick and tired of it about the 29th pass.
Question: “House of the Rising Sun” by Eric Burdon & The Animals takes me back to summer 1966 and a first crush that never went anywhere. Which song takes you back to your Glory Days?
The historical mural wall in the rotunda of Post Falls City Hall dwarfs visitors like Emily Park of Blackfoot. Town founder Frederick Post is immortalized on the mural, posts Councilwoman KerriT, OnLocation North Idaho.
Entrants in the Conch Republic Bed Race propel their entry down Duval Street Saturday in Key West, Fla. The wacky event was one of the closing activities in the 10-day long Conch Republic Independence Celebration. The festival commemorates Key West’s 1982 “secession” from America, after the United States established a surprise roadblock at the top of the Florida Keys Overseas Highway ostensibly searching for illegal drugs and aliens. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Florida Keys News Bureau, Rob O’Neal)
Top Cutlines (Monday):
Went to the staff recognition awards today and got a certificate for 25 years recognition. Looking at my certificate I got for my 20 I wonder if I will get one someday that isn’t signed by an interim UI president/JeanC’s Cat House & Shooting Gallery.
But Jon Hanian, press secretary for Gov. Butch Otter, said lawmakers are mistaken if they viewed the governor’s letter to them this morning as a surrender on transportation funding. “There’s nothing in that letter that says anything about that he’s walking away from transportation funding,” Hanian said. “That’s not what the governor is doing.” Asked specifically, Hanian said, “It’s not a white flag”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here. Decide for yourself here.
A few days ago I mentioned the birthday card I got from Don Johnson. It was 1986. Just at the height of Miami Vice mania. I watched that show every week and had a huge crush on the star. I loved his pink shirts and rolled up jacket sleeves and loafers with no socks. I loved his fast cars and even faster boats. I loved that he had a pet alligator. He was cool. Very cool. Well, very cool in 1986. I even bought his record when it came out/Jen, A Butterfly Moment. More here.
Question: Did you have a crush on a movie or television star when you were a young teen?
Swim specialist Kendra VanNorman, left, laughs as Lacey pops out of the water with his toy at the Swim Spaw, a Poulsbo, Wash. business. On the right is the dogs owner Susan Perry of Port Orchard. Perry brings in her dogs to the facility for agility training. Janice Hill a veterinary assistant who worked at a clinic in Kingston, saw many dogs, some old and arthritic, others recovering from injuries and surgeries, who they thought might have benefited from low-impact exercise in water just as people with joint problems may find swimming or aquatic aerobics helpful. The existence of therapy pools for dogs dates back at least 13 years, (AP Photo/Kitsap Sun, Larry Steagall) Question: What do you think of this Washington business?
Terry (Cooper, of the Downtown Association) shared that this site has been wonderful for hosting several downtown events. This year, the Association assumed operational management of
Question: Would you want to see an events center for things like a Farmers Market (bulleted item No. 1) be established on McCuen Field?
As the world worried the other day over its growing energy woes, I saw a small girl suffering through a traditional form of transportation powered by twin forces of nature - her own little legs and a grandfather’s love. She was maybe 5 or 6. And there she was on a bike path along the Snake River, riding a shiny little pink bicycle with a gray-haired protector trotting alongside ready to catch her if she fell. She was there with her grandpa doing what we all must do - what we all long to do at that age: She was learning to ride a bicycle/Bill Hall, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Who taught you how to ride a bike?
Once again, Washington State University has made a national list of top party schools. This 
time, WSU came in at No. 16 on Playboy Magazine’s periodic ranking. It was No. 18 on the 2002 list, and has been included in the Princeton Review’s list in previous years. “It doesn’t trouble me at all,” WSU Vice President for Equity and Diversity Mike Tate said of the ranking, noting his belief that the university should be known for its academic programs, not partying. “We know who we are and we know what we are as a university.” But WSU has suffered from an increasing level of alcohol-fueled assaults and accidents in recent months, Pullman Police Commander Chris Tennant said. “Assault cases are going up,” Tennant said. “We’re seeing more and more broken bones and facial injuries”/Joel Mills, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Did you attend a party school? (My alma mater, Chico State, is No. 20, after being No. 2 in 2002.) Is it some to be proud/ashamed of?
A group of children have a front row seat for the Asotin County Fair parade Saturday in Asotin, Wash. (AP Photo/Lewiston Tribune, Kyle Mills)
Hostess Ana Cabrera is my favorite news gal ever. She’s pretty, down-to-earth and sincere, not overly made up and scattery like Sunshine Shelly or uberdetached like Concerned-Eyebrow Queen Stephanie Vigil. She likes to make little dorky jokes, little comments on the music. She’s somebody you’d want to hang out with anyway, mix up some International Delights coffee, stretch out on the couch and paint each other’s toenails while catching up on the week’s news and gossip. Lately her foil has been Tom Durian, who I do like in kind of a mellow, Eeyore sort of way, but I miss the jazz and high energy of her usual co-host Sean Owsley. Sean, Sean, where have you gone?/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. More here.
Question: Who is your favorite Spokane female newscaster?
Gov. Butch Otter sent a letter to every member of the Senate and House of Representatives 
this morning, thanking them for their work this session and their friendship. “We all have gotten more than our fair share of news media coverage the past few weeks - most of it negative, focused on our challenges and a few issues on which we have not yet reached agreement,” Otter wrote. “I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for those many issues on which we have worked together so well and effectively, and on which we have made real progress and agreed on real solutions for the people we serve. There is far too little coverage of the success stories of this legislative session, and of the honorable and noteworthy job you are doing under extraordinarily difficult economic conditions”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Do you agree with the AP’s John Miller (second bulleted item) that Gov. Butch Otter’s legacy is at stake in the battle over increased Transportation funding?
The denizens at Priest Lake seem to be more open to au naturel outdoor activities than the Swiss, as is evident by this photo provided by Pecky Cox/As The Lake Churns. Pecky tells Huckleberries Central that the sign hangs along the Priest Lake Beach trail on west side of lake.
Question: Are you concerned re: the swine flu outbreak and subsequent emergency health declaration?
An outbreak of swine flu in at least five states has prompted a declaration throughout the United States of a public health emergency. Although no cases of swine flu have been diagnosed in the five northern counties of Idaho, Panhandle Health District (PHD) is working with health care providers, schools, governments and more in the region to monitor the situation. About 7,000 doses of antiviral medication are heading to northern Idaho from the federal stockpile. The antivirals should arrive within a week. The medication is for people diagnosed with swine flu and will be distributed to health care providers, if needed/Cynthia Taggart, Panhandle Area Health spokeswoman. More here.
Huckleberries hears of a close encounter between a Berry Picker and two city workers who were cleaning up the beach between the Coeur d’Alene Resort and Independence Point Sunday morning. Seems the worker bees didn’t take into account the wet shifting sand at the beach — and were stuck. The Berry Picker noticed the bad tires on their rig, and offered to pull them out with his 4-by-4 pickup and a tow rope. The BP said he could do so without getting driving onto the beach and tearing it up any further. But the city workers declined the offer, stating that they’d call in a tractor of some sort from elsewhere in town. One way or the other, you can bet the truck will be gone and the sand smoothed in time for tourist season.
People in Appenzell Inner Rhodes, Switzerland, vote by raising their hands on Sunday. Voters have banned naked hiking after dozens of mostly German nudists started rambling through their picturesque region. By a show of hands citizens of the tiny canton of Appenzell Inner Rhodes voted overwhelmingly at their traditional open-air annual assembly to impose a 200 Swiss franc ($176) fine on violators. (AP Photo/KEYSTONE/Ennio Leanza)
Question: How would you have voted on the issue, if it affected your town?
When the Aryan Nations compound was publicly bulldozed eight years ago, many people here thought they had seen the end of a neo-Nazi group that brought notoriety and violence to this part of the Northwest. But the group has surfaced again, distributing fliers that say it is recruiting members to create a “world headquarters” here. That has drawn the attention of the human rights advocates who helped destroy the old Aryan Nations/AP story in New York Times. More here.
Related: Encountering white supremacy in Inland Northwest/Whitworthian
Question: The AP report of the leaflet distribution by individual purportedly associated with the Aryan Nations was published in the New York Times as well as papers around the country. Is there any way for the region to combat such publicity?
Item: 6-story building planned on old Senor Froggy’s site/Nils Rosdahl, SR Handle Extra
More Info: About two years ago this location held Señor Froggy’s, a popular Mexican fast-food eatery. Suddenly it was torn down to make way for investment property. It has taken a little while, but evidently the bucks are right for that to happen. The Plaza on Sherman, a six-story office building, is planned for this southeast corner of Sherman Avenue and Seventh Street. Offering views of Lake Coeur d’Alene and downtown, the Plaza will have balconies on the top three floors and include the downtown amenities of shopping, restaurants and lakeside living. At 70,000 square feet of leasable office space, it will include underground parking and large view windows.
Question: Do you mind another tall building on Sherman Avenue?
My Henry’s career didn’t last that long before I realized that sweaty kitchen work wasn’t my forte and found employment at a record shop instead. Still, it remained a go-to place to eat at least once a week, and became a regular neighborhood night-spot, dimly-lit and frequented by a boisterously entertaining crowd of local movers and shakers. It was truly a great place to watch local politicos and business bigwigs get completely blotto and cause uproar. The scene could get rowdy, but like Las Vegas, what happened at Henry’s stayed at Henry’s. No one cared; it was all in good fun/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. More here.
Question: Did you ever work in a restaurant — as a hostess, waiter, bus boy, cook, dishwasher, etc. What was that experience like?
Coeur d’Alene resident Muriel Buckner gave a demonstration of how to use a Hula hoop on the grounds of The Coeur d’Alene Library on Wednesday. She has decided to help people discover a fun path to fitness with the use of Hula hoops. Story here. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
Question: Did you ever know how to Hula-Hoop?
Mebbe HBO has finally achieved some sort of ideological balance, if the weekend poll is any indication. On Saturday, HBO asked readers to grade President Barack Obama’s performance over his first 100 days in office. Of the 187 responses, 89 (or 47%) gave the president A’s (29%) and B’s (18%). On the other end, 80 (43%) gave him D’s (25%) or F’s (18%). Eighteen chose middle ground and gave him C’s (10%). You can still vote in the poll by clicking here.
JeanieS: I just got back from getting my license renewed. Oh.My.God. I want a
“do over”! I think it has to be the worst picture I have ever had taken
of myself. I look like a convict! Just think - if something happens to
me to make the news, they will use my license picture! GACK!
Question: Do you look anything like the photo on your driver’s license?
Bent: “Cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon/Little boy blue and the man on the moon/When 
you coming home dad…I don’t when/But we’ll get together then, yeah/You know we’ll have good time then …” DFO, after all my days (and nights) working in the newspaper
business, this song haunts me. My kids’ biggest complaint growing up
was that I was never home. So far, I have been lucky with both my oldest children living close by. I just hope they don’t grow up to be “just like me…” (Excuse me while I go hug my last two kids.)
Question: How do you react when you hear Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle”?
Chatterbox: My immediate supervisor is a dream and a blessing to work with/for. She
is honest, 
fun-loving, hard-working, understanding and treats her
empoyees as adults. Our boss, however, is a different story. He is the
director of the department and has a difficult time making a
decision…any decision. Things have to be discussed over and over and
over again. And then thought about for a couple of weeks. Then
discussed again because he’s forgotten what was discussed the first
time around. Several key employees are tied up in meetings throughout
the week that use up 8-9 hours that could be used much more productively.
Question: Describe the worst boss you’ve ever had?
HMOffsuite: No doubt about it, hopping in classic car takes you right back to the
day. When people see me at a stop sign, they see an old guy driving an
old car. And, I am looking back through the eyes of an 18 year old.
That is what drives the collector car business. Most people either want
the first or favorite car in their lives or want the one they couldn’t
ever have, but always wanted, and left it to the rich kid down the street.
Question: What was the make and model of your first car? How old were you at the time you took possession of it?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
You still have time to vote in this weekend’s poll, rating Barack Obama on his first 100 days as president. At this point, you Merry Hucksters who think he has performed A or B work outnumber those who believes he has earned a D or worse. More than 100 have voted so far. The polls will stay open until Monday morning. Also, the editors are looking for your opinion of Obama’s first 100 days, in 100 words or less. You’ve provided two dozen comments so far, beginning on Thursday. I’ve re-posted the original thread just below this Wild Card. The best comments will be published in our Wednesday paper. You can also try your hand at the cutline contest. Or the other posts that are held over from Saturday. Enjoy your Sunday. I’ll see you back here on Monday …
The Spokesman-Review is compiling a package of stories and comments to observe President Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office next Wednesday. As part of that package, we’d like to have your observations about the new president and his administration — in 100 words or less. Editors will select the best comments and publish them with the Wednesday package. You can use your pseudonym. So here’s the question:
Question: Wednesday marks President Barack Obama’s 100th day in office. Tell us whether you’ve changed your mind about him, and why or why not?
Dirt flies as Hunter Owens, 5, of Lewiston, Idaho holds on tight as his sheep during the mutton bustin, drags him across the arena floor at the kids rodeo Friday in Asotin, Wash. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Lewiston Tribune, Kyle Mills)
Top Cutlines:
I came across an interesting graphic last week. It displayed, in
varying shades of blue, the state-by-state unemployment rates. The
darker the shade of blue on the map, the higher was the unemployment
rate. It occurred to me that I had seen a similar map. In fact, it
looked a lot like last November’s electoral map. So I tracked
down a map that showed which states voted for which candidate in last
year’s presidential election and, sure enough, with a few exceptions,
those states with the worst unemployment were Obama’s states. I
checked another site that rated states as blue (Democratic) versus red
(Republican) and found that the correlation, though, not quite as good,
still matched pretty well. That great swath of middle America,
from the Dakotas to Texas, from the Mississippi to the intermountain
West, is suffering far less pain during this recession than the mostly
blue West Coast, Great Lakes states and the Northeast/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: What do you think of Costello’s analysis that tries to equate Obama/blue states with higher unemployment?
Walking into Michael D’s reminds me of growing up in Colorado. Occasionally my family would visit friends who lived in a farmhouse out in the country. That’s what this feels like to me. Very eclectic, but yet themed with country, farm, farm animals, and miscellaneous signs & plaques.I feel I’m back in the kitchen or front porch of some farmer & his wife during breakfast time. With the exception of the farmer coming out of the barn with a steel bucket of fresh milk of course.The employees are friendly, but laid back. Maybe country casual is a better way to describe it. Don’t get me wrong… they are way above truck stop employees/Dad’s Diner. More here
Question: What’s your opinion of Michael D’s?
Me: Fitting - do you see my new avatar? If all goes well one of those will be mine Wednesday. I have wanted one since they were announced. Decided I better do it. I’m helping the economy right?
Question: If you had the vehicle you desired most, what would it be?
JeanieS: I have been a secretary since I was 18 years old. It has its challenges
and its rewards. The difficult part is dealing with the personality of
your boss and multitasking multiple bosses. I majored in college in
social work and music - and the social work skills have been a boon
working with clients AND bosses. I wrote about my job a few years back
here
Question: Is your boss easy to work with?
Brand X Ranch: My brother and I fought constantly … with big, bad, potentially lethal blows. We fought in the hose, outside, and everywhere! The
biggest and bloodiest one was on Sunday after church on the church lawn
as our two groups of friends encircled us screaming and cheering. Our
dad was the Pastor. We were both grounded for a long time.
Question: Are any of you Merry Hucksters a “PK”: Pastor’s Kid. Or is there a member of your extended family who is a pastor?
Truly: Kids coming home!!!! I don’t know about any of you but I have to say
– when they grow and leave you it hurts. When they can come home for
whatever reason (in our case a funeral) it doesn’t matter — they are
coming home!!! My heart is skipping and the house has been cleaned and
floors mopped (like they care) but I do:) I am soooo excited!!!! God I
sound pathetic but I don’t care about that either!!! I am just so
excited to have a full on hug from my Sam!!!
Question: Are you lucky enough to have your children living nearby (those of you with grownup ones)? Or are they scattered to the wind like mine are?
Escapee: I understand him a more and more as time goes on, as I go through some
of the 
emotions he went through. I was in awe of him. I knew I could
never be as good as he was. He was the kind of person who could do
anything, and I mean, anything. He was dashing in a Clark Gable sort of
way. Later on, I saw an interview with Jackie Gleason; by that time,
Gleason was old, gray and very cynical, that that, too, reminded me of
Dad. Dad worked hard, very very hard. My Dad was the classic definition
of ‘old school’, ‘by the book’, and when he meant something, he Really
Meant something. And more than anything, I hope he’s at peace now,
because I don’t think he ever was when he was alive. Full post below.
Question: What is/was your father like?
In the news this evening, there’s an interesting story in the Seattle P-I re: conservative blogger Stefan “Shark” Sharkansky winning a $225K settlement with King County for refusing to provide public documents here. You can read the Seattle Times story on the aborted Apple Cup move to Qwest Field here. The S-R’s still looking for your thoughts on President Obama’s first 100 days in office here. And the Wild Card remains in play as we head into the weekend …
Idaho Dad/A Family Runs Through It is among the first to pick up his Kroc Center membership for his family of four. He e-mails: I picked up our family membership for the Kroc Center today. I don’t know if you’ve already mentioned this on HBO, but they have started signing people up at the old CdA Library. And, here’s the great news. From now until April 30th, the $50 sign-up fee is being waived. So get down there soon and save some money! You can find membership rates here.
Question: Do you think the Kroc Center rates are reasonable?
I’ve raised a whole brood of kids (and a hubby) that are addicted to white noise. It all started with my husband working the night shift … and I needed a way to keep the noise level down while I home schooled the children many moons ago. Then Patrick decided he couldn’t get to sleep without a fan running in his room (just for the noise). This went on even in the winter time with him. Ann has her own exhaust fan in her bedroom closet … a closet that one day may be my main floor laundry room … thus it was set up with the fan & a light; some nights I get up just to turn her fan off … I won’t even mention that I also hear her phone beeping every few minutes with a message waiting most nights/Mrs. Mac Energetic, Whatever Happened To … More here.
Question: Do you like to have some sort of noise going on around you at all/most times?
“She’s been going to dog parks since she was a baby,” said Dorothy Hatch of Coeur d’Alene about her 13-year-old Golden retriever Cassie on Wednesday. The two were in a field at the corner of Nez Perce and Atlas Road, the future site of Coeur d’Alene’s first dog park. Story here.
Lanie Towell wears a red door over a wedding dress to demonstrate against immigration through fraudulent marriages on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada on Thursday. Towell’s husband left her after she sponsored him to immigrate to Canada. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Fred Chartrand)
Top Cutlines:
Over the past six years, North America Sports, owner of Ford Ironman, has contributed more than $180,000 to the
Hold my hand, daddy. Don’t let go. Hold my hand, don’t drift away too far.
Hold my hand, help me try something new. Steady me, just be there with me. Tell me it’s going to be alright.
Someday, son, I’ll have to let go. Someday, I’ll have to let you skate on your own. Someday, son, I won’t be there to hold your hand.
But, right now, I’m here. Right now, I’m not going anywhere. Right now, I’m holding your hand.
Daddy, I only want to talk about right now. Let’s not remember the future. Let’s remember the now.
Ok, son. Ok.
Toadman/Synaptic Disunion
It is a difficult job if it is done right. There are plenty of folks, mostly women, who are exceptional secretaries. … My mom was right up there with the best of them. Mom was a secretary back when they were still called “secretary”, when pencils, shorthand, carbon paper, little eraser wheels with a brush on the end, and typewriter ribbon were still in style. She took all the classes in High School that would enable her be competent/JanTri, Brand X Ranch. More here.
Question: Have you ever performed secretarial work? How difficult is the job?
It’s time for the Legislature to wrap up its business and go home. As House leaders, we recognize there may be a day and time that we need to consider raising the fuel tax to supply more revenue for our roads and bridges. But this is not the day or time to raise them, considering the record amount of financing available for highways in Idaho. The votes for a fuel tax increase have not been there after multiple tries in the House and we don’t see many colleagues changing their minds./Reps. Lawerence Denney, Mike Moyle, Scott Bedke and Ken Roberts. Full Eye On Boise post.
Dozens of Spokane County employees are taking a 15% pay cut to avoid anyone being laid off. Unlike most of other agencies the Building and Planning Department in Spokane County relies solely on revenue. That revenue is made from new construction. Demand is down on construction projects. So now the department is making cuts. Instead of lay offs the employee’s union decide to shoulder the burden as a whole. Everyone will take a 15% cut. A union staff representative says there are a majority of people not at risk for the layoffs who still voted to save jobs/KREM2, More here.
Question: What would you be willing to do — in terms of pay cut, furlough, 4-day week, loss of benefits — to enable your co-workers to keep jobs and help your employer through this tough economic time?
In this April 17 file photo, Capt. Richard Phillips, center, hugs his children after arriving on a plane in South Burlington, Vt. At left is son, Daniel; at right is daughter, Mariah. According to the Pew Research Center for People & The Press, in a recent survey, 34 percent of the respondents named the Somali pirate story, in which U.S. cargo ship skipper Richard Phillips was rescued by Navy snipers after five days held hostage in a lifeboat, as the most-followed news story. The economy came in second, at 27 percent. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
Question: Why are we so fascinated by the Somali pirate story?
Item: ‘Storms Never Last’: Smelterville woman writes story of triumph in long battle against epilepsy, abuse/Sarah Rose Fredlund, Shoshone News-Press
Review: “A story of multiple obstacles on life’s road, including a childhood injury followed by progressive epilepsy, physical and sexual abuse, and parents who assume that her seizures are just a bid for attention. In her twenties, when her seizures make further progress in school almost impossible, Laura enrolls in a clinical epilepsy study at UCLA, and finally has brain surgery to remove the left temporal lobe of her brain, eliminating the seizures. But by its very nature the surgery causes further physical disability” — Dr. Keith Dahlberg, Amazon.com. More here.
Question: Do you know a disabled person who inspires those around him/her?
Well, as I said Thursday, sometimes a quote just takes on a life of its own. Unfortunately, that goes for a misquote too. On Wednesday, the Associated Press attributed this gramatically challenged quote to an incoming university president, new University of Idaho hire Duane Nellis: “Me and Ruthie hope to complete our careers here in Moscow.” A review of the tape shows Nellis used the proper grammar, prompting the AP to move a correction with the correct quote: “This is more than a job for me, this is something that Ruthie and I hope we can complete our careers here in Moscow”/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Are you satisfied that the media properly correct mistakes that make it to print or the airwaves?
A deal to move the Apple Cup to Qwest Field, which seemed so close a week ago, is dead, 
killed not by fan outrage, but by a lack of seats. “It became evident an understanding on ways to maintain the neutral-site atmosphere in regards to ticket allotment could not be reached,” Washington State athletic director Jim Sterk said in a release Friday that announced WSU was ending discussions to move the game, “therefore, our student-athletes and Cougar fans would not be best served without this key component.” According to sources in the WSU athletic department, the original agreement gave WSU and the University of Washington each 31,000 seats in Qwest Field every year. But in the past week, UW expressed its desire for about another 7,000 additional seats, the sources said, in an attempt to mollify season ticket holders/Vince Grippi, SR. More here.
Question: Now that the $2M-per-year deal is dead, does anyone know where WSU is going to come up with more than $1M to hold off deep athletic department budget cuts?
Shucks and NAPA have been great to me, and I will continue to use them for the parts that I
need and am able to install myself. I have had terrible experiences with the Ford dealer repair shop in Cd’A, however, and not only felt powerless and intimidated, but lots poorer after two visits to fix problem that never did resolve. They really blew me off. I won’t ever go back there. On the other hand, the guys at Knudtsen’s in PF recently were awesome. Their priority is customer service, and it shows; I was treated like royalty!! What a difference a dealership makes!!
Question: Which vehicle repair shop in your community — and/or service manager — would you recommend to a friend?
Third-graders from Whitman Elementary get an up close look, and smell, at the City of Lewiston transfer station as part of Earth Day Wednesday in Lewiston. (AP Photo/Lewiston Tribune, Kyle Mills)
The House convened this morning at 8:30 Boise time, and was done by 8:45. There were 26 members absent out of the 70-member chamber. When Majority Leader Mike Moyle moved to adjourn until 9:30 on Monday morning, Assistant Minority Leader James Ruchti responded, “Mr. Speaker, I reluctantly second the motion.” Only a few people audibly called out “aye” to vote in favor of the motion, and a fair number loudly called out “nay.” After a pause, Speaker Lawerence Denney said, “The ayes have it.” Asked later, amid laughter, whether it didn’t sound like there were more nay votes, he said, “No, not to me”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Do you mind that some many legislators were missing this morning for the short session in the Idaho House?
We’ve been celebrating the arrival of spring for a week now, despite days like Thursday when some experienced a spit of snow in the outlying areas. Recently, Jesse Tinsley/SR took his camera to film the emerging spring in the Post Falls area. You can see what he produced above.
I don’t pretend to know what is going on when it comes to fixing my car. I also don’t appreciate it when I go to the car parts store, and the men working look at me like I should be born with this knowledge or pity me because I’m just another woman without a clue. That’s why I want to thank the guys at Schuck’s Auto Supply for helping me figure out — without judgment — which gas cap my car needed Tuesday morning. You guys rock/Editor In Chief Christina Lords, UI Argonaut. More Off The Cuff here.
Question: Are you intimidated by service managers at car dealers or the guy behind the counter at auto parts stores b/c you don’t know much about your vehicle?
Let’s answer right now the question of who will win the standoff between Gov. Butch Otter and the Idaho House’s Republican majority over maintenance of state roads: Neither. A governor who lets his top legislative priority of the last two years sit unaddressed by leaders of his own party until after most legislative sessions have ended, and then starts vetoing bills en masse to force his will on legislators who never had any intention of supporting him is inept. A legislative session is a time for the chief executive and the legislative branch to come together, which has happened in Idaho even when they were of different parties. But when a governor and a legislative chamber in which 75 percent are members of his party can’t do that, it’s a train wreck/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Jim Fisher points out that Gov. Butch Otter waited until late in the 2009 session to press leaders of his own party to provide more funding for his top priority over the last two years: Transportation. Do you believe, as Fisher suggests, that Otter’s inept?
Item: Coeur d’Alene man sees God’s hand in back yard basalt rock: He’s asking for a starting bid of $100 on eBay to photograph the scene/Alecia Warren, CdA Press
More Info: “Now I have a sign of the Hand of God to strengthen, fortify and sustain my faith,” Grayhek has written on his eBay Web account online. “My faith is strong but my mind and body are weak; the lord’s hand strengthens me.” Just above the revelation, the Catholic lists his starting bid: $100.
Question: Do you believe God provides such signs of His presence of Jesus’ face in a potato chip or His hand in back yard basalt rock?
At As The Lake Churns, Pecky Cox provides another shot of the routine scenes she sees outside her front door at Casa Cox on Priest Lake.
In the Huckleberries Online poll Thursday, 47 of 65 (72%) respondents said they have suffered the loss through suicide of a family member or loved one. Eighteen (28%) were fortunate not to have suffered such a loss.
Nick Adams: When I started at a new school in second grade, the class bully immediately started in on me. After two days, I challenged him to a fight after school. We scuffled. I think he probably won, but because I stood up to him, we eventually became good friends and he stopped bullying people.
Question: Were you involved in a physical fight as a kid?
Sisyphus:
“Are you as fit as President Obama appears to be?”—questions like this are the best justification for a pseudonym yet. We are the same age almost to the day. He can kick my ass on the court but I’ll give him a workout on bikes going up the Boise front. Alas I’m not as svelte or as tall, and I haven’t achieved the holy grail of middle aged men as expressed by Kevin Spacey’s character in American Beauty, looking good naked.
Question: Yesterday, I asked: Are you as fit as President Obama appears to be? Today, I’ll change it somewhat. Are you more/less fit than others your age?
Escapee: Reality TV programs like this one (“Idaho seeks Seattleites for reality TV/Seattle P-I) are basically on the level of dog food. Remember that reality show about the Gotti’s, starring their bleach-blonde mom and obnoxious, bratty, destructive, loud and rude immature young men? Reality shows are cheap, though. You don’t have to deal with expensive screenwriters or erect a bunch of staging. That’s why there’s been such a proliferation of these reality shows that are so inane that they’re really not reality at all.
Question: We all roll our eyes at reality TV. But some of us obviously watch them. So I’ll go first. I watched “Survivor” for many seasons. But finally tired of it. My interest in “American Idol” picks up as the list of finalists narrows to the last half dozen or so (if “Idol” is reality TV). Which reality show(s) is your favorite?
Bent: What sucks are the tight wads that try to save $15 and clog up the bording and unbording by trying to stuff bags anywhere they’ll fit in the cabin. You can also get around the fee by
carrying your “too-large-to-fit-in-the-overhead luggage” to the gate. The ticket person will then take the bag and have it checked because you can’t take it into the cabin. My boss did that on our last business trip. I don’t know why people are so hung up on carrying bags on. The luggage handling has improved dramatically in the past decade or so — especially on Southwest. They usually have the luggage spinning before I even get there … Maybe they should charge $15 to carry a bag on. That would solve more problems in my opinion.
Question: What bugs you most re: other passengers at airports or on airplanes?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
The nation is observing Administrative Assistants Week (formerly Professional Secretaries Week). And Eddie Albert (“Green Acres”) is observing his 97th birthday. On this day in history, in 1954, Hank Aaron hit his first home run. In the news today: White House reporters are sharpening their pens to analyze Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office (which will be reached next week) here. Obama still ranks high in the polls here. Suicide bombers are still killing dozens of people in Iraq here. And the Wild Card is in play …
A nest of baby robins begins to hatch in a nest in a bush by the White House Press Room at the White House in Washington Thursday. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
Item: Hardin jail tries for detainees from Gitmo/Becky Shay, Billings Gazette
More Info: Economic development officials in Hardin are looking at the soon-to-close detention 
facility in Guantanamo Bay as a possible fix for the jail sitting empty in Hardin. President Barack Obama signed an executive order Jan. 22 to close the Guantanamo detention facilities in Cuba where hundreds of enemy combatants have been held since 2002. The closure is to occur in a year, during which time remaining detainees must be returned to their home countries or detained elsewhere. Meanwhile, a 460-bed detention facility sits empty in Hardin. Built by Two Rivers Authority, the city’s economic development arm, the facility was meant to bring economic development to Hardin by creating more than 100 high-paying jobs.
At Priest River, where photographer-blogger Pecky Cox/As The Lake Churns holds court, the weather continues to play tricks on the natives. Pecky provides proof that it was hailing this morning in her neck of the woods.
A member of the security personnel tries to get to grips with a naked cricket fan waving a South African flag during the final ODI cricket series between South Africa and Australia at the Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, recently. South Africa won by 61 runs. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Top Cutline:
Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air will start charging passengers $15 for a first checked bag. The charge will take effect July 7 for tickets purchased beginning May 1. Many major U.S. airlines already charge a similar amount for checked luggage; Southwest Airlines is one of the few that has no fees for checked luggage. To compensate for the new charge, Alaska and Horizon will guarantee passengers that luggage will be at baggage claim 25 minutes after their flight parks at the gate. If it isn’t, passengers will get 2,500 frequent-flier miles or $25 off a future flight/Seattle Times. More here.
Question: I doubt that the new bag-check fee will cause many of us to stop flying w/Alaska & Horizon. But it is an annoyance. Do you fly as much today as you did before delays, cutbacks, and new fees became a way of life in the friendly skies?
This magazine cover released by Washingtonian magazine shows President Barack Obama on the cover shirtless.(AP Photo/Washingtonian) Question: Are you as fit as President Obama appears to be?
Two of three Spokane hospitals have started releasing the children injured in a rear-end collision between two city-owned vans this morning on the North Side, officials said/Meghann M. Cuniff, SR. More here.
At A Family Runs Through It, Idaho Dad takes us on a photographic tour of the Kroc Center, which is not three weeks from opening, off Ramsey Road, here.
The Walk Home: I’m always aware of people when I’m walking. I try to assess them and make up a story about
them. This one though was different. He was older than me, wearing a plaid shirt and jeans. My first thought was, where’s his coat – it’s going to rain and it’s cold still for early April. I got closer and just wanted to get past this guy. I was chanting in my head “don’t turn around, don’t turn around, don’t turn around.” I was just inches past him when he said “Hey lady.” I planned on ignoring him and I planned to keep on going, but there was something about the tone. I stopped and looked back. He looked at me, soft sad brown eyes. “Yes?” I hesitantly asked. “Help me. I’m going to jump”/JeanieS, Nuts & Nonsense. More here.
HBO Numbers: 7534/4165
Question: Do you plan to buy a membership to the Kroc Center?
Girls around the world are trying to search for their own Edward Cullen but with all the wrong criteria and motivation. In reality, he doesn’t exist. Not just for the obvious reason of immortality either. In the series, Edward is supposedly an irresistible and absolutely breathtakingly beautiful man. And that is just the physical attributes. In addition, the character is attentive, gentlemanly, polite and loving. With the growing demise of chivalry, some of these attributes are becoming extinct. It’s now more likely to hear about the perfect hookup than the perfect date/Kelsey Carey, WSU Evergreen. More here.
Question: Do chivalrous men still exist?
The House Ways & Means has introduced two new bills, one with Rep. Frank Henderson’s car registration fee bracket change, which raises $3.1 million a year; and one with the $13.1 million in annual increases in DMV fees. The idea, House GOP leaders said, is for a four-part plan: Those two bills, plus another already introduced to repeal the fuel tax exemption for ethanol; plus another that’s still being worked up to shift a portion of Idaho’s future general fund growth into road work/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Do you agree with counterproposals offered by Rep. Frank Henderson and others to raise some revenue to help fund road work?
Dan Bingham of Silverdale shows his daughter Heather, 15 months how to blow a dandelion Tuesday at Island Lake County Park, in Poulsbo, Wash. (AP Photo/Kitsap Sun, Larry Steagall)
HMOffsuite: What does everybody think should/will be done with this ‘teenage’ Somalian pirate? My guess is that he will go to juvi for a year and a half, then get out as an immigrant and become a citizen. Then, of course, go on welfare and get food stamps. Get married, have octupulets. They are sickly and require 5 years of hospitalization.
Question: What does everybody think should/will be done with this ‘teenage’ Somalian pirate?
The turning point came at story time one chilly fall morning. Mrs. Pendergast was reading 
“Charlotte’s Web.” We sat in a circle and Ruthie squeezed in next to me. Everyone else moved away. The class sat in rapt silence as Mrs. Pendergast read how Charlotte had written the word “humble” in her web. That silence was fractured by the unmistakable ripping sound of flatulence, and immediately a foul, sulfuric stench permeated our little reading circle. Groans and guffaws erupted. “Ewww, Ruthie!” my classmates howled. Ruthie’s face turned a mottled scarlet. “It wasn’t me,” she protested. She looked around desperately and then pointed a shaking finger. “It was Cindy!” I sat stunned. No amount of chocolate was worth this kind of betrayal/Cindy Hval, SR. More here.
Question: Do you ever think back to your childhood days and a duckling that was bullied by your classmates — and possibly you — and wonder how they turned out?
