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

THURSDAY, JAN. 8, 2009


Wild Card -- 1/8/09 186 

I've been updating my blog rolls today. You'll notice: 1. The addition of "Bozeman (Mont.) Police Reports" in the Friends blogroll (b/c they're fun to read). 2. That M.E. Vickie Holbrook @ the Idaho Press-Tribune is now flying solo on the blog, which is now…

Continue reading this post »


 (The Spokesman-Review)

Parting Shot 

Children wave flags at the Malecon avenue on the Anniversary of Fidel Castro's triumphant march into Havana when he defeated Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista on 1959 in Havana, Cuba today. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)SR's Today In Photos: Western Washington floodsQuestion: Is it finally time for the…

Continue reading this post »


PETA Wants School To Honor Fish 

Item: PETA wants NW Montana high school renamed 'Sea Kitten'/MissoulianMore Info: Meow. Actually, make that, me-OW! The next time you hook into a lunker, and the rod tip bends as line spools out, the folks at PETA want you to look that fishy face square…

Continue reading this post »


ORG XMIT: IDMC103 Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter addresses a group of  reporters on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009 in Boise, Idaho.  Otter, speaking at the annual AP Legislative preview, addressed topics from transportation to rising unemployment rates.  (AP Photo/Matt Cilley) (Matt Cilley / The Spokesman-Review)

HBO's PM Headlines -- 1/8/09

Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter addresses a group of reporters today in Boise, Idaho. Otter, speaking at the annual AP Legislative preview, addressed topics from transportation to rising unemployment rates. Betsy Russell/Eye On Boise story here. (AP Photo/Matt Cilley)*Best of Spokesman.com PM blogs/Andrew ZahlerEye On Boise:…

Continue reading this post »


Scanner Traffic -- 1/8/09 

5:15 p.m. R/P reports a woman has been screaming for 15 minutes in the area of Indiana & 11th. He can't make out what she's saying. But he plans to drive by the site where the screaming seems to be coming from.5:01 p.m. A possible…

Continue reading this post »


Cis, Because You Asked ...

Cis/Simple Mind asks: I know the gathering up of the local blogs is a pain, but I got to ask ... How do you decide which ones to grab. Is it a random thing, like whatever is there for the day you decide to take…

Continue reading this post »


The snow mounds were still high surrounding the Coeur d'Alene Resort on Thursday, January 8, 2009. Hotels say snow days hurt, but the season is typically slow anyway. Hagadone Hospitality has lowered salaries and wages. KATHY PLONKA The Spokesman-Review (Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)

A Whole Lotta Snow 33 

The snow mounds were still high surrounding the Coeur d'Alene Resort today. Hotels say snow days hurt, but the season is typically slow anyway. Hagadone Hospitality has lowered salaries and wages. KATHY PLONKA The Spokesman-ReviewQuestion: How much money do you spend at the Coeur d'Alene…

Continue reading this post »


Fortier Offers Free Space ... Sorta 13 

The space would be available to retailers on a need-basis. Dislocated businesses that had been caught completely without insurance coverage could move into the stores located at 9245 N. Government Way free of charge. Fortier said the arrangement would be open-ended, depending on the circumstances…

Continue reading this post »


Wilson: 'Prom Night' 08's Worst 

If you take away the Slumdogs and Benjamin Buttons of December, movies in 2008 were satisfactory at best. The predictably dreary early months ("Jumper," "Untraceable") gave way to a rocky summer ("Dark Knight" yes, "Hancock" no), and even the big fall blockbusters disappointed ("Twilight," "Quantum…

Continue reading this post »


Road Rage: Axman Threatens Driver 

As first reported in Scanner Traffic Wednesday, a local driver was threatened by another motorist with dark-colored hatchet about 3 o'clock at Ragan Equipment, 320 W. Hanley. Seems John Brand cut Road Rager off when a snow berm caused two lanes of traffic to abruptly…

Continue reading this post »


Don't look now but OrangeTV has a half dozen or so vintage photos at his Remember The Roxy site. I've heard of the USO that graced City Park until it burned down. But I'd never seen a photo of it until now. This one is from the 1910s. (The Spokesman-Review)

NI Blog Roundup -- 1/8/09 

At Remember The Roxy, OrangeTV has posted another half dozen or so vintage photos, including this one from the World War I era of the USO building that graced City Park until it burned down. You can catch up on OTV's latest here.*Winter Watch/Tumblewords*Life with…

Continue reading this post »


ITD Board Stiffs North Idaho 13 

Idaho’s Transportation Board - faced with a staff recommendation to make replacement of the deterioriated Dover Bridge its top priority for federal stimulus funds - instead dropped the project to No. 7 on its list in a special meeting yesterday, with only six projects likely…

