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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2009

Wild Card/Thursday -- 4/9/09 23 

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…

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 (The Spokesman-Review)

Parting Shot -- 4/9/09 17 

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 PhotosQuestion: What kind of herbs do you have…

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Marianne: Sinners Need Other Days 

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…

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Matt Hernandez, left, doesn't smoke but is against the banning of smoking in Riverfront Park. His friend, Jason Davis, right, also does not support a ban. The two were in the park Thursday, April 9, 2009. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)

PM Headlines -- 4/9/09 

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)Denney: Voter ID bill won't happen this year/Eye On Boise37 grizzly killings spark worry/APWyoming livestock,…

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ORG XMIT: NY108 In this photo released Tuesday, March 31, 2009, 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 on March 4 2009, 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. (AP Photo/Newark (Ohio) Police Department) (The Spokesman-Review)

APhoto Of The Day -- 4/9/09 19 

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…

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Scanner Traffic -- 4/9/09 

4:21 p.m. Nancy wants to speak to a deputy re: a rabbit problem in Athol.4:11 p.m. A man subject to a restraining order is trying to beat his ex-wife's door down on West Miles Avenue/Hayden. 3:07 p.m. ISP troopers are looking for a truck pulling…

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Truly: Gonna Be A Grandma 35 

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…

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 (The Spokesman-Review)

HBO Blogosphere -- 4/9/09 19 

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…

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Pet Peeve 63: Remote Car Horns 11 

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…

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 (The Spokesman-Review)

Briefs: Billboard Fetes CdA Fugitive 

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…

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** FOR USE AS DESIRED WITH YEAR END--FILE **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) ORG XMIT: NYYE211 (Gerald Herbert / The Spokesman-Review)

Remember When ... 

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…

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Ruthie Johnson Drag Quip Angers D's 37 

Update: Senate confirms Ruthie Johnson on party line vote/Eye On BoiseSenate 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…

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Brock: When A Father Dies Too Soon 19 

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…

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ORG XMIT: MTGTF501 FILE - 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, Thursday, April 9, 2009. (AP photo/Great Falls Tribune, Liz Hahn, file) (Liz Hahn / The Spokesman-Review)

HBO's INorthwest Roundup -- 4/9/09 11 

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)…

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Montanans Wary Of Woodstove Plan 

Item: Frenchtown: Residents hot over woodstoves/Michael Moore, MissoulianMore 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…

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High Noon: It's All Algebra To Me 

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…

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Huckleberries Hears ... 

... 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…

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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 on Thursday April 9, 2009. KATHY PLONKA The Spokesman-Review (Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)

ITHO: Let AIG Fail -- Minnick 21 

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…

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House Rejects Gas Tax Hike 37-32 

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…

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HBO Poll: Capitalism Or Socialism? 15 

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. <a href ="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1527254/" >In a Rasmussen Poll,…

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Mark Lehan, a landscaper by trade and toy collector the rest of the time, is being evicted from a storage unit in Rathdrum. He talked about his situation from the unit on Wednesday, April 8, 2009. KATHY PLONKA The Spokesman-Review (Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)

Toy-Collecting Landscaper Gets Boot 

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…

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UI Boosters Want Nellis For Top Job 

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…

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Ex-Reporter Starts Laid Off Loser Blog 

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…

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Huckleberries Online

D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.