A Spokane, WA. fireman fits a neck brace on a child involved in a two vehicle accident at Cook and Wellesley Thursday. Two vans were filled with children headed to Regal Elementary for a before school program. The large number of passengers required a two alarm response from the fire department and every AMR ambulance available. Fourteen children and an adult were taken to the hospital. Story here. KHQ video here. (Christopher Anderson/SR)
Item: Idaho seeks Seattle family to star in reality series/Monica Guzman, Seattle P-I
More Info: Forget travelogues and brochures. To market itself as a tourist destination, the state of Idaho is making an online reality series — and it wants a Seattle family to be the star. “It’s very exciting. I’ve not heard of anyone doing this,” said Kellie Kluksdal, spokeswoman for the Idaho Division of Tourism. … The agency, Drake Cooper, came up with the idea after considering the rise of digital media, the popularity of reality TV and the need for fresh thinking in tourism marketing — especially at a time when vacationers might stay closer to home, and Northwestern states will compete for their attention.
Question: Good idea? Or a waste of money?
“Spirit,” the Atlanta Hawks real-life mascot, perches on the shot-clock during the first quarter of Game 2 of NBA Eastern Conference basketball playoff action between the Miami Heat and the Hawks on Wednesday in Atlanta. Spirit was supposed to fly from the from the upper level to a handler on the court but decided to fly around the arena for a few minutes. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Item: Nine Mile Falls custodian’s stress-disorder suit restored/Meghann Cuniff, SR
More Info: Debbie Rothwell, who still works at Lakeside High School in Nine Mile Falls, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a lawsuit filed in May 2007 by her lawyer, William Powell, of Spokane. The 16-year-old student shot himself in the head inside the school’s main entrance in 2004. The lawsuit was dismissed in January 2008 by Spokane County Superior Court Judge Greg Sypolt, who ruled the incident was covered by the Industrial Insurance Act. But the Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 ruling, disagreed and reinstated the suit.
Question: Do you agree/disagree with the appeals court that this case have merit?
Item: Yakima teacher sends boy, 5, home with baggy of poo/KATU.com
More Info: Jason says his son’s kindergarten teacher had bagged up a piece of human feces and stuck it in his son’s backpack. His wife found the stinky mess. “She found a clear plastic bag with a piece of fecal matter wrapped up in a brown paper towel with the note on it,” he said. The note read, “This little turd was on the floor in my room.”
Question: How would you have handle this situation, if you were the teacher?
Governor Otter this past week has shown all the diplomacy and tact of a run-away freight train this week. In addition, he has failed to grasp the times in which he’s governing. If there were an Out of Touch magazine, Otter would be the cover boy. I was there when Bryan Fischer asked the crowd at the Boise Tea Party whether they consented to have their gas taxes increased and the “no” was resounding. The public isn’t in the mood for a tax increase, particularly on the order of what Otter is asking for/Adam Graham, Adam’s Blog. More here.
Question: If Otter loses this battle of wills with the Idaho Legislature over road funding, how much will his governorship be hurt?
Patrick and Carrie Augerlavoie were accused of robbing a pharmacy last summer. Carries charges were dropped and Patrick was acquitted by a jury. They talked about their case at their home in Hayden on Wednesday. Meghann Cuniff/SR tells you all about it here. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review)
Question: Do you see any problems with the UI Foundation sweetening the pay offer to land Kansas State provost Duane Nellis as the new college president?
In the Tuesday HBO Poll, a plurality of 48 of 103 (47%) votes showed that Huckleberries Online readers want Tubbs Hill set aside as a Nature Preserve/Historical Landmark to protect it from commercial adventures of any sort. Another 21 (20%) said the Coeur d’Alene police should crack down on owners running their dogs w/o leashes on the hill. In third and fourth place, 18 voted to keep the status quo on the hill and 13 indicated they wanted the proposed guided tours. Only 3 voted for Duane Hagadone’s old proposal to pave a path around the hill for easier access for his Coeur d’Alene Resort guests.
CindyH: My 16-year-old son came home quite shaken this afternoon. He’d just found out that a
classmate committed suicide last night. Alex had just gone paintballing with this boy a week or so ago. “He sat in front of me during WASL testing yesterday,” Alex said. “And now he’s just gone.” A few minutes ago, I dropped him off for his soccer game, and even though I’m going to watch him play in an hour, I hugged him and kissed him and told him that I loved him. And you know what?
He let me.
Question: I’ve never asked this question. So I’ll go first. I had a cousin who hanged himself. And an aunt prevented my paternal grandfather from hanging himself in the barn, after he began suffering dementia. Have you ever been touched by suicide?
JimmyMAC: I had 10 groomsman at my wedding (really 6 with 4 ushers) and 8 of them were from my hometown with 5 of them being from my graduating class. Pretty crazy but I can think of about a dozen guys from my graduating class that i stay in pretty constant contact with. That is out of a graduating class of 97. I have a lot of good friends from college as well but I think we had ton of stellar guys from the St. Maries Class of ‘97.
Question: Yesterday, I asked how many of your high school classmates are you still in touch with. Let’s vary that theme a little. How many people in your wedding party are you still in touch with.
Sam: I don’t consider everyone on Facebook a friend. I have different profiles set up with varying security settings for that reason. I generally add everyone and give them the appropriate listing. But I’ve been keeping in touch lately with people from high school and my Hollywood days that I either lost touch with or weren’t close to in the first place. It’s odd where you can find friendships you never thought you would.
Question: How many friends do you have on your Facebook site?
Digger: The legislature can adjourn subject to a date certain of say June 27, 2009, go home and come back when the Governor is up against the wall since all budget bills need to be passed before July 1 which is the new fiscal year. What they can’t do is adjourn “sine die”, meaning “without a date” (or for good) without having budget bills passed and signed by the governor. (You can read Digger’s superb analysis of the Otter/Idaho House showdown in the drop-down box.)
Question: Do we have any prophets out there? Pick the day that the Legislature will adjourn.
JeanieS: When I was much, MUCH younger, my husband and I were stationed in Val d’Or,
Quebec, where my youngest son was born. One of the Canadian soldiers and his family would often come to our house. They had five children. I was fascinated that he was so tickled with breastfeeding. I first ducked into the bathroom to hide so I wouldn’t be offensive. He gave me a long story about how beautiful he thought it was and one of the most natural and wholesome actions. It was never an illicit deal - it was a true sign of motherly love. And we have several ways of being very discrete about it. It’s not like I’m pole dancing in my g-string with florescent pasties swinging from my pendulous breasts.
Question: We had a terrific discussion on Washington’s decision to provide civil rights protection for women who breast-feed in public. Jeanie’s comment was the best of a string of very good comments. Still, you can use this thread if you have anything else to say re: the subject.
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
If you’re wondering what happens to the comment numbers on many of today’s posts, you can find Blogmeister Ryan’s explanation here. Basically, it sounds like the techs have given the software a bit of an enema to make things go faster and that resulted in goose eggs instead of actual comment counts for several threads. But the payoff seems good. Meanwhile, some of the stories that are making the news this evening include: GM plans to shut most plants for up to 9 weeks this summer here. Study: Painkillers can’t block Alzheimers here. And the Wild Card returns to the table …
A child holds a panda doll in Rome’s Piazza del Popolo square Saturday. The World Wide Fund for Nature environmental association placed 1600 paper pulp pandas, symbolizing the last pandas still present in nature, on the square. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)
Question: Did you have a favorite teddy bear as you grew up? What was its name?
In warm April sun
while birds sweetly sing,
look— on that tulip —
the first slug of spring.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
There are a few former classmates I’ve requested to be friends with. But for the most part, I’ve 
shunned my fellow MPHS alumni. The shunning part is true of one facebook member (who I won’t name… in case any of my friends are friends with him - lets just call him “dude”). It’s not like I’m trying to be a snob… but I refuse to be some one I’m not. Most of the best friends I’ve had were not people I knew in high school so it doesn’t make sense for me to request a bunch of people that didn’t really like me back then to be friends with me now. Yet I still skim the list of my classmates - rarely finding people I want to befriend/Nic, Rants, Raves & Random Thoughts. More here.
Question: Have you stayed in touch - or tried to get in touch with — any of your former high school classmates?
In this August 2008 file photo by Jesse Tinsley, Susan Nipp stands in the Plaza Shoppes. She has written a childrens book, “Mudgy & Millie”, about Coeur d’Alene, interweaving a hike around Tubbs Hill and downtown Coeur d’Alene, which will be marked, in real life, by giant bronze statues of the moose, seen at left, named Mudgy, who is playing hide and seek with his friend, Millie the mouse. Now, Nipp’s creations have earned an Idaho Tourism award for their contribution to the state’s travel industry. See below.
Question: Have you taken time to walk the Mudgy & Millie trail weaving around downtown Coeur d’Alene and the waterfront?
Porterhouse sits on the throne after being crowned the winner of the 30th Drake Relays Beautiful Bulldog Contest on Monday in Des Moines, Iowa. The bulldog is owned by Kevin and Erin Bell, of Des Moines, Iowa. The pageant kicks off the Drake Relays festivities at Drake University where a bulldog is the mascot. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Top Cutlines:
Kage Mann & Dan of the County have both noticed that the comment counter is on the fritz. You’ll notice a bunch of goose eggs on posts (like the one for APhoto of the Day) when there are a number of comments in the thread below the item. I’ve e-mailed Blogmeister Ryan re: the problem. Until it’s fixed, simply ignore the goose egg and check to see if there are comments under items that attract your interest. Or you can do what I do — click on the “Latest Comments” line in the right rail and read all the latest comments from all the blogs as they arrive at HBO Central …
You can see the protest message that this little plane was sending to Washington legislators earlier today by clicking Rich Roesler’s Eye On Olympia link here.
Question: Do you have a short list re: why you’re glad — or not — to be your age?
You can see what the dogs at Marianne Love’s Lovestead are looking at and find out a little about girdles by clicking here.
3 big plastic bottles
2 small plastic bottles
6 candy wrapers
5 plastic bags
76 cans (76!!!)
1 un-opened beer - (next time please leave it in bucket with ice and lime on the side)
2 beer bottles
1 cd
1 piece of carpet.. (jeez!)
More from Pecky Cox/As The Lake Churns here.
Question: What is the weirdest thing you’ve found while on a litter patrol?
Demonstrators against animal research march during protests on both sides of the heated debate over animal research have gathered at the University of California, Los Angeles, Wednesday. The rallies follow this week’s unsealing of an indictment of two animal rights activists on charges of stalking and intimidating university researchers and executives of a juice company. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) Question: Do you support/oppose animal research?
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee has canceled its meeting that had been scheduled for 8 a.m. tomorrow. “House leadership requested that we postpone our meeting until perhaps Monday,” said Senate Finance Chairman Dean Cameron, R-Rupert. “We will make our decision later, but we will not be meeting tomorrow.” House leaders expressed an interest in “cooling off” and concern about passing appropriation bills that simply would be vetoed, Cameron said. Meanwhile, there’s lots of talk in the House about taking Friday off for “cooling off”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Which side do you think will blink first?
I became the man of the hour a couple of months ago when I scored tickets to a Jimmy Buffett concert in California. See, my wife is more than a fan of Buffett and his rum-soaked “gulf and western” sound; she’s a Parrothead with a real parrot. Victoria and her ex-husband traveled to Buffett concerts all over the country, including two separate trips to Cincinnati (I don’t think Cincinnati is what Buffett had in mind when he wrote “Changes in Attitude, Changes in Latitude,” but that’s another story.) Nevertheless, Buffett has more money than Butch Otter, so he doesn’t sing just anywhere (like Idaho). So on May 19, we’re bound for the Oakland suburb of Concord for an outdoor gig. Don’t mind telling you, I’m a little nervous/Steve Crump, Twin Falls Times-News. More here.
Question: Are you part of Parrothood Nation?
Gov. Chris Gregoire today signed into law House Bill 1596, which declares that the right of a mother to breastfeed her child in public places is a civil right protected by Washington’s anti-discrimination law. “This new law will eliminate one more obstacle that women are faced with day in and day out,” said Rep. Tami Green, D-Lakewood. It takes effect in 90 days. Washington is already one of at least 25 states that have passed laws explicitly declaring that breastfeeding or expressing breast milk does not constitute indecent exposure/Rich Roesler, Eye on Olympia. More here.
Question: Do you agree with the step taken by the state of Washington to elevate breast-feeding in public to a civil right?
This view from the patio at the Coeur d’Alene Visitor Center sums up how North Idahoans feel when the sun comes out. This week the temperature reached 80 degrees, a preview of what’s just down the road for summer!/Councilwoman KerriT, OnLocation North Idaho.
An eastern Idaho judge who lost patience with the disruptive behavior of a defendant ordered court officials to tape the man’s mouth shut with duct tape during a court hearing. The unusual move was ordered by 6th District Judge Peter D. McDermott during a probation violation hearing for Nicklas Frasure, 23. Frasure was convicted of felony theft in 2008, but the judge retained jurisdiction for sentencing depending on Frasure’s response to treatment. In October, Frasure was released from a state mental hospital in Blackfoot./Huffington Post. More here.
Question: What are some of your odd uses for duct tape?
Duane Nellis (seen speaking at a public forum on the UI campus Feb. 3), a native of the Northwest and Kansas State University provost, has been named president of the University of Idaho. The state Board of Education made the announcement Wednesday during a meeting in Moscow. Nellis, 54, was hired despite turning down the job last month over differences in salary. But the board approved a salary for Nellis of $335,000, making him the highest paid president at Idaho’s four public universities/AP. More here. Nellis bio.
Question: Obviously, the state Board of Education had to come up with more money to land Duane Nellis. Do you think the state of Idaho did the right thing by doing so?
An encounter that involved a sheriff’s detective flashing a barista at a drive-up coffee stand has 
led to a new state law that Spokane County will use to expand the volunteer panel that overturned the detective’s firing. It took nearly three years, an act of the Legislature and a signature from Gov. Chris Gregoire to get from the flashing to the expansion. But county commissioners said Tuesday they will probably increase the board from three to five members this summer. Sheriff’s Detective Joseph Mastel (pictured, center) was fired in June 2006 after exposing himself to a barista at the On Alert coffee stand in Airway Heights. He was off duty at the time and said he had a “flirtatious relationship” with the woman, who was about 30 years younger. The woman said she was taken by surprise and felt violated by his actions/Jim Camden, SR. More here. Gov. Gregoire about to sign bill here.
Question: Izzit just me, or do the police officers and firefighters in Spokane operate under a different set of rules that allow them to get away with things normal citizens don’t?
Councilman MikeK: I raised the issue last night about researching and pursuing a different designation for Tubbs Hill - perhaps a historic landmark site, a nature preserve, something that would distinguish it from any other “city park”. I don’t know what that process is as I sit here, but it was an idea that was well-received I think and we need to pursue that. Full comment below.
Question: Should Tubbs Hill be designated as a historic landmark or a nature preserve to protect it from commercial ventures and/or other attempts to change it?
In his column, Leonard Pitts contends that the nation has changed rather than First Lady Michelle Obama. As a reminder, he points back to the campaign when some viewed her as “a fire-snorting amalgam of Angela Davis and Sister Souljah … a militant, terrorist fist-bumping sister girl whose hatred of America was exceeded only by her hatred of ‘whitey.’” Now, Pitts continues, “Pollsters tell us she is more popular than her very popular husband. You cannot pass a magazine stand without seeing her smile.” Full column here.
Question: Has the First Lady changed? Or has America?
“You have to respect and cherish certain things,” Councilman Ron Edinger said in leading the vote against the proposal by Coeur d’Alene’s ROW Adventures. “Tubbs Hill and McEuen Field are two of those things”/Alison Boggs, SR. Story here.
Wow. All the votes have been counted. 74.11 percent of 9,010 voters approved. That’s 6,677 yes 
and 2,333 no, with seven spoiled ballots. (hanging chads?) All 19 polling places passed the levy, along with the absentee ballots. Largest approval was 87 percent of 391 voters at Sorensen. Largest turnout was at Hayden Meadows, with 69.59 percent of 1,184 (!) voters saying yes. Remarkable fact: Lake City and Coeur d’Alene High each recorded 554 votes. LC had 86 percent approval, CHS had 75 percent. (You can see all the numbers from the various precincts by going to the district site here/Meghann M. Cuniff, SR.
Originally posted 9 p.m. Tuesday
Question: In this tight economic times, how do you explain such an overwhelming vote in favor of the $7.8M school levy election?
Otter has grown testy at questions about what message he’s sending, biting off one reporter’s 
head at Tuesday’s veto-fest. He thinks everybody should know by now what’s been driving him for two years: an unshakable conviction that more money is necessary, even in dire economic times, to fulfill a core duty to protect public safety and promote commerce. In his youth, Otter served in the House. Were the clock turned back, he would have been among the crowd saying no to any tax increase. The mature Otter knows taxpayers are tired of extending the second-longest session in Idaho history. He knows the risk of pressing so forcefully for taxes during a brutal recession. He knows he might not have winning cards/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: To continue the gambling analogy, is it time that Gov. Otter folds and survives to play another hand?
This is just the first step to privatizing this hill,” said Coeur d’Alene attorney Steve Bell, right, as Ryan Ghramm, left, of Hayden signed the petition on Tuesday to prevent the Coeur d’Alene City Council from allowing guided hiking and kayaking tours on and around Tubbs Hill. SR story by Alison Boggs here. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review)
Question: Do you agree with the 4-2 decision by the Coeur d’Alene City Council to reject commercial tours of Tubbs Hill?
In the HBO Poll Tuesday, 57 of 87 (66%) respondents said “no” when asked whether the City Council should approve a proposal to allow guided tours on Tubbs Hill (which accurately reflects the 4-2 no vote last night by council members). Only 16 (18%) said yes. Fourteen (16%) said they don’t care.
Update: Missing salesman located in Ferry County/Thomas Clouse, SR
CindyH: My sister-in-law called early this morning. Her brother is missing. He left for the Ione/Curlew area yesterday morning and hasn’t been heard from since. He delivers medical supplies. His employer has mapped out his likely routes. My sister-in-law and her husband have searched for him all afternoon, joined by his coworkers. Local law enforcement has been notified as well as the WSP. Please keep Greg (missing man) and his wife Brenda in your thoughts and prayers.
Kage Mann: 4-2 vote (by City Council against the guided Tubbs Hill tour proposal Tuesday night). Four voted (No) and Two voted (yes). No votes to the commercialization of Tubbs Hill: Edinger,MK, Woody and grudgingly, Goodlander. Yes votes were: Hassel and the other guy (John Bruning). I’m assuming the mayor only votes to break council ties.
Question: All 3 incumbents facing re-election voted against the proposal. Do you think they would have voted differently, if this wasn’t a municipal election year?
Digger: We hear from the House that this is so bad because an economic downturn is not the
time for a tax increase. I beg to differ - we’re talking about .03 per gallon of gas. Thats chump change in the long run. I did the math and (revised from my ealier post) it would cost Spazz and I an extra $2.40 per month assuming we use our budgeted maximum fuel allowance of 80 gallons between the two cars we own. (My Tahoe takes 20 per fill x 3 per month and his Cavalier takes 15 per fill only once a month) That goes to a whopping $4.80 per month in a year when the tax goes to .06 cents.
Question: What would this gas tax increase cost you per month?
Nick Adams: Earth Day! I have big plans. First, I’m going to fire up the ol’ lawnmower and mow
my yard twice. Then, the gas-powered weed-eater and edge every yard in my neighborhood. Next, I’ll get my 1976 Ford pick-up going and tow the boat up to the lake whilst throwing all the cans, paper and cardboard I’d normally recycle out the window. I’ll drive the boat back and forth across the lake until I’ve just about hit empty. Back to town, where I’ll change the oil in the truck and boat and dump the old oil right into the street drain. Wash them both in the street with as much phosphorate-laden detergent I can find. Full post below.
Question: Nick, of course, is being facetious. How do you plan to celebrate Earth Day today?
Cis:
I like all kinds of fishing but fly fishing is my love … I fell in love with the movie River Runs Thru It. … a few years ago, and realized that my fly fishing was more like Patrick McManus. More like a beating of the rug with a pole… actually I do get it right about 40% of the time. Looking at this picture, I wish I was there to see it done. It looks awesome… but the true cast of fly fishing and hearing the reel sing… brings so much joy to my heart. Even if I do more like Patrick McManus.
Question: Which Patrick McManus book is your favorite? Why?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
I’m heading out to vote in the $7.8M Coeur d’Alene School District levy election. Meghann Cuniff will be publishing the results of the election tonight on a separate entry that I’ll post at the top of the thread in a few minute. Results should begin coming in by 8:30 or so. Meanwhile, you should tune in on the public access channel, if you’re interested in the results of the City Council vote tonight on the proposed Tubbs Hill commercial tours. Thanks for tuning in today. I’ll re-play this Wild Card and hit the streets on my bike …
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama watch as former President Bill Clinton plants a tree as they participate in a national service project at Kenilworth Aquatic Garden in Washington Tuesday. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) Question: The world celebrates Earth Day on Wednesday. Are you going to do anything special in way of observing this event?
Councilman MikeK:
My mind is NOT made up on this issue and won’t be until I hear the discussion tonight. I made that point to the reporter, but since I’d been okay to look at this as a demonstration project when it first came up (after recommendation from staff), I owe it to people to hear them out entirely. Since I did vote to look at it, that was where I was “leaning” at the time. We now have a proposal and a formal option in front of us which I’ve read and reviewed and will hear more about tonight. I’ve been contacted by a number of folks, and I’m listening.
Question: The City Council meeting to discuss the Tubbs Hill tour proposal starts at 6 o’clock. How do you think Councilman MikeK will vote on the matter? Do you think it’ll be approved?
Frum Helen Back:
My grandmother was my Sunday school teacher and she was always telling us that the end of time was very near. That was along with fearing a nuclear bomb being dropped on us. I stopped fearing grandma’s prediction when my dad told me she was saying the same thing when he was little. But it wasn’t until the end of the cold war that I stopped worrying about nuclear bombs. Now I have other things to worry about.
Question: What worries you most today?
House GOP Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, foreground, answers questions during the House Leadership press conference at the Capitol Annex in Boise today. Also in attendance was House Assistant GOP Leader, Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, GOP House Speaker Lawrence Denney, R-Midvale, House GOP Caucus Chair, Ken Roberts, R-McCall. Gov. Butch Otter and the Idaho House are playing a game of legislative chicken re: Otter’s insistence that the Legislature increase taxes and fees to help pay for Transportation projects. Betsy Russell/Eye On Boise is providing blow-by-blow coverage here. (AP Photo/The Idaho Statesman, Shawn Raecke)
Dalton Lucas, 9, from Goodview, Va, has a large carp splash its way out of his hands after he tried getting it out of the water at Bridgewater Plaza Marina at Smith Mountain Lake in Roanoke, Va., last week. “I can usually get them out of the water, but that was a big one,” Dalton said. Dalton’s father, Ricky Lucas said that one of Dalton’s favorite things to do is coming to the marina and trying to grab fish out of the water. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Kyle Green)
Top Cutlines:
Gov. Butch Otter is vetoing 25 budget bills, telling lawmakers he’ll continue the vetoes until they act on his transportation plan. “We’ve got to continue to try, because every day the problem is going to get worse,” the governor declared. “They’re all bills that need to be addressed by the Legislature before they go home, and they know that.” He said, “We’re going to continue to take this kind of action until we see some concrete movement. They need to know that I’m serious.”
Question: Is Otter melting down? Or performing like a statesman?
Mrs. O was surprised to find this wrong-number message on her cell phone this afternoon: “If this is what it feels like to get cold feet, no one would get married. So this must not be right.” Hey, don’t look at me. Mrs. O & I are about to clock 34 years of wedded bliss. No cold feet here.
Question: Anyone want to take a crack at interpreting the message?
The State Board of Education will hold a special telephonic meeting Wednesday morning to name the next University of Idaho president. The leading contender appears to be Kansas State University Provost Duane Nellis, who earlier turned down the job, citing salary issues. But earlier this month, UI alumnus and former U.S. Sen. Steve Symms mounted an effort to raise private funding to supplement Nellis salary/Lewiston Tribune.
At Accidental Rabbit Trails, blogger Beth Bollinger made my day with a post about a 1970s bike that Arpie rescued from the “Dufort Mall” and offered free to anyone at Huckleberries Online who wanted it. Arpie has yet to make delivery. But you can see the bike in store for Beth above. And read all about it here.
Question: Have you ever salvaged something from a Dumpster for personal use — you know, Dumpster Diving?
MamaJD: - I’m not finding any mention of the school levy vote today. Did you forget or are you ignoring?
DFO: D’oh! I thought I’d posted a comment about the levy early this morning. But I’d only posted a link in the AM Headlines roundup. Here’s the KHQ story re: today’s levy.
Question: You can vote until 8 o’clock tonight at any school for the $7.8M, two-year Coeur d’Alene School District levy. Which is $1M less than the levy that will end. Do you support/oppose the levy?
Eberhart was appalled at the news that the Aryan Nations organization was apparently trying to 
make a comeback in North Idaho. After his speech, the old soldier recoiled when I showed him a clipping of a Spokesman-Review story about racist fliers appearing Friday on the lawns of north Coeur d’Alene residents. “I thought that had been taken care of,” Eberhart said, shaking his head in disgust. So did I. After decades of preaching racial hate, Richard Butler and his vile operation were busted in 2000 when a jury returned a $6.3 million verdict against him. Butler died four years later. I had hoped the old neo-Nazi had permanently relocated to a new compound in one of hell’s hotter subdivisions. Like a really bad intestinal virus, alas, some of Butler’s feeble-minded minions seem to be still hanging around and itching to make trouble/Doug Clark, SR. More here.
Question: Eberhart fears that today’s youth don’t understand history. That the terror of the Holocaust will fade as the eyewitnesses to the horror die. How can each of us do our part to prevent another Holocaust from occurring?
Ian Gordon of Scotland makes a spey cast at the Jimmy Green International Spey-O-Rama & Fly Casting Festival Saturday in San Francisco. Spey casting is a form of fly casting generally done with long rods with two hands, making the caster able to make longer casts and cover more water. (AP photo/George Nikitin)
Question: Which kind of fishing do you prefer? Fly? Sinker?
… to bring you this important public service announcement. Subway restaurants have switched back to offering only a handful of secondary sandwiches for the $5 specials. A co-worker says that she was delayed over the lunch hour b/c a number of the cuss-tomers in front of her couldn’t get the sandwiches they wanted that’d been on special as late as Sunday. You’ve been warned. Now, back to your regular programming …
It’s only April, and I’ve already got myself a pretty good sunburn. I wasn’t even outside that long over the weekend, and I’ve already got to break out the sunburn cream. My geeky, pale skin isn’t ready for this kind of weather/Photo Editor Jake Barber, UI Argonaut. More Off The Cuff here.
Question: Do you sunburn easily?
Poll: One in 3 children fear Earth apocalypse/Treehugger
More Info: There’s a new bogeyman lurking in the closet, and this one isn’t imaginary. Us. One out of three children aged 6 to 11 fears that Ma Earth won’t exist when they grow up, while more than half—56 percent—worry that the planet will be a blasted heath (or at least a very unpleasant place to live), according to a new survey.
Question: Do you fear the Earth apocalypse bogeyman, too?
The House has come back on the floor, its caucuses concluded, and will be taking up the amended transportation bill, HB 96. In this photo, just before the bell rang to convene, representatives looked at newspapers with headlines asking, “Will House yield to Otter’s threat?” Betsy Russell/Eye On Boise provides complete coverage of the House’s showdown w/Gov. Butch Otter here.
But whether you choose debit or credit, either method is safer than using cash or writing
checks. Lose a check card and you’re covered for almost everything you lose (usually there’s a $50 out-of-pocket cost) and it’s easy to cancel cards and order new ones. When you lose cash, you’ll probably never see it again. Checks can be easily altered and they’re also time-consuming (just think back to how you felt the last time someone paid by check for a candy bar or bottle of soda)/Shawn Vestal, Everyday Economy. More here.
Question: When you’re shopping, do you prefer to use: credit, debit, cash, or check?
I went to church two weeks ago and had this epiphany while listening to the house band warm up the audience for the headliner. The minister wore jeans and a fleece zip-up. His voice was amplified by a wireless clip-on microphone, which was fed to the technical booth, which blasted his voice with remarkable clarity over the audience. As he gave his sermon, two giant projector screens presented visual aids that coordinated seamlessly with his talking points. All the while, a digital video camera recorded him and sent a feed to the lobby’s giant flatscreen tv. I was in awe. Sitting back in my plush, theater seat, I thought to myself—if this is just one example of the modern church, what does the future hold for young church-goers?/Loren Kelly, North Idaho College Sentinel. More here.
Question: Do you enjoy the modern church w/its lively worship band and multimedia presentation? Or do you prefer ritual and/or a more traditional approach to church?
Item: Fee increases for Moscow public records is a bad idea/Sandra Kelly, Moscow-Pullman Daily News
More Info: The proposal before the council would make it more difficult and expensive for members of the public to access records they have every right to see. Given the limited number of instances cited to justify this proposed increase in cost, there is no legitimate reason for the council to approve these increases. It’s a slippery slope when someone in City Hall is given the bureaucratic tools to label a specific request to public information as somehow “excessive.”
Also: ISP asks SR for $5595.55 for record of jail prescription drug scandal investigation
Question: What would be a good criteria for assessing costs for a public-documents request?
John Sigler, president of the National Rifle Association address the crowd during a gun rights rally in the Capitol rotunda this morning in Harrisburg, Pa. In Idaho, the 2009 Legislature already has passed 6 of 8 measures to strengthen firearms protection here. Meanwhile, Americans are arming themselves to the teeth for fear the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress will take steps to control guns, despite evidence to the contrary here. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Question: Are you more concerned that the Obama administration and/or Democratic Congress will try to control guns, or that we’re arming ourselves to the teeth, increasing the danger that innocent people will be shot by hotheads wielding guns?
Item: Fire chiefs to get raises despite layoff concerns: Council members say options limited: agree to raises or face arbitration/Jim Camden, SR
More Info: Spokane city fire battalion chiefs will get raises over the next four years, despite concerns by some City Council members that the economy is forcing taxpayers to take cuts or face layoffs. The Spokane City Council was told Monday that it had little choice but to give members of the Spokane Association of Fire Officers – the union that represents 10 battalion chiefs – raises negotiated in collective bargaining sessions. If the council refused, the city could be accused of bad-faith bargaining and facing binding arbitration, said Gita Hatcher, who represented the city in negotiations.
Question: What do you think of Spokane battalion fire chiefs getting raises in such a bad economy?
Otter is right. Transportion needs more funding. We’ve editorialized on that for more than year. But is this the right economic environment to force a tax hike? Will this be better for the public in the long run? Yes, because the costs far outweigh the upfront costs to our individual pocketbooks. But convince a legislator whose political future may be on the line if he/she votes to raise our taxes when many people are taking pay cuts. The showdown has just begun/Vickie Holbrook, Idaho Press-Tribune. More here.
Question: Who do you want to win the showdown over transportation funding that would include an increase in gas taxes — Gov. Butch Otter or the Idaho Legislature?
Item: Paid guided adventure not welcome to 600 citizens: Council to vote tonight on Tubbs Hill proposal/Tom Hasslinger, CdA Press
More Info: Keep commercialization off Tubbs Hill. That’s the rally cry for a number of citizens fighting to keep guided walking tours off the Lake City’s pine-treed majesty. The City Council is expected to vote on whether to accept the proposal submitted by ROW Adventures at 6 tonight in the Community Room of the Coeur d’Alene Public Library.
Question: How should the City Council vote tonight?
Councilwoman KerriT says it all with the photo above and this cutline: “It’s spring time in North Idaho!” At last.
In the HBO Poll Monday, Huckleberries Online asked: “What would happen if someone tried to open an espresso stand run in the CdA area run by bikini-clad women?” 53 of 78 (68%) responded that a bikini espresso stand would be an “instant hit.” Another 18 (23%) predicted “nothing” would happen. In the superminority, 7 (9%) thought a bikini espresso stand would be boycotted.
OrangeTV: Last time I was (in The Grail): was around last Christmas to see the all-girl punk
band Bent Penny for a benefit show. I ordered a pitcher of beer and the hairy, scary bartender was nice enough to even pour my first glass full. Problem was, it had too much of a foamy head. I couldn’t believe my eyes when he suddenly plunged his nasty finger right into my beer and swirled it around - that trick you do to get rid of foam. I gagged slightly, but I’m not one to let a beer go to waste. I figured the alcohol would kill the germs…
Question: Which bar is the seediest that you’ve ever had a drink in?
RedMan: Well ISP is only half right in citing the code. They are going to fight an uphill battle if Megan sticks to her guns. They have to prove the cost of those records, and five grand is a bunch of Bull Pucky. I would expect other agencies (Fish and Game, and Health and Welfare) to be boneheads about public records but … ISP?????? Come on guys, your the last semblance of a truly professional organization we have left and then you guys go and do this, the citizens deserve better.
DFO: RedMan, you need an avatar.
Question: Do you believe ISP is truly trying to recoup costs by demanding $5595.55 from the SR to release public records on the investigation that led to the firing or disciplinary actions of five Kootenai County jailers. Or is it trying to stonewall?
JohnA: My first view of Lake Coeur d’Alene each morning, especially these days with snow capped peaks rising above it, on my daily commute. I often see the amazed looks on the faces of out-of-staters as they view it as well, possibly for the first time. I watch as they pull off at the turnout near Mullan Trail just so they can experience the view. That’s when I’m reminded of how blessed we are to live here.
Question: Which North Idaho view still inspires you, no matter how many times you’ve seen it?
Stickman: I was such a great shoplifter in my day, never caught. My sister was even better, walking out with a very expensive canoe and waving her receipt. No one had a clue. Now, if I saw someone attempting such behavior, I might casually mention that if I saw them, someone else is definitely watching as well. Hopefully they would put it back.
Question: Did you ever shoplift candy, toys, or anything else from a store, when you were a kid?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
In the news this evening: Scientists: Fatsos cause global warming here. Boston police arrest CraigsList murder suspect here. The New York Times wins 5 Pulitzers here. Father of ’Slumdog’ actress accused of trying to sell her here. Miss California believes her anti-gay marriage answer cost her the Miss USA crown here. And the Wild Card remains in play …
Porterhouse, left, looks at Maxxis, right, during the 30th Drake Relays Beautiful Bulldog Contest today in Des Moines, Iowa. Porterhouse, owned by Kevin and Erin Bell, of Des Moines, won the contest and Maxxis, ownded by Robert Apt, of Des Moines, was runner-up. The pageant kicks off the Drake Relays festivities at Drake University where a bulldog is the mascot. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
DFO: Herb Huseland’s son, Brian, wrote the following poem after he and his wife, Jennifer, recently lost a child through miscarriage.
A new twig on the tree
But no leaves budding,
Unfurling miniature fingers.
Spring has come,
But brittle branches
Stretch with barren stiffness
Poised for nothing?
This little limb meant more.
The ache of sap rises in my bones,
Leaks into tears, small sighs
For small deaths;
Not for what is,
But for what could have been. More here.
Brian Huseland
Item: More companies force workers to take time off: But not all welcome ‘banishment,’ especially when they don’t get paid/MSNBC
More Info: So you’re thinking the worst is now behind you because you survived a round of layoffs, accepted a pay cut and are doing the job of two people. Think again. There’s a new cost-cutting measure exploding among employers — furloughs. Many companies, universities and governments across the country are forcing their workers to take a day or two off a month, or to take a week off during a given quarter. There’s one catch — no pay.