Continue reading this post »


Racists Try To Blend In 15 

Item: White supremacists try to polish image/Becky Shay, Billings GazetteMore Info: Kyle Anderson blends in with the crowd of businessmen and students sitting in a Billings coffee shop. His dark hair is cropped short. He wears a burgundy dress shirt and dark slacks. The only…

Continue reading this post »


Sandy and Ron Swenson rescue one of their three dogs and two puppies after the flooding today in Tacoma, Wash. They evacuated late Wednesday night returning for their pets in the morning. More than 30,000 people were urged to leave their flood-endangered western Washington homes as snowmelt and rain swelled rivers and caused mudslides and avalanches that engulfed neighborhoods and roadways. Story here. (AP Photo/John Froschauer) (John Froschauer / The Spokesman-Review)

Huckleberries NW Roundup 1/8/09

*Nampa WWII plane used in movie 'Valkyrie'/Idaho Press-Tribune*PETA seeks to rename Whitefish school Sea Fish/Missoulian*White supremacists try to polish image/Billings Gazette*Buck floats down Yellowstone River on ice chunks/Billings Gazette*Montana, Alaska lead states w/double-digit increases in birth rates/Billings Gazette

Continue reading this post »


HBO @ Noon: A Letter From Sarah 

Harrington's short, three-paragraph letter - which she wrote several days after the election - didn't have Palin's street address or even the correct zip code. "I figured if I put 'Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, Wasilla, AK' on the envelope, it would probably find its…

Continue reading this post »


Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Serve? 13 

Were Congress to repeal DADT, I would support a clause that gives everyone else in the military a option to get out with whatever type of discharge would normally deserve if they feel they can't accept the change, without financial penalty; after all, they joined…

Continue reading this post »


ORG XMIT: MTBIL101 A mule deer buck mingles with statues of deer in a yard in Billings, Mont., Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009. The mature buck made its bed near the smaller statures and spent most of his day with them. (AP Photo/Billings Gazette, David Grubbs) (David Grubbs / The Spokesman-Review)

APhoto of the Day -- 1/8/09 35 

A mule deer buck mingles with statues of deer in a yard in Billings, Mont., Tuesday. The mature buck made its bed near the smaller statues and spent most of his day with them. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Billings Gazette, David Grubbs)Top Cutlines:1. TUBOB…

Continue reading this post »


Porn Industry Wants $5B Bailout 17 

In an announcement that launched a thousand unprintable puns, adult-entertainment moguls Larry Flynt and Joe Francis said Wednesday that they are asking Washington for a $5 billion federal bailout, claiming that the porn business is suffering from the soft economy. Francis insisted in a phone…

Continue reading this post »


SR: Why Drivers Ignore Cell Law 

Two things have become clear since Washington state lawmakers passed a law banning the use of hand-held cell phones while driving:1. Many drivers are still unaware of the law. 2. Many drivers are unconcerned about being ticketed because it is a secondary offense, meaning officers…

Continue reading this post »


Huckleberries: ThomG Takes Plunge 11 

You need look no further than Kootenai County Democratic chief Thom George, if you want to know why Democrat Walt Minnick dumped Republican incumbent Bill Sali in the 1st Congressional District race. At one of those hush-hush Republicans-for-Minnick gatherings last year, a female voter who…

Continue reading this post »


 (The Spokesman-Review)

AM Headlines -- 1/8/08 

A maintenance worker services a fast food sign Wednesday in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. (AP Photo/Coeur d'Alene Press, Jerome A. Pollos) *Idaho Records/Sherry Adkins, SR*Letter from Gov. Palin stuns Bonners Ferry woman/R.J. Cohn, RuralNorthwest.com*Minnick fights partisanship/David Broder, Washington Post*Weather wallops wildlife/Brian Walker, CDA Press*Elk herd's bad…

Continue reading this post »


HBO Poll: Shoveling Roofs 11 

Now that the snow is melting away on area roofs, it's time to ask: Did you shovel your roof this winter?*Yes, I did it myself in my spare time*Yes, but others did it for me*Yes, but I paid to have it done*No, but I kept…

Continue reading this post »


NIC President Takes Medical Leave

North Idaho College President Priscilla Bell will be spending some time away from campus to recover from a medical procedure. An e-mail sent from the president's office Wednesday alerted members of the campus community that Bell will take one, possibly two weeks of medical leave…

Continue reading this post »


Craig Won't Pursue Appeal 

A lawyer for former Idaho Sen. Larry Craig says they won’t ask the Minnesota Supreme Court to void Craig’s conviction in an airport bathroom sex sting. Minneapolis attorney Tom Kelly says he concluded that the state Supreme Court would not accept a petition for further…

Continue reading this post »

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.