Question: What do you think of the “furlough” without pay concept?
Peter Paulovic whips out his phone camera to grab a shot of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobil earlier today as it passes through downtown Spokane, Wash. Various models of the famous car have been on the road helping charities and promoting food products around the United States since 1936. Drivers of the iconic vehicle are called ” Hotdoggers.” Christopher Anderson/SR.
President Barack Obama, center, poses for a photo with Geeta Malik, left, and her daughter Reina Gibbs as John Gibbs, far right, takes a photograph, upon the President’s return to the White House on Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House Sunday in Washington. The Gibbs are related to White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Top Cutlines:
Question: What do you find in a routine day that brings joy?
Gov. Butch Otter has vetoed all eight appropriation bills that he threatened to veto this morning. “I have no problem with these bills,” Otter wrote in his veto message. “At some point they will merit positive consideration. However, consistent with my desire to provide you with the time to positively address our need for an ongoing source of transportation revenue, I am vetoing these bills and will continue vetoing appropriations bills until an adequate transportation bill is approved by the Legislature and delivered for my consideration”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Who’s going to win this showdown?
This photo from Pecky Cox’s As The Lake Churns Web site was selected as the best one from the annual Priest Lake Logger Days 2009. You can see all of the site’s Logger Days photos here.
In the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Department, SR buddy Meghann Cuniff tells your Huckleberry Hound that the ISP wants to charge us $5195.55 for administrative & copying fees for the report on stolen medication drugs at the Kootenai County Jail — you know, the one that led to some firings and disciplinary action against 8 jailers. E-mails the ISP per Meghann’s April 6 request: ““After consultation with the attorney for the Idaho State Police, it has been determined that your request is partially denied because the records you have requested will have to be screened for information that is exempt from disclosure and will have to be redacted accordingly before the copies can be provided to you, pursuant to IDAHO CODE 9-335(1).” Can you say “stonewall,” bay-bee? The SR plans to appeal.
Question: What do you make of this development?
Tiki, a 2 year old Pomeranian, wets his nose during the first Show and Shine at the Carson City Harley-Davidson in Carson City, Nev., on Saturday. (AP Photo/Nevada Appeal, Kevin Clifford)
It was a Friday night last November. All around the little town of Sandpoint, beetles were blighting north Idaho’s pine forests. The previous day, the U.N. reported that emissions from automobiles and coal-fired power plants were collecting in brown clouds over 13 Asian and African cities and blocking out the sun. Iceland’s main banks had crumpled, and American auto executives were about to fly to Washington in private jets to plead for a bailout. Off the coast of Africa, Somali pirates were hijacking oil tankers. But the folks at the Panida Theater wouldn’t stop clapping. The Sandpoint Transition Initiative, a new chapter of a growing, worldwide environmental movement, was officially coming to life/Jon Mooallem, New York Times magazine. More here.
H/T: David Taylor
Question: Have you heard of the Transition Movement?
Item: Huggies heist sign of recession crime, experts say/Jody Lawrence-Turner, SR
More Info: On Saturday, the man started yelling “sorry” when a 28-year-old security guard stopped the two walking out of Safeway on Francis Avenue at North Monroe about 5:30 p.m. with Huggies in their cart, authorities said. Then the man punched the security guard, leaving a mark on his cheek, according to a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office press release. The security guard grabbed the man’s shirt to stop his escape, but the shirt ripped off, said Sgt. Dave Reagan. He ran from the area.
Question: If you saw someone shoplifting, would you report it to store employees?
The massive hype and excitement that accompanied the late 2007 opening of the burly sporting goods supercenter has waned enough that Q and I finally felt brave and bored enough to check it out on a recent gloomy Monday afternoon. I’d been packing around a Cabela’s gift card in my wallet for ages after having earned it from my bank as a result of spending $2,000 using my debit card. I browsed the Cabela’s Web site but couldn’t find anything that grabbed me for under $20 besides a 4-foot, stuffed rainbow trout pillow. I really don’t have a need for yet another one of those, so I decided to treat Q to a meal at Cabela’s in-house cafe/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. More here.
Question: Do you regularly/seldom/never visit Cabela’s?
A raft sits in a rapid hole Sunday, on the Murtaugh Stretch of the Snake River, near Twin Falls, Idaho after four boaters were forced to jump from it, claiming the life of an Idaho Falls man. The rafter, Dirk Gombert of Idaho Falls, was later pronounced dead at St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center. Story here. (AP Photo/Times-News,Ashley Smith)
I had a few times where I sorely missed a partner — like when the oldest fell on the way to
school and split his forehead open and had to be taken to emergency by the sitter — along with all the other kids she was caring for … The times in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts where a father would have been so much better with knives and carving and fishing and making fires. (I was demonstrating how to fix a tarp, slicing through the tarp and also slicing through my thumb and then standing there with blood gushing and calmly advising ten little boys on how to stop bleeding while also gluing the tarp, and ending it with, children, don’t do this at home)/JeanieS. Full post below.
Question: When did you last suffer a significant cut?
The central figure in that bit of newspaper history was for many years Bill Hall, who started 
writing editorials at the Trib in 1965 and (with a short 18-month hiatus) kept at it till he retired in 2002. His successor was Jim Fisher, who’d written edits alongside Hall for many years and whose style significantly overlapped. Now Fisher is retiring, so a real question has been: Does financially-strapped Lewiston (which recently cut the editorial page staff from two to one) keep the tradition alive? Looks like it will, having just hired for the job Marty Trillhaase, who has been editorial editor at the Idaho Falls Post-Register/Randy Stapilus, Ridenbaugh Press. More here.
Question: Which editorial write in a local, state or national newspaper do you enjoy reading most?
Mayor Sandi Bloem & the City Council should approach the push by LCDC to transform 
McEuen Field w/extreme caution. A misstep — a decision to go too far in approving changes — will finally give diehard foes of this administration the rallying point to grab council seats, and maybe even the mayor’s one. For half a century, dating back to the 50s, threats to the waterfront have unified the community against those in power. In the ‘50s, the incumbents were turned out when they sided with advocates for a shopping center at the base of Tubbs Hill. In the early 1980s, the Save Our Shoreline ticket headed by Jim Fromm swept into power when a developer proposed building twin towers on the current site of The Coeur d’Alene Resort. The community has united against Duane Hagadone’s plans to restore hydroplane racing to the waterfront and build a botanical garden on McEuen Field and later the western end of Sherman Avenue. A Huckleberries Onlilne poll showed 44% of the readers here don’t want a thing done with McEuen Field. Others were OK with changes around the 3 ballfields. Only 17% wanted a complete overhaul. No one will be able to force wholesale changes down the throats of Coeur d’Alene residents. But they may usher in a council of naysayers if they try.
Question: If you were an incumbent seeking re-election on the Coeur d’Alene City Council, what would you tell LCDC board members pushing to get moving on the McEuen Field upgrade?
Oh larger body of elected ones, Majority like sheep you follow your leaders
As the caucus doors close and thumbscrews turn
Down hill you trod, the state, its schools,
Its economy in tow. Full poem here.
State Rep. Nicole LeFavour, District 19
Jen Beaver, 23, holds her candle as she watches the candlelight vigil at the Columbine Memorial at Clement Park near Littleton, Colo., on Sunday. Today is the 10th anniversary of the murderous rampage at Columbine High School in Colorado. Story here. (AP Photo/Chris Schneider)
Question: Are our schools safer today than they were 10 years ago?
Gov. Butch Otter says there’s no relationship between the two bills he vetoed this morning - HB 161a on security breaches that release personal information, and HB 245, which established a Parents as Teachers program under the Children’s Trust Fund - and his dispute with the Legislature over transportation. “I think I would’ve vetoed these bills no matter - in fact, I don’t even know who carried the bills,” he said. HB 161a was sponsored by Rep. Tom Trail, R-Moscow, and HB 245 was sponsored by Rep. Brian Cronin, D-Boise. However, HB 245 was co-sponsored by House Education Chairman Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, an outspoken opponent of Otter’s fuel tax increase bil/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Are there any other bills veto coulda/shoulda vetoed?
April is Poetry Month, whatever that may mean to you, perhaps not much. Perhaps what with your nomination to be Assistant Secretary for Human Rights running into rough waters because of that silly song you sang at the company Christmas party in 1997 which has been used to make you look like an insensitive jerk, your interest in poetry is practically nil, and if so - hey, you’re not alone. The reading aloud of poetry has been shown, time and time again, to be effective at breaking up gatherings of people. Rather than tear gas or pepper spray, many police departments now use Wordsworth. Or T.S. Eliot, that small dark cloud of a poet/Garrison Keillor, in Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Do you like poetry?
Breast cancer survivors gathered on the steps of the INB Performing Arts Center (Spokane Opera House) for a “survivor” photograph before the start of the Eastern Washington Race for the Cure, Sunday. Over 7,000 women, children and men raced, walked and participated as teams to raise money for, and recognize, those people whose lives have been touched by breast cancer. Story here. (J. Bart Rayniak/Spokesman-Review)
Question: Is anyone in your family a cancer survivor?
So what? some Democrats have sniffed, rather derisively. When you have Fox News and talk radio and conservative Web sites promoting an event, of course people will turn out. These Tea Partiers who protest taxes don’t seem to understand that taxes for the vast majority of the public will go down if President Obama gets his way, other Democrats added. This is a mistake Democrats often make, countering an emotional argument with a process-based response. The fact is that a certain segment of the public was fed up enough last Wednesday to skip lunch, leave work early or have dinner late so they could cheer speakers, shake fists or wave signs in protest. But the real question for Republicans is: Protest what?/Jim Camden, SR Spin Control. More here.
Question: We’ve been focused on the impact of the Tea Parties last week on a national level. Jim Camden brings up an interesting point. The Tea Parties were relatively well attended in the Inland Northwest. Will they have an impact on local and state politics?
A Spokane espresso stand has uncovered a new way to market its lattes and mochas by hiring bikini-clad baristas to serve its customers. While it may not exactly be bikini weather that’s not stopping the women working behind the counter at Busty’s Top Espresso on East Sprague from serving up coffee in bikini tops and shorts. The espresso stand has been around for over a year and is run by the same owner of the Bel-Air motel which is connected to the espresso drive thru. This week that espresso stand reopened as Busty’s Top Espresso, with signs & balloons advertising their bikini clad women and beverages/KXLY. More here.
Question: Would you be more likely or less likely to stop at an espresso stand if bikini-clad baristas worked there?
Lake City High School senior Jessica Ross during softball practice at the school in Coeur d’Alene recently. Greg Lee tells you all about the LCHS star in his weekly high school sports feature in the SR Handle Extra here. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review)
In the HBO Poll this weekend, 50 of 93 respondents (53%) answered some form of “no” to the question: “Are you concerned that the distribution of racist material in CdA Friday means the Aryans are back?” Among the “no” answers, 30 indicated that the distribution discovered Friday morning in some CdA neighborhoods was the work of a few malcontents. 37 of 93 respondents (38%) answered “yes,” with the top answer being (13 votes) being: “In hard times people are looking for a scapegoat.” Six respondents marked “maybe.”
BandR: So who’d you go with instead of Time Warner, Dave? My phone/cable/internet bill with them is running around $140/mo which I would dearly love to lower. I’m thinking of dropping the land line completely since the kids and I all have cell phones. Anyone have any thoughts on that?
DFO: I got a deal with Direct TV for $24.95 per month for a year for 150 channels ($54.95 for the second 12 month with a buyout clause. However, current Time-Warner package costs $62 for 70-plus channels). I bundled my Verizon/Internet service to add high-speed Internet and unlimited long distance for $50 per month. But I’m considering dropping a home land line, too — for greater cost savings. My total TW/Cable/Verizon bill had been $121.
Question: Can those who use only cell phones and no land lines tell us whether it’s worth it?
Herb: Paranoia comes in many forms. Those that choose the life of Nazi
flag waving are 
paranoid. Those that find Nazis under every bush are
equally paranoid. This issue, and many others are hotbeds of hatred,
directed in both directions. It is always interesting to hear the
squeals from both liberal and conservative camps when a toe has been
stepped on. … Somehow, we have to climb down from our marble platforms of
righteousness and talk to each other as friends and neighbors. Is it
going to happen anytime soon? probably not, as most ideologues are firmly
entrenched in their own little world, paying no attention to the other.
Question: How much attention do you pay to political discussion in the comments thread of Huckleberries Online?
Nick Adams: Jesse’s correct about the Cherry Hill courts — which are fantastic! Also, the courts
at LCHS, CHS are open to the public when the students and aren’t using them. I played tennis consistently in CDA for nine years and never experienced a time where I couldn’t find an open court. I may have had to drive to a couple of different places and had to play on a less than stellar surface, but given that the popularity of tennis has dropped fairly consistently in the last two decades, CDA is actually a little bit ahead (thanks to the Cherry Hill addition) in terms of courts-to-players ratio.
Question: Can we all agree that tennis courts aren’t needed at McEuen Field because we have very good courts at the two high schools and at Cherry Hill?
Marmitetoasty: I stood in the queue in the pub one summer about 15 years ago, I was double
dared to bungee jump. … they had this massive crane rigged up … not some beautiful view over a canyon lol . … I was up for it, shaking in me boots but up for it. … Except … the bloke 3 in front of me, got strapped in and hoisted up to the platform. … he was as tough as old nails was Ronnie Harris, a bit of a wide boy of about 45. … he jumped … and screamed and in front of everyone had a massive heart attack … Dead on disembarkment. … So, they closed the whole thing down … Praise the lord in a sick way. … RIP Ronnie Harris.
Question: Can anyone top this adventure of Marmie’s?
Scott Stantis/Birmingham News
To sum up my Saturday: I spent a coupla hours rifling through direct-mail offers for better service at lower prices for home phones, cable TV and Internet access — and then dealing with sales reps on the telephone to save up to $65 per month. Time-Warner got the pink slip. I swept wood chips from everything within 20 feet of my winter wood pile, which is now down to 8 rounds, in preparation for seal-coating the patio this afternoon. Both my pro baseball teams — San Francisco and Seattle — lost 2-0, spoiling good efforts by pitchers who are paid too much to pity. My wife and I enjoyed pre-tourist-season City Park with 3 other couples late in the afternoon before the cold drove us home. I prepared 15 questions on John 20:19-29 for the adult Sunday School class I will lead in the morning. I capped things off by reading a coupla poems by Karl Shapiro, including one that recalled what garage sales were like years ago before they became popular. You can tell us what you did. Or use this Wild Card to start your own thread. Or just go out and have a nice day in the sun …
In the news early this morning: Ashton Kutcher beats CNN in a race to become the first Twitter user to attract 1M followers here. Money is pouring into U.S. Senate race coffers, despite the recession here. A Puyallup fair ride accident injures 12 children here. The pirate hostage captain gets a small-town welcome here. CIA objections slowed torture memo release here. And the Saturday Wild Card is in play …
“What’s wrong with these people, give me a break,” said Garvin Jones, of Coeur d’Alene about the Aryan Nations flyers that were dropped in his neighborhood early Friday morning. Jones and his neighbors awoke Friday morning to find white supremacist literature on their lawns and in their driveways, purportedly from the resurrected Aryan Nations. We began a discussion about this Friday evening in the daily Parting Shot here. You can find a multi-choice HBO Poll about it below. And you can read Alison Boggs’ story about it here.
Item: Cat left in teapot at shelter highlights struggle of pet owners/Tom Hasslinger, CdA Press
More Info: Then the top came off the teapot and out popped a kitten’s head. “She was crammed in there so tight nobody could hear her cry,” said Kate Cota, Kootenai Humane Society employee. “I can’t believe some people.” Backing up, it was last Saturday that now-named Teapot — a 2-year-old short-haired Russian Blue cat — first appeared at the humane society in Hayden. Backing up further, animals have always had amazing ways of making entrances.
Question: Did you ever get a dog or a cat for a pet from an animal shelter? How did that work out?
I hadn’t planned to attend the local “tea party” protests. These
days, both Democrats and 
Republicans go stone deaf when confronted with
demands of fiscal responsibility. But after I learned from the
Department of Homeland Security that there was a chance that I could
meet some honest-to-goodness terrorists there, I had to go. In
a report released early this week, DHS warned law enforcement to beware
of tax protesters, pro-lifers and returning military veterans. How
could I resist? After trying so hard to abolish such terms as “war on
terror” and “terrorism” from the lexicon, our brand-new, post-partisan,
unification federal government has discovered that indeed there is such
a thing as terrorism threatening America after all. And the
danger is from conservatives, such as those who attend tea parties/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Costello is referring to a controversial Homeland Security report in which prolifers, those opposed to immigration, and returning military veterans could be susceptible to recruitment by right-wing extremists. Do you think those who attended the Tea Party protests around the nation are susceptible to extremism?
Whippersnapper: What would you define as a (white supremacist) “foothold”? What does that even mean? Two?
Five? Seven losers in a van somewhere talking about painting swastikas
or scaring people with literature like this? If Butler hadn’t owned a
house and a few acres, the few that were here wouldn’t have had a place
to stay. I don’t think there was ever an ideological “foothold” here,
just some violent, low IQ ex-cons who stayed at Butler’s compound,
which is now gone.
Question: Do your out-of-state family and friends associate North Idaho with Aryans today?
Cis: On March 31st I did a post on it isn’t easy being a parent and at the end of it, I put, I hope I did it right. I am the mother of 8 … grandmother of 17 and great grandmother of 4. I
found out 
two days ago, that #4 child commented on my March 31st post.
This is one of my children that it was a up and down times especially
thru the teens. … It was a total surprise to find out that not only did
my child read my blog, but the wonderful comment she left. And my
answer is … is the trip worth it. … oh, yes. … will it always be good, no,
but it is doable. And very rewarding. I told this child she never has
to buy me another Mother’s Day gift or card the rest of my life, as she
gave me a lifetime gift of her comment.
Question: How many kids, grandkids, etc., do you have? Ages?
CindyH: I didn’t have angst at 17; it was more constant, unrelenting DRAMA. However,
like most teenage girls I thrived on drama and intrigue. I wrote books
filled with really bad poetry, so I’m happy to have gotten that out of
my system at a fairly young age. I don’t want to be 17 again. Well,
maybe for just a minute so I could kick my high school sweetheart
really hard and break up with him before he dumped me during Christmas
break my senior year. Yeah. That would be good.
Question: What would you do differently, if you could return to your high school days and change one thing?
Stickman: I also once convinced my wife that if I did something for her that
meant a lot, I would 
ask the same from her. She wanted me to go to the
Juvenile Detention Center in Spokane and interact with the kids. I did
it for about a year and loved every minute, the young sure need our
help these days. In return, I asked her to jump out of a plane from 12,
000 feet with a tandem jumper and experience what I have over a few
times in my life. She did, and she is scared to death to even stand on
a chair, a height thing. I watched her fall from the sky that day, what
an experience was that.
Question: What is the scariest thing you’ve done?
Marmitetoasty: Raising me 4 lads completely on me own for the past 9 years has been
the hardest thing Ive ever had to do. … Ive had to be a mum and dad, Ive
had to make up for my 
sons not having grandparents or aunties or uncles
in their lives. … Ive been tugged and pulled every which way. … had to be
in 4 places at the same time, stood on wind swept rain soak sidelines
at rugby matches, being the only mum there, spending hours at hockey
and tchoukball and boring cricket, cos I was the only one there that
would be rooting for my sons. … Ive ran my soul and heart ragged with
the love I have for my sons. … there are times when being a net for so
many, having to make every single decision that would affect their
lives forever, having to not just financially support us all but
emotionally be their for 4 unique individuals … almost bought me to me
knees (maybe thats why I have dodgy knees lol).
Question: Is there a harder job to do well that being a single parent?
In the news this evening: ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ sensation Susan Boyle won’t get a makeover here. The pirate hostage captain praises SEAL superheroes here. Seattle experiences a 44 percent increase in people seeking concealed-weapons permits since Obama took office here. Obama is reaching out to Cuba here. Obama’s administration unveils guidelines for broader stem-cell research here. And the Wild Card remains in play …
Check back around 7 o’clock, and you’ll discover that white supremacists have been active again in North Idaho. They distributed leaflets like the one above. Story below (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review)
Many residents of a north Coeur d’Alene subdivision awoke Friday to find racist fliers on their lawns, distributed as recruitment letters by the white supremacist group, the Aryan Nations. “I saw Aryan Nations and put it in the trash,” said Garvin Jones, who lives in the neighborhood southwest of Atlas Road and Prairie Avenue. “What’s wrong with these people? Give me a break. I bet if you went back in their family history, not one is 100 percent white”/Alison Boggs, SR. More here.
Question: Do you think a white supremacist group like the Aryan Nations could ever gain another foothold here?
Chris Claremont, award-winning author of the X-Men and Wolverine comic books and a
novelist, will be make a presentation at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave.
Claremont’s visit to Coeur d’Alene, in conjunction with the release of of the new film, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” is sponsored by Lightning Comics, Regal Cinemas Riverstone 14, and by the Friends of the Coeur d’Alene Public Library. Claremont will conduct a Q&A session and Writers Workshop in the library’s Community Room beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday, May 1. He will also be available that day for a Signing and Meet and Greet at 6 p.m. at Riverstone and prior to the 7 and 8 p.m. screenings of the X-Men movie/Coeur d’Alene Today. More here.
Question: Which comic book superhero is your favorite? Why?
Dan Mitchinson, the SR/KJRB news director, spent his 40th birthday recently jumping out of an airplane from 15000 feet above Lake Wanaka in New Zealand. E-mails Dan: “I made it to the ground. … so I guess I’ll get to celebrate my 41st after all!”
Question: Have you ever gone skydiving or bungy jumping?
Ostriches seen at an ostrich farm in Hohenfelde at the Baltic Sea, northern Germany, on Thursday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Heribert Proepper)
Top Cutlines:
OTV continues to find interesting ways to enliven his Get Out! North Idaho blog. Recently, he resurrected a feature that focuses on odd finds at local thrift stores, including the bizarre note above that he discovered “tucked in back cover of 70’s kids’ picture book about US Presidents found on 10 cent book clearance shelf, Idaho Youth Ranch Thrift Store.” OTV deciphers the note for you here. You have to draw your own conclusions re: the point of the message from there.
April 17 was the date of my car accident. Three years ago. It seems like a dream sometimes. 
Like it didn’t really happen. Or like it was a scene in a book I read or movie I saw. Those few seconds of rolling over and over in a metal box. Those few seconds of wondering what was happening and what would happen the next moment. Those few seconds of praying like I’ve never prayed before. Those few seconds changed my life. That evening in the ambulance and hospital room and the painful days that followed were just the beginning. That event caused me to look at life in a whole different way/Jen, A Butterfly Moment. More here.
Question: Have you ever been in a serious vehicle accident?
In the famous word of Homer Simpson, “D’oh!” I didn’t realize that Councilwoman KerriT had dozens of photos from the Coeur d’Alene Tea Party gathering at Independence Point. She has some great shots of the crowd, speakers, tax tossers on a boat, and even a Demo or two. You can see them here.
This week, our youngest turned two years old. I still don’t think we’ve got this whole parent thing
licked yet…some days it still gets the better of me and I feel like it’s too difficult to carry on, some days I don’t want to carry on…but, I must…I have to. This is the choice we made…a choice I made. And the responsibility is bigger than anything I’ll ever do in my life. Bigger than my job, bigger than anything else. Happy birthday to my little two year old. To my children: I’m sorry for any mistakes I might make in your upbringing. I’m sorry for any disappointment or stress I may case. I don’t pretend to be perfect, but one thing you must know, is that no matter what failures I may have as a dad, my love for you will never falter, ever/Toadman, Synaptic Disunion. More here.
Question: What grade would you give yourself as a parent?
In this Nov. 18, 2008, file photo, Bob Macdonald (cq) and his dog Jake (third from right) visit with other dogs of all breeds at the Gateway Park at Stateline. Macdonald and others hope to have a dog park of their own in Coeur d’Alene. (Dan Pelle/Spokesman-Review)
A funny thing happened to Bob Macdonald on his way to advertising the future site of the new CdA dog park. Not funny ha-ha. Funny Weird. Seems Bob, a former Kootenai County commissioner, had the idea to promote the site (on school property north of North Shire Park, off Atlas Road) and clean out his garage, too. After getting permission from other dog-park boosters, Bob took an old 6-by-12-foot kennel he owned to the 7-acre site Tuesday and planned to return with a bunch of dogs for a photo op and a banner that read: “Future site of the Coeur d’Alene Dog Park.” Only the kennel wasn’t there when Bob returned Thursday. Someone had walked off with it. Quips Bob: I should have hung the sign on it before. At least, the thief would know what he was stealing.”
Question: Do you support the idea of a dog park for Coeur d’Alene?
As some of you are aware, former SR political cartoonist Milt Priggee has joined Pulitzer Prize winner David Horsey to give the online Seattle P-I quite a one-two punch on the cartooning front. You can read about my old Editorial Page buddy’s new adventure here. You can find Milt’s Web site here. Of the cartoon above, Milt sez: “Seattle’s professional sports franchise fans, owners and players have a major competitor- our CREATOR.”
Question: Are you a Milt Priggee fan?
The 10-month-long search for a UI president has been unsuccessful, with the top two candidates and another secondary candidate dropping out earlier this year. Terrell pledged the position will be filled by the end of the school year on May 15. He declined to answer direct questions about the status of the search, but said the board is engaged in “direct negotiations.” Last week the Idaho Statesman reported that some UI supporters think Terrell’s BSU boosterism is scaring away candidates. Terrell is a BSU graduate and a past president of its athletic association. He often wears that support on his sleeve at board meetings, but said when it comes to board work, the schools the board oversees are treated the same/Joel Mills, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Do you think the search for a new UIdaho president has been hampered by the presence of a staunch Boise State booster as Education Board chairman?
Action must now be taken quickly and with conclusive results, lest other nests of brigands are 
bred. Absent ship owners arming their crews or outfitting vessels with professional gun crews, one immediate solution would be to create an international exclusion in shipping lanes off the Somali coast in international waters. Any vessels entering the area from Somalia, and clearly not on some benign mission such as fishing, would be subject to immediate military action such as seizure or attack by warships patrolling the area. Furthermore, the United States could divert from the Iraq theater one or two of the new Q-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft to patrol skies for pirate vessels/Idaho Mountain Express. More here.
Question: Do you favor the tough approach to piracy advocated by the Idaho Mountain Express?
This image provided by the Utah Highway Patrol shows the dog tags Neo was wearing when he was found Thursday. Neo, was wearing the same harness and name tag shown in photos recovered from the crashed SUV of Joyce Moore of Kelso, Wash. Moore was killed when her SUV rolled April 4 on Interstate 84 in Box Elder County. Perry says her dog stood nearby as rescue crews attended to Moore, but fled when someone tried to catch him. Story here. (AP Photo/Utah Highway Patrol - Lee Perry)
Review: Review: ‘17 Again’: Light in substance, the movie doesn’t support heavyweight stars Zac Efron, Matthew Perry/L.A. Times.
More Info: The movie, which makes high school seem only slightly less grim than “Lord of the Flies,” tries to deal with teen sexuality and social pressures, but it’s the same old song, sung out of key. The standard venal cliques are in place. If a film recycles images of the psychopathic jock boyfriend with the soul of a date rapist, or the Bratz-knockoff slutettes setting the fashion standard for the girls, at some point it risks not just reusing and commenting on these tropes but reinforcing them.
Question: Would you like to be 17 again? Why? Why not?
To part with friends must
ever sadden:
good luck and thank you,
big John Madden.
The Bard Of Sherman Avenue
I’ve been trying to get a good handle on the size of the Lake City Tea Party crowd @ Independence Point Saturday. At OpenCDA.com, Mary Souza said security estimated the crowd @ 1300 to 1500. MamaJD figured 800 to 1000. Her father, who has a background in dealing with crowds, figures 1000. Organizers guesstimated the crowd to be about 1000.
Question: Let’s settle on 1000 as the size of the crowd, for argument’s sake. What does that number say re: the mood of local residents toward spending by the federal government in particular and taxes in general?
Don Bain can keep an eye on his detached shop (reflected in sliding door) from his back porch in Spokane Valley, Wash., where he says squatters have moved into the shop and refuse to leave. He was surprised when he was told by police that the squatters had a right to be in the garage — and that they could even break a window to get back in, if he padlocked the doors. Story here. (Dan Pelle/Spokesman-Review)
Question: What do you think of this situation?
I am attempting to rehabilitate former pasture on my property here in Pend Oreille County and return it to a meadow/grass/shrub condition. Columbian Ground Squirrels would help to maintain the meadow condition and prevent woody invasion, but the state Department
of Fish and Wildlife has informed me that I cannot live-trap any to bring to my meadow. … Yet there on the front page of The S-R is the Rodenator, which I’ll wager does not achieve 100 percent mortality without suffering. What is wrong here? Anyone out there up for a little civil disobedience to smuggle a couple of undesired Columbian Ground Squirrels my way?/Jim Sayre, SR letter writer. More here.
Question: Worth a try?
The so-called silent majority stood up on Tax Day. They took time off of work or closed up their shops or got up off their couches. They made signs expressing beliefs and frustrations, donned their best patriotic gear and drove down to Independence Point to join a huge crowd of cohorts for a Tax Day Tea Party. Organizers of the event were hoping for up to 500 people. Instead, security professionals working the Cd’A Tea Party estimated the crowd at 1,300 — 1,500 and people kept arriving during the entire two hour program. The sun was shining as I wound through the crowd asking folks one important question: “Have you ever been to a protest?”/Mary Souza, CdA Press. More here.
Question: Mary asks a good question: Have you ever been to a protest? If so, what did you protest?
Humor is hard to find on today’s economic scene, as unemployment lines grow longer and 
investment asset reports grow shorter. But thanks to some of President Obama’s critics on the right, there is the allegation that Obama is turning the United States toward socialism. What a hoot. Outside of the ossified brains of a few despots like North Korea’s Kim Jong Il and Cuba’s Fidel Castro, socialism is as obsolete as the buttonhook, both in America and abroad. Even those political parties in Europe and elsewhere that call themselves socialist are nothing of the kind. Today, everyone recognizes which means of economic integration won the test of time, and it wasn’t socialism. It was capitalism/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Do you think Obama’s a socialist?
Alexis Olson, an English, political science, and international studies major with a Spanish minor, “tags” steps out front of the Student Union Building Thursday afternoon. Tag Day is designed to raise student awareness about the monetary impact donors have. Story here. Nick Groff/Argonaut
Question: Do you contribute money to a college or university?
It’s those doggoned spring flowers
Brought about by April Showers
That make my nose run
Which isn’t much fun
When I’m sneezing and sneezing for hours.
Escapee
In the HBO Poll Thursday, 56 of 107 respondents (52%) felt the Tea Party protest throughout the U.S. Wednesday would have no lasting effect. In that group 42 (39%) said conservatives won’t return to power using such tricks. Another 26 respondents said the impact of the Tea Parties would be minimal — for 82 of 107 total who discounted the protest. On the other side, 14% predicted the Tea Parties were the beginning of a revolution, and 9% said they put Washington on notice that it’s spending too much.
Arpie: My bike is leaning against the wall outside my classroom waiting for me to finish typing this. Our county has not done enough in the past, but that is changing. I am a member of the Bonner County Trails Advisory Group that is working on a plan for a system of trails- including bike trails -county-wide. We are making some prgress. The city of Sandpoint is doing the same thing.
Question: When did you bike or walk to work?
Aliasjax: I don’t want to know what my co-workers keep in their cars and neither do you. I imagine that beyond guns and other weapons you could find porn magazines, roach clips, opened bottles of vodka and gin, sex toys, day-old doughnuts, soiled undergarments, and medieval torture devices … none of which affects me in the least, so long as they keep in their cars.
Question: What wouldn’t you want a co-worker to keep in their cars?
Bent: I got Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever last year in May. I woke up one morning and my body
was completely covered in a burning rash. I went to the doctor and was immediately diagnosed with the fever, which by the way is a really bad fever. I had to take a week and half off from work and took a drug called Prednizone for seven days straight, along with high-powered antibiotics. I slept pretty much around the clock every single day, and had the worst case of fever chills I have ever experienced. it took almost three weeks to feel normal again.
Question: What is the sickest that you’ve ever been?
Herb Huseland: I do think in the case of Susan, that first I would like to publicly propose marriage. Listening to her sing around the house would pep up anyone’s life. I think the contrast with her down to earth plain old having fun thing, not a bit of nervousness, it was that contrast with the beauty that was shown as she began the song. The hair stood up on the back of my neck and I found myself having to wipe my eyes when it was over. Full post below.
Question: Did you grow up in a house where family members sang or played music around the house?
Scott Stantis/Birmingham News
In the news this evening: The White House asks Georgetown to cover Jesus’ name prior to Obama speech here. Hall of Famer John Madden retires from the broadcast booth here. The Los Angeles Times looks at the Tea Party protests here. Homeland Security issues report on extremism despite concerns here/AP. Captured teen pirate to face trial in NY here. And the Wild Card remains in play …
Susan Boyle, who’s performance on the television show “Britain’s Got Talent” wowed the judges, gives the thumbs up at her home in Blackburn, Scotland, Thursday. The frumpy 47-year-old, who says she’s never been kissed, has gained celebrity fans and millions of admirers - including a fair number of men - since appearing on the show. Her fame has been fueled by new technology, with a clip of her performance viewed more than 12 million times on YouTube.(AP Photo/Andrew Milligan-pa)
So John Madden is retiring. Another old-school famous personality hanging it up. I think John Madden related to his audience so well, for one thing: He was such a CHARACTER. He was just 
crazy enough to be different, yet he knew what he was talking about all the way. Madden always lent an authoritative, yet folksy and humorous manner to the proceedings. I always thought Madden was Really Cool. I feel a sense of loss here, but then again, I feel that way whenever an old-school TV personality retires…Walter Cronkite…Eric Sevareid…Dandy Don Meredith…I even miss Howard Cosell. … I may be way off-base here, but it seems as if the people who are replacing them are more or less generic, cookie-cutter-type broadcasters/Escapee. Full post below.
Question: What media personality — news, sports, entertainment, etc. — would you hate to see retire?
Usually, Councilwoman KerriT is behind the camera (as she is above). But this time MamaJD snapped a photo of the OnLocation North Idaho photographer, shooting the Lake City Tea Party at Independence Point Wednesday. Kerri’s tax activist father, the late Ron Rankin, was there in spirit. I’m sure.
An archerfish latches onto the finger of a young tourist who lured it out of the water with bread on his finger tip during a visit to a fish farm at the Kilim Karts Geoforest Park on Langkawi island in Malaysia earlier today. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Top Cutlines:
A CdA woman lost her own groceries while she was busy loading food items in and out of the Lake City Community Food Bank, 4th & Spruce, around noon Tuesday. Kim Charchan told CPD Blue that she left her vehicle around noon to go inside the food bank. She left her car unlocked. When she returned to her car 10 minutes later, she noticed her groceries were missing from the back seat. No other items were missing. The victim didn’t see suspicious people in the area. She calculated her loss at $60.
At the LCDC meeting last night, the board decided to work with city officials to develop a 2009 plan to upgrade McEuen Field. LCDC exec Tony Berns (pictured) said the urban renewal agency wants to dust off the “Committee of Nine” plan from 2002 (which was a follow-up to the 1999 Walker-Macy Plan) to see which parts still apply today and which need to be changed. It’s possible, he said, that the Committee of Nine plan is outdated and an entirely new one is needed. The agency has money available to help fund the planning aspect of a new or modified plan, he said, adding: “It’s the city’s ball to carry.” LCDC wants to see attention focused again on the McEuen Field upgrade by this fall (when fiscal year 2010 begins), Berns said.
Question: Would you be okay with a plan that removed the tennis courts and American Legion Baseball field for more green space for public events, kept the softball fields, and transformed the boat-trailer parking lot into an amphitheater?
spring blusters
winter peeks, then hides
…a child’s game
Sue Turner/Tumblewords
Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Idaho Falls, brought his legislation promoting employees storing guns in their cars at work to the Senate State Affairs Committee, where it barely passed on a 4-3 vote. Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, spoke out in favor of the bill, saying it actually does very little, merely providing legal immunity covering only lawful gun storage to employers who have policies allowing or not forbidding such gun storage in their company parking lots. The Idaho Trial Lawyers Association testified against the bill/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Would you be comfortable in your workplace if you knew a co-worker had a gun in his/her car in the parking lot?
Soft ticks bite and feed on a host at night and then drop, so people may not know they’ve been bitten by a tick. Symptoms of relapsing fever include fever, chills, along with headaches and muscle aces. In some cases a person might vomit, have a rash, become nauseated or have abdominal pain. The symptoms may continue for several days, stop, and then recur perhaps as many as five or six times. The second tick to check for are so-called hard ticks, also called wood or dog ticks. They bite and burrow under the skin of people and animals and could infect with tick paralysis or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever/John Stucke, SR. More here.
Question: Have you ever been bitten by a tick?
“Pedaling Revolution” makes a telling point about bicyclists’ gains. The most effective revolutionaries have not been public zealots, but low-profile planners and congressional aides. 
Former President Bush, an avid mountain biker, gets accolades. Despite right-wing grumbles, W. signed a transportation bill that contained a $100 million model program, providing $25 million apiece for four communities to see if they could increase the percentage of trips taken by bicycle. Asked by Bicycling magazine if his riding enthusiasm was a factor in approving the bill, Bush replied: “Absolutely. The more accessible (streets and paths) are for bikes, the more likely it is that people will use them. But it’s got to start at the local level”/Joel Connelly, Seattle P-I. More here.
Question: Are you satisfied that your community and/or county has done enough to promote biking by building and designating bike trails? Or: When did you last ride a bike.
In this MamaJD photo, you’ll see something that other Tea Party protests didn’t have — a boat and a lake to carry off an actual dumping of stuff into the water (like the original Boston Tea Party). You can find links to other photos by MamaJD and print coverage of the Inland Northwest Tea Parties here.
In his coverage of the Boise Tea Party, Dan Popkey/Idaho Statesman listed some of the messages on the protest signs. They are as follows:
Question: If you summed up into one protest sign the things in your life that make you unhappy, what would the message say?
Toadman: Truth be told, I don’t find (Susan Boyle) ugly…plain, maybe, but there is beauty in plain, there is beauty in real, all the plumped up plastic people who inject botulism into their skin are a lot more ugly, to me, than she ever could be, and not because they’re physically ugly, because they’re fake. They don’t like who they are, so they try to be something else. Also, there’s definitely beauty in Boyle’s personality, and her voice. Full post below.
Question: Let’s concede that most people are ordinary looking. What percentage of people do you consider truly good looking? Or truly ugly? Are you comfortable around good-looking people?
In this photo from the Susan Boyle FanSite, Susan Boyle is shown during her performance on “Britain Has Got Talent” blowing the judges (including Simon Crowell) away with her rendition of “I Dreamed A Dream” from “Les Miserables.” As a result, she became an international sensation. The YouTube video of this performance has received over 12 million hits. And just as much discussion. Tanya Gold of The Guardian, for example, asked in a column why are we so shocked that a physically unattractive person like Susan Boyle can sing so beautifully. YouTube video here.
Question: Why do you think we’re all so taken by Susan Boyle’s performance?
Item: Apple Cup may call Seattle home: Deal in works to move rivalry game from school stadiums to Qwest Field/Vince Grippi, SR
More Info: Washington State University and the University of Washington are near an agreement to move the Apple Cup rivalry football game to Qwest Field in Seattle, The Spokesman-Review learned Wednesday. The agreement, which is expected to be finalized soon, would mean the yearly game between the schools would move off campus venues – Martin Stadium in Pullman and Husky Stadium in Seattle – and be played in the Seattle Seahawks’ home each season beginning in 2010.
Question: Does it matter to you where U-Dub and WSU play the Apple Cup?
Last week, the Idaho Senate confirmed Gov. Butch Otter’s reappointment of a commissioner whose qualifications for the post appear to be her longtime Republican activism, not her commitment to equal treatment for all. In fact, Ruthie Johnson of Hayden Lake was among those commissioners who voted against recommending that gays and lesbians get the same protection from discrimination in hiring, housing and the like that others have. Johnson, now 85, spent 24 years as a local staff representative of Sen. James McClure, and lately has been among those Republicans seeking to close their primary elections to all who do not publicly register as party members/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Which Republican would you rather have seen appointed to the Human Rights Commission, if you don’t support Ruthie Johnson’s reappointment?
Item: Spokane Valley lawmaker proposes renaming country/KREM2
More Info: Washington State Senator Bob McCaslin has proposed changing the name of the country to “The United Socialist States of America”. McCaslin, a republican from Spokane Valley, said the country is in a “not-so-slow creep towards socialism” given the number of bailouts and government takeovers of private industries. In a press release McCaslin said, “Our country is seeing some fundamental changes, and its name should reflect those truths.”
Question: Do you agree with state Sen. Bob McCaslin, R-Spokane Valley, that this country is moving toward a socialist state? Or are we simply employing desperate measures to address tough times?
At the Tea Party in Coeur d’Alene, MamaJD snapped this photo of a father and his 3-year-old daughter at City Beach. The sign says: “Don’t tax me, I’m only 3.” MamaJD took several other shots of the protest at Independence Point. You can see them here. You can see Clayton Cramer’s photos from the Boise Tea Party here. You can also read all about the Tea Party protests in the area and elsewhere in the state below.
Question: Will the Tea Parties staged on Tax Day to protest deficit spending have a lasting impact on the country?
In the most lopsided HBO Poll to date, 89% (47 of 53) of the respondents opposed the push by some Idaho Republicans to encourage county parties to endorse in local, nonpartisan elections. Only 9% (5 of 53) supported the idea in the poll published Wednesday.
Marmitetoasty: As regards the groceries … all of our top supermarkets do an online shop … ya log on, order whatever ya like, pick a delivery time, just pay an extra $8 for someone to do ya whole shop and deliver to ya door :) … when I was well poorly with me knee, I order on line and the bloke/blokette will even carry the bags into ya kitchen for ya … my next step is teaching them to pack it all away in the fridge and cupboards lol.
Question: Would an online service that delivers your groceries from the store to your house for an extra $8 to $10 be a hit in this country?
Poolman: Unfortunately most yard sales are pure junk with maybe two items of value that are snatched the very moment the seller steps out the door, by “professional” yard sale-ers. The cherry wood book case and mahogany end table set are gone in minutes, but the old tape recorder and the 7 iron-less 1975 Power Built golf club set with the Lee Trevino insignia will be there all day long. Why bother I’m not going pro in the junk biz - there can be only one Fred Sanford.
Question: What is the greatest treasure that you’ve found at a yard sale? Or: Do you agree with Poolman that most yard sales hawk only junk?
HMOsuite: Change is one thing. Rate of ‘change’ is another. Whether you guys will admit it or
not, the Obama administratiion is unilaterally and, in a highly partisan fashion, making the changes at at alarming rate. We can all live with change, providing we can learn to accept it. It all takes a little time to digest. Every day we hear more about Obamas’ plans and it is difficult to think through, so there is a lot of uncertainty in many peoples minds right now. How far will he go? Run our businesses? Fire our people and set limits for compensation? Now, the global warming stuff is coming and will restrict productivity, lower profits and create a tax to be passed on to the middle class guy that Obama promised no new taxes under $250k. Full post below.
Question: Our you concerned that President Obama is changing too much too soon?
Cabbage Boy:
Just a note about idiocy at large. I heard that some people are upset at the President because of the dog he chose. Shoulda picked a pound pup I guess. Whatever. The pounds were hoping for a huge kick in popularity on mongrel mutts I suppose. If a guy gets to be president, he should be able to have the pick of the litter, not some reject. Can you imagine him picking a pound pup? Then having some adoring fan or unhappy opponent come forward saying this was their dog and they want it back?
Question: Do you think President Obama should have picked a pound puppy for First Dog?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
The ongoing server meltdown hit Huckleberries Online and Eye On Boise hard today. Dunno who was more frustrated — my Boise buddy Betsy Russell or I. Betsy couldn’t post important breaking news from the Legislature. I was knocked out from 10 to noon, in the heart of my daily posting. Oh well, tomorrow’s another day. Meanwhile, I learned today that former SR cartoonist Milt Priggee has joined Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist at the new Seattle P-I online site here. I will continue to leave up that link to the incredible Susan Boyle performance many of you have heard about here. And now I’ll re-post this Wild Card and try to forget about all the computer malfunctions today …
Donna Millwood and Sue Easterly, not seen, hold up a sign that reads “Our government has gotten too big for its britches ” as hundreds of tea party tax protesters gather outside the Federal building in Anchorage, Alaska on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Al Grillo)
DFO: Lost in the hoopla re: the Tea Party protests today is the fact that today is also the deadline for filing your state and federal income tax returns. I filed my federal return electronically through the SR some time ago. I get hit with the automatic deduction today. However, I waited until Tuesday to file my state return. Which also lightened my wallet somewhat. Seems to me that I file returns quicker when there’s money coming back.
Question: When did you file your returns?
Item: NewWest.Net/Boise sabotaged: At first, the mouse kept conniptioning at random, important moments involving the letter G/Jill Kuraitis, New West Boise
More Info: 
The Macbook is going to be fine, too; but only by the skin of its teeth. At first, the mouse kept conniptioning at random, important moments involving the letter G, and then the power cord started tweeting. As in bird, not as in useless little tidbits of random boring information. The techie at MacLife made terrible fun of me before saying it could have been the “logic board” but wasn’t, and it was only because I had flipped the computer upside down within a second of spilling the coffee, draining most of the evil out.
Question: Have you ever spilled coffee or something worse onto your computer keyboard? Or: What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done to your computer?
“Don’t tread on me,” said 19-year-old Chantal McKinney of Plummer as she held the American flag that has been in her family for generations. She attended the tax protest ralley in Coeur d’Alene this afternoon. Orbusmax Tea Party roundup here. KHQ’s live-stream of Spokane Tea Party here. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review)
Kayla Mills, 5, on vacation with her family from Ohio peeks into the open mouth of a shark statue on the Main Street Pier in Daytona Beach, Fla., Tuesday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Daytona Beach News-Journal, Sean McNeil)
Top Cutlines:
I had been reading that “50 Years Ago” column for some time, recalling in recent features both events and people I knew from my childhood days in Sandpoint. Of course, they were all old, unlike me. Then, that story with my byline appeared. Later that day, I ceased the senility lamentations after being struck by a big, bold headline flashing through my mind: I had been reporting news for half a century! My next thought: What a run it has been! Besides horses, eating and talking too much, I think journalism is the only passion I’ve stuck with for most of my life/Marianne Love, River Journal. More here.
Don Sausser reports via camera and e-mail that this was the size of the crowd that gathered by 2:50 this afternoon at Independence Point for the Lake City’s version of the nationwide Tea Party protest. If you attended the local Tea Party, please feel free to report your observations and comments on this thread.
In today’s 28-42 defeat of SB 1148, Gov. Butch Otter’s liquor license bill, there was plenty of opposition from eastern Idaho, but perhaps more surprising was the level of opposition from North Idaho. Of the 12 representatives from the six northernmost districts, just four voted in favor, including the bill’s House sponsor, Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake. The other three yes votes came from Reps. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake; Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow; and George Sayler, D-Coeur d’Alene. Clark said he thought opposition from North Idaho newspaper and resort magnate Duane Hagadone helped turn some northern lawmakers against the bill/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
I remember how much I enjoy the parodies (limericks, poems, and observations, too) from Idaho Escapee when he published the above one on his Atmospheric Ruminations site. You can also read his observations re: Phil Spector’s murder convictions here.
Question: Check out Silver Valley Girl’s link above re: her rekindled desire to go fishing after driving around the Chain Lakes Tuesday afternoon. She hasn’t been fishing in 9 years. When is the last time you went fishing?
Item: Still learning ‘mommy lessons’ after 10 years in the business/A Butterfly Moment
Question: Are you still learning mommy or daddy lessons? Which lesson is the latest you’ve learned?
There were no torches, but there were some pitchforks, reports Rich Roesler/Eye On Olympia, from the Washington state capitol. Thousands of people descended on the state capitol today for a demonstration blasting taxes and government spending. You can read Rich’s report and see another photo he snapped of the protest here.
Item: Marina owner Holland sues builder over damaged Lake Pend Oreille fishing beds/Becky Kramer, SR
More Info: A northern Idaho marina owner who was fined for illegally building a dock that destroyed critical kokanee spawning ground in Lake Pend Oreille is suing his former contractor. Bob Holland, owner of the Harborview Marina in Bayview, filed the lawsuit against Kramer Crane and Contracting, of Sandpoint, in 1st District Court, contending that the company’s negligence led to the habitat destruction. He is asking for more than $1.3 million in damages.
Question: What do you make of this development?
The polyphenols that make olive oil a heart-healthy food are good for the skin as well. The 
antioxidant properties in olive oil help repair skin damage as a result of sun exposure and the natural aging process. Ancient Greeks seemed to have understood this, as they bathed with olive oil, and slathered it on their bodies prior to athletic competitions. Sandra Gunn, owner of Coeur d’Alene Olive Oil Company, has used olive oil on her face for years. “My family is Sicilian. That’s what we’ve always used,” she said. As a past buyer for Nordstrom cosmetics, Gunn noted that many beauty products contained olive oil, so why not go straight to the source, she thought. Gunn’s store carries small spritzers that customers can fill with olive oil to spray on their skin/Kirsten Harrington, SR. More here.
Question: Which natural food products do you use to improve or sustain health?
I’m a guy, which means my slob gene is dominant and my neatness gene is cowering 
somewhere under the empty pizza boxes. But my one concession to order is making the bed every morning. Otherwise I can’t find my underwear. Then Harley came to live at our house. She’s an 8-month old domestic shorthair cat with an obsession for bed clothes. If I straighten out the top sheet, Harley is under it. If I pull the blanket up over the top sheet, Harley is yanking at the other end. If I throw the coverlet over everything else, Harley is there to catch it. When and if - mind you, Harley has spent entire days skulking under the linens - she decides to emerge from the bedding, she leaves it looking like Sunday mornings at “Animal House”/Steve Crump, Twin Falls Times-News. More here.
Question: Do you have a cat with strange habits?
A small insect with iridescent wings rests on the petal of a Western trillium in a forest near Elkton, Ore., on Monday. Botanists say the trillium plant can be seriously injured if its flower is picked because it inhibits the plant’s ability to produce food stores. (AP Photo/The News-Review, Robin Loznak)
The Idaho House has voted 42-28 against Gov. Butch Otter’s major legislation to revamp Idaho’s liquor license system, which sought to end the state’s 62-year-old population-based quota system and let localities approve new liquor licenses for restaurants or hotels. Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, the bill’s House sponsor, said the current system doesn’t work, and has spawned numerous special exemptions approved by the Legislature. Clark said, “I do not believe that this is going to increase liquor consumption. I believe it’s going to lessen it”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Protestors take part in a tea party demonstration this morning in Lafayette Park, across from the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
Fish Wife: It amuses me that the tea partiers blame our new president for the ills of the past 8 years when he has been in office for only 94 days!! The so-called stimulus/bailout/TARP plans were hatched back in November by a lame duck Pres and Treasury Secretary.
Question: How much blame can be put on the Obama administration for the current financial situation, when the new president has been in office less than 100 days?
Some may find this hard to believe, but I don’t like making small talk, so I prefer drive-thru
almost anything. I get too attached to people. The tellers at my bank keep having babies and leaving. I miss them. I wonder about the babies. I’m sticking with the drive-thru. For the same reason I also hate garage sales. People are so friendly! I don’t like to visit with people while I look through their leftovers. I wish they’d leave me alone. Soon, I found out they’re having a garage sale because of a recent divorce, or someone lost a job, or all their money went to buy Johnny’s special shoes. I can’t stand it. I end up buying junk I DO NOT need, because I want to help out. I don’t go to garage sales anymore.
Question: Are you more restrained in your interaction with people now than you were before the age of technology took hold a decade or so ago?
For eight years, it was the Democrats’ turn to beat up Republicans over the federal budget deficit. Now, it’s the Republicans’ turn to blame Democrats for the deficit. If you want to understand why the deficit is growing - much to the peril of our kids and grandkids - this is a good place to start. Instead of treating the deficit like the crisis it is, politicians on both sides have treated the issue like a bludgeon, a handy tool for the loyal opposition. Today’s nationwide “tea party” protests feel like more of the same/Idaho Statesman Editorial Board. More here.
Question: Do you consider the tea parties scheduled throughout the nation today to be bonafide protest or grandstanding to bludgeon the majority party and President Obama?
Item: After years of trying, advocates pass law extending statute of limitations in child sex crimes…/Rich Roesler, Eye On Olympia
DFO: Put your hands together for HBO newby Beth Bollinger, a Spokane attorney who pushed tirelessly for the passage of this bill. Writes Rich Roesler: “In February, Bollinger went to Olympia to testify on behalf of the change. Abuse victims feel shame and isolation, she and other advocates told the Senate Judiciary Committee, and even 28 is a pretty early age for someone to step forward and reveal past abuse.” Beth writes about her experience here.
Question: Have you ever testified in front of a legislative committee or lobbied for a change in the law? Can you describe your experience?
Single mother and human rights activist in Colombia Nidia Castellanos, a single mother and human rights activist in Colombia, with her youngest of three children, Melisa. Castellanos will present “Women Resisting War in Colombia” at noon Monday in Molstead Library Todd Hall at NIC. The event is free and open to the public. More here.
In the HBO Poll Tuesday, 58% (57 of 116) of respondents opted for “go for it” or “best way to keep squirrel numbers in check” when asked what they thought of Spokane’s practice of detonating squirrels plaguing Finch Arboretum. Of the remainder, 23% (27 of 116) thought the practice was horrible or that the city should leave the squirrels alone. In the middle, 19% (22 of 116) wished there was a better way to control the squirrels.
It started as a little rut,
but spread across the lane.
Still needing more, to fill its gut,
The hole ate Coeur d’Alene.
Bayview Bob
JohnA: I just saw an incredibly sad thing on Craigslist tonight. The fabulous 54-foot Searay from which the Spokane realtor slipped from and drowned in Carlin Bay two years ago is now for sale. He told me once he had over $800K into it and now it can be had for $385,000. As one of the largest yet fastest boats on the lake, it’s a steal at that price, but then again, almost everything on the lake these days is a steal.
Question: Have you seen other good deals out there as owners try to get out from under big-ticket items?
Cabbage Boy: the tea parties seem a little contrived to me. As someone pointed
out in the other thread, they aren’t grassroots, they are being pushed
by partisanship. The GOP lukewarms that 
want to keep everyone unhappy
with the Democrats so as to cover their own failings. I am not as upset
with Obama as I am the GOP people that gave us McCain. Our own lame
offering left everyone apathetic. Bush was worse than Clinton because lots of good people believed his
“values” garbage for a while. He patronized them and they bought it all
the while robbing us of our civil rights and taxing us to death. So no, I will not go and listen to the party whips that want to
blame everything on Obama. As bad as the current regime is, the current
lukewarm GOP is not the answer.
Question: Do you still have faith that your political party has the best interests of the American people at heart?
Marmitetoasty: I found it the strangest of the strange when I was in Wisconson 4 years ago and
the maties I was with went to a ‘drive through bank’ … WTF lol … how cold, how robotic … I love that the people in our 2 little village banks knows me by name … even though one is only open for 3 hours a day lol … I love the contact with real people … that goes for our little hardware shop and butchers and newsagents to … We do have a drive through BurgerKing at HAvant now :) … and yes it is handy when its late and Ive done the trampoline run and my lad and his matie come out starving and its all warm and snug in me car and I dont wanna get out just to get them a greasy old burger LOL.
Question: Would you rather deal with an ATM machine or a live teller when doing your banking?
Toadman: some of my liberal brethren might call me out or even question my “associations” with certain conservatives on this blog. The “association” epithet is weak, imo. Just because we can
be friendly with each other, and even work together, doesn’t mean we agree on everything. As an example, I share my office with a guy twice a week who is a staunch gun rights guy, and even works at a local gun range. He’s actually reading some book called “the conservative manifesto.” Still, I consider him my friend, though we have deep disagreements, we still manage to get along well, and work well together, out of mutual respect for each others opinions. Associations carry no weight, in my opinion. Actions do.
Question: Name another Merry Huckster @ HBO whom you get along with — and even like — even though you have a vastly different outlook on life?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
In the news this morning, KREM2 spotlights a Spokane mother of 3 whose Frugal Chic Living blog helps readers hunt for bargains here. A CdA judge sentenced the Pregnant Bank Robber to only 6 months or rehabilitation here. 2 Washington middle schoolers are jailed for spiking a teacher’s coffee here. Somali pirates seize 4 more ships and 60 hostages here. And the Wild Card remains in play …
President Barack Obama watches as Malia shows off their new dog Bo, a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington today. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds) Question: Do you approve of the new First Dog?
I’m not going to the tea party to make the case that President Obama is a Muslim born in
Indonesia, to advocate secession from the union, or to explain how America’s problems are the direct results of actions by members of the Council on Foreign Relations. I’m not going as a Republican; I’m going as an American. My party has let the country down with its massive overspending, corrupt career politicians, and willingness to play business as usual when it’s not called for. As much as I’m not a fan of the Obama administration, if he’s replaced in 2012 by a feckless Republican president with a feckless Republican Congress that believes only its own re-election, our country will be no better for it/Adam Graham, Adam’s Blog. More here.
Question: Are you going to one of the 18 protest Tea Parties being staged around Idaho Wednesday?
Gonzaga men’s basketball coach Mark Few beams over a 50-pound Alaska king salmon he landed with the help of fly fishing guide Joe Roope Jr., who’s soaking wet after belly-flopping on the lunker to keep it from breaking off in a log jam. “Few’s a competitor on the river, too,” Roope recalled. “We all wanted that fish.” Roope, a Coeur d’Alene fishing prodigy, has gone global, according to Rich Landers/SR. More here.
Question: How big was the biggest fish that you’ve caught?
Undetonated ground squirrels sit by a burrow in Finch Arboretum in Spokane. Monday. The Finch Arboretum is being overrun by ground squirrels, and Spokane Parks and Recreation is bringing in some special artillery. The agency is using a special machine called the Rodenator Pro to detonate some of the estimated 100 to 150 squirrels tearing up the grounds. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/The Spokesman-Review, Jesse Tinsley)
Top Cutlines:
Some interesting and sobering words at the just completed public meeting with the commissioners. They authorized the next step in the procedures for a future tax deed auction. These are properties that are sold for back taxes. Actually they have to be three years behind to get on the list. Usually this is a somewhat routine activity. However, they all expressed regret at having to approve the list because for the first time since any of them having been serving there are homes at risk of being taken for back taxes. Usually it’s just land and often odd ball parcels at that. They said there were something like 9 residences on the list. More evidence of tough times/Dan of the County.
Fans cheer Seattle Mariners’ Ken Griffey Jr. as he steps to the plate Tuesday in Seattle in the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels. Griffey singled in his first time at the plate at home since rejoining the Mariners. The Mariners are tied with the Angels at 2-1 after 5 innings. ESPN boxscore here. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Question: Do you think Seattle’s 5-2 record on the road to open the season is a fluke?
Kage Mann (on OpenCDA.com @ 11:25 a.m. today): I’m trying to come up with a name which, would represent the people who ARE FOR virtually everything.Ya’know the type,the socalled ‘progressives’ who think that everything that the city and LCDC do is progress. Sometimes, it’s not good to meddle in something that don’t need fixing.
DFO: Kage Mann, if you wanted some help, you should have come to your friends @ Huckleberries Online. We’re much more creative than the alternative.
Question: Can anyone help Kage. He’s looking for a “CAVE-type” name for so-called progressives who support the city & LCDC. Anyone?
A lot of people pursue (garage) sales with a passion that easily matches that of the weekend golfer: gathering the ads, mapping a route, and hitting sale after sale for the best buys. Now that the weather’s starting to warm up, so will the sales. Of course, the recession gives the practice a little boost too, for both buyers and sellers. People might look to buy more used items at a discount these days — or they might be looking to sell off more old stuff to raise a little extra cash. If you’re in the latter camp, here’s a link to a page that rounds up a lot of advice for the garage seller/Everyday Economy. More here:
Question: Do you garage sale? If so, do you look for anything in particular?
The surviving (and formerly feuding) members of the Grateful Dead had a secret impromptu meeting Monday evening with the man they credit with reuniting them: President Obama. The president welcomed all the members of The Dead, who are performing tonight at the Verizon Center in Washington, to the Oval Office just before dinner last night. They didn’t talk music as much as they did history - history about the Oval Office, and the president’s desk. Apparently the band was quite taken with how tidy the president keeps his desk. And how down-to-earth he seemed, according a source who was there/The Sleuth, Washington Post. More here.
Toadman: Wow … he really is the Messiah. He’s brought the Dead back to life!
Question: Any thoughts re: Obama & the Grateful Dead?
Paul McCartney, right, mingles with his former Beatles bandmate George Harrison’s son Dhani during a posthumous Hollywood Walk of Fame star dedication for Harrison in Los Angeles today. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello) Question: It might be intimidating to be the child of a mega-star like Beatle George Harrison. He left behind monster-sized shoes to fill. How about you? Were you able to fill the shoes left behind by your father/mother?
Idawa: What is up with the performance of this site lately? It runs as if it were a beat up old lemon sold at some rink dinky car dealership on Sherman? Oh wait, sorry… ;) Seriously, the load times have been horrible as of late - it is becoming quite frustrating.
Question: Anyone else having trouble loading Huckleberries Online of late?
Passing along religious traditions is no simple task, especially when the competition from an increasingly alluring secular world (candy and bunnies are just the beginning) is so overwhelming and when so many of us are finding it quite easy to live a perfectly decent life without any religion at all. Just this past week, questions were being raised about whether America’s traditional Christian identity is slipping away. The debate was kicked off in a Newsweek story bannered by a stark red and black cover with this provocative headline: The Decline and Fall of Christian America/David Horsey, Seattle P-I. More here. Horsey cartoon here.
Question: Did you successfully pass on your faith tradition to your children?
We have never noticed any ugliness when it comes to drive-throughs. We don’t think it will 
make banks or pharmacies any prettier, nor will it help McDonalds and Wendy’s look any less fast-foodish. Banning drive-throughs could even promote more ugliness, with people forced to stop and go inside for everything. There will be more traffic jams, ugly cars parking along the street and possibly more foul language as people become frustrated looking for a place to park. Joking aside, this proposal has the potential to hurt parents or baby sitters who are hauling around children, and it will hurt the elderly, or those who struggle with disabilities. Drive-throughs have truly been a blessing for these folks/Sandra Kelly, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. More here.
Question: Which drive-through services at local businesses do you regularly use?
Item: Sandpoint evicts gaggle of geese from beach/AP
More Info: City officials in Sandpoint have teamed up with an animal hospital to lure a gaggle of belligerent geese away from a local public beach. Dr. Robert Pierce of North Idaho Animal Hospital says all but two of the nearly 50 domesticated geese have been removed from City Beach and adopted by local farms. The Sandpoint City Council has long fielded beach user complaints over the geese, which have proven aggressive and leave behind droppings that besides being messy, can carry salmonella and E. coli bacteria.
Question: Are you bothered by the geese on City Beach and North Idaho College Beach. Should Coeur d’Alene city officials figure out a way to remove them, too?
Kara Kuh of Willamette Humane Society in Salem, Ore. shows off a cat recently brought in as a stray. WHS staff say they have never seen anything like the approximately 1-inch wide by 3- inch long fatty tissue pouch that grows out of the cat’s head, droops down and completely covers his face. Possibly an old abscess. Staff have dubbed the cat “the Donald”, since the growth resembles the hairstyle worn by billionaire Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Statesman Journal, Kobbi R. Blair)
The day was fine, the weather fair,
when first I saw a pothole there.
The next time that I drove the route
I noticed there were two about.
A few weeks on, I passed again
and then I counted nine or ten.
The months flew by, for time is fleet:
now there’s more hole than there is street.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
Judges in family law often face heated disputes between divorcing parents over issues such as visitation, getting kids to school or providing rides to soccer practice. Try adding a shotgun to the fray. Last week, Superior Court Judge Sam Cozza affirmed two previous decisions requiring a Spokane man to wait until his 9-year-old son turns 12 and completes a hunter safety course before he can give him access to a shotgun/Thomas Clouse, SR. More here.
Question: How old were your children when you allowed them to have a gun?
According to a Berry Picker: “Rush Limbaugh just ‘alerted’ all the animal rights people on his show in the 11:00 hour today of the Spokane squirrel issue. He offered no opinions but did have trouble pronouncing “aboretum.” He said he had never heard of the term before and got confirmation that it was a park. He also described the method in which the squirrels would be exterminated.”
Organized by groups like the Republican Party - Idaho Republicans boasted of their 
involvement Monday - the demonstrations are intended to gull Americans into believing they are overtaxed. “People are getting taxed to death,” Wayne Hoffman of the Idaho Freedom Foundation wrote in Sunday’s Idaho Statesman. Baloney. Not only are Americans paying too little to finance the government services they currently enjoy, thereby driving the nation further into debt, but they are paying less income tax than they have for most of the last half-century. According to Treasury Department statistics, today’s income tax burden for a family of four with a median income is about what it was in 1955/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Do you feel as though you’re overtaxed?
U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, is shown recently in the Baghdad suburb of Sabah al-Bur, listening to a report about the construction and new commercial activity in the marketplace. “One year ago the market would have been too dangerous for such a stop,” according to a press release from Risch’s office. Risch also shared lunch with soldiers from Idaho during the one-day stop. Risch has returned to the U.S. Story here.
Question: Do you know of any politician who looks good wearing a military helmet?
Monday, the Idaho House voted to tell companies to let employees leave their guns in their cars parked in company lots. Why would anyone need this? If it’s for hunting, drive your lazy butt home, pick up your gun and then shoot something. If it’s self-defense, I worry about anyone willing to kill a person to keep from getting robbed. In Texas, they passed a similar law, but at least they specified that it couldn’t be in plain sight, and you had to lock your doors — only in Idaho/News Editor Lianna Shepherd, UI Argonaut. More Off The Cuff here.
Vote: Jim Clark & George Sayler were the only North Idaho reps to vote against HB 287, which passed 50-19-1, here.
Question: Are you comfortable with a possible Idaho law that would allow your co-workers to keep guns in their vehicles?
House Democrats extended an olive branch to the governor late last week, the Associated Press reports: “They would consider rounding up enough minority votes for a ”moderate’ gas-tax increase of between 2 and 7 cents — if Otter agrees to limit state agency personnel cuts to just 3 percent and helps scuttle $12 million in education budget cuts in two House-passed bills now before the Senate. Otter listened but was noncommittal, said House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, of his offer/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: What do you think of the deal that legislative Demos are offering Gov. Butch Otter?
Some downtown Coeur d’Alene night spots are lucky enough to have some kind of attached 
veranda or sidewalk where people can smoke until they gag, like the Iron Horse, Cricket’s, or the Eagles. For others, the idea presents more of a challenge, like the Shore Lounge, where there’s a constant flow of people bringing their elaborate touristy drinks with them through the lobby and up the elevator to the top of the parking garage to get their nicotine fix. The lack of a convenient smoking area was one of the major factors keeping smoking inside at Mik-n-Mac’s explains owner Rita Mikalatos. She finally decided to ban smoking for good after a poll she placed on the bar’s MySpace page indicated that most people would prefer the popular danceclub to be a smoke-free environment/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. More here.
Question: The Eagle City Council is considering a ban on smoking in all businesses that cater to the public? If Eagle follows through, it would be the first city to do so. Do you think CdA, Post Falls, Sandpoint, and other North Idaho cities should consider the same ban?
“April showers don’t always mean rain in North Idaho,” posts Councilwoman KerriT/OnLocation North Idaho. “We awoke to snow but no worries … the forecast for the weekend is sun and 70s!”
Question: What was your first printable comment when you saw snow this April 14 morning?
In the HBO Poll Monday, 44% (36 of 81 respondents) indicated that the city administration and urban renewal officials should do nothing to the current configuration of McEuen Field. In a distant second place, 19% (15 of 81) said the boat launch should be replaced by an amphitheater. In third place, only 17% (14 of 81) would like to see a total overhaul of McEuen Field. In a secondary poll from the Lewiston Tribune, 23% each (or 11 of 47) said the new UI president should be paid $100,000, $200,000, or $250,000. Only 14 thought the president should be paid $350,000 or more.
Idawa: No, the tea parties seem to be no more than partisan posturing - form without substance.
I’m somewhat surprised by the hyperbole coming from the right fearing gun control and taxes on the average Joe, both of which have not happened under Obama, nor has their been any movement in congress toward such. They are quaking at boogeyman. Were the Dem’s really this bad about Bush, seeing evil in every word and breath? Secondly, I think our forefathers would be a little ashamed. They protested actual oppression - this political stunt is simply a weak form of parody.
Question (from Idawa): Were the Dem’s really this bad about Bush, seeing evil in every word and breath?
Nick Adams: Both political parties have played in non-partisan races for years, but they’ve been
content to remain behind the scenes. However, given that a number of urban communities have been electing more “progressive” candidates recently, it only stands to reason that the Republican party wants to take a more active role in an off year. If, by weighing in, the IRP can either defeat incumbents who are sympathetic to Democrats or elect those who favor Republicans, it removes potential opposition or gives them new voices of support during the 2010 election cycle. Kootenai County Republicans are terrified of Councilman Kennedy’s potential. Full comment below.
Question: If the Kootenai County Republican Party endorsed in the full elections in Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls, would you be more or less likely to vote for the GOP candidate?
JeanC: The Beast eventually gave up the ghost and I sold it to the local junker for enough money to get me gas to get me and my new car to Vancouver BC to see my future hubby. Cydney was a sweet car, a 2003 Ford Escort who had totally loved my hubby (even tho I’d bought her for me) and had the dexterity and sure-footedness of a mountain goat when it came to getting him out of some hairy situations. Full comment below.
Question: Do you name your vehicles? What is the name of your current vehicle?
JeanieS: They are going to *detonate* squirrels? And exactly how - ask the little squirrel to
please swallow this grenade? Have them hold the stick of dynamite and lie to them that it’s a birthday candle? What about the trauma for all the little kids imagining Rocky blowing up to smithereens right before their eyes? Or - you’re sitting quietly on your front porch swing, enjoying the spring blossoms and the gentle breeze, when you hear a muffled gun shot and your mind immediately goes black (or blood red) with the memory of little squirrels running across your cable line from tree to tree. Never more.
Question: What do you think PETA’s going to do to stop squirrel detonation?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
And the answer is … Chris Wager. The question? Who’s in line to be the new news director @ KVNI, now that Dave Walker has received a pink slip from KVNI? Or at least that appears to be the answer as Huckleberries Online reads the tea leaves in an e-mail that provided a list of Mariner games on KVNI from April 17-23 — an e-mail with Chris’ name listed as “news director: KVNI 1080 AM/KXLY Radio Group.” For those keeping score at home, Chris was the North Idaho reporter for KHQ last fall before joining KMC as the PR person. Dunno why that didn’t last. But he has bought a home in Coeur d’Alene Place and appears ready for his next adventure. Fortunately, he’s a seasoned broadcaster and a good guy. I’ll play this Wild Card while I’m trying to figure out what’s going on at KVNI …
Doug McKay turns his head as he hits the ignition switch to blast a squirrel hole in Finch Arboretum in Spokane today. The Finch Arboretum is being overrun by ground squirrels, and Spokane Parks and Recreation is bringing in some special artillery. The Rodenator Pro pumps propane and oxygen into the tunnels of squirrels, then sends an electric spark that causes an explosion. The shock waves kill the squirrels and collapse their tunnels _ but in a humane way, the agency said. Previous Huckleberries Online post here. (AP Photo/The Spokesman-Review, Jesse Tinsley) SR’s Today In Photos.
You would not believe this. I think my cars have personalities. Really. I have a little red Suzuki Swift that I bought brand new in 1989. “She” is tops. Fantastic mileage (40 mpg), doesn’t go 
through oil, likes to travel, never talks back to me, no dings or dents, the upholstery is still perfect. She’s a little gem. And then two years ago, while she was innocently parked across the street along a vacant lot lined with boulders, she was creamed by a drunk driver who sideswiped her totally from back to front and then smashed the other side by squishing her against the boulders. I got up at 3:00 in the morning right after it happened and all I could do was stand there in my jammies and stare. I couldn’t believe this had happened to my trusty excellent little car. So I bought a new car and Mechanic Man parked Little Red in the garden. The new one just doesn’t have my heart/JeanieSpokane (who’s 15 days, 14 hours & 45 minutes from her 60th birthday), Nuts & Nonsense. More here.
Question: Do vehicles have personality, as Jeanie contends?
“Two friends enjoy a visit atop the tank in front of American Legion Post 143 in Post Falls. The post is the largest in Idaho and hosted a free Easter dinner for the community on Saturday evening”/Councilwoman KerriT, OnLocation North Idaho.
Bob Lee, senior elephant keeper at the Portland Zoo, brings Samudra in with trunk in hand as they approach the weighing scales. Mom, who has a tight bond with Samudra follows close behind. The keepers weigh Samudra every day and expect him to hit the 1000 pound mark in about a week. This day he weighed only about 960. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Benjamin Brink - The Oregonian)
Top Cutlines:
Musician Gary Edwards sent the following letter to Brian Doig, executive director of Lake City 
Playhouse: “It’s been 2 ½ months since I worked for the Lake City Playhouse and you still haven’t paid me the $700 due me for playing bass in the orchestra for “Little Shop of Horrors.” I’ve been very patient and tried to negotiate a barter or other solution to this problem. Last week you failed to call me on Tuesday as promised. You then failed to respond to my visit and request for a call. You don’t return my messages. I noticed there was an Avista shut-off notice on the LC Playhouse door for over $3,000 last week when I came to speak to you again. I’ve decided it isn’t worth the aggravation to worry about this debt you owe me. I’m going to write this off to experience, call it a donation and learn from this lesson. Please send me a receipt for my $700 donation of services to your Lake City Playhouse.”
Minnick is a freshman member of Congress, but he does not approach national economic issues as a neophyte. His previous experience in the administration of President Nixon, and the friendships he made there, combines with his background as an entrepreneur and CEO to ensure he will vote with his mind, and not the jerk of a knee. He told the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, for example, that although he has opposed some of his party’s high-profile spending plans, he expects to be voting with his party most of the time/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
We are the Old Soldiers, we have stories, battle scars, and even some shrapnel to remind us of
the way it was. So now, we must give way to the young guns, the new generation full of youth and enthusiasm and knowledge, who will take Medicine on to greater heights. I sat with my Friend yesterday as he told me about his newly diagnosed, rare disease. His life is ending, sooner than he planned. My other Friend fights, without complaint or bitterness, a relentless autoimmune disorder that would knock the sap out of a lesser woman. And, ugly MS symptoms try to take me out of the race, as well. What a team!! But we were really something, back in the day. … We three, the Healers, have become the patients/JanTri, Brand X Ranch. More here.
Question: Have you reached the point in your work or social life when you are beginning to relinquish the reins to younger people? Do you begrudge the situation? Or embrace it?
Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, back fresh from a week of golfing in Palm Springs, says there’s no truth to the rumor that he was summoned there by an angry Duane Hagadone over Nonini’s opposition to the Coeur d’Alene Lake Management Plan. “I visited with him for a few hours - it never came up,” Nonini said of the North Idaho resort and newspaper magnate who now makes his home in Palm Springs. “He did talk about 1148, though.” That’s the liquor license reform bill being pushed by Gov. Butch Otter; it’s likely to come up for a House vote tomorrow/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Do you think Nonini would vote against Hagadone’s wishes on the liquor bill?
Milt Priggee, my old Editorial Board buddy, penned this political ‘toon for the Seattle Views section of the Seattle P-I Online. He called it “Harrison Memorial.” You can read his explanation re: the cartoon here: “My cartoon is my way of saying good-bye to and remembering Maxine, Jamie, Samantha, Heather and James Harrison. We’ll have plenty of time and opportunity to share and engage the merits (or lack) of gun ownership and marriage preparation and/or qualifications. I also wanted to address their murderer, their father, who took the easy way out”/Milt Priggee, Seattle Views, P-I. More here.
Item: Spokane parks detonating squirrels/AP
More Info: Spokane is having a problem with too many ground squirrels at Finch Arboretum. So the Parks and Recreation department is using a special machine to detonate some of the 100 to 150 rodents that are tearing up the grounds. The machine is called the Rodenator Pro. It pumps propane and oxygen into the tunnels of squirrels, then sends an electric spark that causes an explosion. The shock waves kill the squirrels and collapse their tunnels. The parks department says the Rodenator is a humane way to kill the squirrels.
YouTube: How Rodenator Pro works
Question: What do you think of the plan by the Spokane parks department to kill squirrels in a humane way by detonating them?
Item: Idaho Republicans might expand endorsements/AP
More Info: Idaho’s Republican Central Committee has been discussing a plan to start endorsing candidates in nonpartisan elections and will consider it again in May. Tim Urling, an Idaho Falls insurance salesman and committee member, said endorsing candidates in nonpartisan races could help elect candidates who are in line with the party’s beliefs. “I sincerely believe the job of government is to protect our rights and that’s all,” Urling told the Post Register. But U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, said it would be a mistake for the party to start making those types of endorsements because positions such as city council seats are nonpartisan for a reason.
Question: Do you think Idaho’s political parties should endorse in municipal races?
An unidentified little boy gets stuck in a ribbon as he waits with other children for the start of the annual Easter egg hunt at Stewart Park in Roseburg, Ore., on Saturday. During the hunt children scooped up about 10,000 candy-filled plastic eggs at the park. (AP Photo/The News-Review, Robin Loznak)
MikeK: Yesterday at the end of our Easter mass, a fully-dressed bunny was at the
back of (St. Pius X Catholic Church) giving out eggs to the kids. Then a young lady was directed toward the bunny, who gave her an egg with a diamond ring in it and pulled off his bunny costume head and asked her to marry him. Big applause and lots of tears (she said yes) and Fr. Roger LaChance gets an assist for being in on the deal. Then there was the requisite group of husbands in the back (myself included) saying “somebody needs to tell that guy he’s ruining it for the rest of us by being Mr.Everything.”
Question: How did your marriage proposal take place?
The one basic way in which our rights are siphoned from us is through taxation. Taxation is a 
necessary evil, but necessity gives way to tyranny when people have to work four months just to pay their local, state and federal governments. According to the Tax Foundation, Tax Freedom Day for Idaho - the date Idahoans can stop working for the government and start working for ourselves - is today, April 12. This gives Idaho the 18th-highest tax burden in the country. This year, thankfully, reporters will have something new on which to focus, and I hope they pay close attention. Thousands of Americans take part in nationwide Tea Parties. As many as 2,000 could be involved in rallies slated for Boise. I’m told other tea parties are planned from Coeur d’Alene to Twin Falls to Pocatello. In fact, there are grass-roots tea party organizers operating in 18 Idaho cities/Wayne Hoffman, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Are you inspired this year to take part in any of the “tea parties” planned in 18 Idaho cities and around the nation to protest the congressional spending called for in the stimulus package and the 2009-10 budget?
… That Dave Walker is no longer with KVNI. In a Facebook entry at 2:10 p.m. Friday, Walker wrote that he has been “let go” by KVNI. Later, he said he was thinking about staying up late because he no longer has to get up at 4 a.m. Then today, he said he was going to begin job hunting.
Item: 3 deadly shots free captain; pirates vow revenge/AP
More Info: An American sailor whose captain was rescued after a five-day standoff with pirates urged President Barack Obama on Monday to take the lead in ending the scourge of piracy. Somali pirates, meanwhile, vowed retaliation for the deaths of three colleagues killed by U.S. Navy snipers in the rescue. Their anger raised fears for the safety of some 230 foreign sailors still held hostage in more than a dozen ships anchored off lawless Somalia.
Question: Should the U.S. take the lead in ending piracy on the high seas?
Item: McEuen on LCDC radar: Agency wants to make upgrades to field, add facility/Tom Hasslinger, CdA Press. Sunday discussion here. LCDC agenda for 5:30 p.m. meeting Wednesday @ CdA library here.
More Info: The idea, which drew mixed reaction from the community the first time around, is to make the 14-acre park — bordered by Tubbs Hill and the shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene — a major downtown draw.
Fish Wife: Today, McEuen Field. Tomorrow, Sherman Park. Any attempts by the City to turn them into concrete will create strange bedfellows. The Anti-LCDC crowd will ally with the preservationists. Any attempt to change either landscape could result in a recall effort of city officials. BTW, I am NOT a CAVE’er.
Question: What warning would you give the Lake City Development Corp. and Bloem administration as they discuss ways to upgrade McEuen Field?
President Barack Obama jokingly talks into the ear of the Easter Bunny during a temporary microphone failure during the White House Easter Egg Roll this morning on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) Question: What is President Obama telling the Easter bunny?
Two weeks ago, Rep. Bob Nonini was the loudest voice in debate against Gov. Butch Otter’s campaign to raise the gasoline tax. Nonini got so wound up he was admonished by the House’s presiding officer to “be respectful.” Last week, the House debated another fuel tax bill. But Nonini said not a word. Instead, the Coeur d’Alene Republican was in Palm Springs, Calif., on a week-long golf vacation. He registered his opposition by leaving behind a pink “pair slip,” invoking a legislative rule that allows absent members to vote. In Nonini’s case, Rep. Mack Shirley, R-Rexburg, agreed to pair his aye vote with Nonini’s no/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here.
H/T: SamC
Question: Should Rep. Bob Nonini have canceled vacation plans to be in Boise for the important vote on the proposed gas tax increase?
Item: Sandpoint P&Z recommends banning all drive-throughs/KREM2
More Info: Residents in (Sandpoint) might have to start waving bye bye to drive-through businesses. A proposal to prohibit drive-through services recently passed the city’s planning and zoning commission and goes before the city council in May. If approved the ordinance would regulate drive-through restaurants, banks, coffee shops, pharmacies, dry cleaners and other businesses that cater to customers in cars.
H/T: Liz Arakelian
Question: Would you want to have drive-throughs — for restaurants, banks, coffee shops, pharmacies, cleaners, etc. — banned in your community?
Item: Spokane woman sees image of Easter Bunny on a potato chip/KHQ
More Info: We’ve all heard of stories from around the world about people finding familiar images on things like pancakes, grilled cheese sandwiches, and cornflakes. Well how about an Easter Bunny face on a potato chip? Spokane resident Mary Lindstrom tells KHQ she was having lunch with her son when they found a chip shaped like an Easter Bunny face in a bag of Lays potato chips. If you look closely you can see the right eye, nose, cheeks and ears.
Question: Have you ever seen the image of someone famous on a piece of food?
Coeur d’Alene High School senior Amber Coburn practices her pitch Monday. You can read Greg Lee’s weekly feature on a high school athlete from Sunday’s Handle Extra here.
In the HBO Poll Friday, 62% of the 76 respondents answered some form of “no” when asked whether Repub Ruthie Johnson, 85, a long-time Kootenai County Repub activist, should be on the state’s Human Rights Commission, after her comments re: workers in drag — 25% said she should retire, 24% said she’s on the wrong commission. Of the 3 “yes” positions offered, 13% of the respondents said she shares their views.
RE: More changes ahead at Huckleberries Online
Brand X Ranch: This is where I get ALL my local, national, and world news….plus all the wierd stuff that makes the day go by smiling. this is where I learn about gov’t issues, and am able to see both/all sides of the story. It is also where I am able to meet people and maintain these relationships. These are my top 3, in reverse order…. it’s the people that matter.
Question: I’m doing another appraisal of the various features I post out front on a regular basis. Today, I’d like to focus on the news roundups. Do you look at the links that I post for “AM Headlines,” HBO’s Best Of The INW,” “PM Headlines,” and the national headlines in the Wild Card?
Kage Mann: I remember watching the CDA city council meeting and everybody except Ron Edinger voted for
the W-M plan.Ron abstained and said he didn’t like the plan, as it might affect to many things including the boat ramp, but he wanted to study it some more.Anyway, I came away thinking that nobody on the city council used the facilities at McKuen, so they voted for the plan.So, why try to ruin it for younger people,just because you old, fat people on the council don’t currently play ball or Tennis or go boating. Full comment below.
Question: Would you object if the parking area for boat trailers at the foot of Tubbs Hill was converted into an amphitheater? And/or the American Legion Baseball diamond was moved elsewhere to expand a passive green area for soccer or community gatherings?
Marmitetoasty: Monday (here, in England) is a bank holiday which means a public holiday, we get
it off in lieu of Easter Sunday 
being on a Sunday, so they give us
Monday off instead :) … and those that have to work usually get double
pay, you know, those in shops etc … all banks will be closed though
and the dustbin men wont be coming … me :) well, I get a much needed 4
days off work paid, it should of been a week but one of me parents was
desperate for childcare next Friday, but, that one day is gonna cost
them $320 cos its a day of me holiday … oh shut it, its on me
contract … and they know they wont get better anywhere else :)
Question: Wouldn’t it be a kick to have Marmie watch your kids?
CindyH: At what age do your kids no longer get Easter baskets? My husband laughed at me when I invited
our 19-year-old, who no longer lives at home, to spend the night because I wanted him to wake up to his Easter basket. I also didn’t want him to miss out on the egg coloring. And yes, I wanted to make sure he’d be at church with us this morning. The biggest boy had a great time and just left clutching his Easter goodies. Did I tell you my husband laughed at me? Well, he stopped when I reminded him that on our first Easter as a married couple we opened our front door to find his mother and delivered his Easter basket to our doorstep— complete with a handmade Rice Krispie treat bunny.
Question (from CindyH): So is there a cut-off age for Easter baskets?
Nick Anderson/Houston Chronicle
A happy Easter Sunday to you, Merry Hucksters. I hope you plan to enjoy today with others. After church, I’ll head to Frito Ray’s for an Easter Sunday luncheon with the rest of the North Idaho family. I don’t think an Easter egg hunt is on tap. Ray has the only younger kids among the Northwest Oliverias — and one of them is a ‘tween. Read: It ain’t gonna happen. It’s evident from Saturday’s thread re: McEuen Field that we have a subject to discuss during the work week ahead. And probably for some time afterward. McEuen is holy ground. And city leaders and LCDC officials must proceed with caution when discussing changes to it. A wrong step will give opponents an issue that will turn the 2009 municipal election on its head. I’ll see you back here Monday …
Item: McEuen on LCDC radar: URD hopes to make upgrades to field, add facility/Tom Hasslinger, CdA Pres
More Info: With just over a decade left in its Lake District, Lake City Development Corp. has put McEuen Field at the top of its priority list for fiscal year 2009-2010. The city’s urban renewal agency drafted its long-term and fiscal year 2010 goals Thursday night, putting a bull’s-eye on an old project idea that was a primary consideration when the URD district formed in 1997. But this time around, there’s a touch of urgency.
Question: What would you like to see done to McEuen Field?
First, I’m pleased to announce that Liz Arakelian/My Life Is A Freak Show has been nominated for three different awards in the annual Bloggers Choice Awards — Freakiest Blog, Best Religion Blog, and Best Blog About Stuff. You can help Liz out by going to her site and following the simple directions to vote for her here. Next, put your hands together for OrangeTV. Who celebrates another birthday today. Check below for details. Finally, Bent has plenty of supplies from his latest batch of brewskis to host you at Stickman’s from 4:30-5 onward today. You can find Stickman’s place by going to the northern end of East Tubbs Hill Park and looking across the street for a breezeway that has a bunch of sticks in it. Again, check post below for more. Now, for your Saturday Wild Card …
Huckleberries Online isn’t finished with its metamorphosis. Sometime this summer (if everything goes according to plan), Blogmeister Ryan & Co. will break HBO off into its own Web site. 
Which’ll give me far more flexibility to move stories and posts around on the page, to give them better and longer play. We’ll use more RSS feeds to keep track of the latest posts by HBO Blogosphere bloggers. And they’re be a number of other bells and whistles that the current site — as superior as it is to the old one — doesn’t have. My personal goal is to continue to build an online community here while providing as much news as possible from various cooperating media. Also, I will continue to provide an alternative voice to North Idaho media owned by Duane Hagadone — and a place where individuals can express opinions re: the community without fear. I’ve compiled a Spokane blogroll and will add a blogroll for bloggers whose goal is to provide news from their communities, like Pecky Cox (Priest River) and Frum Helen Back (Hauser). You’ll be introduced next week to Bayview Bob and a woman who just launched a blog to cover Blanchard news. I got to figure out a way to get an accurate reading from you re: what works here and what doesn’t. I don’t need to waste time on things that don’t work. We’ll discuss this later. Now, enjoy a nice Easter weekend.
Question: What three things are most important to you at Huckleberries Online? What is one thing that you could absolutely do without? What’s the best way to poll people re: HBO content?
From left, Jake Sestak, Will McDougal and Austin Sestak, all of Aurora, Colo, have their gloves at the ready as they hope to catch a ball during batting practice prior to the start of the baseball game between the Colorado Rockies and the Philadelphia Phillies at Coors Field in Denver, Friday. (AP Photo/Summit Daily,Mark Fox)
Question: When and where did you last see a Major League Baseball game? Which teams were playing? Who won?
If I don’t advertise my birthday, who else will? (Today) is the big day and I’ll 
be older than Miley Cyrus but younger than
Carol Channing. Somewhere in there. I’m excited because my mother is
taking me out to Grumpy’s, Joe Chapman’s new place which I’ve yet to
visit. I heard the menu is the same as the old Henry’s menu, so I’m
hoping for the chicken salad with the wagon wheel pasta or that
gorgeous seafood fettuccine I used to love like a brotha. We did
a little pre-birthday shindig for Karaoke at Mik-n-Mac’s on Tuesday and
it was a blast! Q. decorated the place all up in a pink flamingo theme
and he made everyone wear a pink shirt. Everyone bought me so many
little drinkies, I didn’t have to spend a dime and I left SO tipsy
(with a sober driver, of course). Billy made pink frosted cupcakes
which didn’t really have a given flavor per se but definitely tasted
“pink”/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. More here (scroll to end).
Question: So what color scheme and special treat do you order for your birthday?
Even more disdainful are the checkout aisle charity drives. There’s
always a photo of some adorable sick child handy. “Would you care to
donate a dollar today so that (fill in the charity) can help cure poor
little Tommy’s tragic case of (fill in the disease).” Now, I’m not
totally black hearted and/or cheap. “Yes, of course. Poor Tommy” I said
for awhile, I mean it’s just a measly dollar, right? I still will
donate a buck now and then if I can. Problem is, if it’s right before
payday and I’ve got $5 to my name for groceries, I’m not gonna share
with poor Tommy. I sometimes drop in the grocery store once a day and I
if I donated every time, eventually poor Tommy will have more money
than I do, and I’ll be in the poorhouse/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. More Random Bits here.
Question: Do you get annoyed when grocery clerks ask you to contribute a dollar to this cause or that one?
Nick Adams: Having grown up (ok, maybe just gotten older) in rural Idaho, we always kept our
dogs in the bed of the pickup—given that they were working dogs, it didn’t seem to make sense to have them and all the mud, manure and dirt in the rig with us. Now, I’d never put my dog in an uncovered pickup bed. In fact, when I drive North, it always makes me a little sick to my stomach when I’m following someone with their dog in the back of their pickup doing 60 mph up highway 55. Yikes!
Question: How many of you own pickups? What model & how old? Do you have a gun rack and a dog for your pickup, like a true Idahoan should?
Cis: First off, when you are in the dr. office and the word cancer is said, every word after that is a blank … one reason why you should have someone there, who can hear the rest of the words …
The worse one I had, years ago, was a test taken on Thurs. and told I would be called Tuesday with the results (after not doing well in the first test) … it was the longest 6 days of my life. I thought I was dealing with it ok … until I got the call from the Dr. on Tuesday morning … I was quiet and walked down a couple houses to my girlfriend’s … just as I entered her yard, I let out a howl … and yelled I’M GOING TO LIVE!!!! … the test came back negative … but it took that long for it to really register. I had prepared myself for the worse so well, it was like I couldn’t believe it for the first 5 minutes or so.
Question: Have you ever experienced an “I’m going to live!” moment?
Bent: Okay, I have talked with Stickman (as well as many of you) and we are going ahead with
the Bent Beer tasting tomorrow starting at 4:30-5 in his driveway. Featured beers will include: “Bloody Marion” a strangely interesting, but wonderfully tasty mistake I made while trying to infuse a berry flavor into a european wheat beer. “Faux Stella” which actually has a different name that I will share with you if you decide to stop by. It is a full-bodied Munich style lager that is lightly hopped a little beyond a Stella Artois … I hope to see you there.
Question: Who’s going to attend the Bentfest @ Stickman’s?
JBelle: The treachery, betrayal and violence are what it’s all about for me. This man, The Jesus,
died under brutal and heinous circumstances for a gentle and loving soul such as Himself. Because it’s painful, I think we separate ourselves from his suffering and martyrdom. But it’s super important because if he could forgive those people for what they did to him, how can we can NOT forgive anybody else for what they do to us? And all the more powerful is that he knew exactly what was going to happen to him and willingly walked to His Glory in fulfillment of the Scriptures. The film was incredibly beautiful and well done.
Question: In the Lord’s Prayer, many of us say by rote: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Which is easier said than done. However, I’ve found it’s therapeutic to forgive someone who has hurt you because carrying around hate takes a major toll. Are you good at forgiving others?
In the news this evening: 500 attended a memorial for the 5 kids killed by their father in western Washington here. Nordstrom prez bought $140K worth of goods from his namesake store last year here. 2 students are dead in an apparent murder-suicide in Detroit here. The federal deficit set a March record of $192.3B here. The ‘Octomom’ is close to a deal for her own reality TV show here. And I’m replaying this Wild Card as I head out the door to enjoy the rest of what appears to be a viewtiful evening …
Bull rider Ben Jones of Sunset, Texas does a dance in the arena after scoring an 85.75 on Blingin’ last Saturday night in Nampa in the Professional Bull Rider’s Nampa Invitational. (AP Photo/Idaho Press-Tribune, Mike Vogt)
HMOSuite: Have a question for the blog, tho. Not a loaded question at all. Just would like to hear some opinions regarding the Somali Pirate thing going on. With the Captain being held hostage, it is a delicate situation. What should Obama do about the pirates? What will he do? Personally, I don’t have an opinion on this yet.
Question: What would you do with the Somali pirates, if you were president?
You might not want to bet the rent on it, but New York statistical whiz Nate Silver is predicting Idaho may legalize gay marriage as early as 2011 … Silver, who parlayed his knowledge of statistics into a career predicting sports teams’ performance, recently branched out into political prognostication on his Web site, FiveThirtyEight.com … He told NewWest, a Missoula, Mont.-based online magazine, that he looked at a series of political and demographic variables in Idaho and attempted to forecast the percentage of the vote a marriage ban would receive … “Marriage bans, however, are losing ground at a rate of slightly less than 2 points per year,” he hold NewWest … “/Steve Crump, Twin Falls Times-News. More here.
Question: Crump concluded his column by asking: “Has he (Silver) been to Idaho?” Do you think Idaho will legalize gay marriage as early as 2011. If not, when?
In a post this morning, Councilwoman KerriT/OnLocation North Idaho writes: “These bunnies share a drink in their Post Falls hutch, readying for Easter egg hunt duties.”
Magician Prince Ali, left, tries to hypnotize Brady Olson in the ring Thursday at the Jordan Circus in the Bigger Better Barn at the Great Northern Fairgrounds in Havre, Mont. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Havre Daily News, Nikki Carlson)
Top Cutlines:
2. Prince Ali had only been to one other town in Montana and it was a Butte. After his latest visit, he decided this about Montana: you can Havre — JohnA.
3. Prince Ali: “When you wake up, you will think you are Jasmine-the rich, young, beautiful daughter of the sultan who has the hots for me” — Shannon.
HM: Bayview Bob
For $449,000, you can buy this 3678sf beauty on Baldy Road from Tomlinson Realty/Sotheby’s International. There’s a reason it looks familiar. In November 2006, the program “Extreme Makeover” constructed the home for Eric Hebert. Who caught the attention to program directors with his selfless act of raising his late sister’s 12-year-old twins. Hebert put the home up for sale last year because it was too time-consuming and expensive to operate. You can read about that here and here. And you can read about details of the house from the Tomlinson ad here.
H/T: Trish Gannon/River Journal
A man about 45 to 50 years old, driing a mid-1980s model Jeep pickup with Idaho plates, is wanted on a rape charge by the Bonner County Sheriff’s Department. The rape occurred about 7 p.m. March 31 on Highway 2/200 near milepost 12, between Priest River and Laclede. The suspect (show in artist Cliff Custer’s adjoining rendering) is described as being 5-9 to 5-10 inches tall, 160-165 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He has letters or numbers tattoed across the knuckles (not fingers) on his left hand. He was driving a mid-1980s model Jeep Cheokee, which was colored oxidized gold or darker tan. Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to contact the Bonner County dispatch (208-265-5525) or Detective Phyllis Jay (208-946-6693)
Tamara (Poelstra) remembers one particular one time when she brought her daughters to a soup kitchen. They weren’t all warm and fuzzy about going yet they each contributed in a positive way. And then there is the gift in the outreach. Tamara remembers hearing a lot of laughing in the corner that day. She looked over, and there was her daughter, teaching some of the homeless kids how to play the card game Speed. They all were having a blast. “It changed the feeling in the entire room,” she says/Beth Bollinger, Accidental Rabbit Trails. More here.
Question: How important is it to you to install a sense of volunteerism in your children?
1. melting snow
2. sunshine
3. new grass
4. 70+ degree weather
5. not having to wear a coat
6. not having to dress the kids in coats
7. evening walks
8. days at the park
9. open doors and windows
10. seeing the end of the school year approaching
Question: Can you add to the list?
“Finally,” Pecky Cox/As The Lake Churns e-mails, “spring is in the air at Priest Lake.” Pecky got this photo on Luby Bay’s beach, where she said everything “felt like Spring, it looked like Spring, it smelled like Spring early today.”
A 24-year-old Post Falls man was arrested Thursday afternoon on charges of robbery and aggravated assault in an incident that took place at an apartment complex on Cecil Road/Post Falls. William Justice is accused of holding a gun to the head of Shawn A. Phillips, 23, of Post Falls and demanding his car keys. Phillips was visiting a female friend at the time. He was able to call 911 after struggling with Justice. The suspect fled the scene. Later, deputies arrested Justice without incident in the northern part of the county. At 9:30 p.m., the gun was turned into the sheriff’s office by the renter of another apartment where it had been stashed/KCSD news release. More here.
I’ve posted a new photo for today’s cutline contest in the usual spot in the morning thread below. Definitely, better than the one I had …
We tend to be of the sort that does better with a list, or a map, or at least a visible path
stretching out ahead. So far, we’ve had none. Details are not forthcoming, so far… “the surgeon will explain it all to you on
MondayWednesday” is not reassurring. Note to the medical profession: telling a woman she has breast cancer, then telling her the surgeon will tell her all she needs to know next week is a very difficult thing. Finishing that news by saying “we’re so VERY sorry” doesn’t reassure your patient that she has a “routine lumpectomy” ahead. I doubt my wife is different from other human beings in reading the worst into that last line/BillH, Free In Idaho! More here.
Question: Have you ever been in bill’s shoes — and had to wait for possible bad medical news?
Don Soltman, vice president of Kootenai Medical Center, has been unanimously confirmed to the state Board of Education, to which Gov. Butch Otter nominated him. Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, told the Senate, “I’ve known Don for a number of years and I highly recommend this appointment.” He added, “Don’s due to retire in about six months, so he’ll have a lot of time to spend on this particular appointment”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
In this 1999 file photo by Marty Lederhandler/AP, Picabo Street, the 1998 Olympic Gold Medalist skier from Sun Valley, Idaho, takes a ski pose to show off her style at a press conference following the screening of the film “Olympic Glory,” in New York. Street and other Winter Olympians star in the film that captures the pageantry of the Nagano Winter Games. Steve Crump/Twin Falls Times-News tells readers what has become of Picabo here.
Question: Who is the greatest athlete from Idaho?
I attended neither of my parents funerals … family stuff … maybe I will explain one day … But I
did go to my dear uncle Dave’s funeral. … I did smile though cos when the vicar was doing his bit around the grave after they had lowed the coffin down the hole. … the vicar stopped and said ‘Dave wrote many things to me before he died, and now I read you one of them … and the vicar said ‘Tell Mel to stand back from the edge before she bloody falls in’ LMFAO … as you can imagine the whole funeral party burst out laff, as did I, he knew me to well and yes I was near the edge LOL …
Question: What is the funniest thing you’ve heard at a funeral?
The Maryland Democrat’s bill would change the tax code, allowing newspapers to become 501
(c)(3) nonprofits. Newspapers operating as nonprofits prompted a collective sad chuckle from newspaper employees. The way things have been going lately, many of us feel like we work for a business that does not make any money and might never again. … Cardin’s proposal is encouraging and intriguing but I am not convinced it is the answer. Newspapers that opt for the nonprofit model leave an opening for politicians to meddle and forfeit political endorsements, a vital component to a newspaper’s editorial voice and role in a community/Ryan Blethen, Seattle Times. More here.
Question: Would you rather newspapers continue to publish as nonprofits — or accept a bailout — and lose their political voice? Or in some cases close their doors?
In the “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished” Dept., Berry Picker Kibby reports a close encounter 
with a sixtysomething F-bomber in the parking lot of Super 1/Kathleen Avenue. As she was leaving the store, Kibby spotted an old brown Lab mix waddling in the parking lot toward Highway 95. She and two other woman stopped the mutt and were considering contacting store management about it when the sixtysomething owner arrived. When asked if the dog was OK, the owner said she was simply old and had jumped out of the back of his pickup (which was full of yard debris). Mebbe, said Kibby’s companion, the dog is too old to be riding in the back of a pickup. To which, the owner responding with an F-bomb and a “don’t-tell-me-how-to-take-care-of-my dog.” The hothead launched another cluster of F-bombs when the women explained they were trying to keep his dog from walking into traffic. As the owner and his limping dog walked off, Kibby said: “That’s not how a real gent talks to a lady.” Mebbe he’s been listening to too much rap music?
Question: Should it be against Idaho law for a driver to allow a dog to ride in the back of a pickup?
Truly: I don’t really “observe” Good Friday but every year at this time I start watching more Jesus movies and I’m moved and then I question everything and get all confused over and over again and then I just try to be. … Weird I know but I do try and have an Easter supper - not sure why there either. I am so not committed to anything and yet I feel my heart strings being tugged really hard so who knows what I am doing.
Question: Actor Jim Caviezel was on Christian radio this morning, describing some of the challenging of playing Jesus in “Passion of the Christ.” I’ve never seen that movie. I don’t know if I ever will. Reading in the Gospels re: the horrific beating and execution of Jesus on my behalf is bad enough. Mebbe I’m a wuss. Have you seen “The Passion”? Would you recommend it?
Whatever it was that members of the Idaho House voted with Tuesday in approving an anti-wolf 
outburst masquerading as legislation, it sure wasn’t their minds. Supporting Rep. Phil Hart’s bill criminalizing the importation of “dangerous or vicious” animals as well as the delivery of false testimony to government boards is the legislative equivalent of flatulence. It relieves momentary pressure, but produces nothing satisfactory. Yes, that was pointed out to House members by at least two of the chamber’s lawyer members. Hart’s bill makes it a felony to give false or misleading testimony “before a governmental commission, whether under oath or not.” “So,” Rep. Bill Killen, D-Boise, asked, “your position is this bill would cover unsworn misleading testimony before a local planning and zoning commission?” “That’s correct,” responded Hart, R-Athol/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Do you agree/disagree with Jim Fisher’s analysis on Rep. Phil Hart’s anti-wolf bill?
Item: Human rights leader defends gay remarks/Maureen Dolan, CdA Press
More Info: Ruthie Johnson says she isn’t anti-gay, and she doesn’t think it’s right for employers to discriminate against workers based on sexual orientation. The 85-year-old Hayden Lake resident’s reappointment to the Idaho Commission on Human Rights was opposed Thursday by seven Senate Democrats. Favored by 28 Republicans, she was reconfirmed after an hourlong debate. Johnson contends that comments she made during her April 3 confirmation hearing were taken out of context.
Question: Are you satisfied with Ruthie Johnson’s explanation?
OK, I’m going to catch it for this. But I needed a photo to illustrate that Coeur d’Alene Press business story about former-SR buddy Taryn Hecker’s new photo studio in Spirit Lake. And I found this 1994 archive photo of her as a JV cheerleader at Rogers High by Colin Mulvaney. You can read the Press story about the photo studio — and see a much better photo of Taryn here.
Question: Obviously, Taryn’s life was much different 15 years ago when she was a cheerleader. How different was your life 15 years ago than it is today?
An unidentified actor dressed as Jesus Christ walks with a cross as he re-enacts the crucifixion after visiting the stations of the cross while Israeli border policemen stand guard near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally believed to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, during a Good Friday procession in Jerusalem’s Old City this morning. Hundreds of Christian clergymen, worshippers and pilgrims marked Good Friday at Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Christian tradition says Jesus was crucified and resurrected. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)
Question: How do you observe Good Friday through Easter Sunday?
In the HBO Poll Friday, 53 of 73 (73%) said the preferred capitalism to socialism. Which means Merry Hucksters are stronger supporters of capitalism than Americans in general. In a Rasmussen Poll, only 53% of Americans said capitalism was a better system. At HBO, 16 of 73 (22%) said socialism was the better system (up slightly from the Rasmussen Poll of 20%). Four of 73 HBO respondents thought other systems were better.
Me: Both of (my parents) are gone now and I’m not 50 yet. sigh… Many of you know my Mom went in October. My Mom wanted to be cremated and put in the ocean if possible. In May, my Sister, Husband and Son and I will travel to Lincoln City and go out on a boat to do just that. I’m very happy that we’ll be able to do just what she wanted.
Question: Do you want to be cremated when you check out? If so, what do you want your loved ones to do with your ashes?
MamaJD:
I know Ruthie (Johnson) and she has always been warm, sincere and politically conservative. She has served our State well in her many positions she has held dating all the way back to Sen. McClure and before. I sure would hate it if my reputation were summed up by one reported instance. Maybe the Idaho Rights Commission is not where she is best suited. But to dismiss her entirely? Who’s being closed minded while pointing the finger?
Question: I agree with MamaJD that Ruthie Johnson is a person who is “warm, sincere, and politically conservative.” I also believe she may be on the wrong state commission. Which brings up MamaJD’s point: Would you want to have your reputation summed up by one reported instance that might not be favorable?
Fishwife:
Minnick’s comments (re: AIG) is simplistic pandering. This, by a person who accepted $6900 in campaign contributions from Bank of America lobbyists. Not a whimper from Mr. Minnick when Bank of America executives got bonuses after they got THEIR bailout. The simple fact is this. The stimulii/bailout is working. Look at today’s better than expected retail sales and Wells Fargo’s announcements of profits 2X better than expect.
Question: Do you think the stimulus/bailout plan is working?
JeanieS: One year we had a terrific thunder and lightning storm right at 5:00. I got on the elevator on the
14th floor where there were already two people. It seemed like we stopped at every floor and picked up another person, when all of a sudden lightning struck the building and we “crashed” between the 4th and 3rd floors (parking garage level). We could hear people going down on the other three elevators, getting out and wishing each other a nice weekend. Yes, Friday at 5:00. We used the phone in the elevator and discovered it hooks up to some place in Seattle. We had to give them directions. Finally got out on the 3rd floor at 6:00. We all walked down the stairs. It’s creepy to be stuck in an elevator that long.
Question: Have you ever been stuck on an elevator? Or in some other similar scary situation?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
In the news this evening: Rich Roesler/Eye On Boise calculates the odds at better than 50-50 that the Washington Legislature will ask voters to OK a sales tax increase here. Wells Fargo projects a record 1st Quarter earnings of $3B here. Somali pirates are surrounded by the FBI & US war ships in Indian Ocean here. Obama wants another $83B for Iraq here. Best night for Angels rookie turns out to be his last here. And the Wild Card remains on the table …
First lady Michelle Obama plants herbs in the White House Kitchen Garden with students from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington Thursday on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) SR Today In Photos Question: What kind of herbs do you have in your garden?
Marianne: Good Friday is coming up tomorrow, and devoted Catholics will be fasting. Note that I said “devoted.” I’ll do my best to be good on Good Friday to redeem any slim potential that someone would ever identify me as a “good” Catholic. For sinners like me, there need to be days set aside with names like Bad Friday, unholy week, etc. More here.
Question: Are you more saint than sinner? Or vice versa?
OrangeTV: Oh my god, I know Brian Nordloff. He always was a troublemaker. I went to high school with his sister. He actually tried to beat me up once after her and I went out to Perkins to hang out for hours and hours like we did back then, 20 years ago, thinking that I was trying to put the make on his little sis. Yeah, right. Anyway, how funny to see him on a billboard like that. Funny and scary.
Question: When did you last see someone you know in a police story or a felony warrant roundup?
Matt Hernandez (left) is a non-smoker but is against the banning of smoking in Riverfront Park. His friend, Jason Davis (right) also does not support a ban. Story here. (Dan Pelle/Spokesman-Review)
Question: Would you support a smoking ban in Spokane parks, incuding heavily used Riverfront Park?
In this photo released by the Newark (Ohio) Police Department, a motorized bar stool is shown. Police in Newark, 30 miles east of Columbus, say when they responded to a report of a crash with injuries last month, they found a man who had wrecked a bar stool powered by a deconstructed lawn mower. Police say Kile Wygle, 28, was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated after he told an officer at the hospital that he had consumed 15 beers. Wygle told police his motorized bar stool can go up to 38 mph. You write the cutline.
Top Cutlines:
Truly: Did I mention that I found out I’m gonna be a grandma in November (Mike & Michelle, not Sam & Kat) — I don’t believe I did but it’s true. First I turn 50 on March 6 and then I get the news of the baby coming. How cool is this? So guess I just thought I’d throw that out there.
Question: Anyone else have a cool milestone coming up this year?
It happened only yesterday,
while skies were bright and sunny;
a hungry pack of wild gray wolves
ate up the Easter Bunny.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
At her Cat House & Shooting Gallery Blog, JeanC writes: “Got home yesterday to find a package Marmitetoasty of TWADDLE everyday rubbish had sent me. A while back she had a contest where she put the names of people who commented on her blog into a drawing and my name was one of them.” She provides proof above. More here.
HBO Numbers: 6449/3562
Question: Have you ever received a CARE package from Marmitetoasty? And: (Tell the truth now) … What did you think of the Marmite yeast extract that was in it?
CindyH: I know I’m way too late for that Pet Peeve thread but here’s mine: remote keys that
cause car horns to honk. I was at Costco unloading my groceries when the car next to me honked twice. I hit my head on the trunk door and almost dropped my eggs. It was a huge SUV thingie so the hood was right about my ear level. Or worse, when you’re walking through a parking lot and you hear a horn and jump out of the way because you think the car is honking at you. But it’s just someone unlocking their car.
Question: Nothing annoys me worse than security horns that honk & honk when they’re accidentally triggered. It happens so much that I don’t pay attention. Someone could be breaking into a car for all I know. Do you share the same peeve?
Lamar Outdoor a Spokane based billboard company has offered to feature Crime Stopper fugitives as a public service to law enforcement agencies in our region. Lamar offers this service to Crime Stopper groups in other states as well. The Coeur d’Alene Police Department submitted the first fugitive (Brian Nordlof, pictured above, who has a history of eluding police, battery and drugs) that will be featured locally on Lamar’s 6 digital boards as space is available, starting today. One of the boards is in Kootenai County and five are in Spokane/Christie Wood, CPD Blue. Full press release here.
We’ve been discussing whether President Obama breached protocol by bowing to Saudi royalty (which the White House denies he did). He wasn’t the first prez to create a stir re: his interpersonal relationship to a Saudi. Here, U.S. President Bush and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah hold hands as they walk at Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, in this April 25, 2005, file photo. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert/ File)
Joker dedicates this photo to Kage Mann
Update: Senate confirms Ruthie Johnson on party line vote/Eye On Boise
Senate Democrats opposed reconfirming northern Idaho Republican Ruthie Johnson of Hayden Lake to the nine-member Commission on Human Rights after she said employers should be able to fire workers for wearing clothing meant for the opposite sex. Seven Democrats Thursday opposed Johnson, with 28 Republicans favoring her reappointment. Debate lasted about an hour. … Minority Leader Kate Kelly, from Boise, contends Johnson’s views aren’t expansive enough to merit another three-year term. At her confirmation hearing last Friday, the 85-year-old Johnson was asked if gays should be protected from workplace discrimination. She responded, “If someone comes to work dressed in drag, they should be able to fire them,” according to meeting minutes/AP.
Question: Should Kootenai County Repub Ruthie Johnson be reappointed to the Idaho Commission on Human Rights?
There were five of us in the room that day - him, me, my mother, one of my brothers and a wonderful family friend. My dad gave us a long, meaningful and tired look, then asked for an injection of sedatives. His breathing grew raspy and erratic as the phlegm accumulated, but it continued for hours until, late that afternoon, it finally stopped. That was nearly 30 years ago, in the same hospital where I was born. I was hurrying through college back then, taking 18, 19, 20 credits a quarter, but my dad never saw me graduate. He never read the letters I wrote during a multi-year odyssey around the world. He didn’t attend my wedding. He never met my children/William Brock, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. More here.
Question: Are both of your parents still living?
In this Sept. 19, 1999, file photo Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and his wife Wanda attend the Rankin Run in Great Falls, Mont. Baucus and wife Wanda are divorcing after 25 years of marriage this morning. Story here. (AP photo/Great Falls Tribune, Liz Hahn, file)
Item: Frenchtown: Residents hot over woodstoves/Michael Moore, Missoulian
More Info: Recently, a postcard went out to folks in the Frenchtown area warning that their “rights are going up in flames.” The most hyperbolic statement was this reference to proposed changes in Missoula’s air quality regulations: “This means you may no longer have the right to burn wood.” The postcard went on: “This rule will also prohibit installation of most wood-burning appliances, including all wood-burning fireplaces, boilers, cook stoves, outdoor fire pits and all wood, pellet or charcoal burning barbecues.” Not surprisingly, the phones of city-county air quality specialists Mamie Colburn and Ben Schmidt went into overdrive.
Question: Should wood stoves be banned in the Inland Northwest?
Operating a television also makes me feel dumb. I had just mastered our universal remote (well, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but I could turn the TV off and on) when the government made my husband buy a converter box. It came with another remote. My television consultants carefully showed me how to work it. Then they left for school. When the consultants returned they asked me if I was able to watch the program I was interested in. “No,” I replied. “I’ve been too busy with deadlines and laundry.” “You couldn’t turn the TV on, could you, Mom?” asked the 9-year-old television specialist. I despise television/Cindy Hval, SR Voices. More here.
Question: What makes you feel dumb?
… That it was standing room only at Cricket’s last night as the who’s who of volunteers, 
philanthropists, nonprofit board members, city officials and business leaders turned out to honor the volunteerism of Charlie Nipp and accentuate the positive. Basically, the gathering was an opportunity for community leaders to thumb their collectively noses at the Coeur d’Alene Press for over-playing the community critics and naysayers to anything involving LCDC, the city of Coeur d’Alene and North Idaho College. Said Jay Baldwin of NICHE: “There must have been 300 people there, all raising their glasses to acknowledge that despite the loud voices of critics and their seemingly endless supply of ink and irk, lots of good people are doing a lot of good and unheralded work in this community.”
Question: Here’s my theory why Duane Hagadone has turned his editorial guns loose on volunteer extraordinaire Charlie Nipp: Charlie had the audacity to support the Walker-Macy plan back when. Which didn’t include Duane taking over McEuen Field for his proposed botanical garden. And Charlie opposed the city shutting the western end of Sherman Avenue when Hagadone tried to build his garden there. Do you have a better theory?
Rep. Walt Minnick, D-Idaho, was greeted by students from Post Falls Middle School’s Leadership Class during a visit to Post Falls City Hall this morning. In the Idaho Statesman today, Minnick said AIG should be allowed to fail. See below. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review)
The simple reality is that AIG has failed. The ill-advised government bailout of AIG did not prevent it from being broken into pieces. The company Mr. Shealy describes as big enough to cause an economic “supernova” has for months been gradually dismantled. In fact, since the company’s CEO first testified before Congress last fall, AIG has essentially been in receivership. The logical step for the company is a pre-packaged, structured bankruptcy, something that should have been done at the beginning/Walt Minnick, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Do you agree with Congressman Minnick that AIG is no longer a valuable company worth saving?
The House has voted 32-37 on the gas tax increase bill, HB 135a, defeating the bill. Here is House Transportation Chairwoman JoAn Wood’s entire closing debate: “The people of the state of Idaho who trust us to look at their circumstances and make decisions look to this House. This House is the voice of the people. I believe in the system, Mr. Speaker. Debate is closed”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
In favor: Reps. Anderson, Chadderdon, Eskridge, Henderson.
Voting against: Reps. Clark, Harwood, Nonini, Sayler, Shepherd(02).
MIA: Hart.
Question: Why has Gov. Butch Otter, who called today’s vote ‘irresponsible’ been unable to pass a gas-tax or registration-fee increase to help fix roads?
Only 53% of American adults believe capitalism is better than socialism. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found
that 20% disagree and say socialism is better. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are
not sure which is better. Story here.
Mark Lehan, a landscaper by trade and toy collector the rest of the time, is being evicted from a storage unit in Rathdrum. By his own estimate, Lehan has 20,000 toys that he’s spent years collecting from secondhand stores, antique shops and toy bins across the region. “I’m probably the oldest kid in the world,” Lehan said. He talked about his situation from the unit on Wednesday. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review) Question: What was your favorite childhood toy?
Supporters of Kansas State University Provost Duane Nellis arranged for former U.S. Sen. Steve Symms, who played football for the Vandals in the late 1950s, to raise the issue with Gov. Butch Otter in a meeting last week. Lt. Gov. Brad Little, many legislators and State Board of Education President Milford Terrell have been getting their share of pressure, too, to find more money for Nellis, who has attracted support for his experience at a land grant school and his Northwest connections. But he turned down the offer because the salary was too low. … Pay is the sticking point, Holbrook said, adding that he’s heard through the grapevine Nellis would agree to about $350,000/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Should Gov. Butch Otter press the Legislature to find more money to hire a candidate with Spokane roots who’s favored by key University of Idaho boosters?
One of my goals with Laid Off Loser is to form a community of unemployed androids and post everyone’s contact information on the site. Sort of an all-star team of the down-but-not-out, if you will. We’ll call ourselves the Laid Off Losers. You won’t get a membership card or anything — or maybe you will at some point, who knows — but maybe, if this thing takes off like I hope it will, it’ll help you find work. At the very least, I hope people would at least join the conversation and share their experiences as they navigate through Unemployment Land/Chad Dryden, Laid off Loser. More here. Randy Stapilus’ explanation here.
Question: What do you think of the name that former Idaho Statesman reporter Chad Dryden selected for his blog?
Item: Chesrown: Black Rock tightening belt: Developer talks about weathering economic storm/Rick Thomas, CdA Press
More Info: Black Rock cut about 70 percent of its administrative personnel to a staff of about 25 and closed its downtown sales office. Chesrown has taken on the position of sales director. He started putting his personal property on the market early last year. He sold one home in California, while Black Rock Ranch near Harrison and another ranch in Texas are for sale, with plans to keep the one that does not sell.
Five-year-old Mason Crabtree, of Coeur d’Alene watched as Ashton Palmer, 17 made his way around the BMX track at Cherry Hill Park in Coeur d’Alene this week. You can read the rest of the story in the Handle Extra Sunday.(Kathy Plonka/SR)
In the HBO Poll Wednesday, 17 of 52 respondents (33%) chose two different answers when asked what they do with Easter eggs after the hunt. One group used the eggs for deviled eggs. The other grabbed the salt and ate the eggs that way. Seven each (13%) ate the eggs in potato or egg salads.
MamaJD: I’ve always viewed Kurt Cobain as the icon for the alternative rock movement. He helped bring an end to the hair bands of the 80’s and helped increase revenue at second hand thrift stores for those of us that followed his lead. He brought punk influence as mainstream as it could be for those of us in high school at the time. I know it wasn’t just Kurt Cobain at that time but he is the face of a musical era of my generation.
Question: Who was the face of the musical era for your generation?
Toadman: For the most part, O’Reilly, Hanitty, Beck, Limbaugh, and yes, Olberman and
Maddow, et. al. can all go jump off their own personal hubris cliffs for all I care (God knows they’re high enough). They debase the level of discourse in our society by being rude, obnoxious, and self important pricks. Anything they say that comes even close to being right, is always ruined by the WAY it’s said. They ALL feed on hatred and anger and fear and division like some globulous red screaming spittle covered alien being that’s slowly killing this country from the inside out. They are a cancer on the truth, a pox on peace, and the antithesis of consensus and honest discussion. They will drive us apart and have us at each others throats, if we let them.
Question: Besides Stewart & Colbert, which political talk-show hosts do you listen to?
Kage Mann: I have to admit, that hearing about President Obama bowing to the King of Saudi
Arabia to me is shocking.Hell the Saudis’ along with King Abdullah should be bowing to us who are from the United States of America, because without us their nothing. We set them up in the 1930’s to produce half of the worlds oil and America currently imports half the Saudis oil to the US. We protect them from their enemies in the middle east also.We are the most powerful nation on the planet and we should be bowing to no one.The US deserves to be respected around the world.
Question: Did he? Or didn’t he? What do you make of this national flap in which some believe that President Obama bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia?
Bent: Would it be in bad form (in your religious opinion) to hold a beer tasting at stickman’s on
the somewhat empty Holy Saturday? Personally, I believe Jesus would really like it based on his enjoyment of wine — and very likely beer when he spent all that time in egypt. I’d bet the monks would be ok with it too, based on some reading I’ve done. Anyway, I’m only asking because I have two beers reaching maturity this weekend, and I’ve been promoting that date for a little while now, and I totally forgot it was Easter Weekend.
Question: What do the religionists here think? Is it OK for Bent to knock back a coupla Brewskis at Stickman’s Saturday, which falls between Good Friday and Easter Sunday?
Inland Empire Girl: Many of my students live with extended families so often an auntie, grandmother, or older sibling is the one that comes in for a conference or to visit. A don’t is to assume who the caretakers are of the child. Another painful lesson I learned was to not plan activities around Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. These are two difficult holidays for many children.
Question: Is there a holiday that you find difficult to face?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
At approximately 2:20 this afternoon, deputies responded to 4451 W. Seltice Way, near Huetter for a reported sighting of a wanted felon, Kevin M. Diemert, 34. The caller told the Sheriff’s dispatch that he saw Diemert getting his mail and returning to trailer No. 20 in the Hidden Hills Trailer Park. Patrol deputies arrived and attempted to contact Diemert, but could not get him to come out of the trailer or talk to the deputies even though they saw him inside. At about 4:20 p.m. Linnea M. Monahan, 23 of Spirit Lake, came out of the trailer. She told deputies that Diemert was not in the trailer. More below.
At Unequivocal Notion (which has become a must-read site at HBO Central), Chris points out in his daily news roundup that there’s a new Web site monitoring the Idaho Values Alliance here and Zeb Bell, the controversial uberconservative radio host from the Magic Valley, has started his own blog here. Which should make things interesting at MountainGoat Report, a blog monitoring Bell’s programs for possible hate speech. Also, Me found a North Idaho Web site that combines two of her favorite things — photography & food. Check out The Cooking Photographer (from Moscow) here. Now, for your Wild Card …
Owner Susan Thomson gerts an affectionate lick from her three-week-old Chihuahua puppy named Tom Thumb, in Renton, England, Wednesday. The dog, which measures eight inches (20 centimeters) long, is thought to be one of the smallest dogs born in the Britain, and is just two inches (5 centimeters) short of a world record for a small dog.(AP Photo/Andrew Milligan-pa) SR’s Today In Photos Question: Do you like chihuahuas? Or other types of small dogs?
The Fox network is letting employees of some troubled small businesses decide which one of their colleagues will be laid off and turning the results into a reality show. The series, “Someone’s Gotta Go,” is in production, but Fox wouldn’t say on Wednesday when it would go on the air. Each episode will feature a company with about 15 or 20 employees that needs to cut costs because of the economy. Instead of the boss deciding who is fired, the company will open its books to show everyone’s salaries and let the employees make the call/AP. More here.
H/T: MamaJD
Question: Would you rather have employees instead of the boss decide who gets laid off at your work place?
I’ll probably tick some of you off by saying that I can’t think of anything as boring as watching a televised NASCAR race (unless it’s listening to one on the radio). But I realize that some of you can say the same re: watching Major League Baseball on the tube. To each his own. Why do I mention this? The SR is launching another sports blog — this one dedicated to NASCAR fanatics. Doug Pace will be at the wheel of the new motorsports blog, called “Keeping Pace”? Sports Editor Joe Palmquist tells Huckleberries: ” I think this could be a real winner around here. Lots of motorheads in the area and no real outlet. Check it out here.
Question: Are you a motorhead? Why?
“A rooted tree stump is caught in the piling remnants in Sand Creek behind the Sandpoint Visitor Center,” posts Councilwoman KerriT/OnLocation North Idaho. “The creek will rise in the coming weeks as the mountain snow melts, sending the tree down river to Lake Pend Oreille.”
Sex workers from the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, Brooke Taylor, left, and Deanne “Air Force Amy” Salinger testify Tuesday at the Legislature in Carson City, Nev. Bunny Ranch owner Dennis Hof, at right, was one of three brothel owners who also testified on a proposal to levy a $5 state tax on sex acts to help raise state revenue. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Nevada Appeal, Cathleen Allison)
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Cabbage Boy: Holy week is about to get hopping. Imagine all the kids (will minus the youngest 2) and us being the host family for the Church’s annual Seder meal. The kids get to ask the questions and hunt for the afikomen (sp?). I love Holy Thursday. Not so much Holy Saturday. that day is just so empty.
Question: How do you observe Easter and the preceding week?
Item: Developer files discrimination suit: Asks for $25M after commissioners denied storage project/Alecia Warren, CdA Press
Dogwalk Musings: Please. This is the most preposterous allegation imaginable. I really don’t believe the area residents nor the commissioners care one iota that the man is of Middle Eastern descent nor that he follows the Islamic faith. I doubt anyone gave it a thought until this came up! I do not know if the claim that Grange members and the Fire District held an anti-Joudeh rally or not. If they did I should like to think it was to drum up support for denying his project and had nothing to with him as an individual.
Question: Do you think the discrimination suit has merit? Or is this simply the wrong project for the rural location?
Pullman Police Cmdr. Chris Tennant said an Oregon resident reported Thursday that as a young Pullman girl in 1974 or 1975 she was picked up near Sunnyside Elementary School by a man who claimed he needed directions. After a drive, he dropped her off somewhere in the county. Tennant said the woman claims the crime was reported to the Pullman Police Department soon after the original incident, but the woman is reporting it again because she said she withheld the fact that she was sexually assaulted. Police have no record of the case, Tennant said, and it likely was removed from the system because of inactivity, especially since it was not originally classified as a rape/Hillary Hamm, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. More here.
Mrs. Mac Energetic/Whatever Happened To … provides a view of the wildlife she saw out her back door this morning. You can read all about the moose, dubbed Muff, here.
In this Jan. 6, 1994, file photo by Dan Pelle/SR, Kurt Cobain and NIrvana brings Grunge to the Spokane Colisuem. Three months and two days later, on this day in history, Cobain was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his Seattle home.
Question: What lasting legacy does Kurt Cobain have in the music world?
Item: ‘Sexting’ prevalent in schools/Brian Walker, CdA Press
More Info: Kelli Chesnut was stunned when she took a peek at her 12-year-old daughter’s cell phone. There was a pornographic image from the Internet that one of her daughter’s friends had sent to a group. That was the Post Falls mother’s introduction to “sexting,” the act of sending, receiving or forwarding pornographic photos via cell phone.
Post Falls police set seminar to deal with problem
Question: What would you do if you found a “sexting” image on the cell phone of your “tween” or “teen”?
I finally got around to taking my lawnmower in for service last weekend, but the repair guy is busy and won’t get around to it for awhile. By which time my lawn will be taller than pampas grass gone to seed. I always dread that first mowing of the year. I bucked hay as a teenager, and it brings back bad memories. So I’m thinking about hiring a few head of sheep to do the job. I can see some serious advantages: You don’t have to pull a cord to start them up, they eat the grass clippings I’d otherwise have to rake, and you don’t have to sprinkle a ewe with Weed ‘n Feed/Steve Crump, Twin Falls Times-News. More here.
Question: What time of the day and day of the week do you mow your lawn? Do you enjoy the task?
As religious leaders of Washington State we call upon our legislators to face the daunting challenge of balancing the State budget, with its $9 billion revenue shortfall, with courage and compassion. This cannot be accomplished without increasing revenues. The massive budget cuts proposed in the Governor, House and Senate budgets devastate life line services such as childcare, public health, health care for kids and adults, housing and care for seniors/Washington Policy Blog. More here. Letter here. (H/T: Orbusmax)
Question: Do you agree with these religious leaders that legislators should show compassion to the needy during this deep recession by raising taxes instead of cutting budgets?
CBS News correspondent Bob Schieffer and ex-UPI White House Bureau Chief Helen Thomas were in Pullman Tuesday to receive 2009 Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Awards in broadcast journalism and journalism, respectively, during the 35th annual Murrow Symposium at Washington State University. They expressed deep concern re: the impact media cutbacks will have on democracy. Story here. Moscow-Pullman Daily News photo.
CindyH: I’d like to announce that I just painted my kitchen! You may wonder why this is a big deal, and so I’ll tell you. I’ve never been allowed to paint a room by myself before. I’ve always been the “assistant.” Let’s just say my husband is a bit of a perfectionist, or as he says, “I just like things done right.” Right = His Way.
Question: Are you — or someone in your family — a pefectionist? What is it like living with him? Or her? Or you?
MamaJD: I believe it was you many moons ago (that) JBelle, … advised (me to get) my big girl panties on when the kiddos started school. That I get involved and understand my kids weren’t attending some swank private school on the South Hill but were a part of the public system. So I did. I am now very involved with our teachers, our school and I volunteer many hours each month on behalf of the school district. I did all of this so I could have more insight and input regarding my children. (Full post below)
Question: How involved should a parent be in his/her children’s education? Can you recommend do’s and don’ts for those who want to get involved?
In the Joint Finance & Appropriations Committee this morning, budget writers voted 12-8 on a substitute motion by Sen. Dean Cameron to reduce the state budget by 3 percent instead of 5 percent — and allow agency directors to decide how to make that cut in their departments/Betsy Russell @ Eye On Boise kept track of the motion’s progress here, here, and here.
Question: Have you suffered a pay cut, benefit cut, or reduction in hours as a result of belt-tightened at your job?
Idaho is fighting back against the perception wolf advocates are pushing that the state is not prepared to manage wolves and is not basing its wolf plan on science. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has posted a video on YouTube (see below)/Rocky Barker, Idaho Statesman.
Question: Do you support Idaho state management of the growing wolf population?
Discarding the long moment in history when humans spoke face to face with the genuine use of audible sounds and symbols, people today spend the majority of their communication staring at their iPhones with furrowed eyebrows stuck in an inane conundrum of how to indicate humor without saying “LOL.” The abuses of this pusillanimous, soundless technological phenomenon has begun to run wild in our chicken-hearted society and may now be a greater threat to our future and education than the “Rachel Maddow Show.” Come on guys, be a man and talk to her after class. Don’t text her/Rusty Shellhorn, WSU Evergreen. More here.
Question: Have your people skills suffered as a result of the time you spend on computers and other technology?
Item: Benewah County Inmates swallow razor blades/Ralph Bartholdt, St. Maries Gazette-Record
More Info: Two inmates at the Benewah County Jail swallowed razorblades in separate incidents over a three-week period. The two men, both in their 20s swallowed razor blades that came with their shaving supplies and were taken to the community hospital. Christopher Cox, 24, and Travis A. Burch, 22, suffered no severe side effects and were later released.
Question: What would you do with an inmate who swallowed razor blades?
The state agency charged with protecting fish and wildlife and serving the public is riding 
roughshod over the public’s trust, according to private investigators who spent two years investigating Idaho Fish and Game. Conservation officers at Idaho Fish and Game are accused of using department vehicles for personal use, putting their children and families in harm’s way by taking them on patrols, misspending public funds on lengthy investigations that result in few or no convictions and being less than open when it comes to public records requests. “The general undertone is misuse of resources,” said Phil Thompson (shown in Taryn Hecker photo above), vice president of Hayden-based Confidential Investigations, which spent $13,000 investigating Idaho Fish and Game/Ralph Bartholdt, St. Maries Gazette-Record. More here. You can read the complete investigation here.
Question: Do you consider these allegations serious? Are you confident that problems raised by Confidential Investigations will be dealt with by the F&G department?
In this February 2005 file photo, Raeanna Jewell is shown in front of the McCarthey Center on Gonzaga’s campus. At the time, the former Central Valley Bears star had been a starter for three years with the Zags, helping them to their first NCAA Tournament berth. Now, she’s been indicted in Arizona on sex crimes. See story below. Holly Pickett/The Spokesman-Review
In the HBO Poll Tuesday, 38 of 70 (54%) respondents answered some form of “no” when asked whether they thought the investigation of Kootenai County jailers involved in stealing prison medication was handled properly. A plurality of 23 (33%) believe charges should have been filed against the individuals involved. In second place, 17 (23%) applauded the sheriff for letting the public know what was going on.
Kage Mann: I’ve played the Idaho lottery since its inception in 1989, when it started
out as FanFive and now is; powerball.You’d think after almost twenty years,I would have won some serious money, but the most I ever won was $7 bucks.Before that I played the Wash.state lottery back in the mid-80’s and had better luck.In 1988 I almost won $3 mill.in their lottery.I must have looked at the numbers 20 times, as if trying to will a coupla numbers to change to the winning numbers in a rare Kreskin moment.
Question: What’s the most money you’ve won while playing the lottery?
JeanieS: O yeah, I’ve been getting AARP discounts since I was 51; plus I found a buffet place that gives senior discounts for 55; then there are all those senior mobile home parks for “active seniors over 55” to which I’ve always wanted to crayon in “sexually” just before “active.”
Question (for Baby Boomers): When did you begin using AARP discounts? Or do you refuse to use them, as I do, in a vain attempt to hang on to whatever youth is left?
CindyH: I googled myself (c’mon you know you’ve all googled yourself at one time or another— nothing to be ashamed of). Anyhow, I found myself quoted on some promotional material for a local winery! Since my taste is rather lowbrow, I got a big kick out of that. Right now, I’m googling Aliasjax. He started it.
Question: How often do you Google your name to see what’s on the Web about you?
HMOSuite: Motorcycles are a wonderful way to recreate. When riding, one sees more, smells more and consumes more of the environment much than when driving in a car, even a convertible. It’s a great escape, literally. Reminds me of when you are skiing down a mountain. You are in a vaccum and all to yourself. When the Harley craze was going on in the early 90’s, I sold hundreds of them out of my car store on Sherman, at the time. I met all kinds of bikers, a great camaraderie amongst them all.
Question: What do you do for a great escape?
Scott Stantis/Birmingham News
In the news this evening: Al Franken extends his lead in the Minnesota U.S. Senate recount to 312 votes here. Congressional black caucus leaders praise Castro here. 5 are dead in another murder-suicide, in Alabama here. Washington senators pass a bill hoping to attract more ‘Twilight’ vampires here. Poll: Americans are becoming more optimistic here. And the Wild Card remains on the table …
At Priest Lake Saturday, Alexis Cox gingerly steps on a rock as she wades into the water. Pecky Cox/As The Lake Churns reports that the back of the lake is still frozen. SR Today In Photos.
… with this Birthday Calculator provided by Cis/Simple Mind here.
Unemployment, debt and gloom; yet the daffodils still bloom. Bard Of Sherman Avenue
My husband became obsessed a couple of years ago. Obsessed with a motorcycle. He has 
always had toys. It is part of who he is. This obsession was different than others. I think it was his midlife crisis. Better that than a sports car or a younger woman! So in June of 2007 ‘she’ came to live in our garage. Since then, we are out riding whenever we can. My husband always had a street bike around, but I rarely rode with him. It scared me. Now I LOVE it. We go with friends and have a great time. Last summer we did a trip to Yellowstone with 5 other people and another trip through Montana. This year we have a trip to Yosemite planned for June and a trip to the Redwoods in July. Yesterday was my first ride of this season/Me, It’s Just Me. More here.
Question: Do you love motorcycles or fear them? Why?
Ken Bone, the new head basketball coach at Washington State smiles while explaining his offensive system during an introductory press conference in a Bohler Gym conference room in Pullman, WASH. Bone, will replace Tony Bennett who left for Virginia State earlier this year. Story here. Tyler Tjomsland/Spokesman Review.
Jacob and Monika Snyder herd the ball towards a goal during a demonstration of “horse soccer” at Horsenut Stables in Golden Valley, Ariz., on Saturday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Kingman Daily Miner, JC Amberlyn)
Top Cutlines:
MamaJD: After I RSVP’d, I found myself going on to criminalsearches.com and then googling the dad’s name. I did not discover a criminal history but that doesn’t say much because I don’t trust the veracity of the search. But worse, I did find his MySpace page. I almost wish I had found a criminal history as opposed to his MySpace page. It is easier to rationalize criminal behavior (such as some youthful indiscretion like MIP’s) than it is to rationalize his MySpace page. More here.
Question: Would you Google the parents of a child who invited one of your kids to a party?
Cindy Hval: 
I’d just like to know who is in charge of naming wars. The “War on Terror” has got to be one of the stupidest war names, ever. Isn’t it really a “War on Terrorists”? Now, that makes sense. What the heck is an “Overseas Contingency Operation” (new name for WOT)? For one thing the acronym is OCO. Not an improvement on WOT, in my opinion. What contingencies are we talking about here? And overseas could technically mean Hawaii or Australia etc. Couldn’t we be a bit more specific?
Question: What’s a better name for the War Formerly Known As The War On Terror?
One of the side effects of birthdays that I am not fond of, is the thought of mortality. I do fine 
with each year, although next year I might have a problem with … I don’t deny my age, but I don’t think of it for the most part. If someone ask, yes, I say I am 69 (now) with pride that I have lasted that long, besides for the most part, age is just a number, as I still feel like 48. Before it was 28. But I feel some of the limitations, so 48 it is now. But as one approaches their birthday and they have gone over the age of 65, I find you start to think of your mortality. I don’t dwell there, as it is depressing. But once in a while it slips you up/Cis, Simple Mind. More here.
Question: Do you enjoy your birthdays? Or do they bug you?
So Casey and I have had our far share of experiences sampling the various bars around the Spokane area. It’s here where we’ve sharpened our skills to become masters of night life. “Why are we sitting at a table to one leg shorter than the other?” “Why are we in the corner by ourselves” “Why is Lindsey not sitting with us?” “Lets go home and play Halo.” It was during this time that we discovered the top ten pickup lines that will never, ever work/Just South of North. More here.
Question: Can you add to the Just South of North’s pickup lines that never work?
President Barack Obama greets military personnel at Camp Victory in Baghdad, earlier today. Story here. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Question: Who do you think is/was most popular with the troops: Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, or Barack Obama?
Whitehead, an Oldtown resident and construction worker on custom homes who has had trouble finding work during the long winter, was on his way to a job site when he stopped for a cup of coffee at the Muzzy Fast Stop convenience store on Highway 2. “I was really early for work and had some time on my hands, so in addition to the cup of coffee I got, I also picked up a couple of $5 scratch tickets,” described Whitehead. “It was all my lunch money for the day and I was just hoping I’d win at least enough money back to have lunch”/Idaho Lottery. More here.
Question: Does this story make you more inclined to play the Lottery? Or would you be reluctant to gamble your lunch money on a couple of tickets that might return nothing?
Beyer, district governor-elect for the Lions, presented Duke with a special award and honorary Lions Club membership in recognition of the actress’ role as Helen Keller and her life of service to others. “She just gives and gives and gives,” Beyer said. The awards, bestowed on behalf of Lions Club International via Idaho 19E and Montana 37N districts, represent just the first step in Beyer’s campaign for a much broader role for Duke in the organization given a mission as “knights of the blind” by Helen Keller in 1925/Candace Chase, Daily Inter Lake. More here.
Question: Have you ever met Patty Duke? What impression did you come away with?
Item: AP cuts newspaper rates, moves to protect Web news/Reuters
More Info: The Associated Press unveiled rate cuts on Monday to help member newspapers reeling from declining advertising revenue and said it would sue websites that use its members’ articles without permission. Changes announced by the AP at its annual meeting in San Diego include $35 million in rate assessment reductions for 2010 on top of $30 million it already instituted for 2009.
Question: How much would your blog be affected if you no longer could use articles from online newspaper sources?
Eau de Boy comes in two unforgettable scents: Locker Room and Axe. If you live with the Locker Room variety, then you have one of those boys who won’t shower and whose socks and T-shirts must be decontaminated by a hazmat team before going in the laundry. But if it’s the smell of Axe deodorant you’re used to, then you’ve got a kid who creates giant vapor clouds every time he sprays himself with the stuff, causing you to run around opening windows, hoping it dissipates before the entire family passes out/Beth J. Harpaz, Associated Press. More here.
Question: How would you describe the scent of boys over 10 years old?
Seattle Mariners’ Ken Griffey Jr. connects for a solo home run off Minnesota Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano during the fifth inning of an MLB baseball game in Minneapolis Monday. The Mariners won the game 6-1. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)
Question: How many home runs will Griffey hit this year with the Mariners?
The budget bill for the state Department of Environmental Quality, a tiny piece of which includes funding authorization to begin implementation of the Coeur d’Alene Lake Management Plan, has passed the House on a 53-16 vote. Just last Friday, several lawmakers spoke out against the plan, stalling the budget bill. Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, said commissioners from all three affected counties - Kootenai, Shoshone and Benewah - all have come out in favor of the plan now, after several changes were made to the final draft/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: How concerned are you about the water quality of Lake Coeur d’Alene?
Count me among those who give Sheriff Rocky Watson props, albeit small ones, for airing the results of a year-
long investigation into the theft of inmate medications by some of his jailers. A less scrupulous sheriff might have tried to sweep this under the rug. After all, there’s few media resources in the Lake City dedicated to investigative journalism. In the not-too-distant old days, someone would have tipped the SR to the internal sheriff’s investigation — and we would have been all over this. In a news environment where staff cuts have reduced both local newspapers to the ambulance chasers when it comes to breaking news, Watson stepped forward to provide the basic information that he was dealing with in-house wrongdoing. A few weeks ago, the sheriff told me privately that he’s worried that the lack of dedicated news coverage of local government would lead to official abuse and misconduct. Now, he’s backed up his concerns by publicly policing his own department. Some may think he didn’t go far enough. That charges should have been filed. I view Rocky’s disclosure as coming from a public official who respects transparency and is frustrated that the media watchdogs are too busy rewriting press releases.
Former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, accompanied by his daughters, from left, Beth Stevens, Lilly Stevens and Susan Covich, leaves federal court in Washington Tuesday. A furious federal judge on Tuesday took the extraordinary step of ordering that the prosecutors who bungled the case of former Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska be investigated for possible criminal wrongdoing. Story here. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Question: Joel Connelly/Seattle P-I opines that Stevens would do well to soft peddle claims of vindication because the Justice Department had a strong case. Do you think Stevens has been vindicated?
Item: Adams looks for seat on council/Tom Hasslinger, CdA Press
More Info: Allstate Insurance agent and Lake City native Steve Adams declared his intention to run for Coeur d’Alene City Council Seat 2. Adams, 42, will run against incumbent Mike Kennedy, who will be seeking his first re-election since joining the council four years ago. … My hot button issue is LCDC,” he said. “I want to bring to the forefront the issue of ending their districts.”
Question: Which other anti-LCDC candidates will emerge to run for the City Council? And who do you think they’ll run against?
Thursday, the committee, Ways and Means, introduced the bill requiring photo identification for Idahoans to become voters on a party-line, 4-3 vote. The bill does away with Idahoans’ ability to register by mail and requires people without driver’s licenses, passports or other photo ID to get some before registering, and then travel to the county courthouse or other registration venue. Republican leaders say that is needed to stave off voter fraud. What voter fraud? If Denney and Geddes have evidence of fraudulent voting in Idaho, let’s see it. It would certainly make big news in Idaho if its elections were being skewed by voters who were not who they said they were, especially since the winners of most elections are members of Denney and Geddes’ party/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Do you agree with Fisher that legislative leaders Lawerence Denney and Bob Geddes are trying to make it harder for Idahoans to vote?
Fishwife:
I hope Meghann Cuniff follows through (on jail firing/discipline story). This is a much more serious matter than the one mentioned by DFO (former prosecutor’s e-mail shenanigans). After all, critics would argue that Sheriff Watson can’t be asking for an expensive new jail if he can’t supervise the one he’s got. I want to know if laws were violated and if prisoners were denied their medication. The sheriff is obviously attempting to do some damage control in hopes the media gives him a pass. Where is drug warrior Brent (Andrews) when we need him?
Question: Meghann Cuniff filed a longer story last night here. Do you agree with Fishwife that Sheriff Rocky Watson is attempting damage control? Or do you applaud the action he’s taken in making this public and punishing the violators?
It was recently reported that President Barack Obama (shown at left this morning with military at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq), as part of his ongoing reforms of our foreign policy and national security strategies, is going to phase out the use of the term “War on Terror.” All I can say is, hallelujah. This is why I voted for Obama. … But I hadn’t dared expect him to perform such a drastic change. Drastic change? Yes. You might think describing a semantic shift as “drastic” is a little over the top. But don’t forget that to control a debate, you must control its language. And what kind of debate is this in the first place? It is a debate over how to explain and sell our broader strategy to combat international terrorism, including the war in Afghanistan, to the American people/Charles Boespflug, UI Argonaut. More here.
Question: Does President Obama have the same commitment to fighting the “War on Terror” — or whatever he decides to call it — as former President Bush did?
The Kibbie Dome, which received the 1976 American Society of Civil Engineer’s Outstanding Structural Achievement Award, underwent the first stages of a $52 million renovation this spring semester. The renovations include adding 3,600 seats, a Vandal Hospitality Club, an all new Vandal Hall of Fame and opening the east and west walls with translucent fiberglass that will let in natural daylight. The construction is projected to be completed December 9, 2009. Nick Groff/Argonaut.
In the HBO Poll Monday, 30 of 52 (58%) of you said you’re thinking about cutting back on your pop drinking because you know it’s not healthy. In a tie for distant second, 8 apiece (15%) said that soda could be part of a balanced diet or indicated they didn’t drink pop.
HMOSuite: I love your location (DanoftheCounty’s location on Twin Lakes). It really is on ‘golden pond’ there. Last summer, on a Sunday morning, my wife and I took the Amphicar and went from upper to lower and thru the channel and stopped to visit with a lot of people on the lake. We really enjoyed that. Each week, we toured a different lake.
Question: Which is your favorite North Idaho lake or waterway? Why?
JeanieSpokane:
O boy, I remember those days (of finding taboo stuff in your kid’s room). As parents, we do eventually survive the teen years. But I’ll never forget the day I found cigarettes and home-made bongs (out of fittings that you would find in your dad’s tool box). I found them in a little box that said “do not open me” on the front. First, you feel guilty that you went into your child’s private property and then you feel angry that you got hoodwinked AGAIN. I am so glad THEY survived their teen years.
Question: Did you go through your teen’s room to make sure he/she/they were weren’t straying far?
Kage Mann: I went to downtown CDA today and I went by the three story brick Spokesman review building.When I drove past, I kept thinking about: what a tragedy to have such a nice,spacious building to only be half occupied, because of layoffs, cutbacks, etc.
DFO: Actually, the building has four stories. All are filled except for the 33% to 40% that once made up the editorial wing of the second floor. Six staffers have moved into the old conference room. The two sports guys and I are on the circulation/advertising side. I have the coolest office space I’ve had since joining the SR 25 years ago. It’s not as good as it once was. But it’s way better than the alternative.
Nick Anderson/Houston Chronicle
In the news this morning: UW basketball coach Lorenzo Romar says WSU hired the right man in Ken Bone here. A Pierce County woman says her husband killed her 5 children, himself to punish her here. Study: 1 in 5 4-year-olds obese here. Obama shows deep appreciation for the Muslim faith here. Seattle leads Minnesota 1-0 in the 3rd inning of its season opener here. And the Wild Card remains in play …
Darin Winkler holds a bottle he found March 28 in the Spokane River in Spokane. The bottle from almost a century ago held a note written on March 30, 1913, by Emmett Presnell. Story here. (AP Photo/The Spokesman-Review, Christopher Anderson) SR’s Today In Photos.
Me: This
reminds me of a pet peeve I have - people burning crap in their yards this time of year. We get a BEAUTIFUL day - bright, sunny, airplanes buzzing overhead, maybe a lawn mower running, kids playing - then the stink of people burning wet yuck gunk in their yards for EVERYONE to enjoy….. We have NEVER burned yard waste - and we seem to have gotten along fine - my question is why?
Question: Do any of your neighbors have a bad habit that bugs you?
JeanieSpokane:
Now it’s my turn. I will be seeing my kidney specialist in a couple weeks to discuss either going on dialysis or being put on a transplant list. It is a monumental deal. It’s not that I’m surprised because I have known this day would come, for many years. I kind of had hoped it would never come and that I would maintain as I have for so long. But coming it is – and fast. More here.
DFO: Please join me in wishing JeanieSpokane the best as she prepares to deal with serious health issues.
Emma Watson, 7, does homework at home in Craigmont, Idaho on March 30, 2009. Emma was set to meet Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican in Rome as part of a Make-a-Wish request. The trip has been delayed because she became too ill to make the journey in February as planned. Story here. (Barry Kough/Lewiston Tribune, AP)
Bull rider Cody Ford of Stanfeild, Oregon gets butted by Smokey after receiving a no score on his ride Saturday night in Nampa, Idaho, in the Professional Bull Rider’s Nampa Invitational. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Idaho Press-Tribune, Mike Vogt)
Top Cutlines:
Michael Scott/CdA got beat up over a lemon slice. Seems he dropped the slice while he was at 
the Iron Horse with a friend around 1 in the morning Thursday — and it hit a woman. Whose boyfriend punched Scott in the face because he thought Scott’d thrown it. A bouncer broke up that portion of the fight and kicked the woman and her boyfriend out of the bar. But the fight wasn’t over. Later, outside the bar, Scott had another close encounter with the woman. Who, he said, hit him in the face. He said he pushed her off only to be attacked by another woman and someone else who hit him from behind. Ultimately, a friend from the bar helped him get away. Scott said he didn’t know any of the people involved.
Portland State coach Ken Bone and players celebrate a win against Montana State in an NCAA college basketball game at the Big Sky men’s basketball tournament March 11 in Ogden, Utah. Portland State won 79-77. Bone has accepted the offer to replace Tony Bennett as head coach of Washington State. Story here. (AP Photo/Steve C. Wilson)
Question: Are you happy with the WSU choice to replace former basketball coach Tony Bennett?
Walkabout: Today I called animal control about a dead deer washed up on a beach on Tubbs
Hill. They said they would call fish and game. When they got back to me they said that they weren’t going to do anything about it. The exact words were, “It’s the circle of life”. I asked if a dead deer was on city beach wouldn’t they remove it? No answer. This a special scenic area that tourists and families visit and despite the cold water I saw people attempting to swim yesterday. Why isn’t a rotting carcass seen as garbage that needs to be removed?
Question: Should the dead deer be left to rot on Tubbs Hill?
One thing that didn’t go over well with me was when I was standing on the dock, after we finished our training. This couple walks by, and the man is looking at the boat. The guy we are with from the Marina says that we just finished up training because it’s a new boat, and the guy in a very snide voice says, ‘Wow, it must be nice to not have the economy affecting you and be able to buy a boat!’ First, I wanted to tell him it was none of his business, and since he had walked to Hayden Lake, I really doubted he lived in a shack! He was dressed in high end designer labels, as well, so don’t talk to me about money./Live, Love, Laugh, Hope. More here.
Question: How much time do you spend on the water during the year?
“With snow-covered Rathdrum Mountain as a backdrop, golfers turned out in droves on the first sunny Sunday in April. Most North Idaho golf courses opened this week, a sure sign of Spring,” Councilwoman KerriT/OnLocation North Idaho.
Question: Are you a decent golfer?
Fishwife:
A noticeable lack of details in the sheriff’s press release. What type of medications? Criminal charges to follow? I hope this doesn’t turn into a whitewash. What Idaho law prevents the sheriff from disclosing the deputies’s names? Where are our intrepid SR reporters?
DFO: Ah, one member of the crack SR team involved in the investigative report of the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office has opened a photo studio in Spirit Lake. The other is operating a massage service for dogs and ponies out of her home. ;-)
Item: Most in poll back Obama outreach to Muslims while continuing to have misgivings about the religion/Washington Post
More Info: Most Americans think President Obama’s pledge to “seek a new way forward” with the Muslim world is an important goal, even as nearly half hold negative views about Islam and a sizable number say that even mainstream adherents to the religion encourage violence against non-Muslims, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll
Question: Is President Obama on the right track by reaching out to the Muslim world?
Rathdrum Police Officer Chris Taylor took his turn at the POST (police officer standards and training) Academy jump test during physicals at Lake City High School in Coeur d’Alene on Monday. The POST Academy is the first of its kind in North Idaho. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review.)
A number of Kootenai County Jail personnel have been fired or discipline as a result of 
allegations involving inmate medications that led to an extensive internal investigation. In a news release from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department, the investigation began when the sheriff learned of the claims. The Idaho State Police was also involved in the investigation. Idaho law does not allow the sheriff to disclose the names of individuals who were subject to the internal investigation or who received disciplinary action. “Policies and procedures only work when those involved exercise common sense and ethical behavior,” Watson said. “A lack of integrity and a lack of following the ideals as set forth in the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics will not be tolerated in our Department.” (Meghann M. Cuniff/SR is following this story.)
I was happy to see that Carrie Underwood won entertainer of the year, but I would have been Question: Do you enjoy country music?
happy for any of the candidates. They’re all superb musicians and performers in their own way. It was especially neat for Carrie and for those of us who have followed her ever since that first performance on “American Idol.” She is a great representative for her home state of Oklahoma, for Idol and for country music itself. It was a kick to see Julianne Hough win the top new female vocalist award. Partly because her grandparents are from Coeur d’Alene, partly because she’s been so much fun on “Dancing with the Stars,” and partly because she’s so talented. It’s amazing that someone can be so gifted in two disciplines and so happy on top of it all/Marianne Love, Slight Detour. More here.
People watch a salamander cross a roadway in New Haven, Vt., Sunday. They volunteered on a recent night to carry salamanders, frogs and newts across the road during their annual migration to mate. On rainy nights in early spring, roads between forests and vernal pools are hopping and crawling with activity. On some nights, hundreds of amphibians cross small stretches of roads to mate. But many don’t make it, getting squashed by cars. (AP Photo/Alden Pellett) Question: Are you afraid of amphibians or reptiles?
Item: Gardeners see recession as ideal time to put down roots/Shawn Vestal, SR
More Info: There’s a booming interest in gardening this recessionary spring, both here and around the country. More and more people – looking to save on food and perhaps to eat more organic, local produce – are planning to plant vegetables, whether in full gardens or in containers on the patio. Seed companies are predicting sales increases of 25 percent or more, and the planting of a White House garden by first lady Michelle Obama has raised the profile of gardening even higher.
Question: I pruned trees and roses to launch my gardening season over the weekend. I have some transplanting, rebuilding boxes for raised gardening, and cleanup to do next Saturday. Are you going to raise a garden this year?
… (outside the new Youth Ranch Thrift Store on 4th early Saturday afternoon): “Now that they’re in the new digs,everything’s more expensive” — fortysomething man in a blue-jean jacket to his female companion.
… that some conservative Kootenai County Repubs are upset at Gov. Butch Otter’s nomination 
of KMC official Don Soltman to take Sue Thilo’s seat on the state Board of Education. In fact, some might show in protest when Sen. John Goedde’s Education Committee considers the appointment this week. Seems local R’s haven’t forgotten that Soltman was one of those controversial Republicans for Walt Minnick who helped torpedo uberconservative Congressman Bill Sali’s unsuccessful bid for re-election. In an article last fall, Betsy Russell asked Soltman re: Sali, and got this answer: “I think he’s just too far to the right, and that type of posture doesn’t serve us well when you’re trying to work in more of a bipartisan way. I don’t think you can get stuff done in Washington without compromise and reaching across the aisle.” One insider told Huckleberries that Goedde’s committee is split between conservatives and liberals — and that Goedde could cast the deciding vote that sends the nomination to the full Senate. Stay tuned.
Rep. Marge Chadderdon, R-Coeur d’Alene, says she’s got a new version of her flag bill in the works, after problems cropped up with amendments already made to the bill. Chadderdon originally sought to prohibit state or local agencies in Idaho from buying any U.S. or Idaho flags that aren’t made in the United States, but a clause in her original bill that declared that if agencies bought such flags, they wouldn’t have to pay for them, raised concerns in the House, prompting amendments to the bill/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Some might say that Rep. Marge Chadderdon’s flag bill is among the sillier ones in the 2009 Legislature. Can you think of any sillier?
Her husband is still in temporary quarters in a trailer in the courtyard of the Russell Senate Office Building, but Vicki Risch has big plans. As Jim Risch eases into his role as the junior Republican senator from Idaho, Vicki Risch has been carving out her own place in the nation’s capital. Nowhere is their partnership more evident than in the lobby of her husband’s Senate office, where he displays a gift from the current governor, Butch Otter: a replica of the door to the Idaho governor’s office. The door, a memento from the new senator’s seven months as the state’s chief executive, has a window painted with the words “Gov. James E. Risch and First Lady Vicki Risch”/Erika Bolstad, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Which Idaho First Lady had the biggest impact on her husband’s political career?
The casket of Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers, of Hopewell, Va., who was killed Afghanistan on Saturday is transferred by an honor guard on Sunday in Dover Air Force Base, Del. After receiving permission from the family, Myers marks the end of the ban on media news coverage of returning war dead was put in place 18 years ago. Story here. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Question: Did the Pentagon and Obama administration do the right thing by lifting the ban on photos of America’s war dead?
Mayor Sandi Bloem to Rebecca Nappi/SR: ”My maternal grandmother, Clara Dingle, was a 
strong woman but a true lady. She graduated from college, which was unusual for women of her generation. She played basketball in college at Washington State, and later she would put on her hat and go to work in ways that women didn’t then. My family was in the hardware business. She said, “As much as I like selling hammers and nails, I’m going to carve my own place here.” So she ran a gift shop in the hardware store.” What she still uses: “My grandmother was a team player. The first picture I put in my office was her team at Washington State. It was never about her individually, but the team she was on. I try to do things in teams, too.” More here.
Question: Who was your mentor? What lesson(s) stayed with you?
On the afternoon of Feb. 2, an unwelcome and destructive digital guest made its way onto the 
North Idaho College campus. That day, a computer virus began popping up around campus, and soon spread in an outbreak that lingered for nearly three weeks, bringing teams of computer technology specialists to the vanguard of the electronic realm. “The question people always ask is, ‘Well how did it get here?’ And we don’t know that,” said Steve Ruppel, the college’s information technology director. “We wish we did, but in a sense it doesn’t matter anyway, because once it gets in, it spreads very quickly.” How quickly? Within days after the first signs of infection, an estimated 90 percent of the college’s 1,200 faculty and staff computers had been infected – only the Apple Macintosh computers came through unscathed/Jacob Livingston, SR Handle Extra.
Question: What is the worst havoc caused by a virus to your home or office computer?
Bill Skelton talked about the new wooden hanging he made for St.Lukes Church in Coeur d’Alene on Tuesday. Story here. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review)
In a weekend HBO poll, 21 of 50 Hucksters — 42% — said they don’t follow any of the minor league teams in Spokane. Another 10 (20%) said they follow all the teams: Indians, Chiefs, and Shock. Of those who indicated they follow only one team, 9 of 50 (18%) said they follow the Spokane Chiefs hockey team.
MamaJD: What is new in our ‘hood is the arrivial of PapaJD’s mid-life crisis, also known as a 
Triumph Bonneville. With the sun out, the mid-life crisis is in full bloom. We now have neighbors (man neighbors) coming over and hanging out in our garage. They have even brought their friends to take a gander at the mid-life as well. The men ooh and ahh. Then they mention their bikes. This is when the men (including PapaJD) meander in a herd over to the other guy’s house to ooh and ahh over that bike there. It is ritualisitic in the way the conversation takes place between the men about each other’s bikes.
Question: Did you have a midlife crisis? What did you do out of the ordinary?
Idaho Spud: I dealt with Richard Butler probably once a month when I worked at a
department 
store. He was always very polite and very talkative,
especially once his wife passed away. He always had 1 other person with
him. No one else in the store would wait on him, especially when they
found out who he was. He would come in and aske for me by name after a
few times and I would help him out. His money spent the same as anyone
elses, and, if our Store Manager found out my co-workers did not wait
on him, they would have been without a job.
Question: Describe the most difficult person you’ve dealt with in a business or social setting?
Cindy Hval: It happened again this week. The UPS man left a box on my front steps.
I slit the 
tape and opened the box to find a dozen copies of Chicken
Soup for the Soul: Power Moms— the sixth book in the series to feature
one of my stories. And you know what? It still tickles me to know that
all over the world, folks can go to a bookstore and find one of these
books, with a story in it from me! The story in this book was
originally a Front Porch column called, “Letting Go.” A very intimate
glimpse of my thoughts and feelings, yet the Soup folks thought it had
enough appeal to buy it.
Question: First, major props from HBO Central to CindyH for her dyne-oh!-mite accomplishment. How many of you are fans of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series?
Bayview Herb: Lest I forget, however, and I will hound those of you in the Athol,
Spirit Lake and 
Bayview Area, that we will carry on the legacy that
Terry’s Cafe did for may years, here in Bayview. Saturday, april 11
will feature an Easter egg hunt. 10:00 am at the wheel for under 6 year
olds and the Bayview Motel-RV park for 6-12 year olds at 10:30. We hold
our Easter egg hunts on Saturday so that families can attend Easter
services at their churches and still get to flog eggs. We here in
Bayview, are equal opportunity revelers.
Question: Does your family participate in an old-fashion Easter egg hunt?
Nick Anderson/Houston Chronicle
In the news this morning: A western Washington father kills himself after slaughtering his 5 children here. North Korea thumbs its nose at Japan and Washington by launching rocket here. Afghanistan will get 5000 NATO troops here. The Mariners announce their 25-man roster as they prepare to travel to Minnesota for their season opener Monday here. Avista is exploring the possibility of building a transmission line from the Northwest to California here. And another Wild Card is in play …
Former Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr perform at the Change Begins Within Concert Saturday in New York.The purpose of the concert was to raise money to teach children Transcendental Meditation. Story here. (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin)
Question: Which Beatle was your favorite?
Items:
Question: Are these isolated instances? Or is something broken in our society
Item: Business boost or legal bust? Ticket forgiveness plan pleases shoppers, leaves lawyers scratching their heads/Tom Hasslinger, CdA Press
More Info: It’s an idea that has store owners and patrons excited, city officials curious, but legal teams wagging a finger of caution. How about forgiving downtown parking tickets? … Violators would be forgiven only if they have a receipt verifying they spent more money than the ticket’s charge at any downtown business the day of the infraction. … The catch? It may not be legal.
Question: Have you ever decided not to shop downtown because you didn’t want to pay for parking in the Third Street lot or risk the possibility of getting a ticket by parking too long on a city street?
In 2002, Mick Coon strapped his guitar to his back, walked into the
Festival at Sandpoint office and asked the staff what it would take to
hire him to play at the popular summer music festival. “I told them I’d play for them right then,” said Coon, now 25 years old. He still can’t believe he was so bold. After auditioning in their offices that day, Coon was hired as the
opening act for performer Keb Mo. At the festival that summer, Coon
strummed his guitar in front of his hometown audience and sang for 90
minutes onstage. “That’s where I really got the bug (to perform),” said Coon, a 2001 graduate of Sandpoint High School/Patty Hutchens, SR Handle Extra. More here.
Question: Can you play a guitar? Well?
“Sit wherever you like, guys,” the cheerful voice beckoned from somewhere behind the world’s most massive jar of pickled eggs. Our petite but formidable hostess emerged from the bar to deliver
our menus and tousle her terrific feathery blonde mane. “The coffee’s
hot; I just made a fresh pot.” “OK, yes, I’ll have a cup,” shot back Q. oddly, as if in trance. “Actually, just an RC for me, thanks,” I said, noticing that Q.’s
face had suddenly turned an exquisite shade of clam chowder gray. When she was gone I asked Q. what he was tripping on. “Oh my God,
she’s exactly like my mom. It’s uncanny. She has my mom’s same tiny
build; she’s got my mom’s nose and eyes … . She talks like my mom. She
even smells like my mom. White Diamonds by Liz Taylor”/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. More here.
Question: Have you ever met someone who reminds you of your mother? Who? When?
You may have heard that CNN featured Sun Meadow nudist resort near
Worley in a recent story. 
But did you know that vacationing at nude
resorts is the fastest-growing vacation trend in the travel industry?
So sez Mary Clare of the Terra Cotta Inn in Palm Springs, Calif., a
“clothing optional” place. Mary entered the Huckleberries Online
discussion when she noticed that several Merry Hucksters were yucking
it up re: the CNN story. (Cabbage Boy, ferXample, offered this rimshot:
“speaking of the sagging economy and shrunken retirement accounts …”)
Quoth Mary: “Last year we were the only resort that had an increase in
sales in Palm Springs. We were up 5.85 percent. And this year business
is fantastic, too. I can tell by the comments that no (Berry Picker)
has been to a real nudist resort. Just like Marriotts and Hiltons have
guests of all ages, so do nice nude hotels. Our guests range from their
20s to 70s.” The No. 1 home state of Terra Cotta’s guests? Washington.
Ah, I think I’ll pass/DFO, SR Handle Extra. More here.
Question: Would it bug you if a member of your family vacationed at nudist resorts?
In the news this morning: The Dow is back over 8000 here. YouTube could lose $470M this year here. Obama advisers made millions last year here. WSU AD Jim Sterk has widened his search for a new head basketball coach here. Gonzaga’s Josh Heytvelt went out in style by leading his team to victory in the Hershey’s College All-Star Game here. And the Wild Card is on the table …
Norm Gissel, local attorney who assisted Southern Poverty Law Center attorney Morris Dees in the legal case that bankrupted the Aryan Nations, spoke about the legal strategies involved in the case at The Iron Horse Restaurant in Coeur d’Alene on Friday. SR story by Alison Boggs here. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review)
Question: Did you ever encounter Aryan Nations leader Richard Butler or any of his henchmen?
Item: Two Chase Awards found to be phony/Rebecca Nappi, SR
More Info: The Chase Youth Awards have honored young people of achievement and integrity for 23 years. But one of this year’s winners, “Pete Hazel,” doesn’t exist. Another, a Rogers High School teen, does exist but much of his story was fictionalized. The nominations for the two winners were written by the same person, a Lewis and Clark High School student who completed them for a class assignment. More than 1,000 nominations were received, and 30 winners were chosen by community judges, including “Hazel,” who won the Jim Chase “Asset Builder” adult award.
Question: Do hoaxes like this do lasting damage to worthy programs?
Question: Is Carlos Santa right — that marijuana should be legalized?
President
Barack Obama brushed off a question about legalizing marijuana in his
online town hall last month, but guitar god Carlos Santana says he
wishes he would seriously consider it. Legalize marijuana and take all that money and invest it in teachers
and in education,” Santana said in an interview this week. “You will
see a transformation in America.” During his online town hall on March 26, Obama fielded a question about
whether legalization of the illicit drug would help pull the nation out
of recession. Obama said he didn’t think it was good economic policy,
and also joked: “I don’t know what this says about the online audience”/Associated Press. More here.
Dennis: Throughout my career, I have had the “Opportunity” and the “Misfortune” of working
around, for and/or with some of the wealthiest people in this country.Some were very gracious and down to earth, regular men and women who remembered where they came from and showed the same respect that were afforded them. Then there were the others who were total bores. They cared about nothing except their own personal comfort and air of self importance. In my opinion, I place De-Wayne (Hagadone) in the latter category.
Question: By and large, has your experience with very rich people been positive or negative?
Moscow Minidoka: I … deny the notion that we’re in any sort of depression. The only way we will get ourselves into a depression is if we panic ourselves into one… I am getting so tired of people screaming “Oh no! A new depression! The end is nigh!” To those who keep throwing the “d” word around: You are in danger of creating a self-fulfilling prophesy. Quit your paranoid hysteria, or at least keep it to yourself.
Question: What do you call this economic turbulence we’re going through? And where do you think we’ll be as a country in a year?
JeanieS: I have skunks ALL.THE.TIME. Year round (I thought they hibernated). My dog was
always trying to make friends with them. And my black and white cat actually had a little skunk friend. They would sit side by side in the yard. One evening I came home and saw Tux (my cat) sitting on a tree stump next to where I park. I reached down to pet him and he “appeared” to magically split in two – while Tux stayed to be petted and Mr. Skunk walked away to the other side of the yard. I was THAT close to being skunked.
Question: What’s the closest encounter that you’ve had with a skunk?
JimmyMAC: I personally have been on his payroll and enjoyed it. Had I not, I had the free will to H
go somewhere else. Working for the (Coeur d’Alene Resort) isn’t any different than any other company. Oh, wait, when working for some other companies you might have to worry about your paycheck bouncing, the lights staying on or even going out of business. What did I get out of the resort? An internship with a biotech company in Seattle, the ability to go anywhere in the country hospitality related with a recommendation from Hagadone Hospitality and the chance to work with and for some very nice people.
Question: Have you ever been on Duane Hagadone’s payroll — at one of his newspapers, in his hospitality industry, his telephone book, or something else owned by him? Was it a good or bad experience?
Before signing off this work week, I want to introduce you to a blog by former college Heather Lalley, who’s free-lancing for the AP in Chicago and also attending culinary school where she’s studying pastry and bread making. You can read the adventures of this “recovering newspaper reporter in search of a new career at her Flour Girl blog here. Enjoy. Now, for the evening headlines: Police are looking for motives in that NY immigration center shooting that left 14 dead here. A GOP congressman warns that Iowa will become a ‘gay marriage mecca’ here. A Malawi judge rejects Madonna’s request to adopt here. 3 out of 5 Americans still view Bush/Cheney negatively here. And the Wild Card remains in play …
Precious Hunter poses in front of the mirror with her new Easter shoes and outfit at The Children’s Place on Tuesday in Houston, Texas, where attorney Jim Adler invited 32 children from the House of Tiny Treasures, a development center in Houston for children with parents who are homeless and working or participating in a job or educational program. The children received two new pairs of shoes and an Easter outfit. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Mayra Beltran) SR’s Today In Photos.
At Silver Valley Stories, Silver Valley Girl describes a “night on the town” as traveling to Coeur d’Alene for a meal at the relatively new Thai Bamboo restaurant on 4th. Then, it was off to the Lake City Playhouse to watch her daughter perform in “James and the Giant Peach.” She finished her night on the town off with pie — peach (of course) and strawberry rhubarb. You can read all about it here.
Question: What do you consider to be a night out on the town?
The Timberlake Fire Protection District conducted a recent Live Fire Training drill at a donated house located at 9803 Howard Road in Athol. Firefighters spent over 2 months using this building to practice fire fighter skills and concluded with this live fire training. You can find the complete story and more photos from the fire department here.
A pair of deer peers through a drive-in liquor store window recently in Medicine Bow, Wyo. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Laramie Boomerang, Alison Simpson)
Top Cutlines:
This weekend, I am in Pocatello — the town where Idaho State University is, the university that sent out notices to employees but didn’t put the right amount of postage on the envelopes. What’s worse than getting a note from the post office to come pay the excess postage, then opening that letter and learning you don’t have a job anymore?/Sydney Boyd, UI Argonaut. More Off The Cuff here.
Idaho House members threatened to kill funding for implementing the new Coeur d’Alene Lake Management Plan today, causing a delay in voting on the budget bill for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. Rep. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries, told the House he thought the management plan would give the tribe jurisdiction over local landowners and counties. “You’re going to let them rule over us that live there,” he declared. “Boy … I’m uneasy about this.” Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, said, “This issue of , well, if we don’t do something today it’s going to be a Superfund site tomorrow - we’ve been hearing that for 20 years. … I’m concerned that we’re rushing this legislation through.” /Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Am I the only one who views as irresponsible the action taken by Nonini and Hart to block funding for lake management funding?
They’re waiting for an explanation and they’re looking to the top office in the land to
give them their answer. Two Spokane girls are reaching out to President Barack Obama for help. Lillian and Daleen Deck wrote a letter to the President asking where ‘their’ bailout is. Lillian and Daleen have seen some of the nations largest corporations receive billions, but it’s their first hand account of the housing credit crunch that is sticking out in their minds. On Friday their father’s home will be sold at auction. It’s the latest event to play out in the girls’ first hand account of the nation’s failing economy/KXLY. More here (with video).
Question: What do you think of the action taken by the desperate sisters?
Ten miles south of Sandpoint, Cocolalla Lake is an accessible, 800-acre year-round fishery fed by Cocolalla Creek. It’s also popular for ice fishing in winter … although the ice is beginning to break up as April arrives, creating a jagged design from the eastern shoreline to the west/Councilwoman KerriT, OnLocation North Idaho. More here.
Kettle-Corn Man Stays: Bill reported to me this morning that Sportsmen’s
Warehouse in Coeur d’Alene may have sold out to some Canadian owners, but the kettle-corn man gets to stay. It’s always nice when new owners or new bosses appeciate the tried and true aspects of established situations they’re entering. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is often a good guideline, especially for starting out. And, if people still know they can go to the front of Sportsmen’s Warehouse to get their kettle corn fix, they’re going to be happy/Marianne Love, Slight Detour. More here.
Question: Do you enjoy kettle-corn?
Hostages exit a building near the American Civic Association in downtown Binghamton, N.Y., following a shooting spree by a gunman Friday today. A law enforcement official says the gunman who killed at least 12 people died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Story here. (AP Photo/Press & Sun-Bulletin, Rebecca Catlett)
Question: I generally don’t run photos of the various mass shootings that have occurred in this country or elsewhere in the world. I like to keep Huckleberries Online focused on local issues and fun. Am I making the right call by not posting more info about these tragedies out front here?
Mayor Sandi Bloem tells Huckleberries Online that the Chesrown foreclosure situation with Black Rock North won’t have an impact on the purchase of the old DeArmond Mill site by North Idaho College. “That’s an entirely different property,” the mayor said. “And the agreement has already been signed.” The mayor continued by saying that she’s sorry to see Chesrown encountered financial difficulties. “He’s a good citizen in this community. I hope things work out.” Huckleberries called the mayor a few minutes ago after a Berry Picker raised the question re: the mill site property that is destined to become a higher Education Corridor.
Some
Idaho House Democrats are considering reviewing an eight-year-old policy of holding their party caucuses in the open. Majority Republicans have always held closed caucuses, and have consistently resisted calls to open their meetings to the public and the media. But Democrats in both the House and Senate opened their doors in 2001, saying they stood for open government. Rep. Brian Cronin, D-Boise, (pictured) said that puts the Democrats at a disadvantage because the minority party’s strategy can’t be kept quiet/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here. H/T: Unequivocal Notion.
Unequivocal Notion: I mean come on, they are thinking of closing their caucus because they are worried about the GOP knowing their strategy? Really? We’re outnumbered 52-18 in the House and 28-7 in the Senate, there is no strategizing with those numbers. You control one thing; your image — and that image should include a belief in having open caucuses. The Idaho Dems are certainly free to do as they please, but this is one step back.
Question: Are Idaho D’s better off with open caucuses or closed ones?
Item: Media ignore abortion connection in Montana plane crash coverage/Colleen Raezler, NewsBusters
“He’s happy no matter what is going on in the world,” said Don Bird of Coeur d’Alene as he walked with his Golden Retriever, Sunny on Tubbs Hill on Thursday. Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama kiss at the start of a town hall style meeting at Rhenus Sports Arena in Strasbourg, France, Friday. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Question: Should a political leader kiss his/her mate in public?
It’s a wild day in Indian Meadows this morning. Just had 9 wild turkeys cruise past the house on the sidewalk and they made the loop through the neighborhood and and are grazing in a neighbors bushes. Kinda comical the way one of them is leader of the flock and he (or she) is just taking the rest on a tour.
Question: What kind of wildlife do you have roaming in your neighborhood?
The fact it happened April 1 was pure coincidence. Any day can be April Fools’ Day in the Idaho Legislature. What made this one especially embarrassing - to repeat the word used by Sen. Joe Stegner, R-Lewiston - was that the fools in question weren’t in the House, but in the Senate, and they were not ordinary members, but the leaders who form the State Affairs Committee. On this day, these august personages approved, back to back, two so-called memorial resolutions - junk mail to Congress, in other words - that contradict each other/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: What do you think of the dueling resolutions passed by the state Senate — one that tells the federal government to butt out of Idaho’s affairs and the other asking for money for a state medical school program?
Students, faculty, and staff at Rutgers University try to break a Guinness World Records for the greatest number of people dressed as Waldo of Where’s Waldo at the State Theatre in New Brunswick on Thursday. Some 1,052 people in red and white shirts and caps turned out on the Rutgers University campus Thursday in a bid to stage the largest gathering of people dressed as Where’s Waldo. (AP Photo/Home News Tribune, Augusto F. Menezes) Question: Have you ever participated in an attempt to break a Guinness world record?
Bob Nonini, Frank Henderson, and Dick Harwood were the only House members to oppose the proposed Open Meeting Law rules approved by the House Wednesday on a 59-10 roll call vote, provided by Kevin Richert/Idaho Statesman, here. On Thursday, the Senate OK’d the measure unanimously here.
Bankers have filed a $14.6 million foreclosure action against one of developer Marshall Chesrown’s ambitious and upscale projects overlooking Lake Coeur d’Alene. The complaint filed by American Bank, based in Bozeman, Mont., centers on Black Rock North, a 1,100-acre tract that Chesrown (pictured) and his investment companies envisioned as an extension of the original Black Rock luxury golf club at Rockford Bay. Though construction crews built the second golf course, the demand for luxury homes to pay for the project has collapsed. No homes or lots have been sold and the Black Rock North Development group has defaulted. The plans included 206 homes and 325 condo units overlooking the lake./John Stucke, SR. More here.
Question: How will this development affect the local economy?
The presidential race has become an embarrassing addition to UI’s already complicated situation. Budget cuts, the Program Prioritization Process and the possible loss of faculty positions loom, and they loom without a permanent, distinguished voice to handle these pressing instances. Further delays in the process can only turn an already-embarrassing circumstance into a harmful one, as the university needs a confident leader to re-establish the direction of the institution. The SBOE should seriously consider all options, including keeping current Interim President Steven Daley-Laursen in place. Daley-Laursen has shown he is capable of directing the university in a cognizant, clear manner/Christina Lords, UI Argonaut. More here.
Question: Given the incredible mess the state Board of Education and others have made of things, should the UI selection committee cut its losses and pick interim prez Daley-Laursen?
As Idaho’s legislative session dragged through its 81st day Thursday, legislative reporters have donned the traditional ugly ties that signify it’s been long enough. Tradition has it that once reporters have decided it’s time for the session to end, by sporting hideous neckwear they can so disgust and horrify lawmakers that they’ll just want to leave town. (Betsy Russell/Eye On Boise)
In the HBO Poll Wednesday: 33 of 57 respondents — or 58% — said that Congressman Walt Minnick’s unwillingness to submit earmark requests shows that he’s principled. 42% thought he was simply being idealistic because other states will claim the money for their own projects.
Kage Mann: It’s easy to complain about the richest guy in the CDA area.Just like Bill Gates,when he was building his mansion on Lake Washington,ten years ago.I’m sure his neighbors also, complained about something.These complaints could be construed as envy;people being envious of others good fortune in life.
Question: What emotion best describes your feeling toward CdA kingpin Duane Hagadone? Envy? Admiration? Dislike? Apathy? What?
Dan Of The County: As far as requiring people to show ID at the polls in order to vote, I think many election officials will actually support that. It would be quite a culture shock at first for some and some will likely raise holy hell with our poor poll workers, but it still seems like something that is inevitable. We get more and more comments from people who can’t believe that we don’t already require people to show ID to vote since it happens for so many other activities.
Question: Should individuals be required to show an identification to vote and to register to vote?
Nic: Those remaining (Moose on the Loose) statues still had the obnoxious paint jobs … but they grew on me. I came to appreciate them. That is until a long wait in the Del Taco drive-thru a few years back. Due to the long wait next to one of those statues, I noticed something peculiar. The moose statue was anatomically correct. I honestly can’t look at one of those things now without laughing. I can’t help but think of the poor kid who had to paint the moose’s equipment.
Question: Of the remaining Moose on the Loose statues that can be seen around town, which one do you like most? And where is it located?
Beth Bollinger:
Actually, I don’t think earmarks are a black and white thing. They just have that reputation. John McCain, for instance, is against earmarks, but has worked for special interests groups over the years (without enough boundaries, in my opinion). An earmark that has merit, and is justifiable, is worth submitting, especially now when it’s less than 2 percent of the budget and especially now because all other reps and senators are submitting them.
Question: Are you more of less likely to vote for Congressman Walt Minnick because he refuses to submit requests for earmarks that could benefit Idaho?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
I just checked with the City Desk. They estimate that the story will be ready for publication at Huckleberries Online around 9:30 …
In the news this evening: A Washington state survey shows the number of employers offering benefits fell from 66% to 57% last year here. The Dow flirted with 8000 here. Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich is indicted on federal corruption charges here. Jury: UColorado wrongfully fired controversial prof Ward Churchill here. New Seattle M’s manager Don Wakamatsu sets his starting rotation by tabbing Felix Hernandez as his opening day starter here. And the Wild Card remains in play …
Workers set up beach chairs at the beach of St. Peter-Ording at the North Sea, northern Germany, as temperatures reach eleven degrees Celsius (51.8 Fahrenheit) today. (AP Photo/Heribert Proepper) SR’s Today In Photos.
Joker: First Ladies are interesting to study. They’re all different and there is no wrong way to
be a First Lady. Laura Bush was very reserved and dignified. She really was unseen for eight years She really never ventured into the spotlight. She smiled and held Bushie’s hand. Hillary Clinton was more of a vice president than Al Gore. She took on Congress over health care. She was smart and outspoken. Republicans hated her. Barbara Bush. She was very motherly. I always wanted a plate of her chocolate chip cookies and never got them. Darn it. Read Joker’s full post below.
Question: Who is your favorite First Lady from the past? Why?
At Coeur d’Alene Today, David Townsend/CdA Library provides another photo of the visit by the C-SPAN Civics Bus to the local library today. You can read all about it here.
Question: The voter ID bill mentioned above would require a photo I.D. both to vote and to register to vote, and eliminate mail-in voter registration. Would you support such a bill?
Amanda Fortino, right, hands Leslie Hambley a vegetarian hotdog outside the state Capitol in Oklahoma City, Wednesday. Two campaign workers for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals served up vegetarian hot dogs Wednesday outside the state Capitol to encourage residents to consider healthier diets. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Top Cutlines:
By now, Republican campaign “operatives” across the state have undoubtedly already clipped and scanned in this headline from a story that moved on the AP wire last night: “Democrats Propose Income Tax Bill.” As the story notes — repeatedly — Democrats so far seem to be floating the idea more than backing it. Now, however, the idea seems to be gaining some steam. Here’s the (first?) bill, which would impose a 1 percent state income tax but allow you to deduct your first $500,000 a year in earnings. In other words, the only people who would pay would be those earning $500,000 a year (our couples earning $1 million.) /Rich Roesler, Eye On Olympia. More here.
Question: Idahoans, of course, constantly complain about property taxes. But not much is heard from them re: the income tax. Why?
Dan Webster was the lit guy for the paper and my go-to guy for the baseball novel. He wrote a great review on the book when it first came out and was diligent and kind about posting my book signing events and whatever else I was up to. I had this vision that I would call him when a movie on the story was in the works. “Hey Dan, want a scoop?” Alas, this will not now happen since there is not yet a movie set up and since last Sunday was his last day. A part of my dream for the baseball guys’ story - of how something would happen, anyway - has died/Beth Bollinger, Accidental Rabbit Trails. More here.
At Slight Detour, Marianne Love posts this photo of her son, Will, a sports writer for the Idaho Press Tribune/Nampa, covering the NCAA basketball tournament in Boise, while the talking heads schmooze in the foreground. Marianne also has a photo of hubby Bill scraping off the car this morning en route to CdA. She points out that Bill and his twin sister turned 59 today here.
HBO Numbers (for Wednesday): 6893 PVs/3870 UVs
Question: Are there twins in your family?
Escapee: I have never watched it. But I’ve had my favorite shows end. … NYPD Blue had a much-celebrated ending. I wonder how many more seasons CSI: Miami will last. I ‘spose as long as Horatio can lift a set of sunglasses to his face, I guess …
Question: Which long-running TV series had the best ending?
Kage Mann: I used to hate looking at those awful moose statues of different colors all over CDA.But, now we have those ‘Mudgy’ the moose statues over at the library and Tubbs Hill.It’s hard to say which statues are worse to look at.
Question: Do you agree with Kage Mann that the Moose on the Loose program of a few years ago and 5 Mudgy & Millie statues around the downtown area today are hard on the eyes?
Now President Obama wants to build infrastructure again and, if we look to the past, he’s on the
right track, once again improving the country one bridge at a time while educating young people and training them for the future. I find myself out of patience with the naysayers - with short-sighted governors who refuse monies to help their citizens and with legislators who can’t learn from the past how to get us out of this economic mess. To Roosevelt and to Obama and all those with the foresight and strength to give help a chance, I say, “Right on!”/Bethine Church, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Do you agree with Bethine Church that Obama is mimicking FDR in using stimulus money to try to rebuild America and avoid a Depression?
Shannon Brattebo poses to show how she would place a phosphate free dishwasher detergent tablet into a dishwasher in Spokane recently. Dishwasher detergents containing phosphates have been banned in Spokane County since July 2008. Brattebo, as secretary of Washington State Lake Protection Association, was a prime mover of the ban. “I’m not hearing a lot of positive feedback,” she conceded . “I think people are driving to Idaho. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
I don’t remember much about ER‘s first real episode, except that it was bloody, impossibly fast-paced, and I hoped the nice nurse would find her will to live, so she could hook up with the cute doctor. I’d missed the feature-length pilot that Monday — would rent it from Blockbuster a couple years later — but for the last 15 years, I have never let another episode pass me by. ER now ranks up there with “parents” and “baseball” as the major constants in my life, which is either really sad or reassuring, depending on your perspective, I suppose/Whitney Pastorek, Popwatch. More here.
Question: Any “ER” fan want to share memories re: the popular program that concludes after 15 years with its final episode tonight?
The C-SPAN Civics Bus visited the Coeur d’Alene Public Library this morning. To coincide with the first 100 days of the new presidential administration of Barack Obama, the 45-foot mobile production studio and demonstration center is visiting schools and other community venues to share C-SPAN’s education and civic resources with students, teachers, and civics-minded people across the country. More from Coeur d’Alene Today here.
Question: Why do/don’t you watch C-SPAN?
Huckleberries hears … that North Shore owners caught a break from the glare of Duane Hagadone’s new outdoor lights at his second home on Casco Bay last night. The glare of the spotlights were dimmed somewhat by the fog that rolled in, according to Terri Porcarelli of West Lakeshore Drive. “Nature was kind,” Terri told Huckleberries Online. Terri has learned from county code officers that outdoor lights are suppose to be directed in a way to minimize glare. She was told the county would check out the problem. She was also told that the 35-foot light towers were “real, and they’re permanent.”
Michelle Obama, wife of U.S. President Barack Obama, left, walks with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II at the reception at Buckingham Palace in London Wednesday. The First Lady broke protocol and launched thousands of Brit tongues by hugging Queen Elizabeth after the queen put her arm around the First Lady. You can read about it here. (AP Photo/Daniel Hambury, pool)
DFO: My Repub friends are going to flip. But I consider Michelle Obama to be diplomatic gold. She’s charming the socks off world leaders. And that’s wonderful after this country took such a hit in foreign relations during the Bush years. Anyone who can cause the queen of England to drop protocol deserves a shout out. I can’t wait for Marmitetoasty to weigh in on this.
Question: What about you? Are you warming to Michelle Obama?
In April do the flowers grow,
but them ain’t blossoms – them is snow.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
Both parties in the House have gone into caucus to talk about state employee pay cuts and the state budget. Republicans also plan to talk about transportation; their caucus is meeting behind closed doors, while the Democrats are meeting openly/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Do you think the Demos learned their lesson from closing their caucus to Dan Popkey/Idaho Statesman earlier this week?
In a “Misery Index” list of the increase in unemployment in 372 metro areas, Coeur d’Alene and Spokane are nearly tied at Nos. 243 and 247, respectively. The Misery Index marks the increase in unemployment reported in February 2009 and 2008. Coeur d’Alene’s jobless rate jumped from 6.0% to 9.4%. Spokane’s from 6.1% to 9.6%. By contrast, Boise-Nampa ranked No. 167; Portland No. 93; Seattle No. 191; Idaho Falls No. 46; Missoula No. 88; and Logan, Utah, No. 9. The lower numbers represent low jobless rates. El Centro, Calif., was worst with an unemployment rate of 24.5%. Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, La., was best with 3.5%. You can see the rankings here.
Question: Have you or your family been hit by unemployment since the current recession began?
Item: Tourist guide publisher says businesses should be optimistic/Sarah Leavenworth, Shoshone County News-Press
More Info: In spite of tough economic times in North Idaho and across the country, Kiki Miller 
of “The Guide to North Idaho” told Wallace business owners they have reason to be optimistic heading into the heart of the tourist season. Miller, the publisher of “Guide to North Idaho” and its web counterpart, fyinorthidaho.com, was a keynote speaker at Wednesday’s Historic Wallace Chamber of Commerce meeting at the Jameson. Totals for Idaho’s “bed tax,” a state tax on lodging and campgrounds, have not dipped compared to last year’s receipts and tourism-related jobs are not being lost — positive signs for tourism across North Idaho and for Silver Valley businesses, according to Miller.
Question: Do you agree with Kiki Miller that area business owners and the hospitality industry have a reason for optimism, despite the current hard economic times?
US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, are welcomed by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, during an audience at Buckingham Palace in London Wednesday.(AP Photo/John Stillwell, pool)
Item: President Obama gives Queen iPod loaded with videos, Broadway tunes/David Saltonstall, Daily News
More Info: So what do you get the queen who has everything? If you’re President Obama - and the queen in question is Elizabeth II of England - you get her a generously loaded iPod that includes video footage of her 2007 visit to the U.S. and songs made popular on Broadway. That’s what Obama bestowed on Her Royal Highness Wednesday, along with a rare songbook signed by “The King and I” composer Richard Rodgers, of Rodgers and Hammerstein fame.
Related: Michelle Obama charms Queen of England
Question: Do you think Barack Obama gave the Queen of England an appropriate gift? What should he have given her?
This week, I will submit a list of Idaho-based projects to the House Appropriations Committee for 
consideration in Fiscal Year 2010. I am keenly aware that these project, or earmark, requests are seen by some as wasteful federal spending, and I understand fully that too many federal projects are indeed wasteful. I decided to write and publish this column in an effort to share with the people of Idaho not only the types of projects I put forward, but my reasons for doing so. I believe the most appropriate reform of the earmark system is not to ban them outright, but to expose them to the light of day and allow every American citizen a chance to see them and comment on them. I also want to be clear that the projects I am requesting represent only a portion of those submitted to me this year. Many did not make the cut/U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson (pictured), Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Yesterday, new Idaho Congressman Walt Minnick said he wouldn’t submit earmarks for possible appropriations. Simpson sees the benefit for Idaho to claim a share of the revenue. What about you? Should Minnick sidestep earmarks when the money will be spent elsewhere?
Yes, the Great Nonini (pictured) helped lead his fellow House members to reject several attempts to raise the state gas tax Tuesday, telling them the department to which the money would go is “dysfunctional,” and besides, Idaho’s roads don’t need it. Sure, Gov. Butch Otter and the Idaho Transportation Board say the state has a $240 million backlog in road and bridge maintenance, and that work not done now will require taxpayers to spend more later. But Nonini knows better. How? He’s driven on some Idaho roads. Why, only last weekend, he drove U.S. Highway 95 from Boise to Coeur d’Alene, and he could tell from his car that it’s in fine shape/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: How would you rate the performance this session of state Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Post Falls?
EWU student Kris Byrum of Seattle. Wash., parades across the PUB multi-purpose room with his sign in Cheney, Wash., during a rally showing support for higher education funding. Kevin Graman’s SR story here. (Dan Pelle/Spokesman-Review)
In an online poll conducted by both SportsLink and Huckleberries Online Wednesday, 465 of 1167 respondents (40%) said they’d like to see Ken Bone of Portland State become the next WSU basketball coach. Following far behind were Bobby Knight (12%), Randy Bennett (12%), Dan Monson and Ray Giacolotti (8%), and Bill Grier (7%).
Lew2nl: How many of the men making positive comments for using phosphate-free dishwasher
detergents actually participate in the dishwashing process in their homes? This includes: removing dirty dishes from dining table, scraping large objects into garbage pail, rinsing dishes with water, squirting liquid detergent onto the dishes to remove grease, insert in dishwasher, fill dispenser with the great phosphate-free detergent, turn on machine, remove dishes from dishwasher at end of cycle, place dishes in appropriate cupboards.
Question: How many of you men do anything with dishes other than eat off of them?
Toadman: It’s the same thing with men in particular shying away from quiche. What’s not to like
about quiche? Depending on what kind it is, It usually has everything in it that men like. Scrambled eggs, cheese, bacon, onions, some other veggies, and all of that baked in a pie shell for chrissakes. It’s as manly a dish as was ever devised, and gets a bad rap from the machismo set of chauvinists in our society. I’m Toadman. I’m a man. I eat Quiche.
Question: Do you enjoy quiche?
Gary Ingram: Herb, Jimmy Durante once was asked why he was always chasing the young
women. His reply was that all the women his age were dead. I’m a couple of years beyond you and I’ve noticed the younger, prettier ones seem to look past me when I’m thinking they are looking at me. And then I notice that the ones with bushier even clipped hair dos, (why do all women over 60 have the same hair do?), are looking right at me! And smiling, too.
Question: If you were single and collecting Social Security, would you look for a sweetheart in your age group? Younger? Older?
Stickman: Of course we would never want a fire on Tubbs Hill, but the Pooh Fairie and I have
seen him for many years and he seems harmless, as he always makes sure his little fires are out. He will pay the price of course, as many have seen him lately and have been very upset with his actions. He is a very harmless homeless man that loves the Hill. As do we all. Of course we can’t just start fires whenever we want and hope the world will go on. He is being dealt with as this town needs to address this issue. It can’t go on, of course, but he is definitely not an arsonist.
Question: What should be done with the homeless man, if he, indeed, is guilty of setting the small fires on Tubbs Hill?
Michael Ramirez/Investor’s Business Daily
In the news this evening: Barack Obama gave the Queen of England and iPod here. One of Obama’s campaign promises on taxes has gone up in smoke here. The US has dropped its corruption case against now-former Alaska U.S. senator Ted Stevens here. Snow is even falling in Seattle today here. The Episcopal Church has defrocked a Seattle priest who claims to be both Christian and Muslim here. And the Wild Card remains in play …
The CAT scan of Emerson de Oliveira Abreu, a man who came to the hospital with a spear stuck in his head after a diving accident, is shown on a monitor at the Adao Pereira Nunes state hospital in Duque de Caxias, Brazil, Wednesday. After doctors surgically removed the 6-inch (15-centimeter) spear from his brain, Abreu is in stable condition. Story here. (AP Photo/Ricardo Moraes) SR’s Today In Photos.
DFO: For those keeping score at home, my family name was once “de Oliveira,” like the guy with the spear in the head. And one of my grandmother’s sisters settled in Brazil. Who knows. I could be related. Then, in Portuguese areas, my surname is fairly common.
The wonderful North Idaho spring weather has kept me inside today, and I have started a project. I have donned my hat and whip and decided to go on a bit of an archeological field trip … in my bedroom. The rare artifact I am in search of has been quite illusive since after I fell asleep last night. … the TV remote/Silver Valley Girl, Silver Valley Stories. More here.
Question: How much time do you estimate that you spend in a year looking for the TV remote?
A dark, dark day occurred several weeks ago. My computer crashed and I was left stranded without a google lifeline. It was not until these last few weeks that I have realized how dependent I have become on the internet and my computer. I attempted to visit the library and use my friends’ computers but it was not the same. I love my desk, my chair, my computer, and my routine. When I sit in my black leather chair with my feet on top of my fuzzy foot stool, I have come to realize this is my comfy spot/Sparky’s Notes. More here.
Question: Could you survive without your computer and various online hookups? For how long?
Shannon Kisselman braved Tuesday’s cold weather during a walk in downtown Coeur d’Alene today. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review).
Christopher Dawes tosses an office phone during the Unemployment Olympics in New York, Tuesday. The lighthearted competition was only open to the unemployed, and included a such games as ‘Pin the Blame on the Boss’ and ‘Office Telephone Toss’. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Top Cutlines:
1. Junior executive apparently missed the training on how to use the office phone system and attempts, unsuccessfully, to transfer a call to the main office — Scootermom.
2. Michael Moore is shown preparing for another unsuccessful attempt to cruise for chicks in his new documentary “Bowling for Concubines” — JohnA.
3. While Christopher didn’t find a job, he did hear that he was a dead ringer for a secretary — Cabbage Boy.
HM: ReggieH
The Spokesman-Review has been dwindling for years, slashing its size and page count and cutting its newsroom staff by almost half. But Spokane’s (former?) paper of record suffered what must be one of its most painful cuts yet last week, with the announcement that investigative reporters Bill Morlin and Karen Dorn Steele and arts writer Dan Webster (pictured) have all resigned. Together, they brought 96 years of journalism experience to the paper. The Seattle P-I called Morlin and Dorn Steele “two of the Northwest’s top journalists.” All three writers — along with two copy editors — have accepted the company’s voluntary buyout offer, the window for which closed Monday night. Their resignations become effective on April 1/Joel Smith, Inlander. More here.
Question: Any parting thoughts for Bill, Dan, or Karen as they leave The Spokesman-Review this afternoon?
We’ve always been fans of common sense, so warnings reminding Washington drivers that 
they must remove their snow tires by today even though there’s plenty of snow on the ground seemed silly. Heavy snow fell in the Cascades over the weekend, and the rolling roads of the Palouse were slick and dangerous Sunday morning because of snow, ice and wind. In fact, there was a 10-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 195 south of Pullman that was closed for three hours because of jackknifed trucks and cars sliding off the road. Snow fell off and on all day in Moscow on Tuesday, and there’s a forecast of rain and snow showers through Friday. It just makes sense to keep those studded tires on/Sandra Kelly, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. More here.
Question: Have you removed your studded snow tires yet?
A 45YO homeless man has admitted to setting 20 to 25 small “smudging” fires on Tubbs Hill 
since last summer, including some over the weekend. A resident who saw him set one of the recent fires provided a detailed description to fire investigators. Earlier today, city authorities found the man. He claims he did not know it was unlawful to have open fires on Tubbs Hill. He will be charged with a misdemeanor offense of burning on public property. None of these fires caused any damage to city owned property/Coeur d’Alene Today. More here.
Granati/OrangeFrog76 snapped this one with his cell phone, believe it or not. He writes: “Better lighting makes all the difference with my cell phone camera. Another hdr built from a single 2 megapixel shot … “
GROWING OLDER:
Just eight days ago, I had my seventy-fist birthday. Asked if I was still chasing fast women, I replied, no, I’m reduced to chasing slow ones. My eyes are starting to light up when I see an older woman using a walker, but then desperation births strange methods. One of the most difficult things about getting older, is that one has no previous experience with the phenomenon. Most knowledge is based on previous experience. aging is something that sneaks up behind you, then announces that you are suddenly old. No warning at all. It just is/Bayview Herb, Bay Views. More here.
Question: Any tips re: how to deal with older age?
Will Atkinson, 6, left, tries to tackle his sister Caroline, 7, as they watch Washington NCAA college football practice Tuesday at Husky Stadium in Seattle. Tuesday was the first day of spring practice for Washington, and under new coach Steve Sarkisian, practices are now open to the public, which was not the case under former coach Tyrone Willingham. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
So who are the primary stumblebums in the fiasco the search for a new University of Idaho president has become? Are they the hired headhunters at Korn/Ferry International, who apparently failed to present the appointed search committee with candidates who wanted the job and the pay that went with it? Are they the members of the search committee itself, who moved toward the top of the list candidates who have now rejected the job? Or are they the members of the State Board of Education, whose dealings with the only two finalists brought to Idaho for interviews - Kansas State University Provost Duane Nellis and Montana State University Provost David Dooley - have ended with both finalists’ withdrawals?/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Who do you finger as the greatest stumblebum(s) in the UIdaho president search debacle?
I was at a party at my sister-in-law’s house a few years ago, gobbling up hors d’oeuvres like a 
wolf at a lamb-shank cook-off. “Good stuff,” I mumbled during bites. My wife pulled me aside. “You know those canapes are made with hummus, don’t you?” I had to go rinse my mouth out with a beer. Hummus, you see, is so wrong on so many levels to a true Idahoan. It’s an ancient dish of Middle Eastern origin, made with mashed garbanzo beans, tahini (sesame-seed paste), olive oil, lemon juice and garlic. Popular in the Western world just now, it’s all the rage with vegetarians and vegans. As such, it’s a clear and present danger to Idaho’s cherished meat-and-potatoes culture/Steve Crump, Twin Falls Times-News. More here.
Huckleberries hears … that Lake Coeur d’Alene residents are hopping mad this morning after 
enduring the outdoor lights of Duane Hagadone’s 30,000sf mega-mansion on Casco Bay. Terri Porcarelli, of West Lakeshore Drive told Huckleberries this morning that the new Hagadone mansion needs “serious lampshades.” She said she arrived home after yoga class around 8 o’clock last night to find the local multi-millionaire’s five floodlights reflecting brightly off the water into her home. The lights were still up at 6 o’clock today when she awoke. Terri said she fielded a number of calls from neighbors and speculated that the lights also disturbed lakeshore residents at Arrow and Stevens points. “Those lights were glaring, glaring … right into my house.” Terri called the courthouse to see if something can be done about the lights and left a message with Duane Hagadone’s son, Brad, to return a call. She said she and neighbors are prepared to go to battle to prevent a repeat performance.
Question: Should Kootenai County impose a light restriction to protect Hagadone’s lake neighbors from the glare of his ginormous, 30,000sf mansion on Casco Bay?
Montana Highway Patrol Col. Michael Tooley hands Trooper Mike Haynes’ widow, Tawny, an American flag during the graveside service at Glacier Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Kalispell, Mont. Next to her are Haynes’ mother, sitting third right, Melody, and his father John, sitting second right. In the back row, from left, are Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, Attorney General Steve Bullock and Transportation Director Jim Lynch. The Montana Highway Patrol trooper who was critically injured in a head-on crash with a drunken driver died Friday, March 27. Story here. (AP Photo/Daily Inter Lake, Allison Money)
Milene Pontarollo from France shows a spring mounted high heel shoe her husband Philippe invented at the International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva, Switzerland, today. 710 exhibitors from around the world present around 1,000 products at the 37th International Exhibition of Inventions, which runs from April 1 through 5. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus) Question: What was the highest heels you’ve ever worn? And what event did you wear them to?
Today a lighthearted April Fool’s Day story appeared in the Cd’A Press written under the fictitious name of “April Fuhl” stated that the Council had turned Tubbs Hill into a dog park. While most who have read the story understand it to be a joke, a few headline skimmers have called or emailed the city with genuine expressions of concern. For the record, there are no plans nor have there been any discussions about turning Tubbs Hill into a dog park. Parks Director Doug Eastwood was very impressed with the lighthearted humor on April Fool’s Day and said “Good job Cd’A Press, keep us laughing”/Deputy City Administrator John Ingalls, Coeur d’Alene Today.
Rep. Walt Minnick, the rookie Democrat from Idaho, says he’s rejecting earmarks in the upcoming FY 2010 budget — the first member of his party to do so (we think). Minnick — former Nixon administration Republican who once shared an office with G. Gordon Liddy — has been sending a letter to earmark applicants explaining why he’s closing up shop. Letter here/Glenn Thrush, Politico.
Question: What do you think of this move by Idaho’s Blue Dog Walt Minnick?
My name is Allan Cawl, I have lived in Boise less than two weeks, and I am pleased to announce this will be the last edition of Boise Weekly. I am aware this news may come as a disappointment, even a shock, to many readers, especially those people who have followed BW faithfully throughout its 17-year lifespan. But I am confident that by the time you have finished this entire article, you will understand why BW could not continue as it was, and that you will be anticipating the product that will take its place. The new owner, N-Corp-Al—headquartered in London and New York—has named this new incarnation of BW the Treasure Valley Weekly Post, and until further notice, I will act as publisher and editor-in-chief/Allan Cawl, Treasure Valley Weekly Post. More here.
Question: What do you make of the sale of the popular Boise Weekly to an outfit with HQ in London and New York?
In the Coeur d’Alene Press today, staff writer April Fuhl wrote the newspaper’s traditional faux 
story to celebrate April Fool’s Day. In this instance, the anonymous scribe contended that the “Cur d’Alene City Council” voted unanimously to make Tubbs Hill ”a full-fledged dog park — with no two-legged critters allowed.” Councilman “Woofy” McEvers is quoted. It’s all in fun. Sorta. Less fun, for California Congresswoman and soon-to-be Undersecretary of State Ellen Tauscher (pictured), was a spoof by blogger Halfway To Concord. The blogger said Tauschner had “shocked national and international diplomacy and fashion circles today when she announced she would wed Osama bin-Laden in a wedding to be held at a secret location in Nairobi this June.” And continued here. Tauschner’s office responded with this: “The item on Ellen Tauscher is offensive, unacceptable and libelous. Worse, it’s not even funny. Please remove it at once.”
Question: What do you think? When does a written spoof on April Fool’s Day cross the line?
In this photo provided by Nicki Christiansen and the Raptor Education Group, Inc., Marge Gibson, executive director of the Raptor Education Group, Inc., holds a sandhill crane,that was captured in central Wisconsin with an arrow through her body in Antigo, Wis. She treated the crane at her center and plans to release it back to the wild tpday, weather permitting. (AP Photo/Nicki Christiansen)
The point here is Michelle Obama wants a garden and I know something about gardens. The 
First Lady of the house in which I was raised was big on `em. She had it in her head that gardens were a great way to teach young boys about work, responsibility and nature n all rolled into one. The problem is n at least from the perspective of a young boy - gardens are a whole lotta’ work. Combine that with the fact my colleagues on the garden work crew — my older brothers — were little more than scallywags when it came to honest labor, and one can appreciate how little I appreciate gardening. Sure, it’s true. Fresh garden vegetables are one of life’s great pleasures. They rank right up there with fine Scotch. But after years of pulling more than my weight in the family plot, I now take my vegetables out of the can. Which is why Michelle Obama impresses me so. She figured out how to get other people to do the garden work/Dan Hammes, St. Maries Gazette-Record. More here.
Question: What do you make of Michelle Obama’s attempt to start a White House garden?
Eight years after House Democrats opened their caucuses – while majority Republican caucuses remained closed – they held a closed caucus Tuesday on fuel taxes, barring Idaho Statesman reporter Dan Popkey from entry. The Dems had asked for a five-minute recess during the fuel tax debate in the House, went into a room off the House floor, and closed the door. Popkey reported that he knocked on the door, Rep. Phylis King, D-Boise, answered, and he asked, “Is this caucus open?” “No,” she replied, shutting the door/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: The House Dem Caucus Leader later apologized to Popkey and said that Demo caucuses remain open. What do you make of this development?
Item: Avista working to repair public image/KXLY
More Info: In an attempt to repair its public image the Avista Corporation is taking out half page ads in daily and weekly newspapers in Washington and Idaho. Their goal? To reach out to customers skeptical about increasing power prices and Avista’s profits. Avista’s letter to the community starts by saying that “We grew up in the Inland Northwest and we appreciate what makes this community great.” The letter then goes on to say that Avista wants an open dialogue with the community.
Question: How can Avista repair its image in your eyes?
In St. Maries, 24 girls are trying out for the annual Junior Miss scholarship contest — the largest contingent of participants since St. Maries adopted the contest for 11th grade St. Maries high school girls in the late 1960s. You can read all about it in the St. Maries Gazette-Record here. (Ralph Bartholdt/St. Maries Gazette-Record)
Question: What do you think of the Junior Miss competition?
In the daily HBO Poll Tuesday, 57 of 69 respondents (83 percent) said state regulation of small day cares is “vital to child safety.” Only 9 respondents said the state should stay out of regulating day cares. Three responded that mothers should stay home with the kids.
Cis: How much do any of you know about the April Fool virus? Is this something to be really worried about. The news said it is already in our computer, or could be… and tomorrow it is going to activate it. … Or is this going to be a true April Fool joke? Anyone know?
Question: Anyone have the expertise to address whether the so-called April Fool’s Day virus is a legitimate threat? Or a joke?
OTV: Any HBOers looking for employment? Do you have experience in marketing and/or network technology? My new employer is still hiring and I said I’d ask around … Email me via my blog for more info …
Question: Anyone interested? Or know someone who might be?
Bayview Herb: This isn’t an April Fool joke, but April 1 marks the 9th anniversary of the day I had my last cigartte, and that’s no joke! Cold Turkey it was. I relapsed twice or so in my dreams while sleeping but never in reality.
Question: Any other former smokers out there nearing a smokeless anniversary?
RE: Spokane scofflaws dis green suds/Huckleberries Online
Frum Helen Back: I met one of the Spokanites buying dishwasher soap at the Post Falls
WalMart. He and the clerk said we wiil all have to buy green soap in
2010. The last two times I was in Costco, they only had boxes of
“green” dishwasher soap. I have a super duper dishwasher and Costco
“green” stuff just doesn’t do the trick. If I have to wash them first,
then I might as well wash them by hand. So I’ve decided to just assume
the left on food has been sterilized and use the dishes anyway.
Question: Should North Idaho counties go green on dish detergent, too?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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